From the Senior Leadership

Dear parents, guardians, carers and friends of Chisholm,

It has been a wonderful few weeks at Chisholm where we have joined into many community activities, such as our International Women's Week where we the students and staff joined together to create an outstanding array of activities that celebrated all aspects of being a women today in our contemporary world. As women we need to be proud of who we are in our variety of roles as a mother, daughter, sister, friend, sportswoman and career woman! We need to constantly be seeking ways to celebrate our achievements and support each other on our life journey. I am very proud of the young women of Chisholm who are always exploring new ways to be kind, compassionate, empathetic and excel in their learning potential. Every Chisholm girl has the potential to make a difference in the world ensuring that we model the values of Christ in our words and actions each and every day. 

We are busy planning our 50th Anniversary Celebration day on Saturday 18 May 10am-2pm at the college. We hope to see as many ex-students and staff coming together for this wonderful day reconnecting as one!

I look forward to seeing you at our next Parents as Partners Hub meeting on Tuesday 2 April 4-5:30pm in the staff lunch room. All parents and guardians are very welcome to hear about our college goals and the feedback from our PIVOT Wellbeing survey that we have commenced in 2024. I hope to see you there !

May God bless you and keep you safe always in his loving care

Mrs Tania Cairns

Principal Leader

NAPLAN 

Congratulations to all of the students in Years 7 and 9 who completed the NAPLAN online tests over the last week. The NAPLAN exams assessed the literacy and numeracy skills that students have been learning through the school curriculum. A NAPLAN individual student report will be provided later in the year. Thank you to Mrs Leanne Smith, Ms Alison Field and the Diversity team for their organisation and coordination of the exams, to Ms Kim Weaire and Mrs Natasha Harper for their organisation and support of the students in Year 7 and Year 9, to Mrs Natalie Vella and the IT staff for their assistance during the exam periods and to all the staff that supervised the exams.  

Uniform Reminders 

From the start of Term 2 until at or near the end of Term 3 it is compulsory for blazers to be worn to and from the college every day other than Thursday. If students do not have a blazer these must be ordered as a matter of urgency so they are ready to be worn at the start of Term 2.   As the weather gets cooler, a College jumper can be worn under the blazer as a layer of warmth. We also have a junior and senior college long sleeve white blouse that can be worn throughout the year. No other white long sleeve shirts are to be worn underneath the short sleeve college blouse.  Navy stockings are optional and can be worn throughout the year. 

All uniform items can be purchased at Lowes in Penrith Plaza. If you have junior or senior blazers that you would like to donate to the college please send them in with your daughter to student services or reception. These donations  will be greatly appreciated. 

Year 10 and Year 11 Study Skills 

Last week Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services  (www.enhanced-learning.net) ran a study skills session with Year 10.  The session focused on helping students identify changes and improvements they could make to their approach to their studies in order to maximise their results in their final years of school. The main areas covered with Year 10 were managing resources for school (both paper and digital), working effectively in the evenings and dealing with distractions, managing time efficiently, planning for assessments, making brain-friendly study notes on a regular basis and using a wide variety of active study techniques to suit individual learning preferences.  

Students also attended a session with Natalie Vella from Human Connections (www.humanconnections.com.au). The main points of this session were how to get into the best mental and emotional state for peak performance. The students were presented with a range of techniques and strategies to help them manage stress and overwhelm, learn how to refocus on priorities and minimise mental focus on disappointments and set-backs, how to access motivation and deal with procrastination. Students looked at how to develop key character strengths and a growth mindset. Parents are encouraged to review the handouts from the session with students and discuss the main areas identified where changes need to be made. Parents can also find extra study skills tips on the following website: http://studyskillstoptipsparents.com/.  

Dr Salter also ran a study skills session with Year 11, building on the work done with the students last year. Year 11 looked at top study skills habits and advanced research about the brain and how that could be used to make study more effective. Steps to make effective study notes were highlighted and students also examined the study techniques they traditionally used, exploring new techniques they could try this year. The students also discussed how much time they should allocate to schoolwork during term time (2-3 hours per night) and the type of independent learning they should consistently be doing throughout the year. 

 All secondary students and parents at our school also have access to a great study skills website to help students develop their skills. Go to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and enter the following

USERNAME: forccconly         PASSWORD: 55results

There are lots of useful handouts on the THINGS TO PRINT page on this site and students can work through the units where they need additional help.

Attendance

If COVID taught us anything, it is the importance and impact a physical teacher can make to the students' learning, along with collaborative work amongst the students. We all live busy lives and may not notice how many days your daughter is actually off from school. The government states for students to get the full benefit from engaging in their classroom learning there percentage rate requires to remain above 90%. Where in the event this is not the case or your daughter is away for 3 or more days their homeroom teacher will make a phone call home to check in and see how they are travelling. Remember everyday counts.

Year 7 Camp

This week our Year 7 students attended The Great Aussie Bush Camp located at Kincumber, on the central coast. This camp is an integral part of the induction program at Caroline Chisholm College. The three-day adventure was filled with many exciting opportunities for students to develop new skills, build new friendships, extend themselves and work together to overcome some challenging experiences. Thank you to Ms Kim Weaire and Miss Elizabeth Azzopardi for all of their work in organising the camp and to all of the staff that supported the Year 7 students and generously gave up their time to attend the camp. 

Purchasing from the Canteen

Just a reminder due to our No Phone policy, students are not to use their phone to make payment at the canteen. Families were advised of this at the end of last year and a reminder sent early this year to have organised a debit card if your daughter weren’t to use cash to make purchases. If you haven’t already done so, please organise for your daughter to have either a debit card or cash to be able to make payment, moving forward the canteen will not be accepting phone payments to take place.

College Diary

The College diary has had such a positive impact for our students' organisation to their learning. Please continue to encourage your daughter to use the diary each day in writing down her homework to complete each evening and as a parent using this to write notes to College regarding your daughter leaving early for an appointment which will be approved by the homeroom teacher and presented to the Students Service office at the time of exiting the college. Should your daughter misplace / lose her diary the purchase of a replacement diary of $35 will be required. If you require to purchase a replacement diary, payment can be made via the QKR app and then your daughter can collect her new diary from student services. 

Driving and Parking during drop off and pick up 

The bus bay needs to be kept clear for the arrival of buses in the morning, during homeroom time and the afternoon. Please use the kiss and drop area located at the front of the school when dropping our students off at school. We do understand during peak periods the roads and streets at the front and in the surrounding areas can become quite busy and congested. Please be considerate if and when you are required to pull out into traffic ensuring safety is always at the forefront.  Students are reminded to use the pedestrian crossings to enter the college. 

Mrs Julie Petrovski and Ms Debbie White

Assistant Principals