Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

This is our last newsletter for Term 2 and what a term it has been. I commented to staff at our Morning Briefing on Monday that last week, I had the joy of watching chess, taking part in debating, searching the stars at the Astronomy Night, enjoying the performances of our students at the Eisteddfod Soiree as well as lots of sport including Diocesan Soccer held in very chilly conditions at Sport UNE. It has been a great term of learning and extracurricular activities and everyone should be very proud of their achievements this term. 

Year 7 - 10 Reports

Full Academic Reports for Year 7 to 10 will be released on Compass at the end of this term. These are an opportunity to reflect with your child/children on their progress this semester. We are very aware of the amount of paper used to print reports and the slowness of our mail system. This year, we will only be printing reports for parents/carers who request them. Please complete the following survey if you would like a hard copy of the report sent to you. If you have any concerns about your son/daughter’s progress in a class please contact the class teacher of Leader of Learning. If you have any concerns overall please contact their Pastoral Academic Care Teachers or Leader of Learning for the Year Level.

Founders Day

We finish the term with our annual Founders Day where we celebrate the contribution of the Founders of the Religious Orders that formed our school. The Founder of the Ursuline Order, St Angela Merici and the Founder of LaSallian Order, John Baptist De LaSalle play an important role in the history of Cathoic Education. O’Connor Catholic College holds a special place in both the Ursuline and De La Salle history in Australia. St Ursula’s, Armidale and De La Salle College, Armidale were the first schools set up by the orders on arriving in Australia.

This year we are also celebrating 200 years of Catholic Education and we will mark this important milestone, as well as the contribution of the Ursuline Sisters to Armidale and our school through the blessing and unveiling of a statue of St Angela Merici. We were hoping to hold this ceremony and celebration on Founders Day but unfortunately the statue will not arrive in time. We will do this at a later date in Term 3. 

Angela Merici, the founder of the Ursuline order chose St Ursula as the Patron because of the spirit of Ursula. Ursula  was 

• A woman of deep courage
• A risk taker
• A woman of dedication and fidelity to Jesus Christ
• A leader of young women
• A woman of dignity
• An independent woman of her time.

These qualities resonate with us all today and were ones that Angela wanted for her women in the company. Angela was concerned about the wellbeing of young women who were particularly vulnerable at that time (in early 1500s). She had respect for every person and sought to improve the narrow life choices available for women of that time. The qualities of independence, dignity, and respect are ones we work strongly with our students about so that by the time they leave O’Connor they are firmly founded on faith and with qualities that help them become strong and capable people ready to make a difference in the world.

St John Baptist de La Salle (1651-1719) is the Patron Saint of Teachers. He was born in France in 1651. His family was from the privileged class; however, after entering the priesthood, De La Salle committed himself to provide a Christian and human education to young people, and especially to the poor and marginalised. In 1680, at 29 years of age, John Baptist de La Salle invited young men to join him in devoting themselves to the Christian education of youth. He was canonised in 1900 and became the universal patron Saint of Teachers in 1950. Inspired by their Founder, the De La Salle Brothers developed into a worldwide Christian education community..

"To touch the hearts of the young and to inspire them with the Christian spirit is the greatest miracle you can perform, and it is the one that God asks of you; it is the purpose of your work with the young." (St John Baptist de la Salle)

Staffing News

We will farewell Mr Lloyd Honnery at the end of Term 2. Mr Honnery is moving to Queensland. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lloyd for all his work at our College over the past three years. He has been a valuable staff member and taken on many roles including Pastoral Academic Care Leader and also instrumental in our basketball program. I wish Lloyd all the best for the future.

We welcome Mr Jamie Moore to the College in Term 3 replacing Mr Honnery. Jamie has a wealth of experience in education at the school and tertiary level. We are excited for him to join our learning community and look forward to working with him.

Upcoming Events for Year 12

Trial Exams 6th August - 20th August

Year 12 Graduation Mass - Tuesday 14th September 7 pm

Year 12 Graduation - Friday 17th September 12 noon

Please note that Monday 12th July is a Pupil Free Day as staff will be participating in professional learning. 

What new learning will you undertake this week?

Regina Menz