PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

What a welcome sight it was this week to welcome so many Grade 6 students to our school for Transition Days. The students have enjoyed many activities run by our wonderful teachers and organised by our Transition Coordinator, Damien Hirst. I was able to visit classes and talk with the Grade 6 students, as well as witness the fantastic way that our students welcomed and assisted the Grade 6s throughout the day. We welcome our last group of transition students on Wednesday 18th May when students from St Joseph’s Kerang and St Joseph’s Balranald pay us a visit.

Our staff are now preparing for what is a ‘don’t miss out on’ event, the annual Open Day and Subject Expo. The staff work hard to ensure that parents and students have an opportunity to see the curriculum that we offer, as well as answer any questions that you might have about subjects. The Open Day and Subject Expo are on Wednesday 25th May, with the Subject Expo open from 5:00 pm in the Jubilee Centre.

After this event students in Years 8 to 11 will be asked to choose subject preferences for 2023.  This may seem early, however, we require time once preferences have been submitted to confirm the subjects that will run, the staffing that we will require, and the resources, including room availability. Please speak with Nathan Lane or Sally Looney if you require a meeting or more information.

This week we also moved into our winter uniform, which was well-timed given the change in weather. Our students look great when they are wearing their uniform correctly, which most do.  I have had to speak with a number of students that have obviously had a growth spurt since September 2021 and now their skirts are too short. I ask parents and guardians to please check the length of your child’s skirt to ensure that the length is such that it reaches the knees.

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) has been underway this week for Year 7 and 9 students. The testing period started with a small number of technical issues, however, the students have been resilient and completed the tests well. More information in regard to NAPLAN can be found in the Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning section of this (and previous) newsletter.

At the moment we have a large supply of Rapid Antigen Tests at our school. If you require more Rapid Antigen tests, especially given that in some situations you may need to test every five days, please contact the Front Office. We encourage all students to collect the RA tests that have been provided for them, even if they are not currently required to test.

The Uniform Review committee will meet on 18th May to make final recommendations to the Principal in regards to possible uniform changes. The committee members are Scott Anderson, Chelsea Bird, Laura Crow, Joanne Mullan, Melissa O’Toole, Melissa Roberts, Joelle Whiting, and student representatives Samantha Mullan and Otto Conlan. Please speak with any of these people if you have any questions or concerns that you would like raised at our committee meeting.

On Friday 27th May the three Catholic schools from the Holy Family Parish, St Mary MacKillop College, St Mary’s Swan Hill and St Mary’s Sea Lake, come together to celebrate Catholic Education Week. This year the CESH (Catholic Education Swan Hill) Mass will be held at St Mary’s Primary School, Swan Hill. This is the first time that our whole schools have celebrated together since 2019. Given that our schools have grown in enrolment over this time, it will be quite a sight to see everyone together. At the conclusion of the Mass, our students will return to school and enjoy a shared lunch together. This is a normal school day and all students are expected to attend.

Enjoy the cooler autumn days and hopefully some rain.