DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - COMMUNITY

Mrs Sandra Manning

BUILDING SHC 'VILLAGE' CONNECTIONS

"MUM, I FEEL LIKE I REALLY BELONG THIS WEEK"

It was heart-warming to hear a parent share this anecdote after their Year 7 son returned from Wednesday’s House Beach Carnival at Sorrento Beach with stories of new friends and fun with the Year 12 Captains. Building connectedness, across various social groups, in a busy high school is a valuable protective factor for students, and one that helps them flourish socially and academically.

The milder weather provided perfect conditions for the Carnival and, thanks to the hard work of our House Coordinators and Year 12 Captains, students spent the morning having fun and building community and House Spirit. After the Carnival, Years 7 and 8 students returned to the College to enjoy a sausage sizzle lunch kindly prepared by our generous P&F volunteer mums and then a creative activity designing a digital poster or trick shot video to promote the College’s environmental stewardship club, EcoHearts.

P&F COMMITTEE MEETING

We had a great turn out of parents/caregivers join us at Monday's first P&F meeting for 2023 to meet our Principal, Mr Leo Di Gregorio, and members of the P&F Committee. After a meet and greet with wine and cheese, we tabled the College Report and a number of friend-raising and fundraising initiatives for consideration in the year ahead.

Parents are welcome to join us at our next P&F Meeting on Monday 13 March at 7:00pm in The Hywood Room (Staff Room) which will start with a twilight tour of our new Yarning Circle. The College’s Aboriginal Liaison Officer, Ms Sasha Wells, will join us to talk about her plans to develop the Yarning Circle as an inclusive learning space for all students to use.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

On Thursday morning, our Peer Mentors truly reflected the College’s Core Values of Compassion and Respect when they collected their Year 7 buddies from PCG class to walk them to the Koort Centre for their first Opening College Mass at Sacred Heart College. Student feedback tells us that opportunities like this help our younger students feel safer and more confident to move about their new secondary school campus.

This morning, our Year 12 Captains gathered for another breakfast meeting to clarify their goals for the year ahead and solidify the action plans needed to make it all happen on campus. With courageous and generous hearts, they are indeed challenging themselves to find valuable ways to serve their College community by becoming "active agents for change".

ADOLESCENT WELLBEING RESOURCE FOR PARENTS

As we bring another full and flourishing week of school to a close, I hope all our new students are finding their feet and settling in to their new Houses at the College. If parents/caregivers would like more information about how to support students as they start at a new school, the ReachOut website provides a range of wellbeing resources for teens and parents, such as the article below.