From the Principal

Benvenuto - Welcome

Welcome to the first day of spring! The weather has certainly been improving in the last week or so, there is definitely a spring vibe in the air at the moment. 

Today we had a large representation at the GMDSSA Athletics. This is the next level of competition after our in-school athletics carnival. It was great to see St Anne’s, as a relatively small cohort of secondary students, represented so strongly. 

Last night our advisory council held a workshop around communication at the college. We looked at things that are working well and brainstormed what else could be possible. The workshop was a fantastic opportunity to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience of our parent community. Each person brought their own experiences and ideas to gather together some great recommendations to add value to the communication processes across the college. We will now engage with the publications and communications team to work through the suggestions and recommendations to be able to best respond to the process. 

Yesterday, I attended the Principal’s Briefing for Catholic Education Sandhurst Ltd. During part of the day, Cherie was able to join me as we workshopped the Victorian Maths Curriculum Version 2.0 which will be rolled out in 2024. The VCAA team came up from Melbourne to facilitate the workshop and we were able to ask many clarifying questions and give feedback to the team. We are well positioned as a college to deliver the curriculum from 2024.

Last Wednesday we welcomed two new members to the publications and communication team, Kym Henderson and Natasha Fujimoto. Both Kym and Natasha have extensive experience, knowledge and skill in both the communication and publication field. Deb Mori has moved to classroom-based support as a language and literacy assistant for the remainder of the year. Deb brings a range of knowledge and experience to this role and we look forward to Deb working more closely with our students in the classroom. We also welcomed Bliss Polinar to the college on Monday. Bliss comes to us from the Philippines and has extensive experience as an English teacher in Secondary years, as well as experiences working in early years. 

The ‘Beaut Blokes Ball Games and BBQ’ was yet again a successful event at the college, celebrating the incredible male role models in our lives. There was lots of fun, games, laughter and a sausage or two! It is important that we take opportunities such as these to share our gratitude to the people who help us get through each and every day and make our lives more meaningful. I hope that all of the fathers and special males in our lives have a lovely Father’s Day celebration this weekend. For those who no longer have their father or special male in their lives, I hope that the day can bring an opportunity for you to reflect and give thanks for the time you did have together with fond memories of love and laughter.

This week saw the announcement of the date for the referendum for the voice to parliament. October 14 has been the selected day. In the lead up to this date, please take the time to read, talk to others and discern your position on the matter so that you can contribute to the positively to the process. 

September 1 in the church calendar marks the beginning of the Season of Creation, the theme this year is ‘Let Justice and Peace Flow.’ This season is an opportunity to focus on climate and ecological justice and our role in supporting and speaking out for communities most impacted by climate injustice and loss of biodiversity. “As people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation.” (Season of Creation, 2023)

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend, particularly the dads of the St Anne’s College community. 

Sue Carroll, Principal

Thanks to the following businesses for supporting St Anne's College:

 Adornato's

for landscaping supplies 

 Intercontinental Spares

for the 40ft shipping container

 ConX Hire

for the VMS display board