Coolock News

It is difficult to believe that we have moved through the first term at such a rate! Term 1 has included the Opening Mass, Laureate Assembly, Swimming Sports, two camps, Ash Wednesday service and Caritas fundraising.

Further, our recent Open Evening was a great success as we welcomed over 1000 visitors to the College. We have received excellent feedback on many aspects of the evening – none more so than our wonderful students. They are brilliant ambassadors for our College!

Below is a list of significant achievements and focus areas at Coolock. Mr Len Watson (Director of Pastoral Care) and Mrs Gina Giblin (Director of Learning & Teaching) have worked with their teams on the points below throughout Term 1.

Learning and Teaching in Practice

• Staff and students are continuing to focus on Learning and Intentions and Success Criteria as ‘I can’ statements to develop the language and conversations around learning.
• The three focus learner qualities for the semester in the Pastoral Learning area and are evident in classrooms and classroom practice – Question, Wonder and Reflect
• Year 9 students are currently participating in learning activities around Stewardship and Servant Leadership in preparing for their Outdoor Education Experience
• Staff are completing assessment on the first major assessment tasks on Schoolbox and Learning Behaviours are being completed in the reporting software, to be released in to the Parent Centre at the end of term. (Please see the Reports article by Mrs Gina Giblin.)
• Preparations have begun for the Parent Student Teacher Interviews in May and students will be invited to these in the reports being released this week. We look forward to seeing many families on May 1 and 2.

Pastoral Care

• Year 7 Camp was a positive experience for many students. Feedback from students is currently being sought
• Year 8 Camp is taking place this week in Anglesea
• Year 9 Camp is drawing closer and we are excited about our new program and partnership with the Outdoor Education Group. The program has been drawn back to five days and will be held in four separate locations. The participation rate is very high and our students are looking forward to the experience
• We continue to have students involved in interschool sport each week and the successes and participation are excellent
• The Pastoral Learning Period has focused on our key learning areas of “Wondering, Questioning and Reflection”. What does this look like when we are learning? How can this make me understand my learning more? There have also been assemblies during this time and preparation for camps.
• The Year 7 Student Representative Council (SRC) students will be elected in the first two weeks of Term 2. They have settled into the College well and we now think that they understand who will be good leaders. The current SRC members have already conducted assemblies and had productive discussions with Leadership about their role and where they can have a positive influence on our school community.

We have many students participating in our Year 9 Production Seussical. These students have committed themselves to this performance from the start of the year and we look forward to seeing the show in Term 2. Our staff overseeing the production (Mrs Kerrie Turpie, Ms Sarah Gross and Ms Ashleigh Yeates) have been glowing in their praise for the students. Likewise, we thank and acknowledge these staff for their contribution!

Congratulations to all students on the way that they have started the year. We look forward to your continued growth in Term 2.

Tim Edwards, Deputy Principal – Coolock