Dear Parents & Friends of St Clare’s

Welcome to Term 3!  I hope you and your loved ones are fit, safe and well.

Students and staff have ‘hit the ground running’ and the newsletter contains a wide range of reports that highlight the learning undertaken by your sons and daughters, inside and outside the classroom.  These activities have continued despite the negative influence of COVID-19 on our community and I thank staff, parents and students for their persistence during testing times.

The enrolment process is well underway, with school tours and interviews occurring each week.  If you know someone who is intending to enrol their son or daughter at the school, could you encourage them to ring the school office and request an enrolment package.  School tours can be organised via a phone call to Office Manager Anne Havard.

Technology plays an important part in our lives.  The use of personal devices to complete banking, pay bills, keep a diary or book a holiday has become an accepted part of daily life.  The school’s Bring Your Own Device Policy extends the use of technology into the classroom and ensures that our students are taught to be able to navigate their way in the cyber world.  An important aspect of this process is each person’s development of an understanding of what it means to be ‘cyber literate’:  a person who knows how to be a good and respectful citizen within cyberspace.  Our staff put considerable effort into ensuring the young people in our care use the excellent resources of the net in ways that ensure that they are respectful cybercitizens.

Term 3 is a special time in the lives of our Year 12 students.  After 13 years of formal education, senior students are within 10 school weeks of completing secondary education.  Next week the HSC students sit their HSC trials, an important juncture for them as they receive feedback on their level of knowledge and fine tune their exam technique before the HSC exams in October.  The weeks following the trials offer a wonderful opportunity for students to improve their skills and study hard for their final exams in Term 4.

The Year 11 2023 subject selection parent evening will be held on Tuesday, 2 August at 6:30 pm in the Josephite Learning Centre.  The meeting compliments the student/staff mentoring program and gives parents the opportunity to gain information and ask questions about Stage 6 education at St Clare’s.

The NAIDOC Week Assembly is an important date on the school calendar.  Out of respect to the passing of local Elder Aunty Wilma Morcome, we postponed the St Clare’s NAIDOC Week Assembly until further into the school year.  I will advise when we have fixed a date for this important community gathering.

In closing, I would like to thank Fr Kevin Corrigan, Ministry Coordinator Jason Koenig, staff and students for their participation in the school’s religious education and liturgical program.  The development of reflective and spiritual practice amongst our young people is an important aspect of personal development and contributes greatly to a citizenry that is kind, inclusive and respectful of others.

God Bless

Peter Nicholls
Principal