DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

We are now in Week 2 of our third term and students seem to have settled back into the rhythm of school life. We are grateful to have had time with family and friends over the holiday break and we look forward to the term ahead. I am optimistic that Term 3 will be filled with success, growth and memorable experiences. Our school is a wonderful place to be and we should do everything we can to ensure that we all live our school values of generosity, compassion, reverence, respect, forgiveness and dignity. Our College Community Expectations set out common standards that each member of our community should abide by. For students, they can act as guidelines for the day-to-day behaviours that should be demonstrated at St Mary MacKillop College. Every classroom had a poster displaying these expectations and the start of the term is a good time to refresh our understanding of these guiding principles.

College Community Expectations

We are on time and ready to learn.

Students should arrive at school on time and attend Homeroom. They should make sure that they get to class on time and that they have all their learning materials with them. Being ready to learn is not just a matter of punctuality, it is also a matter of having the right mindset and being ready to engage with each lesson to the best of their ability. 

We always follow staff instructions. 

It is an expectation that students follow staff instructions and that they co-operate in a positive and courteous way if a staff member gives them reasonable instructions such as to complete work, put rubbish in the bin or move seats. 

We all use appropriate language.

Reverence is our school theme and we can demonstrate reverence by the way we speak to each other and the way we speak about each other. No member of our community should be using language towards another person that is negative, demeaning or offensive. 

We respect ourselves, others and our learning environment.

We should not require of others what we are not prepared to give ourselves. It is every person’s responsibility to demonstrate respect both in the way we treat each other and in the way we look after the environment around us. Respecting ourselves also challenges us to do our best, to act with honesty and integrity. 

We are responsible for our own behaviour.

As individuals we all need to make positive choices, to not be swayed by the crowd to do things that we know are wrong. Our humanness means that sometimes we make poor choices and if this is the case, we should be able to acknowledge them and try to restore the situation. 

Let us continue to work together to foster a positive school culture based on generosity, compassion, reverence, respect, forgiveness and dignity. Our school is a place where each member should feel valued and supported. I encourage parents and guardians to maintain open lines of communication with the school, as together, we can provide the best possible environment for our students to flourish.