I am very pleased to see such a positive start to the 2021 school year. Monday saw us able to welcome 110 Year 7s on their journey to Graduation. As has been our recent tradition, we began their day with a Liturgy, symbolically placing one bookend in place, to be completed when they have their final Graduation Mass in six years. They will be surprised at how quickly those years pass, and I was able to assure parents that they thrive despite the joys and sorrows they will encounter.
We began Tuesday with a full school assembly, and I was very pleased to see how well the students were wearing their uniform. The Student Representative Council (SRC) Executive ran proceedings. The Captains, Anthony Burbury and Emily Swanson, and the Vice Captains, Toby Bellchambers and Jack Menzies, invited everyone to help make the year great. They promised to introduce some changes and lots of fun. If Charles Bidwell’s Uniform Rap is any guide, there will be lots of fun … it was brilliant!.
They introduced the rest of the SRC Executive to the College:
- Dillon Captain and Vice-Captain - Charles Bidwell and Jessica Welch
- Griffin Captain and Vice-Captain - Ellah Harvey and Harrison Nield
- Lyons Captain and Vice-Captain - Toby Phipps and Jack Moakes.
- MacKillop Captain and Vice-Captain - Bodhi Ruffels and Trista Aylett
In the welcome letter sent last week, I introduced new staff who had joined us this year. I wish to add that we have expanded our Learning Enhancement Department with Mrs Sally Milbourne and Miss Angela Henry having a role in this area. Both have classes as well.
Ms Wickham is only weeks away from marriage, so to make it easier for students, she has begun the year using her married name, Mrs French.
I received a call from Merseylink wanting me to urge our community to honour the No Standing Zones, especially in James Street. Their drivers have concerns that cars parked on the hill's crest essentially make James Street's width capable of fitting just one vehicle - dangerous when it is a two-way road.
This year we hope to build a parallel park layby in that space, but until then, please be mindful of keeping our community safe. I believe that the police have concerns, so I would not be surprised if they increase patrols in this space if congestion is not self-regulated. I have also asked staff not to park in this street.
Finally, I met with Ms Dunholm, one responsible for overseeing Learning support in Catholic Schools in Tasmania. She updated me on the moderation that we participate in to ensure that we provide nationally consistent data on students with additional learning needs. She also undertook an audit of the quality and application of Individual Learning Plans. She shared that COVID had made life difficult for many schools. However, she described our College as “a shining light”. She was equally excited about the initiative that we have begun in delivering Social Emotional Learning in Years 7 and 8, together with establishing a Learning Enhancement Teacher role to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our highly professional teachers to help make learning accessible to all student in the class.
By the time you read this, I will have spoken to each year level (except Year 7 whom I'm scheduled to meet next week) to deliver a message about behaviour expectations at the College based upon our vision. I wanted to 'cut through' so I chose to speak to individual year levels rather than the whole school assembly, allowing me to adjust the messages to the audience's ages. One clear emphasis was on welcoming diversity. I wanted to provide a voice for the more than 95% of students who do the right thing but may feel that their ability to thrive is hampered by some poor behaviours. Science and Religion agree that we are all unique - that in all time, no one has ever been exactly like us, nor will be in the future. So it does not make sense to target people because of difference. I emphasised that we will not accept anyone's targeting because of their academic ability or actively following College expectations (like wearing the uniform well). Anyone who does this or targets someone because of their race, gender, sexuality, etc. can expect to be challenged.
This Friday, we are pleased to acknowledge a large number of students for academic success. We were not sure if we could accommodate guests, but learned, late on Friday, that we could if we restricted guest numbers to just two per awardee. The usual contact tracing and social distancing will apply.
Stay safe, keep happy, and be assured that I will keep you in my prayers.
Frank Pisano
