WEEKLY e-BULLETIN - 31 March 2010

FROM THE PRINCIPAL - Mr Phillip Heath

Mostly about the Australian Curriculum
This week, a number of staff members from the Junior and Secondary Schools attended a workshop in the ACT held by senior people from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), regarding the forthcoming Australian Curriculum. At the risk of writing a piece that is a little more mundane, I think it is important that the community is kept informed about developments.

Overview:
The Australian Curriculum has been on the agenda for several years, and brings Australia into line with scores of countries around the world that have a national curriculum of study for school aged students. In 2009, the National Curriculum Board gave way to the formation of ACARA, and the process for drafting curriculum statements gathered pace. It is interesting to note that NAPLAN tests were introduced in 2008, years before these tests had an accepted coherent body of skills or content across the country! Curriculum usually comes BEFORE the tests, rather than the other way around.

The Melbourne Declaration (December 2008) was an agreement between all State and Territory Ministers of Education to set in place the overarching directions for the Australian Curriculum. There followed a busy period of consultation, drafting and finally dispatch of the draft curriculum documents from the Phase One delivery (English, mathematics, science and history). (Please note that the use of capital letters in the previous list is consistent with the nomenclature that has been adopted in the ACARA communication – I don’t like it, actually).

The Curriculum lists the following “General Capabilities” for all Australian students:  Literacy, numeracy, ICT, thinking skills, creativity, self-management, teamwork, inter-cultural understanding, ethical behaviour and social competence.

There are also the following “Cross Curriculum Dimensions”:  Indigenous History and culture, sustainability, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia. The content of courses will include knowledge, skills and understandings, as well as the General Capabilities and the Cross Curriculum dimensions.

At first glance, the General Capabilities and the Cross Curriculum Dimensions are both timely and appropriate in our country. The huge challenge will be to draft a meaningful set of statements for learning that will provide sufficient guidance for teachers, both to teach the content and skills of a particular discipline of study, whilst also being responsible for partly delivering the General Capabilities and Cross Curriculum Dimensions at the same time. This is a considerable challenge for teachers across the country.

Reading the first drafts of the curriculum statements for Phase One subjects has been a good exercise. The drafts are freely available on the ACARA website for community consultation. All responses are now delivered online and the closing date for community feedback is 23 May 2010. I warmly encourage you to look at these documents and make a response if you feel interested. I am hearing some invaluable feedback from the wider community as I attend further meetings on the Australian Curriculum. Of some concern to me is that the curriculum clearly lists core content that allows each school sufficient room to implement the statements in a manner that is appropriate for the individual school. The History and Science syllabus material seems very detailed and will be hard to deliver in the available time. Phase Two drafting will continue. Subjects included in Phase two are Geography, Languages, the Arts and ICT.

The Australian Curriculum is a very important matter for all the Radford community. Stage Coordinators and Heads of Department are hard at work reading the materials and participating in the consultations when they come our way. I will continue to attend the sessions offered for Principals and other interest groups and will let you know what is happening.

In the final analysis, the Australian Curriculum is a really positive thing for this country. We have to get the implementation phase right, so that schools everywhere will be able to transfer their loyalties from the local credential (in each state and territory) to the new national program. The fact that so much has been achieved in so short a time scale is evidence of the goodwill educators have towards the objectives of the new curriculum. Let’s hope that the goodwill is not squandered by hasty implementation timeframes, or by excessive demands on teachers.

I wish a Happy Easter to the whole community. I trust that you will be able to find time for rest and renewal, and for prayerful reflection on the powerful stories of the first Easter sacrifice.
Peace

FROM COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Belconnen School Bus Request to ACTION
A number of parents have indicated that their children would use a school bus service from the Belconnen suburbs to Radford. In order to consider such a service, ACTION requires specific details of how many would use the service, and where they live. If your children would catch a school bus from the suburbs of Dunlop, Spence, Charnwood, Fraser, Flynn, Melba or Evatt, please email communityrelations@radford.act.edu.au with the following information:
(1) your name
(2) the number of children who would use the service
(3) your street address.

Please put "Belconnen Bus Request" in the subject line.

FROM THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER & DOS ITAC
On the first weekend of the holidays, Sat 10 April and Sun 11 April, the Intranet and the external website will NOT be available, as maintenance work will be conducted. This means that webmail for students, and the link to the Parent Teacher booking system will not be available. If you wish to access the Parent Teacher online booking system during this time, please use this link to do so http://pto.countrynet.net.au/Logon.aspx?school=34882 

FROM THE COLLEGE NURSE
Anaphylaxis (Severe life threatening allergic reaction)
Anaphylaxis is potentially life threatening and the most severe form of allergic reaction. Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency, requiring immediate treatment and urgent medical attention. Severe allergic reactions can involve both the respiratory system and cardiovascular systems. There may be difficulty or noisy breathing, tongue and throat swelling and difficulty talking. Treatment must be administered urgently, or the person may collapse, lapse into unconsciousness and die. Administration of adrenaline (Epipen) is first line treatment of anaphylaxis.

Common triggers of anaphylaxis include foods such as milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts; sesame, fish, crustaceans and soy, these cause 90% of allergic reactions. Even minute amounts of these foods in susceptible people can cause life-threatening reactions. Some insect venoms such as bee, wasp and jumper ant stings, some medication, and the less common triggers of latex or exercise, can also trigger anaphylactic reactions. Awareness, avoidance and action are key steps in preventing anaphylactic reactions.

Accidental exposure is a danger to school age children. Children, parents, teachers and carers should to be educated on how to avoid food triggers and other triggers, how to recognize the symptoms of anaphylaxis and how to administer adrenaline (Epipen).

Anaphylaxis e-training
ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training has been developed by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), in conjunction with the Health Departments of Western Australia and New South Wales, to provide ready access to reliable anaphylaxis education throughout Australia and New Zealand, at no charge. ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training has been developed for school and childcare staff but can be taken by parents, friends, carers or patients.

Find out more at: http://www.allergy.org.au/etraining/mod/resource/view.php?id=97
The e-training login page is http://www.allergy.org.au/etraining/

FROM THE HEAD OF STUDENT PATHWAYS
Click here to access all the latest information on university courses, scholarships and admission information, further training, Australian School Based Apprenticeships (ASBAs), apprenticeships, Gap Year opportunities, job vacancies and more. . .

A full list of the items included in this week's Student Pathways bulletin appears below. It is strongly recommended that ALL students and/or their parents from the High School and Senior School regularly check this section of the bulletin:

New to the Careers Room

Pathways Presentations at Radford

Change in prerequisites for Bachelor of Biomedicine at Uni Melbourne 2011

UAC: Subject Bonuses for 2011 University Entry

Canberra Institute of Technology Business Degrees, Nursing, & Business workshop

So you want to study medicine….Pathway Presentation 26 March (Resources)

Projects Abroad - Volunteering Overseas – Gap Year Opportunity

Australian College of Applied Psychology

Tell Us: Are you more than your marks?

William Blue College of Hospitality Management

A Day in the Life of a Designer

School Holiday Program @ The Sewing Room

MAD Mission - Making A Difference in your Gap Year

Australian School based Apprenticeships (ASBAs)

Employment Information for School Students – know your rights

Diary Dates March to July (from recent Bulletins)

FROM THE CHAPLAINS
From the Chaplains
I was away all last week. A new day and a new capital city, from Perth to Brisbane to Hobart and all in between, co-leading a seminar on Stillness and Silence. Practising this art must not simply be constrained to the religious or pious endeavour. Stillness and mindful attention sits right at the heart of the learner, for there is no learning, no growth in knowledge without first giving over ones intense and focussed attention. On my travels, I was privileged to be exposed to Fr Michael Himes’ “last lecture”. The message he wishes to declare most definitely is the paradox of Jesus, namely, if you hold onto your life and you won’t have it, but if you give it away and you can’t run out of it”. 

It is a mistake to consider this a commandment, as if Jesus is saying that’s what we ought to do, that’s how we ought to live. Jesus is not stating a commandment at all. It is a description. It is simply a statement about the way things are. Jesus is simply saying, “This is the way it is”. Do you want to know what existence is about? It’s like this: if you hold onto life you won’t have it. But if you give it away, you can’t run out of it. 

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24)

Herein lies the most extraordinary understanding: Being and giving oneself turn out to be exactly the same thing! There are many ways this can be said. One of them is this: God is love! This reality is acted out most profoundly in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Cross is not just a summary of the Easter story, it is a summary of the essence of the way things are in themselves. The foundation of existence, the reason there is something, rather than nothing, indeed the only reason there is anything at all, is self gift. Love is the reason, and if we are going to exist, we too must give ourselves away.

Give yourself away in focused attention, and there you will begin to learn and grow and understand. Give yourself away in love to a child, a partner, a friend, and find yourself through the very same activity. Give yourself away in the service of others, and you fill find perfect freedom. Hold onto your life, clutch and own and possess, and you will never grow, never learn, never understand fully what it is to love and be loved. Being and self giving is just the way things are. It is the way God is, and if we are going to be alive, we must learn how to give ourselves away. May we see this more clearly through the cosmic story of Easter.

Every blessing to you and your families this Easter. If you are looking for a service to attend, your local Anglican Parish is Holy Covenant, Jamison. They have an Easter Children’s service at 5.30 on Easter Saturday.
 
RAS Charity Fundraiser, Foundation Day
The RAS Charity Fundraiser is on again. It is coupled with Foundation Day, the last day of the term. As $49 300 was raised last year through this event, $50 000 seems to be the right target. This is the one time students and families are asked to muck all in. We seek maximal participation. We give what we can and by raising as much as we can through this one event, the students are then free to get on with raising awareness and working alongside to make a difference. Your support is greatly appreciated. The attached documents are also available on the RAS website: Information, Donation Form.

Saturday Sunset - Holy Communion Service
10 April, 5.30pm in the College Chapel. Everyone is most welcome.

Tuesday Morning Prayer Group - 8am in the Chapel: Everyone is welcome!

Christians for an Ethical Society Forum - Wednesday 14 April, 7.30 pm
The 2010 Forum theme is “Poverty and Affluence”. The next forum, titled "Climbing out of Recession - On the Backs of the Unemployed”, will be held at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, corner of Blackall St and Kings Avenue, Barton (adjacent to St Mark's Theological College) at 7.30pm on Wednesday 14 April 2010.

FROM THE DRAMA DEPARTMENT
The Musical – West Side Story

Performances	Thursday 29 April Friday, 30 April and Saturday 1 May. 7.30 in TB Millar Hall
Ticket sales	OPEN NOW
Ticket prices	Early bird price - $16 for tickets ordered before end of term (3.30pm Fri 9 April). Tickets ordered after end of term, $18 each.
Order process	Order forms and box outside Room 61 upstairs in the PAC Full payment in cash or cheque payable to Radford College to accompany forms. Tickets will be returned to students through tutors (2 school day turnaround).
Preview Performance	A special preview performance for Junior School and parents of cast members only will be held on Wednesday 28 April at 4.00pm.  Tickets for this performance are $8.00 each, order forms for this performance are only available from Junior School Reception.

Dance Festival 2010
Auditions will be held this week for the Dance Festival 2010. Details as follows:
Years 7/8 Wednesday 31 March 3.45pm - 4.45pm in the Pavilion
Years 9/10 Thursday 1 April 3.45pm - 4.45pm in TB Millar Hall
Years 11/12 Thursday 1 April 5.00pm - 6.00pm TB Millar Hall

Catch up auditions will be held Thursday April 8, 3.45pm - 4.45pm in the Pavilion, for those students who miss the first round of auditions. If you have any questions please email Mrs Kylie Robards.

FROM THE HEAD OF MUSIC
2010 Radford College Music Department Concert Series proudly supported by the Friends of Radford Music  
The first concert for 2010 is the Foundation Day Choral Concert. For an evening of superb choral music come along and hear the best Radford has to offer at this year's ‘Faure Requiem’ Foundation Day Concert – Thursday 8 April 5.30pm – 6.30pm in the Radford Chapel. Tickets are available at the door, $10 for adults, students free.

The Music Department has finalised the concert series program for 2010. It can also be found on the Intranet.

Recitals – A warm invitation is extended to students, parents and friends to attend tonight’s Year 5/6 Recital starting at 5.30pm in the RA Young Hall.

Year 7 recital, next Wednesday 7 April, 5:30pm in the RA Young Hall

Year 8 Recital forms are due in no later than Wednesday 28 April.  Forms available from outside of the Music Staffroom.

Community Music Program
The Community Music Program is still looking for new members.

• Chapel Choir Mondays 5:30 – 7:30pm in the Chapel
• Big Band Wednesdays 5:30 – 7:30pm in the PAC
• Orchestra Wednesdays 7.30 – 9.30pm in the PAC (starting in Term 2)

For further information, please email the Director, Carly Brown:  carly.brown@radford.act.edu.au

FROM THE SPORTS DEPARTMENT
For latest Sports News, please visit the cocurricular Intranet link at http://intranet.radford.act.edu.au and enter your user ID and password.

Football - Training and Shirts
Football training began this week on Monday, 29 March. Shirt numbers are now available from the clothes shop. For team lists, training day and field allocations please visit the Football intranet page. If there are senior students wishing to coach a Roo Ball team could you please see Mr Wallensky. There will no training on the last day of Term as the College will be holding its Foundation Day activities, unless prior arrangements have been made with your coach.

Snowsports - Information Evening Thursday 8 April
Thursday 8 April, Radford College Pavilion from 7:00pm -8:00pm

Student Achievement
Football
Congratulation to Thomas Nikolovski (8LA) and Brady Nixon (7DF), who have been selected in the U13 ACT Football Representative team to play in the Junior National Championships in April.

Golf SSSA Championships
Congratulations to Jordan Ayre (10SJP), Jake Barrett (9TMG) and Joshua Daniel (7PH) on their recent performance in the SSSA Golf Championship. Jordan won the "gross" result with a score of 75. Jake and Joshua finished first and second respectively in the net results.

Softball
Congratulations to Anna-Kate Braithwaite (6JMB) who was selected for North Canberra Softball to compete in the ACT championships Canberra Day long weekend, and for the Belconnen Zone PSSA softball side which competed in the ACT schools championships.

Mountain Bike Orienteering
Congratulations to former student Luke Poland (Class of '09) who has been selected in the Australian team for the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships.

Photography

Congratulations to Eric Mandl (9LWR), who was placed second in the ACT Dept Health and Ageing Life's Reflections Photographic Competition 2010, representing Radford College in the Secondary School student category. His entry, titled ‘Ivan and Max’. depicted his grandfather, Ivan Duchnaj, and younger brother, Max, fishing at the Carillion one late afternoon. The criteria for this competition were that entries depict at least one person over the age of 55 years, and reflect the benefits of positive ageing, the importance of healthy, active lifestyles and the value of intergenerational relationships for older persons. Eric's photo can be seen on the lefthand side of the board behind him in this photo.

FROM THE P&F Login to visit the P&F page on the Radford College Intranet
Next Meeting - Thursday 8 April 7:30 pm Radford Boardroom. (This meeting is being held on the second Thursday of the month in April, because of the time of Easter.)

Entertainment Books - arriving this week!
Last year, the P&F raised over $4,000 by selling the Entertainment Book. Entertainment Books contain vouchers and a card for discounts and special offers at many Canberra and interstate businesses, services, restaurants and cafes. The popular discount at Coles is again available. They are fantastic value (you only need to dine out twice or purchase 2 Coles cards to recoup the cost) and the school receives $11 for every book sold.

Entertainment Books will be delivered to the College this week, and distributed to the eldest child in each family through teachers (ELC/JS) and tutors (HS/SS). Parent letter

Radford Celebrates Art - Friday 14 May to Sunday 16 May, TB Millar Hall
Gala opening is on Friday 14 May. Special guest is Andrew Sayers, Director of the National Portrait Gallery. If you can help with preparation for the show, and/or over the weekend, please contact Marietta. For exhibitor enquiries, please contact Fionna Granger.

CAN YOU HELP? Radford Celebrates Art Café – Seeking experienced Café or Restaurant Owners to assist
The Art Show committee is still seeking a parent/parents who would be interested in taking on the running of the Art Show Café over the weekend of 14-16 May. We are getting concerned we may not be able to offer the café experience of previous years! Catering experience and/or actively managing a local café or restaurant would be helpful. We can organise volunteers can assist with serving and food preparation. Please contact Hannah Baudert by e-mail or on 0412 279 788.

COMMUNITY NEWS
FROM ACT POLICING
ACT Policing commences Operation Safe School on 9 April 2010, and this will continue up until 26 April 2010. Operation School Safe is an ACT Policing, Crime Prevention initiative which, through extra police patrols during this period, helps to keep your schools safe during the holiday period. Anyone who observes anti-social behaviour or suspicious activity around schools is urged to report this to police immediately on 131 444.

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS BOOKLET
These commercially produced booklets list a wide range of holiday activities and programs. Copies are available free at Main Reception or Junior School Reception.