2022 | Issue 6 | SJC Newsletter

This term, whilst Mark Kennedy is Acting Principal, I will be overseeing both the Wellbeing and Learning Portfolios. The start to Term 2 has been relatively smooth, and we welcomed a number of new students who sought enrolment to the College. The Year Level and House Coordinators also introduced a Uniform Audit which took place in the second week of term, to ensure our students are presenting themselves according to the College’s Uniform Policy. Parents will be informed via email if their child is not presenting in the correct manner.

The wellbeing focus for Waterford students in the first few weeks of term will include Career Planning, a presentation from Robbie Noggler from the Victorian Police, leading into e-safety and cyber safety awareness. The Year 8 students will also have Life Changer presentations in weeks 2 and 3. The students at Westcourt will continue to work through the Man Box, a Jesuit social Services program about identity and healthy masculinity. The students at Mt Sion will also be involved in Career Planning sessions as well as listen to a presentation from Richie Hardcore, who is a speaker and activist in family and sexual violence prevention, as well as mental health and fitness. Richie's presentation will be followed up with wellbeing lessons focusing on changing attitudes.

The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs and provides evidence-based, practical strategies to build resilience.

Throughout 2022, we will be working closely with The Resilience Project to support the wellbeing of our school community. I would also like to highlight Martin from the Resilience Projects Parent and Carer Hub access.

Our Partnership Program consists of online presentations and weekly lessons for students, professional development for staff, and Parent & Carer Hub (inc. digital presentations) for our parent and carer community.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing the Parent & Carer Hub with you. The videos are 5-10 minutes long and will walk through the key pillars of resilience: Gratitude, Empathy & Mindfulness. You’ll hear stories and be introduced to activities to show how these strategies can support our kids' learning and development, and also support you as parents and carers.

This program is an important part of our school’s effort to look after the mental health of our community.

View the first presentation of the series here: Part 1: Meet Martin and learn about The Resilience Project - https://theresilienceproject.com.au/parent-and-carer-hub/

For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.

Learning

We would like to thank all parents and students who were involved in our Parent Student Teacher Interviews that occurred over the last two days of term one. We hope for those parents who were able to attend, that you were able to obtain some valuable feedback on how your child is performing at the College.

Our students in Year 7 and Year 9 will take part in online NAPLAN each morning from 9.00am on Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 May. For ease of convenience, we ask parents to avoid making appointments on these mornings, to avoid having to administer several catch up sessions. Students who are absent, will be followed up for catch up sessions the following week. As we now participate in NAPLAN online, it is also important that our students charge their laptops overnight for ease of administration. The link to the Parent and Carer Information pamphlet can be found below: https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf

I would also encourage parents to note other important Assessment Dates for this term:

• Year 10 Academic Testing Periods 1 - 4 on Wednesday 8 June

• Year 8 Academic Testing Periods 1- 4 on Thursday 16 June

• Year 8 Exam Week (English and Math) Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 June

• Year 9 Exam Week Tuesday 14 to Thursday 15 June

• Year 10 and 11 Exams starting on Friday 10 June to Thursday 16 June.