News

Okay, it is fair to say that Term Three has slipped right by without evening stopping for a breath. So, what have the young ladies achieved so far this term? The Year Eleven’s stood up in front of the Year Seven to Eleven students presenting their speeches about why they should be voted for a 2022 College Leadership position. The voting was done online after the speeches, and the girls have interviews with relevant staff members for their area. The young ladies in Year Ten and the boys from Mazenod College have been attending dance lessons for two weeks, which led to the formal dance social where they had the opportunity to display these steps and some original dance steps. A massive shout out to Ms Wood and her social committee, who turned the gym into a Night in New York. The young ladies dressed beautifully for the evening, and some of the young ladies brought a change of shoes so they could still dance but in comfort. The Year Elevens had the opportunity to invite a significant male figure to the Father-Daughter Dinner, where they were tested on how much they knew each other. Then the girls had to test their accuracy to win a prize for their Father for Father’s Day. Judith Cumpsty and her committee members put a fantastic evening on, and managed to turn the Staffroom into an Night Amongst the Stars. Entertainment for the evening was by the Year Eleven band, who played and sang Mad World by Tears For Fears. It was great to see the number of secondary students dress up for book week, from Bob the Builder, to Dr Seuss and Bananas in Pyjamas. As you know, the college has a subscription to SchoolTV. The link below is designed to empower parents with fact-based, helpful information, offering practical and ongoing support strategies for anxiety. Anxiety symptoms are sometimes not all that obvious as they often develop gradually and can be difficult to distinguish from day-to-day worries. It’s a serious condition that makes it hard to cope with daily life. https://sbcl.wa.schooltv.me/newsletter/youth-anxiety Fiona Hepi Head of Secondary School

Welcome to Term three, and I would like to take this time to welcome all the new families that have become part of the St Brigid’s Community this term. Term Three started with the SRC assembly where the College Leaders spoke to the students about mental health and how the Leaders will be putting information around the College regarding support and services for Mental Health. Mental health refers to an individual’s emotional, psychological and social well-being. It can impact a child’s ability to function in daily life, affecting how they think, feel and act. As you can see, Mental Health is a big concern for our students, and the students are the reason the College is subscribing to SchoolTV. St Brigid’s intends to assist parents in building young men and women who are confident, resilient, and willing to be positive contributors to their communities. One way is to help parents be informed with clear, fact-based information on the many challenges faced by today’s youth. Topics such as youth anxiety, depression, self-harm, drug and alcohol use, cyber-bullying, and many others need clear explanation and guidance. To that end, SchoolTV is an ongoing resource that is now available to our parents. SchoolTV provides a single stream of independent factual information organised by topic, saving parents time and confusion of searching online across multiple sites for information. Under each major topic, parents will find expert interviews, fact sheets, parent quizzes, recommended apps, books and much more. SchoolTV aggregates information from many great resources such as BeyondBlue and ReachOut, amongst others. Parents can access SchoolTV via the College Website or https://sbcl.wa.schooltv.me. SchoolTV has put out the following link to assist parents with their parenting styles. I have to mention that any information you provide to SchoolTV does not come back to the College. https://sbcl.wa.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-parenting-styles I am sure that some of you have heard on the news about young people vaping. If a student at the College is caught vaping, we follow the College’s Drug policy procedures and assist these young people with the support they may require. Below are links to the dangers of vaping and some key points for discussions at home: https://sbcl.wa.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-vaping-au https://sbcl.wa.schooltv.me/sites/default/files/STV_Vaping_KeyPoints.pdf?stv_source=link The College celebrated NAIDOC week with an opening ceremony where the students received a Welcome to Country from Elder Margaret Combing and an inspiring talk from Ms Liza McGuire, director of Red Spear and Indigenous Business. There were activities, Roo Stew with Damper for the students throughout the week which concluded with some of the Aboriginal Girls dancing on the Sand Mural. The Year Ten Food Technology students, thanks to their teachers Mrs Greyling and Mrs Thomas, had the opportunity to taste and see how bush foods can be used in everyday cooking, from Lemon Myrtle Tea to Wattleseed & Bush Mint Ice Cream to a nut spread. I have to say it tasted nicer than Nutella. The Year Elevens had a movie night with Mazenod where they watched (most of them watched while others chattered) Black Widow. The evening was well-planned, thanks to the young gentlemen for hosting the event with Popcorn and treats for sale. The young ladies came wearing warm clothing, including the very fashionable Oodies. This term, the Year Eleven students are nominating themselves for a College Leadership position for 2022. This process involves the young ladies filling in the forms and having a parent sign the nomination form. The current College Leaders will be running seminars for the students who have nominated for leadership positions. The Year Sevens are, at the moment, voting for the Semester Two Reps. Thank you to the Semester One Reps who assisted the House Coordinators at events. We wish all of the young ladies who have nominated themselves all the best. A friendly reminder that all students need to come to school wearing their winter uniform unless they have training before school. Students are given time in their lessons to change into and out of their sports uniform. The young ladies know that if for some reason they have to wear their sports uniform a note needs to be written in your daughter’s organiser and shown to her Year Team Leader. If a student comes to school wearing her sports uniform without a note, a detention will be issued. Students are saying that they are cold. We recommend that they wear layers underneath their blouse and as you are aware, they can wear either tights or socks. As we have school photos in week 5, all the students will need to wear their tights on these days. If you have forgotten your login details for SEQTA, I encourage you to email Kathryn White at white.kathryn@stbrigids.wa.edu.au, and she will assist you with the login details. SEQTA shows when your daughter has assessments as well as her marks and copies of her reports. I encourage you to download the SEQTA Engage app, and you will receive notifications when results and assessments are uploaded onto SEQTA. If you have any academic concerns regarding your daughter please contact her relevant teachers. If it is a pastoral concern please contact her Year Team Leader so they can assist. The more we know the easier it is to assist your child. Ms Fiona Hepi Head of Secondary

WOW! I have to say, that the young ladies at the College have been super this term. They have all embraced the socks on warm days and the tights on cold days. The black blazers have arrived and the young ladies I have spoken to say they are comfortable to wear and not bulky when sitting at their desks working. This term, the girls had Paul Litherland from Surf on Online speak to them regarding Cybersafety. Paul informed the senior girls that he found 56% of students attending St Brigid’s College in 2021 on social media sites without even trying. If your daughter has a social media site/s, please check with her that she has it set on private so only the people she invites as friends can see what she has posted – including all the selfies that she has taken. Paul spoke to the girls about being online bystanders and preventing bullying by reporting it to the various social media site administrators and getting their friends to report it too, so that the site will then block the person and remove their posts. The last five weeks have been extremely busy with the Year 10 -12’s sitting their exams and Year 11 and 12 students completing their Work Place Learning hours for their Cert III in Education Support. The Year 7, 8 and 9’s have had assessments – both written and practical. Some of the young ladies in Years 7 -10 have been working during lunchtimes to complete particular work, including their sewing items which I must say, look very professionally made. The Year 12’s had one day of their three-day retreat with some modifications being made due to COVID19 restrictions. Instead of going away for three days to Fairbridge, the new venue was the boarding under croft, where they participated in small group activities and explored good communication and listening skills for their road ahead. Unfortunately, the lockdown meant that the final two days were unable to be completed. The Year 7’s went to Cockburn Ice Arena last week . The girls had a great time once they gained their confidence and some girls even started doing tricks on the skates. Most carried on skating even after having their blisters patched. (resilience right there). A huge thank you to Mrs Michelle McGregor and her team for organising and attending the social and providing the girls with an opportunity to step outside their comfort zone. Our Year 8’s attended a social event with a difference last week! The first part of the evening shared with Mazenod included a sideshow alley run by Year 11 volunteers, where the students had to complete their carnival passports as they moved from activity to activity. The latter part of the evening was a fabulous silent disco. The girls were hesitant at first about the evening, however, they all seemed to have a great time playing games, eating soft-serve ice cream and listening to music. Thank you to Ms Anneleise Bianchini and her team for putting together this event for the girls. We will wait until we receive feedback to see if this is the preferred event format going forward. We know the teachers certainly enjoyed the evening! Year 8 Italian classes have been working on fashion and recently presented a fashion parade. The ladies created costumes from clothing items they had at home and then presented them to the rest of the class in Italian as their work buddy modelled on the “catwalk”. It was great to hear the girls speaking Italian confidently. The Year 11’s enjoyed their social on the Swan River, slowly cruising down to Fremantle Port and back to the Barrack Street Jetty. The night was cool, but the girls stayed warm dancing. They all seemed relaxed, with many having since finished their exams and the term nearly over. Thank you to Mrs Cumpsty and her team for providing this opportunity to the girls. As we start the July holidays, we need to remember a few things: (parents the below is what I have sent to your daughter/s. 1. Take some time out a. Go for a bushwalk b. Go and watch a movie with friends 2. Switch off a. Turn your social media sites notifications off b. Have a sleep in c. Help out around the home d. Do your chores without having to be asked (make your bed when you get out of it) e. Keep your room tidy f. Please do your own washing and remember to fold it up and put it away g. Stack up your school stationery supplies (if need be) Ms Fiona Hepi Head of Secondary