Year 8 Pastoral Guardian

Term 1 Wrap-up

It is hard to believe that Term 1 has already come to an end! I have thoroughly enjoyed my first term here at Mount Alvernia and been impressed by the diligence and resilience of the students. Although a very abrupt end to the term, these three days should have given the girls time to consolidate their learning before embarking on their holidays. The teachers of each subject would have sent your child a message - either via Teams or by email - to let them know what the expectations were for the missed lessons this week.

The lockdown is a wonderful opportunity to stop the busyness of life and evaluate the term. Jodi Clarke, a licensed professional counsellor, states that not only does celebrating success feel good in the moment, but it also sets you up for future success. If you take the time to recognise your achievements, then you can pinpoint exactly what worked and you can repeat it in the future. Here are some questions that may help your daughter to reflect on this term:

What did I enjoy most about this term?
What did I do well?
What strengths did I use?
What skills did I gain?
What do I feel most confident about?
How did I overcome obstacles along the way?
What would I change for next time?

It is important to recognise and celebrate the successes of the term and to set goals to help improve areas of concern for next term. It is also a great time to reconnect with family after a busy ten weeks.

The swimming carnival was a great success, and it was wonderful to see the Year 8 students involving themselves in the spirit of the carnival. We have elected our House Captains for Francis School for this year. The students had to present a speech in front of the house and then the students voted. The successful candidates were: Yashvi Mehta, Macy Cuthbert, Charlotte Neal, Sienna O'Shea, Talulah Townsing, and Brie Riddle. Congratulations, girls, and welcome to the Francis School leadership team. I am sure you will perform well in this role, and I look forward to working with you.

Our Francis School Captains led the year level assembly last week and did an amazing job. They launched our Year 8 theme for this year which is:

Kindness and Compassion are the new Fashion

This theme was the inspiration of Ariana Tashirofi, Olivia Webb, Lauren McDowall, and Eleesia Grauf, and the artwork was designed by Imogen Poole and Giselle Hurd. We will endeavour to live out this theme as we journey through Year 8.

We welcomed two new students on the start of their Mount Alvernia journey on Monday – Clara Morris and Amber Marquez. We hope you and your families find this college to be a warm and supportive community.

I hope you have a lovely, blessed Easter with your family and enjoy the break. I look forward to welcoming the Year 8’s back on Monday 19 April.

Colleen Goodin