RYAN CATHOLIC COLLEGEPARTENAIRES DU COLLEGE VAL DE NIEVRE

A Profile of Ryan Catholic College and TownsvilleBy the Year 11 and 12 Modern History Students:

�Our College:Size- 2 campuses – Junior campus is Kindergarten-Year 4 / Senior campus is years 5-12. There are approximately 2000 students, and 200 teachers/staff.Subjects-Religious EducationHumanities Department – Modern & Ancient History, Legal Studies, GeographyArts- Visual art, Media, Drama, Dance, MusicEnglish DepartmentHPE Department- Health, Health and Physical Education, Recreational studiesTechnology- Information Technology, Graphics, Metal Work, Wood WorkSoft Technology – Cooking, Tourism, Sewing, BusinessMaths DepartmentScience – Chemistry, Biology, PhysicsOutside school sport: Rugby league, Touch football, soccer, netball, softball, water polo, basketball, volleyball.In school sporting houses (used to compete in sports carnivals such as the swimming, cross country and athletics day): McGuire (Green), Griffin (Red), Connolly (Yellow), Mackillop (Purple).

� Academic Uniform Senior:As we are senior students, we have to wear a different/more professional academic uniform then the grades younger than us. All academic uniforms are worn on Wednesday and the sports uniforms are worn every other day, besides for the rare occasion where the school requires us to wear academic on a different day for school gatherings. The school requires you to wear this mature uniform when you reach grade 9.   The difference between the senior uniform and junior academic uniform is that the seniors require a bigger/longer tie, along with a different patterned shirt and a sensible hat. All academic uniforms also require black, leather shoes. Also, the boys of all the grades wear a different shaped shirt, a pair of black school shorts and grey socks instead of white, during academic day.

�Academic Uniform Primary:For primary school students they require a different academic uniform than senior students, along with this uniform they are required to wear black leather shoes. These academic uniforms are for prep to grade 8 and besides from wearing this uniform primary students also have a sports uniform that all year levels wear.

�Sports Uniform:Our sport uniform is a uniform that we predominantly wear on days where we do not have assemblies or liturgies to attend in which we are supposed to look more formal. This uniform is not just for playing sport, yet we wear it for that too. We usually have assemblies on a Wednesday so we generally only wear academic on that day and our sport uniform every other day of the week. It is a school requirement that we wear a hat with our sport uniform as we are in the sun, this hat is a floppy dark blue hat to protect both are faces and eyes. All grades are allowed and required to wear this uniform throughout their schooling.

�At Ryan Catholic College we interact with other schools by participating in both sporting and academic events including interschool sport and athletics, debating team, speech competitions (Italian, Japanese, as well as English). In these activities, we compete against other schools in Townsville for fun and friendly competition. In Townsville there is the Catholic Diocese which associated the Catholic schools with one another, in this way, Ryan is in league with at least 5 other schools in our area.

�About Townsville:Origins of the naming of “Townsville”Townsville was named after its founder, Robert Towns (1794 – 11 April 1873).Townsville was declared a city in February 1866, with John Melton Black elected as its first Mayor.  Townsville developed quickly as the main port and service centre for the Cape River, Gilbert, Ravenswood, Etheridge and Charters Towers goldfields.Local AttractionsCastle Hill is a monolith that stands in the heart of Townsville. It rises to a height of some 286 metres above sea level and dominates the city skyline. Castle Hill is a popular exercise environment with many people either walking or riding up the hill in the cool of early mornings with many walking tracks all over the hill. Castle Hill was used in the Second World War as an observation and communication post, with multiple ammunition stores still accessible. On a cliff face of the hill there can be seen a stick figure of an angle known as “The Saint” that was drawn by local James Cook University students some time ago.

�About 20km east of the city, Magnetic Island is one of Townsville’s main attractions. The island has great views of the reef, and can even be seen from Townsville. The Island has an area of 52 square kilometres, so it has space for many suburbs. Many buildings on the island are apartments, because tourists come to it so often.

�The Great Barrier Reef is also a fine attraction near Townsville. It extends from the north of Australia to Rockhampton, a city south of Townsville. It is so special, it is a World Heritage-listed site. This means that it is kept protected very well. It is seen as one of the natural wonders of the world.

�Indigenous Australians in Townsville

• Cultural centre in the city• Townsville has an estimated indigenous population of 16750.• The Indigenous australians are made up by two groups the

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.• The acknowledgement of country is a method of showing respect

and awareness towards the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, who are the traditional owners of the land.   The Bindal and Wulgurukaba people are recognised as the first communities to live in townsville.

• Indigenous All Stars is the• Jezzine Barracks Indigenous area – sculptures, stories, plants• At present, 3% of Australia’s population identify as aboriginal• Aboriginal flag at our school

Townsville has a very strong Indigenous identity and that is something that we are very proud of. The Indigenous Australians are made up of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait  Islanders and we fly their flags next to the Australian one at our school and in many other places around the city.  Currently there is an estimated total of 16,750 Indigenous people living in Townsville.   There are also many acknowledgements to the culture of the Indigenous, both past and present in Townsville. We acknowledge the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people who were the rightful owners of this land before any community events in school or other places. There is also a cultural centre in the city and Indigenous sculptures, stories and other things at Jezzine Barracks at the beach.Jezzine Barracks Indigenous Sculptures:

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�The Indigenous Cultural Centre in the city:

�Celebrating Australia DayAustralia Day is a public holiday that is known for the appreciation of Australia. Every 26th of January people are not be at work or school  so they can spend the day celebrating the country that we live in. Typically the day is spent by the pool or backyard water slide in the sun enjoying a sausage sizzle. People often dress up in Aussie themed attire to show their pride and patriotism. Types of food that are typically known to be

Australian and specifically eaten on this day are sausages in bread, lamingtons, vegemite and meat pies. Another cultural feature of Australia is the Hottest 100 countdown. One of Australia’s most popular radio stations, Triple J, is known for its music countdown of 100 songs featured  on the radio station and voted for by Australians. The number of Australian musicians that feature in the countdown of songs is what makes it so patriotic to Australian people and a highlight of the day. Australia day is for everyone and overall is filled with yum, sun and lots of fun!

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