From the Dean of College

Resilience and wellbeing are key factors to ensure a happy and fulfilling future for our young people.

We are proud to partner with The Resilience Project to assist our students in their wellbeing journey. In order to gain an accurate understanding of our students’ strengths and challenges, we have been conducting a resilience survey developed by Resilient Youth Australia and the University of South Australia. In recent years, they have surveyed more than 500,000 Australian school students.

We have administered the Resilience Survey this year online in pastoral class time. Students typically took 30-40 minutes to complete the survey.

The data from the survey will be reported in aggregate descriptive form only, by year level and gender, and no individual student responses can be identified.

The Resilience Survey is completely voluntary and anonymous. The survey will provide valuable information to assist us to create and maintain the best culture of wellbeing and resilience that we can.

We look forward to sharing some of this valuable data with you in newsletters over the coming weeks. 

Today’s third set of data speaks about being protected:

The results in this area are similar to the others in that they paint a very positive overall picture of our student body. To highlight some key areas I was very pleased to see the “I give time to help others section” so far above the national standard, especially true for our Year 7 grade who have been such enthusiastic contributors to our social justice initiatives this year. One concerning area which while still above the national average is the decline in the number of our female students who answered positively to the questions around “I feel good about myself” - this drops from 79% in Year 7 to only 53% in Year 11. As a society we place so much pressure on our young girls to fit particular moulds, have particular views and interests and enormous pressure to “fit in”. This can be seen in these numbers and something we are very keen as a College to address through the Resilience Project and beyond. In Year 12 the low percentage of students who responded that they don’t drink alcohol corresponds to many of our Year 12s turning 18 and so are allowed to legally consume alcohol so while at first glance this statistic seems concerning it is rather a reflection of where these students are at in their lives.

Uniform - Warmer Weather 

We are currently monitoring the weather and if the warmer weather continues the school will communicate to families and students that on certain days when warmer temperatures are predicted students will be allowed to wear Summer uniform. Unless this communication has been sent out we ask ALL students to continue to wear their winter uniform - not a blend of the two uniforms.

Uniform - College Expectations

A quick point about the uniform and grooming expectations of the College. All Sydney Catholic Schools have uniform and grooming policies, and part of the enrollment process is families’ acceptance and agreement to uphold these expectations. Often students and families will remark to me or other College staff that chasing up haircuts, shaving, jewellery or uniform issues is a waste of time and shouldn’t we be focusing on their child’s education? In answer to this I COMPLETELY AGREE - it is a waste of our staff’s time to chase up already agreed upon rules and expectations. It is time consuming and frustrating to continue to challenge students on simple matters of uniform and grooming. 

I would like to personally thank the vast majority of students and families who do support the College by wearing their uniform with pride and presenting themselves in such a way that upholds the expectations of the College - it is most appreciated. 

Year 7 Vaccinations 

Thank you to the over 70 families who opted to participate in the NSW Health Vaccinations at school this week. Your sons and daughters were all very brave and went through the process with the minimum of fuss. If any families missed out there will be an opportunity to participate next year when your son or daughter is in year 8 as they can opt in to join next year’s Year 7 group. The next NSW Health vaccination program does not occur again for this grade until Year 10 for Meningococcal. 

Vinnies Sleepout 2024  

Tonight over 70 students and staff will sleep out at the College in solidarity with homeless people across the state.  While tonight will be much more balmy weather than usual it is a great experience for our young people to experience what over 100,000 across Australia experience each night.

We humbly ask that if you would like to support our fundraising efforts could you please visit out St Vincent de Paul Sleepout page and donate whatever you can spare to support the valuable work Vinnies does every night of the year to support those sleeping rough. 

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