Principal News

Dear Marian Catholic College Community,

Welcome to all students, staff and families. A very special welcome to Year 7, to other students starting this year and to parents and carers who are new to the school. The school year has commenced well, in spite of some very hot weather. The school’s focus in these two weeks have been on setting up our students for a year of strong learning growth.

By now, we expect that most students will know their classes and teachers. Year 7 students should feel more confident as they settle into high school life thanks to some great work from their teachers and pastoral leader, Mrs Centofanti. This year we also welcome new staff members to Marian, Mr James Moore (Year 8 Pastoral Leader and teacher of RE & PDH) and Mrs Wendy Piva (joining the Inclusive and Diverse Learners Support team).

As a Marian school, our emphasis on the core Marian values of presence, compassion, justice and mercy. We work closely with Sacred Heart Parish, Griffith and our system leaders-Catholic Education-Diocese of Wagga Wagga (CEDWW).

There are five factors at Marian that assist students to do well in school. These are embedded within the school mission-Faith, Learning, Care, Service and Stewardship, and are referred to as Living the Marian Way.

Attendance at school.
Learning engagement with subjects and activities.
Pastoral care, emphasising respect, participation and wellbeing for learning and for others.
Community-partnerships with parents/carers and creative, sporting, leadership and social justice programs.
Faith-as a Catholic school, this forms our foundation and informs our values.

Working in Partnership Commitment: School & Parents/Carers

At Marian, we believe that it is very important to work in partnership with our parents and families and to do this in a mutually respectful and productive way.

Please see the attached link here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1soMc8m9GBkBahxzIwyu2L8t_G-kTXSEG/view?ts=64def329 for a copy of the Working in Partnership Commitment between schools and families at Marian Catholic College and CEDWW. This partnership forms a key part of the enrolment agreement and outlines the mutual commitment and key expectations between school and family. In enrolling their children at Marian Catholic College, it is understood that parents and carers have agreed to work together with the school as outlined in this statement.

Attendance Matters!

School attendance is vitally important to student wellbeing and learning growth. We encourage parents and carers to ensure that students attend every day for the whole day, unless genuinely unwell or for a related reason-eg attending medical appointments. Please ensure you notify the school via phone or the compass app when your child is unwell or before the appointment date. It is also important to schedule appointments, where possible so as to minimise the disruption to your child’s learning. In line with state and system policies, we do not encourage holidays to be taken during term time as this will have an impact on your child’s overall learning and experience at school.

HSC 2025 Summary & High Achievers' Assembly Friday February 6

Congratulations to all of our graduates acknowledged as High and Distinguished Achievers for the 2025 Higher School Certificate. The Marian graduates are listed below along with a brief summary of HSC results.

College Dux 2025- Congratulations to Miss Arisha Fatima

Congratulations to Arisha Fatima on being awarded College Dux for 2025! Arisha has had a very special journey to achieving these phenomenal results and you can read all about this in her inspirational speech published in this newsletter! Arisha is now setting off to study Medicine in the University of Sydney this year and we wish her all the best for 2026 and her future.

Students achieving ATARs of 90 and above were our Dux Arisha Fatima, Elise Munro and Isabella Cavallero.

Distinguished Achievers-Students achieving Band 6/E4 results for one or more courses. Add names in a list, plus the course

Arisha Fatima - English Advanced, Studies of Religion II; Isabella Cavallaro - Studies of Religion II; Elise Munro - Studies of Religion I, PDHPE, Food Technology; Maddison Armanini - Community and Family Studies; Margaret Casey - Community and Family Studies, PDHPE; Juliette De Marco - PDHPE; Mia Ippoliti - Music; Shirine Nehme - Englished Advanced, Studies of Religion I; Emma Panebianco - Food Technology; Jiya Patel - Studies of Religion I; Tithi Patel - Visual Arts; Dilraj Singh Sandhu - PDHPE; Benjamin Sinclair - Food Technology; Anika Smith - Mathematics Advanced; Hamin Toor - Community and Family Studies; Keira Villarias - Music; Meg Walsh - Community and Family Studies.

First in Diocese for a course or special exam

Margaret Casey-First in Diocese for Community and Family Studies.
Shirine Nehme & Arisha Fatima-equal First in Diocese for English (Advanced)
Elise Munro-First in Diocese for Food Technology
Keira Villarias -First in Diocese for Music 1
Jiya Patel- First in Diocese for Studies of Religion 1
Tithi Patel- First in Diocese for Visual Arts
Giselle Apolloni- First in Diocese for Italian Beginners
Isabella Cavallaro & Meg Walsh - Equal First in Diocese for Hospitality Exam-Food and Beverage.
Mangal Priyangal and Gurleen Pandher -Equal First in Diocese for Human Services Exam.

To all of our Award winners of the 2025 HSC and to their families, well done on all of the hard work and excellent learning that has contributed to your success.

Overall, 93 students in Year 12 last year successfully achieved a HSC and graduated from the College. These students are now moving onto tertiary studies, or vocational education, training and employment opportunities.

Three Marian students achieved an ATAR score of more than 90, placing these students in the top 10 percent of all students of the 63432 students achieving an ATAR in NSW in 2025.
17 students overall were awarded Distinguished Achievers, with a collected total of 22 Band 6 results between them.
The College provided a total number of 30 different HSC courses for Stage 6 students.
A further 116 Band 5/E4 results were awarded to students in 2025. To achieve a Band 5, students need to achieve between 80-89% for that particular course.
12 Marian Catholic College students achieved the First in the Diocese for their courses

These are excellent results for Marian, placing us as a consistently high performing school in this region. This is also an achievement that is the result of the hard work and dedication of the students, their teachers, families and the learning and pastoral leaders who work most closely with them. To all 93 Marian HSC graduates from 2025, we pray for your continued success and wellbeing in life. Your achievements inspire all of us to have high expectations and confirm the value of consistent work, care, faith and effort!

Safer Internet Day Tuesday 10 February

The internet connects us more than ever – it’s where we learn, work, socialise and share our lives. But that also means online risks are part of everyday life.

Safer Internet Day is an opportunity to take a moment to talk about what’s really happening online, and think about what we can each do to make it better. Because when we each do something small – whether that’s starting a conversation, sharing a tip or changing a habit – we make a big difference to everyone’s online experience.

click link for more details: https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/whats-on/safer-internet-day

Dr Penny Ludicke

Principal