{"id":5048,"date":"2026-02-06T11:27:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mce\/?post_type=article&#038;p=5048"},"modified":"2026-02-06T11:27:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:27:44","slug":"2026-start-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mce\/article\/2026-start-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Start of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Letter from the Director of Wellbeing <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<p>6 February 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear Parents\/Carers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome to the 2026 school year. A special welcome to our new families joining the Marist College Eastwood community for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would like to take this opportunity to formally introduce myself again as the Director of Wellbeing for 2026, as well as introduce the Wellbeing team at Marist College Eastwood.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alongside your son\u2019s Homeroom Teacher, our 2026 Wellbeing team consists of:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Director of Wellbeing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Ms Linda Codamo<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year 7 Leader of Wellbeing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> Mr Stephen Flew<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year 8 Leader of Wellbeing &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong>  Mr Stephen McNamara<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year 9 Leader of Wellbeing&nbsp; <\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  Mr Joshua Chasney<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year 10 Leader of Wellbeing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> Mr Mark Barroccu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year 11 Leader of Wellbeing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> Ms Emily Mattick<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year 12 Leader of Wellbeing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Ms Linda Burland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>School Counsellor<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  Ms Tina Ngyuen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporting the LoW this year we also have three stage assistants:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stage 4 Assistant:&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr Jacob Siles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stage 5 Assistant: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr Daniel Viana<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stage 6 Assistant:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ms Bella Christenson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The role of the Stage Assistant is to work collaboratively with the LoW with a focus on supporting them in the areas of Attendance, Uniform &amp; Grooming and Anti-Bullying processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Working alongside our Wellbeing team we have our full-time College Counsellor, Ms Tina Nguyen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marist College Eastwood places great value on the development of the whole person. Through my role as the Director of Wellbeing, my team and I will support the development of the academic, spiritual, physical, social and emotional needs of the students in our care to create an environment where they feel respected, included and have a sense of belonging.&nbsp; To support the students, we run pastoral care lessons every fortnight. During these lessons, over the course of the year, the year groups will have some key themes they will be working through as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Years 7-10<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Years 11-12<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/theresilienceproject.com.au\/\">The Resilience Project&nbsp;<\/a> Gratitude Empathy Mindfulness Emotional Literacy&nbsp;<\/td><td>Transition to adulthood and Self Care Drugs &amp; Alcohol Road Safety &amp; Driver Awareness Careers Stress Management&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Attendance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A key focus of the College over the past few years has been attendance, this will continue over the course of 2026. As a College our attendance in 2025 was strong across the Sydney Catholic Schools system, however it continues to be a focus and we want to ensure as much as possible, students are in front of their teacher learning and involved in community days embracing family spirit. For your reference, the following guidelines have been set by Sydney Catholic Schools when monitoring students\u2019 attendance and determining if interventions are required:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Describing Attendance<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Percentage<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>A fortnightly pattern such as\u2026&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>A term pattern such as\u2026&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Could be described as\u2026&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>95 % +&nbsp;<\/td><td>A rare day away<\/td><td>2 or less days away<\/td><td>Excellent Attendance<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>90 % &#8211; 95 %<\/td><td>\u00bd &#8211; 1 day away&nbsp;<\/td><td>3 &#8211; 5 days away<\/td><td>Regular Attendance<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>80 % &#8211; 89 %<\/td><td>1-2 days away<\/td><td>5 &#8211; 10 days away<\/td><td>Emerging Attendance Concern<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>70 % &#8211; 79 %<\/td><td>2-3 days away<\/td><td>10 &#8211; 15 days away<\/td><td>Significant Attendance Concern<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&lt; 70 %<\/td><td>More than 3 days away<\/td><td>15 + days away<\/td><td>Critical \/ Complex Attendance Concern&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Please note that the College will record on Compass when students are absent for significant community days, i.e. Swimming Carnival, Champagnat Day, Athletics Carnival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wellbeing Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marist College has a subscription to the Happy Families School Membership. Owned and run by Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia\u2019s leading parenting experts, the membership offers a wealth of parenting education and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We will regularly share resources available through our membership with you, including Insight Articles and Webinars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please find the following initial resources&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Happy Families Webinar- Anti Fragile- <em>Building Resilient Kids through Life\u2019s Challenges<\/em>. This will air on 25 February 2026 at 8.00pm. More information can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com\/Answers-with-Dr-Justin-AntiFragile-Register-HFS\">here<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Happy Families Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1Jxxy3Q5Pp_raxEz3TrhcWFm4kez6vPzD\/view?usp=sharing\">Back-to-School: What Kids Actually Need for a Strong Start<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A reminder that should you have any concerns about your son\u2019s wellbeing, please in the first instance, contact your son\u2019s Homeroom teacher or if required, their Leader of Wellbeing or myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m looking forward to working with you and the students throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kind regards<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ms Linda Codamo<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Director of Wellbeing<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Letter from the Director of Wellbeing<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-5048","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/5048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/mce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}