Dear Parents/Carers,

The new school year began very well last week with our cohort of Year 7 students commencing on Monday and Year 8 to Year 12 returning on Tuesday 1 February. In addition to our Year 7 students, we welcomed a number of new students into other year groups as well as new staff for 2022 and staff members returning from extended leave.

New and Returning Staff

We welcome back:

Ms Karina Rudd, Assistant KLA Leader of HSIE
Mr Scott McAuliffe, TAS teacher

Welcome to:

Ms Stephanie Noske – Science and Agriculture Teacher
Ms Mikka Drummond – Learning Support and HSIE Teacher
Ms Keira Barnes – English and HSIE Teacher
Ms Rosie Maunder – HSIE Teacher
Ms Trina Rynehart - part time Teacher Assistant
Ms Molly McMullen - part time Teacher Assistant

The following internal changes to staff roles are points of contact for families:

Mrs Monique Graham - Kennedy House Leader
Mr Ben Brooke - Carroll House Leader
Mr Andrew Geurtsen - KLA Leader of TAS/VET
Mr Nick Fahey - Assistant KLA Leader of TAS/VET
Mr Dan Larkin - Assistant KLA Leader of Maths

We offer each of our returning and new members of staff and students a very warm Mater Dei welcome to 2022.

We also welcome Fr Paddy Sykes as Parish Administrator for Sacred Heart Parish, Kooringal and Fr Jomer Calma. We have been blessed to have Fr Jomer visit the College already this term and celebrate our Opening Mass.

Mrs Diana Lloyd has announced her retirement. We thank Diana for her contribution to the College over many years, most recently in her role as a Teacher Assistant and wish her every blessing for the future.

COVID Safety

Our staff have enjoyed the return of students and we are grateful that we can commence the new year with everyone on site. However, we are very mindful of the responsibility that each of us - staff, students and families – to minimise COVID risks so that learning can continue safely on site. As well as vaccinations, RATs, wearing surgical masks and handwashing, maintaining physical distancing whenever possible and avoiding congregating in groups are important risk minimisation strategies. COVID safe information for parents from the NSW Government is presented as an infographic below.

Thank you to parents/carers who helped to make the collection of RAT kits as smooth as possible. A second round of kits is being dispensed from today. Parents are strongly encouraged by the NSW Government to test their children twice a week. In the event of a positive result, the College and NSW Health must be advised and all protocols followed. As per the requirement last year, students with symptoms of respiratory illness must not come to school and will be sent home if symptoms develop during the school day.

Commencement of the New School Year

COVID restrictions on site meant that we were unable to gather our College community at a whole school assembly but we were able to meet in the courtyard on Tuesday 1 February to welcome everyone back in a COVID safe way.

The commencement of the new school year is an excellent time to remind students of the College’s high expectations around uniform and appearance, behaviour and commitment to learning. Research shows that high expectations are one of the vital factors for success and students benefit when there is a strong three-way partnership with parents, students and teachers that is underpinned by a commitment to College standards and requirements by all stakeholders. We value that strong partnership, which we see in action every day.

Mater Dei has a proud reputation as a vibrant learning community. Our emphasis on the use of technology as a learning tool ensures that students are exposed to contemporary learning strategies and Year 7, Year 10 and new students have already received their laptops.

The beginning of a new school year presents opportunities for all of us to refocus our attention on our purpose and priorities as a Catholic College. Our Vision Statement captures this succinctly:

Mater Dei Catholic College strives to be a nurturing community which

is founded in Catholic faith, justice and love
is inclusive
is learner centred
seeks excellence and wisdom

College Events

We are now in Week 3 and a number of very significant College events are taking place. COVID protocols prevented our College community gathering in the Hall for the HSC High Achievers’ Assembly so that only Year 12 were in attendance. Fortunately, this year we were able to have the small group of parents of the HSC High Achievers present at the Assembly on Wednesday. Congratulations to the graduates who were recognised during the Academic Assembly, especially our 2021 Dux Oscar King. We are so proud of our High Achievers and of all our Year 12 students who excelled during a very challenging year to achieve outstanding results. Well done to them all! An overview of the Assembly and a photo gallery is included in this edition of the newsletter.

Fr Jomer celebrated our Opening Mass this week, with only Year 12 present due to COVID restrictions. A highlight was the commissioning of our Student Leaders for 2022 and we were very grateful that their parents could attend the liturgy for this special ceremony. Congratulations to our Student Leaders. An overview of the Mass and Commissioning of the Student Leaders is included in this edition of the newsletter.

However, parents are not permitted on site for general information nights and parent meetings at this stage, so it is likely that some of our traditional events and celebrations will look different this year.

Congratulations to individual students who took part in the Swimming Carnival, all who excelled and those named as Age Champions. Congratulations to Sherrin House, who were overall winners on the night. The decision to run competition only events was made to keep numbers at a level where physical distancing and student cohorting in year groups could be managed in a COVID safe way. We hope to have all our students involved in the Swimming Carnival next year and look forward to the return of parents as spectators in 2023.

The Parent Transition Meetings for new families will be run as zoom meetings next week. The first 30 minute meeting at 5.00pm on Tuesday, 15 February will focus on Canvas and Compass. The second 30 minute meeting on Thursday 17 February at 5.00pm will focus on Maths Pathways and Guided Inquiry Learning, and is particularly useful for learning in Year 7 and Year 8. Zoom links have been sent to families via Compass.

We are still planning to run our Open Night for Year 7 2023 in a COVID safe way on site on Tuesday 1 March, commencing at 5.30pm with site tours.

We appreciate that our Mater Dei families share our disappointment that Catholic Schools NSW COVID Guidelines require us to make these adjustments to College events. Please be assured that we are taking every possible step to manage the risks associated with COVID in all our planning in an effort to keep our students and staff as safe as possible during the pandemic. We look forward to being able to hold future events with everyone present when this is permitted.

School Fee 2022 Invoice/Statement Update

Due to changes at a system level, schools have been unable to send out the 2022 Fee Invoices/Statements at this time but we anticipate advice from CEDWW that this process can begin soon. Thank you in advance to all our families for your support with the timely payment of fees, which can be paid for the full year or by instalment if required. It is expected that all fees are paid in full by the end of the school year.

When they do arrive, please take time to review all documents and return the necessary paperwork to the College.

Any fees still owed from 2021 are overdue and will be included in the upcoming Fee Invoice/Statement.

Families experiencing genuine financial hardship are encouraged to complete the Diocesan Hardship Application Form and return it to the College, to be forwarded to CEDWW for consideration.

CEDWW offers payment through BPAY, Direct Deposit and EFTPOS. Please note that the option to direct debit from a Bank Account or Credit Card is no longer available.

Changes to Family Contact Details

If your contact details have changed recently, please advise the College via Compass. Correct telephone numbers, email addresses and postal addresses are all vital if we need to contact families.

Stay safe and well during these COVID times and please reach out to us if you have any COVID related concerns about your son or daughter. We are with you on this journey and here to assist in any way we can. Homegroup and class teachers are the first point of contact. I have included the College Lines of Communication infographic as a point of reference for parents/carers:

Best wishes to all our families for a wonderful year.

Mrs Val Thomas | Principal

"Mater Dei Matters"

Issue 1 · 10 Feb 2022

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