Assistant Principal News

The Premier and Minister for Education recently announced changes to school settings for the remainder of Term 1. These updated settings were developed in close consultation with NSW Health and key stakeholders to ensure we continue to keep our schools open for learning, while keeping up with changing community settings.

The following changes are due to come into effect:

We will continue the use of rapid antigen tests (RATs) for twice-weekly testing of students and staff until Friday 25 February.
From Monday 28 February, we will move to symptomatic testing. Tests are to be used at your discretion such as if your child is symptomatic or there are cases in their class. Our school will provide each student and staff member with 5 tests for students and staff in schools. Beyond that, students and staff can access PCR tests or buy their own rapid antigen tests.
FOR SECONDARY schools - Masks will continue to be required indoors for all school staff, volunteers and visitors including parents and carers, and students in secondary schools until Friday 25 February. This means that from Monday 28 February, masks will no longer be mandatory for students, in Year 7 and above, and all staff. However, those who wish to continue to use them will be supported to do so.
From Monday 28 February, visitors can be allowed back on school sites. The College will communicate with families when Covid Safe events will be occurring onsite.

These changes will ensure that we are able to welcome parents back on site. Our first College event will be our Information night for those that wish to enrol for Year 7 in 2023. The evening will provide parents with a snapshot of the ways that their students will engage with teachers and peers through their learning, faith and College Wellbeing Programs. A range of exciting learning initiatives will be discussed as well as a College tour so that we can showcase the progress on our extensive building works. We look forward to beginning our partnership with the parents and students joining us and sharing all that Marian has to offer.

On Friday 11 February, Year 7 celebrated their Community Day together. They spent time in their Homerooms playing games, completing challenges and working with their Peer Support leaders. They finished the day with a Year 7 Liturgy which further highlighted the spiritual connection possessed within the College. Thank you to Mr Morris, the Yr 7 Homeroom team, Peers Support Leaders as well as Mr Abdala for your organisation and support of the day.

Coming up, our School Police Liaison Officer Senior Constable Alex Davies will be visiting Marian to speak to the different year groups about relevant issues including bullying, Cybersafety and legalities surrounding sexting and the distribution of inappropriate material. At Marian we are acutely aware of the link between irresponsible use of social media platforms and the mental health of young people. Understanding where they stand with regards to the law, as well as what actions to take when confronted with an unwanted ‘cyber’ situation, should allow students to further develop their resilience. This will be supported by our staff, who have been recently trained in the Youth Mental Health First Aid program, which educated staff in how best to deal with, support and refer mental health issues to support the young people in our care.

Yours in Learning,

Lora Segrave

Assistant Principal