From the Principal
Ms Kylie McCullah
Welcome to our first newsletter for 2024
We have had an exciting start to the new school year, welcoming back our ELC students in early January and our R-12 students who we welcomed back last week. There was certainly a real buzz in the air on the first day of school and a few helium balloons too!
The students have settled well, forming a routine of productivity and balance with teaching, and learning taking centre stage, and ably supported by the myriad cocurricular opportunities and of course our SEAD program. This holistic approach to your child’s education will continue to be the cornerstone of our philosophy at Loreto College.
One of the highlights from this week was the 2023 SACE Merit Ceremony. It was lovely to welcome back our newest Old Scholars, allowing the school community to congratulate and celebrate their outstanding achievements.
During this Merit Ceremony, I took the opportunity to speak with the current senior school students about academic success. I referenced a quote from television executive producer Shonda Rhimes “Dreams are lovely, but they are dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.”
Taking this message one step further, academic success is more than dreaming about it, studying for it, and working hard. Academic success is about balance, and finding the right balance between study, self-care, and service to others. Academic success is about balance not burnout!
To achieve this, I challenged each student to commit to 3 things:
1 - Enter each class with a determined mindset, commit to their learning, commit to contributing to the learning culture of the classroom and commit to forming a purposeful, productive partnership with their teachers. Come to class prepared and prepared to learn.
2 – Become involved in a co-curricular activity. Sport, drama, music, robotics, tournament of minds, debating, it does not matter what it is, but it is essential to break up study time with another activity. The benefits are vital for a healthy mind and body.
3 – Volunteer or be of service to others, whether this takes the form of assisting at the local church parish, community group or charity organisation or visiting and assisting a grandparent or neighbour.
By incorporating these three ideas, the students can establish robust foundations and foster scholarly practices that are supported by a sound mind and body.
This year we focus on the value of Sincerity. Sincerity recognises that all true relationships are grounded in being honest - honest with God, with our friends and with everyone we meet. But also, and perhaps less obviously, it is about being honest with ourselves. Or in the words of our student executive team who unveiled their banners at our first liturgy of the year “Self-Acceptance Lets Us Shine”.
I thank you for the warm welcome I have received since arriving at Loreto College and together with the entire team, we look forward to a successful 2024.
Ms Kylie McCullah
Principal