Cohort News

Year 7 Pastoral Care

Welcome back to another term. I trust the break was relaxing and enjoyable. Year 7 really  appear to be well rested and thrilled to be back at school.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the brilliant talents and enormous effort of the staff and students in the most recent College Musical - Matilda. There were many Year 7 students who participated in the show through dance and choir. I would like to formally congratulate them on a job well done. Your enthusiasm on stage and your dedication to hours and hours of rehearsal paid off. Every show was a fantastic success. We cannot wait to see you all perform again in our next College Musical!

This term, Year 7 house sport will be conducted on-site at Brigidine College for the duration of the term. Thursday sport will continue to conclude at 2.45 pm, with students being dismissed from the College. 

Please see below the structure for House Sport this term.

A wonderful initiative that is run throughout each year at Brigidine is our Big Sister Program. This opportunity allows for our junior students to receive mentoring and assistance in the fields of Maths, English and Science by some senior Students. Many of our Year 7 girls have been accessing this throughout the year and have been enjoying the benefits of peer tutoring and guidance from an older student. It is also a fantastic place to meet some other junior students at lunchtime. As of this term, Big Sister is being run each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at lunch in the Library and is available to all with no registration needed. Please contact myself or Ms Maya Mabey for more information.

Lastly, I would like to recognise all the Year 7 award recipients at the recent Semester 1 Award Ceremony. The number of year 7's receiving awards was fantastic to see, demonstrating our strong work ethic and dedicated students. Your efforts and commitment to your studies are commendable. Keep up the good work. Congratulations!

Rebecca Monohan 

Year 7 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 8 Pastoral Care

Finally, we get to have some sunny days, as during the first week we had sodden grounds and rain tumbling down. The rain, however, did not stop the Musical Team from powering ahead and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Year 8 students who participated in this production. There were actors, musicians and production assistants galore from the Year group and the College will recognise their efforts for years to come. They have now committed to always being a part of the vibrant 2022 Production of Matilda at Brigidine College Randwick. 

We are in Semester Two, and winter has finally settled in. I want to remind you about checking in with your daughters regarding their uniforms. The expectations are detailed through our Uniform Policy and included in their diaries. 

As part of the continued PEEC Curriculum at the College, another critical aspect of Semester 2 is that the students may be rethinking their goal setting for the rest of the year. While your daughters may work on these at the College, I encourage you to further enquire about them. Speak with your daughters about ways they may go about achieving these goals. The power of effective communication with their family members is behaviour that will inevitably lead to the achievement of goals for this year. What are the systems she has in place to achieve the goals she is setting for herself? How balanced is her life to allow her, not only time to train, practice, learn, unwind and reset but time also and the energy, to expend on the things that are important to her– not just to us? Her brain needs time to process everything she is learning and thinking; downtime is the pathway to enabling that. This is where deep learning happens.

I would say that if we aim to develop lifelong learners with not only the skills but the desire to make the world a better place – to solve problems at a local, national and global scale; to make a real difference in their own lives and the lives of others, then we need them to be well-rounded, healthy, fit and balanced and these practices of goal setting will eventually assist with achieving this aim. 

With continued praise for your efforts, 

Brenton Fletcher

Year 8 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 9 Pastoral Care

Hi and welcome back to Term 3. There are a couple of things to update you on since our last newsletter. This term commenced with NAIDOC Week. We were able to engage in various activities throughout the week in recognition of our indigenous culture. We had colouring in activities and rock painting, amongst other activities, organised for the week. As you can see in the images below our girls created some wonderful artworks led by Natalie Harkins and an ex-Brigidine student, Charlie Jackson.

This term we also have the Year 9 Commerce Market Day which is this Friday, 29th July. Year 9 Commerce classes, with their teachers, have been organising a Market Day which incorporates what they learn in class and showcases it to the school through this event. This started off with a few weeks of pre-ordering for the range of products available to be distributed Friday. You can also purchase the various products on the day. I encourage all students to support their peers by purchasing some of the products available. All money raised, goes to the Brigidine Bursary Fund. This is an initiative, set up by Brigidine, to assist with the education for students in Kenya. 

As always our Pastoral team is your first point of contact for any wellbeing or pastoral concerns. Below is a list of the contact details of our Pastoral Care teachers.

Kind regards, 

Tony Munguia

Year 9 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 10 Pastoral Care

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Term 3 has started off very well for Year 10. The girls have settled in nicely and seem ready for the term ahead.  Week 3 is a big week for Year 10 with subject selection interviews being held on Wednesday 3 August. Interviews will take place between 9:00am and 3:00pm. The sessions will be as follows: 

• Session 1: 9:00am - 11:00am 
• Session 2: 11:30am - 12:50pm 
• Session 3: 1:40pm - 3:00pm 

On another note, the Year 10 Netball must be congratulated for their excellent performance in Sydney Catholic Schools Netball Grand Finals on Thursday, 28th July. In what was an outstanding game, with the lead changing several times, our girls showed great skill and courage only to go down by the narrowest of margins to St Ursula’s. 

Well done girls and well done to the Year 10 cohort who went to support them.

Jon Campbell

Year 10 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 11 Pastoral Care

I would like to warmly welcome everyone to the return to Term 3.

This term is a significant one as Year 11 will be completing their preliminary studies. Our students are guided by our Brigidine goals where we work with each individual student in order to promote independence, resilience and perseverance.

My aim, this term, is for Year 11 to take on the challenges this term presents, with a sense of integrity and determination. As a staff, we want to challenge our student's thinking, to encourage them to strive for excellence in their respective fields and for them to understand that their journey into Year 12 will be one of the consolidation of their gifts and talents.

Our Pastoral lessons will focus on goal orientation, identification of personal strengths, development of positive relationships and emotions, resilience and leadership. In Week 4, we will commence the Leadership process with Year 11 where they will decide if they would like to be a Profile Captain or a House Captain for their respective Pastoral care classes. Students will be expected to complete the nomination form and parents are asked to support their application, alongside the preparation of a Speech which will be recorded and sent to Mrs Quirk. This is such an exciting period for our students as they now know that they will be the future leaders of our College in Term 4. 

The Year 11 Retreat was an amazing opportunity to appreciate all that we have in our everyday lives. Year 11 responded well to our group activities and thus provided us with some time to regenerate and reflect on the important aspects of our lives.

Here  are some reflections from our Year 11 students:

I enjoyed the retreat and having that break from school was necessary. I enjoyed all the activities and the time we got to hang out with our friends. It was also good having the small groups which allowed the opening up and interaction with people we don't normally meet.                                                                                              Paige Muscat Year 11 Winifred

For my retreat experience, I really enjoyed being able to grow closer to my year group and form more friendships without the pressure of school and classes. It allowed me to reset my mind after a busy term of exams and to get more motivation for the next term.                                                Ella Howard Year 11 Winifred 

Attendance is paramount this term so please ensure that the continuity of classwork, the progression of learning and the reinforcement of social relationships are all interconnecting factors for reaching one’s potential. 

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all the teachers who attended and supported Year 11 over the 2 weeks at Retreat: 

Ms Wood (Director of Religious Education & Mission), Mr Woolaston, Ms Waterhouse, Ms Bataille, Ms Melville, Ms Kotapati, Ms Shiels, Ms Whiteman, Ms Crnogorac, Ms Mabey and Mr Lyon.

May you have a safe and productive term.

Adriana Parsons

Year 11 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 12 Pastoral Care

Welcome back to the final term of our schooling journey together as the Class of 2022!

Whilst surreal, it is also exciting to be thinking about the endless opportunities and celebratory functions that this term will bring. 

Whilst I am acutely aware that there are many emotions being felt by Year 12 as we head toward the HSC Trials and impending HSC, my message to the cohort remains unchanged, that is, to continue to support each other and work together to finish our schooling journey with the best possible outcomes. We are lucky in that we are an incredibly cohesive year group, something that I am most proud of. With this foundation, I will be encouraging Year 12 to continue to collaborate as much as possible with their study, to keep a close eye on their friends watching for signs of stress or disconnection and to encourage one another to seek assistance and utilise the support team around them, should they need it throughout the term. 

Most students have now returned with a sense of purpose and a desire to build upon what they have done over the previous three terms. I will be speaking with the cohort in our next Year Meeting to discuss a range of strategies they can use to ensure they are effective in their academic studies. With Trial HSC Examinations commencing in Week 3, a focus must be placed upon ensuring an effective study plan is devised using the examination timetable. Using a weekly study plan and studying effectively and efficiently is a crucial foundation in assisting them to achieve their personal best.

Founder’s Day

On the last day of Term 2, the College community came together to celebrate Founder’s Day. This day provided the opportunity to gather and celebrate together at Mass and also provided time to reflect on the life of Daniel Delaney, who founded the Brigidine Order in Ireland. 

Having witnessed the enjoyment of the cohort, I think it is fair to say that Year 12 had a great time participating in activities such as lawn games, putt putt, ninja-run obstacle course and eating, with the food trucks being a year group favourite. Though, as their Pastoral Care Coordinator a personal highlight for me was watching the girls create memorable moments together performing a compilation of songs from Pitch Perfect at the Talent Show. Without any sense of bias, I can confidently say Brigidine HAS got talent.

Student Spotlight

A big congratulations to Nikita Aguirrezabal on an outstanding sporting achievement over the break. Nikita travelled to Turkey as a member of the U18 Australian Women’s Ice Hockey team and played a number of tournament matches against countries that included Netherlands, Turkey, Spain, Iceland and Latvia. As a team, they secured the bronze medal. Nikita has been playing ice hockey for only three short years, having transitioned from figure skating. This is an outstanding achievement and I congratulate Nikita on her sporting success.

Graduation and Formal

Information regarding the Graduation Ceremony, Mass and Formal has now been emailed and provided in hard copy to all parents, guardians and students. Each student is required to return two key documents in association with these events- the end of year behaviour agreement and the event RSVP. Deadlines for return have been printed on each document and I would please ask for your support in ensuring these are submitted on time. 

Upcoming Events

As always, the Year 12 team is here to support as we start this final term. Please reach out to your daughter’s Pastoral Care Teacher or myself should you need any assistance.

Amy Borg

Year 12 Pastoral Care Coordinator