Advent in Australia is a time to embrace the light. We mark the beginning of summer on 1 December and the end of our school year is accompanied by long stretches of daylight. Our land yields distinctive colours during the latter part of the year, especially the mauve of the jacaranda tree; its fragile blooms dance against the blue sky in direct contrast to the northern European colours of red and green that we still cling to in the craziness of commercialism.

Every Advent, we begin by gathering around a wreath - a work of love, full of fresh green leaves, with coloured candles just waiting to be lit. As we move through the weeks of Advent, it will keep catching our eyes and be for us, a symbol of newness, light, refreshment, waiting, longing, rejoicing… or whatever may speak to our hearts.

So, as we stand at this place of newness, ready to start afresh on this journey of faith together, let us pray that we will give and receive this blessing:

Spirit of God,
bless the weeks ahead with gratitude and grace.
May our words and deeds be infused with sincerity.
May our lives integrate the desires of our hearts with the work of our hands.
And let God’s people say “Amen!”

Congratulations to All Students

Congratulations to all students for completing all learning, assessment and examinations for the year. Students have demonstrated strong skills in organisation, determination and focus during this assessment period and in concluding the year. An exemplary demonstration of great resilience and hard work.

Headstart Home Learning

VCE students are asked to complete all necessary home learning in preparation for 2023. Information is available on the VCE Headstart Tile on Siena Central.

Reading English Novels and Reading for Pleasure

All students are asked to ensure they have completed at least one reading of their English novel/s prior to the 2023 school year. Students may also find it enjoyable to read other novels for pleasure over the term break.

Booklist and Subject Choices

All subject choices have been finalised this week. Final notification will occur today.

Students who have moved subjects or will be undertaking an accelerated subject are asked to be patient in accessing their Edrolo texts (where designated by the booklist). We are in the process of working with Edrolo to update their system. Edrolo needs to be finalised by Monday, 12 December.

Reports

Parents will be able to access reports via Siena Central on Friday, 16 December.

Night of Excellence

We are excited to hold this year’s Night of Excellence at Camberwell Grammar School in Canterbury. Parking will be available on the school premises. Invitations and information will be sent towards the end of the term.

I also take this opportunity to thank families for their support throughout 2022 and enjoy your celebrations and precious time with friends and family during this holiday.

Teenage gatherings provide young people with important opportunities to interact and build on their social skills and experiences. Celebrations, partying and socialising are a fundamental rite of passage and one of the most important aspects of a young person’s life. However, it is possible to get carried away or caught up in the moment of euphoria at times.

For parents and caregivers, keeping your young person safe can feel daunting and challenging. Most teenagers try to do the right thing most of the time, but your influence as a role model in these situations is highly essential. Your child may appear to be physically grown up, but this may not necessarily be matched with the same level of emotional maturity and ability to behave responsibly.

Every party has the potential to get out-of-hand as sometimes it is hard for young partygoers to make good decisions. Communication and regular discussions are vital, particularly because young people are often faced with peer pressure to do things they may not be comfortable with. Hosting a celebration at home or at a venue can be fun and memorable, but it is important to have a discussion with your child on ground rules well before the event takes place.

If hosting an event, you owe your guests a ‘duty of care’ and should ensure all reasonable steps are taken to keep partygoers safe. This Special Report provides caregivers with a list of things to consider when planning a celebration. Here is the link to your Special Report.

I take this opportunity to thank families for their support throughout 2022. I also wish you a safe and happy holiday, and I hope you are able to carve out some time to ponder the sanctity of our Lord’s birth.

Summer Concert

On Wednesday, 7 December, the sun was shining and there was a renewed music buzz around the school with the anticipation of the Summer Concert and the holidays. It was a relaxed and fun concert featuring all the 2023 ensembles performing for the first time and students were in the mood to make music with their friends.

An appreciative audience had the pleasure of enjoying Christmas carols and fun concert pieces in a festive atmosphere. Combined with the Kopanang Christmas Market, the Summer Concert really showcased our fabulous Siena community spirit.

Congratulations and Thank You!

The Music department has had an amazing Term 4 and we would like to congratulate and thank all students who have worked hard to develop their skills and learn their pieces for school events such as the Rising Stars concert and Cabaret Night/Open Evening, as well as the Victorian School Music Festival for Junior Band. Many students have also sat for the AMEB examinations, and we are delighted with the excellent results achieved. A very special thanks to 2022 Music Captain, Charli R, for all her work throughout the year and we wish her and the rest of the VCE Music students all the very best in the future. We hope they continue to play their instruments after graduation.

On behalf of the Music department, we wish everyone a wonderful Christmas, full of love and laughter and a safe and relaxing holiday break.

Staffing

I would like to thank Josh Bennier and Emma Morrison for all their work with the Instrumental Music students and ensembles. They will be finishing up at Siena at the end of the year and pursuing new endeavours. We will announce their replacements in 2023.

2023 Instrumental Music Enrolments

EdSmart enrolment forms for Instrumental Music have been sent out to parents and we have had a quick return of re-enrolments for tuition, as well as several students taking up new instruments as well.

A friendly reminder for parents to complete Edsmart form as soon as possible.

Well done to all our Inters and Junior teams who made it to the GSV Basketball finals and congratulations to our Inters B team and our Junior C team, who both made it to the grand final! Unfortunately both teams played against stronger opponents, so finished up the section as runners up.

Well done to all our Siena College basketballers this term, we had a fantastic participation rate with close to one hundred and seventy students participating in the GSV program. It certainly is a very popular sport at Siena!

Congratulations also to Year 12 student, Natalie K on officially signing her basketball scholarship with Cameron University. Click here to learn more.⁠

Italian Pastry Chef, Pier Barel Visits Our Italian Students

Here is a student reflection written by Bridget N and Amelia P about Italian incursion:

"On Monday, 14 November, Year 7 and 8 Italian students received a visit from Italian pastry chef, Pier Barel. During the incursion, we learned about Pier Barel's upbringing and the origins of Italian Christmas sweets. We were able to further our learning of the Italian language as Signor Pier spoke mostly in Italian. At the end of his presentation, we had the opportunity to sample four baked treats: Panettone (Milano), Pandoro (Verona), Gubana (Fruili Venezia Guilia) and Strufoli (Naples, Southern Italy)."

Students also reflected on both the language experience and the cultural knowledge they have gained, below are some comments:

• I thought it was great to hear the back story of Italian Christmas sweets
• I enjoyed eating the foods because I got to experience and taste traditional Italian desserts
• The part I enjoyed the most was translating what Signor Pier was saying. I felt a sense of satisfaction when I understood his presentation
• I learned that yeast is a living microorganism
  
• I learned it takes three days to make Panettone
• I was able to understand most of what Signor Pier was saying and what helped me to understand was the Italian writing on the presentation slides
• I enjoyed tasting the cakes because they were delicious and I have never tried most of them
• I enjoyed the videos showcasing the ingredients and the process to make the sweets. I enjoyed eating the food as it inspired me to make some at home
• I loved learning about my heritage
• I learnt that some ingredients were very expensive and only nobles could afford them in the olden days

Here is a video of appreciation from Bridget N and Elena P.

Parliamo di Salute

Year 8 Italian students were studying the topic on 'Parliamo di Salute' (Let’s talk about health). Students learned about different body parts, as well as how to describe symptoms, illnesses and how to give appropriate advice for the various ailments in Italian.

Below are some videos of students presenting patient descriptions, illness symptoms and appropriate medical advice:

• Elena P
• Leila M
• Ellie P
• Alessiah M

Australian Mathematics Competition

The Australian Mathematics Competition is an engaging thirty-problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of Mathematics in students’ everyday lives. Having a deep understanding of our national curriculum standards, Australia’s leading educators and academics actively design the unique AMC problems each year.

In 2022, several hundreds of thousands of students from Australian and international schools entered the competition. Seventy-four Year 7 to 10 students from the Advanced Mathematics classes entered the online competition this year.

We are pleased to announce the results below:

Congratulations to all of the students who took part in the competition!

Earlier this week, Year 10/11 students, Debbie-Rose, Moni and Timikar, participated in a STEAM workshop. Each student constructed their own aeroplane out of balsa wood. They then wired up and glued on a small motor and landing gear. Next step was to attach each plane to a CTG (centrifugal thrust generator) which provided power to the plane so it could fly in circles, tethered to the CTG.

The students observed the speed and height of their planes, as well as the flight characteristics. Each student then modified their plane in some way – vertical or horizontal stabiliser (tail) length, wing aspect ratio or shape – and observed the change in flight behaviour, speed and height.

For Debbie-Rose who had made a flying car in her STEAM Science elective this semester, this workshop provided further extension on the concepts of how flight is created. Click here to learn more about our STEAM curriculum at Siena.

Two Siena teams comprising of Year 7 and 8 students took part in the Middle School Ethics Olympiad last week. Students had the opportunity to explore, discuss and present their insights and ways of thinking about ethics of various case studies in an interschool setting. It was an invaluable experience which allowed students to collaborate, as well as hone their public speaking and ethics thinking skills. Below are some of the students' reflections:

"When I signed up to compete in the Middle School Ethics Olympiad, I was not sure what the event was. I decided to try it out and I am very happy that I did. There were two Siena teams which consisted of both Year 7 and 8 students. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other as well as to compete against other schools. A judge from the Olympiad would make an assessment on how well both teams (Siena team versus another school's team) presented their points and analysed the case study. Overall, the Olympiad was a new and fun experience which I enjoyed." Mikhela A

"I would like to express my gratitude for being given the chance to participate in the event. Even though the Ethics Olympiad was no doubt challenging, it was a memorable experience for everyone and it greatly enhanced my debating skills. Through this experience, I was also able to create lasting bonds with my peers." Miley H

"The Ethics Olympiad was a very valuable experience for me. It was very interesting to discuss the ethics of many case studies. It was nice being able to interact with other students from other schools and judges; some judges were in different countries apart from Melbourne! Overall it was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed collaborating with my teammates to decide on the most ethical decision!" Emily S

The Siena Alumnae Wall is a special tribute to our alumnae and is located in the Convent Cloisters. You can register here to have your name inscribed on the Alumnae Wall.

Inscription registrations for 2022/2023 will close at the end of June 2023 and then be unveiled later in the year. Inscriptions are $50 per name.

For further information, you can email Alumnae Coordinator, Imma Boubouras: alumnae@siena.vic.edu.au.

Each year, the Siena Parents’ Association (SPA) hosts an Annual Raffle and you could be just a few clicks away from winning some fantastic prizes!

We invite you to get online, join in the fun and have a chance to win prizes ranging from school tuition, flight centre vouchers, wine and gift vouchers from our generous sponsors. Don’t miss out on your chance to win big!

A reminder that this year the SPA Raffle is digital: click here to learn more and purchase tickets.

The SPA Raffle will be drawn on Friday, 17 February 2023.

Since 1971, the Siena Parents’ Association (SPA) has been supporting students at Siena by bringing the parent and school community together with events and fundraising activities. Through the support of Siena parents, SPA has raised $229,335 and supported the academic, spiritual, cultural, sporting and social interests of your wonderful daughters.

I would like to urge everyone to keep the Class of 2022 in their thoughts and prayers as these students receive their results and ATAR on the Monday, 12 December. I would also like to wish all parents and students of Siena College a wonderful Christmas, and a safe and happy holiday!

Students who would like to book a Careers/Change of Preference appointment with me can do so via the Siena Careers appointment booking page. I am available for appointments on Monday, 12 December from 8.30am to 3.30pm and Tuesday, 13 December from 8.30am to 3.30pm.

In this last edition of Siena Career News you will find:

• Reminder on important dates for Year 12 students (Class of 2022)
• How to access results and ATAR (Class of 2022)
• Careers in Sport
• Careers in Community Service and Disability
• Policing and Criminology degree at Monash University
• Free TAFE courses
• School holiday workshops and activities