Cohort News

Year 7 Pastoral Care

Term 1 is quickly flying by for our year 7’s. A highlight so far, and I am sure many will agree, was the Year 7 Camp, where our students embarked upon their first camp as Brigidine Girls. The camp was held by The Great Aussie Bush Camp in Kincumber, on the Central Coast and was met with great excitement and enthusiasm from both students and staff!

Over the course of the three days, our year 7’s were encouraged to grow new friendships and build positive social relationships, whilst continuing to contribute to the outstanding reputation of Brigidine College.

Year 7 graciously undertook a variety of activities with their Pastoral Care groups, with our girls encouraging each other to complete difficult tasks such as rock climbing, raft building, high ropes course, the leap of faith, and the firm favourites of the giant swing and "Lost Island" Mud Run. The camp leaders at The Great Aussie Bush Camp made multiple comments to staff members for our students' politeness, cooperation, and commitment to participating in all of the activities with much enthusiasm.

On behalf of the girls, I would like to thank the teachers and staff who came to camp with us. A big thank you to Ms Borg, Miss D’Arcy, Miss Crnogorac, Miss Whiteman, Miss Bacon, Miss Cole, Miss Kotapati and Mrs Chidiac. Each of these teachers gave generously of their time and without their support, the camp would not have been the success that it was. A special mention to Miss Cole for the speedy rock climbing and Ms Borg for the most competitive nature - The race between the two of them was truly an exciting event!

Throughout the term, our PEEC curriculum has continued to explore the themes of cooperation and collaboration that our students learned on camp. These memories and lessons will further develop the values and traits that will strengthen the positive experiences our girls will encounter in their coming years at Brigidine College and throughout their life.

Rebecca Monohan 

Year 7 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 8 Pastoral Care

Life is a rolling series of adventures. When we think we are regaining some control, we are thrown challenges to overcome. It has been difficult to step away from the news coverage of the events unfolding in Ukraine and closer to home to see the devastating floods in Queensland and now Northern NSW. I have noticed our Year 8 girls discussing and showing concerns for those facing challenges in the face of complex world events and natural disasters with visible damaging impacts on people and places. 

Adolescent brains are in a state of flux, and the increased exposure to coverage could cause concerns and anxieties to surface that were not identified before. Be mindful of their emotions and continue to have open conversations with your daughters. Linked here is a document by REACHOUT.com that provides advice for having conversations with young people about challenging world events. Discussions about these events should not be avoided, mainly when they are raised with you by your daughters.

Given the changing rules around COVID restrictions in schools, we face new challenges. Whilst we are beyond excited that the relaxed restrictions enable us to move back to doing some things more commonly, we also take responsibility for ensuring that the College is as safe as possible. We are also asking families to ensure that all girls have a store of masks in the front pocket of their school bags as if assemblies are moved indoors, or if it is impossible to keep cohorts separate, we will require the girls to wear a mask to those events. It continues to be mandated on transport to and from school. 

I want to congratulate the Year 8 students on their excellent behaviour and smart presentation. Year 8 continue to show whole school spirit through their participation in the House Sports Program over the last few weeks - whether outdoors playing soccer on Grant Reserve or (due to the weather events) showing their awesome dance moves through indoor ‘Just Dance’ competitions. They have demonstrated what it means to be a Brigidine student by showing respect for others, assisting some of our newer students with aspects of College life, or getting involved in the school spirit. 

‘Rise above the storm and you will find the sunshine.’

Mario Fernandez

With continued hope and blessings, 

Brenton Fletcher 

Year 8 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 9 Pastoral Care

Welcome to another Year 9 update. We are now in a full swing of things Week 6 of Term 1. We have had a few weeks of House sport and even though it has rained we were able to adjust to the Wet Weather Sports program. We also are into our third cycle of PEEC which is delivered during Pastoral care in the morning. The weather hasn’t dampened the mood and Year 9 as they are still approaching daily school life positively and with maturity.

In our morning PEEC lessons, we recently completed an activity on Leadership and Teamwork. This gave our students an opportunity to challenge themselves. Through this activity, they needed to think about the roles you have to take to complete a task that requires some to lead and some to cooperate as a team. The task they were set was to build a marshmallow tower. As you can see pictured students were able to succeed even though they had to fight the urge to eat the marshmallows before completing the activity.

Sport has been a new addition to College life. This term Year 9 started their sport activities doing House sport. This was a good opportunity for the students to get out when the weather was good and have some fun playing some team sports. This was organised in houses and they competed for points for their house. The girls were great and showed a lot of enthusiasm at both soccer and European handball. 

Due to the wet weather, we have had to revert to our wet weather sports program. This has allowed students to choose between dancing, yoga, meditation and various other activities. Below is an image of 9 Brigid who participated in Just Dance with me. It was challenging trying to keep up with the girls but it was a lot of fun and allowed for the girls to enjoy themselves regardless of the weather. 

Tony Munguia

Year 9 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 10 Pastoral Care

Students have been focusing on their strengths. This included looking at supporting others in small acts which can go a long way. Students also contemplated how they feel when someone supports them, and how good that can be. The students also reflected on what they had learnt about themselves as they had worked through this unit. As we headed into lent gratitude became the theme of the pastoral care sessions. Students had diaries/journals to complete and had to think about what they had to be grateful for. On Wellbeing Wednesdays Mindfulness and Mandala drawings were the order of the day. Both these activities can teach the students ways to learn to cope with stress and anxiety.

This has been a busy week for Year 10.  On Tuesday (8/3/22) we had our Feast Day and for the first time, the whole school gathered as a community in Cullen Hall since the easing of Covid restrictions. Tuesday saw not only St Brigid celebrated but we also had a new House – “Delany” commissioned. This included the Year 10 Delany girls receiving their new house badges.  The Year 10 girls also saw the class of 2021 outstanding HSC performers. The speech from Leilah Yousaaf the 2021 Dux was inspirational. Hopefully, she gave the Year 10 students some ideas on how to best plan for their senior years. 

Wednesday saw the Allwell testing for the students. This will help them recognise their strengths and what skills they maybe are able to utilise in future career paths together with what subjects to select later in the year.

Catherine James

Year 10 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 11 Pastoral Care

This term has really flown and our Year 11 students have settled well into some strong, consistent study/work patterns. They have demonstrated cohesive and well-structured work routines as their teachers are well pleased with their engagement in their learning. Please keep emphasising good sound sleep patterns, nutritious foods and spending some quality time with family and with their peers. Each day, students need some time for sport and recreation as a good work-life balance encourages a healthy mindset.

We all participated in our Ash Wednesday Liturgies. It was such a memorable experience as God needs to be at the centre of our lives. Our aim for Lent is to focus on the themes of compassion, prayer and love. We all need to remember that fasting, forgiveness and empathy for the marginalised are key facets of the season of Lent. Students were also very much involved in Shrove Tuesday where pancakes were distributed to students. Ms Wood and the Year 12 Leadership team are to be congratulated on their contribution to our Liturgies during this term. It was so lovely to see all of our students together as a group participating in our Liturgy as we haven’t had the opportunity in such a long time.

The Year 11 Assessment Handbook is now readily available online. Year 11 now need to organise, develop strategies and be able to ask for support from their subject teachers in order to submit these tasks on time and with integrity. Students have to balance and manage their time wisely and prioritise their tasks in date order. Please provide some support and assistance around these tasks, whereby your daughter needs time and adequate understanding in the completion of these tasks. There are tight guidelines for the submission of these tasks and please read over these in our Stage 6 Handbook. Year 11 have been at an assessment meeting with Ms Fox and Ms Agazzi and they were clearly briefed on the strict guidelines with the submission of Assessment Tasks.

In Week 5, Year 11 and Year 7 began their Peer Support program. On Tuesday 1 March, Yr 7 and Yr 11 had a brief introductory session. This was a ‘getting to know you activity where 3 Year 11 students were grouped with 3 or 4 Year 7 students. On Thursday 3 March, all Year 11 students were provided with a Peer Support booklet and they assisted Year 7 with some fun activities. It was really an entertaining session whereby the Year 11 became very nurturing and supportive of the Year 7 students.

I wish every family a safe and happy term,

Adriana Parsons

Year 11 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 12 Pastoral Care

In amongst a busy term for Year 12, the cohort is continuing to display core values of strength, gentleness and unity. And whilst the classroom endeavours continue, the girls were exposed to some very important messages throughout the week.

In our Year Meeting, Year 12 were provided with some words of encouragement and key strategies for success for the upcoming assessment block. They were introduced to the undisputed benefits of “chunking” when completing assessment tasks and the power of prioritisation to meet competing deadlines. Ms Fox shared some practical tips for HSC success and spoke about the importance of taking a proactive approach in seeking assistance and feedback from teachers. She reinforced the message that we are constantly improving and that seeking assistance from those around us is crucial to that process. Ms Zafiris provided the girls with some very valuable information regarding early entry schemes, how to book an appointment and displayed the new Careers Hub. The Careers Hub is a helpful and comprehensive source of information and I would encourage all girls to spend some time looking through the resources available to them.

In Pastoral Care, the girls have continued their engagement with the PEEC curriculum, most recently learning about the concept of flow and how it can be used to reduce real-life stressors. Perfect timing as the girls move toward the next assessment block! It is my hope that in providing the girls with these tools and strategies that they feel equipped to tackle the challenges thrown at them during this final year of high school.

This term, Year 12 have continued to impress with their desire to improve academically. However, as we move toward our next assessment block I think it is necessary to remind all students and families about the importance of personal best and the removal of comparison. The temptation to compare is powerful, however, the skill of being able to refocus energy on your own individual areas of improvement is even more powerful. It is not an easy skill, but one that takes a lot of reinforcement and encouragement; however, investing in this process of improvement and the personal growth that will come is key to individual success. I implore the girls to remember that the HSC is a marathon, not a sprint; and as such aiming for personal improvement in each assessment task should be the main priority.

Lastly, it is important to note that stress and anxiety are common for students studying their HSC and that a certain level of stress often motivates and helps us to achieve our goals. However, it is also equally important that Year 12 know how to manage these feelings and seek support when things become overwhelming. To assist students and families with this, a number of helpful resources have been provided below. I would encourage all students and families to familiarise themselves with these early intervention strategies.

• Managing exam stress
• Stress and preparing for exams
• UAC: 5 steps to managing HSC stress

As always, please do not hesitate to contact your daughter’s Pastoral Care Teacher or a member of the Year 12 Pastoral Care team should you have any questions or concerns regarding your daughter.

God Bless.

Amy Borg

Year 12 Pastoral Care Coordinator