Dear Members of the Trinity Family,

One of the highlights of my year is witnessing the HSC class celebrate all that they have accomplished in Graduation Week. This year’s Graduation Mass, Prize Giving and Farewell Assembly were fitting tributes to the Class of 2023 who have overcome much and achieved even more.

I sincerely congratulate each member of the Graduating Class for their resilience, tenacity and ability to endure the trials and tribulations of the past six years: floods, fires, COVID and a relocation. We often define the difference between school and life in these terms: at school you are taught a series of lessons and then given a test, but in life you are given a test which inevitably teaches you a lesson. For our departing Year 12 students they have been tested at school and in life on a consistent basis. I commend them, and their parents/carers and teachers, for enduring.

The prayer recited for Year 12, following the distribution of their Trinity crosses on Wednesday night, encapsulates Trinity’s desire for our Year 12 students:

“May you embrace the mystery of life as it unfolds before you. May your life be richly fulfilling; a celebration of God’s love for you. May you meet the challenges that lie ahead with hope and enthusiasm. May you always know that wherever you go our prayers are with you too. May God’s all powerful love be with you always, to give you strength to persevere in tough times, faith to keep believing, and the hope to see you fulfill your potential.”

I wish all of HSC students well for their examinations which commence in Week 1 of Term 4. I also thank all of those long-term Trinity families whose association with the College ends with the graduation of their child/ren. Thank you for your endless support and encouragement - we sincerely appreciate it.

Best Wishes for the Holidays

I wish all students and families well for a safe and enjoyable spring holiday. Students return to the College on Tuesday 10 October 2023. On Monday 9 October staff will participate in a range of professional learning activities ahead of the Term’s commencement.

2024 Student Leaders

I am pleased to announce the following students have been appointed to designated leadership positions in 2024:

• College Captains - Laura Parsons and Travis Ball
  
  
• Ministry Captains - Abigail Smith and Alex Hills
  
  
• Year 12 Student Representative Councillors - Jesse Alexander-Gordon, Alex Copper, Brandon Dwyer, Charlotte Goodwin, William Harrison, Millicent Mackie, Mauve McKenzie, Callie Mumford.
  
  
• Cannane Sporting House Captains - Chloe Johanson and Tavi Toben
  
  
• Carthage Sporting House Captains - Ella Byrne and Harry Kilburn
  
  
• Champagnat Sporting House Captains - Imogen Cook and Eli Hausen
  
  
• Chanel Sporting House Captains - Stella Nguyen and Simon Lee
  
  
• D’Arcy Sporting House Captains - Indiana Finch and Harrison Jones
  
  
• Dennis Sporting House Captains - Hollie Matthews and Lewin Grant
  
  
• Doyle Sporting House Captains - Eva Thomas and Ari Haslam
  
  
• McColl Sporting House Captains - Ella Lynch and Archie Kelly
  
  
• Nagle Sporting House Captains - Jorgi Krieg and Koen Moase
  
  
• Wilson Sporting House Captains - Mary Doohan and Cohen Cartwright

Child Safeguarding

The College, like all child-safe organisations, is investing significant time and resources into the implementation of the Child Safe Standards. Our website contains our Statement of Commitment.

Term 4 Key Dates / Events

The following events will take place in Term 4:

• All Students return - 10 October
• HSC Commences Wednesday - 11 October
• Year 11 PSTI - 16 October
• Year 7 - 10 PSTI - 19 October & 23 October
• Year 11 Academic Assembly & 2024 Student Leaders Commissioning - 27 October
• HSC examinations conclude - 3 November
• Year 12 Graduation Evening - 3 November
• Nagle Day Celebrations - 21 November
• Yr 7, 2024, Information Evening - 27 November at 6pm
• Last day of Term 4 for students - Wednesday 13 December
• HSC Results & ATARs released - 14 December

Holiday Construction Work

Over the course of the school holidays, some additional classrooms and storage areas will be added to our footprint at SCU. R Block will be inaccessible during this time.

Student Enrolments for 2023

Trinity has some student enrolment vacancies in certain year levels for the balance of 2023. All enrolment enquiries are best directed to our Enrolments Officer via email - enrolments@trinitylismore.nsw.edu.au - or phone: 02) 6627 6647.

Students Enrolments for 2024

A reminder to any current families with siblings to enroll for 2024 to please commence this process by completing and submitting an application.  Please also remember to email enrolments@trinitylismore.nsw.edu.au if your child is not returning to the College in 2024. It is essential that this information is known for planning purposes. Thank you for your support.

May Venerable Nano Nagle, St Marcellin Champagnat and Mary our Good Mother watch over our Trinity community in the fortnight ahead.

Jesse Smith

Here we are at the conclusion of Term 3, 2023. Term 3 at times has seemed like a blur. Trinity students have been fantastic in learning spaces, engaging in Creative and Performing Arts, competing on a variety of sporting fields, engaging with our communities, completing Community Service. Our students have achieved phenomenal success over the past 10 weeks as reported in previous Lanterns.

We celebrate our Year 12 Group this week with a student/staff breakfast on Wednesday morning, House Farewells at lunch, the Graduation Mass at the Cathedral on Wednesday evening at 6pm and ended with the Graduation Assembly and Guard of Honour on Thursday.

The Year 12 Class of 2023 have been a wonderful group. They have been integral in bringing the student body from Year 7 to 11 together via activities, sporting opportunities and House activities. I asked them at the commencement of their senior year to leave the jersey in a better place. They have most certainly done that.

During the Assembly on Thursday we had the opportunity to recognise the students achievements and present them with their graduating class sashes. Graduation Week is such a highlight of every year.

Congratulations and thanks to the students and families who have chosen Trinity Catholic College Lismore as the institution for their young adults to complete their secondary education and graduate. As I said in last year's Trinitarian – thank you so much for keeping your child as a member of the Trinity Family since February 28th, 2022. You could so easily have moved to another school, but you stayed. Thank you.

SPORT UPDATE

Congratulations to our Years 9 and 10 Basketball Teams following their success at the Lismore Basketball Challenge this week. The boys team came out victorious on the day. Our 9/10 girls team finished 3rd in their competition.

Last week we had success at the Netball NSW Cup Finals Day in Ballina with our 9/10 boys team winning and qualifying for the State Final in Sydney. Looking at the 2 photos, there are 6 boys Clancy Dunne, Yavita Waiko, Zane Jones, Logan Connelly, Sean Thorneycroft and Louis Ashby who have been successful in both netball and basketball. Well done.

BUS INTERCHANGE REMINDER

Students from Years 7 to 10 were given a reminder this week of the standard of behaviour we expect at the Old Bus Interchange. One of the lingering issues of the February 2022 flood is what happens at the bus interchange and who supervises the students. Numerous meetings have been held with politicians, phone calls have been made to Transport NSW and concerns have been mentioned. Historically, the interchange area is where the bulk of Trinity College students caught the bus home. It is incredibly difficult to change bus routes without the intervention of Transport NSW, so we function in a very challenging space. It is impossible to have Trinity Staff at the interchange every afternoon so the challenge to our students at the interchange is to:

• Behave appropriately and make wise choices.
• Speak to staff from St Carthage’s and Our Lady Help of Christians in a calm and respectful manner.
• If you have your phone out, do not use it to film behaviour without the consent of every student present.
• Support other Trinity students. Make wise choices and remove students from situations that could escalate.

These are the same behavioural expectations that we place on our Trinity catholic College Lismore students when they are in any public space. 

NEW ENROLMENTS FOR 2024 - SAVE THE DATE

An Information Night for all students and their families who are confirmed as commencing in 2024 will be held on Monday 27 November from 6.00pm.

All Year 7 2024 students (enrolled and confirmed) will have an Orientation Day on Friday 1 December.

Further details for these events will be communicated to families in Term 4.

TRIVIA NIGHT

The Trivia night to conclude Week 9 was a fantastic evening where everyone in attendance had a great night. The costumes were brilliant. Here are some photos of the evening including our SRC students who organised the night along with our staff. Thanks to everyone.

YEAR 12 GROUP OR CAPTAIN PHOTOS AVAILABLE TO ORDER

If you would like to purchase a Year 12 Group photo or a Captain Photo please follow steps below.

The Launch of the Charism Framework.

I interviewed a young family this week who were wanting to enrol their child into Trinity in 2025. They spoke about what they saw at the Trinity Open Day.  They spoke about a community which was inclusive, compassionate, welcoming and one that put its faith into action. They spoke of seeing students who were proud of their school community and who enjoyed being here. The values we focus on here at Trinity are not by accident. We look to Venerable Nano Nagle and St Marcellin Champagnat who were both inspired by Jesus Christ, as our role models and we are intentional in putting these values into practice on a daily basis in our school community.

 Who are Nano Nagle and Marcellin Champagnat?

We are extremely fortunate at Trinity to be inspired by the founders of the Marist Brothers and the Presentation Sisters. Venerable Nano Nagle founded the Presentation Sisters in Ireland and St Marcellin Champagnat founded his Marist Brothers in France. Both Nano and Marcellin were people of faith. Their total devotion to Jesus Christ enabled them to achieve remarkable feats in their lives and make a real difference to the lives of others in their communities. They both put their faith into action in serving others, particularly the disadvantaged of their communities.

Their spirit lived on in the religious who began their schools on the other side of the world in Lismore. The spirit of both Nano and Marcellin are alive in our community in 2023 as we live out their values each day and seek ways to keep their legacies alive.  It is remarkable to think that something that Nano and Marcellin began some 250 years ago, is still alive and relevant to our school community today.  Nano’s and Marcelin’s legacies are gifts to all in our community. We call this spirit of the person and the values they stood for, charism.

Earlier this Term we launched our Charism Framework Document. Together with our Mission and Vision statements, this document acknowledges our history and informs the way we do things here at Trinity. It complements our School Wide Pedagogy and Pastoral Frameworks. In following weeks, I will endeavour to share more about the stories of Nano and Marcellin and ways they inspire us to put our faith into action.

Year 12 Graduation Mass

One of the highlights of our school year is our Graduation Mass in St Carthage’s Cathedral. It is a moving time when family, friends, special guests and staff come together as a Catholic community to farewell our Year 12 students. Special thanks to Fr Jim Griffin, our talented Liturgy Band and Choir and the many staff who helped to make this celebration so meaningful.

Mrs Annette White 

Dear Members of the Trinity Community,

Year 12 Graduation

What a fantastic conclusion to the term as we bid farewell to the graduating class of 2023. Below, is an excerpt from the speech delivered by the Assistant Principal of Learning and Teaching.

Today is an exciting day of celebration and perhaps relief. After 13 years of formal education, Year 12 you are so close to the finish line. However, I want you to think of today as just the beginning, your journey is really just getting started…

Year 12 your learning is not about to end. Your learning is just getting started… Year 12 my hope for you leaving your Trinity world today is not that you have all the facts and skills you need for your life ahead. Rather, that you have a desire and a longing to learn and to know more. My wish is that you are people in this world that are inquisitive, open to possibilities and empathetic to others. I could list all the benefits of being a lifelong learner for you personally but I believe it is more than increased brain function. Continually learning is about happiness. It is about connection. It is through continual learning that we all become better people as we have an open mind to others and the world around us… Hold tight to your Trinity experience. Try new things, step outside your comfort zone. Continue to be lovers of learning. Be learners of strong mind and gentle heart, learn out of a heart filled with compassion, love and dignity for all - just as Jesus taught us . For it is with this foundation that you will be the rays of light of the future.

Thank you, Year 12, for your contribution to Trinity Catholic College. Go learn something new…

First in HSC Course Awards

Commendation Awards

Foreign Language Mastery Award - Hannah Cappe

Virtuoso Award for English - Halle Anderson

Music Award for Outstanding Service to Music in the College - Finn Coony

Dance Award for Choreographic Talent - MacKinnon Connolly

Award for Outstanding Achievement in Industrial Technology (Timber) - Alistair Moloney

Excellence in Social and Cultural Literacy Research - Katelin Molloy

Outstanding Achievement in the Major Textiles Project, Textiles and Design - Ava Coombes

Enthusiasm in the Performing Arts - Peggy Hunt

Outstanding Primary Research Skills in History Extension - Amelia Grace

Outstanding Achievement in Community & Family Studies Research Tasks - Katelin Molloy

Outstanding Achievement in Fitness - Harrison Thompson

Outstanding Achievement in Hospitality - Arabella Lackey

Outstanding Achievement in Manufacturing and Engineering - Monty Steiner

Sports Awards

Best & Fairest Girls Soccer - Gwynevere Logan-Cole

Best & Fairest Boys Soccer  - Henry Lawrence

Best & Fairest Boys Basketball - Toby Barlow

Best & Fairest Girls Hockey - Maya McGrath

Best & Fairest Girls Netball - MacKinnon Connolly

Best & Fairest Boys Cricket - Joseph Bull

Sportswoman of the Year for 2023 - Sophie Mayes and Maya McGrath

Sportsman of the Year for 2023 - Toby Barlow

Excellence in Sporting Achievement - Lachlan Coe

Principal's Special Awards

Amelia Grace, Daniel Gibbs, Sienna Littleford, Arushi Joshi, Emily Bruce, Luke Waldock, Henry Lawrence, Kade Williams, Ava Coombes, Lachlan Bright

Australian Defence Force Leadership Award - Drue Gorman

Australian Defence Force Innovation Award - Grace Forster

HSC Term 3 Holiday Study

Year 12 students are encouraged during the Term 3 holidays to plan and make use of the SCU Library space which they are now accustomed to attending for HSC preparation and study.  This space provides the required atmosphere and is available to our students through our university partnership.   The Library will be open from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm throughout the Term 3 holidays.  Students are reminded of College expectations when accessing this public space.

Year 12 HSC Written Exam Timetable

HSC written exams will start on Wednesday 11 October 2023 with English Paper 1 and finish on Friday 3 November 2023. Please find here the link to the complete HSC written Timetable with additional information including the Exam Equipment List. Each Year 12 student will have access to their personal exam timetable through studentsonline.nesa.nsw.edu.au. This timetable lists the students' written exams. It also lists any other exams they are entered for, including oral exams for languages, performance exams and submitted works.

Subject Selection Process

Year 9 and 11 2024 lines and subject allocations were announced to students on Tuesday this week. As indicated at the beginning of the process, the 2024 timetable lines will be lines of best fit - i.e. they are populated with subjects that attract sufficient student numbers to make them viable to run and they suit the majority of students in the year level in terms of minimising clashes. Unfortunately it will not be possible to run every course offered in the same way it will not be possible to ensure every student receives every preference they submitted. 

HSC 2024 Pattern of Study Forms

Last Friday we  met with Year 11 students regarding the transition from Year 11 courses to HSC courses in Term 4. Year 11 students are asked to return their “Yellow Cards,” indicating any changes to their pattern of study, by Wednesday 18 October (Week 2, Term 4). Students are encouraged to make informed choices before making any amendments to their pattern of study. Changes to patterns of study will take effect from Week 3, Term 4.

Our School Wide Pedagogy

The College is on an ongoing journey of school revitalisation with the actioning of our school-wide pedagogy. Pedagogy is a way of teaching and enacting the learning and teaching process. At Trinity we believe in the following principles that underpin what we do and how we do it.

This week we would like to introduce our Challenging Pillar

Educational Rationale:

We believe that the deepest, most valuable learning, leading to growth, results from being challenged. Challenge supports learners to meet future opportunities with courage, a strong sense of social awareness, civic responsibility and commitment to personal excellence. Students will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and character for ‘Learning with the Heart,  Lighting up the Future’.

Vygotsky said we learn best when new material is in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - not too easy, and just challenging enough that, with a little help from a more learned individual, we can master the material and shift our Zone upward. Challenge is the core of the growth mindset; without it, students don’t get the opportunities to take risks, learn to fail and figure out how to pick themselves up again.  This “sense of progress” as Dweck calls it, is central to developing growth mindsets. R. Caine and G. Caine Identified 12 principles of meaningful learning. One of these principles states that complex learning is enhanced by challenge and undermined by fear of failure and an absence of initiative to take control of  their learning. We can foster self-efficacy by supporting and encouraging students to exercise personal agency.. With challenge and the associated risk, Socrates’ philosophy of questioning and self examination still holds a huge amount of value in the modern world. When learners accept that mistakes will happen, and treat them as learning opportunities, growth will follow.

Nietzsche proposed a philosophy of education promoting individual creativity and critical thinking. Developing educational challenge will lead to the development of a free-thinking, independent, critically analytic, creative, self-sufficient student of life who can make a useful contribution to their world. By acknowledging and learning to embrace our weaknesses and idiosyncrasies, we can develop a more balanced and authentic identity. This philosophy dovetails into the Trinity vision, enabling students to achieve ‘the fullness of life’.

Definition:

Challenging is the courage to invest effort and the willingness to overcome obstacles in the pursuit of personal growth.

The HSIE and TAS Key Learning Areas focused on the Challenging Pillar in their classrooms during Semester One. This semester, the Maths, LoTE and Science Key Learning Areas are concentrating on the Challenging Pillar in their classrooms.

On 31st August our extra curricular Dance & Music teams (a total of 60 students!) attended the 2023 Lismore Eisteddfod. The Lismore Eisteddfod was held at Casino Civic Hall and it was an opportunity for students to compete in the Secondary Schools Section. Students had been working since Term 1 in their teams on their performance works!

Our Music Teams:

• Stage 5 Band
• Stage 4 Band

Extra-Curricular Dance:

• Year 7 Dance Ensemble
• Year 8 Dance Ensemble
• Hip Hop Crew (Year 8-11)
• Trinity Dance Company (Year 8-11)

All students performed magnificently and worked really hard with their teachers to produce excellent performances. To also note, all of these teams work during their lunch times to rehearse and develop their skills!

Here’s the results:

Music section:

1st Place and a $150 Outstanding Performance Award: Stage 5 Band

2nd Place: Stage 4 Band

Senior Dance Section:

Dance Company - 2nd Place

Hip Hop Crew - Highly Commended

Junior Dance Section:

Year 7 Dance Ensemble - Highly Commended

Year 8 Dance Ensemble - Highly Commended and $100 Encouragement Award

Miss Angela Geoghegan - Leader of Creative and Performing Arts