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ACT NAIDOC Youth of the Year 2022 Finalist
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Congratulations to Keamanee Byrnes, Wiradjuri man and year 12 Dickson College student, who was recently announced as a finalist for ACT NAIDOC Youth of the Year.
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Goodluck on the night Keamanee; DC will be rooting for you!
Elinor Archer - Indigenous Cultures and Languages Teacher
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In this issue:
Upcoming Events
Principal's Report
Student Notification
DC staff awarded National Emergency Medals
Instrumental Music Program Selections
2022 CRS Geoff McPherson Scholarships
ANU Maths Day
Specialist Maths Methods Functions Assignment
Deadly Animation for Education Leadership Conference
Reconciliation Celebrations
STEM Testing Schedule
Bake and Bands for Domestic Violence Crisis Service
Library News
Indigenous Cultures and Languages Guest Speakers
Textiles and Fashion News
ACT with HeART
Counselling on Site at Dickson College
Legal Help
Parent Workshops
Help shape the future 10-year ACT Disability Strategy?
Young Endeavour
2022 GERRIC Student Programs
Carpark Etiquette
DC Hoodies and T Shirts
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Upcoming Events:
21 June, Tuesday - Last day of classes
21 June to 23 June, Tuesday to Thursday - STEM Exams
28 June, Tuesday - Assessment ('Handback Day')
1 July, Friday - Last day of Term 2
1 July, Friday - Reports emailed to students and families
18 July, Monday - First day of Term 3
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Principal's Report
Dear Students and Families,
The College had a Successful Information Night on Thursday 26 May. This year we held a virtual information session accompanied by a series of faculty videos starring our students, posted to our website. I always find it amazing that we have so many students ready to give their time to talk positively about their school and their learning course area to prospective students and their families. Thank you to the below students who starred in our videos and/or were MCs during the night.
Edward Renner
Yijun (Jane) Wang
Timothy Tagtachian
Ted Bigg-Wither
Lexi Moore
Elodie Khan
Ruben Hyndal
William Timmers
Charlie Nuessler
Jamie Newton
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Georgie Barnes
Kip Minifie
Jemima Branson
Phillip Edwards
Isobel Maynard
Lily Saxon
Alex Robins
Jess Ferris
James Wilkinson
Lauren Bates
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Enrolment numbers for 2023 are up slightly but inline with Year 11 2022. At this stage we are expecting Year 11 to be approximately 400 students and the overall enrolment sitting comfortably between 750-800 students. Our transition work with our feeder schools Campbell, Harrison and Lyneham continues with the next event being class selection interviews 6-8 September.
Tuesday 21 June will mark the end of timetabled classes for Semester 1 and the commencement of the end of semester assessment period for our students in Years 11 & 12. When end of semester assessments conclude it is important that students take time to reflect on their progress and start to think about their goals for next semester. These goals will be different for each student depending on the results achieved this semester, the student’s interests, talents, and future pathway (if known yet). To be able to reflect on current achievements and set future goals it is also important students take on opportunities for feedback and improvement.
Students should be able to answer these questions:
- What was your result or grade? (Please note: ‘Handback Day’ is Tuesday 28 June starting at 9.00am, all students should be in attendance to discuss their results with their teachers)
- What was the average? In the ACT system all scores in T courses are measured against the system average (this is 70). In 2021, approximately 54% of university bound students from Dickson College received an ATAR over 80. If a student is performing above the average in their year at Dickson, they are making good progress.
- Did you do your best? Effort is important and this applies to all students.
- What things are you going to do to improve? Here students need to absorb and reflect on all the available feedback and ask their teachers if they are unsure. Students should be able to clearly articulate the things they did well and the things they need to improve on. Scores are posted online when they are finalised at the end of the semester. Students can check their results by looking up their academic record online at
http://www.bsss.act.edu.au/information_for_students/profiles_online
- Did you enjoy yourself? Not everything will be captured in assessment, and we should never underestimate the power of intrinsic motivation or love of a particular course or subject.
It has been a very productive semester and I’m sure our students and teachers will be looking forward to a well-earned rest. I wish all our students and staff a safe and happy break and look forward to seeing them again for the start of semester two.
Regards,
Craig Edwards
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Student Notification
Please be aware that a member of the Dickson Community has a life threatening anaphylactic reaction to aerosol deodorants. Please ensure aerosols are not brought to school, roll-ons are acceptable if deodorant is needed.
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DC staff awarded National Emergency Medals
On Monday 28 March a number of staff in ACT Government schools and the Education Support Office (ESO) were awarded National Emergency Medals for services performed during the bushfires of September 2019 through to February 2020. Three staff at Dickson were awarded this honour for serving the ACT and NSW community during that time, they were: Emily Gulliver, Craig Osteraas and Craig Edwards. Their individual roles in establishing the evacuation centre at Dickson College are detailed below:
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Ms Emily Gulliver – Business Manager, Dickson College
Emily was a part of critical operations and administrative support in the evacuation centre at Dickson College. This included extensive coordination with emergency and external services.
Mr Craig Osteraas – Business Services Officer, Dickson College
Craig provided critical operational support of the Dickson College evacuation centre, including facilities maintenance, and securing resources such as generators and air purifiers.
Mr Craig Edwards – Principal, Dickson College
Craig was directly responsible for setting up the evacuation centre at Dickson College and coordinated emergency services, external services, volunteers and staff to operate the evacuation centre onsite. He provided further operational support offsite in periods outside work hours and overnight.
The three individuals are humbled to receive this award and would like to thank the Education Directorate for their respective nominations and acknowledge the members of our school community that stepped forward to offer help to the evacuation centre during the 2019-2020 Bushfire crisis.
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Instrumental Music Program Selections
The students listed below have been selected by audition for the ACT Instrumental Music Program’s Extension Ensembles in 2022. This is the equivalent of ACT representation in Music.
Groups include –
ACT Senior Concert Band - Year 9-12 students
ACT Senior Concert Choir - Year 7-12 students
ACT Percussion Ensemble - Year 7-12 students
ACT Senior Jazz Band - Year 9-12 students
These ensembles are directed and administered by the Instrumental Music Program and rehearse each school week at the Instrumental Music Program's Centre in Kaleen. The ensembles will perform at school, community and directorate events throughout the year. Some groups also participate in interstate tours.
They had been restricted to online rehearsals since August 2021 but are thrilled they could finally return in person at the start of Term 2. The students have been persistent and resilient over this time – a real credit to them all.
Congratulations to the following students:
| Yasemin |
Kalkan |
11 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Johannes |
Latham |
11 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Annabella |
McInnes |
11 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Sophie |
Radajewski |
11 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Oline |
Raymer |
11 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Aidan |
Tscharke |
11 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Aidan |
Tscharke |
11 |
Senior Concert Choir |
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| Alex |
Wong |
11 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Alex |
Wong |
11 |
Senior Concert Choir |
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| Fergus |
Carroll-Millican |
12 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Jarell |
Cubarrubia |
12 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Jarell |
Cubarrubia |
12 |
Senior Concert Choir |
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| Jarell |
Cubarrubia |
12 |
Senior Jazz Band |
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| Phillip |
Edwards |
12 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Phillip |
Edwards |
12 |
Senior Jazz Band |
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| Samira |
Moore |
12 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Noah |
Palethorpe |
12 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Benjamin |
Willacy |
12 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Benjamin |
Willacy |
12 |
Senior Jazz Band |
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| Jessie |
Cole |
12 |
Senior Concert Band |
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| Jessie |
Cole |
12 |
Senior Jazz Band |
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| Isobel |
Lowe |
12 |
Senior Concert Choir |
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| Natalie |
Miller |
12 |
Senior Concert Choir |
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Craig Edwards - Principal
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2022 CRS Geoff McPherson Scholarships
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Congratulations to five of our REIL students who recently received the 2022 Geoff McPherson Canberra Refugee Support Scholarships, two from the SIEC and three from the RBP program. The hardworking SIEC students to receive them are Hasib Hashimi and Rokhsar Najafzadda, both from Afghanistan. Our three very deserving RBP students are Nu Par from Myanmar, Parisa Mohammadi and Meena Lodeen from Afghanistan. The scholarships aim to encourage and support outstanding refugee students to gain the skills for their participation in Australia society. Well done!
Yani Tian - Acting Executive Teacher REIL
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ANU Maths Day
Every year ANU holds a challenging, but fun, competition day for year 12 students. We were represented by Natalie, Hugh, Isaac, Andrew and Tom from year 12. We also had some keen year 11 students who wanted to go and had been practising. Arland, Lincoln, Ryan, Catriona, Jane and Yilin from year 11 were an awesome team. They earned 465 points and were better than quite a few year 12 teams from other colleges. I can’t wait to see how they will go next year when they are in year 12.
Our year 12 team earned 561 points and came 7th overall. Rachel and Caroline were very proud of them.
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Caroline Evers - Mathematics Teacher
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Specialist Maths Methods Functions Assignment
Students had to create a design using mathematical functions. Here s a sample of their awesome work. The rest is on display outside S35.
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Caroline Evers - Mathematics Teacher
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Deadly Animation for Education Leadership Conference
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Well done to Aidyn Radford, Kamilaroi man and Year 12 DC student, who was commissioned to create a complex graphic for two senior Indigenous Educators, Dr David Spillman and Dr Ben Wilson. This was for the keynote presentation at the Education Leadership Conference 2022. Aidyn’s animation work incorporated four totem animals (kangaroo, emu, crow and eagle) that moved across the screen as David and Ben entered the stage, in order to communicate a deep connection to earth-kin and Country. To create a polished and highly commended animation Aidyn worked tirelessly and professionally on top of his other year 12 studies and external course work. His work has been recognised by many in our education community. Well done Aidyn!
Elinor Archer - Indigenous Cultures and Languages Teacher
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Reconciliation Celebrations
To celebrate Reconciliation Week in 2022, Students of the Indigenous Culture and Languages Course produced a podcast to inform the Dickson community of the unique work being done within the course and its importance in promoting this year’s Reconciliation Week theme of “Be Brave, Make Change”. You can listen to the podcast here via Spotify.
https://open.spotify.com/show/0nNoZRWPpSXEDJVL4Q66Bn
Vanessa Akister - Executive Teacher Social Science | Student Engagement Leader
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Please note Catch-up session is held on Friday 24th June.
Josephine Kim - Assessment and Certification Officer, Head of SHAPE(Sciences, Health and PE)
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Bakes and Bands for Domestic Violence Crisis Service
On Wednesday 1 June, the student leadership group organized a lunchtime event: bake and bands! We had a few of our fantastic jazz bands perform, with singers including Xanthe Campbell and Jarell Cubarrubia wooing the large crowd of students and teachers! We sold all sorts of yummy baked goods, from brownies to rum balls. Our fantastic leadership students brought in lots of food, but we also had large contributions from teachers and students alike!
The month of May was Domestic Violence Awareness month, so we wanted to use the $300 funds raised to support the main organisation in Canberra, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service. Thank you to all who donated, both money, time and baked goods! Thank you also to our fantastic musicians and to Sandy France, the music teacher, for organizing the musicians and their set up!
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A baking enthusiast, Nate and two leadership students, Ella and Mila serving delicious baked goods!
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Myra and Wendy taking some cookies and oat slices to the teachers staff rooms.
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The crowd gathered around to listen to Xanthe Campbell perform with one of the DC jazz bands!
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Keep an eye out for more events like this! We plan to have one or two per term, including a large band competition at the end of the year!
P.S. If you would like to join the Leadership team, we meet on Tuesday's at lunchtime in N18! Come along!
Student Leadership Team
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Indigenous Cultures and Languages Guest speakers
As part of our Indigenous Cultures and Languages course here at DC, we are lucky enough to have some amazing First Nations speakers come and yarn to our students. This opportunity is open to all DC staff and students that are interested, but it is part of the core curriculum for students completing a minor or major in Indigenous Cultures and Languages where they are learning about the diversity of Aboriginal Australia and individual story.
In week 3, we had the privilege of listening to one of our amazing DC parents and board members, Carlyn Waters. Carlyn is a proud Kamilaroi woman with ties to many places across Queensland and New South Wales. She shared with the students her journey in life, the public service and leadership positions as well as her connection to Country, community and culture. Students were able to ask questions and delved into deep conversations on story and understanding identity.
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In week 4, students engaged in conversations with Indigenous Education Officer and proud Kuku Yalanji, Kamilaroi and Torres Strait Islander man, Kuzi Riley-Brown. Kuzi is an ex Dickson graduate and spoke of his pathway through schooling and into his current role working with First Nations students in local primary schools.
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In week 5, students heard from Aunty Jo Chivers, a proud Palawa woman and extremely accomplished leader in our local community. Aunty Jo talked about her heritage and connection to Fanny Cochrane Smith and Lutruwita (Tasmania). She also discussed her lengthy community work of over 25 years on Ngunnawal country, working across government and community sectors. Aunty Jo has won many awards and held many high level positions including the first Indigenous ACT Labour Party President, Deputy Chairperson of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body (ATSIEB), Canberra and District NAIDOC Aboriginal Corporation Chairperson, Finalist three times for an Australian of the Year Award, and literally hundreds more.
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Thanks so much Kuzi, Carlyn, and Aunty Jo!
Elinor Archer - Indigenous Cultures and Languages Teacher
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Textiles and Fashion News
Friday 20 May students were engaged in a product knowledge workshop facilitated by the Wool4School educators. Unveiled for the first time was the 2023/24 wool fabric and fashion forecast for students to view and feel the fabrics.
Students were able to hear and view the latest innovations in wool technology relating to waterproof and compression wool fabrics, these garments were also available for students to view.
The day was a great success and a wonderful way to finish the semester with a focus on wool.
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Clementine and Kelly with some of the latest wool innovation fabrics and garments, including shoes!
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Sarah and Emma Bethe and Natalie
Students looking at the latest wool fabric innovations for 2023/24
Jill Pettifer - Textiles, Fashion & Art Teacher
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Counselling on Site at Dickson College
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LEGAL HELP
Wednesdays - Week 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10
Legal Liaison Lawyers will provide a drop-in service at Dickson College in room A20 on Wednesdays once per fortnight, to improve access to legal assistance for students through the introduction of a free and confidential service. The drop-in centre does not require bookings.
Dickson College Student Engagement
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The following parent workshops are available in term 3. Please contact Graham Mackay, the school psychologist for more information or to express interest.
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Help shape the future 10-year ACT Disability Strategy?
The ACT Government wants to hear from people with disability, families, carers and interested community members on how to create a more inclusive future for all Canberrans. The consultation for the ACT Disability Strategy has been co-designed with the ACT Disability Reference Group and all conversations will be led by people with disability. The consultation is open until the end of July 2022. Find out more at ACT Disability Strategy | YourSay ACT.
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Carpark Etiquette
Please be mindful when driving in the College carpark.
Unsafe behaviour will be reported.
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DC Hoodies and T-Shirts for sale!
Please visit the front office.
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The amazingly warm, high quality DC Hoodies are $60 and are ideal for the cooler Canberra days.
All sizes are now back in stock! XXS to 3XL.
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We have two new designs on our T Shirts.
They are $20 each or one of each design for $35.
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The old-style T Shirts will be sold for $5 - very limited stock remaining.
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