From the Principal -

Mr Simon Cobiac

Looking to the future: Master Plan 2020

Dear Families and Community of Blackfriars Priory School,

Catholic Education Week Friday 25 May - Friday 1 June

Today is the beginning of Catholic Education Week, a week of celebrating the contribution of a Catholic Education to the lives of countless thousands of students and families in South Australia. For Blackfriars, Catholic Education Week is a time to ponder and appreciate 65 years of education in the Dominican tradition with Prayer/Study/Community and Service as the central values or pillars of our life as a School. At the core of Blackfriars is a vision of life where Jesus Christ is at the centre of everything we do. We aspire to live out the vision of the Gospel, to love God and to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. Our Catholic vision is of the dignity of every person made in the image and likeness of God, where deep respect for others, Christian love and hope are cornerstones of our community. This is the ideal of life at Blackfriars and we aspire to be our best each day to live out the vision of Jesus.

 

I was first educated by the Sisters of St Joseph in a very small country primary school at Macclesfield in the Adelaide Hills. My parents made further considerable sacrifice to ensure their five boys had a secondary Catholic Education and sent us to Rostrevor College so that we would continue to gain an education in the faith, a love of learning, self-discipline, a real sense of community and every opportunity to discover and use our gifts in our lives beyond school. My own children also attended Catholic Schools in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania and the high quality and faith values of each school community is imprinted on their lives, both academically and personally.

 

We have much to be genuinely proud of in the tradition of Catholic Education; there is much to continue to foster and further develop the goals of Catholic Education in the Dominican tradition at Blackfriars. I continue to be thankful for the support of parents in sending your children to Blackfriars and for the co-operation of students as partners in their education.

 

Community Launch of Master Plan

The Community may have noted the recent advertisement (similar to below) in the SA Weekend magazine of the Advertiser. Over the coming weeks there will be a series of formats to communicate the exciting building developments of our School to the Blackfriars community and the broader community. The sign adjacent to the end of the Kingston Laboratories has been updated with the 2020 Vision image and the upcoming OPtimist will also focus on the Master Plan developments.

Principal’s Tour

I am looking forward to conducting the next Principal’s Tour scheduled for Thursday, 31 May commencing at 9:00am.  I will be sharing with families the launch of our 2020 Vision and New Master Plan.  So please encourage any families you know that are considering schooling options for their son(s) to book into this next tour and hear of the exciting change taking place at Blackfriars that may be of interest to them.

 

Careers Expo

The biennial Combined Careers Expo for Year 10-12 students is being held at Blackfriars next Wednesday 30 May from 6.00pm - 8.00pm. The expo is held to provide important careers and pathways information to students from Blackfriars, St Dominic’s Priory College and Wilderness School from industry, University and TAFE providers.

 

Mrs Daniela Piteo (Senior Student Services and Pathways Coordinator) has been the key organiser of this Careers Expo in 2018. Students from Year 10-12 have received a personal invitation to attend the evening and register for career talks from people engaged in a wide range of professions and industries.

 

It is an expectation that all Year 10-12 students from Blackfriars attend the evening as there is a strong link between academic success and motivation; a link often encouraged when a young person has, an understanding of, and vision for a preferred future or an appreciation for a number of possible alternatives for life and work beyond secondary education.

 

NAPLAN

Over the past two weeks our Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students have been completing the national benchmark tests in Literacy and Numeracy. Blackfriars has successfully taken up the challenge to facilitate the tests using an online platform in advance of NAPLAN going online for all schools across Australia. My thanks to all of our teachers for their diligence, especially Mr Frank Ali (Head of Primary), Mr Carl Todman (Middle Years Curriculum Coordinator), Mrs Johanna West (Assistant Head of Primary-Curriculum) and Mr Martin Torres (ICT Manager) who have ensured the integrity of the technical, ICT and organisational elements of NAPLAN.

 

Letter from Archbishop Philip Wilson

On Tuesday morning a verdict was reached in Archbishop Philip Wilson’s trial and you will have noticed significant media interest in this matter. On Wednesday the community was informed by correspondence from Archbishop Philip Wilson that he has stepped aside from his official duties as Archbishop.  The letter is available to you to read via the following link:

 

http://www.bps.sa.edu.au/news-events/the-southern-cross

 

Keeping Children Safe

Please be assured that our Dominican School community takes very seriously our role in keeping all students safe. If you have any concerns or questions about our child protection practices, please contact me (Principal), Mr David Ruggiero (Deputy Principal - Secondary) or Mr Frank Ali (Head of Primary).

 

Blackfriars Priory School supports and upholds the policy for the ‘Care Wellbeing and Protection of Children and Young People’ and associated publications of ‘Protective Practices’ and ‘Principles of Good Practice’.  These publications are available to you to view on the Catholic Education South Australia website at:  cesa.catholic.edu.au/our-schools/safe-environments-for-all/policies-publications

 

Mr Simon Cobiac

PRINCIPAL