News

On 16 March, St Brigid’s Catholic College joined with St Brendan’s Primary School for a cricket match and a Combined Family Mass.

There was a large contingent of cricket players, consisting of parents, students, staff and parishioners. There were quite a few ‘edge of your seat’ moments with many wickets scored between the teams. As usual, Father Tomy was the biggest run scorer, followed closely by Cooper J.

After cricket we listened to the beautiful St Brendan’s School Choir, led by Sr Josie. St Brigid’s Staff and students led the readings in reverence.

The Combined Mass continues to grow and is a fantastic community gathering. We look forward to seeing even more families next time!

On Friday 15 March, St Brigid’s were delighted to welcome two international cricketers to our Friday challenge. Both Fr Tomy and Fr Baby stepped forward with their cricket bats to face the strong arms of some teachers bowling on behalf of their Houses. 

No teacher was able to break through their strong defensive stances, and in turn, the international strike power was able to do some damage. Strong hits were made against all bowlers, but Kildare was particularly punished the most with some big sixes from both priests.

Building positive relationships between schools and parents is the cornerstone of nurturing student learning and achievement. To formalise our commitment to effective communication and mutual respect, Catholic Schools Broken Bay launched a Parent Charter in late 2023. A copy of the Charter can be found here. The Charter places great emphasis on respectful, open, and two-way communication and outlines:

• What you as parents can expect from your relationship with your school
• What our school will expect from you as parents and carers
• Guidelines for positive communication and engagement between parents and the school
• How to make a complaint or raise a concern
• An explanation of unacceptable behaviours and how these are handled by the school.

As we approach the end of another busy school term, we kindly ask parents to be mindful of the following guidelines for effective partnership:

• Stay Informed: Stay informed about your child’s progress by attending parent-teacher conferences, reading newsletters, and checking COMPASS.
• Initiate Contact: Don’t hesitate to reach out to the appropriate staff member if you have concerns or questions about your child’s progress, behaviour, or any other aspect of their education. Initial communications should always be with the appropriate school personnel, e.g., the classroom teacher or Year Coordinator. If further support is required, please contact our school leaders.
• Be Respectful: Approach conversations with staff in a respectful and professional manner, as they are dedicated to helping your child succeed.
• Respect Response Time: Recognise that staff have multiple students and responsibilities. Allow them time to respond to your inquiries and respect their working hours. Staff will usually respond within 48 hours.

Effective communication between parents and school staff is the key to a successful educational journey for your child. We value your input and are committed to working together to ensure that our school remains a collaborative, safe, and supportive environment.

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.