PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Mary MacKillop was an amazing lady. On Monday 8th August we will celebrate the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop at Mass in the St Mary’s Church. At this time of year we take time to consider the work of Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods, as we live out their vision. From their first conversations and then the first school that opened in Penola, South Australia, in 1866, schools that live the charism of St Mary MacKillop, Fr Julian Tenison Woods and the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart have been established across Australia and New Zealand.

I was fortunate on Monday 1st August to travel to a town called Cygnet, south west of Hobart.  The Josephite school in Cygnet, St James Catholic College, is the southernmost Catholic school in Australia. Here I met with Principals from other Josephite secondary schools from across Tasmania, Victoria and ACT. It is wonderful to be able to meet and share our experiences of being a Principal at a Josephite school, ensuring that the stories, hopes and vision of the Sisters of St Joseph live on in our schools.

Next Week is called JJAMM Week at our school. JJAMM stands for St Joseph, Julian and Mary MacKillop. Through the week students will be able to take part in a variety of activities centered around JJAMM. On Tuesday our Year 12 students and the staff will wear their PyJJAMMas to school, then on Wednesday students will have the opportunity to purchase hot JJAMM donuts.  Finally on Thursday our annual Walkathon will be held. Students are asked to bring a donation on this day, with monies held at our school for the benefit of our own students who require financial support throughout the year. It is great to raise money for other organisations, however, we also know that there are people in our own community that need our support.

This term we have been fortunate to welcome three new staff members to our school. Brendan Smith has recently begun working as our Facilities Manager. On Monday 8th August we will welcome Elia Ware as our Indigenous Learning Support Officer and on Monday 15th August we will welcome Melissa Brooks into the role of Food Technology Assistant and VET Hospitality Chef. We will also welcome two new students in Year 8 in the coming week.

Our annual school production, this year “School of Rock’, is only weeks away. If you have not purchased your tickets yet, please make contact with the Front Office. Our staff and students spend months and many, many hours preparing and rehearsing for what will be an amazing performance. Show your support by attending one, or more, of the shows.

I am sure that most families would be well aware now that we have a long weekend coming up.  Friday 12th August and Monday 15th August are school closure days. These days have been approved by Catholic Education Ballarat and we hope that this mini break will provide a period of rest for staff and students to get us through until the holidays in September.

Thank you to our families for your continued support during a very challenging term. We have now had to ask our Year 8 and 9 students to study from home for a day. I appreciate that this may cause concern or frustration for some families. The simple fact is that if we did not make this decision we would not have enough teachers to supervise students in class. Our Teachers continue to work very hard, supporting each other and ensuring that the curriculum is taught and maintained for all students. We do not have a large supply of Casual Relief Teachers and these wonderful people are not available everyday. I encourage any parents or guardians that have questions about the decisions that have been made to please make contact with me.

In the words of Mary MacKillop “Do all you can with the means at your disposal, and calmly leave the rest to God”.