Document 6593407

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)