Principal's Report

Dear families,

Happy St Patricks’ Day!! The Brigidine nuns who originally established St Brigid’s were strong Irish women and, along with St Brigid’s feast day, would have celebrated St Patrick’s Day with gusto. 

On Wed 8 March, we celebrated International Women’s day. Research shows that diversity makes a difference in education. This can be seen in learning outcomes, decision- making, pedagogy, pastoral care, workload and collaboration.

We recognise that inequality continues to exist in our world. So there is great benefit in students being aware that there is still work to do. Together we want our students to celebrate women's achievements and be able to call out inequality – not just on International Women’s Day but wherever and whenever it may arise.

The theme this year was Embrace Equity. We were invited to consider a different world:

‘Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #EmbraceEquity.’

On the 21 March we will celebrate Harmony Day and we ask all students to show their support for multiculturalism by wearing orange. This will be a free dress day. A reminder that 29 March is a student free day as the staff participate in Professional Development with MacKillop Institute – trauma informed teaching.

Also, on 4 April (Parent Teacher Interview evening) we will have another free dress day to raise money via gold coin donation for Caritas – Project Compassion. The students will be dismissed at lunchtime on this day, 4 April, to allow teachers time to meet parents with the interviews being from 2-7pm. 

You may have heard in the media that the teachers’ unions are currently negotiating with the employer bodies a new agreement that will, among other things, reduce the face-to-face contact hours a teacher will be asked to do each week. Consequently, we are preparing for this change in 2024 and this will likely mean a change to the structure of our day (bell times and length of periods). I will be working with the Parent Reference Group and Jo Martin as the chair of this group, to discuss possible impacts and I would value feedback from parents either directly to me or via Jo Martin. We will be basing our decisions on evidence in the research for effective learning together with the feedback we receive. Topics such as, having a longer break in the first (morning) session than the afternoon session and length of periods will be decided. 

You would by now be aware that we have received notice of a $3 million grant from the State Government to refurbish the student amenities block and refurbish the canteen and home economics room. This is exciting news and I have recently initiated discussions with the architects. One consideration we as a community will need to make is what service do we desire from our new canteen. Again, I will be seeking feedback from families and students.

Our College community has suffered a number of bereavements this month and it is at this time that we live our motto of strength and gentleness as we support one another as a faith community. Jonty Blair (Yr8) lost his beloved grandfather, Goff Letts, last week and we keep Fiona and her family in our prayers. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Horsham Conference of St Vincent de Paul for their generous support of a few of our students by providing CAS Calculators and Lenovo laptops to allow these students to be resourced for their senior classes. In particular I would like to thank Pat Strechan and Margaret Howison for enabling this.

St Brigid’s is a child safe school and I encourage you to familiarise yourself with our Child Safety Policies here  https://www.stbc.vic.edu.au/policies/ and please contact our compliance officer, Malory Ryan (mryan@stbc.vic.edu.au) if you would like to provide feedback or if you have any questions regarding our policies and practices.

I also draw your attention to the Sacramental Program under Helpful Information in this week's Newsletter.

Keep safe

Gerard Raven