From the Principal

• Prayer:  Gospel Spirituality
• Welcome to the 2017 School Year
• Staffing 2017
• School Improvements during the Holidays
• HSC Results
• Attendance & Punctuality
• Key Dates
• 2017 Dates for P&F Meetings

Prayer

A reading from the Book of Micah 6:8

"And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God."

"We are People of the Gospel who welcome the message given to us by Jesus Christ.  We are called to model right relationships.

We strive to foster a community that allows each person to build a personal relationship with God through scripture, prayer and ritual. 

Through the example of Blessed Edmund Rice, we recognise the Gospel commitment of care and love those who are marginalised, lonely, poor or different.

In our words and actions the Gospel becomes a lived-reality and so we are able to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God."

Welcome to the 2017 School Year

I welcome everyone to the new school year especially all the new Year 5, 6 and 7 students and other new students in each grade. In difficult heat conditions the boys started very well and the year ahead shows great promise. We welcome all parents new to the College and I thank the P & F for offering a special welcome morning tea last Monday as new parents arrived. I invite all families to the P & F Commencement Mass on Saturday 18 February at 5.30pm in Our Lady of Dolours Parish Church followed by a BBQ in the school yard.

Staffing 2017

During the holidays Mr Tom Pembroke resigned from his position at the College in order to pursue other opportunities. We wish Mr Pembroke well in his future endeavours.

We welcome staff new to the College this year. Mrs Diane Rogers (English/RE) , Mr Erwin Cabucos (English/RE), Mr Tom Garvey (Mathematics), Mr Ed Codsi (HSIE/RE), Ms Leanne Ho (Chinese), Mr Jack Kovacic (HSIE/RE), Mr Huw Manson (ICT Helpdesk), Mrs Hiliary Fromager (Front Office), Mrs Terri Hemmerman (Bookhire and Office Administration).

We also welcome back from leave Mrs Natalie Rawle, Mrs Joe McCarthy, Mrs Carla Leonardi, Mr Mark Anderson and Mrs Ewa Dmitrewicz.

Back Row:  Mr David Kovacic, Ms Leanne Ho, Mr Tom Garvey,

Front Row:  Ms Dianne Rogers, Ms Hilary Fromager and Mr Ed Codsi

Absent:  Ms Terri Hemmerman

Mr Erwin Cabucos

School Improvements during the Holidays

Your Building Fund in Action

The College has undertaken significant improvement during the holidays.

At Chatswood, the movement into the Brothers’ House has been completed. There is a Drama studio/classroom, new College Chapel, Mission and Identity Centre and additional staffing accommodation as well as new provision for the College Learning Support Team. We have also improved the provision for Counselling and Wellbeing Services. This has made available other spaces in the school for classroom and learning spaces such as in the Leary Learning Centre. The usual scheduled maintenance was carried out, such as carpet cleaning and spot painting.  Several toilet and shower facilities for staff were refurbished. Smaller jobs were also attended to in the TAS workshops and a number of classrooms.

Sadly the big tree had to come down and it was in worse condition than first believed. It had white ants in it, was hollow in the middle and parts of the tree were like paper-mache. In essence it was in danger of falling. We will now plan to replace it with a shade structure and student lunchtime seating. The other gardens were refreshed and looking good.

During the break, the College worked closely with the Presbyterian Church next door as they repaired their Hall off the Kirk Street laneway.  

The ICT and Maintenance Departments worked to connect the Sarto Centre and Gym to our network via wireless dish.

At Oxford Falls pitches were prepared for the cricket season, hazard reduction and tree maintenance were carried out and concrete slabs laid for the relocation of the Storage Shed and Bin Bays.  The painting of the externals of the Christian Brothers' Centre was completed as were improvements to the First Aid Room inside the CB Centre.

Sincere thanks to the College Maintenance and Grounds Team and the ICT Team.

HSC Results

HSC 2016

Congratulations to the class of 2016 on their wonderful HSC achievements.

College Dux:  Stewart Ross   ATAR  99.15

All Round Achievers:  The following students are All Round Achievers - attaining a Band 6 (a mark of 90 or more)  in 10 or more units:

• Nicholas Parker
• Stewart Ross

Distinguished Achievers:  94 mentions on the Distinguished Achievers List (Distinguished Achievers attain a result in the highest band - Band 6 or E4)

ATARs over 90:  27 Students attained an ATAR over 90

ARTEXPRESS and ENCORE Nominations

• Nektary Kotlaroff nominated for ENCORE (the program of outstanding performances and compositions by students from the HSC Music examinations, held annually at the Sydney Opera House)
• Zac Tomaszewski nominated for ARTEXPRESS (the annual series of exhibitions of exemplary artworks created by HSC Visual Arts students)

The College will acknowledge these wonderful achievements at the Academic Awards Ceremony to be held on Friday 24th of February commencing at 11.00am at the Concourse.

Attendance & Punctuality

It is so important that students are at school early and ready for school. It is imperative that the boys are at school every day. We have extensive vacation breaks and the learning time is critical for their progress.

Key Dates

2017 DATES FOR P&F MEETINGS

Please note the 2017 dates for P&F Meetings and the P&F AGM which were omitted from the College Calendar:

• P&F Meetings:  Monday 6 March, Monday 8 May, Monday 21 August
• P&F AGM:  Monday 6 November

UPCOMING EVENTS

Please refer to the 'Upcoming Events' for details of events on the College Calendar.

Mr John Couani - Principal