News

Welcome to 2022 and how wonderful has it been to welcome back familiar faces and new faces as well into our community. I am, however, looking forward to working together to continue to develop learning and teaching programmes that are not only engaging but also provoke deep thought and engagement. Each year our staff identify areas that will be focussed upon in our School Improvement Plan (and associated actions) across the College to improve the learning outcomes for our students.  In 2022 we will be focussing on: Development of a vision for learning. Focus on spelling in the secondary years. To develop a consistent approach to paragraphing across the year levels Students develop an understanding of the importance of the correct use of grammar and punctuation conventions. Introduction of Talk 4 Writing programme in the primary years. Consolidate the introduction of Literacy Pro in the College and extend to include Year 8 students. In the early years, we shall consolidate comprehension at sentence level using explicit instruction. To improve the number of students meeting the numeracy benchmarks in NAPLAN/OLNA The College to provide alternate pathways to university for Year 12 students, outside of the ATAR pathway.   Outstanding Year 12 2021 Results I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the class of 2021 on their fabulous final results.  We are very proud of the journey that these young women have begun.  Congratulations to all students who were successful in attaining WACE, completing a Certificate III in Business, Sport & Recreation or Education Assistant.  We also are extremely pleased that students were also successful in completing Certificate IV in Health Studies and Preparation in Nursing, Dance and Business; all whilst completing their course work and attaining WACE. Certificate IV in Preparation for Health & Nursing Studies Kirrily Batchem Eilish Webb Alyssa Wheeler Jemma Goulter Certificate IV in Business Hannah Hohmann Certificate IV in Dance Makenzie Logan   Students in our graduating class completed successfully OLNA, received an offer for university or TAFE placement for this year, acquired a scholarship and have been successful in gaining employment.  We are very proud of you all.  A special acknowledgement must go also to the following students who achieved outstanding final results, with ATARs over 90, with our highest achieving student being Nadia Da Silva, who attained an ATAR of 97.7.  A note of congratulations must go to Nadia Da Silva 97.7 Ines Kelly 93 Madison Oliver 97.5 Madison North 92.9 Anya Sills 97.5 Emily Bartlett 91.9 Rachel Dupont 97.45 Georgia Hischar 91.85 Abbey Symmans 96.7 Mikayla Musca 90.85 Nena Runge 95.95 Meg Anderson 90.7 Leisel Kok 93.7 Sana Feast 90.5   Certificates of Distinction Certificates of Merit Rachel Dupont Madison Oliver Nena Runge Anya Sills Meg Anderson Paige Eagan Sana Feast Georgia Hischar Liesel Kok Mikayla Musca Maddison North Hannah Preece Abbey Symmans Eilish Webb   Again, congratulations to all students and we wish Class of 202 all the best, we look forward to you popping past and sharing your life post-SBC with us.   OLNA – Years 10 – 12 Students are required to have met Band 8 in their Year 9 NAPLAN results in all areas of literacy and numeracy. If students do not demonstrate the required standard, they will not be eligible for a WACE. All students receive a Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA), which records every course and program a student has completed in secondary school. If students demonstrate the required minimum standard after they have left school, they will be awarded the WACE (assuming they have met all other WACE requirements). Extensive support is provided at a College level but we do need reinforcement at home, whereby review packages are sent home in areas such as numeracy.  Please speak directly to your daughter’s English and/or Mathematics teachers for individual strategies.   Result Reminders Years 10 and 11 2022 Year 10 Students                     The Semester One Report is used to determine courses available to students in Year 11 2023. Year 11 and 12 Students Students are required to achieve 14 C grades (or equivalents) in Year 11 and Year 12 units (i.e. 7 subjects), including at least six C grades in Year 12 units (or equivalents) (3 subjects).  This is as outlined by the Schools’ Curriculum and Standards Authority, as part of graduation requirements.  Year 12 students who in 2021 achieved 2 or more D grades in their Year 11 subjects have been offered a mentor to assist them – but students and parents do need to be aware that Year 12 students must work with their mentor too! Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding any curriculum matter on either 9290 4234 or via email on walsh.janine@stbrigids.wa.edu.au.   Flexitrack High Our inaugural group of FlexiTrack High students commenced this year, in partnership with Murdoch university.  These students will be completing not only a combination of ATAR and General subjects in Year 12 but also are enrolled at Murdoch University.  Upon successful completion of the 4 modules, students are awarded an indicative 70 ATAR from Murdoch!  The course is designed to help students develop the skills needed to succeed at university, it is delivered as a blended program utilising both online independent study and dedicated class time at each partner school.  We are also fortunate to have our Team Leader for English as our Flexitrack High onsite teacher. We can not wait to introduce you to the girls are their journey!  We are very proud of them all.   Library We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back into the library.  As always, we have some exciting plans ahead of us.  For those who are super organised the Book Week Theme is ‘Dreaming with eyes open.  The Library is open Monday to Friday 8 – 4 pm.   I wish everyone a wonderful and blessed 2022.   Janine Walsh Deputy Principal

Once again, a warm and sincere welcome to our new students and staff, and welcome back to the new school year! Excitement and enthusiasm are palpitating throughout the Primary campus as we engage in our learning. 2022 has not been a smooth year so far as we have encountered a few bumps with the COVID restrictions. Yet I once listen to an Honorary Professor who spoke about chaos in a home. She asked, “If you have 5 minutes, what would you do to your messy home if you knew someone was coming to visit you?” She immediately would sweep the front of her house and boil fresh water. We have to acknowledge that the unexpected, chaos, and inconsistencies are part and parcel of life. However, we can be the consistent ones who continue to welcome and show kindness to the world. In fact, they are very much the Mercy Values that we cherish. This gesture of kindness is a constant occurrence in our primary campus. We see students helping one another, whether it is Year 6s with their year 1s buddies or simply friends helping one another with their work. We are proud of the significant work that has begun with the students participating in various spelling programs. We are also excited as we started in our newly acquired Talk4Writing. The students have done fantastic storytelling and writing; such as the Year 2s narrated the ‘Little Red Riding Hood” story, the Year 3 and Year 4 about ‘The Creek’, and the Year 5 worked on the story entitled “Beowulf”. I highly recommend encouraging your child to retell the stories they have learnt in class! Over to Early Childhood, our pre-primary students learnt about condensation and made rain during a science lesson, and the Kindergarten was immersed in the fun with painting and playing. The Year 6 Gold provided us with our first virtual assembly experience broadcast via Microsoft Teams. Our primary campus is swirling so much fun and engagement. But, at the same time, we always put the child at the centre, encouraging them to build resilience and ensure their well-being is not compromised. We look forward to embracing this year with positivity, whatever challenges and sweet rewards it brings. [easy-image-collage id=17541] “If God sends you down a stony path, He will give you strong shoes.”   God Bless, Anne Tan Head of Primary

Despite a busy first couple of weeks, I have been enjoying my new role as the Head of Boarding! It has been fantastic getting to know the students, watching the ‘old’ girls welcome the new ones and just seeing everyone settling into the new year, in both Boarding and the school. During the transitional period, it is perfectly normal to feel homesick; in fact, we have seen a few tears in our home. But I cannot speak highly enough about our older girls, including the Boarding Council, who have made the new girls feel welcome, reassured them about Boarding life and made sure they are part of the St Brigid’s College Boarding Community. On our first week, we had a fabulous ‘Welcome Weekend’ which was to help the whole community settle into the new year. We also had a lovely picnic at Kings Park, with most of the girls taking part in an impromptu cricket game. But as the temperature increased, we decided to visit the Kalamunda Water Park on one of the weekends and ended the day with a fun disco night. Finally, the girls from the different Houses made a banner for the year, with each one showing some contributions from everyone. I want to thank the House Mums and the Boarding Council for all their work in making all of our weekends’ activities a success. I also want to thank the students (and parents) for the resiliency they have shown, as we are constantly adjusting to the different rules and conditions due to COVID-19. We are keeping a balance between trying to do things as we would normally do and keeping everyone safe. Please be assured that every decision is centred around those two premises. So I thank everyone for their patience and acceptance in these uncertain times. Over the year, there are many activities that the Boarders can get involved in. If your daughter feels bored, we are always ready to help her to find an interest/hobby/passion; please encourage her to come and talk to me or the House Mums about it. Before the Hockey and Netball seasons even start, some of our students are already doing Basketball, Kick Boxing, Gymnastics, Cricket, Horse Riding, and many more! We are always happy to drive the girls to their activities if it is in the local area. Though there are other ways we can help with transportation, such as organising lifts from their day-student mates. We also offer free weekend activities and a few others that do have a small cost; the girls are welcome to sign up every Monday. We have found that students who get involved and stay busy are more likely to enjoy the Boarding life, and also less likely to get into trouble. Overall, it has been a great start to the year, and thank you to everyone for welcoming me into the St Brigid’s Boarding Community.   Judith Cumpsty Head of Boarding

School Opening Mass 2022 At the start of each school year, we gather to celebrate the Opening Mass in our outdoor Cathedral, under the old oak trees outside Lesmurdie Cottage. The beautiful surroundings are a wonderful reminder that our God delights in the celebration of the wonderful gifts we have to offer our school community at the start of a new year. Our theme focused on the Mercy Values of courage and justice, highlighted in the Gospel story of Luke 6:27-31. Father Michael McMahon OSM was our celebrant and we also welcomed a number of the Sisters of Mercy, Ms Mary Retel (Mercy Education Limited Board Director) and College Advisory Council Members. Ash Wednesday Liturgy Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we will be celebrating Ash Wednesday, 3 March, in our individual classes or Homerooms. Ash Wednesday begins our forty-day season of Lent that leads to Easter. On Ash Wednesday, we come together like the people of the Old Testament to remind ourselves that we do not always follow God’s ways and that we need to ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Like God’s people in the time of the prophets, we wear ashes to show that we want to turn away from whatever keeps us from God and to have a change of heart so that we can live in peace and in joy with God and with each other. Fast & Abstinence during Lent The Church season of Lent begins on Wednesday, 2 March with Ash Wednesday. The  College community will participate in an Ash Wednesday prayer service via Teams. Lent is a penitential season of prayer, self-denial and helping others. In this way, the whole Church prepares for Easter, the major Christian liturgical feast of the year. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast (one main meal) and abstinence (no meat). The law of fasting binds those who have completed their eighteenth year, until the beginning of their sixtieth year; the law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year (Code of Canon Law 97, 1251-52). As a result, the canteen will not be serving meat products on Ash Wednesday. Sacramental Programme Parents in Years 3, 4 and 6 are reminded to carefully read the information provided by Barbara Bolding (Our Lady of Lourdes Sacramental Program Coordinator) if you would like your child to receive the Sacraments at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me on 9290 4271 or martino.adrian@stbrigids.wa.edu.au. Project Compassion 2022 Our major fund-raising focus for Term 1 is Project Compassion and we ask our students to be generous and donate their ‘spare change’ during this time. Project Compassion boxes will be distributed to all classes/Homerooms within the College. Your generous support can help to change the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Join us this Lent to raise much-needed funds for people living in poverty. Together, we can make a difference now, and For All Future Generations. Christmas Hampers 2021 – THANK YOU! The College received a thank-you letter from the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish St Vincent de Paul Society for the generosity of our families in supporting their Christmas Hamper Appeal 2021. Vinnies_Hampers-Thank_you_Letter Mr Adrian Martino Head of Faith & Mission

Hello Everyone, I would like to take this opportunity to commend all of the young ladies on such a positive return to school and welcome all of our new ladies and their families to the SBC family. I want to pass on my thoughts to all of the boarding families whose recent fires have impacted several areas and floods in other parts of the state. While COVID is certainly providing its challenges, our thoughts and best wishes are with our families in these affected areas.   Thanks to the Parent Forum, St Brigid’s is part of SchoolTv, and throughout the year, we will be posting links that are relevant to your daughters and sons. In this Enews, the link will help parents and children transition to a new school. This link also covers ideas in assisting students in surviving High School. https://sbcl.wa.schooltv.me/newsletter/school-transitions   Our graduating class of 2022 looked stunning in their ball gowns at the MIAMAD Ball. It was a great night full of memories. We presented the 2022 College Leaders, Assistant College Leaders and the Year 12 House Reps their badges at the open mass held under the trees near Lesmurdie Park. It was a beautiful morning with special guests joining the 90+ students and us from the graduation class of 2021. 2022 started with all things going ahead; however, due to COVID-19, we have had to change the way we do things. The first thing we changed was how we ran our House Assembly. The House Coordinators set up a Team invite to their Homeroom Teachers. The House Coordinators announced the year 8 -11 House Reps, and the Homeroom teacher presented them with their badge. Some of the reps are shown below We as a College have had to change or postpone the swimming carnival, year seven camp, and the year eight teamwork’s day. The SRC Leaders had to think outside the box to present their introductory assembly. This year the leaders broke up into their individuals’ teams, filmed their section sent it to the Head Girls, who created an iMovie and streamed it to the year 7 -12 students.   Every year staff at the college run learning area clubs that provide extra support to the young ladies, some of these are not running. However, the year sevens will have the Homework Helper club running in the Year Seven block Monday afternoons from 3:30 – 4:30. Just a couple of friendly reminders with regards to the young ladies at SBC: Mobile phones must be locked in your daughter’s locked locker from 8:35-3:20 (they can use it to pay for items from the canteen). Smart Watches switched to flight zone. All students come to school wearing their full summer uniform, including their boater. They are provided time to change into their PE uniform Any Year 12 who is driving to school must have completed the drive to school form and return it to student Reception (forms can be collected from Mrs Cumpsty’s office).   Fiona Hepi Head of Secondary