The Principal's Desk

Dear parents, families and friends,

I am composing this edition of the newsletter while on the Victorian Association Catholic Primary School Principals (VACPSP) conference at Lorne. It has been a very engaging and thought provoking few days. It has offered me the opportunity to gather with fellow principal colleagues from all over Victoria, to network, to reflect and to be inspired and challenged by a variety of speakers from a variety of fields and experiences not related to education. The keynote speakers included the following:

Craig Ruecassel - the presenter of ABC TV series War on Waste and Fight for Planet A: Our Climate Challenge. His work has led to 452 high-impact waste-reducing initiatives across businesses, schools, universities, government and community organisations. Also an Australian writer and comedian he has written and appeared in a swathe of TV programs including The Election Chaser, CNNNN, The Chaser’s War on Everything.

Dr Jason Fox - a bestselling author, leadership advisor & rogue wizard/philosopher. Specialising in Pioneering Leadership & Motivation Design. His clients include the senior leadership teams of Fortune 500 companies, and in 2016 he was named Keynote Speaker of the Year by Professional Speakers Australia. When not liberating the world from the delusion of progress, Jason partakes in extreme sports such as reading, sun avoidance and coffee snobbery.

Kath Koschel - the founder of Kindness Factory, a global not for profit movement which inspires ordinary people to do ordinary things. A former professional cricketer and Iron Man competitor, Kath has defied all medical prognoses by teaching herself to walk on three separate occasions. Despite facing other serious personal, mental and physical setbacks, her resilience allowed her not only to overcome these challenges, but also see the good in the world when most others couldn’t.

Tim and Judy Sharp - break-through speakers who share their inspirational story of how a boy diagnosed with severe autism went on to become one of Australia's best-known international artists. At 11 years of age Tim created a superhero called Laser Beak Man and became the first person with Autism to have his work developed into an animated TV series and theatre production. Tim shares his sense of humour and unique way of looking at the world through his colourful art. His originals are in high demand from collectors and have been exhibited Australia and globally.

Simon Griffiths - one of Australia’s most prominent social entrepreneurs. Simon is the Co-Founder and CEO of Who Gives A Crap, a profit-for-purpose toilet paper company that uses 50% of its profits to build toilets in the developing world. He was also a co-founder of Shebeen, Australia’s first non-profit bar, which was located in Melbourne’s CBD. In 2011, Simon was recognised by The Age’s Melbourne Magazine as one of Melbourne’s Top 100 Most Influential People, and in 2013 he was shortlisted for Young Australian of the Year. He is an outstanding entrepreneur and philanthropist who has built two social enterprises, generating donations of almost $2 million.

Steve Sammartino - one of the world’s most engaging and thought provoking keynote speakers on the Future. The future belongs to those who prepare for it. And no one has a more profound understanding of what it’s going to be like than Steve Sammartino. But knowing what the future holds and being able to do something about it are two different prospects, entirely. You need more than a tour guide to get you there. You need innovation in action.

Dr Catriona Wallace - one of the first women leaders in advanced technology. She is ideally suited to present on these important and highly topical subjects and does so in a way that is highly accessible and informative, non-technical, engaging and inclusive. This unique skill set has also seen Catriona invited to Co-Chair Sir Richard Branson's B Team's Artificial Intelligence Coalition, to sit on the Federal Government’s AI Action Initiative team as well as achieve significant industry awards. With a burning passion for and deep knowledge of Artificial Intelligence Catriona believes that sharing knowledge about the responsible use of technology and is her true path and purpose. Catriona is also a philanthropist, human rights activist and mother of five.

Over time I believe that the ideas and insights I gained from the stories and experiences of these speakers will influence and impact on decisions made and actions taken.

School Advisory Council

In the previous newsletter I introduced the members of the School Advisory Council. This week each council member introduces themselves and provides a snapshot of who they are and what motivated them to volunteer for the School Advisory Council.

NCCD (Nationally Consistent Collection of Data)

Please read the attached letter below which explains the purpose of the collection of data for students requiring adjustments to be made to support them in the learning and engagement at school.

School Picnic

This coming Wednesday 30th March from 6pm is our Annual Family Picnic. I am really looking forward to this event as it brings our whole school community together at the start of the year to reconnect or connect with each other. Please remember that due to covid protocols it is BYO food and drink for each family.

A final reminder that School Photos are this coming Tuesday 29th March. All students need to be in their Full Summer School Uniform.

Kind regards,

Matthew Stead

Principal