Welcome to Week 2 of Term 3
Mr Stuart Ralph, Principal
Good afternoon,
This week, the college hosted Mr Ian Luscombe from Behaveability, an expert in behaviour management and education who worked with staff and students. Ian has extensive experience, including 14 years as a Principal and 28 years working in Learning Enhancement. Ian will continue to work with the College into the future with our Positive Behaviour framework, setting high standards of classroom expectation and managing student behaviour.
This coming Friday, Father Michael Tate will work with our Year 12 students who have just returned from their retreat experience. Rev Prof Michael Tate graduated in Law from the University of Tasmania in 1968 and Theology from Oxford University in 1971. He lectured at the University of Tasmania from 1972-78, being Dean of the Faculty of Law in 1977-78. He was a Senator for Tasmania from 1978-93 and a Federal Minister for Justice from 1987-93. He served as the Ambassador to The Hague and the Holy See from 1993 to 96. He returned to Australia and was ordained in May 2000; he has been a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Hobart since then. He was also an Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Tasmania, where he lectured on International Humanitarian Law.
Father Tate’s talk to our Year 12 students is titled The Poem You Have to Write.
Uniform
Over the last week, I have spent an afternoon at the College exit and bus shelter performing a uniform blitz. Students have responded well when challenged. I want to remind all families that students must have their shirts tucked in and blazers on when arriving and leaving the College.
If you have a daughter at the college, can I please ask you to check the length of your child's skirt? A number of students are rolling the top of their skirt, which makes them appear very short. House Heads will contact the home with any concerns.
Save the Date Dr Andrew Fuller - Monday 9 September
We are delighted to announce that Dr Andrew Fuller, renowned clinical psychologist, family therapist, author, and speaker, will visit our school community on Monday, 9th September. Dr Fuller brings a wealth of experience and expertise, having worked with over 4,000 schools and 500,000 young people across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the UK.
Andrew will work with students, staff and parents!
Educational Sessions for Students
Dr Fuller will run tailored educational sessions for our students throughout the day.
Brainology: Your Amazing Brain, for Years 7-10, will focus on understanding and harnessing the brain's incredible power to enhance learning and resilience.
Systems for Succeeding in Senior School – will be provided for our senior students, offering them strategies and systems to excel in their studies and beyond.
Topics Covered in the Parent Session:
- How parents can help their children to learn
- Increasing motivation & concentration
- Ideal learning times
- Identifying the best (and worst) times for learning
- Neurochemistry and learning
- The importance of systems over goals
- Building upon learning strengths
College Developments
The VET Animal Studies facility is currently under construction, and we hope you will be finished by Week 7 of the term. The new pathway into the Nazareth Gym will also be completed before the Catholic Education Week Mass. This path will allow access directly from James Street near our Chapel into the Nazareth Gym.
NAPLAN
As I reported last week, NAPLAN Individual Student Reports (ISRs) arrived at the College. The ISRs and Parent Brochure will be posted home to parents/guardians. The College does not keep physical copies. However, we can access digital copies via the Government Share Point.
I am incredibly pleased with the data provided to the College for our Year 7 and 9 students, particularly for our Year 9 students, whose relative gain is medium or high and sits around 80%.
Based on 2023 state and national data, our results are very strong; I am incredibly pleased.
Subject Selection
This is a reminder to families that subject selections for 2025 are now due. Our senior school is growing significantly, and I am pleased with the number of external students enrolling in Years 11 and 12.
NSATIS Sport
On Monday evening, the senior boys' and girls' soccer teams and the senior second netball team competed in the NSATIS roster and travelled to Launceston to play St Patrick's College. Both our soccer teams were successful. On Wednesday evening, our soccer teams hosted Launceston Christian School, both having successful wins. Our second netball team played St Patrick's College in their return game, which was played at Leighlands Christian School. Unfortunately, our girls did not win, but our team competed strongly, with many of our girls playing netball for the first time.
We thank the following staff for their contribution to sport. Mr Gavin Hicks, the boy's soccer manager, and Ben Tenaglia, their coach. Mr Michael Allen, coach of the girls' senior soccer team. I also thank Mrs Indea Clark and Mrs Shea Steven for coaching the senior netball team.
It is great to see our students' commitment to college sports. Through participation, students are connected, and we know that through connection, we have successful learners.
Our College swimming team has commenced training on Thursday mornings at Splash. They are training for the NSATIS Swimming Carnival, which will be held on Tuesday 24 August, and the SATIS Swimming Carnival, held on Wednesday 18 September. It was wonderful to see the team enjoying each other's company at breakfast club after training.
This is a reminder to all families that the college runs a breakfast club on Tuesday and Thursday mornings free of charge for the students. It is great to see 50+ students taking this opportunity each morning to have a healthy, nutritious breakfast before engaging in their learning.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Stuart Ralph
Principal
