Cohort News

Year 7 Pastoral Care

Our young ladies have hit the ground running with an action-packed few weeks. They started their first week with introductions, getting to know each other and their wonderful Pastoral Care Teachers. Throughout that week, they learnt how to effectively use a diary, read their timetable, find classrooms, the importance of organisation and navigate their daily schedule.

Throughout the Year 7 Bootcamp, we explored our College's history and Charism and the work of Daniel Delaney and the Brigidine Sisters in our heritage. We have also begun to build our house spirit by learning about our College houses and how we can accumulate house points.

Building on our Year 7 2023 theme ‘We Can Do It’, we have started to learn and build on our social and emotional skills by transferring these into some new context such as on the recent camp. Our students had an exhausting, but rewarding few days at The Great Aussie Bush Camp where we got out of our comfort zones by completing some challenging activities such as rock climbing, abseiling and working on our team-building skills in the survivor and raft-building challenge.

Some highlights from our Year 7 Camp:

I like being with my friends and I’ve made a whole new group of friends too. The activities are fun, my favourite one was abseiling because I’ve never done it before. I also really like the snow cones after activities- the cordial is really yummy! If anybody comes after me they should put orange and pink cordial together, it’s the best - Sophia K

The instructors are really nice, the activities are really fun, we’ve made so many new friends that we didn’t know before. - Gabby G

Very fun and interesting at the same time. Scary sometimes from the activities. Made lots of new friends! - Matilde

I loved the activities and I loved making new friends and staying up all night - Olivia

Sleepless nights. Endless fun. It was a good time for everyone. Hehe - Marcella

Being in a cabin with all my friends was so much fun and I loved the giant swing - Nathalie S

Make sure you have fun and enjoy everything before you leave - Camille

Thank you to the parents who have touched base or sent welcome greetings over the past week. It has been much appreciated. 

Brenda Doran 

Year 7 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 8 Pastoral Care

We are looking forward to continuing to work with you to help your daughter reach her full potential. As a community of learners, it is important that we all share a common understanding of the expectations and responsibilities that come with being a student at Brigidine College Randwick.

A reminder that the following are important aspects of the Uniform Policy that can be found in the front of your daughter's diary:

● Makeup - foundation, mascara, fake eyelashes, fake tan or bronzing products or similar - must not be worn with the uniform.

● Jewellery - A student may wear:

one small plain gold or silver earring in each earlobe

a wristwatch

a small religious icon or cross on a thin chain worn inside the uniform and sitting below the uniform’s collar or top button

● Students who choose to wear non-regulation items of jewellery will have these items confiscated. They will be stored in the College safe and returned to the student at the end of that school term.

● Tattoos should not be visible

● The College school bag is the only bag permitted.

● No writing or graffiti is to appear on any item of the College Uniform. 

This year, we are looking forward to implementing a new Pastoral Care program called 'Brigidine Brave'. Throughout the course of this year, the Year 8 cohort will be exploring the theme of "Respect". Our new College timetable will see one lesson a fortnight being devoted to lessons targeting well-being needs and incorporating this theme. 

Our team of Pastoral Care Teachers continue to be available to support both you and your daughters throughout this year. They are an important point of contact for students and parents at school and are here to assist in navigating school life. I am pleased to introduce you to the 2023 Year 8 Team:  

8 Aquinas - Mr William Hack

8 Brigid -  Ms Jasmine D'Arcy

8 Delany - Ms Jasmine Crnogorac

8 Regina Mundi -  Ms Tayla Whiteman

8 Winifred - Ms Jesse Bacon

8 Xavier - Mr Ben Zhang

I am also very excited to be continuing my role with the Year 8 cohort as their Pastoral Care Coordinator. Throughout this year I will continue to lead our Pastoral Care team and work alongside you in supporting your daughters with any well-being needs. For enquiries about learning or subject-related matters, please contact your daughter's relevant class teacher or subject coordinator.

I look forward to working with you throughout the year and am confident that together, we can make this an exciting and successful year for your daughter.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Monohan

Year 8 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 9 Pastoral Care

Dear Parents and Carers of Year 9, 

I am excited to be leading this group of students as they embark on their Stage 5 journey. 

The Year 9 Team of Pastoral Care Teachers are an important point of contact for students and parents at school and are here to assist in navigating school life. Below are the Pastoral Care Teachers for each Year 9 Pastoral Care class.

9 Aquinas - Matthew Dunn

9 Brigid - Jennifer Lau

9 Delany - Jill Tsang

9 Regina Mundi - Vanessa Culhane

9 Winifred - Bedelia Melville

9 Xavier - Janine Christofides

My role as Year 9 Pastoral Care Coordinator is to lead the Pastoral Care team and to support the students with their wellbeing needs. 

If you have any questions regarding electives or class lists please contact our Director of Learning and Innovation, Natasha Fox natasha.fox@syd.catholic.edu.au.

Year 9 is embarking on the theme of 'Achieve', which aligns with the new BrigidineBrave Pastoral Care Program. This will involve one lesson each fortnight with a focus on targeted wellbeing needs incorporating this overarching theme. This lesson will occur on Thursday Week B of the school timetable.

Uniform: I wish to draw your attention to the uniform policy at the College. Students should remember that they are ambassadors for Brigidine and so by wearing the uniform correctly and neatly, they show pride in their school and its good name. It is expected that students will conform to the uniform code as this, in itself, is an exercise in self-discipline. The school uniform is also a sign of belonging to the College and the appropriate items are to be worn as required.

● T-shirts, singlets and any other item of undergarments are not to be visible at the neck of the blouse, or elsewhere. No coloured bras are to be worn under white shirts.

● Hairstyles are to be well groomed, simple, unsophisticated, appropriate for a school student and of a style and colour that is considered acceptable by the college. Long hair is to be tied back.

●Coloured nail polish is not to be worn with the uniform. Only clear nail polish is considered acceptable. Nails are to be short to medium length. No fake or acrylic nails are deemed appropriate whilst at school.

● Makeup - foundation, mascara, fake eyelashes or lash lifts, fake tan or bronzing products or similar - must not be worn with the uniform.

● Jewellery - A student may wear:

■ one small plain gold or silver earring in each earlobe

■ a wristwatch

■ a small religious icon or cross on a thin chain worn inside the uniform and sitting below the uniform’s collar or top button

○ Students who choose to wear non-regulation items of jewellery will have these items confiscated. They will be stored in the College safe and returned to the student at the end of that school term.

Sports Uniform - Year 9

● May be worn to and from school when a student has a sports lesson during the day.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. As always, I am open to your feedback. Your involvement and continued dedication are critical to your daughter's education.

Kind Regards,

Nikki McWhirter

Year 9 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 10 Pastoral Care

It was also great to see some of you at the Stage 5 Welcome evening. We also had our College Swimming Carnival which was a lot of fun with all girls getting into the spirit by dressing in their House colours. 

I will cover a few things in the following to assist you. 

Uniform

Just a reminder about uniforms. We stress that girls are in the correct uniform. This means that there should be no nail polish or false nails worn, and no jewellery other than a pair of earrings in the earlobe. There are to be no other piercings or earrings, even clear studs in any part of the ear. 

No rings, bracelets and if there are necklaces they need to be a cross and worn underneath the neckline. No makeup and no false eyelashes. Please review the skirt lengths as some of our girls have grown over the break. They are to touch the knee. Sports uniform is only to be worn on sports days or days that they have PDHPE.

Your support and assistance with ensuring your daughters are in the correct uniform is appreciated. 

Contacts

For all wellbeing and pastoral care matters it is best to contact your daughter’s pastoral care teacher as your first point of contact. Our pastoral team for 2023 is as follows:

10 Aquinas Mr Adam Gant - email: adam.gant@syd.catholic.edu.au

10 Brigid Mrs Amber Dommel - email: amber.dommel@syd.catholic.edu.au

10 Regina Mundi Mrs Jen Kehati - email: jen.kehati@syd.catholic.edu.au

10 Winifred Ms Catherine Exton - email: catherine.exton@syd.catholic.edu.au

10 Xavier Mr Matthew Tichelaar - email matthew.tichelaar@syd.catholic.edu.au

We have some new teachers who have joined our team this year and I know that they have reached out to you already. I hope you get the pleasure of meeting them soon. As always you can also contact me if there are any wellbeing concerns at: marco.munguia@syd.catholic.edu.au

Assessments: Illness and Misadventure

If your daughter is away for an assessment it is important that she/you contact the classroom teacher to advise of this on the day. An illness/misadventure form will need to be completed and returned when your daughter returns to school. Please attach the required medical documentation to this and submit this to her classroom teacher or front office. 

All subject-related enquiries should be directed to the subject teacher as the first point of contact. Their details are available on the subject Compass page. 

Throughout the year if you have any queries regarding decisions of illness/misadventure forms or assessments or subjects in general please refer to Ms Fox at natasha.fox@syd.catholic.edu.au or Ms Agazzi on eleonora.agazzi@syd.catholic.edu.au

Absences

You can enter absences and lateness reasons on Compass. If a student has to leave school early this can be entered into Compass but your daughter has to present herself to the front office before she leaves the school. Please note: any students under the age of 16 will need to be accompanied by an adult. If there is any leave that is required in advance, there is a form on Compass under the star menu for leave requests of various lengths of time. They need to be submitted to the front office for Mrs Sharyn Quirk. 

I look forward to a productive year. 

Regards, 

Tony Munguia

Year 10 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 11 Pastoral Care

This year is set to be another exciting and eventful year for the Year 11 cohort and I am honoured to be a part of your daughter’s Senior School journey here at Brigidine.

As always your daughter’s Pastoral Care Teacher as well as myself will be points of contact for all pastoral matters this year. The Year 11 Pastoral Care Team for 2023 is:

11 Aquinas - Mr David Martin

11 Brigid - Ms Melissa Nutter

11 Delany - Mrs Natalia Hennessy

11 Regina Mundi - Jacqueline Hanniffy

11 Winifred - Mrs Kylie Little and Ms Jessica Cranfield

11 Xavier - Ms Renukadevi Kotapati

This year’s Pastoral Program has changed slightly from previous years. The Year 11 Program will focus on the theme of “Empowering” which aligns itself with the new Brigidine Brave Pastoral Program. All lessons will have this theme at their core in conjunction with other targeted pastoral needs of our Year 11 cohort.

Year 11 will be continuing the “Big Sister, Little Sister” program which sees each Year 11 student becoming a mentor to a new Year 7 Student. This program commenced on Friday 10 February. 

Again, I am really looking forward to working with Year 11 this year and please do not hesitate to contact me or the Pastoral Team if you have any questions, queries or concerns.

Jon Campbell

Year 11 Pastoral Care Coordinator

Year 12 Pastoral Care

Welcome Parents and Carers,

Our Year 12 Pastoral team and I are looking forward to working with, and supporting, you and your daughter through what will be an exhilarating, yet challenging year. Our Year 12 cohort are a resilient, motivated and committed group of young women. Our College theme- is BRAVE; believe, respect, achieve, voice and empower. These themes form the basis of their relationships, their academic rigour and their community spirit and we encourage the students to be the best person they can be. This College theme reinforces that each person is created with dignity, possessing unique talents and broadening and developing the special inherent talents within each student. The focus of our Pastoral Care program in Year 12 will be based on study skills, productivity, organisation, effective use of feedback, decision making and potential career pathways. 

Our Profile and House Leaders participated in our first Whole School Assembly on Wednesday, 1 February. Their performance was amazing and it showed our College their true spirit and true love for our community.

Our Pastoral Team consists of:

12 Aquinas: Ms Nadia Edvokimova

12 Brigid: Ms Charley Blackshaw

12 Delany: Ms Karen Bataille

12 Regina Mundi: Ms Clare Rose

12 Winifred: Ms Maya Mabey

12 Xavier: Mr Gus Lyon

Important Dates:

Friday 3 March: Photo Day

Monday 20 March: Year 12 Assessment Block ( 2 weeks )

Monday 31 July - 14 August: Year 12 Trial Exams

Armani Audisho is undergoing a Naval Traineeship in 2023.

She has had a valuable experience on board our Australian Naval ship- Canberra. This trip was specifically a career experience as she was able to see first-hand the different roles and jobs involved during a typical day on board our nation's Naval ship. Her days began at 5:30 am with 1 hour of exercises then breakfast alongside some intensive Naval drills. As Armani has now reached a leadership rank when she was in charge of a cadet group. We all wish Armani every success with her career in the future.

I wish you and your daughter every success in 2023.

Adriana Parsons

Year 12 Pastoral Care Coordinator