Junior School

Term 1 Review

It’s hard to believe that we are already a quarter of the way through the school year! The past 10 weeks have simply flown by, and it has been incredibly pleasing to see the way in which the Junior School boys have adjusted to their new environment; whether that be through joining the College community for the first time as a member of the new Year 5 cohort or adapting to the different challenges marked by the beginning of their Year 6 educational journey.

The Junior School is an extremely busy place at the best of times and this term has certainly been no exception. We opened the new school year with our Year 5 Orientation Day event highlighted by our initial introductory gathering in the College Gym and welcome to the College as students officially donned their blue caps for the first time. The Summer sports season soon kicked off and many boys from our newest cohort of students to the College also proudly represented SPC. Both Year 5 and Year 6 then enjoyed their own unique camp experiences and greatly benefitted from the opportunities provided to interact with their peers, form new friendships and further develop important life-skills.

In Week 4, parents/carers were warmly invited to attend the Junior School as part of our Parent Information Evening sessions as they met their son’s classroom teacher and got a sense of the student-centred learning environment our staff so wholeheartedly promote. The Junior School swimming carnival was then held at a new location in 2023 and proved to be a fantastic opportunity for students to proudly represent their specific house and earn valuable points towards the overall house competition we have throughout the College.

Each fortnight, our student-led year group assemblies were held, and it was fascinating to observe how each class that presented was able to add their own unique flavour to these occasions. Fluid Mathematics groups were successfully introduced across the Junior School and both students and staff quickly adapted to this more targeted and effective way of teaching and learning in this particular subject area. Our Year 5 boys also experienced NAPLAN online for the first time, showing great maturity in completing these assessments. While the Junior School student leadership team enjoyed participating in a unique leadership conference in collaboration with their fellow peers from Santa Sabina College, Strathfield. 

While I could make mention of many other highlights that our students have also experienced so far this year, ultimately, the boys and their teachers have worked tirelessly throughout Term 1, often going above and beyond expectations and it remains a privilege to be part of such a talented and dedicated community.

I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks for the many messages of gratitude received from parents/carers as our staff have spent a significant amount of time communicating with families to update them on the progress of our boys so far this term; whether that be in the form of a personal phone call home from our classroom teachers, or an overview email sent out which related to a specific subject area taught by our specialist staff. The partnership between home and school is incredibly important to us and with the ongoing support and understanding of our parent community, we will continue to do all that we can to maintain an open and honest dialogue, with the unique needs of each boy at the centre of our conversations. 

On another note, all parents/carers are reminded of the fact that the College calendar can be viewed directly through our website by clicking here. This is a ‘live’ calendar that is regularly updated by our College Administration team and parents are encouraged to bookmark this site in order to keep track of upcoming events and/or changes made to the calendar.

A friendly reminder to parents/carers that in Terms 2 and 3, our students are expected to wear their College blazer to and from school. In Terms 1 and 4, the blazer is optional, but must always be worn on top of, or instead of the College jumper. In other words, wearing the jumper alone to and from school is not permitted.

Finally, I would like to wish all members of our wonderful College community a very happy holiday break over the next two weeks. In this season of Lent, we prepare our hearts and our minds for the Easter experience. That is the essence of Easter; a special celebration of peace, joy, love and hope.

On behalf of the entire Junior School staff, I would like to thank all parents and carers once again for your ongoing support during the course of Term 1, and we eagerly look forward to seeing the boys return to the College for the commencement of Term 2 on Wednesday 26 April.

If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via email (glenn.stephenson@spc.nsw.edu.au) or phone (8705 9247) and I will endeavour to assist you in any way that I can.

May God bless you,

Glenn Stephenson

Director of Junior School