Term 4 Number 5 7th November 2014 Waverley From the Principal This week, our Year 12 students finished their HSC examinations. I would like to congratulate them on their mature approach to the examinations. We are looking forward to celebrating their results with them at morning tea on the 18th December. As I indicated, Mrs Antoinette McGahan and I have been working with the Cyclic Review report to develop the College Strategic Plan. We have used the How Effective is Our Catholic School framework and grouped the proposed directions under each of the eight key areas. The draft is below with the key areas in Red and the directions in blue. I would appreciate any comments. These should be sent to me in writing by Tuesday 11th November. The Strategic Plan will be an agenda item on the Principals’ Advisory Council on Tuesday evening. Key Area 1 - Catholic Life and Religious Education Fully implement the Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools. Continue to enrich the College charism through exploring its traditional and emerging spirituality linking Franciscan and indigenous spirituality. Examine the Mission Statement with a view to rewriting it to reflect the distinctive educational, spiritual, moral and social purpose of St Clare’s College within the evangelising mission of the Church. Promote post-graduate studies in Theology and Religious Education aligned with Accreditation to Work, Teach and Lead in Systemic Catholic Schools, Archdiocese of Sydney. Explore ways of building relationships with the Parish Priests of the Feeder Parishes that will create further opportunities for student involvement in Parish life. Explore with the Principals Advisory Council, ways to promote further involvement of parents in the Catholic and Franciscan life of the College. Develop explicit structures to involve the Poor Clare Sisters in the life of the College after they move to North Richmond. Seek ways to engage with feeder parishes and feeder schools to develop networks, to strengthen professional relationships and to build collaborative partnerships. Key Area 2 - Students and their Learning Develop an explicit vision for contemporary learning and teaching, grounded in a Catholic pedagogy and arising from the work on Authentic Learning, including the use of a range of technologies to enhance student learning. Review the current Pastoral Care and Student Well Being structures, processes, procedures and programs with a view to enhancing student well being across all areas. Explore and implement the optimal use the data base Sentral to report student progress and achievement. Key Area 3 - Pedagogy Broaden the curriculum to meet the diverse needs and interests of students, commensurate with the increasing enrolment. Continue to develop inclusive practices and whole school structures and processes to identify, provide for and respond to the well-being and diversity of learners. Plan and implement a three-year Professional Learning Plan that engages all staff and responds to the BOSTES and CEO educational agenda and St Clare’s Vision and Mission Statement. Further improve student learning through a whole school and cross curriculum approach Build on the current use of student data to inform the teaching and learning process and to improve student performance. Key Area 4 - Human Resources Implement best practice performance management, that reflects the national Teaching Standards and CEO policies, to embed an effective professional learning framework that identifies and increases capacity. Review and further develop Leadership structures and role statements that reflect current educational directions, CEO policy and the evolving needs of the College Promote and plan strategically for Professional Learning of all staff to sustain continuous school improvement, national standards and contemporary approaches to education. Key Area 5 - Resources, Finance and Facilities Develop a Master Plan to ensure a safe and stimulating physical learning environment to meet the evolving needs of the College. Continue to provide a safe and secure environment through enhancement of College infrastructure. Increase the engagement of the school community in environmental stewardship. Increase the capacity of staff in the management of departmental planning, budgeting and resourcing. Key Area 6 - Parents and Partnerships Continue to build links with the Franciscan Schools Association and Franciscan Justice Peace and the Integrity of Creation, Australia. Continue to explore with the Principal’s Advisory Council and the Parent Association ways to promote further involvement of parents in all areas of the life of the College. Encourage partnerships with parents, other schools, businesses and communities that will be of benefit to all. Key Area 7 - Strategic Leadership and Management Continued on page 2. ENROLMENT FOR 2015 Limited places available for enrolment in 2015 Bookings: [email protected] 41-51 Carrington Rd Waverley 2024 Ph 83057100 InfoLine 8305 7128 www.stclares.nsw.edu.au Email [email protected] Strategically manage and monitor the change agenda of the College in developing and implementing the new Strategic Improvement Plan. Key Area 8 - Information Communication Technology Continue with the implementation of SENTRAL as an information data base which encompasses all relevant student information and which provides effective communication with parents/carers Provide support for staff, students and parents to consider Catholic values and ethos in the use of ICT. Ensure that information management policies and procedures are documented, informed by current research and based on CEO policies and procedures. I look forward to your input into this important document. Marie Therese Hirschhorn Principal Mon 10th Nov - Proposed Stop Work Meeting There is to be a one hour stop work amongst the school union members on Monday 10 November from 8:30am to 9:30am. Year 10 examinations will be held as per the examination timetable on Monday morning and will not be affected by the stop work. There will be limited supervision for students in Years 7,8, 9 and 11 prior to 9:30am and you may choose to keep your daughter at home until 9:30. Students are required to attend school on Monday and classes for students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 11 will resume as normal at 9:30am. If there are any changes to the situation, I will provide further details as soon as those details are available. Sharing Technology News Dear Parents, This week I’m asking for you to get involved in shaping the ways we look at technology and eLearning at the College. There are many areas parents would like see further developed and there are also concerns and fears you may have in the area of ICT and eLearning. I will be asking you over the next few weeks to please complete the surveys I link to the newsletter to help me gather information from parents in order to use this data to strategically plan for 2015 and onwards. The survey this week will be asking you to reflect on your knowledge of what occurs at the College and any concerns you may have with the laptop policy, Cybersafety and the direction the College is heading in the areas of ICT. You do not have to include your name and honest feedback and suggestions are welcomed. Click in this link to access the survey and press submit when you are finished. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for weekly topics please contact me at [email protected] Anna-Louise Jones, Manager of Information Services Important Dates November Mon 10-14 Tues 11 Tues 18 Fri 21 December Fri 5 Fri 12 Year 7-10 Yearly Examinations Principal’s Advisory Council Parents’ Association Meeting Poor Clare Day Parents’ Association Dinner Last Day of Classes Awards Ceremony Parents’ Association Annual Dinner You are invited to join the Parents’ Association for their annual Christmas Dinner on Friday 5th December at 6pm at The Charing Cross Hotel. RSVP to Virginia Black avblack@ bigpond.net.au Years 7-10 Examination Week Important Information for Students and Parents Next week all students in Years 7-10 will be sitting for their Yearly Examinations. All students have their examinations timetable. The school day runs as normal. Morning exams commence at 8.35 sharp. All students are expected to be at school at least fifteen minutes before their first exam in the morning. Lateness is to be avoided as no provision is made for a student who arrives late. If the student is away from school on the day of an exam she must have a doctor’s certificate to explain the absence. This applies to all years and to all students. If a student is ill and cannot attend on any day, she must bring her doctor’s certificate to Mrs Leaver’s office on the morning of her return to school. Arrangements will then be made for a ‘catch-up’ exam. Most exams will take place in the Hall. However it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that she knows the time and rooms for her exams. Again no provision is made for misreading a timetable or arriving late to an exam. For each exam, a student must provide her own equipment such as pens, pencils, calculators as borrowing is not allowed. She can bring her equipment into the Hall only in a clear pencil case or clear container. A water bottle can be brought into the exam room but it must have all labels removed. If you have any questions or concerns about the Yearly Examination Week, please do not hesitate to contact me. Jennifer Leaver, Head of Studies Year 11 Reports Year 11 Final Reports were mailed to parents last week. All parents should have received their daughter’s final Report for the Preliminary Course. If you have not received your daughter’s Report please do not hesitate to contact me. The next Report for Year 12 (2015) students will be an Interim Report issued in Week 10 of this term. There is also an opportunity to speak to teachers in Week 11. Jennifer Leaver, Head of Studies Year 9/10/11 Drama Excursions Global Dignity Day Conference Over the last couple of weeks elective Drama classes have had excursions to the theatre to see live productions. On Wednesday 22nd October, Years 9 and 10 Drama went to the Opera House to see the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Children of The Sun. This is a play that was written by Maxim Gorky and deals the political and social upheavals in Russia at the beginning of the 20th Century. It has been give an update by Andrew Upton who emphasised the humour in the play. This enabled the audience to understand and engage in the themes of the play. There were many familiar faces in the cast including Jacqueline McKenzie, Justine Clark and Jay Laga’aia – the last two actors having featured as Play School hosts over the years and whom the audience warmly greeted. It was great to see these actors in another environment. The girls really appreciated the opportunity to attend live theatre with many vowing to see more of it with their parents. Last Wednesday, Year 11 Drama went to see the Tennessee Williams’ classic The Glass Menagerie at Belvoir Street Theatre in Surry Hills. This play was the first successful play written by Tennessee Williams and tells the story of a creative man and his attempt to escape the claustrophobic family life he inhabits. He is torn because of his sister’s mental fragility as she spends most of her time playing with her glass figurines – her Glass Menagerie. It is a semi-autobiographical play with the lead character/ narrator Tom being the young Tennessee or Tom (his real name). This was a beautifully acted play with lots of sophisticated theatrical techniques that really impressed the Year 11 Drama class. The ideas in this play will hopefully inspire the students as they embark on their Year 12 Drama studies. Lisa Shipley, Drama Teacher “Dignity is the great equalizer. No matter who a person is, what they have done, where they live, their age or race, they are deserving of respect simply because of their humanity. If you care about dignity you have to care about dignity for all.” – Global Dignity Day Participant (2013) On the 24th September, Jemma Roper and I went to Sydney Parliament House to attend the Second Annual Global Dignity Day Conference. Students across NSW were invited to participate in this event to extend their understanding of dignity by sharing their ideas and experiences on the topic. Following our arrival at Sydney Parliament house, we had a brief introduction of the history of Global Dignity Day then listened to a guest speaker, Professor Ron McCallum, who shared his story. Professor McCallum spoke of his greatest achievements such as being the first blind person to gain a full professorship and serve as a Dean at an Australian University. He was appointed chairperson of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and received a Centenary Medal in 2003. The overarching themes present in these stories the people Yearwere 9 Camp that helped him overcome the various hardships on his journey, such as the prison inmates who volunteered to assist him with his Law thesis in the 1980’s given his inability to be fully supported in his university. This was all because they recognised and respected his dignity as a human being. Once the talk concluded, all students split off into smaller groups. Within these groups we began discussing our ideas around dignity and its importance in society. Global Dignity Day was an inspiring and enlightening day that deepened our understanding of showing respect towards others, no matter the differences between us. Our ability to respect the dignity of others is integral to achieve a functioning society that is based on equality. Thank you to Ms. Nicole Dyson for organising the excursion. Teresa Brades, Year 10 Welcome Year 7 2015! (Orientation Day)