I had the pleasure of attending the Year 12 Renewals for Brophy at Arrabri Lodge in Warburton recently. The renewals program was well balanced with outdoor activities as well as an opportunity for reflection and future planning. The students were engaged in the activities and it was great to see the boys enjoy the opportunity of spending time together and forming stronger connections with each other. By all accounts, all four Year 12 renewals were a huge success and I would like to thank Belinda Milverton and the Heads of Houses for their coordination.

The College also sent a representative table to the 500 supporters club, an annual fundraising lunch at the MCG to raise funds for the Reuben Centre in Nairobi Kenya. Three of our Year 11 Leaders attended, with past alumni and current staff in attendance and we had the opportunity to listen to Cameron Ling, Gary Ablettt Jr, Alex Saundry and Lily Mithen. The funds raised support primary health care and education initiatives at the Centre.

In the coming weeks, we will be recognising diversity, as the World Day for Cultural diversity is on 21 May, leading into Reconciliation week with National Sorry Day on Thursday 26 May. This will also be the key focus for the Justice and Solidarity Assembly on 30 May, prepared by our Justice and Solidarity student leaders.

Learning

The Year 7 and 9 students completed NAPLAN over the past fortnight. The students' behavior and effort was commendable. I also extend recognition to our Heads of Learning, given the number of students who had to sit catch-up sessions, this has been an incredibly busy fortnight to manage, but we successfully had a significant proportion of our students complete these tests.

Unit 3-4 and Year 12 VCAL Parent Student Interviews are scheduled for Monday 30 May from 4.00pm to 7.00pm. These interviews have been changed to online interviews via Microsoft Teams due to the current levels of COVID infections in the school. The timing of these interviews coincides with the completion of Unit Three, and as these conversations focus on students’ learning, the College strongly encourages students to attend with their parents.

The Bookings for these interviews will open in PAM On Friday 20 May.

Exam Dates for Semester 1

The Mt Sion Exams have been brought forward to the end of week six. The Year 10 and 11 English and Mathematics Exams will be held on Friday 10 June in the Gymnasium and allocated classrooms.

The remainder of the exam program will continue from Tuesday 14 June to Thursday 16 June.

Students are not required at school on these days if they do not have an examination, and the exams will be scheduled where they would normally have a double period for the subject. There will be no Homerooms on these mornings, and students can study from home in the mornings or afternoon, or there will be supervised study areas for students who need to be at school. Students will be issued with an Exam timetable in the coming weeks and must be in full school uniform whilst at school.