Celebrating Growth
By Mr Stuart Ralph, Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Week 10 of Term 2. This week has once again allowed us to have the opportunity to come together and celebrate many wonderful achievements and showcase our community. We continue to grow as a community and this is a reflection of our standing in the community. We value respect for ourselves, others and our environment. Any successful relationship must be centred around respect.
We have had 15 new students join our community, this term alone. We have also had several senior students return, noting that they desired the sense of community and the structure and discipline they have not experienced since leaving. Sometimes you need to go and experience an alternative to appreciate what you have!
Our College Mission Statement is centred on the values of Justice, Hope and Truth.
These Values are what we classify as both cardinal and theological virtues.
The cardinal virtues are the four virtues of mind and character in both classical philosophy and Christian theology. They are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. They form a virtue theory of ethics. The term cardinal comes from the Latin cardo (hinge); virtues are so called because they are regarded as the basic virtues required for a virtuous life.
Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally they have been named Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love).
Justice is about fairness, equality, and equitable treatment. Hope is a necessary part of living successfully in our world. We have the good news of the gospel. All through the Bible are references to God as our hope. The Bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”
Every student needs to have hope for the future. And Finally Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”, (John 14:6). As a community, we are very fortunate to have values guiding our College Mission and providing a continual source of reference for staff and students alike.
Year 12 Retreat & Year 11 Camp
This week our senior students have experienced their Retreats, another wonderful opportunity for them to come together as senior students of the College, but also an opportunity for personal reflection. Having the opportunity to experience this is particularly important in the holistic education students receive at St Brendan-Shaw College.
The Retreats are a component of the overall Religious Education curriculum, and the goals can be specifically identified to:
- provide an opportunity for an experiential component of faith development that can foster a closer relationship with their God;
- facilitate a time of reflection and personal searching in an environment of challenge;
- facilitate sharing and greater intimacy in relationships between students, their peers and staff; and
- provide an opportunity for affirmation from their peers.
Grades 5-6 Student Taster Days and Year 7 2024 Second Round Enrolments
This week, students from St Patrick’s Latrobe - Wednesday, Our Lady of Mercy - Thursday and Our Lady of Lourdes on Friday will have visited our College for their Taster Days. Second round Year 7 enrolment applications for 2024 close this Friday. With first-round interviews now completed, letters of offer will be sent out in the next few weeks, with only a limited number of available spaces for Year 7 2024 remaining.
Scholarships Now Open
Next Monday we have our Subject Selection Evening, and I would like to highlight that the College has opened Scholarship applications for Years 10-12 in the areas of Academic – Mathematics, French, Japanese (Years 10-12); Academic General (Years 10-12); and, Vocational Education and Training (Years 10-12). These are open to new and existing students of the College, and application information can be found on the College website at https://www.sbsc.tas.edu.au/scholarships
Student Achievements
We congratulate Year 9 students Tom Ryan and Luke McCoy who will represent Tasmania in the U16 National Basketball Championships in Perth, Western Australia next week. Luke has also been appointed co-vice captain of the team. 2021 Year 12 Graduate, Rushton Upton has been appointed assistant coach of the team.
Sports Finals
This week all three of our Football teams have taken out wins in their respective competitions. Our Year 9/10 girls defeated Penguin High School, while our Year 7/8 and 9/10 boys both defeated Burnie High School and will head to the regional final next week in Penguin. We wish them all the very best.
We also congratulate Year 10 student Lucah Conkie who has been representing Tasmania as part of the girls AFL Tasmanian Devils team in the Coates Talent League.
Substance Abuse Prevention Parent Seminar – Not Even Once
I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all parents to register for our Tanya Cavanagh presentation: Not Even Once. This presentation will look at substance abuse, including vaping, which is a current concern that as parents and educators, we need to combat together in the education of the young people in our care. This presentation will be held on Tuesday 4 July from 7:00pm - 8:30pm in the Genesis Centre at the College.
Reminder Notice of Withdrawal
A reminder that if you are looking to withdraw your child from the College that as per the enrolment agreement written notice of at least 10 weeks is required. Where notice is not provided full tuition fees may need to be paid. This is particularly important over the next Term as the College prepares classes and appropriate staffing arrangements for 2024.
Looking Ahead
We have one week to go in the Term and much to celebrate next week. I encourage all students to ensure they continue to put their best foot forward. Parents, please note that the top 10 academic students (based on mid-term results) in each of Years 7-10 will be presented a Principal’s Study Award at our assembly next week. This is in recognition of outstanding progress of studies across all subject areas.
Yours sincerely,
