From our Principal

Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

As I write this it is Mother’s Day, a time to reflect on and give thanks for the selfless, generous role associated with motherhood. What a life-changing moment it is when a new life enters the world and what an enormous role a mother is required to take on in caring, nurturing and shaping that child. The unconditional love which is shown by mothers in so many ways is a wonderful gift and something so very important to acknowledge. Happy Mother’s Day to all who are mothers or take on motherly duties. The below prayer says it all:

There is but one and only one,

Whose love will fail you never.

One who lives from sun to sun,

With constant fond endeavour.

There is but one and only one

On earth there is no other.

In heaven a noble work was done

When God gave us a Mother.

- Author Unknown

Naplan

Naplan is upon us and commences this week. As you may recall NAPLAN was cancelled last year due to lockdown and there will be no catch-up this year for those that missed out in 2020. We at St. Peter’s College have been able to use other data sets this past twelve months to assess student growth over a year and whilst Naplan is an important marker for both parents and schools we must always remember that it assesses a moment in time and assessment of progress takes on a variety of forms. ACARA’s General Manager of Assessment and Reporting, Peter Titmanis recently told parents it was “a very strong recommendation from ACARA that (NAPLAN) should be treated as another day at school”. The only expectation we have at St. Peter’s College is that students engage fully with the assessments to ensure an authentic set of results is the outcome. ACARA has a parent Q&A on Naplan for interested parents. Click here for further information.

Year 12 Information Evenings

It was wonderful to see so many Year 12 parents and students at the information evenings this week. The night was made up of presentations and workshops aimed at providing students and parents the “Tips and Tricks” required to not only manage Year 12 but to flourish. Year 12 students have spoken often this year about wanting to have no regrets. The desire for students to maximise their opportunities to gain maximum results is tangible. It was suggested on more than one occasion during the night that this can only happen when the school, the parents and the students are on the same page and working in partnership with each other. Workshops on the night included: Navigating anxiety and healthy mental health for our young people, Choices - TAFE, Work or University, VCAL - what does competency mean, ATAR???? Does it matter and VCE Markers - what can you tell us? By the attendance numbers and level of engagement on the night, the evening was a considerable success.

Athletics

Our two campus Athletics carnivals have been run and won. On two very contrasting days in respect to the weather, the students shone brightly as they ran, jumped, threw and cheered. The attendance rate for both events was exceptionally high. This was testament to the student House Captains who performed an admirable job in encouraging students to participate in the events on offer and represent their houses. My thanks are extended to our House Captains and staff for their contributions in ensuring highly successful events. The results for the Cranbourne Campus are yet to be finalised, however the Clyde North campus results are listed below.

Clyde North Campus Results

House Spirit Awarded to:  Romero

Clyde North Campus Athletics Carnival

Cranbourne Campus Athletics Carnival

School Advisory Committee

The School Advisory Committee held its Annual General Meeting this week where we farewelled Ms Sharron Clover and welcomed Mr Keith St Mart. Sharron has been a member of the school advisory committee for 5 years and has contributed much in her time, particularly as we transitioned as a college into a new governance structure. Her wisdom as a mother first and foremost offered much in terms of support and sage advice. On behalf of the college community I offer my vote of thanks for her generosity over many years. We also welcomed Mr Keith St Mart who is a parent on the Cranbourne campus. Keith and wife Rebecca have two young people currently attending, Adelle in Year 12 and Kiara in Year 10. They also have a son who attends St Therese’s Primary school and is currently in Grade 4. Keith brings much experience when it comes to School Advisory committees as he is a current member of the St Therese’s Advisory committee. We thank Keith in anticipation of his support and work in this forum.

Enjoy the week ahead.

Mr Chris Black

Principal