College Principal

Welcome to the new school year. It has begun in a flurry of celebrations, welcome events and a renewed sense of excitement for what is to come, leaving the challenges of the last few years behind. Santa Sabina College is an exciting place to be and I am thoroughly enjoying being around our teachers, students and families who have returned with a sense of optimism, fully engaged in the life of our school community. Thank you to the more than 500 people who joined us for our Welcome event last week. It was a great opportunity for families to catch up with old friends and reach out to make new ones. The teachers and I really enjoyed the chance to connect with you as we move forward together to care for and educate our young.  

Please take a few minutes to watch my first Principal’s Update for the year, ‘The Lamp Post’, which captures our commencement highlights. We are very proud of the Class of 2022 who achieved very strong results and when combined, their HSC and International Baccalaureate (IB) rankings placed them at 48th in the state keeping Santa Sabina College in the top 50 schools in NSW. The Sydney Morning Herald publishes a ranking which excludes the IB achievements. This is calculated for IB schools by an organisation which analyses senior results across the state and we believe it is important for our community to be aware that the published SMH rank is only part of our story as we have many students who achieve at the highest levels in the IB Programme. 

I would like to thank everyone for their patience as the College migrates to a new online management system. This is a significant undertaking which impacts every aspect of our school operations from finance to daily organisation, communications and human resource management. The roll out of this system is managed in phases and we now have Phase 1 complete and we are moving into Phase 2. There are glitches that we are dealing with along the way and I am grateful to parents who are alerting us to any issues that they are experiencing in this migration process. I would like to thank Mr John Gilmore, Deputy Principal Operations, and Mr Ally Eddy, our IT Manager, for coordinating this significant change as smoothly as possible.  

This week is our traditional ‘Love Week’ at the College and this series of events have been organised by our Student Leaders. Each day there is a different focus, from Self Love, Love your Culture, Love your Community – Teachers and Friends, which involves a student-teacher debate. Thursday sees us focus on Loving our World – and this year we are keeping Turkiye and Syria at the centre of our activities to raise funds for the earthquake victims. Friday is Love your School day and we await the traditional Year 12 yearly theme launch with much anticipation. 

I would like to remind our families that parents and students enter into a contract with the College on enrolment agreeing to uphold the Student Code of Conduct. Part of this is wearing the College uniform correctly. No visible jewellery has been the rule at this College for at least the last 50 years. This is not a new rule. Students may wear a cross on a long chain that is not visible. They may also purchase a cross lapel pin which is available at the Uniform Shop. The skirt is to the knee because that is the uniform length for everyone. False and painted fingernails are not permitted nor are false eyelashes and makeup. Parent cooperation in enforcing these regulations would assist the College as we would prefer not to have to spend time asking students to follow basic rules when there are much nicer things to be talking about. If we are going to have a uniform, then it should be worn properly and with pride.  

In closing, I also ask parents to be vigilant when it comes to knowing who your child is communicating with online. We have a focus at the College on educating children about cyber safety. It is becoming a growing area of concern as predators are very adept at entrapping and exploiting young people. The College will be organising parent workshops this year to help all of us better understand the growing danger in this social online space. Please have regular conversations with your children to ensure they have their privacy settings on and that they only accept invitations to connect from people who they know in the real world. Encourage them to be on their computers in an open space in the kitchen or dining room when they are online. I would also suggest that you delay the purchase of a smartphone for as long as practicable. While the digital world has brought us many positive ways of communicating and working, there is also a dark side to the virtual world. Understanding it better helps us to keep our children safe. 

Next Wednesday, 22 February, is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Our students will receive their ashes in liturgies across the campus. The markings of the ashes in the sign of the cross on the forehead is a public expression of our faith and humility. Lent is a time of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. It is a time when we may also choose to do good deeds, walk away from unkindness, or unplug from the digital world. Through prayer, we come closer to God so that as Christians we can better realise the promises made for us at our baptism, to live justly as Jesus teaches us. 

Lent prepares us for the season of Easter, the most important time in the Church’s calendar. By praying, fasting and giving alms, we are reminded of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus brought the promise of hope to all people so that we may ‘Have life and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10) As we live into that fullness, may we also be challenged to act with love and hope, now and for all future generations.

Paulina Skerman
College Principal