Principal's Report

Letter to the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Melbourne

To the members of our Community I draw your attention to the attached letter from Archbishop Peter A Comensoli in response to the letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the People of God.

I recommend that all members of our Community read the attached letter from our new Archbishops. This follows a response from our Pope Francis to the child abuse crisis facing our church. Both letters capture support and empathy for the victors of these crimes and advise all parishioners of the commitment of the church to ensure this does not happen again. This includes how future issues of child abuse will be managed by the Archdiocese of Melbourne. I advise all members of our community to make themselves aware of those new protocols.

Sr. Margaret Bellesini Award

To commemorate our 60th Year Diamond Jubilee celebrations a new staff award was instituted for a staff member who exemplifies the Core Values of the De La Salle Brothers and Presentation Sisters. This staff award was named after Presentation Nun , Sr Margaret Bellssini. Sr Bellssini was an early pioneer of the College who led the middle school of St John’s for a number of years with great commitment to her faith and her students.

Staff member Ms Sheila Mallia in accepting this award paid tribute to the contribution of Sr. Margaret and the Presentation Sisters in forming the Catholic Identity of our school in its past and its future. Our dinner which also gave us the opportunity to acknowledge and farewell long serving staff member Mr David Phillips  and Fr Michael Shadbolt who retires later this year  after serving as a priest for more than 5o years.

Mock Interviews

Over the past week our Year 9 students were involved in a Mock Interview. After preparing their letters of application and resumes with their English Teachers, a number of local Business people connected with St John’s volunteered to conduct the 30-minute interviews.

The interviewers were impressed by the preparation of the candidates,  the way they enthusiastically engaged in the activity and how well they received constructive feedback. I acknowledge the work of Communications Leader Ms Lisa Finamore and Careers co-ordinator Mr Bruce Topham for their efforts in providing this opportunity for our students.

Congratulations Majak

Majak Mawith our Year 12 VCAL student continues to impress in his pursuit of a professional soccer career. He trains with the first team for Melbourne Victory and is the number one keeper for Victory’s National Youth League team  which will see him travel around Australia with the possibility of a call-up to the senior team in this coming summer season.

He is pictured here at the Melbourne Victory Presentation Night with senior players Leigh Broxham and Carl Valeri . We wish him all the best for the year ahead.

Parent Teacher Interviews

I look forward to seeing all of our parents at the Parent Teacher interviews, which will take place over the last few days of this term. At these interviews, staff will particularly focus on the feedback available to all students through our new Learning Management System – SEQTA.  This system, which has been introduced this year will provide both parents and students with important information about courses, lesson activities, homework and formative feedback on their assessment tasks.  Parents who have not had the opportunity to use SEQTA as yet will be shown the basics of this LMS through the interview process next week and be provided with their login details on the night.

Students are strongly encouraged to attend these interviews with their parents with the aim that they take greater responsibility and ownership of their studies and their learning progress. The interviews will be held next week , Thursday 20 and Friday 21 September in the Br Leo Scollen Stadium.

Year 12 Students - CLC Open for Business these School Holidays.

Our Year 12 students will be undertaking their important practice exams over the holiday period and we wish them well as they move into the final month of studies for the year. In order to assist them in their preparation the Contemporary Learning Centre will remain open from 9am untill 3.30pm  throughout the school holidays except for the public holiday prior to the Grand Final weekend.

RUOK Day

In a focus on mental health awareness this week, culminating in RUOK day this Thursday, our Students and Staff formed a giant human expression of the RUOK logo on the school grounds on Monday. The resulting image has been used as our sign off on all email communication leading into RUOK day, which is a national day of action, dedicated to inspiring all people of all backgrounds to regularly ask each other ‘Are you OK?'

This simple conversation starter aims to prevent suicide by encouraging Australians to connect with someone they care about and help stop little problems turning into big ones.

Research and our own experiences of general health and wellbeing point to the fact that staying connected with others is crucial to leading healthy and happy lives. Feeling isolated or hopeless can contribute to depression and other mental illnesses. Regular, meaningful conversations can protect those we know and love and the aim of the activities this week is to encourage all those in our community to take a little time this week to check in on those around us and to let them know that we care.

I congratulate our Wellbeing Staff and Student Leaders for their preparation and care in educating our community about the importance of these life changing conversations.

Cambodian Trivia Night

Last Friday Night students and staff going on the Cambodian Immersion trip in December conducted our annual Trivia Night Fundraiser. It was a wonderful community event with many families in attendance enjoying the banter between tables as we battled for the prize of Quiz Champion. The teacher table led by Dr Janine Biggin took out the prize but there are still protests being lodged so we await the final outcome. All proceeds raised on this night will go towards the De La Salle run school where our immersion party will work in the village of Poh Thom, outside Phnom Penh.

I wish to thank the organisers Mr David Graham, Ms Trish Dounias, Ms Asheligh Holly and Mr John Rhynehart and the following students and their families who not only donated auction items on the night but have assisted in fundraising activities over the term for this wonderful cause.

Staff and Students heading to Cambodia in 2018

Staff – Mr David Graham and Ms Trish Dounias

Students : Nicolette Tsouglis, Hope Tsouglis, Vindhya Vijayakumar, Megan Ezra, Sahana George, Rafael Zoiti, Leticia Bourke and ex-students from the class of 2017 Adrianna Grech and Amanda Oreski

Tim Hogan, Principal