News

Dear Families, As we approach the final week of the academic year, I ask that you take time to thank the staff of the College who have helped your son or daughter throughout 2022.  The greatest gift that you can give any member of our staff community is a ‘thank you’.   The biggest influence on your child’s learning is the teacher, and this should not be taken for granted. This week we commence the liturgical season of Advent.  Our community has been proactive in supporting the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal and we have many baskets of food in support of this outreach and is one way of preparing for Christmas.  This Advent season take time to consider your own preparation for the Feast of Christmas.  Reconnect with family and friends, be open to new friendships, smile a little more, slow down, take time for prayer…  At the heart of Christmas is the birth of Jesus, the prince of peace.   In a world in which we desperately seek peace, consider ways we can offer peace in our own homes, families, and neighbourhoods. The safety and wellbeing of our students remains our greatest priority.  Safety is everyone’s responsibility and we all have a part to play.  Over the last few weeks I have been working with the City of Kalamunda to review the current movement of traffic on Catherine Place and Glen Road.  The team from our local council are currently reviewing signage and traffic flow.  As soon as this is finalized, I will update you.  Please look out for all our children as you use the roads around the College. The College welcomed students commencing in 2023 as part of the Orientation Programme last Friday.  It was a joy to see the generous hospitality shared as the community embraced new families into our community.  The College continues to see a healthy growth in enrolments and I look forward to working closely with new and existing families as we partner in the education of the children in our care. As part of the Orientation morning, I informed families in Year 7 that the students in Years 1 – 10 can wear their sports uniform on the days they have a designated Physical Education lesson. This equates to two days per week.  Students in Years 11 and 12 will be able to wear their sports uniform on Friday only.  Please be advised that in terms 2 and 3, the full winter tracksuit will be required to be worn to and from school on designated days which will be advised early next year for year groups. In 2023, the students in Years 7 – 12 will return to a vertical Home Room structure.  This means the first 15 minutes of the day will comprise of a ‘House’ group of students representing all year groups.  There are great benefits attached to this model for our community as our students collaborate with all year groups within the secondary environment. A Boarding House as a part of a school community provides a unique contribution.  I marvel at the independence of our girls as they embrace the opportunities of education away from home.  Many of our girls leave homes and properties where they have great responsibilities.  They have a broad knowledge and expertise, and I enjoy learning more about their families and communities.  The girls harness the opportunity here at the College to access a high-quality education.  I applaud them for their commitment. The College has two collection bins in Student Services for any old stationery that your son or daughter would usually dispose of at the end of the year.  Please consider putting these items in the collection bins as they can be recycled or repurposed.  The group overseeing this is an organisation called, “Give Write”. St Brigid’s College is truly fortunate to have minimal staff changes for 2023.  I am thrilled that staffing has been finalised and we have an incredible range of expertise available to our students.  I am aware that many staff are still struggling to fill positions in their schools.  The great reputation of the St Brigid’s College community attracts staff of outstanding calibre. At the end of this week, I will send home a final communication with all the essential details you will need in preparing for the 2023 Academic Year.  I look forward to this final week with our students and thank all parents and caregivers for their support in partnering with St Brigid’s College in 2022.   Veronica Parker Principal

As we farewell our final students as they head into their much deserved Christmas break, our staff are working fervently to finalized the Semester Two College Reports.  Reports will be available via SEQTA Engage by the 8th of December.  Should you have any difficulties with accessing SEQTA please contact our College Helpdesk on helpdesk@stbrigids.wa.edu.au.  We are already seeing some outstanding results showing and most importantly improvement from the first semester.  We are looking forward to continued progress by all our students and for them to achieve their personal goals. Booklists have been published to the College website https://sbcl.wa.edu.au/enrolments/booklists/.  As advised we have changed supplier for 2023 and are looking forward to working with Campion Education.  The access code is located on the front page of each booklist.  Your home delivery order will be dispatched no later than the week ending 20th January 2023 but where possible will be dispatched earlier, if placed on or before the cut-off date of Friday, 9th December 2022.  The delivery service is free for orders placed by the 9th December 2022. After this date a delivery charge of up to $17.50 will be charged.  A ‘While You Wait’ collection service is available (Malaga or Canning Vale) but please note long delays can be experienced in the two weeks prior to the commencement of the school year and availability of all stock lines cannot be guaranteed at this time. All back ordered items will be posted and a delivery fee will apply.  Refunds will be given on textbooks/workbooks in new condition up to end of February 2023 or 2 weeks after the purchase date (whichever is later). Digital products and Stationery items cannot be refunded.  Campion will gladly refund or exchange any goods deemed faulty. At this time of the year, our Year 12 2023 (current Year 11s) students may be considering changes to subjects based on their progress in Year 11.  Staff are available up until the 8th December for assistance and return to the College on the 30th January 2023. Students in Years 7 – 12 2023 have been advised of the subjects which they are studying next year, and final timetables via SEQTA are available at the commencement of the school year.   At this time of the year we also sadly farewell some of our students and families, we especially would like to acknowledge our Year 6 boys as they graduate from St Brigid’s and head to Year 7 primarily at Mazenod.  We wish our young men all the best and we look forward to hearing of your ventures (and when you return in 2023 for the Technology experience).  A reminder to these families that there is a need to download no later than the 16th December 2022, their son or daughter’s College Reports and other documents (e.g. NAPLAN or OLNA results), as after this time they will no longer accessible via SEQTA Engage. For College Reports issued in 2021 – 2022, these are located under the ‘Reports’ tab in SEQTA Engage.  You will find all other College Reports (i.e. those issued 2020 and earlier) and school documents in the ‘Documents’ tab in SEQTA Engage.  You will need to select your child’s name from the right-hand side and using the drop down, select ‘All’ as your Document date range. If you are using a mobile device you will need to turn the screen landscape to view student names.  I would recommend all families each year to download documents for safekeeping at home.   There has been must activity over the past weeks and I would like to acknowledge the Technologies teams from both St Brigid’s and Mazenod College for again providing an exceptional experience for the Year 7s at both schools.  We appreciate the work of the staff of both schools! Our girls were fortunate to head to the woodworking room at Mazenod and created stunning cheese boards whilst the boys from Mazenod created a culinary delight of spaghetti Bolognese.  We also have been excited to be working with Mazenod in the area of Outdoor Recreation with our Year 10 students, using the expertise of the combined staff.  This was a fabulous initiative this year. We are looking forward to offering further opportunities in 2023. [easy-image-collage id=20090] A wonderful year is drawing to a close and we know that our students (and staff) are looking forward to a well earned break.   Wishing our families a blessed Christmas and we look forward to seeing everyone in the new year.

On behalf of the St Vincent de Paul Society, thank you for your generous support of the Vinnies Christmas Appeal. It was wonderful to see our homeroom and classroom hampers bulging with all sorts of Christmas goodies, and we are very impressed once again with the way our students and families have embraced this appeal. Your generosity will provide urgent relief for a family doing it tough this Christmas and give them hope for a better future. [easy-image-collage id=20076] We held our final College mass on Friday, the 2nd of December. It was wonderful to be able to come together to give thanks to our God for the many blessing and opportunities we have experienced this year. We are also grateful to Father Separovich for leading our beautiful Thanksgiving mass. As we look to the Second Week of Advent and continue to prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ, there is an emphasis on peace, represented by the second purple candle in the Advent wreath. May we pray and strive for peace and harmony within ourselves, our families, our communities and our world. I wish you all well and hope you have a Happy and Holy Christmas and that the New Year brings much happiness.   Caterina Dwyer

The fourth term has been filled with events. The list is extensive… In-term swimming took place and students marched towards the pool for their lessons on a daily basis. Kindergarten marked 100 days of kindergarten. [easy-image-collage id=20049] Pre-primary had their nativity assembly, and it was immensely enjoyable with so many upbeat tunes dotted throughout the assembly item. Years 1 and 2 combined forces and assembled for their liturgy centred on Jesse’s tree. [easy-image-collage id=20069] We had our beautiful grandparents visiting their grandchildren on Grandparent’s Day. [easy-image-collage id=20056] Students in Year 5 bravely gave speeches for leadership positions. Those presentations were well done. The students voted for the leaders of the ministry, sustainability, sports and culture as well as the House leaders. [easy-image-collage id=20060]   The students showcased the Christmas production “Lights, Camel, Action”. It was a cheerful way to tell the greatest story on earth: the Birth of Our Lord Jesus. [easy-image-collage id=20065] Finally, we congratulated our Year 6  students on completing primary school, and we wish them well as they move on to high school.   Christmas is rapidly approaching. As we prepare for Jesus’ arrival, let us pray and remember the less fortunate brothers and sisters. From our St Brigid’s College team, we wish you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year filled with love.   “Glory to God in the Highest! May the blessings of God’s special gifts be yours this Christmas and in the New Year.”   Warmest Regards Anne Tan Head of Primary

2022 has been a strange year with COVID and restrictions at the start to a free for all pretty much by the end. However, we are very thankful to the families who still followed the Health Department Guidelines. This has enabled the College and classes as well as the socials to all run smoothly for the final weeks at school. Even though we have come to the end of the academic year for 2022 a lot has still being happening. The Year 7s had their Neon disco with the young gentlemen from Mazenod. There were groovy moves on the dance floor not just from the students but the staff who attended.  We welcomed the 2023 new families for orientation. The young ladies had fun and swapped phone numbers so they can stay in touch over the Christmas break.   [easy-image-collage id=20034] The Years 7 -9 students attended their activities day. The 7 and 8s went to Fremantle to watch a movie then headed across to Cicerello’s for fish and chips. A walk across the park to catch the buses and back to school. [easy-image-collage id=20036] While the Year 9s went to Bounce and had a blast. Shooting hoops while bouncing, enjoying a cold drink in between bouncing activities. It is great to see the young ladies helping each other throughout the day. [easy-image-collage id=20037] We finished the year off with our final assembly where the College Assistant Leaders for 2023 were announced. Florence Clarke is Ministry, Lilah Rooke is Cultural, Ayesha Lewis is Sports and Molly Ward is Sustainability. These young ladies will be working alongside the SRC Leaders throughout 2023 to form the Student Voice. Well it is that time of the year to say good bye to families who are leaving St Brigid’s College and hello to the families who are joining us. We wish everyone all the best with the path they travel. I would like to take this time to thank you for your ongoing support, as I have always said it is a partnership between parents and the school when it comes to the education of young minds. Wishing you all a safe Christmas and a Happy New Year and see you and your daughters in 2023 where new things will happen.     Fiona Hepi    

2022 has come to an end for all the young ladies at boarding. It has been an experience in watching them change throughout this semester. Friendships is always a tricky path to travel along especially when they are still trying to work out who they are and living with each other 24/7. However, in saying this it wonderful to see how they young ladies have matured and are starting to use some of the skills they have learned during their PCP sessions at school. We celebrated Christmas as a boarding family and all the young ladies received a small gift from Mrs Clause. The dining room was decorated all things Christmas and the meal prepared by Chief Clare was a traditional Christmas dinner with ham, turkey, pavlova, trifle, jelly ice-cream and of course lollies. The evening was full of laughter and yes, I am sorry to say sugar. Some of the young ladies took a little longer to settle that evening. It reminded me of when my two daughters were growing up and how they would be so hyped up after a good Christmas meal (mainly lollies). [easy-image-collage id=20022] The Boarding mums have been doing a fantastic job in helping the ladies pack up their rooms. It is amazing how much one can gather over the year. Some parents I am sure may have needed a trailer to take everything home. We did open Teresa House where the girls were able to store some of their items. The young ladies had their final Recreational activities for 2022. These included a drive and walk through the city looking at the Christmas lights, the Sand castle building workshop as well as a movie night on the greens (sloped grass between the houses). Another eventful experience for all who participated. [easy-image-collage id=20023]