St Peter's News

From our Principal

Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

At our recent School Advisory Committee meeting I presented to the meeting the final draft of the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) for endorsement. The AIP is a set of goals and strategies we as a college will be striving to achieve in 2021. Currently St. Peter’s College is in the third year of our four-year School Improvement Plan and the AIP goals are extracted directly from this four-year plan. Underlying our school improvement agenda are four drivers. These are: the development of instructional leaders, leading to improved teacher efficacy in the classroom, resulting in accelerated literacy and numeracy standards. The fourth driver is an enhancement of positive relationships. This includes relationships between staff and students, between students and students and between school and home. Improvement in these four drivers will lead to accelerated growth in student achievement. At St. Peter’s College we call this the blueprint for success. Below is a framework which captures our plan:

Year 7 Camp

Positive relationships were the cornerstone of the successful Year 7 camps experienced last week. The fostering of these relationships through the medium of activity and engagement plays a significant role in the successful transition into St. Peter’s College by students. Friendships struck on this camp could eventuate in life-long friendships, whilst working with staff over a prolonged period of time enables students and staff to make connections which assist in facilitating positive learning environments upon their return. At St. Peter’s College we place great emphasis on the development of the whole person, the whole being made up of some key parts, their faith and spiritual development, their academic growth as well as their social and emotional well-being. Experiences such as the Year 7 camp provide a rich environment to foster the development of the whole person and I thank the Year 7 staff under the leadership of our Pastoral Care Leaders, Mr Brannan and Ms Michael for leading such a positive experience for our students.

Harmony Day

Whilst on the theme of positive relationships, next week we will celebrate Harmony Day, on the same day as the National Day of Action against Bullying. At St. Peter’s College it is a day to celebrate the many cultural backgrounds present within our own community. The collective ethnic backgrounds existing at St. Peter’s College provide a rich tapestry from which to draw upon. The day is celebrated with cultural food, costumes and performances. St. Peter’s College is blessed to be a community which embraces students and their families from many and varied cultures. The 2016 Census Data reveals the following:

  • nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was
  • we identify with over 300 ancestries
  • since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia
  • 85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia
  • apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi
  • more than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia

These statistics are very reflective of our own demographics. Our profile includes students born in 44 countries other than Australia. Our multi-cultural community is not unique but what is special about St. Peter’s College is that we are welcoming of all. This gives us our identity and sends a message loud and clear that each of us is built in the image and likeness of God, and that we are called, each and every day to, love our neighbour as ourselves. Sometimes this can be challenging, yet we, first and foremost, are a faith-filled learning community and our calling is to embrace all who cross our paths. We look forward to a wonderful celebration of ethnic diversity next Tuesday.

Parent Welcome Evenings

These will be celebrated this week and continues this week’s newsletter theme of fostering positive relationships. Whilst we would love to have all parents attend.  Currently COVID restrictions prevent this. The decision to go with inviting Year 7 and 8 parents is very much around the disconnect with our newest parents experienced over the past 12 months due to COVID. New parents with children in other year levels other than Year 7 and 8 are also welcome to attend. In the not too distant future the plan is to invite parents of students undertaking a Unit 3/4 to attend a separate information evening with a focus on supporting your young adult through their Year 12 studies. 

Enrolment Evening for Year 5 Parents

Finally a reminder that these evenings for prospective students will be held next week. On the Cranbourne campus the date is Tuesday, 16 March 2021 and on the Clyde North campus it is Thursday, 18 March 2021. Enrolments for 2023 are open and spaces are quickly filling up. Please share this information with those who require it. More information can be found on our College web-site or further on in this edition of the newsletter.

 

 

Enjoy the week ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Chris Black

Principal