Volume Ten, Friday 29th July 2022

Greetings,

Marcus Aurelius once said: “Because a thing is difficult for you, do not, therefore, suppose it to be beyond mortal power. On the contrary, if anything is possible and proper for man to do, assume that it must fall within your own capacity.” God has given all of us talents, and as a Catholic, Lasallian school, it is our duty to inspire students to aspire to greatness – to be the best that they can be in all aspects of their lives. To ‘aim for the stars,’ any less is denying the possibilities of creation itself. Whether it be the upcoming HSC Trial or end of Year 11 exams; the Allwell or NAPLAN assessments; sport, dance or drama; service or as a Lasallian Youth Leader, the smile as we enter the door, the honesty and respect we show to others, we are to do all these things to the best of our ability.

The Forbes magazine defines leadership as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". In its ontological form, a leader is someone who gets people to realize their own future. Lao Tzu, a contemporary of Confucius, defines leadership as “when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” I describe this more simply and metaphorically as someone who plants seeds (ideas) and helps them grow (service). Leaders are people who do stuff and make stuff happen – a process of social influence.

Leadership that inspires and enables others to improve their lives is to be encouraged as it is a catalyst for improvement and growth. Quality, service-oriented, and entrepreneurial leadership doesn’t just happen. Leadership that moves a situation from good to better to best will happen more effectively when it is nurtured. Leadership is encouraged and nurtured in every aspect of being an Oakhill College student: in classroom learning; on the sports fields/and courts; on stage in drama, music, and debating; on the farm and in the Show Team; at the Mock Trial, MUN or chess – in every aspect of being an Oakhill College student.

This week the College began the process of selecting College leaders for 2023 however, we believe all our students here at Oakhill College are leaders, as all have talents, and it is our focus to inspire all students to hone their talents for the service of others.

At the Friday morning Mass for sports teams on 29th July we had the reading from St Paul to Timothy where St Paul says to Timothy “I have fought the good fight (bonum certamen certa) … I have run the race.” Paul is speaking about the journey to develop good character - compassion, empathy, civics, civility, honesty, trust and respect. The values and virtues of a Christian and a good human person. The qualities of a good leader.

Wishing our Year 12 students the very best for their HSC Trial Exams starting Monday 1st August.

To finish, some thoughts from JFK on strength of character and leadership:

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."
"Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly." 
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
“If not us who, if not now, when.”

Br Steve Hogan fsc
Principal

Regular prayer is important for our emotional and spiritual health.
Meditation teachers us how to be still and see things in perspective.
Some say it is a waste of time.
It pays off in the long run.
The great mistakes we make in life come when we react to situations.
If we have the capacity to reflect, that prayer/meditation develop, we make better decisions at important times.

We pray for Mr Barry Raye (Mr Brion Martyn, Mutien Dean's father-in-law) and Mrs Linda Zschech (Mr Matthew Zschech's wife, Oakhill College Board Member and mother of Zane, Class of 2018 and Riley, Class of 2021.

Eternal rest grant to Barry and Linda, O Lord.
May the perpetual lights shine forever upon them.
May they now rest in peace.
Amen.

Now more than ever, as we continue to face uncertain times, I would like to share two writings from St Teresa of Avila. St Teresa was a Carmelite Nun in the 1500's who was a mystic and spiritual writer. 

Both of these remind us that there is always light at the end of a long tunnel and that we have the strength in us to face difficult times:

1. "Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything."
2. "May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

Wishing all our community many blessings.

Mrs Laurainne Marshall
Co-ordinator of Prayer and Liturgy

Over four fantastic days, ten of Oakhill’s Lasallian Youth Leaders had the incredible opportunity to represent Oakhill College at the 2022 Lasallian Youth Gathering (LYG). The camp broadened each of our young Lasallians perspective on what it means to be a part of a global community, given the ability to build friendships with students from across the country. 

The gathering began promptly on Wednesday 6th June, with all students being allowed to broaden their horizons through singing and dancing activities and introduction to small groups. Each of our Lasallian Youth Leaders welcomed new friendships and broke the ice through several activities, a big hit being the chanting of team songs which solidified a sense of solidarity, creating a strong bond leading into the next three days. 

On the second day of the LYG, we had our first opportunity to attend workshops. Each workshop varied from Women in Leadership, to a captivating discussion on the modern topic of Interfaith dialogue. We split up evenly, and all had the opportunity to enrich our personal values by engaging with the wonderful mix of people around us. In addition, each workshop guaranteed participants the opportunity to participate and discuss with their workshop leader, who gave their own time to share past experiences. We then partook in a sports tournament within our small groups, strengthening once more our relationship with Lasallian Youth Leaders in attendance. Throughout the day, we received talks from Keynote speakers, including past Oakhill student Mr Franco De Joya (Class of 2019), who has made waves in his career path, inspiring us to serve the community and to have the agency to take on opportunities, “One step is the first of 1000”. 

Over the next three days, we received talks from a variety of keynote speakers and continued our participation in workshops. The final day held special significance, following our Fijian hymn Eda Sa Qaqa (We Have Overcome) performance in the LYG talent quest, as we said our goodbyes to newly formed friendships and mentorships. Taking our experiences from our time at LYG into discussion, our Lasallian Youth Leaders hope to implement many aspects of the camp into our Oakhill community.

A massive thank you to Oakhill legend Mr Chris Goodman and Mrs Roxanne Leopardi for ensuring our leaders could participate in such a significant opportunity. Special mention to our proud Oakhill Youth Ministers, Mr Chris Watters (Class of 2019) and Miss Gabby Papallo (Class of 2021) for their role in leading the camp alongside Lasallian Ministers from across Australia. Be sure to say G’day to both Chris and Gabby in the Oakhill yard.

Oakhill LYLs: Tim Grehan, Ruby Cook, Jed McDonald-Singh, Sara Houseman, Noah Hickey, Ryan Edwards, Mikeeli Lake, Ryan Wendell, Maddy Ragell and Pearl Rorani. 

During the recent school holiday break, a group of Year 11 Oakhill students along with Mrs Isaacs, visited Murray Toola Damana to provide a helping hand in a growing community. Murray Toola Damana (formerly CommunityXChange) is a not-for-profit pre-school in Mount Druitt that provides support and care for Aboriginal children aged 3 to 5, with exciting dreams to build an Indigenous K-12 school in the future. 

Oakhill students spent a day of their holidays helping where they could at the pre-school, rearranging rooms, cooking a barbeque, and setting up a donation space. By far their biggest project of the day was repainting the main bathroom. The young Lasallians worked together to clean the walls, fill in gaps, and paint a fresh white coat onto the bathroom walls to give the space a new feel that the preschool’s students appreciated. 

Overall, the students thoroughly enjoyed the day at Murray Toola Damana whilst displaying the key Lasallian principle of service.

Jed McDonald-Singh, Year 11

Oakhill is pleased to announce that Br Mark McKeon has returned to the College after an 18-year hiatus. Br Mark McKeon has answered the Lasallian call and taken on many challenges worldwide, instigating key Lasallian initiatives that are important cornerstones of our community and mission. His commitment and breadth of experience are welcomed, as is his vast knowledge of education:

Forty years ago, this year, I joined the De La Salle Brothers after teaching for a year in North Queensland. My first year of teaching as a Brother was in Melbourne in 1983 and the following year I found myself in Papua New Guinea. I taught for two years at De La Salle Bomana, a high school just outside of Port Moresby. It was a challenging time for the country as they had only gained their independence from Australia in 1975. There were significant law and order problems and we often experienced night-time curfews. In 1986 I was asked to be a member of a pioneering community to a remote school, Tapini High School, in the highlands of Central province. The students at this school walked for two or three days at the start of each term to attend school. The school was allocated electricity for one hour a day. Meals were cooked over a fire so one of the workgroups each afternoon was tasked with collecting firewood.

After three years in Papua New Guinea, I returned to Australia and spent the next five years teaching in Australian schools. In 1992 I was asked to go to New Zealand. For the next seven years I taught in two Lasallian schools in New Zealand; De La Salle College Mangere, a school in a lower socio-economic area of Auckland whose student population was made of 95% of boys whose families were from the Pacific Islands. As you might expect, one of my extra-curricular duties was rugby coaching. 
 
The second school I taught at was Francis Douglas Memorial College in the rural town of New Plymouth in the province of Taranaki. Again, I was involved in rugby coaching. In 1999 I arrived at Oakhill College where I was taught for five years. One of my enjoyable memories from this time was working with another teacher to establish the Lasallian Youth Leader model. Seeing so many senior students taking on various leadership roles was great.
 
It was with a degree of disappointment that I departed Oakhill at the end of the year having been asked to take on the role of Director of Vocations and Youth Ministry for Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. My time in this role had many silver linings. I was able to promote the idea of Lasallian Youth Leaders in other schools in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

From 2009-2014 I was asked to take on leadership roles for the animation of the Lasallian mission. When my time concluded in these roles, I received a request from the Vice Chancellor of Bethlehem University in Palestine. This is a Lasallian University and the only Catholic University in the Holy Land. I assumed the position of Vice President for Human Resources. The University has a student population of 3,400 and a staff of over 400. It was a wonderful experience to be able to work alongside the people of Palestine in their challenging political environment. I was also fortunate to be able to do some lecturing in the leadership institute of the University and accompany a group of students called Student Ambassadors, who would welcome many international groups and speak to them about their experience of living under the Israeli occupation.

At the end of 2017, I returned to New Zealand initially to work across the three Lasallian schools in New Zealand. That plan was short-lived as a I received a request from the New Zealand Bishops to join the formation team at the National Diocesan Seminary in Auckland to train future priests. My time at the seminary concluded in June this year when I was asked to return to Australia to take on the role of Director of Lasallian Vocations. This role also includes the formation of young brothers in the Pacific-Asia region. It does leave me some time, and now I find myself back at Oakhill College after a twenty-year absence. It feels like coming back home.

My role at Oakhill will be to engage with students and staff in a variety of ways, in particular through involvement with the College Mission team and the Pastoral care teams. This will include participation on the various year level retreats, visits to Religious Education classes and support in the area of pastoral care when needed. 

Br Mark McKeon

Mrs Gabby Russo
Marketing & Community Liaison Co-ordinator

The July edition of The Oakhill Drive is out now: https://bit.ly/3z7mu8Z. We are proud of our alumni and pleased to share this edition, full of interesting stories from our fabulous alumni and a recap of College highlights from the year so far.

Oakhill is continuing to grow and update our alumni database, so please share with any alumni connections you may have. Year 12 students will be shortly asked to join our database. Alumni details can be updated here: https://www.oakhill.nsw.edu.au/alumni-change-of-details-form.

Happy reading!

Mrs Gabby Russo
Marketing & Community Liaison Co-ordinator

A reminder that the third and final instalment for 2022 College fees (one third of your annual fees) is due on Monday 15th August unless you pay in instalments via School Easy Pay.  

Fee statements were issued prior to the beginning of term.

Please contact the Accounts Receivable Office on 9899 2288 if there are any matters relating to your statement that you need to discuss.

Last Month, Oakhill’s student leadership team and other captains from the Parramatta Dioceses gathered at the Lifted Breakfast with the Bishop to discuss their opinions on the contemporary issues of cyberbullying and consent in society.

As a cohort, we went in depth with personal opinions regarding these ethical issues and how as young leaders of our society, we can proactively prevent and assist individuals who are facing or have been in these issues. With guest speakers including Erin Molan, who went in depth with her personal story on cyberbullying in her ‘male dominant’ industry and Bishop Vincent, who gave his reflection of the impact these issues are currently having on our society, the day was extremely beneficial.

Oakhill has become an integral part of this movement which has been at a halt for the past eight years, where student leaders have a say and can display personal thoughts on these issues and how we can and should stand against them.

Ryan Wendell, College Vice Captain

On Wednesday 27th July, we welcomed back to Oakhill College, Mr Remus Chira (Class of 2021). Remus is a recipient of the University of Technology, Sydney - B. of Information Technology Co-op Scholarship. The Co-op Scholarship program is a three-year fast-track program that enables the students to complete their degree within three years whilst also undertaking two - six-month internships with prominent employers of IT graduates. A bonus is the $49,500.00 scholarship paid to the students during their three years of study as well as being mentored by senior students and industry partners.

Remus’s presentation to senior students, focussed on the fact that the B of Information Technology Co-op Program is more than just a typical IT degree rather, the program is designed to develop future leaders for the Information Technology Industry. Remus has recently started his first IT internship and is relishing the opportunity to enhance his knowledge, practical skills and contribute to IT projects within a business environment. His experiences so far have led him to consider Cyber Security as his major area of IT study.

Remus encouraged students to consider the B of Technology even if their IT experience is not highly developed, as the Industry Interviews focus on students’ communication and social interaction skills, teamwork ability, critical thinking and using their initiative to find creative solutions to problems, as well as self-management and leadership qualities.

We wish to congratulate Remus on receiving the UTS B. of Information Technology Co-Op Scholarship and to thank him for making the time to talk to our current students. We are sure that Remus will have a successful career in the IT field.

Mrs Marisa Quattrocchi
Careers Advisor

Congratulations to Mr Jack Stewart (teacher and Class of 2016) who was awarded the Highest Achiever in a Unit of Study award for Society & Culture in the Secondary School I from Macquarie University. Jack is to be commended on this high distinction standard.

In a recent interview with the NRL, Mr Ryan Papenhuyzen (Class of 2016) has spoken about his favourite teacher - Ms Tarsha Gale, an elite and accomplished Rugby League star, Australian World Cup Captain, the namesake for the prestigious Tarsha Gale Cup and Academic Head of PDHPE on long service leave.

Ryan and Tarsha share more than a love of the game. Not only are they revered for their distinguished careers, but they have also made significant contributions to the game at the grassroots level.

You can read the story here: https://www.nrl.com/.../my-favourite-teacher.../...

In Week Three, our Year 12 students will begin their Trial HSC examinations and only a few weeks after these, Year 11 will begin their Yearly exams. Leaving study until the last week or days is very stressful and staying up late nights without sleep is linked to poor performance.

When is the right time to begin studying after you learn something new?

How often should I study?

When should Year 11 students start studying for the Yearly exams? When should Year 7-10 students be studying?

The answer, according to cognitive scientists, is that the sooner we start revising the new material, the more we are going to retain it. We need to revise material frequently in small, bite-size amounts. Why is this better than cramming?

If we learn something new and then we don't make any effort to rehearse or relearn the information, our brains simply forget it. Indeed according to German psychologist Ebbinghaus, after only nine hours, we will retain only 36% of what we learn. You might leave a class with your head full of knowledge or learn a new piece on the piano, however, it will be largely gone within hours if you don't call on it or apply it. Ebbinghaus called this The Forgetting Curve. We forget the most as soon as we have learnt something, so cramming your whole course in two nights is probably not going to work very well for you. You may retain a proportion of it, but chances are that if you didn’t revise as you go, you won’t have deep understanding because you won’t have corrected your misunderstanding.

So those practice questions and quizzes our Maths teachers give us are very important.

But we can fight the forgetting and reduce our stress!

If, however, we have a study session of the new material after the original learning, we can definitely improve our retention of the material. Have a look at the graph below. The more acts of revision we have, the more likely we are to retain concepts. Recall activities are crucial for exercising your memory.

Spacing out study sessions over a longer period helps improve long term memory.  

Practical suggestions:

• A couple of days after learning new material, write out some flashcards summarising the content or make up a song or acrostic poem
• After a few more days, revisit the flashcards and then try to retrieve the information by giving yourself a test, practice question or explain the concept to someone else. If you don’t recall the info then, you know you need to review the material more.
• We should then return to the learning a few weeks later and then a couple of months later.

Students can significantly reduce exam stress and improve their academic results by more consistently revising material and testing themselves through a term, semester or year.

So Year 11 students, make sure you get that revision journal happening now. Years 7-10, make sure you are revising your content as you go in small, bite-size chunks. That way, you will find end of year exams or assessments less overwhelming.

Best wishes to Year 12 in the Trial HSC exam next week.

Graph sourced from The Study Buddy.

And if you are procrastinator, try these tips from Dr Prue Salter, Enhanced Learning:

Top 10 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of putting off a task which you know you have to do, even though you know that putting it off will probably be worse for you in the long run. For example, when you procrastinate about starting an assignment it doesn’t make the assignment go away, or the deadline change, it just gives you less time to get the work done. To manage this, try the following:

1. Become aware of the excuses you use - make a mental note when you procrastinate. What excuses do you give yourself? Too tired? Too difficult? Too boring? Being aware is the first step in changing your behaviour. Keep yourself honest by asking questions like “is this the best use of my time at the moment?” and “am I doing this as a way of avoiding what I really should be doing?”.
2. Reduce or eliminate distractions - creating a clear, uncluttered work environment which is free from distractions will help you avoid procrastinating. Turn off your social media or WiFi, turn off your music or TV, close the door. It’s easy to get distracted and lose focus on what you are trying to do, or to procrastinate by surfing websites that are barely related to the topic you are meant to be researching. You can find out more in the Home Study Environment unit and Dealing with Distractions unit.
3. Make a prioritised list - before you start work (or procrastinating) take a few minutes to work out what your priorities for the session are, based on your deadlines. Take into account all the time you have available and make a prioritised list. Work on the most important thing first (see also tip 7 below). There is more information in the Time Management Skills unit on techniques for prioritising.
4. Break down projects into chunks - if you have a big task that you have to do, or something that you really don’t want to start, have a think about how it can be broken up into smaller parts. A big assignment might need a plan, the purchase of resources, a trip to the library, internet based research, and then several days to write and edit each section. If you just focus on doing one of these tasks it’s easier to commence.
5. Just start - stop focusing on getting it done perfectly, or even well, just make a start, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Starting the task makes you realise it’s not as daunting as you originally thought and allows you to make a small amount of progress which encourages you to keep going. Sometimes once you get started you can even do more than you originally thought you could or would.
6. Reward yourself - set yourself a small goal (to do with the task you are procrastinating about) and then reward yourself appropriately when you complete it. For example, write an outline for your essay and then have afternoon tea. You will be more motivated to complete the task to get the reward. Note: for extreme procrastinators you may need to get someone else to check you’ve done the work and to give you the reward! Learn more about this in the Goal Setting unit.
7. “Twofer Concept” - when you are working on a difficult or boring task, break it up by having a more interesting or easy task that you work on in the same study block. You get two lots of homework done, but when you are losing focus on the difficult one you can switch to the easier one for a bit of a break.
8. Create routines - establishing a routine can help you avoid procrastination as you get into the rhythm of working for a set time each day at a set time of the day. Making this routine known to your family and friends also helps keep you accountable and stops them interrupting you during your work time.
9. Find a study buddy - perhaps starting that difficult work will be easier if you have someone to work with. This could be a school friend or a sibling. You could share resources and help each other to get started with similar work.
10. Schedule in breaks - breaks give you time to think and process information that you have been working on and give you an opportunity to do the things you really enjoy. Plan them as much as you plan your work.

Mrs Melissa McMahon
Assistant Principal Curriculum

Need help with Maths homework?

Come along to our Maths Homework sessions. This is a great opportunity for students to seek assistance with their maths from our maths staff or senior students who volunteer each week.

The History department is looking forward to welcoming the King Tut Roadshow to Oakhill College. This is an exciting new adventure for Year 8 as they immerse themselves in a full sensory learning experience about rediscovering Ancient Egypt’s most famous Pharoah – Tutankhamun. Through the use of modern technology, students will enjoy an interactive day full of activities and learning experiences designed to develop their skills in History and immerse them in a cultural experience like no other.

 Coming to Oakhill College on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th August.

Mrs Lela Vukovic
Academic Head of History

Many baby wipes claim they are both flushable and biodegradable. One important aspect of Science is learning how to create fair experiments so you can be confident in your testing. Year 10 Science have been developing their understanding of this in preparation for their Individual Research Project. 

In the last few years, Choice magazine which protects consumer rights took one of the largest manufacturers of baby wipes to court for claiming they were flushable. These are a problem in the sewer as when they come into contact they fats and oils they form solids that clog the pipes at the treatment plants and they can only be manually removed. Additionally, these form fatbergs that cost millions of dollars to remove and then go into landfills.

In our experiment, we tested a variety of brands, some claiming to be flushable, biodegradable or made from bamboo. They boys simulated vigorous toilet flushing by stirring each brand several times over each lesson. After five days all the baby wipes had shown no signs of breaking apart and so all posed a hazard to the waste water systems. 

Mrs Rebecca Hughes
Science Teacher

Students who are interested in history and creating the brand new History Museum, please join us on Wednesday 3rd August in DE107. You can bring your lunch.

Ms Lela Vukovic
Academic Head of History

Students in Year 8 History in Term Two, were working on developing their understanding of Ancient China. The last lessons culminated in an interactive activity that allowed them to engage as kinaesthetic learners to consolidate their knowledge of both weaponry and warfare and their significance to the ancient society. 

Year 8 History students learn through play and are encouraged to move beyond narrative history, and engage with analytical and critical thinking.

Mrs Lela Vukovic
Academic Head of History

The Butterfly Foundation has two upcoming webinars that parents may be interested in on body confidence:

Ms Helen Morris
Student Counsellor

The journey to their final school year began this week for our Class of 2023 as we embark on two significant projects.

Leadership nominations have opened, and all students on Level 4 or above are invited to put forward their names for initial consideration by Wednesday 27th July. We look forward to seeing so many young Lasallians step up for the opportunity to serve the College as part of the Student Leadership Team 2022-23, which will be announced at the end of this term.

The all-important Year 12 jersey design has been placed in the hands of an enthusiastic team of volunteers who met for the first time on Monday 25th July to begin this adventure. We look forward to seeing the end result of their creative and thoughtful deliberations in the coming weeks.

Mrs Donna Findlay
Head of Senior School

Databases are a great tool as they give us access to quality, authoritative information.

The PJ Walsh Library has expanded our suite of Gale databases to give students greater access to national and international news as well as academic information resources including eBooks, magazines, videos and primary sources. To access, just sign in with your College account. 

Gale OneFile: News

Search across Australian or international newspapers or just browse the one paper. To search for a specific newspaper, click on ‘Publication search’. Try:

Sydney Morning Herald
The Australian
Daily Telegraph
New York Times
Washington Post
The Times - London
The Economist

Gale Academic OneFile

Great for Seniors for journal articles, eBooks and newspaper articles, particularly for major works for History, Society and Culture, Economics and English.

Gale in Context : High School

This is great for Junior school level. This can also be helpful for many seniors. Students have had been using this for two years with positive feedback. 

Accessibility features include:

• Search by Lexile reading levels
• Dyslexia font adjustment
• Enlarge the font for the visually impaired or
• Listen to the article and follow the highlighting

Other features include:
Export articles to a Google Drive
Generate Citations for bibliographies

For those who can't get enough quality information try Gale Power search (across Academic OneFile, Gale OneFile: News and Gale In Context High School)

And for the 'piece de resistance' try the Topic Finder search visualiser - This is a handy tool to see subject connections or narrow a search.

We are excited about this upgrade and the ease of access to quality information available to our community. If you have questions about these databases, come see your Library staff.

Throughout Term Two, Drama students were studying the dramatic form of Melodrama. The assessment challenged students to creatively create a 2-minute monologue based on the stimulus 'A Devious Plan!'. Students explored the characteristics of the stock type Villian character creating their own plots for their monologue. The Drama faculty saw over 300 monologues performed across 16 classes. The top three of each class entered Oakhill's first Year 7 Monologue Competition initiated by Academic Head of Drama, Mr Flanagan. The competition commenced with 5 heats of very competitive performances with the top three from each heat moving onto the semi-finals. The semi-finals saw the top 15 performers with only seven being selected to move onto the Grand Final. The Grand Final was hyped with a full house audience in the Adrian Theatre, including Principal Br Steve Hogan, Year 7 Dean - Nathan Jones, and many other teachers who watched the entertaining competition. Year 12 Drama students Philip Joseph, Aidan Grace and Drama Captain Noah Hickey judged the monologue performances and awarded the prizes of 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place, also handing out complimentary prizes to the other remaining competitors.

The following students performed their best, showing their talents in scriptwriting, performance skills and creating and sustaining character; Drew Fleming, Harry Plamer, Henry Borovnjak, Kobe Coombes, Mitchell Atkins, Spencer Kelly and Zane Benning. The 3rd Prize was awarded to Spencer Kelly, 2nd Prize was awarded to Mitchell Atkins with Drew Fleming received the 1st Prize earning him the title 'Champion of the Year 7 Monologue Competition 2022'.

All competitors have received merits for their participation and are congratulated on their professional, mature and enthusiastic approach to the competition. Well Done Year 7 Drama. 

Mr Warren Flanagan
Head of Drama

We our HSC Drama students all the best for their HSC Drama showcase which is on Thursday 28th and Friday 29th July. Congratulations to Year 12 Drama who have completed their Performance Mock Trials in preparation for the HSC Performance Exams in Week Six.

Mr Warren Flanagan
Head of Drama

As wet and muddy as things were last weekend, most Oakhill sport teams got to play their games in our Pink Sports Round. All Rugby teams were home to St Pius, and a hand full of Football teams joined them playing through the rainy conditions at Oakhill College, while the Netball girls enjoyed being indoors for their fixtures.

Most of our Football teams are at home this weekend. Two of the highlights of the day on Saturday at Oakhill will be the Boy’s 1st XI v Redlands at 10.00am, and the Girls 1st XI v Barker at 1.00pm. The boys were full of confidence after winning the Kanga Cup in the holidays but stumbled last week against a competitive St Andrew’s team. The Kanga Cup is a weeklong tournament played in Canberra and attracts teams from many parts of NSW and beyond. I am sure their form from the victorious competition will return this weekend.

The Oakhill Rugby teams are all away this weekend against St Patrick’s College at Strathfield. Many of the teams from both schools have been playing very well, and the winners of these games will put themselves in a strong position on the competition ladder. The main game of the day is the 1st XV clash, where Oakhill remain undefeated this ISA season, but St Patrick’s are going into the game with confidence on home soil. Good luck to all teams this weekend.

Oakhill College Athletics Carnival

2022 Athletics Age Champions

U12s – Lachlan Albert
U13s – Lachlan Booth
U14s – Rhys Webster
U15s – Isaac Beacroft
U16s – Liam Roche
U17s – James Magee
U18s – Liam Milton-White
U16 Girls – Cassandra Solomon / Lucy Fuccenecco
U17 Girls – Lauren Peacock
U18 Girls – Cassandra Joye / Mikeeli Lake / Chanelle Odendaal

House Points

1st Place – Turon 2382
2nd – Miguel 2255
3rd – La Salle 2195
4th – Mutien 2069
5th – Solomon 2030
6th – Benildus 1824

Athletics Records

• Liam Milton-White - Open Boys Long Jump – 6.42m (equals previous record)

Student Achievements

• NSWCIS Football – Rocco Pelle (Year 12) was selected in the CIS team competing at this year’s NSW Championships against NSWCCC and NSWCHS teams.
• Clarissa Vumbaca (Year 11) competed at the Australian National Judo Competition in the Gold Coast over the long weekend.  Clarrisa won gold medals in both the Cadet and Junior Women’s U48kg.  She also won a silver medal in the Senior Women’s category.  Well done, Clarissa.
• NSW All Schools Basketball – Saxon Orsini (Year 12) impressed competing in the NSWCIS team and was rewarded with selection in the NSW All Schools basketball team.
• Isaac Beacroft (Year 10) and Zac Green (Year 7) are heading to Adelaide for the NSW All Schools Cross Country. Isaac finished 2nd in the U16 NSWCIS race and Zac finished 5th in the U13. Both performances were rewarded with selection in the NSW All Schools team.

Summer Sport Registration Opens Monday

Oakhill College Summer Sports registration opens on Monday 1st August. These will be played on a Saturday in the ISA competition. Registration indicates a full commitment to training and games. Students can only play one sport each season.

• Basketball (boys comp and girls comp)
• Touch Football (boys comp and girls comp)
• Cricket

You can register through Trybooking on the Oakhill College website from Monday or: https://www.trybooking.com/eve...

Enjoy your weekend.

Mr Andrew Wisemantel
Head of Sports

The McDonald’s Kanga Cup is the largest International Youth Football Tournament in the Southern Hemisphere and recently the boys 1st XI Football team travelled to Canberra to compete in it. Celebrating its 30th year, the Kanga Cup returned after two years being disrupted by COVID-19. Running over the course of five days from Monday 4th July, the 1sts played in six games across the tournament and were undefeated Champions after a nail-biting Grand Final win against Northbridge FC.

The team didn’t know what to expect going in the tournament as they had never competed in the Kanga Cup but after two close victories on the first day, spirits were high amongst the playing group and coaching staff. Another win and a draw over the next two days saw Oakhill lock up 1st place in the group stages.

Semi-Finals took the structure of 1st vs 4th place and 2nd vs 3rd. Oakhill came up against Wollongong United FC, whom in the group stages they had a 1-1 draw against. The Oakhill players knew they needed a result to progress through to the Grand Final and after a header off a corner from Captain Rocco Pelle opened the scoring, the goals kept coming. Oakhill progressed to the final beating Wollongong United FC 6-0.
 
After a largely uneventful first half in the Grand Final, scores were tied at nil all and it looked as if the game could go either way. Coach Jono Petitto (Class of 2010) fired his team up to take the game to Northbridge and Oakhill came out strong in the 2nd half. Captain Rocco Pelle once again broke the deadlock with a volley from the edge of the box. Youngster and players player award winner Julian Rodriguez then scored to take the game to 2–0. Northbridge playing with the same never say die attitude they carried across the whole tournament then struck back making the scores 2–1. A perfectly placed free kick from Jonathon Tsakos to Zachary Morsink, who scored a bicycle kick, sealed the game at 3-1. Zach going on to being awarded the Most Valuable Playerof the tournament from the 2022 McDonald's Kanga Cup.
 
We are incredibly proud of the footballing talent we have at Oakhill College and celebrate not only the Firsts success but also thank them for their work with the younger year groups, mentoring them at trainings throughout the year. The Firsts are currently placed 2nd in the ISA competition we wish them the best of luck for the remainder of their season and finals.

Football Tour 1st XI Squad:
Rocco Pelle - Captain
Zachary Morsink – Most Valuable Player
Julian Rodriguez – Players Player
Toby Ryan
Jonathan Tsakos
Caleb Kirkegard
Christian Milicevic
Luca Terranova
Jordan Ohannessian
Jonathan Sirry
Tate Mahony
William Saunders
Isaac Comito
Elias Tannous
Nicolas Odendaal
Thomas Stalenberg

“We’re winning for ourselves, our teammates, our families and our school”
~ Jono Petitto at halftime in the Grand Final ~

Mr Jack Morrison
Boys Football Convenor 

It’s a little quiet around the different Houses this week as Year 12 prepare for the upcoming Trial HSC examinations.

We wish all our House Leaders, and the entire Class of 2022 cohort, all the best for these tasks and we look forward to seeing them all back in normal classes in a few weeks’ time.

From the House Leaders to all of the Year 12 students – good luck!

Congratulations to Xavier (Year 9) and Tyson (Year 7) Tuinauvai, who were selected to represent and attend the AFL Multicultural Male Youth Leadership Camp in the second week of the school holidays. This was a great opportunity to connect with other talented AFL boys ages 13-16 years selected from across NSW, and also a great opportunity for them to develop their leadership skills, knowledge, and appreciation of their own and other cultures represented at the camp.

One of the highlights for them was the First Nations Cup, where they had the opportunity to play off against the Indigenous team!

We have had an overwhelming response to the 2022 Oakhill College Golf Day. We are excited to be hosting this event for the first time in two years and look forward to meeting you on the course.

All registered players will receive an email with final details by week commencing Monday 1st August.

If you have any questions or still have something that you wish to donate to our raffle for the day, please email pandf@oakhill.nsw.edu.au

Without the support of our community, such fundraising and social events would be impossible. We are extremely thankful to support from our current and past families. 

Major Event Sponsor
Kanebridge Finance

Lunch Sponsors
The Epping Club
Guardian Realty - Castle Hill

Hole Sponsors
Elias Yousif
Gremmo Homes
Hair by PHD
SecVision Networks
Solid Ground Landscaping
RoadWork Solutions
West Pennant Hills Sports Club

Prize Sponsors
CompNow
The Coates Family
Enzos Cucina Dural
The Fiddler
Oatlands Golf Course
Ryde Parramatta Golf Club
Snackbrands
StoneCutters Ridge Golf Club
West Pennant Hills Sports Club

Ms Carina Morales
P&F Secretary

Congratulations to Mr Harrison Goddard (Class of 2015) who has been signed to the NSW Waratahs for the 2023 season. 

We wish Mr Matthew Gonzalez (Class of 2012) and Miss Samantha Dale (Class of 2019) all the best at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Matthew is part of the Rugby 7s team, and Samantha is part of the Athletics team and competes in the long jump. Good luck.

We congratulate Mr Cooper Griffin (Class of 2021), who was awarded the highly esteemed International College of Management Sydney (ICMS) and Eastwood Scholarship from the ICMS and International Sport College Australia.

The ICMS Scholarship Program is exemplary within the Australian Higher Education sector. The program is unique, whereby the process creates a true ranking system where scholarships are awarded to students who have earned the honour through hard work and through qualifications.

Successful students progress to the final qualifying stage, the panel interview. At this point it is a truly competitive field of candidates. On these final panels are Senior Executives from our Corporate Scholarship Partners. It is a priority that the selection panel is objective.

Scholarships are awarded based on known criteria and robust assessment of the competing field. A wide range of attributes and factors relating to the finalist candidates are considered carefully before a selection to award a scholarship is made. To invest the effort in submitting the application and managing panel interviews in a new context, is impressive. They have ventured out of their comfort zones and grown in themselves as a result.