College News

Dear Families, Students, Staff and Friends of St Brigid’s College,   Final Week  Next week, we enter our final week of the Semester.  It has been a wonderful term with the students at St Brigid’s College engaged in learning across all subject areas.  I applaud our students and encourage them to review their progress and set new goals for Term 3.  Next week, on Thursday, 29th June, we have our parent / teacher / student meetings. The final day of Semester One is Wednesday, 28th June.   Year 12 Retreat  Our Year 12 cohort have just spent three days, Wednesday to Friday, on Retreat at the Serpentine Baptist Camp.  We look forward to seeing them back on Monday.  Next term they will commence their final term of compulsory education.   Sacramental Programme  Last weekend some of our Year 6 students received the Sacrament of Confirmation at our closest parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, Lesmurdie.  Congratulations to all our students and I ask that you keep these students in your prayers. The College supports all students who are preparing for the sacraments of Penance (First Confession), First Holy Communion and Confirmation.  The Archdiocese encourages all students to receive the sacrament, in the parish Churches in which they worship with their families.  If you would like further details, do not hesitate to contact our Head of Faith and Mission, Mr Adrian Martino at martino.adrian@stbrigids.wa.edu.au The Archdiocese of Perth Sacramental policy can be accessed at: https://www.cewa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Sacramental-Policy-for-School-Aged-Children.pdf   School Photos Update  Please be advised that the following dates have been provided by our school photographer, Photo Hendriks.  Our previous photo day was cancelled. Kindy to Year 3 and Year 6:        Monday, 26th June Year 4 and 5:                                   Wednesday, 19th July Secondary Catch-Up Photographs:                                 Monday, 26th June, we will have catch-up portraits for our Secondary students who were absent on our previous photo day.    Semester One Reports and Parent / Student / Teacher Meetings    Your child’s Term One Report will be uploaded to SEQTA Engage this afternoon.  The Semester One Report provides a snapshot of a student’s academic progress and application across this first term.  Please contact our Helpdesk for assistance at helpdesk@stbrigids.wa.edu.au to receive the link to access your student’s report via SEQTA Engage, should this, or login instructions, have been misplaced. On Thursday, 29th June (9.00a.m. to 5.45p.m.), meetings will be held for Kindergarten to Year 12 families in the College Library. Students in Year 3 to Year 12 are encouraged to join their parents at this meeting.  The portal for interviews is currently open. Booking a Meeting   SEQTA Engage allows parents to book their interview and is available under the “Interviews” tab. Instructions on how to access this portal are on the College Website at the following location: https://sbcl.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Logging-into-SBC-Seqta-Engage.pdf Once appointments are made, they can be viewed via the “Interviews” tab on SEQTA Engage, or a confirmation of appointments can be printed.  The portal will be closed for further bookings at 9.00a.m. on Tuesday, 27th June.  Appointments cannot be made beyond this date and your understanding in this matter is appreciated.  Our teaching staff require time to prepare for the interviews. Each interview will be 10 minutes in duration.  Should a longer time be required, please arrange to speak with the relevant teacher/s in Term 3 by contacting them as follows: (surname.firstname@stbrigids.wa.edu.au) Interviews will occur between 9.00a.m. and 5.45p.m. It is important that booking times are adhered to so that interviews for other parents are not impacted. Should a staff member be absent, you will be contacted via email from the College.   Why send your daughter to an all-girls secondary school?  The  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives.  Attached is an interesting article sharing some recent research from the OECD which highlights the benefits of all girls’ schools in Australia. Girls’ school classrooms less disruptive – research https://www.theeducatoronline.com/k12/news/girls-school-classrooms-less-disruptive–research/282420   Let’s Celebrate our Children This week, the following primary students received Merit Awards and, as a community, we congratulate them for their efforts:   PP Gold Alice Robinson PP Gold Arya Vuletich     1 Gold Clodagh Eaton Nina Klaric 1 Green Jack Sanderson       2 Gold Wynter Miller Arlo Smith 2 Green Phoebe Kampen Tahlia O’Meagher Erin Smith     3 Gold Oscar Fitzgerald Madelyn Wheatley 3 Green Maddison Bongiovanni Piper Don     4 Gold Sophia Hookway-van Straalen 4 Green Indiana Hall Elsie Haselden     5 Gold Jessica Edwards 5 Green Cinyee Aird Daniel Logan     6 Gold Kyle Hales Allegra Vetta 6 Green Emmanuel Parlapiano Alina Stokic     PE Isla Emmott Ella O’Shaughnessy PE Stella O’Shea Matthew Purvis     Celebrating our Alumni  Elise Jarman (Class of 1941)  With the current success of the Matilda’s in soccer, Local Studies has chosen to take a look back at Women in Sport. This week we focus on Elise Jarman and her long contribution to local tennis. Boarding school was the first time I played tennis. Herbert A. Edwards was our teacher and in class we used to do all the motions of tennis. They even made it part of the entertainment at the school concert at the end of the year, the Tennis Tableau. We all got up there in our tennis dresses, with our rackets and we’d do the serve and the forehand and the backhand to music. It was a scream really. I don’t know what the parents must have thought. When I was a teenager, everybody was keen to have a game of tennis, but I never got around to joining a club in those days. Every now and then I’d organise a four for tennis and we would go and hire a court and play tennis. City Beach didn’t really have a Tennis Club until about the mid-1950s. I suppose we had lived there for about 10 years by then. There was a group of people who lived at the southern end of the district, and they played tennis on a private court there. The interest among that group had attracted a few more people and they realised they couldn’t keep using this court, so they approached the Council to set aside some land and build a clubhouse.   In those days, they dropped a note into every house in the area, to let us know anything that was going to happen. Anyhow, I went along to a meeting of The City Beach Progress Association, held at the old tea rooms down at the south end of the beach. I am just wondering how I got there, because I didn’t drive at that time. I must have gone with somebody else, I suppose, unless Harry dropped me down or something. But we had little kids, and we couldn’t leave them, so one of us had to stay home and it was I who went to the meeting. Anyhow, it was decided that they would approach the Council, which all happened and eventually we got our tennis club going.  Harry and I were inaugural members for that. Then, not awfully long after, they got a bowling club going. The Progress Association was always looking for something going on.    We built a little building, which just had two tiny rooms and a toilet at either end, which became public toilets, but we could lock up the two little rooms. One was kind of a storeroom, that was about the size of the rooms, and the other one was a tiny little kitchenette with an urn in it. They opened the courts before they had the building finished and we were able to play. We would go down on a Saturday afternoon, and we would have a thermos of tea and a beach umbrella. They felled a big tree, so there was a big log and we used to sit on the log, with our cup of tea, under the beach umbrella. Harry and I both served on the committee at the Tennis Club, but Harry became President and served for over 20 years as President. About 18 months before Harry died, somebody suggested to the committee that the present pavilion, which was built in 1975, during the time Harry was President, be called the “Harry Jarman Pavilion”. During that time, we instituted a trophy for the annual trophy presentations for “Best Club Member”. The stipulation was that this trophy was for people who were not on the committee. They did not have specific jobs to do, but they were just people who were always there, always doing things, but were sort of quite outside any of the things that the committee handled.  It was called the “Jarman Trophy”. At first it used to be a tray or something like that, with engraving on it and so on, but these days, I give money or a gift voucher or something like that. That has been going for quite a number of years. So, I’ve played tennis since I was at St Brigid’s in Lesmurdie, where I learned to play tennis. I am 96 years old now, so one could say I’ve played tennis for at least 80 years, but almost 70 years at City Beach.   2022 College Yearbook We are pleased to announce that the 2022 College Yearbooks have arrived and will be distributed to students over the coming week.  Please look out for your copy soon!   Kind regards, Veronica Parker Principal  

Dear Families, Students, Staff and Friends of St Brigid’s College, Today’s Newsletter comes to you from Karratha!  For the past week, the Principal of Mazenod College, Mr Simon Harvey, our respective Heads of Boarding, Fiona Hepi and Annamaria Cream and I have been touring the north-west of our State visiting Kununurra, Broome, Port Hedland, Tom Price and, of course, Karratha in an effort to attract enrolments. Whilst the travelling has been exhausting, the experiences we have had in meeting current and prospective families has been amazing.  I am very proud to be showcasing St Brigid’s College and the outstanding amenities and facilities that we offer students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12. Absentees This week we have again seen significant numbers of students absent due to sickness.  Thank you for keeping your child / children at home when they are unwell.  Keeping our community healthy relies on us all doing our part.  If your child is unwell and cannot attend school, please remember to let our team in Student Services know at studentreception@stbrigids.wa.edu.au, call our absentee hotline on 9290 4256 or alternatively, complete the form via the College website at https://sbcl.wa.edu.au/absentees/ Students arriving after 8.50a.m. must sign in via Student Reception and any absences must be verified and a reason provided by a parent. Enrolments  A reminder that we are currently enrolling for places in our Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten programmes for 2024.  If your child turns three in 2024, he or she is eligible to attend Pre–Kindy as soon as this milestone is achieved. Students entering Kindergarten in 2024 are required to be turning four years of age by the 30th of June 2024.  Please contact our College Registrar, Ms Patty Majko, for further details. Majko.patty@stbrigids.wa.edu.au   Community News Australian Red Cross Soup Patrol Soup Patrol is a mobile food provision service for people who are homeless, socially disadvantaged or on very low incomes.  It covers two stops in the City of Fremantle, has been operating in Perth since 1974 and the service operates seven nights a week. The Red Cross Soup Patrol relies on donations to keep running.  Hollywood Hospital provides soup every night, some bakeries donate bread, and the fruit is also donated.  The Soup Patrol service is carried out by independent volunteers from schools, universities and corporate teams, as well as community and family-based teams.  We are happy to advise that our College has a team of volunteers who help with Soup Patrol.  Year 10 and Year 11 students volunteer as part of their MIA MAD program.   ECU School of Engineering STEM Holiday Program July 2023 Following successful programs held in the previous school holidays, ECU are pleased to announce the ECU School of Engineering STEM School Holiday Program – CREATE will be offered in July 2023. The one-day workshops will be held on the 4th, 5th, 12th and 13th July.  This program is offered at no cost to participating students. CREATE is designed to support the teaching and learning of STEM subjects for students interested in STEM studies and is suitable for students who will be enrolled in Years 9 to 12 in 2023. Please see the flyer outlining the program details along with the link to TryBooking Places are still available, and registration closes on 23rd June 2023. More information about this program can be obtained from the Administration Team, School of Engineering by email at se-create@ecu.edu.au or by telephone on 6304 2924.   Mazenod College MyPath Careers Expo The staff of Mazenod College extend an invitation to all community members to attend their Careers Expo in the College Gymnasium on Tuesday, 20th June between 3.10p.m. and 5.30p.m. Over 20 exhibitors from RTO’s, Universities, businesses, industry representatives, and employers will be represented. Parent Forum Grant Applications  Each year the Parent Forum is given a sum of money, by way of parent contributions, as part of your children’s school fees.  In addition to this, the Parent Forum holds various fundraising events during the year.  These funds are used to help our children and it is expected that the funds allocated each year are spent in that year, so that the students whose families have contributed, receive the benefit from these funds. A Parent Forum Grant can be for any purpose that helps support our children, the College, or engages the wider community.   Grants are designed to help meet those needs that are not funded by the College directly.  Over the past two years, our students have been the recipients of the following amazing equipment as a result of the generosity of the Parent Forum: 2022     2023 Nature Playground Phase 2 Equipment for the Boarding House NAIDOC Celebrations Catering for sporting events Subscription to SchoolTV Primary School Disco Portable movie equipment for Boarding NAIDOC Celebrations 2 x Table Tennis tables Air Hockey Table Floor Mats Chess sets Singlets for students competing in ACC events Quiz Night Catering for sporting events Equipment for the Boarding House   For further information about Parent Forum Grants, please refer to the College’s website: https://sbcl.wa.edu.au/parent-forum/ The Grant Application form can be downloaded via https://sbcl.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PF-Grant-Application-Form-2017-.pdf   Swim Mechanix Term 3 bookings for swimming lessons open on Friday 30th June.  Should you be interested, please create your account online –www.swimmechanix.com.au   College Alumni News It is always great to hear what our College Alumni are up to!  Ash-Leigh Hunter, Class of 2000, is Dancing with the Stars and partnering with Phil Burton from Human Nature from this coming Sunday 18th June.  Tune in at 7.00p.m. on Channel 7. Reunions  In Term 3, we will be sharing details about our annual Alumni Reunions which are hosted by the College for the 10, 20, 30 and 40-year cohorts and our beloved Golden Girls. There are a few special groups, however, who are hosting their own Reunions. Liz Jenkin (nee Goetz) from the Class of 1983 extends an invitation to any student who would have graduated Year 12 in that year to attend a 40 Year Reunion at the St Brigid Bar in Doubleview on Saturday, 14th October from 5.30p.m. Liz would appreciate this news being shared and welcomes enquiries on either her mobile number 0402 035 650 or via email rjenks@iinet.net.au Please stay tuned for news of our College Reunion details! In conclusion, I have attached a copy of our flyer, ‘This Week at the College’ that will provide you with an overview of events for the coming week.  I hope you enjoy these snippets.   Kind regards, Veronica Parker Principal