Principal Message

WELCOME TO 2022

Our core belief in Christ’s resurrection and the love of God for all creation places us in the most sacred of relationships with our creator. As such, we believe that all are created in the image and likeness of God. Our students are at the heart of our work and we express this through Living Well Learning Well. Living Well Learning Well

The year began with 2 full days dedicated to what it means to be safe, to be valued and to be a learner in our community. The Pastoral and Academic Care and Coaching (PACC) Groups have gathered together in their houses and in the teams, building relationships across the school, meeting their PACC leaders (teachers and support staff), deepening their understanding of their house name and learning about the Worthwhile Lesson for improved learning outcomes.

Staff and students work in partnership to assist students to improve their learning outcomes. The PACC Leaders and student work together on goal settings and strategies, tracking improvement across their Living Well Learning Well experiences.

We acknowledge parents and carers are in partnership with the school and so I ask you to read the Living Well Learning Well document carefully. There is a page explaining the partnership and support with parents and we will be referring to this when we meet throughout the year.

For wellbeing and pastoral care support, please contact your child’s PACC teachers. For academic support, please contact the classroom teacher.

STAFF LEADERSHIP 2022

A restructure of the Leadership at St Mary’s College has provided us with a support focused team of leaders who work closely together with teachers to build and deliver effective learning and teaching. The leadership team works directly with teachers to enhance the effective relationship between teacher and learner.

Cath Martin, Assistant Principal, and I welcome to the leadership team:

Leader of Student Wellbeing and Academic Care (Student Wellbeing): Jody Law

Leader of Student Wellbeing and Academic Care (Academic Care): Heidi Baker

Leader of K-12 Learning Community: Adam Mooney

Leader of Inclusion: Sarah-Jane Canham

Leader of Loreto (Case Support): Oliver Neader

Leader of Lourdes (Student Leadership): Nikole Brooks

Leader of McAuley (Attendance and Support): Karen Stanley

Leader of Mercy (Resilience Project): Maryanne Grosser

Leader of Learning (Mentoring and Coaching): Shelley Small

Leader of Learning (Pedagogy): Genevieve Vickers

Leader Learning (Data, Assessment & Reporting): Kate Walshe

Leader of Learning (Programming): Sarah Semmler

Leader of Behaviour Support (Individual): Danielle Barisa

Leader of Behaviour Support (Teams): Cath Martin

NEW STAFF

St Mary’s College is blessed to have a team of new teachers and school officers joining us in 2022. The pool of applicants was outstanding and so I am pleased to introduce to you our new members of staff:

Adam Mooney: Adam comes to us from Gunnedah High School where he served the community there in many leadership roles. It is wonderful to have him come to us as a past student and with a great relationship already established in our community. Adam is working closely within the Gunnedah Catholic Learning Community of St Mary’s College and St Xavier’s to specialise in supporting transition.

Ramandeep Kaur: Ramandeep is a mathematics specialist teacher who has come to us from Victoria. Her skills are a great asset to our mathematics team. Ramandeep’s practicum reports were outstanding and her university results are exceptional. We are excited to have her join us for the commencement of her teaching career.

Joshua Ambrose: Joshua comes to us from 2 years of teaching experience at St Philomena’s, Moree. He was looking for a great PDHPE team to collaborate with. Joshua is a qualified sports coach in Rugby Union and has already established himself with the local competition. He will be helping to run Rugby as Primary School Team Manager at the Diocesan level.

Jordan Ambrose: Jordan is a science specialist and also comes with outstanding practicum experience and university results. We welcome him to our science team. Jordan has settled in well and is working collaboratively with his team. He is also skilled in maths and is teaching a Year 8 class this year.

Sophie Wicks: Sophie was with us last year for her final practicum in the maths department. Her outstanding work throughout that time was evident in her classrooms and collaboration and planning. It is great to see this collaboration continue into her first years of teaching with us. She is an outstanding asset to our maths team.

Sophie Greet: Sophie is a new graduate who comes to us with strength in English and Religion. She is a passionate teacher and we welcome her innovation and skill to our RE and English teams. She has already establish her classrooms as collaborative and productive learning spaces where the students are loving the learning intentions and success criteria to enable visible learning growth.

Sarah-Jane Canham: Sarah-Jane has a wealth of experience across primary and secondary schools. She has been a senior leader at St. Joseph’s, Quirindi and was recently teaching at St Xavier’s. Sarah-Jane will be teaching RE, literacy and Child Studies. She has already built strong collaboration with the teachers, enabling them to differentiate and adjust for our students' learning needs.

Marlene Tremain-Beverage: Marlene comes to us as the Inclusion Support Teacher from other Catholic schools in the Armidale Diocese. She is highly experienced and skilled in this area and has spent many hours with Hannah Pryde who has commenced her maternity leave. Marlene works with us 4 days a week and will be building strong relationships with our families to support learning.

Emma Chaseling: Emma was with us in 2021 as an Education Assistant. She comes to us with great experience and enthusiasm for caring for students. Emma has taken the role of Wellbeing, Learning and Behaviour Support Assistant, working closely with Danielle Barisa and students. She has a background in Psychology and is passionate about student learning.

Kimberly Hayne: Kimberly Hayne is a parent and now a member of the College staff. Kimberly comes to us as a Wellbeing, Learning and Behaviour Support Assistant. Kimberly has a background in early childhood and primary education settings with positions of responsibility and leadership experience. Kimberly will be working with us 3 days a week.

Eliza Bourke: Eliza has completed part of her nursing degree, with outstanding results and has a passion for student wellbeing. She is our Wellbeing, Learning and Behaviour Support Assistant, complementing the days Kimberly is not available. She also an EA and is in the classroom working closely with our students.

Julie Shields: We welcome Julie to St Mary's College as the Library Assistant. She has library experience, and some of you may recognise her from the Gunnedah Library. Julie is a lifelong learner who is passionate about reading, learning and growing through experiences.

COMMUNICATION

When we receive a phone call or a visit from you and you request to talk to a teaching staff member, our reception staff will take your contact details and to whom you wish to speak to and will pass on this information. Staff are always involved in either face to face teaching, collaborative planning, supervision, duties throughout the day and will be in contact with you within a 48 hour period. If they have full days they will email you when they will be able to be in contact after that time.

Sometimes the best communication is through an email where you can communicate clearly your thanks, concerns, upcoming events, or query regarding the student work. An email can be responded to in a timely manner and can ensure time, if needed, to find out any further information you may require from them.

When your child has had a win or an issue arises at school, the teacher will communicate with you either by phone or email. Again, email is a great communication tool for clarity and for the information to be read at a time suitable to you. If it is an emergency, we will follow protocols of the contact details we have been supplied.

BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT

In our first week, we have had to manage physical altercations at the school. Please find below what I shared with the students at Monday’s briefing. It is disappointing to know that the first welcoming days of Living Well Learning Well experiences have been overshadowed by these incidents.

Any physical altercation is immediately reported to the police. Any outcomes from a police investigation are supported by the school. We have immediate contact with Catholic Schools Office Armidale and I collaborate on the appropriate measures to be taken in response to the issue.

We have a zero-tolerance for any form of interaction that greatly impacts the wellbeing (physically or otherwise) of a student or staff member. Every student and staff member has the right to be safe at school.

The management of re-entering the school for a student that has been unable to maintain a safe environment for others takes some time. We must ensure that supports are in place for the safety and wellbeing of all students and staff. This must be agreed upon prior to returning.

Student Briefing 14 February 2022

CURRICULUM

The timetable has been finalised. Any further subject changes need to be approved by Mrs Martin. There are some combined classes in Stage 6 - Modern History, Music, Community and Family Studies, and Earth and Environmental Studies. This enables the College to offer a wide range of subjects.

Year 12 students have access to the HSC Assessment Handbook, including the tasks for this term, via Compass. Year 12 commenced their HSC path of study in Term 4 last year and hence their midyear report will be available towards the end of Term 1.

Year 11 Assessment handbook will be available for students in Week 6. There will be a year level meeting to go through the requirements and procedures. Further information will be provided.

Bern Feldman & Cath Martin