Dear Parents & Friends of St Clare’s

I hope you and your loved ones are safe, well and enjoying all that our lovely environment has to offer.

At our full school assembly last Wednesday, I spoke to the students about the significance of National Sorry Day which occurred on Thursday, 26 May.  To help our young people to understand the significance of the day, I asked students to imagine what it would be like to be forcibly taken from their family and placed in an institution, far from home with no real prospect of seeing their loved ones for many years, or perhaps never seeing them again.

Many adults will remember Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2007 apology, on behalf of all Australians, to our First Nations people for the hurt and injustice of the stolen generations.  Most of our students would have no memory of this apology, so I talked to them about their life experience and the importance of making things right with people when we have done the wrong thing or hurt someone we love.  In the making of an apology, we seek forgiveness for our mistakes and attempt to reinstate a healthy, trusting and respectful relationship that allows all to lead a good life.  Reconciliation Week is built around the concept of recognising the pain and mistakes of the past and dedicating our energies to ensuring that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens and their culture is treated with dignity and respect.  The Uluru Statement from the Heart and Prime Minister Rudd’s apology are attempts by leaders in our community to put the relationship between traditional owners and the wider community on a positive and dignified footing.  I have included links below for those who may be interested in seeing them and contemplating their importance to our school and wider community:

Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to conduct school tours with families who were interested in looking at St Clare’s facilities and discussing what the school has to offer their children.  The response to the tours has been very positive, so much so that we have decided to make them available each Tuesday afternoon until further notice.  If you know of a friend or family who may like a tour of the school, please contact the St Clare’s Office for a booking.  A reminder that the enrolment process for Year 7 2023 is well underway and that if you are intending to apply for enrolment at St Clare’s, the paperwork can be collected from the St Clare’s Office or from the offices of our Catholic Primary schools.

I am very proud to announce that St Clare’s staff member, Mr Brad Hart, is the recipient of the Diocesan Emmaus Award for outstanding service in the first five years of teaching.  The award recognises Brad’s excellent teaching and commitment to learning and leading in our school and diocesan community.  My thanks to the Diocesan Office for making the award available and to Brad for his positive and collaborative approach to learning and teaching.

No doubt your sons and daughters have been preparing for and talking about their mid-year exams.

My thanks to staff and students for their collaboration during a busy period of the term.

This week our office staff are receiving training in TechnologyOne, the Diocesan’s new financial operating system.  The training will take place over three days with further training over the final weeks of the term.  The software package is comprehensive and will influence the way finances are progressed at the school.

God Bless

Peter Nicholls
Principal