Father Daughter Lunch Raffle – NOW OPEN

We are excited to launch the Raffle for the Bursary Program that will be drawn at the Father Daughter Lunch next Sunday, 27 August.

The raffle is open to all families, giving those who can’t make it to the event the opportunity to be in the running to win some amazing prizes including Apple AirPods, a Frank Green set, and Good Food Guide Gift Card.

All proceeds from this Raffle will be donated to the Loreto Normanhurst Bursary Program which supports families in necessitous circumstances.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Tickets to the Father Daughter Eucharist and Lunch are still on sale - click here to book.

Pastoral News

Ms Marysa Boland and Mr Justin Madigan | Deans of Pastoral Care

Wishing all our students and families all the best for the next few weeks.

2024 Music House Conductors 

We are excited to announce and congratulate the following students on their appointment to the 2024 House Conductor roles for Music Festival. It will be an exciting time for the students to lead their Houses and develop their musical skills with the House Choirs.

• Aston: Erika San Diego
• Barry: Lucy Knox
• Kendall: Sophie Aviani
• Kuring-gai: Morgan Wixted
• Maye: Taleah Niezabitowski
• Mornane: Georgia Taylor
• Mulhall: Joy Wang
• Ward: Christiana Vella

New House Councils 

Now that our new Student Council is decided, we will begin to turn our attention to the formation of the House Councils for 2023/24. Voting will be completed next week with Year 10, 11, 12 and House staff. 

Year 7 and 8 Holistic Plenaries 

Year 7 and 8 students have been working closely with their Advisors in preparation for the holistic plenaries. These are a time for the students to reflect on their key learning across the FACE Curriculum and to share these with their parents and advisors. These will run during Week 7 and 8 of Term 3. Parents are using the PTO system to book these, please click here to make your booking.

Let's face it...Anxiety

Wednesday, 23 August - NEW DATE!

6:30pm - 7:30pm

Level Three, Gonzaga Barry Centre

The psychology of fear and how to break the cycle of avoidance.

An event for Year 5-12 parents.

Facing feared situations results in short-term discomfort but leads to long-term gains and self-confidence. Help your daughter to get out of her comfort zone and into her courage zone.

Presented by the Loreto Normanhurst Counselling Team.

School TV

School TV is an online resource designed to empower you as parents with credible and sound information with realistic, practical ongoing support strategies.

Click the link here to find out more.

The Da Vinci Decathlon

Mrs Robyn Roffey | Diverse Learning (Gifted and Talented 5-12)

During Week 2 of this term, Loreto students from Year 5-10 competed at the Da Vinci Decathlon at Knox Grammar School. Beginning in 2002, it is designed to celebrate the academic gifts of Australian youth by providing a stimulating and challenging competition run in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon. Students from all over NSW compete in this competition, in teams of eight (in their age group) and spend the day together working together on academic challenges across 10 disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics, Code breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy. The theme for 2023 was UNITY. Each of the papers are extremely challenging and require creative and critical thinking, perseverance, and collaboration.

Thank you to all the girls, including the reserves who have trained at various lunchtimes for the Da Vinci Decathlon. The girls are to be congratulated for their mental stamina and collaboration. Congratulations to each of the teams for placing in several areas but particularly to the Year 10 team who placed second overall in Art and Poetry. An overview of the results is below.

I really enjoyed the theme of ‘Unity’. I think it displayed that the world still isn’t working together and how important and beneficial it is that we do. Ideation was the most challenging, but it was also very beneficial to see how problems could be solved if we come together unified. Our Year 7 team worked well together and we had fun. DaVinci this year was an awesome experience! Kate Shepherd Year 7

My team was ecstatic and courageous. We had lots of fun during the day! Larina He Year 7

I enjoyed doing creative producers and having fun decorating the tablecloth. Code breaking was challenging, but it was also a lot of fun. It was an amazing experience, and I would definitely do it again! Samyukta Shriram Year 7

Throughout the day, the subject that I enjoyed the most was Art and Poetry - we were very happy we placed 2nd in this section. Code Breaking and Maths were the most challenging. Teamwork was important, we collectively agreed on what we were strongest at, then worked in pairs or in threes and sometimes all together. It was a very enjoyable day, and I am very grateful that I could make some new acquaintances. Angela Sheng Year 10

Thank you to Mr Joe Casamento, Ms Angela Sparks, Ms Leanne Sylvester and Ms Melinda Rahme who assisted with training and/or accompanying the girls to Knox.

Results

Teams

The Year 12 Countdown Study Skills Session

Mrs Stefania Thomsett | Acting Dean of Learning

This week Year 12 students attended a study skills session titled ‘The Year 12 Countdown: Moving towards achieving your personal best in a stress-free way for your last months of school’ with Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services.

The aim was to provide effective learning strategies to help students plan and prepare for their last months of school. They were reminded to have study notes completed, work through their returned Trial HSC examination papers thoroughly (using the checklist provided), pinpoint areas of weakness and seek help on these, and endeavour to do as much practice of essay writing and past examination papers as they can before the end of term to obtain feedback from their teachers.

During the session, students also reviewed known study techniques and looked at ways to improve and avoid common study mistakes using research about the brain. Each student filled out a grid with their HSC exam timetable, planning how to allocate their study time over the weeks prior and during the HSC exams using Dr Salter’s guidelines. The purpose of this workshop was to provide our students with deeper awareness and understanding of what they need to do to make the most of the last few months of their final year of school.

It is crucial that students continue to use their class time effectively by planning for the weeks prior to the HSC examinations. A practical and effective study plan will help them feel more confident and ready for their exams.

Parents are encouraged to review the handout from the session with their daughters and have them explain their study plan as often discussing these ideas can clarify students’ approach. Parents can also find extra study skills tips here and students can download the slides from the session and extra copies of the grid here. All secondary students at our school also have access to a great study skills website to help students develop their skills.

Go to studyskillshandbook.com.au and enter the username: loretonh and the password: loretonh.

Careers Updates

Ms Katrina Smith and Ms Alexi Kayes | Careers Advisor

To view the latest Careers events, seminars, subscriptions and university updates, please explore the yellow Careers News tab on Canvas. Click here to access the Careers Canvas page. Alternatively, go directly to this week's Careers Canvas Newsletter here.

Students in all year groups can book an appointment with Careers at any time by emailing careers@loretonh.nsw.edu.au. Please put your availability into your email.

Community Service

Kids Giving Back

Some of our outstanding students have been helping others in various community programs with Kids Giving Back.

Over 1400 young people participated to help produce over 8500 hot meals, salads, fruit kebabs, breakfast boxes, snack packs and care packs with empathetic, positive messages, which were distributed to 15 charities around Sydney and 1800 servings of soup were served twice-weekly at a soup kitchen.

Their exceptional leadership qualities, compassion, and strong sense of civic responsibility is truly inspiring and a testament to our Loreto values.

Thank you to the following students:

• Eloise Creamer, Y5
• Audrey Dale, Y5
• Eliza Dale, Y7
• Eliana Foote, Y6
• Charlotte Jenkins, Y6
• Emilie Klimkeit, Y7
• Julia Klimkeit, Y5
• Amelia Lavis, Y7
• Joy Li, Y6
• Bella Mein, Y5
• Molly Mein, Y7
• Ruby Meyyappan, Y6
• Chiara Michael, Y7
• Alannah Mouawad, Y6
• Elizabeth Peng, Y6
• Ella Plunkett, Y5
• Makenzie Plunkett, Y8
• Lila Slapp, Y6
• Ella Tegg, Y7

Get involved yourself with the Wild Walk Fundraiser on Sunday, 10 September

Register for the annual fundraiser “Wild Walk” as a team or a sponsor for our students to participate in an adventurous walk through the Royal National Park and support an incredible initiative supporting homeless and vulnerable communities.

Youth Changemaker Program – aged 14+ years

Volunteering opportunities are available to students wishing to complete their service component for Duke of Ed and general school service hours with Kids Giving Back. To date, 275 students have become Youth Changemakers with Kids Giving Back.

We look forward to your continued support in encouraging your students to make a positive impact in the communities.

September/October 2023 School Holiday Community Programs

Bookings open within the next week! Keep an eye out on the website as these programs sell out fast! 

Visit the website for information about all Kids Giving Back programs. 

Volunteering at St Lucy’s Creative Arts Vacation program- Upcoming Holiday Break

St Lucy's School is recruiting volunteers for their next holiday program.

The program is open to volunteers in Year 10-12 and runs from 9:00am-3:00pm for one week of each school holidays. Volunteers will need to stay for the whole day.

September program dates: Monday, 25 September - Friday, 29 September.

You can choose to volunteer between 1-3 full days.

Volunteers are placed in different groups (dance, art, drama or PE based on support needs).

If you are interested in this opportunity, send your expression of interest to Volunteer@stlucys.nsw.edu.au.

Sport News

Mr David Brock | Head of Sport

Aerobics National Championships

Congratulations to our amazing Loreto Aerobics teams who competed at the School Aerobics National Championships in Adelaide over the weekend, coming home with some standout results!

• Year 5 Team – 6th place
• Year 6 Team – 4th place
• Year 7/8 Team – 1st place

Diving

Well done to Charlotte Ward (Year 7) who recently competed at the National Diving Skills Final, achieving some fantastic results.

• 5th in 1m and 3m
• 3rd in Dryland
• 4th all around

Good luck to Lily Whalan (Year 9), who is competing at the National Schools Diving Competition next week.

Gymnastics

Congratulations again to Charlotte Ward (Year 7) who competed at the Gymnastics State Trials. Charlotte’s wonderful results are as follows:

• 5th vault
• 5th bars
• 1st beam
• 1st floor
• 1st all around

St. Peters School, York - Tour Matches

Loreto competed in some friendly hockey and netball matches on Monday, 7 August against St Peter’s School who are visiting Australia from York, England. All students enjoyed an afternoon tea and had fun comparing the differences between our countries. It was a wonderful experience for all involved.

Oratory News

Archdale Debating

Congratulations to our Archdale teams for a stellar performance this season. We had several teams who came close to finals but missed out on point allocations. Well done teams!

Mock Mediation

Good luck to our Mock Mediation team who will participate in the Quarter Finals.

UN Youth NSW Junior Leadership Summit 2023

Registration is now open for the Youth UN Junior Leadership Summit 2023.

This year the camp is not residential and will take place at the University of Technology Sydney. Students will engage in workshops that focus on developing communication, advocacy, and leadership abilities.

Students who are interested should register directly with Youth UN and also notify oratory@loretonh.nsw.edu.au.

Term 4 Social Debating

Registration is now open for Social Debating. This will take place in Term 4 for 4 weeks on a Wednesday afternoon starting on Wednesday, 1 November and concluding on Wednesday, 22 November. Students in Year 7-9 are invited to nominate a team of four students to participate in this program. Students must commit to the full four rounds. Click here for more information. Use this form to nominate your team.

HSC Showcase 2023

Friday, 25 August

5:00pm - 9:00pm

The evening will display the talents of our Year 12 students through their HSC Major Works across several subject areas. This event will also be supported by our senior Hospitality students, who will provide light refreshments throughout the evening.

Dr Sophie Payten, also known as Gordi (Class of 2010) will be joining us for the official opening of the evening. Sophie is a successful Australian musician and medical doctor.

We look forward to sharing this special evening with you all.

A Call to Stewardship through Justice Series - Save the Date

Seminar Two

Refugees and Justice

Hear from Thanush Selvarasa, and his experience as a Tamil refugee from Sri Lanka, as well as theologians, Dr Cristina Lledo Gomez and Dr Sandie Cornish as they discuss refugees and justice from a Catholic perspective on theology and advocacy for refugees.

Wednesday, 6 September

6:00pm - 7:30pm

For further information please contact mission@loretonh.nsw.edu.au.

Saving Our Kids: Online Safety Presentation

Thursday, 7 September

6:00pm-7:00pm

Farrell Auditorium, St Joseph’s Hunters Hill

St Joseph’s College and the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW ACT are hosting a presentation by author Madonna King and Detective Inspector Jon Rouse on online child exploitation – what makes a victim, what makes an abuser, and the dangers lurking in every child’s smartphone, web browser and computer game.

Saving Our Kids delivers the answers parents and caregivers need on how we can all protect the children in our lives.

Click here for more information.

Click here to get your tickets.

Parent Association Updates

Introducing FOLD

Fathers of Loreto Daughters (FOLD) is a subcommittee of the Parents Association of Loreto (PAL) that has been established to celebrate the bond between fathers and their daughters whilst fostering a fellowship among fathers in the community.

We encourage all fathers to participate in and contribute to our community by offering their time, skills, and networks to support the priorities of the school and parent community.

Look out for upcoming events!

To find out more about the FOLD committee, follow us on LinkedIn.

Year 9 Parent Catch Up

Thursday, 31 August 2023

7:00pm to 9:30pm

We warmly invite all Year 9 parents to join us at Kipling’s Garage on Thursday, 31 August.

This is a social event for parents only. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet & mingle with other parents from Year 9 within our school community. Tickets are inclusive of canapes, although guests are more than welcome to purchase additional food & beverage if they wish at their own expense.

We look forward to having you join us.

Click here for the invitation.

Click here to purchase tickets.

RSVP by Friday, 25 August.

Year 8 Parent Event – Save the Date!

Friday 8 September

The Verandah Beecroft

More details to soon follow!

FOLD Race Day – Save the Date!

Saturday, 30 September

Newcastle Racecourse

More details to soon follow!

PAL End of Year Event- Save the Date!

Saturday, 28 October

PAL is hosting an end of year parent function & would be absolutely delighted if you would be able to join them. Mark it in your calendars, more details to follow shortly!

Advancement Team Updates

Father Daughter Eucharist & Lunch

Sunday, 27 August

9:15am for a 9:30am start

Chapel & Miramare Gardens

Loreto Normanhurst warmly invites all daughters, their fathers and father figures in their lives to join us for two special events, the Father Daughter Eucharist and Father Daughter Lunch on Sunday, 27 August.

The day will begin with the Eucharist in the Chapel at 9:15am followed by Lunch at Miramare Gardens, Terrey Hills.

Click here for the invitation.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Ticket sales close at 11:59pm, Sunday, 20 August.

Year 12 Graduation Eucharist & Dinner - Reminder!

Friday, 15 September

4:45pm Eucharist in the Chapel

7:00pm Dinner in the Gymnasium

To all Year 12 students & parents, a reminder to please book your tickets to the Graduation Dinner if you haven’t done so already. RSVPs for the Graduation Eucharist and Dinner are due in by Wednesday, 22 August.

Click here for the invitation.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Alumnae Reunion Lunch

Saturday, 23 September

10:00am-3:00pm

Loreto Normanhurst in partnership with the Ex-Students’ Association warmly invites current parents who are alumnae to the Reunion Lunch for a day of nostalgia, laughter, and celebration! We would be delighted if you could join us for a wonderful day at Loreto Normanhurst where we offer you the opportunity to reconnect with your fellow alumnae for this wonderful celebration.

Click here for the invitation.

Click here to purchase your tickets.