Assistant Principal's
Report

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
— Aristotle

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,

What a remarkable start to the year we have had!

Attendance

Regular student attendance is the joint responsibility of all staff, in partnership with parents/guardians and the student. At Brigidine we believe that the safety of each student is of paramount importance. Regular school attendance is essential if students are to maximise their potential. Research has shown that school attendance plays a critical role in enhancing the lives of students in schools and that regular school attendance is essential for student learning and wellbeing. The research also suggests that missing one day of school each week equates to two months of lost learning over the course of the year. Please be aware that Pastoral Care teachers and Pastoral Care Coordinators will be monitoring attendance very closely and will be contacting you if there is a concern about a pattern of lateness, or a concern about the percentage of attendance.

Procedures for leaving the College early

There appears to be some confusion as to who is allowed to leave the College on their own. No student under the age of 16 is allowed to leave the College on their own. Students who are under the age of 16 must be collected by a parent, guardian or emergency contact listed on Compass. If another person is to collect your daughter, we ask parents/guardians to please email the College and advise the College of the person’s full name so that we can add the contact to Compass.

Open Day 2025 - Wednesday 12 March

This year, due to the conflicting scheduling of the commencement of NAPLAN and our College Open Day, as well as the logistical constraints associated with our Building Project, the College will be implementing a Flexible Learning Day for Years 8, 10 & 11 on Wednesday 12 March. This adjustment will ensure that learning can continue while we showcase our College to prospective families.

In addition, the following arrangements have been made for our other year groups on this day.

Years 7 & 9 will attend school and partake in their first NAPLAN test (Test: Writing)
- Year 7 will attend PC and will then commence their Writing test. Following the completion of the Writing test, Year 7 will attend both Periods 2 & 3 as normal.
- Year 9 will sit their Writing test in Period 2. Year 9 will attend PC, Period 1 & Period 3 as normal.
Year 12 will attend PC, Periods 1, 2 & 3 as normal.
Year 11 Hospitality to attend school from 8.45 am to assist with Hospitality/Service Period.
At the conclusion of Period 3 (12.30 pm), Years 7, 9 & 12 will be dismissed.
Remote Learning: Years 8, 10 & 11. Please be advised that a remote learning day means that online learning will continue on this day. Teachers will post work onto COMPASS and/or CANVAS.

Finally, our College Open Day is an excellent opportunity for students in all year groups to develop communication and leadership skills. Students will have the opportunity to assist with KLA displays or as a Stationed Guide.

Students can elect to volunteer for either one or both sessions on the day.

College Open Day
- Session 1 (1.30 - 3.30 pm)
- Session 2 (4.00 - 6.00 pm)

Please note that involvement in this event is compulsory for Year 11 students who are intending to apply for formal Year 12 College leadership positions.

All students who will be assisting to showcase our beautiful College, will be required to meet at the Front Office at 1.00 pm.

A Compass Event asking for students to volunteer has been published via Compass.

A reminder about the School Vaccination Program.

This year students in Year 7 and Year 10 will be offered vaccinations by the NSW Public Health Unit - South Eastern Sydney Local Health District:

Wednesday 7 May - Year 10 vaccinations
Monday 25 August - Year 7 vaccinations

Year 7 students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV). Year 10 students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine. If your daughter is in Year 7 or Year 10 in 2025, you can provide consent online for school vaccinations.

Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. Online consent will only be accepted if provided through the NSW Health School Vaccination Program portal. Consent should not be provided to the school via email or other electronic form submission. There is a PDF attached to this newsletter with step-by-step instructions.

How to provide consent:

To complete online consent for your daughter’s school vaccinations, visit: https://engage.health.nsw.gov.au/

Follow the steps to log in to your existing ServiceNSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you do not have a ServiceNSW account, refer to ServiceNSW to create one.
Update or confirm your personal details as required.
Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your daughter. You will need to:

Enter your child’s personal details
Provide the Medicare card details for you and your daughter
Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement
Provide consent

The benefits of providing consent online:

easily update your daughter’s details
receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given
faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR)