Cohort News

Year 7 Pastoral Care

Welcomes you back to Term 2 2022. I sincerely hope that you and your families had a wonderful and restful break over Easter and that you are feeling refreshed.

As Term 2 begins, I would like to commend Year 7 on their positive attitude throughout Term 1. While year 7 are still experiencing many new features of College life, I am sure that they will continue to carry themselves with strength and gentleness.

Assessment Feedback

Your daughter will be receiving feedback from the first round of assessment tasks she would have completed. Please assist your daughter in engaging with this feedback by reading over it together and discussing comments that have been given. This will help promote an understanding of how she can improve her future work and develop constructive learning practices. As always, if your daughter has any questions or queries about her feedback, she is able to seek clarification from her classroom teacher.

Winter Uniform

During Terms 2 and 3 the College Winter Uniform must be worn. We would greatly appreciate it if you could continue checking in with your daughter, that she is dressed in accordance with the College Uniform Policy as outlined in the College Diary, particularly around the aspects of jewelry and make-up. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions about the uniform policy.

NAPLAN Testing

Over the next week, Year 7 will be completing their NAPLAN testing. Please ensure that your daughter charges her laptop each night and that she has the charger cable and some wired headphones to complete the testing.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Rebecca Monohan 

Year 7 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 8 Pastoral Care

I am constantly amazed at just how capable our young learners are. Each and every day at Brigidine, I see examples of it and hear teachers talking about it. We do set extraordinarily high expectations on our young women, but they continue to surprise and amaze us with the depth of their understanding of our values in action. Last week's ANZAC Service was no exception to this. I was proud when Year 8 acted so well, with respectful behaviours  during the ceremony. Congratulations to Year 8! You demonstrated our Brigidine values of 'Strength and Gentleness' very well.

I want to highlight the recent achievement of one of our Year 8 students, Rachel Aditama, who competed in the recent Australian Claycourt National Tennis Championship in Canberra. This competition is for the top tennis players in Australia. Well done, Rachel, on your recent participation in the competition.

In my recent welcome email, you will note a few items of reminders, particularly with the switch to Winter uniform and other key events coming up. Please continue to check your daughter's status with the uniform and particularly pay attention to items of jewellery and makeup. We have a clear standard of dress here, and it is all outlined clearly in the College Diaries for students.

Students should not be contacting you directly (on their mobiles or devices) while at school if they are sick or need an early leave. The College procedure is that the student present themselves to the front office so we can provide further assistance with contacting you. The students in Year 8 need a parent or carer to pick them up from the office before they are to leave school grounds in these circumstances. 

Additionally, I outlined that students will be receiving feedback on their recent assessment tasks. Please continue to support your daughters by assisting the teachers by helping your children engage with their feedback by perceiving it in meaningful and positive ways. Feedback is one of the fundamental strategies by which constructive learning can occur. If your daughter has any further questions about her feedback, encourage her to speak to her classroom teacher.

Please continue to contact your child's Pastoral Care Teacher about any further enquiries you may have about your daughter's learning and engagement with school. Alternatively, please be in contact with me: brenton.fletcher@syd.catholic.edu.au.

‘If we can do all the things we were capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.’

Thomas A. Edison

With continued blessings,

Brenton Fletcher 

Year 8 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 9 Pastoral Care

Welcome back to our students and the rest of the school community for Term 2. I hope that you have all had a blessed Easter break. We had intended on holding our first Cross Country during Sport in Week 1 but the weather had other ideas and unfortunately we had to cancel this event. For those students who are interested in participating in running competitively, these trials are still taking place so please contact Ms Hurley. As we return for the term, I would like to cover some of the information that will help you for this term. 

Uniform

We return to Term 2 to wear the College winter uniform. Students are reminded that they are to wear their College blazers to and from school. Please be mindful of not wearing excessive jewellery, earrings, nail polish…etc as these are not part of the uniform, It is important that we are following the uniform guidelines. Please refer to the uniform policy in the College Diary on page 10a if there is any doubt.

Absences

All absences can be notified using Compass. If you would like to submit a doctors certificate your daughter can bring it in to the front office on her return.

Process for leaving early: Students can either bring a note in and have it signed by me and use this note and present it to the front office at the time of departure, to be signed out. Alternatively you can log this on Compass and email me in the morning on the day of the partial absence. She still needs to present to the front office to sign out but there is no need for a note if the email has been sent to me.

If there are any unexpected or extended absences after logging it on Compass, please notify her Pastoral teacher or myself. All requests for leave in advance still go through our Principal, Mrs Sharyn Quirk. These leave forms are available from the front office. 

If you are experiencing any problems with logging into Compass please contact the front office to reset your login. 

Point of Contacts

In order to address any concerns or enquiries efficiently please continue to contact your daughters Pastoral teachers or myself if you have a wellbeing or Pastoral enquiry. If there are any subject specific questions or concerns, especially around assessments, the classroom teacher or Head of Department should be your first point of contact. Their contact details can be found in the College diary. 

I hope you all have a good term.

Tony Munguia

Year 9 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 10 Pastoral Care

Welcome to Term 2. The students this term will be having a look at their goals and make new ones for this term. This will include having a look at Road Blocks, these are what might stop them from achieving their goals. This is a good thing to think about as it gives students time also to think about who or what might help them overcome their Road Blocks and to have strategies in place to overcome them.

In PEEC this term students will also look at sleep and its importance. They will look at their own sleep patterns in the first week and write down their sleep timetable. Then they can look at this and see ways in which they can improve their sleep and sleep routines. One important fact now is screen time and so many teenagers go to sleep with a phone and/or computer with them. Studies have shown that the light emitted by these devices disrupts their sleep pattern. Social Media now also interferes with sleep as so many students who are connected to Social Media stay up reading and communicating as they don't want to miss out or feel disconnected from their friends. Students will learn the value of sleep and how the lack of it can cause issues from lack of concentration, higher risk of diabetes, weight gain and poor concentration, to name a few.

Sport: the first half of Term 2 students will be going to either Titans or playing tennis with instruction. This is also a great way to improve health with exercise.

Catherine James

Year 10 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 11 Pastoral Care

I would like to warmly welcome the return of all Yr 11 students to a fresh new term. As students, they now have experienced the pressures of academic life and of being able to balance family, social and sporting commitments.

As the term progresses, the following reminders are really vital to the ongoing success of each student. Students need to keep well and follow a routine of good sleep patterns, healthy eating and finding some time to rest and relax. I asked Yr 11 for their reflections of last term and many expressed the need to be kind to themselves. This is really important as at times we tend to lose focus on ourselves and other aspects of our busy lives take over.

Attendance is paramount as learning is a continuum and this continuity supports the development of concepts and analysis. Each day a student is absent, we need documentation or supporting evidence in order for the recommended hours to be followed through for your daughter.

Uniform is also important as the winter months progress and I recommend warm undergarments underneath the shirt, alongside the use of our College jumper and blazer. This blazer needs to be worn to and from school and there is to be only one earring in each lobe. We will start our journey with the Year 12 Jerseys in Week 2. The Yr 11 Students Council representatives and myself will be on Zoom to discuss the style and design of these jerseys and then explain the brief and the way forward to Mrs Quirk at the end of the term. This is exciting for our students as they become part of the process and they will discuss their design with the College Leadership team. I am really looking forward to this new, important step for our Year 11 students.

On Sunday 1 May, the Brigidine Sisters alongside the Ex-students association had their annual 2022 Reunion. It was a lovely afternoon where ex students discussed their personal stories from their past and Yr 11 students were able to also share their stories from 2022. Ms Norman was able to liaise with our Brigidine Sisters and to recognise the strengths and talents of our past and present students at our College.

I would like to express my appreciation to these Yr 11 students who spent the afternoon supporting our College: Jacqueline Kostagiannis, Bridie Morrison, Clare Culligan, Matilda Dibb, Ellie shearman, Sarah Birrell, Yasmeen Janschek, Eliza Cooke, Jedaiaa  Sampelalong, Charlie Lymbery-Ashton and Roisin Haenga. I would also like to express my appreciation to Ms Norman who assisted in the organisation of this special event.

Year 11 are an inspirational, motivated and brave group of young women. I will encourage them this term to show their true gifts and talents and really demonstrate that “ Girls can do anything but Brigidine Girls can do everything”.  Please do not hesitate to contact the Year 11 Pastoral team or myself if you have any concerns as I look forward to another productive term.

Warm regards

Adriana Parsons

Year 11 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 12 Pastoral Care

Welcome back to the Class of 2022 for the second last term of their Brigidine journey!

Hopefully the holidays were an opportunity for all students to recharge, clear their mind and reset for the term ahead. 

With the holidays already feeling like a distant memory, Year 12 were reminded in Pastoral Care about the importance of standards. Namely, that our own personal standards are reflected in the way we present ourselves. It is for this reason the girls need to remember that they are not only the role models in the school but also young women transitioning to life after school and it is paramount that they present themselves well. This means that their uniform, hair and grooming routines need to be in line with the school’s expectations. This term, full winter uniform with blazer, stockings and appropriate hair, make-up and jewellery that meet the standards within the School’s policy will be expected and reinforced in the weeks to come. Students are also reminded that their skirt length needs to be of an appropriate length. 

Post week one, the girls are now well into receiving feedback from their most recent assessment block and Parent Teacher Conferences. As mentioned in previous communication, all students are encouraged to reflect on their performance, turn feedback into strategies for improvement and reflect on their goals. They are encouraged to continue to work toward their personal best rather than trying to be the best or comparing their performance with others. The HSC is a personal journey, it is their journey. 

This term, in conjunction with feedback and continued HSC preparation, Year 12 will have the opportunity to attend a workshop delivered by Elevate Education on Tuesday 10 May titled, Ace Your Exams. This workshop will outline critical exam skills that will allow students to confidently prepare for the exam room, including best study practice prior, as well as exam room techniques for staying calm, managing time and delivering concise responses. I would highly encourage all students to really engage and immerse themselves in this opportunity to really get the most out of it.

Last week, Mrs Norman communicated our Term 2 Thursday Sport Venues. Please note there have been some changes and the venues for this term are as follows:

• Week 2-5: students will remain on school site and partake in a range of activities including yoga, pilates, boxercise and self defence
• Week 6-10: students will attend Paine Reserve to participate in House Sport

I look forward to another fantastic term ahead, full of learning and personal growth for the girls.

As always, the Year 12 team is here to help, feel free to contact a member of the team if you have any questions.

Amy Borg

Year 12 Pastoral Care Coordinator