From the Principal

Dear Parents, Students and Friends of St Virgil’s College

Year 10 Interviews

Over the last couple of weeks, Mr Lapolla and I have had the opportunity to meet individually with each of our Year 10 students. The focus of our meetings has been to provide feedback to our young men about how they have been progressing academically and how they have been contributing to our positive school culture. We have also commenced discussions about their career aspirations as well as pathways planning including subject selections for Years 11 and 12. What we have been most impressed with from all of our young men is their capacity to reflect honestly on their progress thus far and their plans they have set for the future. Their level of maturity throughout these discussions has been commendable and I will be watching with interest each student enacting these plans over the course of the year in their endeavours to achieve success. We are in good hands and the future is bright for this group of young men.

Senior School Open Day

The Senior School Open Day was held on Wednesday morning with a significant number of prospective families coming through the doors. Open Day is not only a mechanism to increase enrolments; it is a celebration of who we are as a school community. The way in which we represent ourselves to the community says a lot about what we consider important. The values which we espouse must be evident to the staff, students, parents/carers and those new to St Virgil’s. If we are not true to these values then we are not being true to ourselves, something which prospective families pick up on relatively quickly. Hopefully these values were self-evident on the day and that prospective families will choose St Virgil’s for these very reasons. 

It is important to recognise the efforts of the staff and the students in making our Open Day a success. The professionalism and enthusiasm of the teaching staff was evident and I would like to thank them for their efforts in preparing and organising the various displays and activities. Likewise, it was a great opportunity to see the many student leaders involved in various roles and capacities on the day. The students represented themselves, their families and the school in an outstanding manner. Finally, it is appropriate to acknowledge the efforts of key staff for their organisation of the day. Mrs Lauren Langford (College Registrar) and Ms Grace Chan (Marketing Manager) with the support of many staff who did an outstanding job prior to and on the day. Without their support much of what was achieved would not have been possible. 

As our current parents and carers, you are our best ambassadors and we appreciate the wonderful support you provide to assist in the promotion of our school. As such, if you are aware of families who are thinking about enrolling their son at St Virgil's College please direct them to the College website. 

Scholarships

A reminder that registrations are open for All-Round Excellence Bursaries and Academic Entry Scholarships for students attending Year 11 at the College in 2025. All-Round Excellence Bursaries are for two years and will provide tuition fee relief ranging from 25% - 50%. Academic Scholarships offer tuition fee relief for two years, ranging from 25% - 100% and will be awarded from results of a Scholarship Test conducted on Saturday 23 March. Registration is required by Friday 15 March with allrecipients being announced in Term 2 2024. Please register via the links below.

BURSARY APPLICATION - CLICK HERE

For further information, please contact Mr  Daniel Lapolla – Deputy Principal, dlapolla@stvirgils.tas.edu.au

SCHOLARSHIP REGISTRATION - CLICK HERE

Further information about academic scholarships and the testing process can be found on the College Website or by contacting Mr Rohan Mitchell – Director of Learning & Innovation, rmitchell@stvirgils.tas.edu.au

Staffing Update

Please welcome Ms Grace Chan, who commenced in the role of Marketing Manager last week. Grace has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Hong Kong and has held the position of Marketing and Communications Officer at The Hutchins School. Prior to this Grace was the Communications Officer at the Tasmanian Catholic Education Office and comes highly recommended to this position. 

Ms Daniella Bartniczak has resigned from her position as Learning Support Officer to take on a Cadetship at the St Thomas Aquinas Teaching School to commence her studies as a teacher. Daniella will be placed at St Aloysius Catholic College, and we wish her all the very best with her studies and placement. Daniella’s last day was on Wednesday 6 March where we had the opportunity to thank her for her contribution to our College community.

Best wishes for the week ahead and safe travels to those heading away this long weekend.

Jon Franzin