Welcome to the start of the 2021 school year to all members of our community. I extend a very warm welcome to our new families and staff who have joined our St Patrick’s Marist College Dundas Family. We have had a wonderful start to 2021. There is such a positive energy both within and outside the learning spaces and our new Year 7 students have settled in really well. They are a kind, friendly, confident and enthusiastic group.
I hope that everyone had a restful and enjoyable holiday break, despite not being able to see all of our family during Christmas and venturing interstate or overseas as we have always done in the past. Rather than hearing exciting stories of new adventures, we have talked more about opportunities to slow down, re-energise, and visit local places around Sydney that we may never have considered or known about.
During our first assembly I reminded students that individually and collectively we set the tone of our College, we are and strive always to be a safe, inclusive and respectful community. We understand that bullying, harassment, racism and discrimination are not accetable in any circumstance. We are a school where every teacher believes in every student, believes not only that they are good people, but also that we recognise that people make mistakes, poor judgment can happen, but we believe they can learn and grow through the experience. We want our students to walk into a classroom believing that their teacher is seeing them with fresh eyes, in a new year.
This year our College Learning goal is about developing students as learners, building student efficacy and expertise, helping them to develop a more active role in their learning. Learning is a mutually shared experience between teachers and students.
Efficacy is a student’s ability to take full responsibility for their learning and being able to support others in their learning. It means that students have clarity about the learning intentions and the success criteria and they are able to articulate where they are in their current understanding and performance against these. To be able to answer the questions, Where am I going? Where am I now? and what is next? I reminded students that it is not about an assessment task, it is about their learning everyday.
Efficacy is about understanding the kind of dispositions, thinking/habits that students need to improve their learning, what to do when they get stuck, what strategies will enhance/help them in their learning. Finally it is about collaboration. Understanding what collaboration really means. Knowing the expectations of collaborative group work, doing their part, being a critical friend who is hard on content and soft on the person, learning how to give and receive accurate feedback. Educational research strongly supports formative assessment and feedback as playing key roles to success.
This year we will work with students on addressing team members who are not meeting the expectations of the group. Ultimately students who fail to contribute may be asked to do a task on their own.
I remind everyone about the College expectations clearly outlined in the diary including:
Tolerance and respect
Being ready to learn and to be active in that learning
School procedures
Rights and responsibilities
Banned substances (refer page 9 of the College Diary)
As always you can never cover every instance, however we are very clear about meeting the College’s expectations and standards, which align with our core Marist values of Love of Work, Simplicity, Family Spirit, Presence and most importantly acting in the Way of Mary with strong minds and gentle hearts.
Swimming Carnival:
Another awesome SPMC Swimming Carnival, while a little quieter than usual with the restrictions around cheering. I could not be prouder of our students. Their enthusiasm, participation and respect for themselves, each other and the environment were outstanding. A very special thankyou to Mr James for his organisation of the day and to the parents and families who attended.
Our Year 12 House Captains exemplified all that we wish to see in our College leaders. Their house performances were creative and entertaining and they rallied students to participate.
Congratulations to Paul for taking first place in the carnival and to Ludovic on winning the Spirit Cup.
Concerns or Complaints:
From time to time you may have a concern or complaint. I encourage you to contact the College so it can be resolved as soon as possible. For subject specific matters contact the relevant Leader of Learning KLA, for general or Wellbeing concerns the relevant Leader of Learning Pastoral or a member of the College Leadership Team. Names and information can be found on page 1 of the College Diary. The complaints policy and other policies can be found on our website.
Parking
Our afternoons on Kirby Street are very congested, it is important that we always obey the traffic and parking rules, not only providing good role modelling for our students as future drivers, but ensuring we maintain the positive and respectful relationships in our community and the safety of our students. There are very clear no parking signs. We have always had a very positive relationship with our neighbours and would like to ensure this continues. There is supervision in the bus bay until 3:45. If it is not essential that you pick up at 3:15, coming a little later will ease the congestion.
Upcoming Meetings:
A reminder that our Parents and Friends meeting (7.30 pm) will be held following the Year 7 Parent Information Evening (6-7 pm) on the 23rd February which will be held in the Harrington Courtyard.
School Fees:
It is almost time for Term 1 school fees to be sent out. We have attempted to include all costs throughout the year to the schools fees, which helps for the costs to be spread over the year. There are a small number of exemptions including fundraising for Caritas and our College Walkathon, please see the Fees Schedule for more information. There is further information regarding fees in this newsletter.
A reminder of the Diocesan policy regarding a student leaving the College during the year. A term's notice (10 school weeks) in writing must be given to the Principal before the removal of a student or a full term's fees will be payable. The notice can be given any time during the term for the next term. If at any time you find yourself in difficulties with the school fees please contact our Fees Secretary Ms Rolla Wadih or myself as soon as possible.
New Staff
I am very excited to welcome new staff to the College. Some of these positions have been created due to the expanding enrolments, flexible work arrangements and the implementation of the new RE Curriculum.
| Janina Starkey Assistant Principal | Lisa De Looze Leader of Learning - HSIE | Peter Fleming RE Teacher | Madison Brown RE Teacher |
| Antonio Batour RE Teacher | Antoine Sayegh RE / Music Teacher | Lillian Treanor English Teacher | Martin Lavin |
| Kathryn Bennett Mathematics / Science Teacher | Belinda Altmann French / HSIE Teacher | Olivia Mayday PDHPE Teacher | Laura Tredinnick PDHPE / LEC Teacher |
| Laiela Sassine-el Asmar Wiyanga Teacher | Emily Handsley-Delves Visual Arts Teacher | Banita Sarkhosh RE / HSIE Teacher | Desiree Gurdil Mathematics Teacher |
Sharnelle Ram | George Massih Lead Teacher - Wiyanga | Linda Zammit Principal's Assistant |
I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful community and look forward to sharing a successful and rewarding 2021.
God Bless
Mrs Angela Hay
Principal Leader
