By Mr Stuart Ralph, Principal

As Term 2 concludes, I thank all parents for their unwavering support. Your involvement and encouragement have been invaluable to us. In Term 3, many new students will join us at the College across all year levels, including an exchange student from Italy!

I have had the privilege of joining many classrooms throughout the term, witnessing challenges, successes, and celebrations in all areas of learning. Over the past week, we have also hosted our Catholic feeder schools for their taster days.

Subject Selection Evening

On Wednesday evening, we held our subject selection evening. This is essential to our students' academic growth as they pivot their learning to focus, strength, and enjoyment.

For our current Year 10 students, this includes moving toward TASC and VET subjects. Structured learning and essential opportunities for connecting through sports, the arts, or other co-curricular opportunities are essential to students' success, particularly in their senior years.

School connectedness occurs when students feel that adults and peers care about their learning and them as individuals. This includes feeling cared for, supported, and belonging at school.

The senior years at St Brendan-Shaw College offer opportunities for growth and leadership, the chance to give back to the College, and mentor the younger students in their Pastoral Home Groups.

I am excited about the subject opportunities our senior students have at their hands, including in the Vocational Educational space, where we continue to grow and offer new subjects.

Next year, the College will be offering Certificate II in Aviation. This is an exciting opportunity for our Year 11-12 students.

I would like to remind parents about all the great things that students gain from an education in a 7-12 College. We are incredibly proud of our students’ academic success.

Last year:

• 20% of Year 12 students had an ATAR above 80
• 11% of Year 12 students had ATAR above 85
• 7.5% of Year 12 students had an ATAR above 90

Additionally, 87.5 per cent of our students attained a senior certificate. These exceptional statistics reinforce that St Brendan-Shaw College offers a truly well-rounded educational experience. It is no coincidence that students from outside our school community are already enrolling for Year 11 in 2025.

Our NAPLAN data gives us much to celebrate, especially when we compare data. Our current Year 10s performed exceptionally well in spelling, providing evidence of the positive impacts on student outcomes that our Spelling Mastery program offers.

Celebrating Success

Tomorrow, at our College assembly, we will present Principal’s Study Awards to our top-achieving academic students in Years 7-10. Additionally, students who display our College values daily will be recognised by their peers. The magnitude of these awards should be celebrated at home.

NAIDOC Week

Today, Mr Scott Darlow visited all of our Year 9 students. I have known Scott for over 18 years, and we are very fortunate to have him work with our students. Scott is a passionate Indigenous educator who regularly speaks in 100+ schools globally annually in Australia, the UK, and Asia. He uses his music and speaking skills to entertain and educate audiences Australia-wide about First Nations culture, Australian history, racial tolerance, harmony, and critical social matters. His keyword "FLUTE" (Forgiveness, Love, Understanding, Tolerance, and Empathy) forms part of his work with the students on the day.

Scott's visit coincides with NAIDOC Week, the first week of the school holidays, from 7 to 14 July.

The National NAIDOC Committee chose Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud as this year's theme. NAIDOC Week, which began in 1975, allows Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and celebrates the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

Reminder Save the Date – Dr Andrew Fuller

St Brendan-Shaw College is pleased to announce that we will bring world-renowned psychologist Dr Andrew Fuller to Devonport to work with our students, staff, and parents. Parents will be able to register for this event next term. Our parent evening will be held on Monday 9 September.

Andrew will engage with our students on cyber safety, resilience, and strategies for success in their senior years. He will also collaborate with parents to explore skills that foster well-being and resilience in children and teenagers. His sessions will incorporate concepts from his books Tricky Teens and Unlocking Your Child’s Genius.

This is an excellent opportunity for our community, and I urge parents to attend!

On the Sporting Front

Yesterday afternoon, our Senior Boys' Football team travelled to Hobart to play Guilford Young College in the state final. Unfortunately, our boys lost 107 to 61. I congratulate them on a highly successful return to SATIS Football for St Brendan-Shaw College. Thank you to Mr Byard, Mr Van Buuren and Mr O’Keeffe for contributing to the team's success this year.

On Saturday morning, the St Brendan-Shaw Year 7/8 Netball team will play in their semi-final at Devon, and later in the day, our Senior Girls' Basketball team will play Guilford Young College in Hobart for the State College Championship.

Our Girls' Football team played in a football Gala at Byard Park today. They won their first two games and lost their final match against Ulverstone High. The girls finished third in the competition – congratulations.

Mid Year Break

I wish all families a safe and restful holiday break, especially for those travelling. For those staying home, this provides an opportunity for rest and rejuvenation.

Term 3 commences for all students on Tuesday 23 July. 

Yours sincerely,

Mr Stuart Ralph
Principal

"Education leads to understanding, understanding leads to empathy and empathy is what brings change. It's time for us all to sit and listen..."

– Scott Darlow

We congratulate Cooper Crowther U16, Lachlan Nield and Jackson Hayes U18, who have been selected to represent the State in the National Rugby Championships.

By Jet Spicer, College Captain

The SRC are very excited to announce our Term 2 fundraiser. We are supporting Tristan Wells in his run from Devonport to Hobart in October, with all funds raised going to his fundraiser for Beyond Blue.

Tristan addressed the College at our most recent assembly. He shared his story about mental health and the importance of having support available. Beyond Blue is a fantastic resource for anyone struggling with their mental health or just looking for reliable and safe information or advice.

On our last day of term, we will be holding our staff ‘Champions Challenge’, which will see our amazing staff volunteers competing in an obstacle course race.

If you would like to donate to Beyond Blue as part of our fundraiser, donations can be made online via Square or by cash or card at the College.

To pay online via Square, please visit https://square.link/u/luQqBc5g

Hello. We are Matilda and Keira, students from Years 9 and 10 at St Brendan-Shaw College. We want to share what we did during the First Nations camp in Stanley. We were lucky to attend a First Nations/Aboriginal camp last week.

First, we would like to thank all the teachers who came along: Mrs Hoare, Ms Martinez, Mr Hubble, Mr Stocks, Miss Harris, Miss Turner and Miss Cox. Thank you to the cooks at Riverbend for your hospitality. We enjoyed the food. Another special thanks to Mr Djuker Hart and his son for sharing and helping us learn more about Aboriginal culture.

At the camp, we got to experience and get into the culture. We got to Dip Falls to walk, look around and enjoy the scenery. We then looked around the area to identify local native plants and scats. We arrived in Stanley for The Nut climb, and there was also a penguin walk/town exploration, during which Djuker gave us information on the local culture and people originally from the Circular Head region.

Then we headed to Riverbend. When we got there, we had a smoking ceremony, and some eucalyptus leaves were thrown into the fire. Djuker then told us some Aboriginal cultural stories around the fire. We then decorated boomerangs and/or clap-sticks with Aboriginal symbols using Posca pens. We made and tried damper, also known as bush bread or seed cake, which has been made for thousands of years by Australian Indigenous people.

We also got to try some wallaby and bush tucker chips. We did some cultural dances to music with a didgeridoo. Overall, the camp was fabulous, and we all had a great time and learnt more about the culture! I recommend it as a 10/10 for next year if you didn’t go this year!

PS—Don’t believe Mrs Hoare when she says to look out the window and count all the cows. After 1,510 cows, we were told it was a trick to make us look out the window!

Jayne, our College Social Worker, is here to support the diverse needs of our students, families, and staff.

If you are facing academic, personal, social, or emotional challenges, Jayne is available to provide guidance and strategies to help you succeed. She offers a safe and confidential space to discuss any difficulties you may be experiencing with school, relationships, or personal issues. Jayne will advocate on your behalf with teachers and parents to ensure you receive the necessary support, empowering you to reach your full potential.

You can make an appointment with Jayne yourself, or you may be recommended to see her. View this as an opportunity to receive additional guidance and support. The College cares about the well-being of every student and is committed to supporting individuals' holistic growth and development.