From the 

Leader of Year 7 Wellbeing

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It is with great honour that I write to you as your child’s Leader of Wellbeing. I hope your son or daughter has enjoyed their first week of school at St Aloysius and has settled into this important stage of their education. My wish for the Year 7's this year is to simply do the best that they can do in all areas of schooling life. I look forward to working with you all this year in helping the students to settle into our Lasallian Community.

Year 7 is an exciting and sometimes daunting time in your child’s education. Pastoral Care classes will focus on developing organisational skills, building resilience and encouraging them to be involved in the many opportunities that are on offer. There will be two Pastoral Programs implemented throughout the year. One is the Peer Support Program from Peer Support Australia which will run through term 2 with our new Year 11 students as leaders. Throughout the year, The Resilience Project will also be implemented into the Pastoral program through Pastoral lessons and Roll Call. Students will be learning about Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy to help build strategies and resilience as they continue their school journey. Ultimately our aim is for all students to feel like they are a valuable individual of the community. 

Your child’s Pastoral Care teacher will play an important role in their development this year. The Pastoral Care teacher should be your first point of contact for any concerns regarding day to day matters by communicating through the College diary. The Year 7 Pastoral Care teachers for 2025 are:

7-1: Mrs Michelle Morrison

7-2: Mrs Courtney Fraser 

7-3: Mrs Meg Soares

For subject specific concerns, please contact the relevant class teacher and for any general or wellbeing concerns please contact the Instructional Leader of Wellbeing. 

Essential to your son or daughter’s development and success this year will be their organisation and perseverance. The College diary is a proven tool to assist students in becoming organised. In Year 7 it is expected that students enter their homework into their diary each lesson and that it is signed by a parent or guardian each week. All parents should have signed the uniform policy page acknowledging the College’s uniform expectations. If you have not yet done so, please sign page 13 of the College diary.

Pastoral or roll call, which runs from 8:35 - 8:50am, is an extremely important part of the day and should not be missed by any student. Our pastoral program is actively taught within this time period, which also helps to set up our students for the day ahead. The structure of pastoral each morning is as follows:

• Manage Everything Monday: students will organise their emails, diaries and other administrative tasks for the week.
• DEAR Tuesday: I ask that every student brings in a book to read every Tuesday. Reading is an important skill that helps develop in students the ability to comprehend and interpret information. It is also very important for enjoyment and wellbeing. 
• Wellbeing Wednesday: Students will actively participate in learning about strategies that will help build resilience in their everyday lives. This will involve gratitude, empathy, mindfulness and emotional literacy. These activities will come from The Resilience Project
• No Pastoral Thursday: Period One begins at 8:35am
• Fun Friday: This will involve a number of activities which will foster fun and community bonding within the class. Activities will include trivia, physical activities such as dance, movement, games and puzzles.

The College organises many community events to assist in the whole development of our students. Many of these days build community spirit, which is a key element of a Lasallian Education. These events include swimming and sporting carnivals, Masses, reflection days and Founder’s Day and the Year 7 Camp. It is the expectation that every student attends these events and any absence is accompanied by a medical certificate. Year 7 is an important time in your child’s education and we encourage all students to take up all opportunities the College has to offer. I look forward to working with you, your child and their teachers this year. 

Recap of week one: