Newsletter No. 16 1st June 2017

FROM THE PRINCIPAL: MR. PETER GUTTERIDGE

Inside this issue: Principal’s Report TA Report Schedule Dr Delaney Awards Yr 11 Retreat Canteen Roster Sports News

Excelling in Life, Led by Faith.

Dear Parents,

We farewell Mona Bousser, our Year 10 French exchange student, who has been with us for the last ten months. Mona has been a fine ambassador for her home country France and we wish her safe journey and best wishes for her future.

Reflections from Mona:

When I first decided to come to Australia, it was for my English but after being here I’ve realised this experience is so much more. I met a new culture and a new way to live. I’m very thankful to all the people who helped me and welcomed me with open arms. I can’t thank you enough and when I go back to France, I’ll be very sad to say goodbye.

During the last 10 months I have lived with 3 different families, the Brockenbrow’s, the Sykes and the Clode’s. They made me feel included in the family and their activities. They are now a part of my family. If they are ever in France they are all welcome to come to my house.

With this experience I have seen that everything is different, the language, the food and the schooling which is so much less strict! I don’t have to stress every day and that makes me a lot more confident.

In France we don’t have the opportunity to pick our own subjects and in Australia I was able to choose the subjects that I like.

I didn’t have the time to visit all of Australia but I have visited a few places like Sydney, Anglesea, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. I also went to Sovereign Hill where I got to learn about the story of gold in Australia. I also got to try new activities on Outdoor Ed camp that I never got to do in France, like abseiling, surfing, sand dunes, caving and paintball. I’m very thankful to everyone for all they have done for me.

I am also very proud of myself because I needed a lot of courage to come here and say goodbye to my friends and family at home for almost a year.

I want to thank Ms Allen because she was always there for me and helped me with everything.

I have enjoyed my time so thank you for having me and I hope to come back to Australia in the future.

Mona Bousser

YEAR 11 RETREAT Our Year 11 students visited Adelaide last week and had their eyes, their ears and their hearts opened by their encounters with refugees and those who are enduring homelessness. Students and staff were privileged to be able to sit and speak with a number of refugees who shared their personal stories of their necessity to leave their home lands and to seek refuge in Australia. The students heard of the exorbitant costs these people paid - both financially and mentally.

Students were also given a greater awareness of the number of Australians who are homeless. They were surprised to learn that there are 105000 Australians who are homeless every single night, with more than a quarter of those experiencing homelessness being under the age of 18 and a staggering 18000 under 12.

Students (and staff) were greatly moved by their experiences throughout the week and this was confirmed when the students presented in front of their peers about what they had learnt and what they will take away from the Retreat.

SCHOOL FUNDING Future school funding continues to be a point of much discussion with many facts, numbers and opinions being presented. As expressed in previous communication, there is widespread concern within the Catholic sector that the new funding proposal from the Commonwealth Government is based on a flawed model. Included with this newsletter is a funding alert article from the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria. This article shares that Catholic schools receive around 63% of recurrent funding from the Federal Government.

At St Brigid’s College, we rely on Commonwealth funding for 64% of our recurrent funding. A further 18% is provided by the State Government, with the balance generated through school fees and any other private funds such as donations. Government funding is not directed straight to the school and, within the Catholic Education sector in Victoria, the Catholic Grants Allocation Committee (Secondary) allocates all government funding to secondary schools following a formula. The formula attempts to allocate funds equitably to all Catholic Secondary Schools regarding such factors as, but not limited to, administrative costs, level of disadvantage, students with disabilities, students with English as a Second Language, Indigenous students and refugees.

Danielle Cronin, acting executive director of the National Catholic Education Commission, shared an interesting article in The Australian newspaper last week in which she explained that ‘Catholic schools redistribute funding to support additional teaching and learning needs that don’t show up in the funding model. It is not about taking money from ‘poorer schools’ to give to ‘richer schools’. It is about delivering funding that meets the locally assessed needs of individual school communities and maintaining our low-fee inclusive Catholic school system’.

There is no doubt that Government funding provided to Catholic system allows our Catholic schools to offer wonderful learning opportunities for our students in quality facilities with the support of fantastic staff. For all schools to continue to flourish, they must be appropriately funded so that the children of our nation can gain the skills, confidence, understanding and knowledge to lead our country into the future. I thank you for the support of our College and will continue to provide updates on school funding as more information comes to light.

MACPHERSON SMITH RURAL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS The Macpherson Smith Rural Foundation (MSRF) is a charitable institution dedicated to the needs of rural and regional Victorian communities. The Foundation is once again offering the Foundation Scholarship Program which aims to strengthen the fabric of rural and regional communities in Victoria. This program offers scholarships to year 12 students from rural/regional Victoria to enable them to participate in tertiary study after they complete their VCE studies. The scholarships provide financial support of $45,000 ($15000 per year for three years), and also participation in a mentoring and leadership development programs.

Full details of the application process and selection criteria are available at http://www.msrf.org.au/

foundationscholarship

Each application for an MSRF scholarship must be formally endorsed by the applicant's school principal. Applications for 2017 scholarships opened on the 21st May 2017 and close at midnight on 28th July 2017.

ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS

The first of the academic competitions was held on Tuesday where a large number of our students participated in the University of NSW Science Competition. Thanks to Leigh McDonald for his organisation. It is an important instrument in extending the more academically gifted students at St Brigid’s. Later in the year, students will be involved in similar Mathematics and English competitions.

YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE

Our Year 10 students have completed 5 days of work experience around Horsham and beyond. The feedback received from employers was very positive with our students gaining a much deeper appreciation of possible career options. This understanding will be most beneficial as the students approach the Careers Expo later this month. Many thanks to staff members Lesley Lannen and Chris Rook for their organisation of this week.

PROSPECTIVE YEAR 7 2018 INTERVIEWS

St Brigid’s College Prospective Year 7 2018 interviews have been arranged for the following dates: Tuesday, 13th June, Wednesday, 14th June, Thursday 15th June and Friday 16th June (all interviews between 9.00am and 3.00pm) with a night session on Tuesday, 13th June from 7.00pm through to 9.00pm. Parents are asked to make an interview time with the Front Office staff. The interviews are an opportunity for the prospective student and parents to meet with a member of the College staff to identify learning strengths and challenges and to explore what a St Brigid’s College education may offer to each of the boys and girls who have submitted an enrolment application. A reminder that enrolments close Friday, 2nd June.

RE-ENROLMENT FOR CURRENT STUDENTS FOR 2018 All current families are asked to complete their child’s re-enrolment form. It is at this time, the College Executive will begin working on staffing and budgets for the 2018 year. The single most critical factor underpinning all areas of forecasting (including staffing, subjects, student fees, etc.) is student numbers, hence the more accurate these numbers are the more we can be sure the needs of the students are met. Forms are being handed out to students over the next coming days.

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

This week we celebrate Reconciliation Week, an important time on the National calendar. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum and the 25th anniversary of “Mabo Day”. As you would be aware, the number ‘67’ was worn by a number of indigenous players in Round 10 of the AFL to commemorate the referendum that ensured indigenous Australians would be counted in the census and allowed the Federal Government to make laws for them. The theme for the week is "Let's Take the Next Steps", working towards just and respectful relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, which is certainly something we can all address together in our communities.

Two sites which provide more information and suggestions are: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/ and http://www.reconciliationvic.org.au/ May we always be aware of the wrongs that have been caused to our Indigenous people and ensure that true reconciliation and healing continues to take place in our country. We pray that the wrongs of the past may be recognised, that our awareness of the journey so far be awakened and that the Spirit move us to walk the talk and see through what has been started.

HEAD LICE

There has been a reported case of head-lice in our school. I ask that parents be vigilant in checking their child’s hair. Information concerning the treatment of head-lice can be found by visiting the following website https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/infectious-diseases/head-lice According to Health Regulations, students may return to school after treatment has commenced. There is no requirement in the Regulations for a clearance certificate to be issued either by a general practitioner or municipal council.

Yours in the community of St Brigid’s College

Peter Gutteridge Principal

Reminder tomorrow is White Coloured Clothes day with a gold coin donation - all money raised going to the White Ribbon organisation based in

the Horsham District.

SPORTS NEWS

St Brigid's College Intermediate A team played in the Black Ranges Netball Tournament on Tuesday 30th May at North Park in Stawell.

The team was:

Ella Burgess, Ella Janetzki, Victoria Taylor, Hettie French, Montanna Connelly, Maggie Caris, Kaleisha McKerron, Kyra Clarke and Chloe Kelm.

Despite the extremely cold conditions the girls acquitted themselves well, playing 8 games with mixed results. They won 5 games, drew with Marian College and had 2 narrow losses to the Horsham College A team and Holy Trinity Lutheran.

The highlight of the day was Ms Clarke's supply of fruit and lollies. - Thanks Ms Clarke.

A sincere thank you to Georgia Pilgrim who umpired each of the games for the entire day.

Tired girls braving the cold at the end of the day.

L-R Back Ella B, Chloe, Victoria, Hettie, Kaleisha (pretending to be short), Maggie and Georgia

L- R Front Kyra, Ella J and Montanna.

YR 11 RETREAT Last Monday 68 students and 11 staff members headed off to Nunyara Conference Centre in Adelaide to start our social justice retreat. Our main theme for the retreat was 'It’s not about me'. Whilst on retreat we looked into the lives of refugees, homeless, asylum seekers and migrants. We volunteered our time to participate in events such as: SA for kids, Habitat for Humanity (building houses for low income earners) and the food bank. We listened to stories from refugees, homeless people, asylum seekers, volunteers and domestic violence survivors. On this retreat we had our eyes, minds and hearts opened. We came home from this retreat with a better perspective on life and we recognise how lucky we really are.

GENERAL NEWS

Fri 2nd June VCAL Trivia Night 7.30pm

Enrolments close

Mon 5th June Greater Western Cross Country

Tue 6th June Yr 7M Mass 2.00pm

Yr 7 Netball/Football—Black Ranges

Fri 9th June Yr 10 Mass 9.30am

Senior Basketball

Mon 12th June School Closure Day—Queens Birthday

Tue 13th June—Fri 16th June

Yr 10 and 11 exams—all week

Wed 14th June GAT exam

Yr 8 Mass 11.30am

Tue 20th June Boys Netball/ Senior Girls Football—Greater

Western

Thu 22nd June Yr 7/8 Soccer—Black Ranges

Fri 23rd June Mass for the Poor—Yr 7-10 11.30am

Mon 19th June Yr 10 Presentation Ball Info Night 7.00pm

Wed 21st June Yr 7/8 Girls Football

Year 11/12

Louise Hobbs—for creating and sharing valuable English

resources.

Year 9/10 Jayden Burns—for his great work

on his individual Media project.

Year 7/8 Georgie Schwarz—for her hard

work and application in Japanese.

Congratulations!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS DR DANIEL DELANEY AWARDS

TA REPORT SCHEDULE

Week/Date TA Reports released

Week 7 2nd June No TA Interviews

Week 8 9th June Yr 11

Week 9 16th June Yr 12

Week 10 23rd June Yr 10

Week 11 30th June Yr 9

Date 9.00am —11.15am 11.15am—1.30pm

Mon 5th June Joan Velthuis Sheena Kirby

Tue 6th June Emelia Sudholz Robynne Bryan

Wed 7th June Deidre Harrington Michelle Kinsman

Thu 8th June Caroline Geue Lisa Cosson

Fri 9th June Andrea Kennedy

Mon 12th June ` Public Holiday

Tue 13th June Joan Velthuis Jane Elliott

Wed 14th June Nicole Netherway Jackie Kennett

Thu 15th June Wendy Rowe

Fri 16th June Belinda Avery Launa Schilling

CANTEEN ROSTER

STUDY SLAM ROSTER

Important Dates 2017

Enrolment applications close 2nd June

Applicant Interviews, 19th – 23rd June

Letter of offer before the end of Term 2

Orientation Day, Tuesday, 12th December

Mon 05/06: Mrs van Dyk, Ms Mackley

Tues 06/06: Mrs Lannen

Wed 07/06: Mr Taylor, Mr H McDonald

Thurs 08/06: Ms Brack

Darlot St Ph 5382 6006

Open 7 days

Broken your iPad screen?

Students get 10% off iPad screen

repairs. Call us on 53824150

Dimboola Road, Horsham

Largest discount pre-mix bottle shop in town. Full TAB facilities.

200 seating for meals. Your hosts: John and Sally Brennan

5382 1162