From the Principal

Dear Blackfriars Community

IMPORTANT REMINDER - Changes to the 2019 Calendar for Term 2, Week 10

The following notice serves as a reminder of the 2019 calendar changes so that, where necessary, parents are able to make appropriate arrangements for family care, for Week 10 of Term 2 (Monday 1 to Friday, 5 July).

As an important part of our planning for the 2019 school year, a Staff Professional Learning week was scheduled for this July. The week is designed to provide our staff with continuity in development programs, including:

Dominican Formation
Pastoral Care and Well-being for students
Teaching and Learning

The educational benefits of this week and the changes to the 2019 calendar were explained in the final newsletters of Term 4, 2018.

Parents/Carers please note:

As a consequence of the Staff Professional Development Week:

Term 2 will conclude for all students (R-12)

Friday, 28 June 2019 @ 3:15pm

Wonderful News: Master Plan—Building A

I am delighted to inform our community that the Development Application for Building A of the Master Plan was presented and approved at the Prospect Council Assessment Panel (CAP) Meeting of 13 May 2019.

Following the approval, meetings have been conducted involving the architects, School Board members and School Capital Projects Committee members to progress the project to the commencement stage.

At last, the Master Plan finalised in 2018 for the future direction of Blackfriars has progressed from vision to reality. Further information will be provided as the building schedule is finalised in the coming weeks.

Year 12 Retreat

Last week was a milestone week for our Year 12 students, having the opportunity to step aside from the everyday pace of life, to come together for a few days on a Retreat experience at Camp Adare, Victor Harbor.

The Retreat focus was on underpinning and strengthening within each of the young men the Pillars of Prayer and Community, whilst also celebrating their final year together at Blackfriars. The Retreat program and the opportunity to spend valuable time together will hopefully have had a profound impact on each student and helped them to build a strong network of supportive relationships that will transition with them beyond their time at Blackfriars.

I was fortunate to visit the Retreat on Thursday and commend all of our students on their excellent behaviour, their spirit of attentiveness and active participation throughout the week. In particular, I commend the students for building a positive, connected, respectful and supportive senior school community.

I would like to thank all staff who participated as Retreat leaders, especially Mr Matthew Crisanti (Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission), for his planning and organisation of this memorable experience for our senior boys.

Blackfriars Enrolment Contracts

It is my sincere hope that Blackfriars is the school of choice for boys and their families and will remain the school of choice unless families move interstate or to a distant suburb where transport to Blackfriars is difficult. However, if for any reason you are considering a move of school for your son during the remainder of the 2019 year or for the commencement of 2020, I encourage you to contact me to confidentially discuss your individual circumstances and the reasons for your consideration of a change of school. Alternatively, contact can also be made with Mr Frank Ali, Head of Primary or Mr David Ruggiero, Deputy Principal of the Secondary School.

Contact details for meeting with Simon Cobiac

Executive Assistant: Mary Surman (P: 8169 3903 or E: msurman@bps.sa.edu.au)

Contact details for meeting with Frank Ali or David Ruggiero

Personal Assistant: Mandy Goodfellow (P: 8169 3908 or E: mgoodfellow@bps.sa.edu.au)

Withdrawing a Student From Blackfriars and Your Obligations

Please be reminded of the Enrolment Contract you have signed and the agreement within the contract that states that when a student is to be withdrawn from the School, the enrolling parent(s)/carer(s) MUST provide a minimum of one term’s notice in writing addressed to the Principal.

In the event that a student is withdrawn prior to the required one term’s notice, or without my (Principal) pre-approved exemption, a Late Notice Fee that is equivalent to one school term’s fee will be issued and payment is required.

The reason for the above detailed notice period is that Blackfriars, like any school, establishes class sizes, subject choices and electives based on the information received from parents during Semester 2 of the previous year. The major cost to our annual budget is the employment of staff which we systematically align to student numbers and classes as calculated following subject selection for the following year. Hence, late decisions by families to leave our school becomes a serious financial problem for Blackfriars as our forecast budget costs are locked in for the year in advance.

Story Telling in the Early Learning Centre

On Wednesday morning, 22 May, I was thrilled to be invited by the Early Learning Centre children to be their special narrator and key story teller. For a couple of days leading up to my big moment, I practised my delivery of the “Alpacas with Maracas” story book. It is a very long time since I sat before children and read out loud! The prospect of not being well received by my audience was somewhat daunting and a good reminder of how many children must feel when asked to do the very same thing as a part of their early learning journey.

As I looked around the sea of smiling and attentive faces, I was filled with a feeling of relief. I am pleased to report that the children thoroughly enjoyed the story and the accompanying pictures.

I left the Early Learning Centre feeling quite chuffed with my efforts and with an inner feeling of joy; I was now ready for whatever my day would unfold. It is true, it is the little things in life that bring us the most satisfaction and a sense of happiness and belonging.

Wishing you all in life that brings you happiness!

Mr Simon Cobiac

PRINCIPAL