Wellbeing 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope this edition of the College News finds you all well. Please continue to read below with regards to some important Pastoral Care news as well as some significant College events that will be occurring in the not-too-distant future.

As part of the College’s Extended Mentor Group Program, Paul Dillon from Drugs and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) presented to all Year 10, 11 & 12 students on Wednesday a fortnight ago. He also presented to parents that evening. Paul is an extremely knowledgeable and engaging presenter and he focused on the topics of Safe Partying, and in particular, the dangers associated with the consumption of alcohol. All presentations had a common theme but were also geared at each of the year levels with students at different stages of adolescence and development. Susan McLean is also a big supporter of Paul and often promotes his events. For those parents that have a Facebook account, I would highly recommend that you follow both Susan and Paul as they are a wealth of information and often provide excellent strategies for parents and schools. We are in the process of re-booking Paul for 2024.

During his presentation, Paul spent quite a bit of time focusing on the dangers and illegalities of the ever-growing trend of ‘vaping’. In previous newsletters, I have provided information to parents about this very dangerous trend. This information has also been provided to students via a number of different mediums. Further to this educative approach, the College’s ‘zero tolerance’ position on this activity has also been made very clear multiple times:

‘If any students are found, seen or reported to be vaping or in possession of vape paraphernalia, suspension from school will occur immediately and students will be asked to attend a ‘re-entry’ interview with their parents where we will determine whether or not they will be able to continue to be enrolled at the Academy’.

Hopefully Paul’s message and the College’s message is loud and clear for all in our community, and we ask for total parent and guardian support with this matter.

MACSSIS – 2023 School Improvement Surveys

A reminder that as per the message posted on the ‘My News’ section of Compass at the beginning of this week, the annual MACS School Improvement Surveys are taking place for staff, students and parents from Monday 28 August – Friday 15 September. Log in details and ‘pins’ will be sent to all families and students during this period. These surveys are an excellent opportunity for staff, student and parent voice, where individuals can indicate to us what we are doing well at the Academy and areas that perhaps we need to focus a little more on. Last year we had a low participation rate by parents and this year everybody is strongly encouraged to complete their survey. All students will be given the opportunity to complete theirs during a Mentor Group and staff will also be asked to complete theirs throughout the above period.

Student / Parent / Teacher Conferences

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their hard work over the last fortnight with Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences. Similarly, a thank you to all parents for the response to booking in conference times with teachers. With conferences taking place all day today (Friday) and also going well into the evening Monday a fortnight ago, it certainly makes for very long days for all, but the conversations to discuss our students and your daughter’s progress are most important to ensure that the girls are achieving at their maximum level. It appears that conducting conferences online is the preferred format given the number of conferences booked. However, we will seek feedback from staff and from parent representatives (Parents’ Association) and based on this feedback we will determine the best way to proceed with conferences for next year. Details will appear on the 2024 College Calendar.

Parents’ Association 

A reminder that members of the Parents’ Association are in the process of organising the annual Fathers’ Day Breakfast. It is a wonderful morning whether fathers and daughters can come together in a relaxed environment to have a cup of tea or coffee with a muffin or croissant, and just spend an hour or so relaxing and mingling with other parents. Two of the College ensembles will also be playing throughout the morning. The breakfast is scheduled to take place on Friday 1 September from 7:00am – 8:30am in the Dillon Centre. All families have received an official invitation and the response via TryBooking has been fantastic. Capacity is capped at 200 attendees with only a few tickets remaining. Bookings are closing shortly.

Mercy Day BBQ Helpers  Friday 8 Sept.

A massive thank you to all parents who have emailed me indicating their desire and availability to assist with cooking the BBQ on Mercy Day. At this point we have sufficient numbers however I am happy to start an ‘emergency list’ in case there are other parents who have not yet had the chance to contact me. These parents can email me directly. All other details of what is required can be found in the previous College News.

My News – Compass

Just a reminder to all parents to please regularly check the ‘My News’ section of Compass as notices for parents are regularly posted there. We are slowly moving away from sending emails to families from platforms other than Compass, with the intention of using Compass only in the not too distant future. For the time being we will still continue to use Operoo for requesting consent for Incursions and Excursions, however there is a strong possibility that we will use Compass for this as well once all families have had some more experience and exposure to Compass.

As always, please remember never hesitate to be in touch should you have any queries or concerns.

Mr Sam Di Camillo

Deputy Principal, Wellbeing & Operations