Principal's Report
Annual Lasallian Leaders Gathering
– Orange NSW
On Monday and Tuesday of this week I had the pleasure of travelling to James Sheehan High School in Orange NSW to attend the Annual Lasallian Leaders Gathering. Principals and Leaders from the DE LA SALLE District of Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea met to explore the annual theme of “Great Things are Possible.” Guest Presenters including Jill Gowdie and Andrew Lines broadened and challenged our understanding of leadership to include the concepts of leading from the heart and with hospitality with those we lead. The Lasallian Charism is alive in Orange New South Wales as it is in many communities around the world. The opportunity to share with colleagues the great things that are happening in our district of ANZPPNG provides the motivation and inspiration to continue the Educational Mission of our Founder St John Baptise De La Salle.
Gala Soccer Day
– 18th of March
On the 18th of March, St John’s Regional College will be hosting the Paul Wade Perpetual Trophy for all of our Primary Feeder schools. Consisting of teams of Grade 5 and 6 boys and girls from each primary school the competition will be hosted by our VET Sport students and the staff of the Total Football Company. The tournament will be played on the new Soccer Pitch at St John’s and all parents of competing students are invited to come and watch on the day. Play begins at 10am and limited parking is available on site.
The new soccer pitch was used for the first time on Thursday for the Senior SIS Girls Soccer competition. St John’s played St Peter’s in wet conditions with a 1-1 draw being the result. Students are looking forward to accessing the sports precinct basketball courts and running track next week.
Opening Mass
- Presentation College Windsor
On the 28th of February I attended the opening mass of Presentation College Windsor with students Clarissa Bakor, Aaron Boak and Tahlia Armansin. As the second oldest Catholic Girls School in Victoria, PCW enters its 144th and final year of schooling with a focus on Faith and Academic Excellence in the Presentation Tradition. Principal Filina Virgona provided a warm welcome to all invited guests in an opening mass that highlighted the charism of the Venerable Nano Nagle the founder of the Presentation Sisters.
Expressions of Interest – Finance Committee Member of St John’s Regional College Board
Due to the recent resignation from the school board of Ms Kellie Walden, St John’s is looking to appoint from our School Community a new member of the Finance Committee to assist in overseeing the financial planning of the College and to make recommendations to the College Board and Association of Canonical Administrators. Expressions of interest in this appointment must meet the following criteria:
- A past student or current parent.
- Accounting qualification.
- Preferred Membership of CA or CPA
- Ability to attend up to 8 meetings per annum - duration 2-3 hours from 6:00PM on a Tuesday during term time.
- Good communication skills
- Ability to review and interpret Financial reports and provide feedback.
Expressions of interest for this position should be emailed to Mr Tim Hogan, princiapl@sjrc.vic.edu.au by Monday the 16th of March.
Staffing News
I acknowledge staff members Mr Mark Pudney and Miss Sarah Ramantanis who will be leaving St John’s at the end of the term. Mr Pudney will be taking up a position at Killester after 14 years’ service in the Food Technology Department and Miss Ramantanis who leaves our role of Marketing and Communications will be pursuing further opportunities in the marketing Industry. I thank them for their service to our community and wish them well for the next stage of their careers.
ICT Information Evening
On Monday February 24th our ICT and Administration Team presented to our Parents the benefits of our SEQTA learning management system and the new CareMonkey excursion and medical information system. Parents were introduced to the SEQTA system which provides a window on student learning through teacher feedback on assessment and learning progress. One of our school improvements goals this year is to expand on the opportunities for parent engagement in the learning of their children. Our online learning management system SEQTA will give parents access to information about student progress throughout the semester. Parents will not have to wait until the end of semester reports to have a conversation with their sons and daughters about their learning. Through the SEQTA portal parents will be able to access teacher feedback on assessment, students goal setting and attendance data providing the opportunity for richer and more timely conversations on learning progress with their children. I thank our ICT and Administration staff, Ms Nasioulas, Mr Griffith, Mr Bogoiavlenski, Mr Salvatore and Mr Heeps for their professional input and assistance with parents on the night.
Corona Virus Update
The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) has been provided new information regarding the emerging outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
The Australian Government has updated existing travel restrictions to include visitors from Iran who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents.
These restrictions were implemented from 1 March 2020.
The extension to existing travel restrictions for visitors from mainland China remains in place. Visitors from mainland China who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, or their dependants, will not be allowed entry into Australia.
These restrictions will be reviewed by 7 March 2020.
Parents/guardians/carers should ensure that any child returning from mainland China (not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) from 1 February, and from Iran from 1 March, is isolated at home and should not attend school until 14 days after they were last in mainland China or Iran.
Travel advice for school trips
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and its implications for overseas travel. DFAT travel advisories are under close review in consultation with Australia’s Chief Medical Officer.
Schools planning overseas excursions should ensure that they:
•comply with any DFAT travel advice current for the proposed location
•subscribe to receive automatic travel advice updates from the Smartraveller website, both prior to the excursion and when overseas
•review their risk assessment if there are any changes to the DFAT travel advice.
The CECV’s advice is that schools do not travel to countries and areas identified as ‘Do not travel’ or ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ locations by DFAT through the Smartraveller website.
The Department of Education and Training’s coronavirus webpage is the key source for the latest advice and information, including translated advice.