From the Principal

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

The end of the term provides the opportunity to reflect on our achievements in that time. Term Two provides so many highlights each year with the events that arise during this time, most notably St Norbert Day on June 6. At our final assembly today, we celebrated our College value of Heritage, a value that shares the limelight with our other College values on this uniquely special day. Heritage, however, reminds us to celebrate and honour our past while moving forward into the future with renewed vigour. This concept is also significant when we reflect on the passing of any school term – the holidays are an opportunity to celebrate our achievements of the term and move forward into the next term with renewed energy and vigour.

Each of us is building our College heritage with each passing moment. Since our last newsletter we enjoyed St Norbert Day, while most recently we have relished in the latest achievements and experiences of our students.

Our Year 7 Girls AFL team came home undefeated, winning the Dockers Cup in the ACC competition, our first in the competition history. Speaking of history, I would like to wish our eSports Team, the Canons, all the very best in the Flaktest Grand Final on July 14 at Curtin University, in only the second year of the competition. The team consists of Year 12 students Lucas Tan (Captain), Bernard Masillones, Kade Best, Edwin Ceng, Daniel Tan and Jan Claude Busoy.

We welcomed back our Year 9 students this afternoon, who have been enjoying the wonders of the great south in Margaret River for the annual Year 9 Camp this week. We thank Miss Ronchi who organised this experience, along with all those staff who gave of their own time to assist.

Sadly, at the end of the term we bid farewell and thanks to staff and students who are transitioning in other paths and schools. I would like to take this opportunity to wish our very best to those students and families not returning in Semester Two. We thank them for the support and co-operation forged between the College and home and wish them well in the future.

Our community may recall from previous newsletters that our much-loved Business Manager, Mr Tim McIntyre, enters retirement at the end of this term. Mr McIntyre has been pivotal in the growth and development of St Norbert College in so many respects. We will forever be indebted to Mr McIntyre for the dedication and commitment to our community and wish God’s blessings to him and his family in their new chapter of life ahead. We welcome Mr John O’Sullivan as our new Business Manager and look forward to his long and fruitful association with our College community in the years ahead.

In other staff news, we thank Miss Aleisha Crump for her services over the past semester in the teaching areas of English and Humanities and look forward to her return for a further term later in the year. We will welcome back Mrs Samantha Eloff to our teaching team after six months of parental leave following the birth of her first child. I would also like to acknowledge the number of pre-service teachers from our educational universities for their contributions to the learning journeys of our students this term.

At the start of each week, our staff gather for a short meeting to discuss a range of matters, mostly events of the previous week and those to come in the future. A commonly presented item is acknowledging the wonderful achievements of students and staff during the course of the school days, weeks and months. These meetings always commence with shared prayer.

I’d like to conclude by sharing with you the following prayer, led by Mr Ah Fong. The prayer is an adaptation from one shared at Our Lady of the Cape Primary School in Dunsborough, which so beautifully captures our thoughts and wishes for the end of the school term and the impending holiday break:

We thank you Lord, for this term.

For the challenges, the successes and the mistakes from which we have learnt.

Be with us as we spend our time with our family and friends.

Give us strength and courage to do what is right; to be witnesses of our faith.

Help us to be practical Christians these holidays; to appreciate what others do for us,

To give our time and effort to help others.

To be peacemakers in our family.

Keep us safe in our activities; give us good rest and fun.

Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new term.

We thank you Lord, for our students, our staff, our parents and our community that cares for us.

May we always be conscious of you in our lives.

St Norbert, pray for us.

I wish all those able, a safe, healthy and relaxing holiday break.

God Bless.

Mr S Harvey (Principal)