17:1

At this week's assembly, I referred to the research by Professor William Purkey who developed the concept of invitational classrooms and schools.  He created a card metaphor for interactions between people.  A positive interaction, where the recipient feels affirmed, complimented and valued is described as receiving a Blue Card (not literally) while negative or mean interactions are characterised as Orange Cards.  According to Purkey's research, "Each person (even those with the best of circumstances) require at least twelve blue cards (positive experiences) for every one orange card (negative experiences) just to "make it through the night."  When children have experienced trauma, the ratio of blue to orange needs to be a staggering 19:1!  Some years ago I 'landed' on 17:1 as the aspiration for our College.  My goal is that the ratio at the head of this message will become a reminder to treat others in life-giving ways.

I will be on leave for two weeks from early next week.  During my absence, Ms Kim Walters will be Acting Principal, and Mrs Shelley Keightely will be Acting Deputy Principal: Pastoral Care.

Stay safe and happy and I will keep you in my prayers.

Frank Pisano

Do you need insight on how you can help your children grow to be great adults? Raising teenagers can be challenging for parents and teenagers. Come along and hear Andrew Lines share his insights on ways parents can raise responsible, respectful, resilient, resourceful adults.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/keys-for-raising-a-responsible-respectful-adult-tickets-167813285053

Our Senior 1st soccer boys had a home game yesterday where they took on Scotch Oakburn College. A great game played by all boys. However, our Saints fell short, and Scotch came away with the win, 1-0. 

Over the weekend, Himash and Thomas played in the Devonport Rapid Chess Tournament. The boys played against top-ranking experienced adults, but they were no competition for Himash and Thomas! The boys took out the other competitors to take home the win. Well done, Himash and Thomas.

On Tuesday 24, a team of St Brendan-Shaw College year 9 and 10 girls were joined alongside several other schools today to enjoy an all-girls AFL Gala Day! The girls had a strong team, coming away with a few wins up their sleeve. Great kicking and excellent teamwork on display by our SBSC girls!

On Monday, we welcomed some year 6 students from either government or independent schools across the northwest to enjoy a taster day, to see what St Brendan-Shaw has on offer. The students made wooden cars in Woodwork, mini pizzas in Food Tech, and learnt about gravity in Science.

Looking for your child's perfect fit for secondary education in 2022? Find out more info on why St Brendan-Shaw College is right for you and your children here: https://bit.ly/3zcQO0B.

Many achievements were acknowledged at our latest all-school assembly. To break up the business side of the assembly, a tug-o-war competition between house groups before it was revealed what house is currently on top of the leader board! 

On Thursday 2nd September, Skin Cancer Tasmania will be in the school presenting their Run from the Sun 2021 Programme.  The aim of the session is to continue reinforcing the Sun Safety message to ensure that our students give themselves the best opportunities to protect themselves from Skin Cancer. Students from Year 7 and Year 9 will attend separate presentations on this day.

If you would like assistance in being connected with your community, to understand what might be available and how to go about making it happen or even where to start. You may be new to the area; you might want to get out and about more and just need a hand on where to start….  Mission Australia connection van has been established to support an inclusive, friendly, and safe environment where you can seek information, assistance, or just come in a have a chat. They work closely with most community organisations, community services, community groups and local champions.

Contact them on 03 6420 6850