From the Director of Primary

Leadership in the Primary

Over the past two weeks the Year 6 students and staff have been engaging in a leadership process that has seen some students in Year 6 elected into certain roles.  I know it sounds cliché but it is very true that throughout the year all Year 6 students will be afforded the opportunity to be part of events and activities for the College, allowing their leadership skills to come to the fore.  

Congratulations to the following girls.  A formal ceremony presenting the students with their badges will occur Friday 3 March.  

House Captains 

Carmel House Captains - Lavinia Ciccia and Sophie Halliday

Loreto House Captains - Siska Hurd and Piper Orr

Lourdes House Captains - Gretel Sangwell and Isabella-Rose Williams

Primary Leaders 

Isabella Bomford, Florence Cousens, Annabel Henderson and Neave Riches.

Restorative Practice Leaders

Edwina Blakeway, Florence Cousens, Sophie Halliday, Ruby Jager, Sophia McNulty, Carla Mione, Freya Nally, Hannah Tomlin, Isabella-Rose Williams and Jemima Williams.

CARITAS Mass

On Tuesday morning, eight Year 6 students  were selected to attend the launch of Project Compassion. This Mass and Q&A session about the work of CARITAS in countries throughout the world allowed our students time to reflect on how blessed we are as a community and what we can do to raise money for, and awareness of, CARITAS through Project Compassion. Thank you to Katie Harper who accompanied the Year 6 students to Mass and ensured their engagement in the conversations. 

Fruit Break

The inclusion of fruit breaks has been requested by various staff and students and we are happy to accommodate this but with some conditions in place due to our commitment to learning and a break not creating another interruption to the process.  

On that basis some terms apply that will allow learning to continue with items that are easily eaten either at the desk or on the mat.  Such fruit/vegetables recommended would be apples, bananas, strawberries, grapes or carrot/celery sticks. 

We will run this for a trial period throughout Term 1 and I will seek your feedback at the end of the term.  Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher.  

Swimming Carnival

On Monday our Prep to Year 6 students headed to the Clarence Aquatic Centre to participate in the Primary Swimming Carnival.  The squeals of excitement, the enthusiasm of the cheering and the brilliant racing were a thrill to witness.  

As always, days like this do not just happen and I am incredibly grateful to the HPE department, especially Petra Dennis and Nikki Stuart and to Simon Milne who used his expert IT skills to ensure the scores were accurately calculated and the sound system working well.  Thanks also to the many parent volunteers who assisted, our Year 10 Leaders and College and pool staff. 

Congratulations to Carmel House for a wonderful effort in winning the Swimming trophy for 2023.

Parent Connections Evening 

As mentioned in the Acting Deputy Principal article, the importance of connections is paramount to who we are as a community.  On Tuesday 14 February, Primary parents gathered to hear from staff and also mingled, connected and chatted over a glass of wine and a cheese platter.  The evening was a great success and highlighted the importance of parents/carers hearing the story of the child’s education from the teachers and having an opportunity to ask questions.  This evening has been on hiatus for the last couple of years due to COVID so it was thrilling to welcome parents back to campus.  We hope next year brings more parents and carers out to hear the story. 

Primary Staff Meeting 

As mentioned in an earlier The View at times it is important for parents to catch a glimpse in to the life of the Primary Staff when in meetings - here is another chance to find out what our after school meetings entail. As a Primary Staff we worked with Leanne Prichard and Tricia Phillips from CET on the  elements of prayer and how they can be taught in our classrooms - formally or informally. This allowed us to be reminded of prayer and its essential connection with our RE curriculum and how through prayer, we as a teaching community can provide a glimpse into other focuses and concepts taught. The session was practical in its delivery, and provided us as a staff time to reflect and breathe.    

Uniform 

Uniform provides our students with a sense of belonging.  Since the start of the year it has been a pleasure to see our Primary students wearing their uniform, be it summer or PE, with a sense of pride. Nonetheless, they are reminded that white turn-over ankle socks are to be worn with the summer dress, not crew or no-show socks.  Students are also reminded that if their hair is below the collar it is to be tied up and if a second pair of earrings are worn they are to be in the ear lobe only.