Cohort News

Year 7 Pastoral Care

It's hard to believe that this is the last weeks of the school year. In a year that has seen us excited to start the year on campus together and attend events and camp, to the depths of lockdown and then a staggered re-entry to the College. People will say it has been a year of impossibilities, but I’d hope Year 7 understands that the year has seen just about every iteration of what is possible through any moment and time!

Our learners will leave the College just a little bit weary after completing final assessments and making sure to fit in all of the events ending the year, including Presentation Day. The good news is they rebounded incredibly well and managed to continue to show such warmth and positivity - I desire to have half their energy! Some of our Year 7 students will be leaving the College for other adventures, and we will miss them but also know they are off on a divergent route and will continue to shine wherever they go. I wish them all the best. 

I want to especially acknowledge the hard work of my Year 7 Team of Pastoral Care Teachers: Perrin Jones, Jennifer Lau, Deirdre Brennan, Vanessa Culhane, Danielle Mercuri and Janine Christofides. They genuinely support their Pastoral Care classes and have taken so much extra time getting to know and build connections with your daughters. There are no words to describe what they do daily, and I value their collaboration and support of our cohort and me throughout the year. 

To our Year 7 Parents and Carers, I will not have the opportunity to thank you face to face, so please accept my collective thanks for all of your support and particularly your assistance during Remote Learning. It was a mammoth collaborative effort, and all of the Year 7 staff are keen for you to know how deeply they appreciate your hard work at home with your daughters. 

I wish you a blessed Christmas and a New Year full of anticipation of all that is to come. Until then, stay safe and get some well-earned rest after a big year. I am looking forward to 2022 and Year 8 with renewed hope. 

“Hope anchors the soul.” 

Romans 6:19

Go forth with peace and joy,

Brenton Fletcher 

Year 7 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 8 Pastoral Care

As the school year is beginning to wind down, the energy and excitement is immensely building up in the classrooms, as the final day of school comes closer. Year 8 has been very busy over the past few weeks since the return to school after over four months of home learning. Despite the completion of our exams in week 6, Year 8 has still had a lot of content to cover as a result of the interruptions of home learning. All of us have been making the most of every day that we get at school with our peers and teachers. As a school have been very blessed to have made it this far in the school term without being shut down once again. 

Congratulations to Julia Vega Carmona in 8 Regina Mundi, who became an Australian Citizen on Monday the 8th of November. We are all so excited to officially welcome Julia to Australia as a permanent resident and citizen. In Julia's own words “I am very excited to be a citizen in this amazing country and I feel so fortunate to have finally received this citizenship after being here in Australia for 6 years.” Julia’s homeroom celebrated with a good old lamington topped with Aussie flags on that Friday Morning. Once again congratulations and welcome Julia! 

                                                                                                                 -   Katharina Bernhardt 

As this is my final newsletter as the Pastoral Coordinator of this year group, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students in Year 8 for their resilience and adaptability this year and you, their parents, for your ongoing patience and support to your daughters, myself and the College. It will be sad to officially say goodbye to the girls as their Coordinator but I will still be here at the College and the girls will always be in my thoughts and prayers.  

With the school year now winding down, may your Christmas and New Year be safe and happy. Hopefully you will have an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends and take time to relax and may we all look forward to a brighter year in 2022. 

God Bless,

Jodie Gordon

Year 8 Pastoral Care Coordinator (Acting)

Year 9 Pastoral Care

Twenty twenty-one has proven to be both a challenging and rewarding year for Year 9. The students have had the exciting experience of immersing themselves into their elective subjects for the first time, and whilst this has not always worked out as planned, the opportunity to choose a path in their own education has been so valuable.

In regards to Pastoral Care, at the commencement of Term 1, we were able to experience the Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum in full for the first time. The program has offered the students many opportunities to explore themselves, their development, and the manner in which they deal with both the people around them, and the situation that they find themselves in. The focus of our PEEC curriculum for Year 9 in Term 1 was goal setting and developing persistence in the face of challenges. That second area of focus was to prove invaluable for the developments of Term 3 and 4.

With the conversation about consent becoming so prevalent in the mainstream media, and in the school narrative, our Executive, championed by Mrs Quirk, made the decision that in Term 2, we would address some of those issues head on. Year 9 were very fortunate to be the first group to go through the Stay Safe Australia Program, which equipped the students with the physical skills and intellectual smarts to know what to do in a difficult situation. Most of the students found this training very useful.

As we are all very aware, Term 3 and the beginning of Term 4 provided us all with the challenge of online learning. Pastoral Care took on a new look, but we still tried to engage the students every Thursday A, in the PEEC curriculum in an online setting. The online PEEC curriculum focussed upon resilience, character development , gratitude and physical wellbeing. These lessons were deliberately chosen, to attempt to help the students navigate the challenges of online learning, lockdown, and the absence of familiarity that these present.

Upon our return to school, we were able to celebrate just being with each other in person, and getting back into the swing of the face to face environment. We all had to relearn all of the social skills that had not been used in a little while. 

Overall, I would like to thank all of those people involved with Year 9 over the course of 2021, but especially the students themselves, their parents and teachers. Special mention must be made of the Student Representative council members of the year group: Carah Pellegrini, Joanne-Lea Martin, Molly Menzel, Anna Shmalko, Mia Block, Amelia Halonkin, Eva Kamboourakis, Sophia Niccolai, Zoe Walker, Gabriella Favorito, Tiana Audisho and Kalipso Nathanael. These students have shown wonderful leadership in their Pastoral Care groups throughout the year.

Additionally, I would like to extend huge thanks to our Pastoral Care Teachers of year 9 in 2021. To Ms Nutter, Mr Wilson, Mrs Blackshaw, Mrs Elder, Mrs Ross, Mrs Hannify, Mr Hainsworth, Ms Maciejewski and Ms McCallum, my genuine thanks for all of the support that you have given to the students and also to myself. 

And finally, whilst this may be the end of my journey with Year 9 2021 as their Pastoral Care Coordinator, I hope that I will be still able to spend time with many of them in my classes into the future. To all the students of year 9 2021, I just want to say thank you for your trust in me. You are magnificent, and you are going to go on to do many spectacular things.

Patrice Andersen

Year 9 Pastoral Care Coordinator (Acting)

Year 10 Pastoral Care

Welcome Parents and Guardians,

This term has been one of reconnection, reassurance and resilience. Year Ten have been involved in a multitude of assessment tasks, personal reflection and the realisation that the challenges of Year 11 and the HSC will be ahead in 2022. Our motto for the last three years has been “ To be the Best Person I can Be” and truly every Year Ten student has this Semester lived up to our expectations!

This term, our Pastoral PEEC programme was centred around resilience and the development of one’s creativity. The focus of these lessons are for the promotion of each student’s goals, to develop strategies in resolving complicated issues and to be able to manage some challenging assessment problem solving tasks. Being flexible and adaptable are the key factors when managing multiple tasks and reaching out for any assistance is the key to success.

Our Year 10 community is a very cohesive, perceptive and homogenous group. From participating in homeroom challenges, supporting each other on a daily basis, strengthening their friendships bonds with one another to understanding the true meaning of “Strength and Gentleness” “Fortiter et Suaviter”, our students have demonstrated a sense of maturity beyond their years in their approach to their learning, in their support for one another and above all in their independence and their support for our College. They are a dedicated, committed community in their quest for learning and in their ability to reach their personal goals on a daily basis. Their ability to do this is a credit to them as a year group.

The holidays are fast approaching and each and every one of us needs to really enjoy the time for reflection, enjoyment and self-fulfilment.

Over the summer break, please ensure that the uniform is of a high standard. The kilt needs to be a knee level and please check this length before the start of Year 11. They will need at least two shirts which need to be loose fitting and the blazer needs to be labelled. The sport uniform will be worn every Thursday so please ensure that it is of a suitable standard. Jumpers and cardigans may be worn during cooler days and remember to also have these items labelled. Students are not permitted to wear any jewellery and remember to not wear sentimental items in case they are lost at school. The school holidays should be a time of deep reflection, development of good sleep patterns, good nutrition and a time for the strengthening of relationships. This is truly a time for self reflection and examining the aspects in our lives that we most value and treasure.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to my wonderful Pastoral Team: Miss Monohan ( Aquinas), Mr Lyons ( Xavier), Ms Foote (Patrick), Ms Mazzeri ( Winifred), Ms Rose ( Regina Mundi) and Ms Waterhouse ( Brigid). They are all a source of inspiration for our students as they have truly shown their commitment and dedication to the development of our amazing Year 10 Community. I also would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mrs Sharyn Quirk and Mrs Julie Norman for all their support over this past year.

I wish you all every blessing and happiness to our Year 10 families over this Christmas period and may we all continue to strengthen our faith and respect for each other.

Warm regards,

Adriana Parsons

Year 10 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 11 Pastoral Care

The girls have had a great end to the year, and I would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas as we enter the school holidays.

Since my last update, the focus of Pastoral Care continued toward the delivery of the HSC transition program. In this time the girls engaged in seminars delivered remotely by The Sleep Connection and staff at the College. The Sleep Connection seminar was delivered in an effort to better educate the girls on the importance of sleep and the impact poor sleep hygiene can have on our personal and academic success. The girls were provided with a sleep diary which led to some very interesting conversations and revelations in morning Pastoral Care! Additionally, the girls were lucky enough to have Ms Fox (Director of Learning and Innovation) address the cohort to present them with key information regarding the HSC v ATAR pathway, demystifying rankings and offering some key information as to how to access already available resources to study smarter not harder! In this session, the girls were also provided with a one-more-mark strategy and were provided with resources to best deconstruct a HSC question to maximise marks. 

It was a pleasure to attend the Presentation Day ceremony on Thursday and celebrate those who achieved outstanding results and contributions to the school in Year 11. As the students continue their journey as the Year 12 cohort of 2022, I hope that they demonstrate the same effort and courage that they have shown to date.

I would like to thank the village that supports us and the girls in their journey. To the Pastoral Care Teachers, Year 11 teachers, administration staff and College Executive: thank you. In a year filled with uncertainty and change, having their compassion, professionalism and unwavering support has been one of the key ingredients to the success of this year.

Lastly, please be reminded that our return date next term is Wednesday, 2nd February. During the holiday period, I would please ask for your support in ensuring that skirt hem lengths are checked/amended and that all uniform needs are tended to prior to our return date.

I wish you and your daughter a safe holiday that is filled with love, joy and celebrations.

Merry Christmas.

Amy Borg

Year 11 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 12 Pastoral Care

Year 12 has finally reached the end of their journey here at Brigidine College, and what a ride the past twelve months have been! 

I am sure I speak for all students when I say there was a huge sense of relief felt at the conclusion of the HSC. As their Pastoral Care Coordinator, it has been wonderful to witness this cohort roll with the punches and continue to persevere with a positive attitude in spite of the bumpy journey that was 2021. It is also with great pride that I acknowledge their determination and note just how proud we are of them and their anticipated success. 

With exams concluding on Friday 3 December, we were fortunate enough to be able to host our Graduation Mass and Ceremony held on-site in Cullen Hall in celebration of this momentous occasion. In front of family and College staff, the girls received their Graduation Certificates and Statements of Service and collectively shared in their successes and academic achievements across the year. It was a special evening and a fitting end and what I would personally note as a great success. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the support of the Executive, teaching and support staff that assisted in the organisation and planning of this event.

The Graduation Formal Dinner was held the following day. This celebration gave us an opportunity to let our hair down and dance the year away. This was held at The Royal Randwick Racecourse in the Marquee right beside the track. Due to a flash of rain just before we started, Mother Nature treated us to an exceptional backdrop - lighting up the sky and making for some very nice photos. The dinner and service were great and it was nice to see all the students, teachers and parents on the dance floor. 

To all the students of Year 12, I want to wish you all the best for the next stage in your lives. Keep working hard in whatever you choose to do and I’m sure you’ll find success. Work hard on all your relationships as the more you put in the more you’ll get out. I’d like to thank you and your families for all your support of me. May God bless you. 

Important date: HSC results are released on Monday 24th January 2022. 

Tony Munguia

Year 12 Pastoral Care Coordinator