14 CatholicOutlook August 2015
St Francis of Assisi Primary divides and conquers
Students during a drama performance at the CAPTIVATE Showcase.
Students leave audience captivated during showcase
Hundreds of students from 42 Catholic
primary and secondary schools from
across the Diocese showcased their
creative talents in a series of music, dance
and strings performances throughout
June, culminating in the ‘Best Of ’
performance on 19 June at the Joan
Sutherland Centre, Penrith.
The showcase events demonstrated the
high calibre of choral, drama, music and
dance works from Catholic schools, under
the Diocese of Parramatta’s creative and
performing arts initiative, CAPTIVATE.
CAPTIVATE Team Leader, Mark
Hopkins, said the showcase was a huge
success, with students able to learn
more than dance, drama and music.
“Studies reveal the power of the
arts to inspire, motivate and educate
today's students,” Mark said.
“Research shows that arts education
develops learning habits that improve
performance across all subject areas.
“Teachers also benefit from students
participating in creative arts programs
as they are more engaged in the
classroom and enjoy learning.”
The program provides learning and
performance experiences for students,
as well as building expertise and a sense
of community across the system.
The CAPTIVATE Showcase has become
very popular with seven new schools
joining the program since last year.
St Francis of Assisi Primary,
Glendenning, held its first
Maths-a-thon on 12 June.
The school’s Lead Numeracy
Teacher, Chris Boyer, said allowing
students to “number bust” using
the large expanse of the paved
area of the playground displayed
a student's ability to mentally
partition numbers outside the
classroom in a creative, individual
and exciting way.
Year 1 student Jazlyn uses “number busting” to solve
mathematical problems.
“It is valuable for parents to see
first hand their children implement new strategies in problem solving and support them as
it has been proven that student learning is more effective when parents and the school work
collaboratively,” Chris said.
Parent Katrina Whyman said she was impressed by the skills gained by the students and the
various modern strategies they were implementing independently.
St John Paul II students recognised for completing uni courses
On 17 June, five students from
St John Paul II Catholic College,
Nirimba, received awards and
scholarship offers from the
University of Western Sydney
(UWS). The students attended
the UWS Awards ceremony after
successfully completing university
courses during their Year 11
preliminary study in 2014.
Last year, students Monique Borg,
Katarina Sepping, Alexandra
From left: Joe Evans, Jim Fanning, Monique Borg, Katarina Sepping,
Garcia, Keeley Chidgey and Megan
Keeley Chidgey, Alexandra Garcia, Megan Foong and Phil Smith.
Foong took on the challenge and
began university courses at UWS (Nirimba), located within the precinct of the senior campus.
Along with their awards for completion, the students also received a $500 grant towards their
study for the HSC, as well as a scholarship grant of $5000 a year for a four-year degree course
within the university.
The 2015 program has commenced with six Year 11 students undertaking their orientation
activities before they commence university study in Terms 3 and 4.
St Canice’s Katoomba sculptures at school
Students performing a dance routine.
Ann D Clark
Young musicians’ talents on show.
2015 LECTURE
Tuesday 25 August 5.00pm at the Evan Theatre
Panthers World of Entertainment, Mulgoa Road Penrith
Time for a Seismic Shift
in Systemic Assessments
PRESENTED BY Emeritus Professor Patrick Griffin,
Melbourne Graduate School of Education
After a career spanning more than 40 years in the field of educational assessment Prof Griffin will reflect upon
the changes in as