Deputy News
Welcome back to Term 3, I cannot believe we are halfway through the year. Preps have been in school for almost 100 days and our Year 12’s have less than 100 days left. On Monday staff gathered for a professional development day. To begin the day we had a session on wellbeing. There are so many things we can do to impact our own wellbeing and others in a positive way. It was a great way to get back into the swing of things after our holidays. The other sessions in our day were focused on Australian Curriculum Version 9.0, more details on the implementation of v9.0 below.
Australian Curriculum v9.0
Teachers at our College have been familiarising themselves with the Australian Curriculum version 9.0 (v9.0) since 2022. We currently use the Australian Curriculum version 8.4 (v8.4) to develop our units of work for our students. V8.4 has been As a College, we are using 2023 to familiarise ourselves with v9.0. We will begin implementing this updated version in 2024. Implementation will focus on English and Maths and then flow into other Key Learning Areas over the next few years. As we implement v9.0 we work to ensure that we achieve the purpose of the curriculum:
The Australian Curriculum is designed to prepare young people for the future world in which they will learn, and prepares them to respond to the challenges that will continue to shape their world. It sets out the priorities and aspirations we hold for all our young people. The curriculum represents what the Australian community values as the knowledge, understanding and skills that young people should attain.
The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (December 2019) commits all Australian educators to achieving 2 goals:
- The Australian education system promotes excellence and equity.
- All young Australians become confident and creative individuals, successful lifelong learners, and active and informed members of the community.
One of the most exciting parts of a Prep-Year 12 College is the privilege of being able to watch our young people learn, grow and change over their thirteen years. We really do see their development from early learners to young people heading out to be future leaders in our world.
NAIDOC WEEK
As NAIDOC Week falls in the school holidays we mark it this week as a College. 'For Our Elders' NAIDOC Week 2023 will be celebrated together at our College at our Whole College Assembly this Friday at 8:50am in the MPC. Why not grab a coffee from the College Café (closes at 8:30am) and join us for this celebration. Bobbi Lockyer, a proud Ngarluma, Kariyarra, Nyulnyul and Yawuru artist, born and based on Kariyarra Country in Port Hedland, is the winner of the prestigious National NAIDOC Week Poster Competition for 2023 with her entry, 'For Our Elders'.
“Where there is knowledge there are our Elders. Our Elders paved the pathways for us, taught us our knowledge, our history, they passed down their art, stories and wisdom. Our Elders are the foundation of our communities and role models for our children. With this poster I wanted to showcase how important our Elders are in passing down traditions and culture to our children and future.” said Bobbi.
GRANDPARENTS DAY
Don’t forget to let your grandparents know that our annual Grandparent’s Day has been expanded for 2023 and will encompass all year levels from Prep to Year 12. It will be a big morning at the College on Friday 15 September.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK
In Week 3 we join with the other Catholic Schools of our diocese and state to celebrate Catholic Education Week. We will commence our week with a Whole College Mass on Monday 24 July at 1:50pm in the MPC. This year’s theme, Communities of Faith, Hope and Love allows us to celebrate our wonderful community throughout the week. Other events during the week are our staff breakfast; Prep – Year 4 Retreats, hosted by our Year 11 students, Catholic Schools Netball and Touch competition, Pupil Free day on Friday 28 July while our staff gather in Toowoomba with colleagues and our new Bishop, Bishop Ken Howell.
