Message from the Principal

It is unfortunate that we are in lockdown again and we are back to delivering education remotely. Having said that, I'm incredibly proud of the remote learning program offered at our school and I thank my staff for their hard work and patience as well as for your support and understanding during this difficult time. 

St Catherine's Nursing Home

Prior to going into lockdown, our SLC students had the opportunity to visit our local Catholic nursing home, St Catherine's in Balwyn. Our aim is to visit the nursing home each Term but due to COVID-19 and lockdown restrictions, this was our first visit since Term 1, 2020. As you can imagine the residences were very excited to see us as well as Angelique our Companion Dog. The children sang a number of songs they have been rehearsing in Choir practice with Mr. Bode each week and they then conversed with the residents afterward. 

School Closure Day - Religious Education 

During our recent School Closure Day on 26th May, our teachers were involved in professional development focused on Religious Education in the classroom. The day was hosted by St Mary Magdalen's Chadstone and we were joined by their staff as well as the staff from Holy Saviour Vermont South and St Timothy's Vermont. The professional development was delivered by Dr. Dan White who is a former Director of Catholic Schools in Hobart and Sydney Archdioceses. His Doctoral work is research into pedagogy in religious education. He has written a number of practical books for teachers on creative and contemporary pedagogy for the RE classroom.

The learning for the day included the following:

1. Explored the influence of an Honour and Shame culture on the scriptures;
2. Examined the ‘counter cultural’ influence of ‘the person of Jesus’ on Jewish society and religious thought especially with respect to the poor and marginalized and the role of women in society;
3. Experienced an array of ‘higher order' thinking strategies to enhance classroom practice;
4. Worked collaboratively in small learning teams to ‘road test’ selected examples of quality classroom activities;
5. Engaged in reflective opportunities to assist in the transference of learning outcomes into classroom practice.

School Review Report, School Improvement Plan & Annual Action Plan

During Term 4 last year, a review was conducted of our school which occurs every 4 years for Catholic schools. The reviewer is an external consultant and reviews our compliance with the standards set by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority including Child Safety as well as our teaching practice. Many months were dedicated to preparing for this review and we were found to be compliant. A copy of the final report has been received. As part of this report, the reviewer has suggested a number of opportunities that form our School Improvement Plan for the next four years. From this plan, an Annual Action Plan has been prepared for 2021. A copy of these documents is attached for your reference. 

In summary, the following priorities and goals have been set for 2021-2024:

1. Connection with Catholic Faith and Life Experiences 

Goal - To strengthen the capacity for teachers to deliver an engaging RE curriculum and pedagogy which encourages students to explore their own questions and ideas of faith in the context of their lived experience

2. Consistent Contemporary Pedagogy

Goal - To develop and embed a shared and consistent understanding of contemporary pedagogy

3. Use of data to differentiate learning to improve student growth

Goal - To use data more consistently to inform teaching and monitor learning growth

4. Wellbeing Framework

Goal - To develop a clear, cohesive, and evidence-driven wellbeing philosophy and framework, which provides avenues for student agency and which links student wellbeing and learning outcomes

Donation - Table Tennis Table

Recently, one of our previous families, the Boussioutas family, donated their pre-loved table tennis table. You may remember me writing about Isabella Boussioutas in my last couple of Newsletters. Isabella is currently one of the Year 12 Student Leaders at Siena College. She is a very accomplished young lady from a wonderful family. The table tennis table has been a real hit with our onsite students during remote learning. Thank you to the Boussioutas family for their thoughtful and generous donation. 

Please stay safe and well.

Kind regards

Mrs. Robyn Thomson

Principal