From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a show! For those of you who were privileged enough to see our recent College Musical Legally Blonde – you will agree, it was SUPERB! To the cast and crew of Mount Alvernia and Padua College, a huge congratulations to you all. The dedication, the talent, and the camaraderie of all involved was clearly evident and our lead cast members and chorus were quite simply, outstanding. We are so proud of everyone who was involved and recognise that the memory of this experience will be one to last a lifetime. To our volunteering staff; Daniella Curcuruto (Assistant Musical Director), Amanda Bopf and Karen Farrow (Assistant Stage Managers) we thank you sincerely for the huge investment of time you each made in facilitating such a wonderful experience for our young performers. To our art team Monica Willoughby, Eve Longley, Jane Martens, Skubi Testa and our Leader of Student Activities and Engagement, Claire Hatchman, we acknowledge your fabulous contributions to the set design and to the support and supervision of students throughout the preparation and rehearsal schedule. Also, to our very own maintenance team who ensured that our San Damiano was spic and span for 4 nights of public performance  -thank you. Last but not least, we thank our partners at Padua College, and all of our shared past students and volunteers. It could not have happened without the efforts of many – what a triumph!

Due dates are closer than they appear

As we approach our examination blocks, we recognise that for some students this time of term may generate a heightened sense of anxiety. As parents and educators, we have an important role in helping our young people recognise that tests and examinations are a part of life and in fact, a degree of stress can actually be helpful in a performance situation. Together we can reassure our children that with organisation and coping strategies in place, examination stress can be managed effectively. Helping our young people in self-regulating their emotions and building their resilience and capacity to cope with life’s challenges is arguably one of the most important ‘subjects’ we can teach them. Some excellent resources for parents and students are available on the websites below. Together, we will continue to reiterate to our students, that we simply want them to do their best, in whatever form that may take. 

How To Reduce Stress & Prepare for Exams | headspace

Academic Integrity

Deputy Principal of Teaching and Learning - Kath Little, also took time on Friday to speak with all of our students (Years 7-12) to reinforce our expectations and commitment to ethical scholarship and academic integrity in all of our assessments. Whilst the growing emergence of generative AI is now well known to most, Mount Alvernia College awaits further direction from QCAA in formally ratifying our approach to AI in assessment contexts. In the meantime, our position is first and foremost on assessing students’ ‘original work’. We look forward to updating the community further on how the College plans to work alongside the emergence of these new technologies, recognising of course the potential of such technologies to enhance learning, critical thinking and analysis in many ways.

Parent and Carer MMG Educational Survey Reminder

We sincerely thank all of our parents and carers who have taken the time to complete our whole school survey administered by MMG. To date we have only 31% of the parent community respond to this comprehensive survey, so we would encourage you to do so if you have not yet had the opportunity. This survey will close this coming Sunday 4 June and the link was sent via email to all parents. A reminder that this is a confidential survey that is handled exclusively by MMG. Please search “mmg” if you have missed it. Feedback from these surveys will be shared with the community once they have been collated and analysed.

Be the Voice

As we come to the end of National Reconciliation Week, we honour and celebrate the launch of our Mount Alvernia College Reconciliation Action Plan which was formally launched to our community on Thursday at our Reconciliation Assembly. This action plan has been two years in the making and marks our formal commitment to National Reconciliation and documents how our college will strengthen relationships, respect and opportunities within the classroom and beyond. In true Mt A spirit, we have been aspirational and ambitious in this plan, citing 21 actions, 14 mandatory actions and 7 additional actions which we will commit to as a College. My thanks go to members of the MtAMob, Phillip Dreise and family, Richard Rogusz and past staff member Shauna King for their careful discernment and development of this important call to action for our Mt A Family.

Let us continue to reflect on the role we will each play in collectively rebuilding and shaping the relationships, policies and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, histories and futures. Let us continue to take the time to educate ourselves and our children of our Nation’s past and to stand in alongside our indigenous brothers and sisters in affirming their experiences and in recognising the invaluable part they play in our country.