The sound of students excitedly greeting one another this morning as the Year 12 students returned to face to face learning was uplifting. Schools are much richer places with students!! Today we have had news confirming that ANY student who is studying a VCE Unit 3 / 4 subject may now attend on site classes. We do not expect students in Year 7 -11 subjects to be returning to onsite learning until the start of Term 4. Remote learning will continue next week, however I have asked the teachers to finish lessons at 2:30 (no Period 7 classes next week) as the feedback we have from students is that they are fatigued at the end of the day and “zoomed’ out. I ask for your support next week in encouraging your son or daughter to close the laptops at 2:30pm each day to go and do some ‘offline’ activities, such as walking the dog, go for run or read a book. With one week before the holidays, I believe the students, families and staff have done an amazing job in remaining as engaged in the learning program.
NAPLAN Results: Last week students and their families in Year 7 &9 would have received their report from the 2021 NAPLAN testing. While it is prudent to remember that NAPLAN results are only one measure of growth, as a standardised test it does provide a reference point for schools to view performance. I am pleased to say that our NAPLAN results were of a very high standard with our Year 9 students recording above the State average Median score in Reading, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation and Numeracy. In addition to this, the 5 Year trend in Reading for Year 9s shows continual improvement over this time to the point that we are now above the state average. What this shows is that St Brigid’s ‘adds value’ to our students’ learning from Year 7 to Year 9. For some of this time in 2020 and 2021, we know the students were undertaking Remote Learning, so the fact that their NAPLAN results did not show a decline in learning suggests that families have done a great job in supporting their children’s learning at home and our teachers have provided continuous learning opportunities.
This week I was pleased to announce that Mrs Bettina Bird has been appointed as Acting Deputy Principal for the next 12 months. Bettina is an aspiring leader and a well-respected educator with a wealth of local knowledge that is only matched by her caring nature. Consequently, Ms Jillian Wright has been appointed to the position of Leader of Learning and Teaching and Mr Leigh McDonald will remain as Leader of Student Wellbeing. I believe St Brigid’s College is fortunate to have such passionate and skilled leaders.
I will put out another Newsletter next week as an end of term update for parents and families.
Stay safe,
Gerard Raven
Principal
