Sowing the SEADs of Success
From the Assistant Principal: Wellbeing & Engagement
Welcome back to the new school year celebrating together the value of Sincerity. May it be filled with opportunities and possibilities.
The Social Emotional and Academic Development (SEAD) Program acknowledges the important integration between the social, emotional and academic aspects of the girl’s development.
In Term 1 we have a focus across the school with the theme “Connections”.
Furthermore, living my values and Loreto values (2024 Year of Sincerity).
Addressing the questions of “Who am I” and “how are connections formed” with an understanding of others and group dynamics.
Our key focus of Wellbeing is flourishing within a supportive environment:
Kindness and empathy
Explore their Social Emotional Intelligence
*Resilience, perseverance and grit
Authentic relationships and connectedness
Responsible online engagement
Identity and sense of purpose
*We challenge our girls this year with the concepts of Resilience and how that can be applied in their academic successes, independence, emotions, relationships and friendships. This will be further explored in our SEAD program throughout the year.
Around the College
Transport and using correct drop off zones.
Please ensure parents and caregivers are NOT using Gate 1 (from Portrush Road) after 8am for school drop off, near the Performing Arts Centre. All student pick up and drop off should be via Talbot Grove or alternative, suitable side roads, near the College.
Student Attendance
Planned Non-attendance Request:
In accordance with the education Act 1972, for a student to be eligible for exemption from attendance at school temporarily (greater than 10 school days), a written request for day and Boarding students for non-attendance must be forwarded to the Principal.
The written request must include the reasons for exemption, the time period the exemption is to occur and any relevant supporting documentation, for example, letter from medical professional.
As it is at the Principal’s discretion to approve a request for non-attendance at the College, it is important that the request be provided as early as possible prior to the non-attendance date.
Common reasons for exemptions include:
- Participation in a sporting event or training required for elite sport
- Participation in external performing events, such as, musicals, film or theatre productions
- Medical or health reasons
- Disability or behaviour problems requiring part-time exemption from school
- Exchange program
Any planned non-attendance of more than two days requires the written consent by the Principal.
Non-attendance: School Events
Non-attendance at school events, including the Athletics and Swimming Carnivals,
Awards Evening, Performing Arts Festival and Special Event Days all require written permission from the Principal.
Sleep
Are your daughters getting enough sleep?
- 5-13 years = between 9 and 11 hours of sleep per night
- 14-17 years = between 8 and 10 hours of sleep per night
Interesting read
Australian teens not getting enough sleep | Australian Institute of Family Studies (aifs.gov.au)
Punctuality to start the day
Please note all students should be ready to start homeroom, sitting in their classroom at 8.30am.
This means that student should be arriving to school BEFORE 8.30am.
Leaders of Wellbeing and Academic Care will be monitoring student attendance and punctuality to classes. Senior Students should start the day at 8.30am with a 3.30pm finish. Punctuality is not only important to learning and social engagement, it also shows RESPECT towards other people and portrays reliability and integrity.
School Uniform
Pop-Up Second Hand Uniform SALE Opportunity
SAVE the DATE 8 April 8am – 11am in THE SQUARE
Uniform reminders with Hats
With the increase in the UV index with warmer weather, it is important to ensure all students are wearing their school hat when outdoors or find suitable shade when the UV index is high.
On Student Loreto Connect home page we have set up a daily UV index for all Junior and Senior School girls to access – see below.
Tips for being sun smart – see link below.
Enjoy the sunshine but also protect yourself!
Ms Emma Searle
Assistant Principal: Wellbeing and Engagement
From the Psychological Service
Welcome to the 2024 school year at the College. We hope all current and new Loreto families have settled nicely into Term 1.
This year we have a new team structure in student support services which sees the College Psychologists and Health Care Centre merge under one umbrella. The team consists of:
- Emma Keech, College Psychologist (Monday to Thursday).
- Alice Graljuk, College Nurse.
- Monica Bignold, Leader of Psychological and Health Services.
I wanted to remind parents and carers about the online mental health resources available including the Loreto Connect SEAD pages and SchoolTV, a wellbeing platform that addresses the modern-day realities faced by schools and parents in raising safe, happy, and resilient children and young people.
The Psychological and Health Services have many other exciting things planned for this year including parent nights, student presentations, and much more! Every two weeks, I will be writing a newsletter article to highlight a pertinent issue for children and young people and/or highlight any initiatives run by the services.
As always, if you have any specific concerns about your child or young person, please contact your daughter’s Classroom Teacher, or Assistant Principal: Head of Junior School in the Junior School, or the relevant Leader of Student Wellbeing and Academic Care, or Mentor/Subject Teacher in the Senior School.
We look forward to supporting students at the College this year.
Monica Bignold
Leader of Psychological and Health Services
Boarding Life
What a fresh start to our school year, with a fresh and fabulous Boarding House. The week prior to our boarders and families arriving felt like an episode of Block with the mad dash before the grand reveal. A huge thanks has to go out to our dedicated staff, maintenance and contract builders who worked around the clock. It was well worth it! Seeing the reaction of our new and existing boarding families as they entered through the newly polished Karrawood entry was priceless.
We held our commitment weekend, which had a jam packed schedule featuring bowling, a Marion shopping trip, slushy machines, BBQ's, Yiros nights, bonding activities and our first Sunday Mass at St Ignatius. Our new Boarders were placed in their Wigmore and Poyntz teams. Thank you to the commitment of our boarders and team captains, Lucy Daniel and Shontayah McIllwraith and leaders for their commitment and enthusiasm.
Starting off the year with such a vibrant and engaging commitment weekend undoubtedly strengthens the bonds among boarders and sets the stage for a successful and memorable year ahead. Here's to continued camaraderie and growth for everyone in the Loreto Boarding community!
Mrs Tia Wiese
Director of Boarding
Nude Food Every Day from Week 3
After several test runs in recent years, the College is moving to 100% Nude Food for lunch and recess from Week 3 of Term 1. What does this mean for you?
The Concept
Nude Food simply means packing recess and lunches without excess plastic and foil packaging. The more natural and less processed food, the better (…and healthier!). This could include vegetables, fruit, salads, home-made protein balls, slices as well as the humble sandwich or roll.
Following a review of general waste streams in 2023, an increasing majority of plastics and other general waste is coming into the College along with the c.1,000 people on campus every day. Nude foods provides a solution to change our contribution of waste to landfill and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions.
How Do I Achieve This?
Many families already own lunchboxes with multiple compartments and these are the easiest containers to carry nude foods safely into school without wrapping or packaging. Making homemade meals ready for lunch or recess or buying healthier snacks in bulk means less packaging and an opportunity to eliminate those plastic wrappers and packages that clog up our waste streams. Even the act of having to unwrap a muesli bar before placing into a compartmentalised lunchbox will make us think about the impact of convenience processed foods.
Cooking at home ready for the week can be a fun activity for the family, and gives students a sense of responsibility for making a positive change for the environment.
Is it Possible?
The answer is YES! but it needs everyone’s support, from students, to parents, to staff and even the grounds team that manage the waste systems at Loreto and report back on bin contamination and levels of plastic. Throughout the year, staff will be keeping an eye on lunchboxes and waste bins and giving encouragement to do the right thing and stick with the Nude Food plan.
The Alternative
We have a wide selection of healthy and affordable meals available daily through our Felicity Café which can be ordered online through Flexischools. For Senior students, recess and lunch can be purchased daily from the Café with student cards or by EFTPOS. Parents are also welcome to have coffee or breakfast on campus from 7.30-8.30am during the week and on Saturdays during school sports.
Over the past year we have worked with our suppliers to ensure all food packaging from the Café is 100% compostable, with drinks containers from the Cafe all recyclable through the 10 cent refund scheme. Even the coffee cups and salad/fruit containers are plant based and go in the green bin.
We thank you for your cooperation and continued support of our environmental sustainability initiatives at Loreto. For more details visit: https://www.loreto.sa.edu.au/about/environmental-sustainability/
Mr Phil Kightley
Chief Operating Officer
Loreto's New Brand Video
Loreto is my place, and the future is my opportunity.
We are beyond excited to showcase Loreto College Marryatville's latest brand video, a visual masterpiece brought to life by the incredible teams at Watchpost and Ardent Communications.
To view the brand video, click below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVd0gPIVlvc
2025 Scholarships Now Open
Loreto girls are strong, passionate, confident and ethically minded. We create women leaders of tomorrow. Provide your daughter with the opportunity of a Loreto education and apply now for our 2025 Scholarships.
Applications are now open for All-Rounder, All-Rounder Boarding, Music and the Gonzaga Barry Full Bursary Scholarship.
Link below to read more and apply.
https://www.loreto.sa.edu.au/enrolment/scholarships-for-2025/