Dear Parents & Friends of St Clare’s

Welcome to the final newsletter of 2020 and thank-you for your marvellous support of St Clare’s staff and community over the course of this testing and challenging year.

This past week, at each of the Year level award ceremonies, I have had the opportunity to thank students and staff for their wonderful collaboration, resilience, diligence and sustained effort as we worked together to navigate the COVID-19 environment.  Students, parents and staff have shown a level of nimbleness and team work that has ensured that the core business of the school:  learning and teaching has remained front and centre despite the many challenges of the year.

The disruptive nature of the pandemic has ensured that many of the milestones and rites of passage that parents, staff and students anticipate and plan for have not been able to take place.  With the easing of the COVID-19 guidelines, it was wonderful to be able to welcome parents and their son or daughter to our limited Year 12 Awards Ceremony, to be able to hold a social for our Year 10 students and for students from Years 7 to 10 to enjoy reflection days and end of term celebrations.  A special thank you to Tim Masters and our Year 11 students who gave great expression to the idea of never seeing a need without doing something about it by their fantastic toy drive on behalf of Vinnies, that was so wonderfully supported by the school community. 

Joel Christensen, Zain Saeed, Grace McCallum & Elise Rourke

A key feature of these celebrations was the excellent planning of the Year level teams and the wonderful participation of the students in each of the events.  Attendees at the Year 12 evening will long remember the preparation and layout of the Josephite Centre and the beautiful vocals and music our students performed during a special, moving liturgy and Awards ceremony.  My thanks to Marian Parvin, Amanda Brooks, Deacon Vince Ryan and Denise Ryan for their efforts to ensure the success of the evening.

Congratulations to all our award winners and my thanks also to all support and teaching staff for their persistence and commitment to enhancing the St Clare’s learning environment.  Thanks also to our students who have worked hard to ensure that they were optimistic and successful in their learning at a time of challenge and change.

MEDIA RELEASE

ST CLARE’S HIGH SCHOOL – HSC RESULTS – 2020

Principal’s Comment:

“Congratulations to our HSC class of 2020 on their excellent results which are a fitting reflection of their efforts and dedication to their studies during a year of great upheaval and change.  I particularly want to thank our students for their resilience and good humour throughout the year and our excellent staff for their diligence and sustained effort to deal creatively with the challenges COVID-19 has created in the educational environment.  Congratulations also to parents and caregivers of St Clare’s who have supported the young people and the school so enthusiastically throughout the year.  We are proud of our students, parents and staff and the St Clare’s tradition of achievement in the HSC, and excited for our young people as they begin the next phase of their lives.”

The 2020 HSC Examination results have, again, been very rewarding for St Clare’s High School students.

The cohort of 70 students was rewarded with 13 Band 6 and 71 Band 5 grades with outstanding results in:

• Community & Family Studies
• Drama
• English Extension 1
• Industrial Technology (Timber)
• Mathematics Extension 2
• Mathematics Standard 2
• Physics
• Visual Arts

Drama student, Clare Chapman has been selected for OnSTAGE.  Clare will perform at The Seymour Theatre, Sydney in early February which will be streamed across the state.

Of the 70 students in the Class of 2020, most of the students received entry offers to university.  Students who wish to attend university have decided to accept one of their offers.

St Clare’s also saw a large number of students accept Traineeships, Apprenticeships, TAFE and employment.  Students have also been accepted into the armed forces for a GAP year or permanent placement.

According to the limited contact the school has had with students today, the student who is our 2020 Dux is Lyall Last with an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank of 94.2.  He is waiting to hear from the University of NSW.

Top ATARs of which the school is aware at the time of media release:

Lyall Last:  94.2 - Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering at University of NSW
Elise Rourke:  93.4 - Double Degree in Science & Arts at University of Newcastle
Grace McCallum:  83.85 – Bachelor of Biomedical Science at University of Newcastle
Clare Chapman:  90.75 - Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) at Macquarie University
Daniel Keen:  83.05 - Bachelor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at University of Newcastle
Molly Reid:  82.00 - Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering at University of Newcastle

Lyall Last, Elise Rourke & Clare Chapman 

In closing, I am proud to say that the vast majority of our HSC cohort has achieved results which will enable them to pursue their post secondary school goals.

Peter Nicholls
Principal

Molly Reid, Elise Rourke, Clare Chapman & Lyall Last

At Christmas, Christ touches our heart, enriches our soul and brings our families together to share familiar stories and create hope for the future.  I pray that you and your family are able to enjoy a peaceful and Happy Christmas and that the New Year brings all you desire.

Thank you once again for all that you and your family have given to our community this year.

God bless

Peter Nicholls
Principal