Dear Families and Community of Blackfriars Priory School,

Student Leadership 2019

I am delighted to appoint the following students to Student Leadership positions for 2019. The students have been elected by our community to take up the service roles of Prefect, House Captain and House Vice-Captain from the beginning of 2019. Congratulations to the students who have been appointed.

I also thank the boys who generously applied for the roles but who were not appointed. There will be many formal and informal opportunities for Year 10-12 students to take up important roles of leadership throughout the year and serve our community in a variety of ways through spiritual, co-curricular and House activities. I encourage all students to continue to give generously in service to others and our school community.

2019 Prefects

Gianni Caiazza
Philip Clark
Declan Fitch - Woolford
Francesco Freda
Alexander Hunter
Christian Jones
Youngmo (Silas) Koo
Julian McPeake
Attaullah Qasimy
Vince Ravida

Captains

2019 House Captains:

Damon Doody (Aquinas)
Jordan Papic (Burke)
Joseph Russell (Denifle)
Peter Le (Y11) (Devittoria)
Nihaal Jummun (Horten)
Kane Flanagan (Jarrett)
Fearghas Rae (Lacordaire)
Jonathan Neate (Lagrange)

Vice Captains

2019 House Vice Captains:

Charlie Dunn (Y12) (Aquinas)
Ricky Le (Y10) (Burke)
Daniel Bui (Denifle)
Lachlan Zurcher (Y10) (Devittoria)
Daniel Harker (Horten)
Gianni Macolino (Jarrett)
Edwin Watson (Lacordaire)
Tristan Oakes (Lagrange)

Governor’s Reception for Year 12 Students 2018

The Governor of South Australia hosted a reception for senior secondary school students at Government House on Wednesday, 19 September 2018. Sebastian Deluca (Head Prefect) and Dyson Hilder (Deputy Head Prefect) represented Blackfriars at the reception where they had the honour of meeting Governor Hieu Van Le AC, the 35th Governor of South Australia.

The University of Adelaide Principals’ Scholarship

The University of Adelaide offers a wide range of undergraduate scholarships to assist students during their study. These scholarships range from supporting students who may be financially disadvantaged, to students who demonstrate outstanding academic merit and community involvement.

Of particular interest to Year 12 students and their parents will be the University of Adelaide Principals’ Scholarships. The University of Adelaide Principals’ Scholarships are valued at $5,000 for one year to assist with study and living costs.

Please follow the link to obtain further details of the scholarship:

https://scholarships.adelaide.edu.au/scholarship/ug/all/the-university-of-adelaide-principals-scholarships

Expressions of interest from Year 12 students are due by 15 November, 2018.

Enrolment Contract at Blackfriars

It is my sincere hope that Blackfriars is the school of choice for boys and families and remains the school of choice unless families move interstate or to a distant suburb where transport to Blackfriars is difficult. However, if you are considering a move of school for your son during the year or for 2019 for any reason, I encourage you to contact me to confidentially discuss your individual circumstances and the reasons for your consideration of a move of school. Contact can also be made with Mr Frank Ali, Head of Primary or Mr David Ruggiero, [Acting] Deputy Principal of the Secondary School.

Please also note the disturbing Headlines in the Advertiser, Wednesday 12 September, 2018:

“SACE SHOCK—55% of Yr 12 students at public schools in 2016 achieved the SACE”.

Whilst there can be no absolute guarantees provided by Blackfriars, the fact is:

Blackfriars SACE Completion Rate for 2016 99%

Blackfriars SACE Completion Rate for 2017 99%

In other words, boys who complete their education at Blackfriars are almost 100% likely to achieve the SACE certificate; a certificate that opens many doors to future employment and education pathways beyond Year 12.

At the beginning of the year the 2017 ATAR results were published and made available to the community via the following link:

http://www.bps.sa.edu.au/__files/f/27830/BPS-2017Year12Results.pdf

In brief, I provide the following summary:

18 % of Year 12 boys achieved an ATAR of greater than 90

43% of Year 12 boys achieved an ATAR of greater than 80

81 % of Year 12 boys achieved their first or second preference for University Entrance

Furthermore, education at Blackfriars is far more than achieving the SACE or achieving a high ATAR. At Blackfriars, boys have every opportunity to fulfil their academic potential as well as:

Enjoy an education for the whole person including the spiritual self
Have a strong connection to the community and graduate from a strong community with friends for life
Have multiple opportunities to learn through sport, drama, music and the arts
Learn leadership skills vital for successful engagement in society.

Please be reminded of the Enrolment Contract you have signed and the agreement within the contract that when a student leaves the School, the family must provide a minimum of one Term’s notice in writing addressed to the Principal.

In the event that a student leaves prior to the one term’s notice, a fee is payable which is the equivalent of one term’s tuition fee. The reason for this notice period is that Blackfriars, like any school, establishes class sizes, senior SACE subjects and electives based on the enrolment information received from parents during Term 4 of any given year. The major cost to our annual budget is the employment of staff which we systematically align to student numbers and classes as calculated in Term 4 for the following year. Hence, late decisions by families to leave our school become a major financial problem for Blackfriars as our costs are locked in for the year in advance.

Term Conclusion

We have come to the end of Term 3 with the emergence of Spring in recent weeks, longer days, new growth in nature, intense bouquet of flowers, increasing light, the promise of more warmth to come and the relief of holidays upon us. Congratulations to all students who have done their personal best in their studies throughout Term 3 and to the many students who have participated in a wide variety of co-curricular activities. No doubt senior students will take a well earnt-break and combine relaxation with a strong focus on revision for the upcoming examinations. Above all, I wish students and families a safe holiday break.

I look forward to seeing our students return to school on Monday 15 October.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Simon Cobiac

PRINCIPAL

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