College Principal

Welcome to Term 4. As I write this newsletter, our Year 12 HSC students are sitting their HSC examinations and our IB students are preparing for theirs. While this group of students comes to the end of their 13 years of schooling, our Year 11 girls have ‘Stepped Up’ as our incoming Seniors. The Stepping Up Day held recently was all about preparing our girls for what is to come, with workshops on careers, study and self care. The day ended with a beautiful Liturgy and it was a privilege for me to be able to give every girl her Senior’s badge. Our Dominican Sisters joined us and they gave the girls a beautiful prayer card. When I addressed our students I told them that Year 12 is about so much more than an ATAR, for many they will sit for their driver’s licence, they will prepare university applications, they will make important life decisions, they will cherish time with their friends, they will reach voting age and amidst the challenges, they must seek to laugh and have fun. I finished with the words of Pope Francis, ‘The world tells us to seek success, power and money. God tells us to seek humility, service and love.’

Congratulations to our Year 4 students who prepared intelligent and creative projects shared with us at their PYP Exhibition founded on the central idea, ‘Our actions reflect our beliefs’. Their works reflected a strong ability to ask important and relevant questions and carry out research to find answers to these questions. The children focused on a variety of areas including nuclear physics, technology in healthcare, poverty and environmental concerns which are all important issues for them and for our world. Thank you to the many teachers who worked with the children both in class and as mentors. It was wonderful to see so many families join us for this event and a huge thank you to the musicians who performed entertaining pieces for us to enjoy. 

We are really pleased to announce that we will be inviting girls in Years 9, 10 and 11 who are 15 years and above to attend World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal next year, departing Sydney Friday 21 July, and returning Friday 11 August, 2023.  This pilgrimage takes place every three years in a different country in the world and it is an opportunity for those who attend to experience the universality of the Catholic Church, deepen their faith and grow closer to Christ through prayer and the sacraments together with hundreds of thousands of other young people. Girls will travel to Venice, Rome and Lisbon, encountering spiritual treasures of Italy while visiting sacred sites of religious significance, specifically holy sites of our Dominican saints, St Dominic and St Catherine of Siena. The WYD week culminates with pilgrims coming together for Mass celebrated by Pope Francis. Mr Reyes, our Dean of Mission will be hosting an Information Evening for parents and their daughters on Wednesday 9 November, beginning at 6:00pm in the Lecture Theatre. We would love to gauge the level of interest for our families so that we can start preparations for this fabulous experience. We would need to limit the number of students attending to 14 as the College is not subsidised like systemic Catholic schools when it comes to paying for supervising staff to attend.

I would like to congratulate Miss Caddie Ruster, our Primary Gifted Education Coordinator (below left), and Mrs Mirela Crnogora, our Secondary Library Technician and Systems Administrator (below right), who are recipients of a Board Scholarship. These scholarships are designed to provide an opportunity for the Board to affirm and acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the teaching and support staff at the College to improve outcomes for our students. Recognising the importance of professional learning, they generously support two of our staff to reflect on their practice and its impact upon students and colleagues. Both Caddie and Mirela will undertake their respective projects next year and we look forward to implementing their evidence-based learnings across the College to benefit our students. 

Finally I would like to share with you our latest video series: The Lamp Post – Principal’s Update. The series is named after the Lamp Post that has stood outside the Principal’s Office of the 1894 Building for more than 100 years. From its vantage point, this lamp post has watched the comings and goings of the College. Term after term, year after year. The series will provide the opportunity for me to share a wrap up of the term, any significant news and exciting new initiatives to share with our community. I hope you enjoy the first episode.

Until next time, 

Go gently.

Paulina Skerman
College Principal