Wellbeing 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The 2023 school year has continued to progress well. A big thank you to all members of the Academy community for the manner in which you have approached the first month of this year. Let’s continue with the engagement, connection, sense of belonging, community spirit, attitude, aptitude and approach that has been displayed and evident in our day to day lives at school.

Parents’ Association

On the evening of Monday 28 February, the College held its opening Parents’ Association Meeting for 2023. The meeting was held in the library, and it was extremely well-attended with 24 people present and parents from every year level represented.  Key agenda items covered in the meeting included:

• Principal’s report
• Beginning of Academic School Year 
• Opening College Mass / Assembly / Investiture / High Achievers
• Year 7 Mass & BBQ
• Year 7 Camp
• House Swimming Carnival
• Child safety
• Planning events for 2023
• Parent Representatives at each year level. Names and introductions will be in the next Newsletter.

This meeting once again emphasized to me the very generous community spirit which exists at the Academy. We are dedicated to sustaining an active partnership with parents which really aims to support the students in their journey at school. Such a partnership is vital in ensuring our students’ educational experience is a fulfilling, rewarding and a formative one.

The next meeting is being held onsite on Monday 27 March at 7:00pm. If you are interested in being a part of this vital and active organisation or in contributing or helping in any way, please do not hesitate to email me .  I will add you to the Parents’ Association email distribution list and you will receive all the relevant information.

Year 7 & 8 Parent Meet and Greet

Another event that the Parents’ Association is in the process of organising is Year 7 & 8 Parent Meet and Greet. It is scheduled to be held on Friday 24th March from approximately 7:00pm. All Year 7 & 8 families are cordially invited to save this date in their diaries. Members of the Parents’ Association will be organising and overseeing this function. Further details will be sent to all Year 7 & 8 families shortly. 

Mobile Phones

As you would already be aware, the College has an Electronic Devices Policy within which the use of mobile phones is addressed. As it states, students are not permitted to use their phones between 8.40am and 3.02pm, unless used for educational purposes and as directed by the classroom teacher.

We are still having some students using their phones for personal reasons, including being on social media, throughout the day and this is in direct contravention to the policy. When students have been spoken to about this issue, there have been multiple occasions where the students have stated that they were simply responding to a message from their parents or answering the phone to speak with them.

We ask that parents do NOT call or message their daughters throughout the school day. There are other avenues of contact available including your daughter’s email address or via Reception in the Front Office. Of course, in emergency or urgent situations, students may be permitted to call parents/guardians on their phones but only if the student seeks permission from a staff member.  We thank you in anticipation of your support with addressing this matter.

House Swimming Carnival

The updated Operoo permission request has been sent to all families for the new House Swimming Carnival date of Tuesday 7th March. We ask that parents access Operoo and grant permission for their daughter to attend no later than Sunday 5th March. A reminder to all in the community that next Tuesday is a compulsory school day and all students are expected to attend. Days such as this, amongst many other things, provide that important sense of belonging to students and also play an integral role in the positive wellbeing of all members of the Academy community. As such, if a student is absent on Tuesday, they will need to provide a medical certificate for this absence. Parental support in this matter is very much appreciated.

International Women’s Day Breakfast

Members of the Parents’ Association have been in the process of organising the Mother/ Daughter breakfast as part of International Women’s Day (Week) celebrations. This is an inaugural event and a wonderful opportunity for mothers (or significant others) and daughters to come together in a relaxed environment to have a cup of tea or coffee with a muffin or croissant, and just spend an hour or so relaxing and mingling with other parents. One of the College musical ensembles will be playing throughout the morning and we also have a guest speaker. The breakfast is scheduled to take place on Friday 10 March from 7:00am – 8:30am in the Dillon Centre. All families have received an official invitation. Bookings close today (Friday), so if you have not yet booked a ticket for you and your daughter, you are invited to do so. There is a cap on numbers and places are filling fast.

As always, please never hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns.

Mr Sam Di Camillo

Deputy Principal, Wellbeing & Operations