Good afternoon Parents/Guardians

Welcome to Week 8 of Term 1 and we continue to celebrate many great things about our College community.  Last Thursday evening I enjoyed meeting many of our new families at our Welcome BBQ.  Our Term is quickly drawing to a close and Easter draws near, and our Lenten journey ends.  For our students the message has been centred around how this period of Lent can be an opportunity to make sacrifices or to give something up, not for personal benefit, but rather an opportunity to help others. Pope Francis easter message can be found;

https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/02/17/230217c.html

This Wednesday, Student Representative Council Executive students Hunter Cross Year 12 Mackillop House Captain and Jacob Abraham Year 8 Dillon House accompanied me to Mass at St Patrick’s in Latrobe.

The online security of our young people should always be a priority for us as a school community and for you as parents, I know this would be an ongoing concern.  I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that the web site for the eSafety Commissioner has much information tailored for parents and educators alike.  If you would like further information please visit https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents.  The College is currently organising access for families through our online platform, SEQTA.

I would like to thank parents who recently indicated they would be willing to join our College Uniform Committee.  This is a vital role to ensure that our parent body is represented in any decisions going forward.  We will be scheduling the initial meeting early in Term 2.

The College Uniform shop has just had stock arrive for our new College beanie that was put in place last year.  These will retail for $25.  Students will be permitted to wear them in Term 2 and 3, and my expectation would be that normal hat etiquette would be adhered to.  Students would not wear them while inside or during their lessons.

Earlier this year I informed families that school bags would become part of our formal uniform requirement in 2024.  The College and our supplier, Midfords have been working closely over the last few weeks to put a mechanism in place to support families with this transition.  College bags are going to be on sale at a subsidised rate (50%) leading up to the start of 2024 school year.  This will bring the retail price down to $35.  Further to this the College will also offer a $20 Midford voucher to families who have already purchased a College school bag in 2023.

I will also be making a commitment to families of our Year 10 students who leave at the end of Yr 10, 2024, and have purchased a school bag in 2024; we will provide a guaranteed buyback price of $20.

Families should note that Year 12 won't be required to have a College bag, and we will be placing further mechanisms in place to support Year 11 students.

I would like to congratulate Maggie White, who competed at the Gymnastics State Championship in Hobart on the weekend, and her team came away as the Level 8 State Champions. Maggie was also 2nd overall for the State at her level. A great achievement.

We look forward to our Year 7 2024 Information Evening this evening in the Nazareth Centre from 5.30 pm. This is an opportunity to welcoming our prospective parents, and for those that heard me on the radio this morning, the College will be offering Scholarships for Year 7 2024 in the areas of:

The Arts

Sport

Leadership

Academics

Each scholarship awarded will be for the 6 year journey successful applicants have at the College.

We will be putting further information out to the community later next Term regarding Scholarships for Years 10 - 12.  There are some exciting things happening in our community, including the planning of a Year 10 camp for later this year.  More information will come out to parents once bookings are finalised.

Recently the College held an information session for staff interested in being involved in the Rite Journey program for Year 9 next year.  I was most pleased that we had 18 staff express an interest, and we will now work towards finalising staff and professional learning so that our program is ready to launch in 2024.  

Over the last few weeks, I have also been involved in meetings as the College looks to expand our Vocational Educational Training (VET) offerings for students in years 10-12.  This is particularly exciting, and having a flexible learning pathway for all our students is particularly important.  I would like to thank Mrs Natalie Healey our Learning Leader in VET, for her ongoing leadership and proactive approach to this aspect of student learning.  Most importantly for students, we will be providing explicit learning pathways for students in Year 10, whether they are looking to study pre-tertiary subjects linked to a University pathway or gain Vocational Educational Qualifications that will see them workforce ready.

The College is currently working with The Tasmanian Catholic Schools Parents and Friends Association to facilitate a student and parent information session led by national leading experts on Vaping.  More information will come out when available.  I would encourage families to visit:

https://www.health.tas.gov.au/health-topics/smoking/smoking-topics/e-cigarettes

Four Corners have also released a documentary on the ‘Thriving Black market of vaping’: https://youtu.be/cMbXUE9Hjwg

A reminder to all families that Parent/Teacher interviews are Monday evening until 6.00pm.

Yours sincerely

Year 12 students who study Physics and those interested in a career in radiography had an opportunity to visit i-Med Radiology after hours this week.

Thanks to Rebecca Elliott for again giving us a wonderful experience. There will definitely be a couple of future radiographers in this cohort.

There are three days remaining to donate to our Project Compassion fundraiser. Students can pass on donations during Homeroom if their family wishes to contribute. 

Project Compassion brings together Australian schools, parishes, and supporters to raise funds for people in vulnerable communities worldwide.

This year, we introduced you to the stories of four inspiring people whose lives were transformed with your generous support: Laxmi, Tereesa, Priscilla, and Thu.

Today, they are creating a better world for their families, communities, and future generations.

Project Compassion demonstrates the faith, empathy, and generosity of our supporters. It is the lifeblood of Caritas Australia – without it, we could not do the vital work we do. Thank you for helping transform lives today and for all future generations.

Support Project Compassion today: here.

Thank you to those who were able to join us last Thursday evening for our Welcome BBQ. It was fantastic to see families connecting with each other and meeting some of our staff for the first time.

What a wonderful College community we are all part of!

Last night's debate was very close; team members were immensely proud of themselves. St Brendan-Shaw College 2's team consisted of Brady Jager, Jackson Hayes, and Harriet Mendham, who only lost by one point to St Patrick's College 2 team last night. 

Our team fought hard but didn't quite get there after the opposing team chose the complex topic of 'STEM is more valuable than Humanities.' The team found the issue complicated until they developed compelling points using the health, social, historical, economic, and environmental structure. 

We hope to secure the win next week!

For students interested in playing in the NW High School Futsal Championships in term two, there will be sign-up sheets in the gym today during recess and lunch. Please be aware this is a one-day event, not a weekly roster. Students can make their own teams.

 I am a mad sports fanatic. It doesn't matter if it is basketball, AFL, golf, darts, etc., you get the picture. However, this passion can get on the nerves of my wife of 4 years with my obsession to have sports on TV at any opportunity. She is a strong independent woman who provides much laughter in my personal life. I support St Kilda in the AFL, so please don't hold that against me. It was encouraged by my late grandparents and an old memory of watching a practice match at the North Hobart Oval. In my spare time, I am the Senior Men's coach at Devonport Football Club and enjoy playing golf with my mates. 

I am a previous student of St Brendan-Shaw College, graduating in 2009 from Dillon House. My next goal was to complete a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education at UTAS, which I graduated at the end of 2014. During my studies, I completed work experience at Nixon Street Primary, Sheffield District School, Latrobe High, and St Brendan Shaw College. In 2015, I undertook relief teaching along the North West Coast, which was an excellent experience for me to learn numerous schools' daily routines and practices. In 2016, I completed a full circle returning to St Brendan-Shaw College as a Health and Physical Education teacher before adding a shared House Coordinator Role for the Dillon House in 2019. This year marks my eighth year teaching at the College and my fourth year as caretaker of the MacKillop house. 

The MacKillop house, named after Saint Mary MacKillop, lives by the values of Equity and Action. All MacKillop students try to emulate these values as a house through our daily interactions and participation in school activities. Like these values, I live by the motto of treating others as you would like. This motto stems from the strong values I experienced growing up and the awareness of how words and behaviours can affect the people around me. This awareness is something I pass on to students to give them perspective when dealing with Pastoral Care issues. It is a role that comes with challenges but has many successful outcomes too. Every member of the student body is essential to the environment that is created and experienced daily. As a member of the Pastoral Care Team, we strive to provide a safe and positive environment where all students can strive for excellence. 

I am signing off with our loud and proud house chant. Macca, Macca, Macca. Oi. Oi. Oi. 

Kurt Byard
MacKillop House Coordinator

Our SRC is hosting the first-ever walkathon to raise funds for the Tim Blair Foundation! 

We will walk around the oval on Wednesday, 5 April, from 6 am - 6 pm. Students are welcome to join staff for the before and after school sessions, with a class roster running for the walkers throughout the day.

For a gold coin donation, students can wear casual clothes to school. Families wishing to contribute to the foundation can find the details on the poster below.

Congratulations to Year 8 student Maggie White on her success at the State Gymnastics Championships in Hobart over the weekend. Maggie's team came away as Level 8 State Champions, and Maggie placed 2nd overall for her age group. 

An outstanding achievement. Well done, Maggie!