YEAR 8
Building Strong Connections
St Mary's Catholic College
Clare Robertson
Head of Year 8
YEAR 8 KEY INFORMATION: WEEK 2
Red Flags Box Jellyfish Theatre Production
This week, our Year 8 students attended the Red Flags Box Jellyfish Theatre production. The purpose of this production was to teach students how to develop healthy and respectful relationships, as well as navigate issues of consent, bullying and online safety in today’s digital age.
The production built on the ongoing work our Year 8 students have undertaken in Social-Emotional Learning this year through Wellio, where they have been exploring concepts of cybersafety and respectful relationships.
The Year 8 theme is ‘Building Connections’ — not just any connections, but meaningful and respectful connections that will act as valuable resources throughout their academic, employment and family trajectories, both during and beyond their school years.
Punctuality
A reminder that the school day commences at 8:25am. Students are expected to be lined up outside their Pastoral Group room at this time, with their books prepared for Periods 1 and 2.
Pastoral Group starts promptly at 8:30am and is a non-negotiable part of the school day, as it helps to set our students up for success. Important notices, room changes and diary setups are conducted during Pastoral Group.
Any student arriving after 8:30am will need to sign in at Student Reception. We would appreciate parents logging known late arrivals via the MyCE app.
Thank you in advance for supporting your child to arrive at school on time each day.
Mental Health Week
Next week, the College will recognise Mental Health Week. It is increasingly important in today’s society to nurture our mental health to support positive wellbeing, resilience, effective stress management and positive connections.
I encourage our Year 8 students to get involved in the many activities taking place at breaks next week, including table tennis, First Nations activities, Just Dance, staff versus student volleyball, and icy poles and live music. The full schedule of activities is listed on the last page of the College Bulletin.
Students are also encouraged to dress in purple on Friday 16 October to recognise Mental Health Week.
A reminder that purple dress should follow normal school grooming expectations, including hair tied back and appropriate jewellery. Clothing must also be appropriate for school, with no midriffs exposed, shoulders covered, shorts longer than mid-thigh, and closed-in shoes worn.
I look forward to seeing our Year 8 students paint the College purple next Friday!
Merits and Principal's Certificates
During next week’s assembly, we will celebrate students who have received Principal’s Certificates. This recognition is the result of a student accumulating four Head of Year Certificates or 16 merits.
One of my favourite challenges at the moment is handing out an enormous number of merits to our Year 8 students at Community Pastoral Groups on Fridays!
Our Year 8 students are consistently demonstrating extraordinary behaviour that aligns with our Guiding Principles, and I am incredibly proud of their efforts.
Leah Dewar
Assistant Principal
Junior Secondary (Years 7 to 9)
On behalf of the College Leadership Team
College Leadership Team
