Principal’s Update

Future Directions

At our recent Advisory Council meeting Mrs Liz Monahan, a Director at Mercy Education Limited, was in attendance providing her expertise in presenting a process for the development of our next Future Directions document. After reflecting on our achievements of the past cycle, over the next four months we will be seeking your support and feedback on the future direction of Catherine McAuley College across a range of aspects. Parents will be invited to attend an evening where you will have the opportunity to provide feedback and share ideas.  We hope that stakeholders across the College will take the opportunity to be involved.  The Future Directions document will be active and functional; it will be a fundamental governing document that will see the College move into the middle of the decade. Our College setting is quite complex, with two campuses in a region that is experiencing and will continue to experience growth. The masterplan, learning and teaching, pastoral care and community partnerships are all important elements in a business environment where compliance and planning are so important.  At the end of this year we hope to have completed the Future Directions document and move towards a new prospectus for the College.

Catholic Schools Joint Board meeting

On Monday evening Catholic School Boards from across Central Victoria will be meeting at Coolock to discuss the strategic direction, local trends and research completed on our local setting. It is a critical time for our College as we continue to work with a number of partners in a range of endeavours that we believe will improve the programs and opportunities that our students experience in their years at Catherine McAuley College.

Sr Anastasia Vanderfeen Building

In the coming months there will be further new signage at St Mary’s.  The College thanks the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG) Institute Leadership Team and Mercy Education Limited for supporting our application to re-name the Kelly Building the Sr Anastasia Vanderfeen Building. Download the biography below to read about the extraordinary achievements and service that Sr Ana provided over many years of service at St Mary’s College and Catholic College Bendigo.

The signage will acknowledge Sr Ana’s legacy and the partnership that has been established with Mercy Health and Australian Catholic University.  In the coming years this partnership will continue to grow and benefit our students and community. The inaugural year of the iGen Year 10 program at Mercy Health Bethlehem Home for the Aged (Bendigo) is a unique opportunity for students who are contemplating a health or service pathway to work in a Mercy Health facility. There are so many proven benefits for the residents and students who choose to take this opportunity.

We look forward to the opening of the Sr Ana building and remind students and families of the opportunities that are now available for students who complete the Allied Health program. The new Allied Health facility is already operating upstairs in the Sr Ana building.

The Hunting – SBS

Can I recommend that parents take the opportunity to view ‘The Hunting” on SBS? Associated resources to support parents are included with this newsletter. Please, please understand that the content covered in this program is not isolated or uncommon. The challenges our students face due to digital technology are extraordinary in comparison to a decade ago. There is enormous ongoing pressure on our youth to conform to peer and social pressures. It is not restricted to technology; young people face far more complex challenges than those that were experienced in the past. Young people are impressionable and have access to everything at their fingertips.

In an affluent society our students are regularly confronted with tough choices. In our programs and planning we will continue to work on forming our students, so they are informed and can make rational balanced choices. The program will respond to local, regional and global issues that impact or potentially impact our students. One of the great challenges at the moment is sleep deprivation and diet. Students need a routine. They need to sleep eight hours or more each night. They need to eat healthy meals and have regular discussions, when possible around the dinner table, with all devices turned off.  In the coming months the College will run gender-based programs to support our students and break down some of the fallacies and stereotypes.

Mercy Young Leaders Conference

Recently, Mr Len Watson had the opportunity to participate in an immersion to Ireland with Year 11 students Will Edwards and Zachary McCarty. The focus for the immersion was the Mercy International Young Leaders Conference at the House of Mercy in Dublin. The conference was attended by students, staff and Sisters of Mercy from around the world.

AMSSA Conference

Four staff, including myself, were very fortunate head to Sydney this week to the AMSSA (Australasian Mercy Secondary Schools Association) conference. We joined school leaders and educators from over 200 Mercy schools. The purpose of the conference was to bring together women and men engaged in Mercy secondary education across Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, who are interested in sharing their experiences, participating in professional development, networking with like-minded people, looking to be inspired and to celebrate Mercy.

Catherine McAuley College & Marist College Bendigo Joint Professional Learning Day – 16 August

A reminder that Friday 16 August is a Pupil Free Day. CMC is the host this year for the now annual staff professional learning day. Presenter, Mr Glen Pearsall, will facilitate sessions for teachers with a focus on student engagement and learning environments.

Transition Meetings – Year 7, 2020

Enrolment offers for Year 7 2020 students have been sent and confirmed. Next week we will be welcoming these students for a short meeting with staff. From these meetings, we will be collating information about the students so that we can start preparing for their secondary education.

Mr Brian Turner, Principal