Year 12 Retreats at 'Winbourne' Mulgoa The retreats of 2019 will be remembered for the great enthusiasm and involvement of all students who attended. Year 12 were given the opportunity to participate in important spiritual experiences on their three day Retreat amid the peaceful and serene environment of the Mulgoa Retreat Centre. They didn’t waste this opportunity. Thanks to the staff from our College for their dedication to the Retreat program. Many staff from the College were instrumental in leading the boys through reflection, prayer, bushwalks and discussions about ‘Images of God’, ‘What it is to be a Man in the 21st Century’, ‘Goal Setting’, ‘The Importance of Communication’, and their future directions. The celebration liturgy organised by the students was very special as it is the last Retreat for this cohort. Parents and staff should be very proud of the input and maturity shown by Year 12. Our guest speakers for the retreat were Mr Damien Stockwell and Mrs Nicole Thomas. They both spoke brilliantly and the boys left with a lot to think about. Their talks were informative and inspiring and were well received by the boys. I am confident that these quality experiences will have a lasting effect upon our boys in preparing them for the future. I have no doubt that in years to come, many boys will remember these few days as being very significant in their lives. I thank and congratulate all Year 12 for the quality of their involvement. The staff at Mulgoa were lavish in their praise of these fine young men from St Edward's. They could not speak highly enough of their positive attitude, friendliness, cooperation, courtesy, and willingness to enter completely into the spirit of the Retreat. A typical comment about the boys was, “I can’t get over how well rounded they are, probably because they have been exposed to a variety of social justice experiences.” This particular group is a great credit to their families and the College. A special thank you to Mr Michael Gill the Year 12 coordinator, and Mrs Fran Toomey our REC for all the great work they did during these important days of review and reflection. Mr A Beacroft Director of Mission and Identity [smallgallery fooid="19134"]

On Friday 10 May, Year 7 gathered with many of their family members to celebrate Mother’s Day. Each core class presented an item that captured the importance of motherhood. It was a wonderful occasion that was followed by a beautiful morning tea. Many thanks to all who assisted in preparing for this gathering and for the boys who performed so admirably on the day. Mr Beacroft  Director of Mission   [smallgallery fooid="19074"]

We have had a great start to Term 2 with the introduction of Trash Free Tuesday’s. Momentum is building across tutor classes with Mrs Barnard-Richardson’s (34CB) achieving the most students (17 out of 23 students) to participate so far, followed closely by Mr Marks (24NM), Mr Gentle’s (35MG) and Mrs Robinson’s (63SR) tutor.  Our voucher winners for Term 2 so far are: [caption id="attachment_19413" align="alignleft" width="400"] Jeremy Hibbert: Kincumber Indoor Sports Voucher[/caption] [caption id="attachment_19414" align="alignright" width="400"] Josef Lewis: Flip Out Voucher[/caption]                           Week 2: Alexander Golden (Yr 7 Tutor 12JM), Eden Chiu (Yr 10 17TF) and Mrs Celebrin Week 3: Josef Lewis (Yr 8 35CB), Jeremy Hibbert (Yr 8 9ML) and Mrs Mantellato Week 4: Roy Kim (Yr 11 24NM), Zachary Knight (Yr 10 35MG) and Mr Carpenter   This has meant that just over 16% of students and 38% of staff have made the effort to avoid bringing single use plastics to school and a lot of those students and staff are now trash free everyday – well done to those students and staff and a massive thank you to parents and carers for their support!  We are looking at getting 20% of students on board by the end of the term. There have been a lot of creative lunch options students have brought in over the last four weeks! To help parents and carers with ideas we will be sharing them in our next correspondence. The Environment Portfolio would like to acknowledge and thank the following businesses for supporting this initiative by donating vouchers:  Flip Out, West Gosford; Clip ‘N Climb Central Coast; Ten Pin Bowling, Bateau Bay; Kincumber Indoor Sports; Kincumber Gym; Central Coast Council (NSW Government Love Food Hate Waste campaign); @un-trashy and our Cafeteria.  If you have a local business and would like to support this initiative we would love to hear from you - please contact Mrs Beynon on 4321 6478. Our 10c Return and Earn scheme is continuing, our last collection was at the end of Term 1 with 1,527 containers diverted from landfill which helped to raise $82.70.  We would like to make special mention to Harrison Stiffle and Thomas Hunt both of Year 8 on returning 5 full orange Envirobank bags!  Well done boys on earning 10 Waterford Hours and 10 Tatham Points so far! This is a great opportunity to have a conversation that we should all be mindful when discarding drink containers, particularly those that are purchased through our Cafeteria.  The cafeteria sells approximately 200 drinks per day – all of these drink containers can be placed in the Envirobank cages located in the Quad and TAS areas or yellow bins around the grounds.  

In French, our Year 8 students created an animation to present themselves in French using a program called Powtoon. Students were given a script, but were also given the option to extend themselves by creating their own sentences. Mme Papeix and Mlle Ribal have selected a few excellent examples, created by talented students, to share with the wider community. Enjoy! [embed]https://youtu.be/kqkItYmU0kk[/embed]   [embed]https://youtu.be/yDS0Vl1q4Io[/embed]   [embed]https://youtu.be/HzEYElP916I[/embed]   [embed]https://youtu.be/Um5qQNhDUvw[/embed]   [embed]https://youtu.be/LcpSJhztCVk[/embed]   [embed]https://youtu.be/We5TLOT4eE8[/embed]

During recent class time creating our ceramic “Lost Thing”, the Year 7’s demonstrated how relaxed and happy they are here at St Edward's. It’s wonderful to know that our students have so much fun here while they are learning and creating. The ceramics unit allows the boys to create with their hands over several weeks – practicing the process of creating from idea development, to problem solving and the final resolution of their concept. Why not sing while in the depth of the creation process? [smallgallery fooid="19013"]   [embed]https://youtu.be/iiekNstjs1A[/embed]

After a productive Term 1, Preliminary Visual Arts students have developed an amazing Body of Work to demonstrate their skills in Portraiture. The students have dabbled in various media studies in order to start to consider their area of strength for the HSC. Everything from Graphite, Charcoal, Ink Wash, Coloured Ink Drop, Conte Chalk, Watercolour, Acrylic and Oil paints and palette knives have been used to create just some of the masterpieces you see in the Gallery below. The boys are now working on their final piece – a consolidation of at least two of the media they have experimented with in an over–sized Self Portrait. Stay Tuned for their work to be displayed “in the flesh” within the College grounds. [smallgallery fooid="19024"] [embed]https://youtu.be/3UdQN9D-JPI[/embed] [embed]https://youtu.be/sIKi08HyLpQ[/embed]

This presentation will provide information about autism in school aged children with an aim to share factual, evidence based information about a range of areas  

A very cold and windy day greeted the boys for the Year 9 and 10 Central Coast All Schools Touch Football at ‘middle earth’ Adcock Park on Wednesday 8 May. The windy conditions meant a change in tactics throughout the day. Long passes and running with the ball into the wind saw minor adjustments to the way we played. The Team had pool games against All Saints, Maitland (winning 6-0), Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College, Tumbi Umbi (drawing 1-1), Erina High School (winning 6-0) and Gorokan High School (winning 11-1). A combination of trust in defence and creative ball movement in attack led to some very well constructed tries. Their results ensured they gained first place in their pool. In their semi-final they played Narara Valley High School. The team had been building in cohesion and confidence throughout the day. They never seemed troubled by Narara and comfortably won 5-1. The only down-side was an injury to Ben Dufficy. The final was against Wadalba High School, who won a tight semi final against Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College, Tumbi Umbi. The boys got into a rhythm early and jumped to a 3-0 lead. Wadalba clawed their way back to 3-2, exposing a few defensive lapses. The boys composed themselves and wrestled back control to eventually win 5-3. The team now moves onto the NSW All Schools Finals at the Kingsway Playing Fields, Werrington on Friday 14 June. Well Done Boys. The team consisted of Owen Flaherty, Ben Dufficy, Sebastian Plaister, Joel Sherub, Leith Van Aalderen, Wiremu Tibbutt, Toby Paterson, Tyrone Dorrell, Kieran Diamond, Beau Newlands, Daniel Peters and Joel Evans. Also, a big thank you to Zac Healey and Josh Woutersz (Year 11 Sport Coaching), who refereed on the day as the College representatives.

The College fielded two teams in this year's Central Coast Schools tournament, such is the depth of talent at the school. Both teams competed in good spirits and represented the College in the appropriate manner. The two teams were drawn in separate pools and played three games each before progressing to the finals. St Edward’s 2 played some outstanding futsal and combined as a team both in defense and attack. Christian Sparacino, Beau Watsson and Jeremy Hibbert were instrumental in leading the team at both ends of the court. Christian proved to be an excellent target player and scored a number of key goals. Jeremy captained the side with exemplary leadership and his rigorous style of play was infectious. The Team cruised through pool games scoring 18 goals and conceding on only 4 occasions. They were then rushed onto the court for their quarter-final, but this didn’t phase them and the team recorded a strong 6-2 victory. Unfortunately, the two teams met each other in the semi-final and although St Edward’s 2 fought hard, they were defeated 3-8 by a very strong St Edward’s 1. St Edward’s 1 had an outstanding tournament. The Team brushed all opposition aside on the way to an emphatic final victory. The Team made light work of the first three games scoring 32 goals and only conceding one. They then went on to record a resounding quarter-final victory before taking on their school mates and friends in the semi-final. The game was hotly contested with the opposition showing resistance and fortitude in the face of adversity. Will Rankin and Joseph Lewis were outstanding in attack, while Noah Hutchins and Jude Rankin fought hard to keep our goal unbreeched. However, a four-goal lead was cut to two by industrious work from the opposition. Tahj Werner, Matthew Kairouz and Aidan Ellis restored the four-goal cushion and an entertaining game ended 8-3. Indeed, this proved to be the toughest test of the whole tournament as the Team recorded a demoralising 11-1 victory over Green Point 1 to secure the title of Central Coast Schools Futsal Champions. The Team now moves on to the State tournament at Newcastle in June. Tournament Results St Edward's Team 1 St Edward's Team 2 St Edward's vs Green Point 2 - Win 11-1 St Edward's 2 vs Lake Munmorah - Win 5-1 St Edward's vs Henry Kendal  - Win 10-0 St Edward's 2 vs St Philips - Win 7-1 St Edward's vs Wyong - Win 11-0 St Edward's 2 vs Berkeley Vale - Win 6-2 Quarter Final: St Edward's vs St Philips - Win 9-0 Quarter Final: St Edward's 2 vs Lake Munmorah - Win 6-2 Semi Final: St Edward's vs St Edward's 2 - Win 8-3 Semi Final: St Edward's 2 vs St Edward's 1 - Loss 3-8 Final: St Edward's vs Green Point 1 - Win 11-1  

The Under 16 Rugby League team played in the Central Coast All Schools Roosters Shield on Thursday 16 May at Berkeley Vale Oval. A bright, sunny day greeted the boys and lent itself to some fast, attacking football. The team played pool games (20 minute games, with no half-time) against Terrigal High School (winning 20-0), Wyong High School (winning 24-4) and Lisarow High School (winning 12-4). Missing a few notable players, the assembled squad more than made up for this with thorough teamwork. The boys responded, playing their part in the team structure and as a result they scored a number of fantastic team tries. The highlight being their defence and the way in which they kept turning up for each other – no matter who was on the field at the time. The result meant St Edward's moved into a semi-final against Narara Valley High School. A slow start and some good lead-up work from Narara Valley saw them jump out to an early lead 4-0. To the credit of the St Edward's boys, they aimed up in the next set after the kick-off to force a mistake from Narara. In the resulting set, St Edward's scored. From there, the team were never troubled and ran away with the game to win 30-4. A tremendous result and a great effort by all boys involved. The team now moves onto the Central Coast Finals Day (Thursday 20 May) against Wadalba High School.  

College Athletics Carnival The College Athletics Carnival is on Tuesday 11 June (the day after the long weekend) at Adcock Park. Students wanting to run in the 1500 m event will need to make their own way there for an 8.30 am start. The program will include the 200 m races at 9.00 am and then field events from 9.30 am. Students will move from event-to-event in their age groups. More information for students will be forthcoming at the next Friday Assembly and parent information will be emailed home. Fingers crossed that the weather is kind to us. If weather prevents the carnival going ahead, a notification will be placed on the College App around 6.45 am. NSW All Schools Swimming Congratulations to Daniel McLoughlin who swam tremendously at the NSW All Schools Swimming Carnival on Monday 13 June. Daniel placed 2nd in the Under 15 50 m Butterfly Final in a time of 27:04 seconds. He also swam in the Under 15-16 100 m (7th – 1:00:17) and 200 m (6th – 2:11:53) Butterfly Finals. NSWCCC Representatives Rugby Union Congratulations to Lulu Paea and Ben Dufficy on making the NSWCCC Under 16 Rugby Union team. The boys gained selection after two torrid days (6 and 7 May) of training and games at Eastwood. They will now play a series of games during June in the hope of being selected in the NSW All Schools team. AFL Congratulations also to Chris Murray and Zane Kirkman, who have been selected in the NSWCCC Under 15 Northern Team. The boys will now contest the NSW All Schools Championships (4-6 June) against NSWCHS and CIS teams. This Week in Sport Week Event Venue Week 4, Term 2 BBSSSA Opens Football Cromer Park (Thursday 23 May) Week 4, Term 2 Central Coast Opens Rugby League Berkeley Vale Oval ((Thursday 23 May) Week 5, Term 2 BBSSSA Under 13/Intermediate Football Cromer Park (Thursday 30 May) Week 5, Term 2 Central Coast Under 13 Rugby League Berkeley Vale Oval (Thursday 30 May) NSWCCC Dates Term 2 Event Closing Date Selection Date Under 16 Football 21 May (Week 4) 29 May (Week 5)

What parents need to know about the future of work in 2030. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YMKnZezOLc&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Work2030&utm_campaign=04d806169f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_05_06_06_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fad9e1c9c2-04d806169f-519916477&mc_cid=04d806169f&mc_eid=f791275c3f[/embed]

This term our VET work placement has begun with Mr Brown’s Metal and Engineering class and Mr Massey’s Hospitality, class heading out into industry and gaining invaluable work experience. 'My name is Will Powell from Year 11. During week two of this term I attended work placement for my Metal and Engineering class. I completed this work placement at Masterfoods Australia in Berkeley Vale. At Masterfoods I was able to gain experience in tig welding, as well as further my skills working on the lathe and using other equipment and tools such as the band saw and the mill. Completing my work placement at Masterfoods allowed me to experience what it means to work in a manufacturing industry, while also learning new skills to assist me in my Metals and Engineering course.  Thank you to Mr Brown for preparing me for this work placement.' Applications for the above position close Monday 27 May 2019 Wednesday 12 June 2019, 5.30 pm - 8.00 pm University of Newcastle, Central Coast Campus - Lecture Theatre Discover Engineering is a free forum for high school students Years 7-12 interested in learning about engineering as a career choice. Why be an engineer? What is it like to study engineering? How do you become an engineer? Discover Engineering provides the opportunity for high school students interested in an exciting career in engineering to hear real life experiences from young engineers across the various engineering disciplines who will share their career path and practical first-hand knowledge. Bring along your parents . You’ll have the opportunity to talk to University and TAFE representatives about course information and the best subjects to select. This is a free event. Light refreshments will be served, for catering purposes registration is essential. REGISTER HERE

Expressions of Interest Seasons for Growth Program 2019 Commencing end of Term 2 for 13-18 year olds The Seasons for Growth Program aims to strengthen the social and emotional wellbeing of young people who are dealing with significant life changes.  It is an 8 week program. Who is the Program for? Any student who has experienced one or more of the following: The death of a loved one A serious illness of a loved one or close friend Separation or divorce of parents Unexpected change or loss in life circumstances If you are interested in your child attending the Seasons for Growth Program please contact Terase Killin, School Counsellor on 4321 6411, or send an email to tkillin@stedwards.nsw.edu.au  

Tips for Parenting Anxious Kids If you’re the parent of an anxious child you’re most certainly not alone. The number of children experiencing an anxiety disorder is currently estimated at 117 million worldwide. Here in Australia, there’s an average of 2 anxious kids in every classroom; and they’re the ones with a diagnosis. Many more anxious kids are yet to have their anxiety identified and understood. As much as we’d like to, we can’t rid our kids of their anxiety, but we can help them to manage it in ways that enable them move it from centre stage and get on with living a vibrant, rich and meaningful life. Here are 6 tips to support you to parent your anxious child: 1. Explain Anxiety Anxious kids can struggle to explain how they feel and can worry that no-one will understand what they’re going through. That’s why explaining anxiety is an important step in supporting an anxious child. The knowledge that anxiety is well understood, that other kids experience it and that it’s manageable brings them immediate relief. Teach your anxious child that the part of their brain that protects them from danger is always on high alert. Called the amygdala, it’s meant to protect them from genuine danger but for anxious kids, it can be almost constantly activated. Explain that when they feel anxious, their amygdala sends signals to their body to fight or flee from the threat, whether it’s real or imagined. Next, talk about the body changes such as increased heart rate, rapid breathing and an upset stomach that power them up to fight or flee. They might even feel dizzy, hot, sweaty and panicked. Anxiety effects thinking and behaviour too. 2. Respond with Empathy In the midst of an anxious moment it’s natural to want to reassure anxious kids they’ve got nothing to worry about. Reassurance works in the short term but it soon wears off and they come back for more, which becomes an unhelpful pattern. Instead, respond with empathy and validation. Use ahhh statements such as: “Ahhh, I see you’re feeling really anxious right now, I know how hard this is for you” “Ahhh, I know you’re feeling really worried right now, it’s not much fun feeling like that is it?” Anxious kids need to know you understand what they’re going through. 3. Show the Amygdala They’re Safe Once the amygdala senses danger, the cascade of events that follow can’t be stopped. The body and brain will respond as if the danger is immediate. The best way to help an anxious child calm their anxious brain is to teach them to show their amygdala they’re safe. Deep and intentional breathing helps an anxious child to calm their amygdala and will begin to reduce their anxious symptoms. Practise intentional breathing regularly between anxious times before applying this technique in the midst of an anxious moment. 4. Practise Mindfulness - the Antidote to Worrying Anxiety is distress now about a possible future event, which is why worrying is common for anxious kids. When an anxious child’s mind fast-forwards to an upcoming event or expectation, their amygdala can respond as if the ‘threat’ to their safety is immediate. The antidote to worrying is mindfulness. Put simply, mindfulness is paying attention to what’s happening in the present moment. It may take time to learn, but is a powerful anxiety management strategy once it’s mastered. 5. Practice Defusing Sticky Thoughts Anxious thoughts can get stuck, refusing to budge no matter how much attention is payed to them. Defusion is a strategy that helps anxious kids look at their thoughts rather than from them. Imagine your anxious child is worried about an upcoming test. They’re thinking “I’m going to fail the test”. The thought makes them feel awful. Defusion helps kids (all of us) to look at their thoughts by reminding them that the words in their heads are indeed just words, not reality. Your anxious child can defuse his unhelpful thoughts by putting a statement in front of the thought such as: “I notice I’m having the thought that I’m going to fail the test.” Alternatively, he can say the thought in a character voice like Darth Vader or Peppa Pig, or sing it to the tune of happy birthday or a nursery rhyme. Defusion puts distance between anxious kids and their thoughts and is a wonderful skill to learn. 6. Get the Fundamentals Right Ample sleep, good nutrition and exercise are essential for anxious kids. Support your child to adhere to their optimal bedtime so they wake naturally around the time of their alarm, reduce their sugar intake to support their gut health and to exercise regularly for optimal mental health.

Commencing Monday 27 May 2019 there will be a temporary change to school buses due to the closure for maintenance of the Shirley St Bridge at Ourimbah. Service 37 travelling to school bus   Service 2547 travelling home from school bus