Department News

HSIE Department

On behalf of the HSIE team, I’d like to welcome you all back for what we hope will be an extremely rewarding year for all staff and students.

Reflecting on last year, we could not be more proud of the efforts put in across each year group, headlined by our fantastic success in year 12. Across each of our HSC HSIE subjects, our teams were able to achieve well above state average in raw marks, significantly above in expected outcomes and a record number of band 6 results. All of this contributed significantly to the success rate of the entire College community. As a staff, we will continue to take many lessons from this and to build for our coming year 12’s and beyond.

2024 will be an exciting year for HSIE as we welcome a number of new staff members and a new course. Firstly, welcome to our new team members: Ms. Charles, Ms. Smith and Mr. Mellsop who will be bringing their expertise to Ancient History, Business Studies, Commerce and Economics. Secondly, we have successfully introduced International Studies to the College. This subject is positioned to assist students in developing an understanding of our society and the many cultures that shape it. We look forward to the research and inquiry opportunities that it will bring.

Looking ahead into term 1 we have a busy schedule with assessments across most courses and a number of excursions. Please keep an eye out for the final version of your assessment calendar coming shortly, as well as any permissions notes for excursions that will come through over the coming weeks.

Lastly, I’d like to share the HSIE Assessment and Writing site, which over the coming weeks will be updated with a range of resources designed to help students better understand the literacy demands of HSIE-specific questions.

All the best to all our students and staff for a productive, rewarding 2024

David Martin

Head of HSIE

Mathematics Department

The Mathematics department is thrilled to announce the arrival of Spyro Kyritsis

 to the department in 2024. His knowledge, experience and expertise will enrich the Mathematics department, and he will certainly make a positive impact on our students’ learning and the department as a whole.

We would also like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the HSC 2023 cohort; their resilience, dedication and commitment to their studies have paid off, and we are extremely proud of the amazing 2023 HSC Mathematics results; 75% of the overall Mathematics students attained Band 5 and 6. These outstanding results would not have been possible without the hard working, collaborative and enthusiastic Mathematics teachers, who have taught and supported the 2023 HSC cohort since Year 7. We are confident that these young women will continue to make a positive impact on the world.

An overview for Term 1:

• Year 7 will complete an Integers Project Task 1.
• Year 8 will complete an Algebra & Equation Task 1.
• Year 9 will complete a Research Task 1 on Financial Mathematics.
• Year 10 5.2 pathway will complete a Research Task 1 on Financial Mathematics.
• Year 10 5.3 pathway will complete a Research Task 1 on Measurement of 2D and 3D objects.
• Year 11 Standard course will complete a Class Task 1.
• Year 11 Advanced course will complete a Research Task 1.
• Year 11 Extension course will complete a Class Task 1.
• Year 12 will complete a Half-Yearly Mathematics Task 2 in Week 8 – 9 Assessment Block. 

The Mathematics Department’s main focus is to support our students moving into the workplace with strong numeracy skills which enables them to become good problem solvers and critical thinkers. Our talented and dedicated department will ensure that the study of Mathematics at Brigidine is both rigorous and fun!

We look forward to an exciting year ahead!

Maya Mabey (Head of Mathematics) & Steven Quach (Assistant Head of Mathematics)

TAS & VET Department

The TAS and VET team extend a warm welcome to the Brigidine community for the 2024 school year. We are looking forward to many exciting events in TAS and VET! We will begin with our Year 12 Hospitality students taking over Pinocchio's Restaurant in Kingsford, to prepare and serve a 3-course dinner. Year 8 will visit a working dairy farm in Camden as part of their Food and Agriculture unit of study. Year 9 will complete an incursion with Indigi Grow and a Whitehouse Institute of Design Workshop. Year 11 Hospitality and Food Technology will attend the annual Paddock to Plate trip to Canowindra at the end of the year. All TAS and VET classes will showcase their design and cookery skills at our annual TAS show which is a showcase of student food and design work.  

Congratulations to our classes of 2023 for achieving outstanding HSC results. We are extremely proud of every student’s achievements and look forward to hearing about your future successes. 

Year 11 Food Technology & Hospitality Paddock to Plate Trip

At the end of 2023 Year 11 Food Technology and Hospitality students attended a three-day Paddock to Plate trip in Canowindra, NSW. Students visited various farms and food producers who work in partnership with Landcare. The excursion included experiences in organic farming, vegetable and grain farming, animal and livestock management, meat and wool processing, sustainable land management, regenerative farming practices and olive oil processing. This excursion provides students with the opportunity to gain industry experience and provides authentic learning experiences directly related to the theory topics studied in class. 

Year 11 Hospitality Barista Course

At the end of Term 4 2023, Year 11 Hospitality students completed their nationally recognised Barista Training at CBD College. The aim of the course was to develop student’s Barista coffee-making skills and achieve units of competency that form part of their Hospitality HSC course. Students developed skills in coffee making, milk texturing, coffee art and hygienic work practices. 

New staff

This year we extend a warm welcome to Ms Cindy Marsh, Mr Vince Papa and Mr Randall Magro, who are joining the TAS department. Together with Mrs Little, Ms Clarke, Ms Murray, Ms Monohan, Ms Nutter, Mr Gant and Ms Swinkles, we look forward to working with you in 2024. 

Alethea Oliver

TAS & VET Coordinators