SECONDARY NEWS
From the Assistant Principal

Miss Kim Bailey
kbailey@arm.catholic.edu.au

Attendance Matters

Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding attendance!

Based on minutes attended from the beginning of the school year until Friday 22 August, these students have shown exceptional commitment to their education. Their dedication to being present and involved in school life is a key part of maximising their learning time.

Students	Minutes Attended
Justin Sunar	100%
Seth O'Neill-Yee	100%
Brookyln Simpson	99%
Max Sweeney	99%
Abel Jinto	99%
Nelson Marere	99%
Kate McBean	99%
Jordan Frazier	99%
Eleana Lopez	99%

Student Learning Plans

Students Driving Their Learning

We are excited to share a new initiative in our Pastoral Care classes, where students are developing their own personal learning plans.

This process is designed to help students work towards driving their own learning and becoming active participants in their educational journey.

We are encouraging students to move beyond simply participating (paying attention, listening, and getting work done) to a deeper level of engagement.

This includes investing in their education by being interested, enjoying the process, wanting to improve, putting in effort, and taking on new challenges.

Ultimately, the goal is for students to drive their own learning by seeking and using feedback, asking for help when needed, self-assessing their progress, and understanding what learning strategies work best for them. This will empower them to take greater ownership of their academic success.

Participating: Paying attention, listening, getting work done.
Investing: Being interested, enjoying learning, wanting to improve, putting in effort, taking risks.
Driving: Seeking/using feedback, seeking help, self-assessment, understanding what works for them.

The Learning Plans will be completed over the next couple of weeks, and we encourage you to have a conversation with your child about their goals.

P & F Art Exhibition

Congratulations to the following students for their success in the recent P&F Art Exhibition.

Years 7 & 8

Category	Winner	Highly Commended
Painting	Savannah Golding	Hailee Zell
Drawing	Jack Mason	Billy Pagden
Print Making	Oskar Devlin	Sidharth Ramesh
3D Concertina Books	Evie Robinson- Farago	Korrine Cleary
Photography/Digital Art	Zalie Borrowdale	Zalie Borrowdale
3D Art	Roxy Pettiford	Louis Wait
3D Donuts	Dominic Kenny	Isadora Brandao

Years 9 & 10

Category	Winner	Highly Commended
Painting	Molly Reece	Molly Reece
Drawing	Sasha Bryant	Brooke Martel
Print Making	Charlotte Harris	Tamsin Pettiford
Photography/Digital Art	Tamsin Pettiford	Tamsin Pettiford

Thank You for Attending Our Stage 6 Meetings

A huge thank you to all the families and students who attended our recent Stage 6 meetings. This marked the next important step in preparing for a successful transition into Year 11 in 2026.

We are excited to be on this journey with you and appreciate your commitment to engaging with your child's educational future. Your support is invaluable, and it was great to see so many of you taking an active role in this important process.

16.05.2025 SENIOR STUDIES HANDBOOK 2026.pdf

Public Speaking Finals

The Finals will be held in the Hall on Monday 1 September at 9.10 am. Families are welcome to attend. The finalists for each year group are below.

Year 7: Seaton Higgins, Eva Xavier, Sophie Foley and Sophia Hobday

Year 8: Grace Doyle, Dominic Kenny,

Kaylee-Ann Berry, Oliver Sinclair, Ryan Hill

Year 9: Savannah Lea, Losaline Afeaki, Bethany Pearse, Layla Mair and Kadie Sayer

Year 10: Josie Harvey, Halina Huynh, Sasha Bryant, Hannah Sanderson

Summer Uniform

With the arrival of Spring students are able to wear their summer uniform. We remind students to wear either summer or winter uniform, not a mixture of both. It is also advisable to check the forecast as early Spring weather is often a time with great temperature fluctuations. The lost property bin in the Secondary staffroom has a number of jackets and other items of clothing. Please check in the coming days as at the end of term all items will be taken to St Vincent de Paul.

Australian Defence Force Visit

The ADF Careers Team will visit us on Thursday. They will hold an information session for all of Year 10 and then will be available to answer any questions. There will also be a community session on Thursday night and the details are below.

Community Session Details

Learn more about Australian Defence Force (ADF) roles available in the Navy, Army and Air Force by attending the upcoming information session happening on:

Date: Thursday 28 August 2025

Time: 6pm to 8pm approx.

Venue: Inverell RSL, 68-76 Evans Street, Inverell, NSW, Australia

This information session will be hosted by current serving military personnel who understand the Defence application process and can answer your questions.

If you would like to attend and learn more about the ADF and the 200+ roles on offer, please follow the link and register your interest - ADF Careers - Inverell Defence Careers Information Session

Discover more about each information session including dates, times and what to expect.

Family Conferences

Thank you to all the families who attended our recent conferences. We see these meetings as an important, collaborative opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, strengths, and areas for growth. Your engagement is a vital part of your child’s learning journey, and we appreciate you taking the time for these important conversations.

Congratulations…

U14s & U16s Small Schools' Rugby League

Congatulations to the teams for their effort in Coonabarabran yesterday in the long awaited second round matches. The 14s team were succesful and now progress to Bathurst in Week 8. The 16s were narrowly defeated, just missing out on sending the game into extra time. Thanks to Mr White and Mr Jeffery for coaching the teams and to Mr Koch for driving the school bus. Thanks also to parents who provided transport and support on the day

Vinnies Group

Congratulations to the Vinnies team for another succesful cake stall last week to add to their fundraising effort for the Winter Appeal.

Good luck...

Basketball Teams

Good luck to our basketball teams as they compete today in Tamworth at the ACS Basketball Competition.

Stage 5 Elective Food Technology

The sweet aroma of success filled the air as our Year 9/10 Food Tech students put their skills to the test in a delicious challenge: designing and creating the ultimate birthday cake. From elaborate decorations to decadent flavor combinations, these talented young chefs showcased their creativity and culinary prowess in a practical assessment that was the icing on the cake!

Mrs McCormick & Mrs Butler

Year 8 and 9 Excursions

Instalments can be paid on Compass for the Term 3 excursions to the Aussie Bush Camp (Year 8) and Sydney (Year 9).

STUDY SKILLS TIPS

Making the Most of Your Learning

Learning is not just what you do in the classroom. Study is not just what you do the night before a test. Both of these are ongoing activities that are enhanced by the correct pre and post activities. See which of these 5 Ps you do.

PREPARE: This is the stage where you ensure you have all of the materials you need for learning and have completed any pre-tasks such as reading sections of your textbook in advance or any other activities your teacher asks you to complete prior to the class.

PARTICIPATE: Engaging in your learning is the best way to start to embed it in your memory and ensure you understand. Having the opportunity to discuss and interact and complete different styles of learning activities really helps your brain to process what you are learning.

PLAN: Take the time to look at the assessments for the course and plan when you will start, work on and complete tasks. Anytime you are asked to complete work for class, plan when you will do it and even better write your plan into your diary or online planner.

PRACTISE: One of the best ways to learn is to do practise questions. When you apply what you have learnt to actual questions, you will engage retrieval and cognitive pathways in the brain and reinforce your learning and uncover areas that need extra study.

PINPOINT: After a test or assessment is returned to you, celebrate your successes but also use it to pinpoint areas of weakness. This allows you to then spend time building your strengths in these areas without the pressure of an exam looming.

GOOGLE CLASSROOM GUARDIAN SUMMARIES

Google Classroom allows teachers to create classes, distribute paperless assignments, post announcements and class questions, and provide feedback, all through an intuitive, student-friendly interface.

The flyer and link below provide you with more information about Guardian Summaries. Please contact Miss Bailey if you have any further questions or issues.

ASSESSMENT POLICIES

It would be appreciated if parents could read the information in the booklet and discuss the issues raised with their children. The assessment process is similar to that which the students will encounter in Stage 6 as they prepare for their Higher School Certificate.

Stage 4 Assessment Policy 2025.pdf

Stage 5 Assessment Policy 2025.pdf

Living Well, Learning Well

Ready2Learn

Device Policy

Students are not permitted to use their devices unless instructed by a teacher. This includes both the classroom and the playground. The students are aware of this policy and receive constant reminders in Pastoral Care, their teaching classes, and there are also many posters displayed all around the school.

If a student needs to use their device, they must first seek permission from a teacher and use it in an area designated by the teacher. This is usually under their direct supervision or outside the Secondary staffroom.

If students are unable to follow this policy, then their phone is confiscated and placed securely in Miss Bailey's office, where it is collected by the student at the end of the school day.

Teachers record each time a device has been confiscated. After the device has been confiscated for a second time, it remains at school until it can be collected by a parent/carer.