CBHS Lewisham Highlights

19 May 2023
Acting Principal's Message

Boys’ Education

“Boys and Literacy” by Ian Lillico

This article by renowned expert on Boys’ Education, Ian Lillico, supports CBHS Lewisham’s heavy
emphasis on improving the levels of literacy at the School. This requires the boys to be more
responsible for their learning – part of this push includes reading each night. I encourage all our boys to
read more, write more and talk more instead of being on social media sites.
“One of the major issues concerning boys is the levels of literacy.

Over the last few decades there has been a shift in boys’ learning patterns and a major move from
paper-based information retrieval towards electronic media such as computers, television and digital
media. Men have never been as keen on reading books for pleasure as much as women, but the current
lack of reading by boys is a major concern to society.

As boys move into Secondary school and higher education, where there is a reliance on text books, they
seem to plateau and the lack of reading from their Primary years has its impact on their results as they
have difficulty comprehending textual material and often haven’t developed the reading habits which
allow them to progress successfully.

This is now even more exacerbated as curricular design has moved towards a more written approach to
subjects that were more experiential a decade or so ago. Boys’ poor literacy levels are now impacting on
all their subject offerings and desperate measures are needed to get them back to books, writing and
oral communication.

Around the globe the literacy levels of boys are significantly lower than girls and there is a need for
schools and parents to work closely together to arrest this pattern if our boys are going to cope with a
modern workforce that emphasises interpersonal skills including oral and written communication.”
Drop off and Pick up Protocols

This is a reminder to any parent/carer who drives to and from the School when dropping off and picking
up their sons. It is extremely important that you follow the road rules at all times. Our neighbours in
this community deserve due consideration in regards to noise, driving and parking. Please remember
the following:

• Do not park across driveways; even if you remain in the car, you cannot block a driveway.

• Do not park across grass areas or on median strips

• Do not stop or park in ‘No Parking’ or ‘No Stopping’ zones

It is paramount that you pick up your sons only from the pickup zone in The Boulevarde – not on
Denison Road which is a designated bus pick up and drop off zone.
We thank you for your support in this matter.

Enrolments

At the moment, the School is accepting enrolments and conducting interviews for 2024, 2025 and 2026.

If you are interested in a place in any of these years, please go on the website or contact the School’s
Front Office.

Sport Update

Thank you to all the boys that continue to represent the School in Term 2 sports. Rugby League and
Football seasons are well under way and the participation rate of boys in these representative teams has
never been higher.

Thank you to Mr David Mamo who organises the representative teams each week and thank you to
those teachers who coach or manage the teams.

Sickness & Absentees

A number of boys are attending school with flu symptoms – may I please ask: if your son is feeling
unwell or displaying flu symptoms, please keep them at home. Boys that are sick will be sent home.

Extended leave

If your son is intending to have an extended period of time away from school, you will need to apply for
Leave. The Leave forms are available from the Front Office.
 1 - Julian Tavares

Gymnastics

The National Competition for Gymnastics was recently held on the Gold Coast. Julian Tavares of Year 11
represented New South Wales at these championships in the under 18’s team. This event covered six
apparatus – and the result was a Gold Medal.

Julian will now continue his training both at base and AIS, with other additional training state training
throughout the year to hopefully gain a position in the Junior World Championships.

Please enjoy the link below that shows the unbelievable talents of Julian:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/786772409480132?fs=e&s=aEkTS0&mibextid=z9DgKg

Mother’s Day Stall

I would like to thank Mrs Athena Martikas for all her hard work surrounding the Mother’s Day stall. It is
a huge commitment to be at the School for two weeks every day and organising the presents. Athena is
part of our Parents’ and Friends’ Committee and is always giving of her time.

Mother’s Day Mass

I extend a huge thank you to Mrs Garnie Mardini and her Year 12 Hospitality class for their work at our
recent Mother’s Day Mass and celebration. The following students and staff assisted very capably on
the day: Zach Cuzzocrea; Christian Hadjidakis; Jacob Klower; Chris Mourgelas; Thomas Prusicino;
Marcus Pup; Keanu Roberts-Lintmeijer; Mr Rob Katovcic; and Mrs Leanne Brown

Special thank you to Mrs Caroline Nikifordis for her great support during the Mass.

Year 6 Mass

Year 6 Grade Mass Link https://forms.gle/9hefL6F7KUSqjbML7

Primary Sport

Congratulations to our two teams that represented CBHS Lewisham at the Sydney Catholic Schools’ Gala
Days for Netball and Football. The football squad played seven games, winning each of them and then
winning the Grand Final 4-2. Thank you to Mr Vince Colagiuri who guided the boys on the day. The
School also entered a Netball team who made the Grand Final, but narrowly went down. Thank you to
Mrs Deb Cummins who coached the side for many weeks and looked after the team on the day.
Mark Woodbury

Acting Principal
Year 10 Information Night - Wednesday, 24 May 2023
The School will be holding an online Year 10 Information Night for both parents and students on
Wednesday, 24 May at 6 pm. We will be providing information to students who wish to undertake a
school based apprenticeship or traineeship in Years 11 and 12, as well as information on the onsite and
offsite VET courses that will be on offer next year. Information on how to join the online meeting will be
emailed to parents on Monday of next week.

Keith Page

Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning

2023 Ethics Olympiad

2 - Anthony Kazzi

Congratulation to our School Captain, Anthony Kazzi, who has been awarded The Ethics Centre Prize –
with $100 prize money - at the 2023 Ethics Olympiad case writing competition.
More than 100 cases have been submitted by students from around South East Asia, Australia and New
Zealand. The competition requires participants to think critically, to address current ethical dilemmas
and to propose thoughtful solutions. Anthony’s case on ‘Sports washing’ presents a clear moral issue
that affects many sports today and is a scenario that will certainly encourage civil discourse in future
Ethics Olympiads. This prize is a testament to his dedication to insightful ethical discussions in
Philosophy Club and Ethics Olympiads.

Ms Szilvia Soter

CSDA Debating Round 3

Round 3 of the CSDA Competition saw CBHS Lewisham debating Clancy Catholic College last week in a
home debate. The senior teams debated that knowledge is more important than experience, the
intermediate teams, that reality TV shows are detrimental to our society and the junior teams, that
technology does more harm than good.

Lewisham debaters are to be congratulated on a successful night with the 7B, 8B, 9A, Senior Open A and
B teams winning their debates.

At home again this week, CBHS Lewisham boys are debating Santa Sabina College, another competitive
team in what continues to be a tough draw.

Next week we are heading southwest to the farthest reaches of the city to debate the teams of St
Gregory’s College, Campbelltown.

Paul McCallum

Debating Coordinator

Primary Social Justice

St Vincent de Paul Society

Vinnies Vans are outreach services that provide meals and snacks, blankets, toiletries, hot beverages
and companionship. Their vans operate across Greater Sydney and in targeted regional areas.
Last term the Primary families kindly donated thousands of food items and as a result we were able to
make over 500 snack packs. The packs were then distributed through the Vinnies vans, being
appreciated and enjoyed by many. We thank all those families who participated and helped make the
initiative a great success.

CBHS Lewisham's Bigggest Morning Tea

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea is a community event that raises vital funds to make a big difference for
those impacted by cancer. The Cancer Council is Australia's leading cancer charity, working across every
aspect of every cancer.
The Cancer Council supports people impacted by cancer when they need it most, speak out on behalf of
the community on cancer issues, empower people to reduce their cancer risk and find new ways to
better detect and treat cancer.

The Primary Social Justice group are holding their own Biggest Morning Tea on Wednesday, 24 May. All
Primary students are invited to participate by donating $5, either in cash or through the QR code beside
by Monday, 22 May. In return students will be served a drink and some delicious morning tea.

Mrs Tracey Malloy

Primary Social Justice Coordinator

Sport
SYDNEY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS (SCS) COMPETITION

Yesterday saw WEEK 4 of the SCS Winter Sporting Competition in Football and Rugby League. We are
competing across three age divisions, Senior (Years 11/12), Intermediate (Years 9/10), Junior (Years 7/8)
in Football, while Rugby League is an age based competition in the U13, U14, U15 and Opens.

Results yesterday were:

A reminder to all families that now we are in Week 5 of the Winter competition, all players are expected
to be in the correct shorts and socks available from the uniform shop. NO VARIATIONS TO UNIFORM,
however close, will be permitted to be worn during matches.

Please note that game times and venue are subject to change, so players have been asked to contact
their parents/carers on game day with any late changes.

A note that for all local park venues including Petersham, Arlington and Marrickviile, as well as Lambert
for SENIORS only, boys will walk independently, without teacher supervision, to these venues.

Training in Rugby League and Football continues next Wednesday after school. All Rugby League will
take place at Marrickville Park while football training will be at Beaman for our Junior (Years 7 and 8)
and at Arlington for our Intermediate and Senior Footballers. Boys will make their own way by walk to
Marrickville and Arlington while return bus transport will be provided to Beaman. The boys then will be
dismissed from the park at approximately 4.50 pm. Appropriate training gear is to be worn and boys are
reminded that when they are travelling home, they must be dressed in either FULL SCHOOL UNIFORM or
FULL TRAINING GEAR, in other words, they cannot be dressed with only parts of either.
Boys not participating in Representative Sport will be doing House Sport on Thursdays during Sport time.
Venues may change according to the use of fields for representative sport. This coming week, the
venues are expected to be:

Year 7 Cintra Park Year 8 Cintra Park Year 9 Fraser Park Year 10 Lambert Park Year 11 Arlington

Good luck to some of our Intermediate and Senior Footballers who will take part in the NSWCCC Trials
on Monday and Tuesday next week. The players will be George Kontis, Prayaag Thapa, Marcello
Nicolello, Max Rulli, Daniel Rulli, Stelios Roulis and Brayden McPherson.

Good luck also to our Cross Country Team who will participate in the SCS Championships on Tuesday at
the Sydney Motorway Park

CSNSW Registrations are now Open on the CSNSW Website csnsw.sport

NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE CLOSE DATE. A reminder to all families that
interested boys should regularly check both the SCS and NSWCCC websites for these dates around their
chosen sports and registration details:

https://sydcatholicschools.nsw.edu.au/tag/representative-sports-pathways

https://sydcatholicschools.nsw.edu.au/sports-news

csnsw.sport

Students will need to individually register for most events.

Please note that most of the groups are AGE SPECIFIC so if unsure if your son qualifies, seek clarification
from Mr Mamo first. Quite a few Year 7 students have registered for Opens or U19 teams for example.

David Mamo

Sports Coordinator
Winter Uniforms
For more information and to shop online please visit

https://www.cbhslewisham.nsw.edu.au/enrol/uniform-shop/
Acknowledgement of Country

We respectfully acknowledge the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, who are the Traditional Owners of
the land on which Christian Brothers Lewisham is built, and pay our respect to their Elders past, present
and emerging.

We are honoured to recognise our connection to Gadigal Country, history, culture and spirituality
through this location, and strive to ensure that we operate in a manner that respects and honours the
Elders and Ancestors of these lands.

We also respectfully acknowledge Lewisham’s Aboriginal, Torres Strait and South Sea Islander staff,
students, alumni, partners and visitors.

We also acknowledge and respect the Traditional Owners of lands across Australia, their Elders,
Ancestors, cultures and heritage, and recognise the continuing sovereignties of all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Nations.