Principal's Pen
Year 12 Graduation
Next week we will celebrate the culmination of 12 years of education as our Year 12 students graduate and leave our College to continue on their Journey of Faith and Knowledge. It has been an honour and a pleasure to watch these young adults grow and mature as they prepare themselves for a world of further study, work or a combination of the two. I was looking over their school photos from the start of the year and reflected on how much they have grown academically, physically and spiritually over the past year. I can only imagine the same reflections others have after witnessing their growth over many more years. As the exams are finalised, Graduation ensues, followed rapidly by the College Farewell and Graduation Mass. In the haste of all this action next week, I ask the seniors to reflect on the following scripture from 1 Timothy 4:12: Let no-one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. The message this scripture carries is as relevant now as it ever has been. Your young age is a fictitious boundary that only you and those around you can allow to limit what you can achieve. You can develop this trust and entrepreneurial approach through your general conduct in the wider world in which you will enter. All you have learnt in your journey thus far has established this belief as well as the person you are, and you should not bow down to the lowest standards of society, rather be an exemplar, achieve great things, and in doing so, encourage others to do the same. I have the greatest of faith in this amazing group of Year 12 graduates and greatly look forward to hearing from you and all you have achieved in days, months, years and decades into the future!
Parent Class List Form
Over the next week we are finalising class lists for next year. While subject selection will form the basis of the majority of lists for students in Years 9-12, the remaining year levels will be separated into their specific classes so that class lists can be distributed next week in preparedness for Up Day on Friday, 23 November. Every student from Prep to Year 6 will bring home a form today so that parents can raise any specific issues regarding student learning or social issues that can be taken into consideration whilst teachers are creating the lists. It is important to note that teachers are creating these lists based on the same needs of the students from their perspective, and they will not be based on parental preferences for specific teachers. We are building the collective capacity of our entire staff toward excellence in teaching and learning and as such all classes will have a range and balance of abilities, behaviours, genders and specific skill sets. While there is no requirement for you to submit a form, if you wish to communicate learning and social needs of your child, please feel free to do so by handing in your completed form to the Office by Monday at 9am.
Up Day
Up Day is great chance for all students across the College to truly understand what their education and routines will look like in 2019. As class lists will be confirmed and set before this date, students will be in their actual classes for 2019 and will roll through a day in the timetable of 2019. More details will be available next week, though this is a great experience for transition for all of our students.