College News

Sending your child to Boarding at a new school may be the biggest and most important decision you make in your life. Nestled in the Perth Hills of Lesmurdie, St Brigid’s College aprovides full boarding facilities, activities and a tailored program for each year and level of student enrolled. Our College  also work together to prepare your child for their boarding journey and for Year 7 Boarders beginning in 2024, the Colleges have the Boarding Ready Programme where Boarders: CONNECT with other students who will be attending the same boarding school; LEARN about elements of their new school and new boarding environment; and DEVELOP confidence in order to support their transition. —- NURTURED LIVING AT ST BRIGID’S BOARDING When a parent considers Boarding for their child, they know that they are about to embark on one of their child’s biggest of life’s journeys but it’s a journey for the parent as well. That is why St Brigid’s College doesn’t just enrol a student at Boarding, the whole family is enrolled by making sure that a parent is provided with the assurance that their family will have a the best experience possible by creating a supportive environment with tailored supports. Boarding at St Brigid’s aims to recreate many aspects of home and a conducive environment to cater for our Boarders through the varying stages of their spiritual, emotional, cultural and social development. We are home to all our local Boarders who come from regional and rural locations, as well as International Boarders, and when requested, we also have local Boarders who join us for short terms. When enrolled, our Boarders are academically supported with set study times and tutors who assist their learning growth and on weekends they enjoy recreational activities ranging from shopping therapy to ice skating and even in-house pamper sessions. Our Boarders also have full access to the school facilities which include a heated swimming pool, fitness room and tennis courts. If any of our young people need additional support because they are feeling homesick, anxious, stress or just experiencing general teenage troubles, our College Councilor makes a dedicated visit once a week to help them, through gentle discussions and strategies. Our stay-in House Mums also provide the nurturing support, guidance and advise when needed to help the young growing minds in their care develop a strong sense of self assurance. For more information about Boarding visit: https://sbcl.wa.edu.au/life-as-a-boarding-student/ or contact our Director of Boarding, Ms Fiona Hepi at hepi.fiona@stbrigids.wa.edu.au  

Dear Families, Students, Staff and Friends of St Brigid’s College, Happy Mother’s Day This morning we celebrated Mother’s Day by holding a Liturgy and morning tea.  It was heartening to see so many of our mothers, grandmothers and mother-figures in attendance enjoying the company with their children. I was inducted into motherhood in 1999 with the arrival of my first child.  There is no doubt that motherhood is a wonderful journey and filled with joyous experiences, however, it is also filled with many new and unexpected challenges.  My life has been enriched by the love that I share with my three children. There is a well known saying “It takes a village to raise a child”.  Our village is our community and it is affirming to see families supporting each other in the ups and downs of parenting. I offer the following prayer for all of our mothers of our community: Loving God, You have loved us with an everlasting love (Jer 31:3) You have loved us even more than a mother loves her child. Today, we give you thanks and praise for the gift of mothers.  We pray for the mothers-to-be, who are just beginning to be the bearers of new life in them, may they welcome their forthcoming child with loving anticipation and joy.  We pray for the young mothers, may they cherish their child with tender care and unconditional love.  We pray for the mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty, conflict, violence and for any other reasons Comfort them, strengthen their hope, and let them feel your loving embrace that wipes every tear away.  We pray for all Mother-figures, those who have loved, surrounded and shaped us with motherly care and compassion.  We especially pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us, Their sacrifices and care gave us a glimpse of the extent of your love for us. Thank you for them. Grant health, blessings, and well-being for those our mothers who are still alive.  We also remember those mothers who are no longer with us. While they live forever in our hearts and memory grant them eternal rest and reward of their labours. Amen.   Hosting our Mercy Education Limited (MEL) Principals Last week we reported on the Mercy Education Limited Principals’ Network Meeting hosted here at the College and mentioned the names of students who assisted us with prayer.   We would like to extend our sincere apologies to the Goodall family for inadvertently neglecting to mention their daughter, Isabella, who read beautifully and was a credit to them.  We also apologise to the Hawke family for incorrectly naming their daughter Isabelle as one of the children assisting on the morning.   CPSSA Swimming Carnival As advised in last week’s Newsletter, our Years 3 to 6 swimming team headed to Challenge Stadium for the CPSSA Swimming Carnival on Friday, 5th May.  Ms Openshaw has kindly provided us with the following update: “Last Friday the Primary swim team competed at the CPSSA A division Swimming Carnival at HBF Stadium. We were competing against seven Catholic schools from around Perth including Mel Maria, Ursula Frayne, Holy Rosary, Our Lady of Grace, St Peter’s, St Columba’s and Infant Jesus. After many weeks of early morning training sessions, the swimmers were very excited to finally be competing. Although Mel Maria won Champion school on the day the St Brigid’s swimmers should be very proud of themselves. The girls placed 4th overall and the boys placed 7th. There were so many stand-out performances on the day, including the Year 5 and Year 6 girls who placed in almost every individual race and placed in all their relays. Isla, Emilia and Nate from Year 3 raced in the Year 4 races, placing in all of their individual races. And a special mention to Maisie, Natarsha, Tahlia, Nic, Jase and Daniel for competing in the open 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly races. Well done to all our swimmers!” Congratulations to all.   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       Willow Altinier Emma Bolding     PP Gold Grayson Bristow-Sims Mollie Horton 1 Gold Ava Giuffre Charlotte Hawkins   1 Green Theodore (Teddy) Sylwestrzak Mya Tresham 2 Gold Madeline Avery Cruz Marvelli   2 Green Chadd Baylee Tyler Rees 3 Gold Annemarie Martin Jessica O’Connor   3 Green Emillie Cranswick Chloe Sheridan 4 Gold Georgia Allison Ryan Burton   4 Green Grace Hawkins Georgia Pugh 5 Gold Verity Ball   5 Green Benjamin Guppy Ava Tresham 6 Gold Zachary Cranswick Ella Petersen Harper Shadbolt   6 Green Molly Griffiths Emily Wright    SchoolTV: A resource supporting the parenting of young people  Because parenting doesn’t come with instructions, SchoolTV is a wellbeing resource that can support you in the challenges relating to modern-day parenting. This award-winning resource helps build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers navigating a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people. It can assist in starting conversations on topics that are sometimes awkward or difficult to tackle. Please refer to our College website for further information, https://sbcl.wa.schooltv.me/ and Special Reports https://sbcl.wa.schooltv.me/category-latest-newsletter on topics such as Mental Health, Cybersafety, Raising Boys, Positive Parents, and much, much more.   Fundraising Activities – Term 2, 2023  Each year in Term 2, our fundraising efforts assist LifeLink Catholic Caring Agencies within the Archdiocese of Perth.  This year we are holding two concurrent events: Winter Appeal – Weeks 3 to 5 Each family is asked to bring to school non-perishable cans, goods and donations (see below) that will assist ‘The Shopfront’, a LifeLink Agency supporting needy families in the Archdiocese of Perth. &     Non-perishable Food Items Cans of Spaghetti Packets of spaghetti / pasta / rice Cans of Baked Beans Pasta Sauce Soup Cans Packets of cereals / Weet-Bix / Porridge ‘Cup-a-Soup’ packets Tinned fruit 2 Minute Noodles Baby Food Cans of Tuna Long-life Milk Cans of vegies – corn, peas, tomatoes, etc. Tea Cans of meat e.g. Spam, Braised Beef, etc. Coffee Honey / Jam Milo Peanut Butter / Vegemite Sugar Savoury Biscuits Muesli Bars Sweet Biscuits Snack Packs     Non-Food Items Cloth Shopping Bags / Strong Plastic Bags Baby Wipes Toothpaste Tissues – boxes & small packets Toothbrushes Combs / Brushes Soap Men’s socks & jocks (new) Deodorant Women’s socks & underwear (new) Shampoo / Conditioner Sunscreen (small tubes) Razors Tracksuit bottoms (can be second hand) Shaving Cream Jeans (can be second hand) Sanitary Napkins Hoodies & sweatshirts (can be second hand) Tampons Sleeping Bags (can be second hand) Disposable Nappies Warm blankets St Pat’s Community Support Centre, who we have supported with donations in the past, have also requested support from us, as they are experiencing an even greater need than usual for this time of year. Each House will create a ‘hamper stack’ in the Wandju Room with their donated goods.  House points to be awarded according to the amount donated by each House.  Donated goods will then be sent to The Shopfront and St Pat’s Community Support Centre. Gold Coin Challenge Later this term, the Young Mercies for Vinnies group will organise an event requiring a gold coin donation from each student.  House points are also to be awarded for the most coins collected. Your generosity in supporting these two events will ensure that the wonderful work carried out by LifeLink Agencies and St Pat’s continues in our local community. More information regarding LifeLink Agencies can be found at https://lifelink.com.au/ and St Pat’s Community Support Centre https://stpats.com.au   Enrolments for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten 2024 and Year 7, 2025 The College will commence enrolment interviews this term for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten 2024, and Year 7 2025.  If you would like to enrol your child, please contact our Registrar, Ms Patty Majko on 9290 4237 or via email – majko.patty@stbrigids.wa.edu.au Enrolments can be completed online via the College website https://sbcl.wa.edu.au/enrol/enrolnow-2/ or alternatively call into Reception and speak with Patty.   Kiss and Drive Name Cards Having a card with your child’s surname displayed on the dash of your vehicle, can streamline the pick-up process from the Kiss and Drive.  If you require a card/s for your vehicle/s, please complete the form and we will print these up for you: Kiss and Drive Display Cards   St Brigid’s College App The St Brigid’s College ‘App’ is no longer updated or supported.  Please delete this ‘App’ from your devices.  The College website will enable you to locate the calendar and the most up to date information.  www.sbc.wa.edu.au   Congratulations! Congratulations to Summer Ajduk in Year 9 on her selection to represent our State in the U15s School Girls AFL team.  Summer will be travelling to Victoria later this term to compete in the State carnival.   We wish her all the best. Our sincere congratulations to Fr Michael McMahon who recently won the Perth Clerical Association’s Golf Tournament at Whaleback Golf Course.  Fr McMahon was the oldest competitor to have won the title!  Well done Father.     Kind regards, Veronica Parker Principal