Dear families,

Next week marks the beginning of Holy Week with Palm Sunday this weekend followed by the Triduum consisting of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. On Sunday (9 April) we celebrate Easter Sunday. This is the most important week on the Catholic calendar. We enter into the darkness with the Last Supper and the absence of the crucified Christ. In the intervening days we are called to reflect on how we live our lives and what we bring to the table. Then, through the resurrection we are brought to a new beginning through Christ’s light on Easter Sunday. I encourage all families to engage with their Church over the Easter season.

As we come to the close of the first term, it reminds us that we need to continue to plan to move forward in this modern world. The old saying that if you stand still, you will be run over comes to mind. Consideration around the changes required for 2024 has already begun and this week I met with the Parent Reference Group (PRG) to receive their feedback on some of these matters. The structure of the day will most likely change next year due to the new Enterprise Agreement for teachers and the PRG gave me their opinions on what would suit. Also we are currently reviewing the suitability of the Chromebook that is issued at the beginning of Year 7 and whether we should explore a BYOD option where families would be given a wider, although still limited, choice of units and purchase these through a third party provider with an acceptable payment plan. Finally, the PRG provided me with feedback on what families need in regard to tuckshop service and supply of lunches. I appreciate the time these parent representatives invest in our school.

On Wednesday, our staff had a professional development day in which we further explored the science behind Positive Psychology and how that can impact on the learning of our students. On Thursday, the House Athletics Day was held and further in this newsletter there are photos of the great efforts from our students.

Next week will be the end of the term with Parent Teacher Interviews on Tuesday (students dismissed at lunchtime) and on the final day of Term (Thursday) classes will conclude at 2:30pm. I hope all families have a safe and enriching Easter break. I myself will be attending an education conference in Singapore in the first week which focuses on ‘Reimagining the Future of Education’ and I am excited to consider what this may mean for St Brigid’s College.

Take the bitterness out of chocolate.

Easter chocolate is already on the supermarket shelves, so let’s recommit to using our chocolate dollars to buy slavery-free chocolate this year. It’s also the right time to tell our families, friends and communities about the exploitation of children in chocolate production. Encourage them to start buying slavery-free chocolate now – and to keep going after Easter.

You can find the Be Slavery Free Chocolate Scorecard here. The scorecard published in 2022 and updated before Easter, features most of your favourite brands and explains how they rate in several key areas including child labour, payment of a living income and the impact on climate.

Please refer to the email sent today about the alleged historical sexual assault case.

I wish you a blessed Easter – Gerard Raven

Library News