Welcome to back to a new term. Already we have had a tumultuous start to a very cold winter term. These past two weeks we have weathered freezing temperatures, COVID threats and increased restrictions to our normal functioning. Despite all this there is much to look forward to this term. Thankfully the COVID scare has not eventuated as yet but we need to continue to be vigilant in our COVID safe practices and promote the wearing of masks for all secondary students, staff and essential visitors to the school. Hopefully this will see an easing of the restrictions and the looming threat of a spread of COVID to our community. We are in constant contact with NSW Health and Catholic Education to monitor recommendations and latest developments. We will communicate any changes as soon as we are made aware of them.

We apologise for the inconvenience of cancelling the Parent/Teacher/Student interviews for the First Semester reports. As detailed on the schoolzine message, if you would like to speak with a teacher please contact the Front Office and they will coordinate a phone conversation with the requested teacher at the earliest convenience. Some teachers may also contact parents to initiate a conversation about the progress and growth of a student. Please be patient as we navigate this format. Hopefully in coming weeks we will be able to review the current restrictions to permit face-to-face conversations.

As of last night the CG Athletics has been postponed with a new date to be advised, as has the CG Secondary Netball. So too, the Small Schools League State Title has been postponed and a new date has been set as 1 September in Bathurst. We will carefully monitor the situation in Orange and look to canvas the parents about intended travel arrangements. Please keep an eye out for this letter.

2022 staffing is under review at the Canberra Head office of Catholic Education and we are busy preparing projected enrolments for an accurate staffing allocation. If you are aware that there are potential enrolments for 2022 please encourage them to make contact with the Front Office or conversely, if you are intending for alternate arrangements for your student next year we would really appreciate that you also contact the school.

We ask that you keep Mrs Samantha Price (our wonderful School Counsellor) and her family in your prayers after her husband was involved in a serious car accident last week and is currently in hospital in Sydney. Sam was unable to join us this week and we will wait on news of her return to school. In the short term if any student is in need of speaking with someone urgently then we can strive to arrange support via ZOOM with the Canberra team. Please contact me at school if this is something that you consider necessary.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Mrs Amy Mergard to the staff as she takes up a job share position with Mrs Kate Maher on Stage2N. Mrs Mergard travels from Harden and is looking forward to meeting parents and being part of our wonderful community. Mrs Mergard will work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each week. We also welcome Mrs Marie Tulenew who is currently completing her teaching studies and will be working with Ms Van Kerk Oerle in Stage 2W all term. It is lovely to have both ladies as part of our staff and contributing to the growth and development of our Stage 2 students.

We have started using the new management platform COMPASS across the school for monitoring and recording attendance. There are a few little hiccups but we are very pleased with what the platform will offer us in terms of monitoring and tracking students.  In time we will transition through to reporting and different modes of communication slowly phasing out the systems and processes that we currently use. It is very well supported by Catholic Education and there is a wealth of help information as parents gradually become familiar with the processes. A parent portal will be made available in Term 3 and all information will be funnelled through this portal including access to reports and attendance information. Stay tuned for further information as it comes to hand.

We are very fortunate that our local police are very supportive and involved in the welfare and care of our students. We consult with them regularly, and as needed, on important issues of student safety. They are also very keen to be proactive in supporting our students by building positive relationships and conducting information sessions for our students and maybe even our parents. They are currently working on developing a presentation around the topical issue of vaping to make our students aware of the health concerns and legal matters around this new and pervasive trend. We would also hope that there will be information made available to parents as well.  The police will also be on site to help us conduct a safety audit in the coming week to advise us on correct policy and procedures. We are grateful and appreciative of their commitment to our school.

Remember: If you can be anything…be kind!

God Bless!