From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers, Students, Staff and Friends of St Norbert College,

IT was joyful to see the return of our staff and students for the start of Term 2. Many families took advantage of engaging with teachers at the Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews on Monday, 24 April. I thank the teachers for preparing for this important event and trust that families have been informed about strategies for improvement. The day followed with our ANZAC Day public holiday. The College was well represented by our SRC Captain Isabelle Cayoun and representative Catherine Laurel. Thank you to Miss Smith, Miss Abel and Mrs Bunyan for attending. As a College we commemorated ANZAC Day with a moving service in the O’Reilly Centre on Wednesday, 26 April. Thank you to Mr Gherardi and students for the service.

STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS: Welcome back from Long Service leave, Mrs Villarosa and Mrs Cassidy. Mrs Amaloo is currently teaching in the Careers Learning Area and will fulfill a role as an Education Assistant later in the term. Miss Arona is also working as an Education Assistant for a short-term contract. Welcome to students completing their teaching practice this term, Isobel Lindsay, Matthew Cheney and Philipa Curtis.

Xanten Founders Day 

XANTEN House celebrated their House Day on Tuesday, 9 May to honour our Norbertine founding fathers: Fr Peter O’Reilly, Fr John Reynolds and Fr Stephen Cooney. The College was literally built by these three young Irishmen who in 1959, arrived from the Holy Trinity Abbey in Kilnacrott and made a foundation in Western Australia. Fr Stephen is our only surviving founder and now resides with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Glendalough. In the early days, the Norbertines ran a farm “Kerry Downs” in York that provided the necessary funds to build St Norbert College-the only Norbertine school in Australia. Want to know more about our history? 

Visit the St Joseph’s Priory website. 

St Norbert Day: We have our celebration of St Norbert Day just a few weeks away to celebrate this unique heritage. It is always a special community event. As always, we commence the day with a Mass in the O’Reilly Centre. I take this opportunity to invite families to join us at 9:40am.

College Production - Charlie Brown

THE much-anticipated Opening Night of the 2023 College Production was on Wednesday, 10 May. It definitely lived up to expectations (and more!). For those much younger than myself,  the “Peanuts Gang” were pretty much what “Bluey” is today. There are so many levels to “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown” - fun, exciting and colourful for the young but so thought-provoking for others. The characters were so identifiable and the messages will challenge all who watch the show. 

The production showcases some highly talented students who are likely to make a name for themselves in the future on stage. I commend the cast of Aeldric Varilla, Mary Carter, Nicholas Navarra, Rebecca Attwood, Brodie Christie and Isabella Giuffre and the talented musicians in the orchestra: Thomas Rogers, Olivia Saldanha, Anthony Paradiso and Logan Davies. The staff, under the direction of Miss Hilton: Mrs Crocker, Mr Di Labio, Ms Zampino and Mrs Palermo have devoted an enormous amount of time outside of school hours to bring this production to the exceptional standard. I would like to acknowledge and thank them for their hard work and commitment.

I urge you not to miss out on the opportunity to see the production and to be able to brag in the future (perhaps when one of our cast members win an Academy Award) that you saw them on stage at our Xanten Theatre in 2023 in Charlie Brown. 

As this newsletter goes to publication, there are still be opportunities for tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/CGXDH

Mother's Day wishes

TO our mothers, grandmothers and carers - have a fantastic Mother’s Day. To those who have lost their mothers or children or are estranged from them - you are in my thoughts and prayers.

God bless

Ms S Rainford

(Principal)