From the Principal
Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, Staff and Friends of St Norbert College,
The end of another term has come and what an eventful, community filled time it has been and as always, a plethora of quality teaching and learning experiences for our young people.
As we have journeyed through Lent and with Passion Sunday only days away, we are reminded and called, to revitalize our relationship with God and one another. We mark this special time as an opportunity to celebrate at Easter, the life, the death and the joyous resurrection of Jesus.
This week, as a College community, we celebrated Easter with our Holy Week liturgies. I felt compelled to send a special message of thanks to all of those students individually, who were involved in the liturgies, either as a reader, part of the liturgical choir or the tableau artists. It was through their willingness and commitment that they brought to life, the challenges of Jesus’ time and the joy of his resurrection. We were all challenged to reflect and pray about how we can use our time, talents and treasures, to be a beacon for others. Thank you to Miss Kyd, Mr Beins and the students involved in presenting such reverent and reflective liturgies.
Some sadness often flows at the end of a term, when staff and students finish their time at St Norbert College. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Mrs Deise Carvalho, our College Psychologist, our best wishes in her future endeavours and thank her for her contributions to the Pastoral Care of our students over the past seven years. The College has embarked on a process of appointing a full-time Psychologist to maintain this provision for our students and families.
Our Humanities International Tour, currently in Rome, continues to open the eyes of our students to an educational, cultural and spiritual world beyond our shores. With the students and staff expected to return on Easter Sunday into the caring arms of family and friends, we continue to pray for their safe passage and return. We look forward to hearing of the wonderful experiences next term.
Congratulations to Mr Luke Ford, and the staff who assisted, in facilitating a marvelous Inter-House Cross Country carnival on Tuesday afternoon. The start of each race sees an amazing burst of our House colours in action, a scene of colour, movement and energy like no other. Thank you to the parents and family members who came along in support and to the student participants. Well done to Prémontré House and Mr McGrath and Miss Alban, for taking out the overall trophy, but a special mention to Xanten House and Mr D’Souza for their energy and enthusiasm throughout the afternoon in securing the “Spirit Bear” award. Full results are included later in this newsletter.
A reminder to all, that next term sees the arrival of the College winter uniform. I encourage all students to take the small amount of time required to ensure, well before the start of next term, that they have their winter uniform in a fit and appropriate state to be worn from the first day. Holiday hours for the Uniform Shop are included in this newsletter for those needing to purchase new items.
I hope and pray for all in our St Norbert College community, for a joyful, loving and holy Easter and that we use these opportunities to bring peace to those we hold dear.
God’s blessings to you all
Mr S Harvey (Principal)
NAPLAN – Substantial Above Average Gains in 2018
I am very pleased to advise that a short time ago, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), identified our College as having demonstrated substantially above average gain in reading and numeracy achievement for our Year 9 cohort in 2018 (our current Year 10 students), as measured by NAPLAN.
Student gain is a way to measure the impact the school has had on student progress. That is, when the background of students is similar across schools, it is more likely that any differences in gain made by students are related to the teaching and learning capabilities of the school.
We are very proud of the literacy and numeracy programs here that focus on improved outcomes for our students as evidenced by this recognition. Congratulations to all staff and students for this wonderful result.