News

This Sunday is Palm Sunday. It signifies the moment that Jesus entered triumphantly into Jerusalem and acts as the starting point for Passion Week, the last week of Jesus’ life. Rather than focus on the final moments of Jesus’ life and his miraculous raising from the dead and over-coming sin for all of humanity – which is certainly something worth discussing – we should also spend a bit of time focusing on the earlier moments of the week and think about how it is relevant in the lives of our students here at St Brigid’s. What messages can they learn from Jesus’ preparations? 

The key word here is to ‘prepare’. Jesus knew he was going to suffer, and he knew he was going to die. For our students, their knowledge of the future is hopefully not as extreme, but they do have some understanding of their future, and more so, they do have some specific understanding of their immediate future, particularly in their schooling lives over the next few weeks. 

Weeks 8, 9 and 10, traditionally are the ‘crunch’ time of the term. Assessments are due, big events begin to take place and the stress levels begin to rise for both teachers and students. But it is the preparation of the earlier days of the Passion Week that allowed Jesus to meet his moments of challenge with a clam demeanour that has left us with the role model that he is today. As teachers, we have set up the St Brigid’s model for learning to allow for students to achieve a similar level of clam demeanour when facing their challenges. In the learning space, students are presented with Milestones and Checkpoints throughout the term, not as extra levels of stress along the journey, but as opportunities to space their journeys out, plan their progressions, learn from mistakes and offer the chance to grow before any of the ‘final’ judgements take place. 

So as we enter into the Passion Week, don’t just listen to the stories of Jesus and wait for the bunny and chocolate to arrive. But rather, look for the messages (there a quite a lot!) and think how can these messages be put into practice in our everyday parts of our lives. Jesus lived and died for us, so maybe he might have been trying to tell us things we can put back into our lives. 

On behalf of the Senior Leaders of the College, I wish you all a Happy Easter. 

Dr Ashley Sadler

Assistant Principal, Evangelisation & Catechesis

Yesterday, at St Brigid’s, students and staff celebrated Harmony Day by wearing orange accessories to school.  Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations, as well as freedom of ideas and mutual respect.

Harmony Day is an opportunity to celebrate cultural diversity, inclusiveness and respect for all.

Our College embraces diversity and fosters understanding.  Harmony Day is a wonderful opportunity to recognise this within our school community.

TEXStyle is the annual showcase of exemplary HSC Textiles and Design.  In 2024, it features 34 Major Textiles Projects selected from over 1,550 submitted by students across NSW for the 2023 HSC.  Exhibits include apparel, costume, furnishings and textile art.

Year 11 students studying Textiles and Design had the opportunity to attend this exhibition to gain insightful knowledge and inspiration prior to the commencement of their Major Works for their HSC.

Student exhibits at TEXStyle 2024.  Photo by Grey Photography (Phong Lam and Annie Nguyen – Principal Photographer).

On 12 March our College welcomed prospective families and students for Open Day 2024.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the wonderful cohort of students and staff that represented the College today!  You are amazing ambassadors of the core values of St Brigid’s.

Families were guided through the campus by our very accommodating student leaders, who happily answered questions about the College.  Our hospitality students and teachers provided amazing food and coffee, and our talented performers showcased their talent!

To our friendly admin staff who welcomed families at the gate, students, and College staff, your participation did not go unnoticed, and we have received numerous compliments from our visitors.

Open Day is more than just an event, it is an opportunity to showcase our wonderful College community.

To our future students, we look forward to seeing you at our Taster Day in April and we thank you for joining us today.

Stage 5 and 6 Drama students attended Onstage earlier this term.  Onstage is selection of exemplary drama projects created by 2023 HSC students.

Our Drama students left inspired to create their own dramatic works this year.

A couple of weeks ago at the Year 11 Information evening I spoke to families about the importance of forming good routines and study habits to support student success and wellbeing. This doesn’t just apply to our Year 11 and 12 students it applies to all year groups as they journey through the school years. Research shows that routines support young people with their confidence, self-regulation skills and are part of the building blocks to positive mental health. Young people who learn to do this well are better able to adapt to everyday challenges, stressors, and new expectations and experiences. These habits are often built at first in the home but have an important place in schools and the classroom. 

Homework and Assessment 

As students move through the terms the amount of homework, assessment tasks and preparation for exams increases. So having good routines at school and home helps students to move through these more stressful periods with ease. We have outlined on page 40 of the Parent Handbook the hours that students could be doing per day. These times help to guide students and help them to understand the importance of the time at home that they dedicated to schoolwork. 

Classroom routines and structures 

Classroom environments that enable students to engage and focus on the lesson content are foundational for learning success. Rules and routines support both the students and teachers in being ready to engage and facilitate their learning. We value both these things at the College and in every classroom and learning space. 

Rules and Routines 

A rule is usually a short instruction for conduct or action that everyone is expected to know, follow and refer to regularly. These are implemented by the teacher and are an expectation that is required of the students.  

Routines are sequences of recurring tasks or actions used to guide student learning and success.                  

(AERO, 2024)  

Our College Lesson routines and structures: 

• Explicit Instruction: Provides all students with explicit instructions on what is required from the lesson including learning intentions and success criteria. This can include asking the students what they need to do, posing questions, and encouraging students to participate rather than be passive. Students should be able to walk away from this and know what they need to do or be in a place to ask more questions to support their learning.  

• Independent or Group Practice: Students can now engage with the learning and showcase what they know through a range of learning strategies to meet the requirements of the course, the engagement of the class and extend their thinking.

• Reflection/Share: This routine could ask students to provide evidence of their learning whether it be as an individual, group, or pair strategy. It could be to showcase excellent work that all students could learn from for subsequent lessons.

 Why are the rules and routines important? 

• Students are more able to demonstrate what is expected of them.
• Ensure students know their teachers’ expectations during the learning process and therefore can be active participants.
• Clear routines and rules will help students achieve their goals.  
• Predictability and safety in a learning environment that includes routines contributes to positive relationships and learning success. 

Furthermore, routines at home will: 

• Teach organisation skills and time management.
• Foster independence and teach the importance of structure.
• Build confidence and successful experiences.
• Establish good routines that can set them up for life.

Next week we hold the first of the two parent/teacher conferences via zoom. These conferences are foundational to building the connection between student learning, engagement, and support both here at school and at home. These evenings provide the opportunity for teachers to share the routines, structures, upcoming assessment, a reflection of the strength and areas for improvement. It further provides parents the opportunity to ask questions that will support and help you and your child through their learning. You can find the information for these two evenings on Compass. 

Mrs Alex Walters

Assistant Principal, Student Achievement