Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Carers,
As I sat down to write this report, I (like everyone I think!) am struggling with what our world is and where it is going in the future. The navigation of the ever changing world that COVID 19 presents is challenging. How do you make plans when we don’t know what the future holds? As I pondered this question, and others, I came to the conclusion that this is not really different to our ‘supposedly normal life’. We can plan for the future but we don’t really know what the future will be. When we were planning for 2020, we thought the only big issues we would have to contend with were the after effects of devastating drought and bushfires. We could not have predicted a global pandemic. And even if we could, what would we have changed (other than investing in zoom and antibacterial wipes as opposed to booking holidays!)?
Planning for the future means we need to have hope in the future, with a strong vision for who we, personally and collectively, want to be and become. Strategies for achieving that might change due to circumstances but a clear vision leads the path. O’Connor’s vision is:
Our vision is a faith filled Catholic Professional Learning Community, founded on faith & focused on learning, working collaboratively to enhance the learning for all, resulting in students who are creative, confident and informed people ready to make a real difference in our world. We believe that everyone can learn, not always at the same time or in the same way, and we strive to create learning opportunities for all.
This strong vision encompassing, faith, learning and pastoral care, has allowed us to navigate the ever changing landscape of our world. Learning remains the focus. The type of learning might change, with an increasing emphasis on emotional and social wellbeing, as well as building the resourcefulness of our students, staff and whole community to cope with a changing world, but the focus remains the same. In particular during this year ‘resulting in students who are creative, confident and informed people ready to make a real difference in our world.’ Our students will need to have the skills to navigate a post COVID environment which offers opportunities, as well as challenges. The focus is strong and remains the compass for all we do. Founded on Faith Focused on Learning.
HSC Exams Commence
Good luck to our Year 12 students who will commence their HSC exams this term:
Students studying Music and Languages will have performance and speaking exams in September. Many of our students are also completing major works including in Design and Technology, Textiles and Design, Visual Arts and Music.
Good luck to all Year 12 students who commence their trial exams on Monday. These exams form a major component of the school based assessment mark. I know their hard work and focus on their learning will yield quality feedback in preparation for their final exams in October and November. A link to the Trial Exam timetable is here
Satisfaction Surveys
Satisfaction surveys of parents, students and staff will be conducted on behalf of all Catholic schools in the Diocese this term. The surveys are designed to gather feedback from parents, staff and students about our school and will be used to inform school improvement. Responses are confidential and individuals can not be identified. The survey link was circulated via email using the email addresses supplied to the school.
Staffing Changes for Term 3 and Term 4
With Eli Simpson’s move to Catherine McCauley College Medowie, it is with pleasure that I announce that Mr Stephen Chapman will take on the role of Assistant Principal (Learning) for Term 4. I look forward to working with Steve in his new role.
Miss Madeleine Davidson has resigned her position at O’Connor. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Maddy for her work at O’Connor and wish her well in the future. The following changes to classes will occur - 12 English Standard will be taken by Mr Joseph Bell, 11 English Standard by Mr Michael Wooster. Mrs Delwyn Smidt will take Miss Davidson’s classes and 11 English Studies for the rest of Term 3. Miss Elizabeth Campbell has been appointed to the English Position. Liz is currently completing her final practicum at O’Connor and is a CSO Scholarship recipient. We look forward to Liz joining our staff.
Mr Andrew May will take 6 months leave commencing on Friday 21st of September to take on a role with the Australian Army in Darwin. This means he will be on leave for Term 4 2020 and Term 1 2021. Miss Jessica Armifield will work with 12 Modern History in preparation for their HSC examination. We are currently recruiting to fill Mr May’s position.
What new learning will you undertake this week?
Regina Menz
