Principal's Message

It is hard to believe that only four weeks remain of the academic term. The College continues to be a exciting and busy place each and every day. I am exceptionally proud of our students as they continue to embrace their studies and pastoral activities with an eagerness and desire to better themselves and encourage those around them. 

The HSC has come to an end after four weeks of intense examinations. I would like to thank everyone within our Brigidine community for their thoughts and prayers for our Year 12 students during this challenging time. In particular I would like to thank all parents and guardians of our Year 12 students for the guidance, support and understanding they provided. We hope our Year 12 students are enjoying a very well deserved break. We look forward to seeing our wonderful Year 12 cohort on Thursday 15 December for our HSC Celebration Morning Tea at 10:30am.

On Monday 31 October the College welcomed back a former student, Fiona McKenzie, to speak to our Year 10 and 11 students. Fiona attended Brigidine from Kindergarten to Year 10 and in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Fiona was awarded an Order of Australia. Fiona’s award acknowledges her advocacy and board membership for the Council for Intellectual Disability. We are very grateful and appreciate Fiona’s time and contribution to the Brigidine College community.  

On Thursday 4 November the College celebrated the Student Leadership Commissioning Mass at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Randwick. This is always a significant and meaningful time for the College, as well as for those students transitioning to leadership roles for 2023. The Commissioning Ceremony was preceded by a three day leadership retreat in Grose Vale, during which our student leaders had the opportunity to bond and grow together and plan their leadership approach for the College. I would like to thank all parents and guardians for their continual support to these students. Thank you to all who attend this Mass. I would also like to draw special thanks to Fr Gerard, our celebrant, Ms Jamie Lee Wood for her planning of this Mass and the Music Department (Jacqui Hanniffy, Robyn Ross, Jennifer Lau and the College Choir and Orchestra) for their continual high level of support for College activities.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to those who attended our Pink Ribbon Breakfast in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. It was a wonderful morning with a beautiful spirit. If you're in a position to make a donation to the Pink Ribbon Foundation and assist Delany House in reaching their fundraising target please access this link.

The student body had a marvellous time supporting our “Brigidine Goes Pink” day. A definite highlight was the wonderful array of students and staff who turned out at lunchtime to form a large ‘ribbon’ in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

We will conclude our fundraising efforts for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, for which your support is greatly encouraged and appreciated, this coming week. On Friday 25 November, Delany House will be hosting a Summer Fun Fundraising Lunch where a package lunch of Pink Lemonade, Zooper Dooper and a slice of Pizza will be on sale for $5:00.     

As we conclude our Delany House Charity, the College embraces Regina Mundi's House Charity - the St Vincent de Paul Society. Regina Mundi has launched the Christmas Appeal and have requested each House to be responsible for donating specific items that the most needy in our community require this Christmas season.  We appreciate everyone's assistance. Let's bring a little bit hope to those in need. 

On Wednesday, 9 November 2022 we hosted our first Combined Secondary Colleges "Evening with Dr Justin Coulson". Dr Coulson is a renowned child psychologist and a featured guest of many television shows. Dr Coulson spoke to a captive audience about the teenage brain and, specifically, on "Sex, Consent and Staying Safe". This was a marvellous and extremely informative evening and I trust that all who were able to attend gained much from this presentation as well as the conversations with other parents from our Network. 

Our Year 9 students and teachers enjoyed their Stanwell Tops Camp experience in Week 5 this Term. With a wide variety of activities to participate in, the girls were fully engaged and embraced every opportunity and the great outdoors with their peers. The feedback from teachers as well as the Camp Directors from Stanwell Tops was overwhelmingly positive of our students. Our thanks to the dedicated team of Brigidine Staff who made this Camp possible: Mr Tony Munguia, Ms Nikki McWhirter, Ms Sylvia Tziortzis, Ms Jen Kehati, Mr David Nally, Ms Beth Meldrum, and Ms Jocelyn Airth.  The Year 9 Camp was a first for Brigidine College and from all accounts a necessary inclusion in the Year 9 Curriculum.  

This past week enabled the College to welcome our future 2023 parents and students. Our informative Orientation Evening for parents was followed by an action packed, fun filled Orientation Day for our soon-to-be Year 7 students. A special thank you to Mrs Julie Norman, Ms Natasha Fox, Mr Jon Campbell, Mrs Tess Waterhouse, Ms Nikki McWhirter, Ms Justine Rogers, Mrs Louise Hill, Mrs Maria Harbutt, the College Student Leadership Team, and our Year 10 students who were marvellous ambassadors for our future Year 7s.

Mrs Sharyn Quirk

Principal