Principal's Report
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It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the first edition of The Lighthouse for 2021 and, in so doing, celebrate the commencement of another school year at 管家婆免费开奖大全. We commence the year with an enrolment of just over 1700 students including 9 international students and 15 students from St Mary鈥檚 College for the Deaf. Of course, we welcome most heartily all students new to 管家婆免费开奖大全, especially those who join 管家婆免费开奖大全 for the first time in Year 7. It has been wonderful to see so many happy smiling faces and hear such excitement as their secondary schooling begins. Early reports from other levels indicate that our students are pleased to be back at school and keen to make a good start to the year.
MACS
As of January 1 we have a new governance structure for most Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Regional Colleges, like 管家婆免费开奖大全, are now incorporated as Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd (MACS) and Archbishop Comensoli announced the membership of the MACS Board just before Christmas. With this change in governance it is appropriate to recognise that 管家婆免费开奖大全 has benefitted from the strong leadership of Fr Anthony Doran and Fr Mark Reynolds as Presidents of the Association of Canonical Administrators over recent years. We look forward to continuing the important relationship with our local Parish Priests in offering spiritual guidance to our community. The 管家婆免费开奖大全 Board also takes on a new identity as the School Advisory Council. I will report on our first School Advisory Council meeting for 2021 in the next edition of The Lighthouse.
CovidSafe Return to School
LATEST UPDATE: Due to the events in Victoria announced late on Wednesday evening (3/2/21) in relation to COVID-19, the new guidelines for schools are as follows:
- Students over 12 years of age are required to wear masks in school while in public indoor spaces. Students will be asked to wear masks while in class and indoors in any capacity. Please ensure your child comes to school with a mask.
- School staff are not required to wear face masks while teaching or caring, but those who wish to do so, can.
- Staff must wear face masks in indoor areas of the school when not teaching or caring.
- Please refer to the link at Latest COVID-19 updates for the most current information.
It is really pleasing to be able to commence the 2021 year in a period in which community transmission of COVID-19 has been consistently low and we are able to plan optimistically for a more normal school program. Of course, we must remember that COVID-19 is still with us and that we need to maintain a certain level of vigilance. The key protective measure remains to stay away from school if showing the symptoms of COVID-19 and seek medical advice. Students who normally show symptoms of allergies and hayfever do not need to remain at home unless the symptoms seem unusual or more severe than normal.
To ensure that we minimise risk, 管家婆免费开奖大全 students are required to adhere to the following expectations:
- Students should maintain good hand hygiene and clean their hands with soap and water or an alcohol based rub regularly. They should try and avoid touching their face.
- Masks are required if students attend large gatherings such as assemblies.
Other 2020 restrictions that have been lifted mean that students can drink from taps, enter and exit buildings freely, access their lockers when necessary and make use of all facilities when appropriate. Area density guidelines do not apply in schools unless there are visitors present. Sports (including contact), excursions and camps can resume within CovidSafe guidelines. Music programmes can also resume with limitations about how each type of instrument is used and strict area density requirements.
Please refer to the link at Latest COVID-19 updates for the most current information.
College Opening Mass and Opening Assembly
Due to COVID-19 area density guidelines when we have visitors at the College our Opening Mass and Opening Assembly will be student only events this year and therefore will be conducted during the school day. Both will occur on the morning of Tuesday, February 16 in the College Gym.
Celebrate Excellence @管家婆免费开奖大全
We will gather as a community and recognise those who achieved excellence in 2020 on Monday, February 15 at 7.30pm in the 管家婆免费开奖大全 Gym. This year the students who excelled at Year 12 will also be invited to return and be acknowledged as part of this ceremony. Invitations for participants and guardians will be available over the coming days. The event will need to be ticketed to ensure that we comply with area density guidelines, but we are confident that we will accommodate our parent community.
Post School Offers
In January, 184 Year 12 graduates received a First Round Offer with 142 receiving their first or second preference. This is an excellent outcome for our graduates who wish to pursue tertiary studies. We have also had many students secure full apprenticeships and other traineeships. We wish all of our graduates great success in the next stage of their education.
Stormwater Project
If you have visited the College recently you will have seen the significant work to upgrade our stormwater system which commenced in the first week of January. Until the works are completed in April there will be some unavoidable inconvenience and noise adjacent to the construction site. Those who have seen our flooded Mahon Theatre over recent years will understand the necessity to improve our drainage system and we will look forward to the issue being resolved.
Parents and Friends Committee
The P&F provides valuable feedback to the College leadership and gives a 鈥減arent鈥檚 perspective鈥 on life at 管家婆免费开奖大全. They also help us welcome families to the community and show the 管家婆免费开奖大全 hospitality of which we are so proud. The committee is looking for new membership as a number of current members finish their association with 管家婆免费开奖大全 with their child鈥檚 graduation. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month. Should you wish to find out more please contact Dr Nap Rodezno on rodeznone@aquinas.vic.edu.au.
Darren Atkinson
Principal