On Tuesday the 5th of March the Junior Campus opened its doors to the community to celebrate and showcase Catholic education at St Andrews College.
It was an opportunity for future students and their families to experience what happens each day in our great College.
Students from Year 6 and their families heard from Year 7 students - Jennifer Assi and Emmanuel Adetunji, our School Captains - Angelo Marasigan and Maiah Lazaro and Principal, Mr Stephen Kennaugh about the rich and unique teaching and learning experience offered at St Andrews College.
Open Day was another opportunity for the community to see the students and staff doing more and going beyond.
Year 7 Speech
Good Morning, Parents and Carers. My name Emmanuel and this Jennifer and we are Year 7 students. Today is our St Andrews College Open Day and we will be talking about the first days at St Andrews College. The first day I walked into school I was scared that I wouldn’t fit in and I would not have any friends.
There are three other students from my primary school which was Good Shepherd Primary and only one was my close friend. Now I’ve made new friends in different grades and in Year 7. I know more than half the school now because I walk around and give people high fives and talk to them if the look sad.
At first it was hard for me and the other students because we were used to being in one class and we were not ready to be going from to class to class. The first week of Year 7 I got lost on my way to my class but the teachers and other students helped me. Now I feel really confident with all my classes I’m extremely happy that I came to St Andrews College because here they treat you fair and nicely.
Year 7 Speech
Hello everyone I am Jennifer like Emmanuel said before.
Let’s start by talking about how I made new friends. Making new friends was surprisingly easier then I thought. Although I come from St Andrews Primary and the majority of my friends from my primary school came with me I still made new friends
Participating in school activities is an important part of St andrews College. All of the Year 7 along with the rest of the school recently went to Blacktown Swimming Pool for our Swimming Carnival and even though some didn’t swim we were all cheering for each other. In fact the more activities we participated in the better because we have a merit system. For those who don’t know what a merit is, it is like a little award we get when we have done something good. Unfortunately my House Frances didn’t win at this year's Swimming Carnival.
There are four Houses: Frances(blue), Chang(red), Gould(gold), and Bennelong(green), The House that has the most House points at the end of the school year wins the House Cup and gets to go to Wet ‘n’ Wild!
I am so privileged to have come to such an amazing school that provides so many opportunities for us. One of the opportunities at our school is the school camp next week! There will be lots of opportunities for us at camp because it's a great way to make new friends.
Thank you so much for your time I hope to see you next year and have a nice day!
School Captain Speech
Good afternoon students, parents and Mr Kennaugh. My name is Maiah and this is Angelo and we are the School Captains. Today we are going to inform you about what it’s like to be a St Andrews College student and what this school has to offer.
If you entered via the front gates, you may have noticed our school motto displayed on the performing arts block. The school motto is “doing more and going beyond”. This is what we strive to achieve on a daily basis. As we all inhabit the potential to change our world for the better.
Numerous opportunities are given here, at our school, from things such as chess, debating, public speaking, writing competitions, math competitions, geography competitions and a long list of representative sports such as soccer, basketball, touch football, rugby league, dance, diving, netball and more.
Our school spirit, here in our college, is absolutely astonishing. Recently, we had our Swimming Carnival the vibe uplifted the school spirit as everyone was cheering one another and chanting for the House colour. It was an eventful day with an enjoyable atmosphere. From having races, novelty events and to end it off on a teachers vs students event.
Like Mr Kennaugh mentioned, another event here at St Andrews College where school spirit is displayed is at Creative Arts Night, which is a major production here at the college. Creative Arts Night also known as CAN, is the one time of year where students perform in front of an audience of 2000 in the style of a festival. This event takes place on the oval where students perform on a stage truck with professional lighting and sound. CAN also consists of food trucks, staff acts, fireworks, security guards and more.
Teachers here are passionate about their teaching so students can excel in their studies and achieve excellence. We have a positive learning environment and have many resources available. Such as our new library with many learning tools to supplement our learning. Teachers use a variety of teaching techniques to help the understanding of the learning and to meet the students needs. As students, we are committed to learning. We are constantly challenged by our teachers to achieve our personal best in a safe and caring environment. With the attitude of doing more and going beyond.
At this school, we hold many charity events where all proceeds go to Project Compassion and St Vincent de Paul, in which students take a big part in. For example, the Vinnies Team sold pancakes during lunch today as it is Shrove Tuesday. Every year each Learning Group thinks of ways to fundraise, whether it be selling food or an activity. Helping out the poor is what makes this college special as it teaches students to not only be compassionate but to also be generous to those less fortunate, displaying Christian values.
We hope you enjoy your time here today and hopefully we will see you all next year!
