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From the Principal

Published 28/05/2021 · Academic

It feels like we have just settled into Term 2 but our College is a hive of activity with NAPLAN and Year 12 ESTs now completed and preparations for senior examinations well underway. In amongst these important milestones, I enjoy hearing about the many activities the students have been involved with such as incursions, excursions, house activities and guest speakers.

Since our last Enews we have farewelled Ms Loretta Dayman. We welcome to our College Ms Vivian Bahbah, teacher of Psychology and Science and Ms Nicole Luckman, HR and Compliance Officer. This week we will farewell Mrs Katrina Fiolo. Mrs Fiolo has been at our College for many years and has held a variety of roles. We wish her all the best in her new role. We thank Mrs Benedetta Heys who will take on some of the responsibilities in the Learning Differences portfolio as an interim measure.

Our inaugural Mother’s Day morning tea was a huge success (not to mention compliant with the then COVID restrictions) and I’m told we served approximately 600 morning teas! Thank you to those who were able to join us, it is always a pleasure to have such functions at our College.

I would like to thank the parents who were able to attend one of our Strategic Planning meetings and provided their input. As part of the planning process we have also interviewed a number of students in survey groups. The feedback gathered, along with that of the staff and Advisory Council, will guide our priorities and decision making over the coming years.

Sport has been well and truly on our agenda in recent weeks. We held our Interschool Athletics Carnival blessed with beautiful weather after a few days of heavy rain and our Primary School girls and boys enjoyed their interschool competition displaying some excellent results and fantastic sportsmanship. The ACC Cross-Country team ventured to Alderbury Reserve to compete against over 80 Catholic Schools from across WA. The girls trained hard for over two months to produce some very pleasing results.

Our Student Council Executive too has been busy, holding a meeting with their Mazenod College counterparts. A review of last term’s activities and discussions around their respective Term 2 plans formed the basis of the meeting. The students are keen to also plan some joint sustainability and social justice themed activities for next semester.

National Boarding Week last week was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of boarding life within our College and to participate in events across the country in solidarity with almost 25,000 students Australia wide who call a boarding school home. Boarding is at the foundation of our history with the College’s first boarding students, 35 in all, arriving on 21 April 1929, with Mother Teresa Rielly and seven Mercy Sisters. Since then, thousands of young women have called St Brigid’s Boarding home.

A number of our student leaders attended the Archbishop’s Forum and Official Launch for LifeLink Day for Secondary Schools held at Aranmore College recently with representatives from 28 Archdiocesan Secondary schools. This year, the entire format of the Forum was designed to be more a more educational, interactive, and enjoyable experience for all participants. The Archbishop delivered a presentation which led to a number of questions posed to the students for discussion. The students really welcomed the opportunity to provide feedback, ideas and suggestions during open question time which also included being able ask any questions of the Bishop – personal, faith or political.

I had the pleasure this week, along with Head of Primary, Ms Tan and students, Joshua D’Silva and Ella Evangelista Comito, to attend the 200 years of Catholic education in Australia Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral. This National Mass was celebrated simultaneously across Australia on the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, to mark the occasion.

Parents are reminded that Friday 4 June is a student free day. Our staff will be involved in the implementation of the Keeping Safe curriculum at our College.

At this time of year, a large part of my time is spent in the very enjoyable task of interviewing students for 2022 and 2023. Can I please remind families that applications for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten need to be submitted as soon as possible as only vacancies are limited. If you have family or friends who are interested in Year 7 enrolment, do let them know that interviews for 2023 will be commencing shortly.

As we prepare to welcome winter, we thank you for the help you have been providing in supplying food to be donated to our Term 2 charity. Our focus in Term 2 is on LifeLink and the work they do in helping those in need.

I am delighted to announce the following Scholarship recipients for 2022 and congratulate the girls on their achievement.

God Bless

Carmen Cox

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