The Exec Address

Principal's Message 

Dear Students, Parents and Staff,

Our Patriarch and Founder Elias Howayek wrote on 20th July 1917, ‘…all your actions, great or small, personal or communal, should be animated by the spirit of faith and directed toward His glory, with no other goal in mind: ‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory’ (Ps 115:1).’ As we continue our educational journey throughout 2026, we keep these words in our minds and hearts as we do all things according to God’s will.

We hope that soon the Vatican will announce Patriarch Elias Howayek as Blessed. This is one step away from Sainthood and is a testament to the courageous life he led during a time of great turmoil in Lebanon. As the Founder of the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family, we are proud to continue his vision to serve the people for the glory of God.

The ways the Sisters, Chaplain, Board, staff, students and parents are bringing Howayek’s words to life at Maronite College of the Holy Family are numerous.

Our Year 4 students celebrated their First Holy Communion on Saturday 16 May with Bishop Antoine-Charbel presiding over the celebration. 194 students received the Eucharist, and we pray that their faith will continue to grow and guide them.

We celebrated a beautiful Mother’s Day Mass and morning tea on 8 May and we had an extraordinary number of mothers attending. It was a beautiful occasion and atmosphere. We look forward to our Grandparents’ Mass and morning tea on 19 June, which promises to be a heart warming event.

We gathered on 20 May 2026 to raise funds for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, to support cancer research. Parents, students and staff, all joined in to make this fundraiser a success.

The demand for enrolments at MCHF continues to increase with 150 applications for Kindy 2027. Unfortunately, we have limited space and can only take in 4 streams of Kindy. As such we have refined our enrolment process in order to select families whose values align with the College’s values.

In order to cater for the growing enrolment numbers, we are lodging a SSDA for our Masterplan and hope to have this approved in a year’s time. Once we commence Stage 1, this will provide extra classroom spaces and hence the possibility of increasing the current enrolment numbers of 1300.

As we continue our educational journey, we enter into the Season of Pentecost and pray the Holy Spirit will guide all our decision making.

Sr Margaret Ghosn

Principal

Deputy Principal: Teaching & Learning

Dear MCHF learning community

The weather is getting cooler, the Term is progressing rapidly, and we are seeing so many learning gains in student learning journeys already! It has certainly been an impressive start to the Term by MCHF learners.

Our teachers, too, as life-long-learners, have advanced in their professional learning journey, as we aim to sharpen our skills in Explicit Teaching pedagogy, and to articulate the style of teaching we provide at the College. Towards the latter half of 2025 and throughout Term 1, we looked into the theoretical underpinnings of the pedagogy, and formed bonds within our professional learning community groups, to ensure the research we conduct on this topic is specific and worthwhile. 

Throughout Term 2, teachers will be observing colleagues on at least 2 occasions and provide feedback on others’ Explicit Teaching pedagogy as well. This is active, reflective and research-based learning that will expand our vision of what teaching at the school is, and what it could be. 

We look forward to sharing the results of this data-gathering and professional learning as the results of our observations come in. The learning community as a whole will benefit greatly from this professional learning.

Your voice is being heard!

We can only improve when we are close to the community who we exist to serve. Therefore, we have opened a forum opportunity, once per month (both in-person and online), for parents and guardians to meet with teachers and members of the Executive. You can raise concerns, have your queries answered or engage in educational discussion. We are in partnership to be able to serve you and the students in the best way possible and this can only be achieved through open communication.

With exams upon us and Assessment season in full swing, you may enjoy the opportunity to talk to educators about ways to inspire your children to focus and study. So, come along!

Three Way Interviews

These occurred in Week 4, as an opportunity for parents and guardians to discuss, with both students and teachers, where the child currently is with their learning, and what their next steps are to achieve their goals. It is positioned weeks before the release of the Reports because students should have the opportunity and the guidance to be able to improve, always.

We hope these were fruitful and rewarding discussions for all parties and if you have any suggestions on how to make these events even more beneficial for the learning journey of the students, please advise accordingly.

ICAS

Looking forward to reporting on the many successful learning gains of our learners in our next edition.

God bless,

Emma Dettling

Head of Curriculum

As we move through Term 2, I would like to sincerely thank our parents, staff and students for the collective effort and commitment shown across all areas of curriculum. Strong partnerships between home and school continue to play a vital role in supporting student learning, and I am extremely grateful for the way our community works together to ensure the best possible outcomes for our students.

This term, Year 7–10 Half Yearly Examinations will take place. The examination timetable has been made available to students via Microsoft Teams and to parents through the Parent Portal. These assessments provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of key concepts studied so far and to build important examination skills. If your child is absent for an examination, they are required to fill in the illness misadventure online form and provide a medical certificate. They will sit a supplementary exam.

Parents are encouraged to support their children by helping them establish regular revision routines at home and by prompting them to seek advice and feedback from their teachers when needed. Effective study strategies can make a significant difference, and students may benefit from:

• Using a colour-coding system for notes (for example: red for key terms, black for syllabus point headings and blue for supporting notes)
• Writing notes in clear dot points rather than large blocks of text
• Using AI tools responsibly to help clarify or reinforce understanding of content
• Attempting practice questions from resources such as JacPlus, MathSpace and past examinations or tasks provided on Teams
• Reading notes aloud to reinforce memory through regularly hearing information
• Creating acronyms to remember key concepts
• Developing mind maps to connect ideas and themes

• Reviewing essay writing structures and understanding NESA verbs

   

Should a student perform poorly across two or more subjects (years 7-10) or in one subject (year 11) at the end of Semester 1, parents will be notified via letter. In previous years this was communicated at Parent–Teacher Interviews; however, with Three Way Interviews now occurring mid-term, these letters will be emailed to parents at the conclusion of Semester 1. I strongly encourage families to ensure that students take on board the feedback provided by their teachers during these interviews, as applying this feedback can significantly enhance learning progress and academic growth throughout the remainder of the year.

For our Year 12 students, the CSSA Trial Examination timetable will be released this term. This will assist students in preparing for their HSC Trial Examinations in Term 3 (Weeks 3–5) and to plan their revision effectively.

Year 10 students will shortly commence the Subject Selection Process for their Stage 6 studies. This formally begins on 2 June with a Parent and Student Information Session, with further details to follow. I encourage Year 10 students to seek thoughtful guidance from their Leaders of Learning, the Head of Teaching and Learning, Ms Dettling, and myself when considering future subject choices. I also respectfully ask parents to support the professional advice given to both you and your children, particularly in relation to subject selection and future study or career pathways.

Finally, I am extremely pleased with the way students across K–12 have been engaging in their learning this semester. Their dedication and perseverance are commendable, and I very much look forward to celebrating the achievements and progress reflected in the end of Semester 1 results.

Thank you once again for your ongoing support of our curriculum and our students.

Ms G Dalla

Head of Curriculum