S t M a r y ’ s C o l l e g e Sent to Proclaim the Gospel

Issue 1, Tuesday 2 February 2016

From the Principal

Welcome to 2016 139 new students and 690 returning students walked through the gates of St Mary’s College this week ready to embrace the 2016 school year. As the parents and teachers of these 829 young women we hope that this first week’s experience will unfold with excitement and anticipation of the wonderful year ahead.

As we move into this first term I hope that all students and families, especially those new to St Mary’s College will experience the welcome, friendship and support that we hold as core values of our community.

For Dominican schools worldwide, 2016 is an important celebration of the 800th year of the Dominican Order of Preachers. Several special events and visitors will add to our recognition of this jubilee year and as the year unfolds we will share with you what our College has in mind to acknowledge this significant 1216-2016 journey for Dominicans around the world.

In this 2016 school year, we will be exploring the particular Dominican focus of:

Sent to Proclaim the Gospel

The College theme for 2016 is always symbolized in an annual banner that calls us to reflection and action each year.

The 2016 College theme banner is slightly more traditional in design than previous years. Dominic inspired many throughout the world to dedicate their lives to the preaching of God’s wisdom.

The banner’s image of Dominic shows him as purposeful, strong, sustained by prayer and study as he carries Mathew’s Gospel. The background map traces the many journeys made in Europe by Dominic as he “proclaimed the Gospel”.

The Australian Wattle Dominican crest in the lower left corner reminds us we are called to Proclaim the Gospel here in Adelaide. This is not just something that happened 800 years ago, it is a story that continues to unfold in us. We too are SENT. Like Dominic, we are called to be inventors and creators of the words needed for our time.

The Gospel gives us Good News that everyone matters and matters absolutely, and is loved and loved absolutely by God – and we show this in our love for one another.

Staffing Each new school year presents students with a wonderful opportunity to start anew and enjoy the opportunity for new relationships and discovery. New staff and those returning from leave are always part of the excitement of a year’s beginning.

This year we welcome the following new staff: Mrs Emily Haegi; English/Humanities/Middle School, Mrs Melinda O’Hara; Curriculum Support Semester 1, Mrs Anjie Evans OHSC Director (Term 1 Co-Director Georgie Toth).

Returning from leave are: Mrs Jess Lynch and Mrs Michelle Fogden as Year 4 Care Group teachers, Mrs Alicia Hancock as Hospitality Coordinator and Mrs Courtney Lovering as Year 9 Care Group Teacher

Beginnings Prior to the return of all students on Tuesday 2 February, Orientation for Years 7 and 8 students took place Monday 1 February providing those year levels with a chance to focus on the special introduction required for new members of our community – from campus familiarisation, to lockers, keys, books, teacher identities, diary use, ICT, library and canteen processes…where do we stop?

Year 12s meanwhile “retreat” to the Adelaide Hills to focus on their hopes and needs for this final year of schooling. ………….. Continued page 2

S t M a r y ’s C o l l e g e 253 Franklin Street

ADELAIDE SA 5000

T:8216 5700 F:8216 5730

W: www.stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au E: enquiries@stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au

Rain, hail or shine … a very wet day 1!

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St Mary’s College, Issue 1, Tuesday 2 February 2016

5% of our Graduates are ranked in the top 2% of the state (with ATARs

over 98)

18% are ranked in the top 5% of the state (with ATARs over 95)

39% are ranked in the top 10% of the state (with ATARs over 90)

72% of students’ first round SATAC offers were for a first preference

19 Merit Scores in Classical Studies, English Studies, Information

Publishing & Processing, Nutrition, Psychology, Research Project,

Society and Culture, Visual Art

99% successful SACE completion from potential SACE completers

86% of all subject grades are As or Bs

We especially congratulate our 2015 Dux, Zoe Caldwell, who achieved an ATAR of 99.7. Zoe scored four Merit Scores in Classical Studies, English Studies, Psychology and Research Project. We also celebrate the achievements of Emma Jaeger, Karen Nguyen, Anna Stankevicius, Taylor-Jade Woods, and Amy Hamblin, whose achievements in gaining an ATAR of 98 or above places in them in the top 5% of the state.

This week schools across the state will be detailing their achievement data in their respective newsletters; at times it is helpful to have a lens through which to view them and to quickly glean a perspective on these. I think there are two perspectives that may assist our St Mary’s community in putting these excellent results into context.

The first of these is cohort achievement. As we have spent the first days welcoming new families into the College, amongst the many questions we are asked is ‘what makes St. Mary’s different?’. Of course there are many reasons and explanations, but I often look at the results of a cohort of students with my parent hat on to give some context to these excellent results. 18% has almost one out of every five students achieved an ATAR of over 95, placing them in the top 5% of the state. Similarly, 39% has well over one of out of every three students achieving an ATAR of over 90 which has them in them in the top 10% of the state. Added to this, well over half of our students (59%) achieved an ATAR over 80. While Year 12 results are not the only measure of a successful education, viewing this cohort achievement through parent’s lens hopefully instils a sense of confidence that St Mary’s College challenges and supports students as a as a group, as well as high achieving individuals, to achieve impressive results.

As second perspective that can help here is that St Mary’s College aims for all of its students to achieve their personal best. With 90% of students’ first round SATAC (South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre) offers made for a first or second preference, the data tells of story of students who are again challenged to set their own future pathways but highly supported in doing so. They are supported by our community at large, their Year 12 teachers, previous teachers, and especially Tracey Thursby, Christina Kilishiri and Suzanne Megaw who, along with me, meet with every Year 12 student in Term 3 to discuss strengths, challenges and future options, and help students submit an application to SATAC.

While the specific details here apply to Year 12 students, the themes of success for all through cohort achievement and personal best are applied to all of 13 year levels within the school. Put simply, St Mary’s students are challenged and supported to achieving their personal best. I look forward to sharing more of our community’s success throughout the year.

Take care,

Corey Tavella Deputy Principal: Curriculum

From the Principal (continued)

In 2016 we are expanding our Induction Program to start the school year. The first two days for students (2-3 February) will be run as Care Group and Year Level Induction Days, for all year levels from Reception – 11 (the Year 12s remain on Retreat). The focus will be on relationship building, restorative justice, study skills and positive mental health and wellbeing.

The College is trialling this new initiative of settling into the school year with induction days prior to first subject classes on Thursday 4 Feb in order to establish a strong foundation for the start of the year. It is hoped that an emphasis on such an orientation to the school year will have long term benefits for student well-being, and thus their engagement with their learning.

Care Group teachers and non-Care Group teachers will join to conduct sessions as a way of getting to know their classes, and thus begin to build relationships with their students, one of the foundation principles of learning here at St Mary’s College.

Students will be taken through age appropriate presentations on Restorative Justice, Positive Education, Child Protection and Study Skills – all of which will be explored in more detail throughout the year as part of the Care Education Program.

To begin developing in students their resilience skills from the start of the year, as well as their understanding of what fixed and growth mindsets are further objectives to these Induction days.

A valuable relational outcome of the days is for students early on to get to know the other students in their Care Group and year level, especially for those who are new to the school.

An outline of the program for your daughter’s sub-school is included in the Junior, Middle and Senior School Directors welcome letters.

Melinda Tankard-Reist is a national presenter who will focus on body image and the sexualisation of girls and will present to the Years 4 – 11, as well as a Parent Evening on Wednesday 3 February, which you are all invited to. Please refer to the enclosed flyer for further information.

2015 Year 12 Achievements 2015 Year 12 results continued in the proud and successful tradition of past years. Dux of the College was Zoe Caldwell with a ATAR of 99.7– and as the summary prepared by Mr Corey Tavella will highlight, a large percentage of the year level joined Zoe in the 90s ATAR category whilst the entire cohort found success and pathways into their chosen fields of study. The summary is both interesting and an indicator of the potential for success at St Mary’s College that lies within each student’s grasp.

Eileen Young

Principal

From the Deputy Principal: Curriculum It’s great to be back! I hope the girls and you are looking forward to working with us this year. We are excited about working with them and you in 2016.

Teachers have spent the first few days of the term collaborating on teaching and learning programs and are keen to get to know the students in their clas-ses, as well as making further adjustments to plans and practice, in order to create the best learning experiences possible for the students.

I am very pleased to be able to share the academic success from the gradu-ating class of 2015. We are extremely proud of our graduating class and all of their achievements across the board. Throughout their time here they developed and displayed persistence, critical questioning, resilience, team-work and achieved success. Here is a snapshot of their specific results:

TERM 1, 2016

1 - 3 Feb Year 12 Retreat

Tues 2 Feb Term 1 Begins

Thurs 4 Feb Music and Sport Programs Parent Information Evening

Mon 8 Feb Year 7/8/9 Parent Information Evening

Tues 9 Feb Junior School Parent Information Evening and Year 12 Parent Information Evening

11 - 13 Feb Music Camp

12 Feb Year 8 and Big Sister gathering

Tues 16 Feb Year 10/11 Parent Information Evening

17 - 19 Feb Year 8 Camp

18 - 19 Feb Combined Fringe and Vocal Jazz Evening

Tues 23 Feb College Tour

Tues 1 Mar Year 6-12 SRC/SJ Workshop

Wed 2 Mar Year 12 RE Seminar Day

Sat 5 Mar Year 11/12 Dinner Dance

Wed 9 Mar Year 8 Parent Dinner

Mon 14 Mar Adelaide Cup—Public Holiday

Tues 15 Mar Year 8 Vaccinations

17 - 18 Mar Year 11 Retreat

Fri 25 Mar Good Friday

Mon 28 Mar Easter Monday

Wed 30 Mar Year 7 - 12 Swimming Carnival

4 - 8 Apr Year 9 Camp

Wed 13 Apr Music Dept Performance - Governor Hindmarsh

Fri 15 Apr Last Day of Term 1 - 3.15 pm dismissal

Mon 2 May Term 2 commences for all students

St Mary’s College, Issue 1, Tuesday 2 February 2016

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