Children at St Declan’s Catholic Primary School Penshurst have been encouraged to follow their dreams by one of their school’s most accomplished alumni.

Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley, Governor of NSW, visited her alma mater on 25 October to speak to students, answer their questions, and remind them that they too can aim for the highest offices in Australia.

She was joined by Bishop Terence Brady and Georges River Mayor Kevin Greene, both of whom also attended St Declan’s, as well as other VIP guests including Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools Anthony Farley. “It is such a pleasure to be back at St Declan’s, where my educational and social roots were laid down and my values were formed,” said Her Excellency.

“St Declan’s remained my mother’s community right up until her death aged 94, with friendships spanning nearly 70 years. Although my life has gone in directions that I never imagined all those years ago, St Declan’s has always remained very much part of my spiritual heart and home.”

“Of course, at the time, it was all about playing in the playground before school, reading, writing and ‘rithmetic’, and going to church on Sunday.”

Mr Farley used the Governor’s story as a chance to remind St Declan’s students that a great education will set them up to achieve whatever aspirations they set their minds to for the future.

It is such a pleasure to be back at St Declan’s

Students cited goals like becoming a lawyer or psychologist when asked about their current plans post-school, and said they had enjoyed preparing questions for the governor to answer as part of a classroom Q and A.

“It’s really inspiring to see that a normal person that went to our school can go on to do all this really big stuff,” …

Students at St Finbar’s Catholic Primary School Sans Souci are improving their reading and writing skills through two successful peer mentoring programs.

A writing initiative in partnership with Bethany College Hurstville and a research project that linked students in Years 1 and 4 invited children to act as either mentors or mentees and make friends across traditional grade and age barriers.

Principal Susan Bonello said that while the two programs are very different, they both had benefits for both older and younger students.

[Mentors are] refining the language and then communicating it on, which is going to embed it much better

“For mentees, it’s hard to get that amount of one-on-one time in a classroom because there are 30-plus students,” Ms Bonello said. “You’ll get one-on-one with a teacher but not as intensely or for hour-long sessions.”

“For mentors, it might take them a little while to work out how to explain a concept simply, which means it’s processing in their head as well. They’re refining the language and then communicating it on, which is going to embed it much better.”

Creative writing eases transition fears

Emma Djundja, Year 6, has been part of the same mentoring initiative with Bethany College for the last two years and hopes to continue with the program if it runs again this year.

In 2018, she and her mentor worked on a story around the theme ‘the door’, writing a creative piece about mental barriers. They chose their theme because they felt it was something everyone could relate to, and worked on their story face-to-face and online using Google Docs.

It was a very good support, and I still have those skills today 

“She taught me a lot of new words that …

Olivia Callaghan is hoping to defend her title as one of the best in NSW when she attends the Mackillop state cricket trials in September.

The multi-talented sportswoman and Year 6 student at St Michael’s Catholic Primary School Lane Cove would love to follow in Elise Perry’s footsteps and play for the Matildas and the Australian women’s cricket team, and is already on the way to achieving her goal. Last year she won a national championship as part of the NSW state cricket team, and hopes to progress to Mackillop and then state teams so she can do the same in 2019.

Olivia Callaghan

Olivia has further played in both representative and Mackillop teams for soccer – including under 14s and mixed sides. She said both sports have taught her the value of resilience, humility, and striving for a goal, all of which are assisting her to fulfil her current role as school house captain.

“I love that soccer and cricket are both team sports,” she said. “Playing with the boys, and now playing with older kids for the 14s, they teach me a lot – to get up, try again and one day you’ll get there.”

“It’s also awesome to be a leader, leading a house and getting everyone up on their feet and participating.”

Olivia has been pursuing soccer since she was four, and fell in love with the sport watching her sister’s games. Her Year 1 teacher, Steve Pryde, saw she was a talent and encouraged her to give cricket a try as well.

They teach me a lot – to get up, try again and one day you’ll get there

Last year, both Olivia and Mr Pryde received Sydney Catholic Schools Primary Sports Awards – Olivia for her achievements on the field, …

A unique approach to STEM education has given students at St Aloysius Catholic Primary School Cronulla the skills and avenue to make a difference in their community.

Students in Year 5 are working with desalination experts in a joint initiative with Sydney Water and Sutherland Shire Council to monitor the quality of water that keeps the local golf course and fields in the area green.

The students have until November to devise an app that will alert the council when the salinity level of the irrigation water, collected in pipes at Gunnamatta Bay and affected by high tides, is too high. The information will allow staff to decide when shut off supply or increase potable water to the fields.

Year 5 students Alessia Cargeorge and Sinead Laney are among 20 students who graphed the variables that will affect water supply to the ovals including tidal flows, heat and rain.

Working with the council on experiments … opens up this whole world of opportunities and makes us wonder what we could do in the future.

“We’re surprised how big an impact this issue is having on our environment and water system,” Alessia said.

“There are so many different solutions, but also problems we need to fix. It would cost too much to build another pipeline if we wanted to redirect the water, so we’ve got to think of something that is affordable but also simple to do.

“Working with the council and everyone on experiments and learning about it in class opens up this whole world of opportunities and makes us wonder what we could do in the future. I’ve thought about going into something science-related for work, but never actually thought I’d get some experience in it this early.”

Sinead said her group didn’t realise how big an impact water quality had on the way they …

St Andrew’s Catholic Primary school Malabar has drawn from the playbook of an education system ranked among the world’s best to shake up their school day.

The school has trialled a timetable modelled on Finland’s approach, which provides regular breaks between shorter lessons to help boost students’ wellbeing and academic performance.

Instead of two-hour lesson blocks with long recess and lunch breaks, the students now have an extra two 10-minute breaks in the day and shorter meal breaks so they have time outside for every hour of study.

Principal Leonie Burfield said feedback on the new timetable had been positive, with teachers reporting increased concentration levels among their students.

“We don’t want to do this just to be trendy – we want to see benefits,” she said.

“Before we were finding that by the time it came to 11am our students were getting very fatigued. Their work was not as good a quality because of that tiredness.

“The 10-minute breaks work as their transition between lessons now. The students leave their work on their tables and come back to it feeling refreshed and excited.”

Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School Miranda principal Rose Andre has also implemented the timetable changes and seen results. “Our speech therapist has noticed it’s made a huge difference to the students’ concentration,” she said.

Mrs Burfield and Mrs Andre visited Finland and Canada in April on professional renewal leave that Sydney Catholic Schools makes available to its principals after every six years of service.

In Finland they witnessed a slimmer curriculum and more traditional classroom set up, but less student anxiety and more trust from the parent community.

Mrs Burfield said it was difficult to …

Fairytales have become the unlikely catalyst for STEM learning at St Anthony of Padua Catholic College Austral.

Students in Year 2 have used their mathematics and engineering skills to design a trap for the gingerbread man, build a new chair for baby bear after Goldilocks broke it, and found a way for the Three Billy Goats Gruff to cross mountains without being attacked by a troll.

They also built and tested contraptions that allowed Jack – who was substituted for a boiled egg – to come down from the clouds when his beanstalk was cut down, trapping him there.

“If the egg didn’t break Jack survived,” said STEM teacher Jessica Vincent.

“There was a lot of maths involved. They had to measure things and weigh them. When they made a new house for the three little pigs, I gave them three little pigs and everything had to be made relative to their size.”

Students have also created an Operation-inspired board game about the fairytale of their choice. They learnt the science behind electrical circuits, and coded a Makey Makey – a tool that allows students to connect everyday objects to computer programs – to make their games buzz when objects hit the sides.

Year 1 students tested the designs when complete, giving an audience and purpose to the project.

When they made a new house for the three little pigs, I gave them three little pigs and everything had to be made relative to their size

“The underlying principles of STEM are things like communication, collaboration, risk-taking, persistence, and designing for a solution,” she said.

“Children need to be …

St Martha’s Catholic Primary School Strathfield ended the school term on a high – and scientific – note with their first whole school STEM Day.

At a morning parade, students celebrated the theme dressed as scientists, aviators, solar systems, robots, a storm cloud, Rubik’s cube, and NASA workers and astronauts.

Year 6 students then led mixed-grade groups through engineering and other challenges. They made wands out of coloured pipe cleaners to blow square bubbles, built bridges, and crafted musical instruments. Parents donated equipment from home to aid the experiments. The day ended with a whole-school plane challenge.

“We wanted to expose the students to lots of hands-on learning experiences that relate to science, engineering, and maths so they could collaborate to solve problems and be creative,” said STEM reference teacher Suha Noun.

“The students made their own costumes using recycled materials. We really encouraged the parents not to go to the shops and buy costumes so the kids really used their own ideas to make their costumes for the parade.”

Fellow STEM reference teacher Tania Bucciarielli said the day’s inquiry questions allowed students to collaborate.

“Some might have had time to solve and test their hypotheses, depending on how they chose to approach the question,” she said. “It’s all about testing their ideas and developing a feel for what science is all about, and answering ‘What does a scientist do?’”

The event compliments a year of STEM activities and experiments across the curriculum, including coding games, making gelato, and growing mung bean sprouts without soil in different conditions. Students have also researched atoms, forces, and viruses.

“I think STEM days are really good because they let us go out of the curriculum, even though it’s really expansive, and show our imaginative sides with our costumes,” said Year 6 student Brendan Pham-Le.

“Some …