Principal's Message

Dear Supporters of the College,

I trust you are all well as we embrace the season of Advent, a most important season as part of the Calendar of the Catholic Church.

In the Catholic Church, Advent is a period of preparation extending over the four Sundays before Christmas. The word Advent comes from the Latin advenio, "to come to," and refers to the coming of Christ. Each Christmas we “come to” celebrate the birth of Christ knowing that we “come to” Jesus either as part of His second coming, or “come to” Him when joining Him in heaven. With the season of Advent comes its symbolism, and the best-known of all Advent symbols is the Advent wreath. Consisting of four candles for the four weeks of Advent, each one is lit as a ‘countdown’ to the coming of Christ. Often, a fifth white candle, when used, represents Christmas. 

I trust that we all enjoy the wonderful anticipation of Advent as we wait for the joyful coming of Christ celebrated each year at Christmas.

Timetable Review

Last week, Dr Annette Sartor form Western Sydney tabled her review of the Timetable Trial which took place over Terms 3 and 4 of this year. “Thank you” to the 350+ parents who completed the survey. This information, along with 60 staff surveys, 300+ students surveys, and another 30 focus groups interviews with parents, ensured comprehensive information for Dr Sartor to review. The 34 page report is taking some considerable time to unpack with relevant key members of staff and Dr Gavin Hays from Catholic Education, Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP).  This will continue throughout this week. A decision about the 2021 timetable will be communicated to parents by Friday 11 December.

Semester 2 School Reports

School Report will be emailed to families by no later than this coming Friday. The Reports will be very similar to Semester One Reports, received by parents in July. We are aware that some parents have found them, at times, to lack clarity. We have been unable to meet with parents during Covid times and explain the various components of the Report. Without the face to face opportunities usually accessed by onsite presentation evenings and with the knowledge that previous explainer videos have not worked as well as we would have liked, we are committed to improve the situation for 2021. What we did find with Parent teleconferences in July is that when we had some time to explain the reports parents very quickly understood the messages and agreed that the importance placed on the capabilities required for a changing world was important.

Looking ahead, we plan to track, graph and visualise 'capabilities growth over time', via an online dashboard accessible accessed by teachers, students and parents. I am meeting with relevant personnel on Thursday 17 December to progress this conversation. We will also continue to work on the clear link between capabilities and Key Learning Areas KLAs) so that a student can identify patterns over time where their capabilities may thrive in particular KLAs.

We are aiming high, but I am confident that we can achieve the goal of developing 'new metrics' as we broaden the definition of success beyond marks and grades. This may be part of the ‘New Metrics’ research we will conduct in partnership with University of Melbourne from 2021-2023.

New Metrics Project - University of Melbourne Partnership

St Luke’s is one of 30 schools from across Australia who successfully applied to partner with University of Melbourne for its ‘New Metrics Project’. The ‘New Metrics Project’ is a collaborative research venture between The University of Melbourne and selected forward-thinking schools to lead us away from ‘marks and grades approach’, an approach which continues to lock our schools into many of the distinctive features of the 20th Century version of education.

This is an opportunity for innovative school leaders to join with academic experts and international trailblazers to reimagine and influence schooling in Australia. Australian schooling is ready for a paradigm shift and the development of new metrics to assess, credential and measure student and school success. Young people must now be educated and assessed in new ways so they are prepared for a very different future. The ‘New Metrics Project’ will be informative in this next iteration of education, not only at St Luke’s but across the nation. We are proud to be participating in such ground breaking work.

Building Timeline

As you are aware, there is rarely a moment when building is not taking place at St Luke’s. The next 6 months will be the same. As a summary, I provide the following timeline. In the new year we will produce a video which will ‘bring to life’ the massive amount of new building access that will take place over the next 6 months.

• January - February, 2021: Year 7-10 students will access brand new specialist facilities including 2 x Food Technology Rooms, 2 x Science Laboratories, 1 x High Tech Makerspace, a Visual Arts space, Music Room and separate rooms for our music tuition program, band and ensemble rehearsals.
• March, 2021: St Luke’s Arrunga is open! Whilst the school will commence in its temporary space from the beginning of the year, in March, our students with additional needs will move into the most cutting-edge, learning focused space. Also, the School of Leadership opens! All students in Years 5-8 will access brand new learning spaces. The learning spaces which have hosted these year groups for the last few years will be vacated and refurbished for their original purpose..
• June, 2021: The Hub Opens! On the ground floor, Level 1 there will be high end learning commons which will have reading nooks, board games, collaborative work places, Genius Bar, sound studio and film studio. On Level 2, there will be additional staff room space to cater for the eventual 140+ teachers to be onsite. Level3 will be an additional learning area for students.
• June-December 2021: Construction on outdoor play spaces in the K-4 playground and also an oval the size of the Sydney Cricket Ground, will be developed and completed during this time.
• July, 2021: The last phase, but the biggest phase of building commences. This will see 3 buildings constructed concurrently.
  • The first building is our Food Hub, a place that will accommodate 3 Food Technology and Hospitality studios. Whilst they will be learning spaces, they will also serve and support a cafeteria and cafe, part of which will be open to families when they drop off their child to school. There will be a Melbourne Laneway feel to part of the outdoor serving area. Also, we are exploring the option to have rooftop herb gardens and greenhouses to grow some of the produce to be served fresh from the cafe downstairs!
  • The second building is the biggest of the three buildings, a place that will provide Inquiry hubs for all Year 9-12 students, have science and research laboratories, and hosts all creative arts and technology spaces on the ground floor.
  • The final building is our Performing Arts Building, Located opposite to the staff car park in Northbourne Avenue, there will be a 700 square metre Performance Hall to host drama, dance, and music events performed by our students. With the ability to seat up to 400 people, modern lighting and sound, along with green rooms, storage spaces and specialist practice areas, will ensure students with an interest in the performing arts will have many opportunities to craft their ability. Adjacent to the Performance hall and current basketball courts will be a 500 square metre undercover area for sports and play on artificial turf.
• Jan, 2023 - All buildings and outdoor spaces completed

Year 8 Capstone Week

Throughout this week commencing December 7, Year 8 will participate in the School of Leadership Capstone projects. In Life Design throughout the last two years, students have been exploring their strengths, interests and motivations (SIM) and engaging with the concept of ‘flow’ as well as learning more about the 6Es of Leadership. This work engages students in better understanding who they are, what they can do and what problems they want to solve and culminates at the end of year 8 in the creation of a draft life purpose statement. 

To conclude their time in the School of Leadership, students will present their draft life purpose statement to a panel of industry experts, innovative thinkers and life coaches. As part of this presentation each student will demonstrate their understanding of Life Design course elements learnt over the last two years and how that has informed their purpose. 

To assist with this ‘rite of passage’ moment, Industry Panelists will review and assess our Life Design Life Purpose Statement Presentations delivered by our Year 8 students. 

Based on your professional experience, we would be delighted to have you join our panel and provide feedback to students. We anticipate that you will feel inspired by the work and reflection Year 8 students have achieved and invite you to share in their personal authentic journey toward defining their life purpose. 

We thank the following people for giving up their valuable time and offering their invaluable insights.

• Prue Car - Member for Londenderry
• Neill Cramery - JAX Tyre & Auto
• Greg Dalton - Head of Transformation Delivery at Westpac Bank
• Luis Erazo - Casual Academic at UTS and Associate at Academy of Entrepreneurs
• Carli Heald- Lawyer, Coleman Greig
• Sister Luka - Campion College
• Dianne Mills - Partnerships Officer, CEDP
• Matthew Vesper - Barrister, Sir Anthony Mason Chambers.

Papal Honours - Anne Clark

The papal honours system dates back many centuries, with each Honour having its own history and relevance in the life of the Catholic Church. The Holy Father grants all Honours with the local Diocese overseeing the Awards process.

On Monday evening, 7 December, our Campus Director - Enterprise, Anne Clark, was honoured with a Papal Honour as recognised by Bishop Vincent. Anne received acknowledgement within the Catholic Church for being instrumental with her meritorious work in support of the Church, particularly in the exercise of her professional duties for both Diocese and Catholic Education. Anne’s work of more than 40 years has been fittingly recognised, and deservedly so! 

Anne received the Papal title of ‘Dame Anne’ and joined the Order of St Gregory the Great. May God continue to Bless Anne as she continues to serve in the professional way that has served so many for so long.

Dates

• Monday 7 to December Year 8 School of Leadership Celebrations Student presentations
• Tuesday 8 December - Year 8 School of Leadership Celebrations Student presentations
• Wednesday 9 December - Year 8 School of Leadership Celebrations Student presentations
• Thursday 10 December
  • Year 8 School of Leadership Celebrations Zoo Excursion
  • Year 8 School of Leadership Celebrations Movie Night
• Friday 11 December
  • Year 8 School of Leadership Celebrations Raging Waters / Don Bosco Centre.
  • Reports sent home via email
• Monday 14 December - Last day for classes 2020.
  • 3-5pm Parent telephone conferences.
• Tuesday 15 December
  • 8am-4pm: Parent telephone conferences - 10 minute phone conversations about your child’s learning. Details will be forwarded towards the end of the term.
  • 9am - 11am  - Kinder 2021 Orientation Day
• Tuesday 15 December - CELC’s last day for 2020.Start typing your article in here