From the Principal

Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, Staff and Friends of St Norbert College,

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of Term 3 and the many transitioning events for 2022 that have already begun. We have welcomed next year’s Year 7s and their families, elected our new Class of 2022 leaders and have started farewelling the Class of 2021. 

I look back at the start of the school year.  We were in lockdown for our first week of school and returned wearing masks for a week. I think that as a community we have done extremely well in adapting to the sudden changes put upon us over the past two years. We should also be grateful that schools have been relatively unaffected in WA compared to Victoria and NSW. This term alone, we have had a Year 9 camp, athletics carnivals, excursions, assemblies, an exhibition, concerts, Kairos, an immersion (where people actually got on a plane!) and a dinner dance tonight. 

This week, I was reminded by two students of the impact our staff have on our students. A Year 12 student, when reflecting on the highlight of her six years at the College, mentioned the role her Homeroom teacher played in her life. She knew that she could rely on this teacher to help and support her at all times. 

On the same day, a Year 7 student, waiting in Student Services, fleetingly commented to me “that Student Services, the teachers and Education Assistants really care at this school. They always help you”.

I’ve often said that our students are our best advertisements. Thank you to the wonderful staff for their commitment and hard work every day. Best wishes and thank you to our two pre-service teachers, Ms Georgia Hooper and Mr James Valentine, who have assisted this term in the areas of Physical Education and Drama.

This week we welcomed back our Kimberley Immersion staff and students who spent a week in Kununurra giving service to St Joseph’s Primary School and many community organisations. The staff and students were warmly welcomed and remembered from past immersions. 

Thank you so much for the fantastic support your staff and students were able to offer to us this term.   All staff commented on how mature the St Norbert’s students were and how they all got in and mingled with students and were fully engaged with activities in classrooms. 

Thank you also to all your teaching staff for jumping into classrooms and helping our teachers out.  This was most appreciated. 

Looking forward to continuing the journey with St Norbert’s in 2022.  

(Shaun Joseph, Assistant Principal, St Joseph’s School)

Thank you to Ms Margaret Kyd who worked tirelessly to co-ordinate the immersion and to Mr Roger D’Almeida, Miss Katelyn Isard and Mrs Gemma Tsang who accompanied the seventeen Year 10 and Year 11 students. Special thanks to the parents for producing such wonderful children who lived out our College motto of being “prepared for all good works”.

Last Friday I had the pleasure to witness our ACC Athletics Team push themselves to the limit, putting all their efforts into representing the College at the C Division Carnival. Many students stepped up and displayed great team work and support, never giving up and being rewarded by being placed second overall and winning the Boys Shield. Congratulations and thank you to all members of the team and to the staff and coaches ably led by Mr Ryan Godfrey.

Creative Arts Exhibition was a great opportunity to showcase the talents of our students. It was a pleasant surprise and honour to have Dr Debra Sayce attend the opening of the exhibition. A more detailed list of award winners is included in the newsletter but particular mention needs to be given to Jennifer Lewis (Year 12) who received the Principal’s Award, First place and the People’s choice award. 

It has been an extremely busy term for our staff and students involved in Catholic Performing Arts Festival. Students were presented with their certificates at the College Assembly. The festival culminated with a concert at RAC Arena on Monday 13 September, where St Norbert College was represented by Grace Edmonds who won the Archbishop Hickey Award for Bible Reading Secondary and was presented with the Perpetual Shield.

Thank you to Mrs Melissa Edmonds for preparing Grace for her reading. Thomas Rogers was the recipient of the Cantenian Association Scholarship Award for Secondary Solo Woodwind Brass but was unable to attend as he was on the Kimberley Immersion. 

Presentation Night 2021 was initially booked to occur on Monday 1 November at the Perth Concert Hall. Following the success of last year’s event and the uncertainty of restrictions due to Covid-19, a decision was made last term to pre-record the event again for 2021. This will be streamed on Sunday 21 November and will include performances and the announcement of awards. I encourage all families to note this date and plan to watch it as a family.

Thank you to the Parent Committee for a great “Celebrating Dads and Carers Breakfast” that saw over 170 people participate. It was obvious this year that dads came prepared with their dad jokes for the competition! The Parent Committee are always looking for suggestions for seminars-please contact Mr Rod Dowling with your suggestions for 2022.

I take the opportunity to wish our Year 12 ATAR students the best for their final College exams which commence in the first week of the holidays. May you find the motivation and strength to prepare to do your best. 

Have a wonderful restful holiday break and I hope that you can find some quality time as a family. 

God Bless.

Ms S Rainford (Principal)

(Mr Harvey is on long-service leave)

Vaccinations

It was recently announced that all Western Australians aged 12 to 15 are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. The Department of Health has also announced it is offering allocated times for school students aged 16 years and over and school-based staff to access WA Health clinics. 

More information about clinic locations can be found on the HealthyWA website.

Please find attached a letter from the Chief Health Officer, providing details about the clinics, including information about consent. 

If you have any questions or concerns about vaccinating your child, please visit the HealthyWA website.