FROM THE PRINCIPAL Ms Hamilton, Principal

Thank you for the very pleasing level of response to theParent Survey which asked you to identify your areas ofsatisfaction with Emmaus Catholic College and yoursuggestions for improvement. We had 154 surveysreturned and are now collating the responses. The details ofthis will be available for the next newsletter. Thank you alsoto those families who contributed to my recent appraisal.The feedback and recommendations I received were mostaffirming.

On Friday November 11 all the staff will be involved infurther work on the Strategic Planning under the guidanceof Noelene Veness who has been engaged as the facilitatorfor the process.It is therefore a PUPIL FREE DAY. If any family shouldneed supervision for their child please contact LaraineLawton by Wednesday November 9th.

Over the last week we have received news of severaloutstanding achievements by our students. We wereinformed that Carmen Succar who is currently sitting herHSC exams has had her Visual Arts major workincluded in the 2005 ART EXPRESS. Congratulations aredue to Carmen and her teacher Ms Gascoigne on thiswonderful outcome. Only students who are in the highestband for the subject and produce practical work of anexcellent standard are exhibited as part of ART EXPRESSwhich is on view at a number of galleries and exhibitionspaces in Sydney and travels to regional centres during2006.

We also congratulate Sam Tramontana a Year 8 studentwho puts in hours of training and rigorous practice inKarate. At the recently held World Championships thisdiscipline and commitment were rewarded. Sam won twoWorld titles, two second places and one third place. Karate,the Japanese Martial Art, is interpreted as “Empty Hand”because no weapons are used. Hands, elbows, arms, feet,knees and head are seen as the human body’s naturalweapons for combat, self defence and the development ofphysical fitness, discipline and spirituality.The body, mind, spirit techniques Sam has developed willpositively affect his whole life. Karate is not a school sportso Sam has had to integrate his out of school training withthe usual demands of learning. Well done Sam.

We are very eager that families share with us the successesthat students achieve in their out-of-school lives. We relyupon you to tell us, as sometimes the young peoplethemselves are shy to disclose their triumphs. It is animportant part of being a community that we can celebrateachievements publicly.

Equally we really need parents to let us know of the trialsand troubles which might be impacting on a student’sattitude or work ethic. Sometimes teenagers attempt to

disguise their pain, anxiety or distress and what they displayto us may be a far cry from the real facts of a situation.Often families may feel awkward at sharing about an illness,crisis or dilemma but that sharing can be very important andI am humbled and appreciative when parents trust us in thatway. If we do not know the burden a young person iscarrying we can inadvertently be harsh in our judgement ofhim or her.

As a result of some recent parental sharing we will behosting a meeting at the College next WednesdayNovember 9th in the College Library at 7.15pm. Thismeeting will conclude no later than 8.45pm. Letters havebeen sent already to all Year 9 parents as we believe thisyear group is the most effective target group, but themeeting and the planned following sessions on the 16th and23rd are open to all parents. Senior Constable Williams thePolice Liaison Officer, Fr Brian from Holy Spirit Parish andcounsellors from Interrelate Parent Counselling Service willbe present. The role the school is playing is to facilitate sothat parents can work together and support one another onsome of the difficult issues of parenting.

On Tuesday November 8th, 6pm-8pm all Year Ten parentsare invited to attend a Parent Information Session onProject e which the Year Tens will undertake in the weekfollowing their School Certificate. The Program has beenoffered by the CEO to just three schools and is designed toprovide students with the skills that will ensure they areconfident when they are entering the workforce.Any parent is equally welcome to attend this meeting whichwill be facilitated by Danielle Miller the co-ordinator of“Project e.”

Finally can I ask you to pencil in your diaries a ParentForum which we will hold on Tuesday November 29th (6pm-7pm) to share ideas on how we can plan for our submissionto get funding from the Federal Government under the“Investing in Our Schools” program. A quick glance at someof the recently returned surveys tells me that many parentswould like to see improvements in the seating and generalappearance of the playground areas. The funding on offer isdependent upon a sustained parent driven set of projects soI am appealing to all parents to at least come on November29th to help us in our planning.

I look forward to meeting many parents on these Novemberevenings.

OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH YOUOur thoughts and prayers are with Eva Te Whata (9.8) andher family at the death of her grandfather in New Zealand.

STUDENT ACHIEVERSYEAR 7Matthew Fanning – MathsJion Legaspi – MathsEmily Kennair – Core 1Jason Angelone – Core 1Lindsay Hemingway–Core 1Ryan Bradshaw – Core 1Jessica Raju – Core 1

YEAR 8George Helou – MathsJasmine Tanner – MathsAmber Salafia – Core 1Christopher Saleh – CoreJennifer Brennan – MathsSally Mandarano – MathsKahla Brennan – HomeroomGeorge Helou – HomeroomCassandra Logue – Homeroom

YEAR 9HomeroomKiel Mitra, Jacqueline Smith,Laura MuscatelloStephanie Vallester – REGiselle Perez - RE

YEAR 10Kahlia Hafey – MathsTim Gleeson – MathsRio Leasa – MathsSimon Bedford – MathsSpecial Provisions Helpers –Simon Flak & Adrena Karimi

YEAR 11Special Provisions Helpers - Jessica Wall, Madalene Flak,Michael Eijkman, Carrissa Sanderson

OUTSTANDING OFFICE HELPERSEach day 2 Year 8 students give 2 lessons of their

time and assist with school organisation. Somestudents are outstanding in their helpfulnessand ability to take initiative and complete tasks.We will acknowledge these students eachnewsletter.

Jessie-Lee Zammit from 8.4 & Lucille Brybag from 8.5

WHO’S WHO AT EMMAUS

JEANETTE CAMILLOS

 “Ask a busy person if you wantsomething done” is a statement whichcould truly be applied to Emmaus staffmember Jeanette Camillos. When not inher Pathways Office at Emmaus,Jeanette may well be working at another

campus, in her highly active role as Regional VET(Vocational Education Training) Co-ordinator for the MtDruitt Cluster of Catholic Schools in the ParramattaDiocese, a position she has held since 2001.

Jeanette is ideally suited to the role of organisingand guiding students who undertake VET courses. Aftercompleting studies at University of NSW she graduated as aMathematics teacher, working at Caroline Chisholm Collegeand Greystanes High School.

In 1986-1987 Jeanette completed a GraduateDiploma in Career Education combining Maths and Careersteaching at St Agnes High School.

Some part time work at Bede Polding followed, thisbeing in the field of Maths and Science. A very practicalextension of Jeanette’s interest in helping young people andtheir families develop awareness of realistic achievablecareer goals was her work in 1991-1993. During this timeshe worked for Mission Employment, conducting anemployment programme for 15-19 year olds. Spendingtime with adolescent job seekers and getting to know theirconcerns was an added dimension to Jeanette’sconsiderable experience and qualifications by that stage.She put these skills to good use at St Gregory’s College,

Campbelltown serving as Careers Adviser there 1994-2000.“ I have enormous satisfaction in seeing young peoplesucceed in courses and/or jobs which suit them”, she said,adding “this is especially the case with VET and TVETcourses where I have the privilege of watching studentsflourish when they find their “niche”.

Jeanette’s suggestion to students is “seek advicefrom others who have been there before you, listen to theiradvice and make informal choices”.

Emmaus is fortunate in having the energy andexpertise of Jeanette Camillos always on hand.

TEXT BOOK ORDER FORMS COMING HOME SOONStudents will receive their 2006 Text book order form inthe next week of so. In order to receive a 10%Discount you need to return the order form to theCollege or directly to NES by December 9th.

�WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADVERTISE TEXT BOOKSFOR SALE – Write down the Year group thebooks are for and a contact number.Mark attention “NEWSLETTER” and send tothe front office.

EMMAUS DATES TO REMEMBERNovember 7th & 8th School Certificate Exams

11th HSC Exams end 21st Yr 11-12 Blood Bank Donations 29th & 30th Year 8 Exams

December 1st & 2nd Year 9 Exams

Term 4 October 10th – mid December

OUR PARISHES!HOLY SPIRITCnr Todd Row & Moore Streets, St ClairPh: 9670 1744

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARYSaddington Street, St MarysPh: 9623 1962

FROM THE COMMUNITYThe St Vincent de Paul Christmas AppealThe experience of need is particularly urgent duringChristmas. During this time we are reminded of thosefamilies who are struggling to find a home or meet financialdemands.

The St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal officiallybegins on the 3rd November 2005. The annual appeal, relieson community support so that it may bring hope, comfortand joy to families who are experiencing difficulty during theChristmas period.

This year, the Emmaus Community will beassisting with the St Vincent de PaulChristmas Appeal in two ways.The first is through the collection ofquality donations from yourhomes in the form of secondhand clothing, manchester,household items, collectables,books or toys. Eachhomeroom will be given a bagin the coming week for thecollection of such goods.

The second way that we will be contributing to the Appealis through the Christmas HamperCampaign. This has been an annualtradition here at Emmaus and hasbeen a sound example of thegenerosity of our students and theirfamilies. In the coming weeks eachstudent will be given one item topurchase for their homeroomhamper.Thank you again for your support.

Macquarie University Child and Adolescent AnxietyClinic has been running sessions for helping teenagerswith Anxiety and Depression. The clinic can tailor aninnovative treatment program for teenagers involvingweekly 2 hour sessions for 12 weeks.For more information please contact Dr Carolyn Schnieringon 9850 6741 or Prof Ron Rapee on 9850 8032.

Autumnleaf Neighbourhood Centre – St ClairSeminars for Parents –Managing Children’s Behaviour Tues Nov 8th 9.30am-1pm.Building Children’s Self Esteem Tues Nov 15th 9.30am-1pm

St Clair Community Health Centre – 1 AutumnleafParade, St Clair. Sessions for anyone experiencing panicattacks and anxiety. Learn to regain control by slowbreathing, stress management and relaxation. The group isfree. Tues mornings Nov 8th & 15th. Contact Rob or Kathyon 9834 0500.

Solo ParentsThe Ministry to Solo Parents and Families invites you to thefollowing sessions, mass and picnic. Mini Seminar onCommunicating Non-Violently Friday 4th November7.30pm-9.30pm Diocesan Assembly Centre Blacktown.Communicating Non-Violently. Making relationships safe,coming to terms with violence. Sunday 30th October - Mass: 11.30am at Our Lady of theNativity Church, LawsonPicnic: BYO picnic lunch in grounds of Santa MariaConference Centre (in grounds of church, next to church).

Anger Management WorkshopDay programme at Emerton, Holy Family Parish, Tuesdays8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th November, 9.45am-12.15pm. Bookings essential.For further information phone Ministry: 9890 2968

Catholic Church InsuranceWhat an insurance company should be about -While you can trust Catholic Church Insurances to look afteryour home and family, it’s our relationship with thecommunity that makes us unique. For more informationand an obligation free Building & Contents Insurance quote& affordable Personal Accident Insurance, contact us todayon 1300 655 003 or www.ccinsurances.com.auDon’t forget - employees of Catholic organisations get aspecial 10% discount off Building & Contents insurance.

Stuart Weston

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Bring along this voucher and receive a 10% discounton your 1st visit.

MONDAY 7th TUESDAY 8th WEDNESDAY 9th THURSDAY 10th FRIDAY 11th

Doris Radcliffe

Please HelpCathie Harris

Yolanda LopezSonia Peterson

Please HelpVicky Cachia

Jeanette CharlesStaff DevelopmentPUPIL FREE DAY

MONDAY 14th TUESDAY 1st WEDNESDAY 2nd THURSDAY 3rd FRIDAY 4th

Kathy MandaranoGloria Malouf

Tracey BondYolanda Lopez

Sonia Peterson

Please HelpTracey Morrisdon

Kerry GarrettChris Tank

Leanne Sheridan

PUBLISHING PHOTOSPhotos have been taken of students and these may appear in the College’sannual Year Book.If you do not wish your son/daughters photo to possibly appear in thispublication, please forward a note to the Principal to ensure this does notoccur.If the College does not hear from you we will assume you have no objection tophotos of your son/daughter being used by the College when publishing theYear Book.

PARENTAL ASSISTANCE WITH SUPERVISION OF EXAMSDuring our Year 8 and Year 9 end of year exams, which take place onNovember 29th & 30th and December 1st & 2nd, we need at least 5 parents tosupervise each session. Morning session supervision will beapproximately 8.30am – 11.30am and afternoon session fromapproximately 12.15pm – 3.00pm.No particular skills are required, just a few hours of your time and ateacher will be present at all times to oversee proceedings.If you could assist us with these exams please complete the informationbelow and return as soon as possible to the front office.

EXAM SUPERVISION - Return to the Front Office

Parent’s Name: …………………………………………

Student’s Name: ………………………………………. Homeroom: ………………….

Telephone Number: ……………………………………

Please circle when available

Tuesday November 29th AM PM

Wednesday November 30th AM PM

Thursday December 1st AM PM

Friday December 2nd AM PM