TERM 3 - UPCOMING EVENTS

September National Biodiversity month

15 September H-Block garden installation

12-18 September National Organic Week

22 September World Car-Free Day

TERRARIUM WORKSHOPS

On Tuesday 30 August, several students participated in a Terrarium making workshop during lunchtime, to create a living gift in preparation for Father’s Day. The students involved were engaged in learning the process and worked productively to complete their creative masterpieces in the given time. On the success and interest from this workshop, a second Terrarium workshop was conducted during lunchtime on Monday 12 September to enable all interested students to experience this creative process.

RECYCLING WORKSHOPS

In alignment with the current Year 7 Religious Education unit “Guardians of the World”, over the past fortnight, Year 7 Sustainability Leaders and Class Captains facilitated recycling workshop for their class, with the aim to educate and reinforce correct recycling methods at St Joseph’s College. Students were engaged in visiting the school’s Sustainability Website page to reiterate the correct bin for recycling various items, followed by several fun and engaging activities to reinforce their learning. The workshops concluded just ahead of our Tri-UMPH Lite day, in which compost buckets were reintroduced to the quadrangle for recycling food waste, in addition to 240L blue bins for the purposeful collection of aluminium cans.

RECYCLING REGIME

With many COVID restrictions now lifted, provisions are underway for the reinstatement of many of our recycling initiatives, to commence at the beginning of Term 4. White compost buckets will be reinstated in the Years 7, 8 & 9 eating areas (adding to current Commingled Recycling and General Waste bins) and will be introduced to the Mt Sion eating areas, for the purpose of recycling all food waste at the College. In addition, Blue paper Ecobins in classrooms and offices will resume their use for paper recycling and REDcycling bins will be added to Mt Sion homerooms, completing a full complement of REDcycling bins across each homeroom in the College.

To minimise the time spent engaging in recycling, we implore all families to adopt our CUT THE WRAP approach to making lunches to minimise waste brought into the College.

JANE PERKINS ART DESIGN COMMITTEE

On Thursday 1 September, members of the Jane Perkins Art Design Committee; Harris Henderson, Kade H and Calan P, together with student leader Callum W, collaborated online via Teams with the ICUP Team from Sydney University, to share their thoughts and insights of their experiences and learning opportunities incepted by the implementation of the ICUP program. Students rose to the challenge to reflect on changes and perceptions relating to cultural identity, providing further insight to the necessitation of careful consideration and empathy when designing a commissioned artwork that is culturally inclusive to all. It is envisaged that a draft design for the artwork, will be ready to “reveal” at the start of Term 4.

INDIGENOUS ARTWORK NARRATION

Over the past fortnight ATSI students; Jacob A, Zachariah M and Morris O have been productive in the radio station, recording the “narration” for the Indigenous Artwork series created by local Indigenous Artist, Bri Apma Hayes. The artworks were created to complement our Indigenous food planters in the Paul Tobias Centre courtyard and support our school’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Once recording is completed, interactive plaques (incorporating QR codes) will be installed near the artworks and onto the planters, creating an exciting new outdoor learning experience for all visitors to the area.

Year 10 Environmental Science students have been industrious creating new videos for indigenous flora species (predominantly in the Reconciliation garden) over the past fortnight, as part of their current Ecology Unit. In addition, several students have engaged in CNC Cutter training with Mr Brendan Fairfield, in preparation for creating some of the interactive plaques to be installed near the flora species.

POLYMER REFORMING WORKSHOP WITH ST COLUMBA’S COLLEGE ESSENDON

On Thursday 8 September, Mr Andrew Read’s Year 11 VCAL Community class and I, embarked on an excursion to St Columba’s College Essendon, to participate in a “kids teaching kids” polymer reforming workshop to gain insight to their utilisation of their CR Clarke polymer reforming equipment (including a Shredder and Sheet Press) and gain "hands-on" experience creating a product from reformed sheet plastic, showcasing the process involved in creating a circular economy. Facilitated by Melissa D‘Amico (STEAM Leader), Jen (STEAM Technician) and Julianne (Student Environment Captain), the team presented an insightful and engaging workshop, enabling students to create and take home a reformed coaster, providing an inspired creative vision, to propel our student’s further with their own plastic reforming journey.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Melissa and her team at St Columba’s College, for welcoming us to their school, for their time involved in the preparation and facilitation of the workshop and for their generosity in catering a beautiful lunch for all to share.

“Today I learnt what the Precious Plastics are about at St Columba’s College, with the wonderful teacher Jen, guiding us through what it is about and who started it all and what types of machines they use. We sorted plastics into different containers (by recycling number) and it was completely different to what we do at St Joseph’s. After sorting, we made some coasters out of number 4 plastic. It was very enjoyable and a really good day. A big thank you to Ms Jenkins and Mr Read for making this possible.”

Seth B (FOLA)

H BLOCK VERTICAL GARDEN

On Thursday 15 September, VCAL students are scheduled to collaborate with Wild Places staff Phil Hunter, Ellie Brunt and Angela Hope to commence the ambitious Stage Two of the H-Block vertical garden implementation. It is anticipated that twenty new planters will be added to the H-Block ledge, to house the new garden installation incorporating Philodendron Hope (Philodendron bipinnatifidum) and Feather Falls (Carex oshimensis). To complete the project, a third species referred to as Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) will be added to the garden bed during Term 4, to create a cascading effect over the stone wall.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

CALLING FOR PLASTIC BOTTLE TOPS AND BREAD CLIPS

We are calling on all SJC families to support our Year 11 VCAL students in the collection of plastic bottle tops, for the purpose of creating a circular economy, by reforming and transitioning these items into new and purposeful products. In particular, we require clean plastic items with either the number 2 or 4 clearly identified on the items.

In addition, other items that I will be recycled at the College include; corks, stamps and plastic bread tags (in support of the "Bread Tags for Wheelchairs" project).

All donations (washed and dried) may be delivered to the Reception of either campus.