From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers, Students, Staff and Friends of St Norbert College

As we come to end of a long 11 week term, it is a little unbelievable that we are already halfway through the year. 

On Tuesday 25 June, our staff and students left for the Year 9 Camp and I wish them a safe return. I am certain that they will be tired but will have many stories to share. I thank parents and carers for getting their children organised as well as Mr Nicholas Roberts for the hours of planning and organisation that commenced at the end of last year. I am truly grateful to the staff who have attended camp this week including Miss Liz Anderson, Mr Luke Di Labio, Mr Andrew Frick, Mr Andrew Hay, Ms Jaime Paulin, Mr Brendan Lewis, Mr Dylan Mason, Mrs Leon Rogers, Miss Raya Thompson, Mr Peter Turkich, Ms Chen Wang and Miss Kelsey Zampino. 

We commemorated St Norbert Day as a community on Friday 14 June with a beautiful Mass in the O’Reilly Centre celebrated by Fr Peter. 

We were blessed with perfect weather to enjoy an afternoon of off-site activities including escape rooms, the zoo, ice skating and ten pin bowling, just to name a few. I enjoyed taking a group of students roller skating and it was so wonderful to watch them help each other learn to skate. I wish I was courageous enough to give it a go, but more importantly, to keep getting up every time I fell, just like they did. It would be great if what I witnessed translated to all of us in the way we manage challenges - we need to take risks, keep practicing, lean on others and never give up. Thank you to our students for being excellent ambassadors to our College.

Reports have been uploaded onto SEQTA and I encourage parents and carers to celebrate the progress shown by your children and to encourage them to reset goals where needed. Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews on Monday 15 July are an ideal opportunity to work together to find ways to improve.

I’d like to share an inspirational story about two of our students who were competing at the ACC Cross Country. During their highly competitive race, where every second counted, Maddison Walters (Year 11) and Hannah Honczarenko (Year 12), stopped when they encountered another runner in distress. The runner had suffered a seizure on the course, and whilst all other competitors continued to run past, Maddison and Hannah stopped, rolled the student over into the recovery position to ensure her safety and sent for help. Their quick thinking and selfless actions not only provided critical care in a moment of need but also highlighted the values we hold dear as a community. Despite the competitive disadvantage stopping posed, Maddison and Hannah finished the race once help arrived. Their selfless actions exemplify the true spirit of compassion and integrity and serve as a powerful reminder of what it means to be a caring person. While we celebrated many successes that day, the courage and kindness shown by these two girls made all of us especially proud. Maddison and Hannah represented our College with the highest standard of sportsmanship and self-sacrifice, proving that true victory lies not in finishing first, but in doing what is right. I commend them both for their outstanding sportsmanship and for living up to our College value of Friendship, our motto of being 'prepared for all good works' and the ACC motto of 'sport in the right spirit'.

As another term comes to an end, our College community bids farewell to the following staff:

• Mrs Laura Marsden who has commenced parental leave. We wish her all the best as she prepares for the birth of her first child and formally welcome Miss Rachael Lucas to the Technologies team. 
• Mr Sean Ebert who has decided to retire to spend quality time with his family. We thank him for his one and a half years service and strong Prémontré House spirit.
• Ms Chen Wang who leaves us to take up a Mathematics position at Penrhos College. We thank her for her six and a half years of service.
• Mr Eugene Kealy who has decided to return to his family in Ireland after enjoying life in Australia for 12 months.
• Miss Maureen Smith who officially retired at the end of last year after 27 years of service, but kindly agreed to return part time to help us until we found a replacement, which has taken longer than we imagined as we have reconfigured the library to become the Learning Hub in coming months. I am pleased to announce the Mrs Merryl Byfield will become our new Learning Hub Co-ordinator and Miss Smith will finally be able to enjoy the freedom that retirement will bring. 

For the last semester, Mr Patrick Ah Fong has rested his Magdeburg shirt to fulfill the position of Deputy Principal for Years 7 and 10. I would like to thank Mr Ah Fong for his outstanding service, organisation and deep concern for the wellbeing of our students and families. Mr Ah Fong’s desire was always to return to his beloved Magdeburg House and I know he will be welcomed back with open arms. Thank you also to Mrs Lindsay Kippen for serving as the Head of House for Magdeburg this semester.

I am pleased to announce that Mr Paul Murphy will be joining the Leadership Team as the new Deputy Principal for Years 7 and 10 next semester. Mr Murphy comes to us with 10 years experience as a Deputy Principal, most recently at Holy Cross in Ellenbrook.

We will returning to the Perth Concert Hall again this year for our annual Presentation Night on Thursday 24 October at 7pm. I ask that you please save the date for this compulsory event that showcases award winners and performers.

I wish you all an enjoyable holiday break and look forward to an exciting Term 3 that will include the Catholic Performing Arts Festival which always promises to showcase the talents of our students.

God bless.

Ms S Rainford

(Principal)