News

We have definitely ‘hit the ground running’ this term. Commencing with celebrating our wonderful Year 12 student’s final achievements as St Brigid’s graduands.  We are so proud of the level of certification attained by our students, which included Certificate III and Certificate IV qualifications, students successfully completed Flexitrack High through Murdoch University and are on track for their university placement and excellent Year 12 subject results in both ATAR and General Pathways.  We wish all of our students the best in the future endeavours. Our ATAR Examinations will commence in the coming week, please keep these students in your thoughts and know you have ‘got this’. Planning is continuing for 2023 and what an exciting year it is looking like.  We have had the pleasure of enrolling our 2023 Murdoch Flexitrack High students into their course and are excitedly waiting to start this journey with our second cohort.  If there are any current Year 11s who are still considering this option please touch base with myself for more information. A group of Year Nines have sat their OLNA, due to the change of the timing of this literacy assessment (it would normally be held in March next year); as they strive to meet their literacy and numeracy benchmarks for WACE attainment in Year Twelve 2025.  If parents (or students) have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your daughter’s Mathematics or English teacher for further assistance in the coming weeks. The Library continues to be buzzing along this term.  As we move towards Grandparent’s Day a reminder that our annual Scholastic Book Fair will be held during the week commencing the 7th November; there is nothing better than a new book!  The fair will be open from 8 – 8.30 am, lunchtime and 3.30 – 4 pm to students and before and after school for families to visit plus of course during Grandparent’s Day.   We wish all of our students all the best for the coming term.   Janine Walsh

At the beginning of the term, Junior Kindergarten to Grade 1 students bid goodbye to Grade 12 by presenting beautiful, colourful balloons. This gave early childhood children some insight into their future. Our Year 1 Green has made an exceptional assembly, planning what they want to be when they grow up. We want to congratulate all our students who participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition. Chloe De Vos Blaise Parmenter Kayden Seetapah Perryn Squillace Sienna Willis Zachary Cranswick Nicolas Giglia Molly Griffiths Daniel Kettle Jaden O’Brien Caylee Tuffin Prideka Karthikumar Chelsea Pattison Harry Pulford Lara Sanderson Xavier Tonon Jacob Urbani   In addition, Prideka, Harry and Xavier achieved distinction in the competition. Twas the weeks before St Brigid’s College Christmas production entitled “ Lights, Camel, Action”. When all through college, every creature is stirring and busy practising, and even the youngest leagues, the kindergarten is also working hard. The actors’ lines are being learnt, the dances are being practised, and the classes are singing. Hoping that those parents at the concert be swooned by our remarkable talent.   We are excited as the day gets closer.  This year’s Christmas concert has been revamped into a production with parents sitting on chairs and a stage. Prayer to Saint Cecilia O glorious St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr, you won the martyr’s crown without renouncing your love for Jesus, the delight of your soul. We ask that you help us to be faithful in our love for Jesus, that, in the communion of the saints, we may praise Him twice in our song of rejoicing for the Blood that He shed which gave us the grace to accomplish His will on earth. Amen.    

On the last day of Term 3, we celebrated Mercy Day – a wonderful observance celebrating our Mercy Heritage and raising awareness (and funds) for Mercy Works, which runs world-class programs that engage in partnership with challenged communities to enjoy the right to basic resources. We began the day celebrating Mass with Fr Michael McMahon OMI and listening to a reflection by Sister Joanne Dickson RSM on how we might ‘Light the Way’ in our world today. [easy-image-collage id=19801] Our main fund-raising event was the running of stalls by each house, including a sausage sizzle, donuts, lolly bags, cans of drink, etc. After our Cultural Festival, celebrating the many talents of our students, we concluded the day with the Colour Run. Thank you to all who contributed goods for our stalls, including Lesmurdie IGA, who donated cans of drinks and ice for the day. Our Mercy Day Stalls and Sleepout for Mercy Works raised a total of $3600.00 – a brilliant effort by all! [easy-image-collage id=19805] This term, we are collecting goods for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas hampers, ensuring all families in our community have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas even though they may be struggling financially. Further information regarding what is needed for the hampers will be distributed soon.

We started the term quietly with the Year Twelves sitting their final school exams. But this did not last long as we moved on to the final Year Twelves celebrations starting with the traditional boater throw (I have to say this tradition is becoming bigger and bigger every year) choreographed by the year 12 dance students. It was here they moved to their final assembly and another tradition of the eldest students receiving a token from the youngest students before performing the Year they graduate on the oval. The last two days are packed for our year 12s; however, they cap it off with their graduation dinner and awards nights. The young ladies enjoyed the final celebrations, and now some are sitting their ATAR exams while others have joined the workforce full-time. We wish the class of 2022 all the best with this next chapter, and may they keep living their life like Catherine McAuley. [easy-image-collage id=19826] Things did not quiet down once the twelves left as we moved straight on to celebrate students who achieved high results and special awards at Presentation night for years 7 -11. On the night, we were lucky to have the choir perform, and the dancers, including the Blaze dancers, showed all present what they had been learning throughout the evening.   [easy-image-collage id=19830] The Year Nines had their final social with Mazenod. This was an evening on the Kalamunda Bowling Greens. The young students created teams and sent half the evening bowling and the other half playing games eating and cheering the lawn bowlers on.   [easy-image-collage id=19834] SchoolTv special report is ‘A Guide to Safe Partying.’ Celebrations, partying and socialising are a fundamental rite of passage and one of the most important aspects of a young person’s life. Although the prospect might seem somewhat daunting or even terrifying for parents and caregivers, keeping young people safe can often be a compromise and a challenge. Your son or daughter may appear to be physically large and mature, but their emotional maturity and responsibility do not necessarily match this in behaviour. Most young people try to do the right thing most of the time, but your leadership as a caregiver is crucial. Ensure you are a good role model and discuss your personal views on drug and alcohol use. Your attitude towards addictive substances can have an enormous influence on the way your teenager approaches their use. Hosting a celebration at home or a venue for your teenager can be a fun and memorable event. It all comes down to careful planning. Agreeing on the ground rules before your event is announced is essential to ensure a clear understanding later. As the host, you owe your guests a ‘duty of care and, therefore, should take all reasonable steps to ensure everyone attending the party is kept safe. Every party has the potential to get out of hand, as sometimes it’s hard for young partygoers to make good decisions. Communication and regular discussions are vital because young people often face peer pressure to do things they prefer not to engage in. ‘A Guide to Safe Partying’ – READ HERE.   I have mentioned this before however, I encourage you to have a conversation with your daughter/s from year 7 up about the dangers of Vaping. We know this is happening at school but have not been able to speak to the young ladies who are doing it about the dangers of Vaping and the consequences of them being caught vaping at school. The link below has some vital information about vaping and is written by a parent from St Brigid’s. Health Worries Lifting the Cloud on Vaping – READ HERE.   Please click on the link below to read more about research on vaping. An interesting read about Gen Vape and to why some of the young children in our care do vape – READ HERE.   In term Four, the young ladies wear their summer uniform and their boater, and I have to say I am pleased to see that the majority of them are wearing their boater at recess and lunchtime and their dresses are a nice length. However, if you have noticed that your daughter’s dress is short, please take the hem down.   Kind regards Fiona

We ended Term 3 with the first of many celebrations for our Graduating Year 12 Girls of 2022. We had a lovely High Tea at “Lavender Bistro and Boutique”. The girls were thrilled to have Father McMahon, Principal Mrs Parker, Year 12 Team Leader Mrs Cumpsty, Ms Hepi, Mrs Byrne and Housemother Mrs Gill and Mrs O’Grady. Year 12 girls then returned to a fun-filled night, the year 11 girls were hosting a “Farewell to Year 12’s” evening, and all the Boarding Girls attended in their PJs and take their doonas. The girls are presented with a slideshow of photos of the graduating class, and each girl receives a gift presented by a Year 11 girl with some kind words about a fun time or a memorable moment in their Boarding journey. Well done, Year 11 girls, for a great night Mercy Dinner was celebrated in our Dining Room, with special guests and our young ladies looking lovely. Thank you to our Principal for being our special guest speaker. Also, we must thank our Year 10 girls for waitressing on the tables, they were kept very busy serving the food and drinks all evening. Well done girls. Thank you to Chef Peter and his very capable kitchen staff for a beautifully presented 3 course meal that was delicious and truly appreciated by our guest’s and Boarding Community. Just when we thought we had it all planned for the end of term our Prime Minister thought he would spice things up for us by announcing a Public Holiday on the last day of term! A mad scramble was then done by staff and parents to change travel plans… Year 9 girls have had a Social at the Kalamunda Bowling Club, so they got to test their lawn bowling skills out, a fun night enjoyed by all that attended. The annual Sportsperson Awards night has been held and is was very pleasing to see our Boarding girls do very well in the awards presented in the various sports offered her at SBC. Well Done girls. We have also had a varied amount of Weekend Rec Activities on offer to the girls, that has included Scarborough Beach Markets, San Churros, AFLW games, Taco Bell, Lesmurdie Falls, Christmas Decoration making and the list goes on. Whilst I am on the subject of Weekend Rec, it would be pleasing to see more girls putting their names down for Rec, many events are cancelled purely because of lack of numbers. So, if your daughter is saying its boring on weekends, this is purely because they are choosing to be bored, so please encourage them to put their names down so we can take girls to all the events that we plan on a weekend. Some of our Year Eleven girls, attended the Out-Door Recreation Camp and from what we have heard they had a good time even though it was cold some mornings. We still have plenty to cover this term, with many more exciting events in the next few weeks, so until next time.   Kind Regards Donna, Lynn and Fiona