Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome to Term 2. It is fitting that we were able to open the Siena Centre for use by Years 11-12 students just one day after the Feast of St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). She is a renowned theologian, mystic and Dominican saint who was proclaimed St Catherine of Siena co-patroness of Europe, together with St Teresa Benedict of the Cross and St Bridget of Sweden. Catherine was a prodigious letter-writer, and she wrote about what God had revealed to her in Prayer. Catherine’s Europe was marked by violence and uncertainty but she refused to resign herself in the face of suffering and division. In the words of Pope John Paul II, she “dived into the thick of the ecclesiastical and social issues of her time”, addressing political and religious rulers, either in person or through letters. She went to the prisons and cared for the poor and the sick. She was consumed by an urgency to bring God’s love and mercy to everyone. Above all, Catherine was a peace-maker, and her efforts were marked by a combination of love and boldness of speech. She never sacrificed truth or justice for a cheap or easy peace. She knew that to be a peacemaker was to follow in the steps of Christ, who made peace between God and humanity.
St Catherine’s full name was Catherine Benincasa. The family home is preserved still and is called Benincasa.The staffroom on our 6-12 campus is named “Benincasa” in homage to St Catherine of Siena. To mark Catherine’s Feast Day, the Dominican Sisters set up an installation of seven focus points in the Chapel. Each space has extracts from Catherine’s letters, and students are making the most of opportunities both in class time and their own time to visit. St Catherine of Siena is an inspirational model for our students.
It has been very exciting to see the Senior students occupying the new learning and social spaces in the Siena Centre with classes scheduled there from the first day. Every space, both inside and outside the building, is being used enthusiastically by students who are clearly delighted with the new, colourful and contemporary centre. The general classrooms or “learning spaces” have all been designed for different styles of teaching and learning, allowing for a mix of small group or large group activities. These rooms have sliding doors between them, allowing for even larger spaces to be created. There are also small seminar rooms that students can use for their own study, or group preparation. St Catherine’s Senior Centre at the entrance to the Siena Centre has a mix of booths, a small amphitheatre, small offices, comfortable, casual seating, student kitchen and cafe. The breakfast hosted by the teachers for students on the morning of the first day, was an ideal way for students to meet their new Head of School, Mr Steven O’Connor, who helped begin the day with prayer and welcome.
This new term also sees a great many students wearing the new uniform, and doing so with pride and elegance. We expect all of our students, whether they’re in “green” or “black and white”, sports uniform or formal uniform, to comply with the highest standards, and appreciate parent support to ensure that students leave home looking impeccable. It is one of the important ways that students show respect for themselves and their school community. I take this opportunity to again thank Mrs Fisher and Mrs Waters from the Uniform Shop for their efficient, courteous and thoughtful approach when dealing with every single student.
On the Primary Years campus learning has been visible and exciting from day 1. Our prep students are busy with chicken eggs hatching as part of their Unit of Inquiry. Year 1 continued their learning beyond the classroom with a visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens on Tuesday. A group of eco-warriors has worked with Strathfield Council, and will be exploring the creation of a frog pond on campus. Mr Carr is also very keen to integrate his ongoing “War on Waste” with a mathematical problem-solving challenge as part of the annual MANSW competition. Years 3-5 are heading to the Riverside Theatre today as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Yet in the midst of all this learning, students and teachers found time to acknowledge the centenary of Anzac with a reflection on peace.
The report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools (also known as Gonski 2.0) was released on Monday morning by the Australian Government. Like all schools, we are currently considering the report’s findings and recommendations but at this initial stage the report affirms the improvement journey that Santa Sabina has been on over the last five years. Specifically, the focus we have on identifying individual students’ learning growth through careful analysis of external and internal data, and ensuring that teaching and learning are “personalised” or tailored to individual needs are reflected in the Gonski recommendations. Further, the report validates our strategic focus on raising academic standards through: understanding and use of student data; targeted improvement programs for teachers; annual professional growth reviews for all teachers; embedding challenge and complexity from P-12 across the curriculum; and ensuring varied and effective assessment and feedback for students. We will continue to engage with the report and its recommendations, and look for opportunities to do so with parents.
Learning beyond the classroom took place in different venues during the recent holiday period. Students enrolled in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program undertook their Adventurous Journey hikes. The Silver students successfully completed both their Practice and Qualifying journeys over a six-day period. This involved both hiking and paddling. Congratulations to Anastacia Tadros, Jasmin Pisani and Jordan Woods. Some of our Gold students completed their Urban Odyssey Qualifying Adventurous Journey from Berowra to Milsons Point. Congratulations to Jaime McIntosh, Alicia Bates and Antionette Ayoub.
Over 30 Year 10 and 11 Italian Language students took their learning to Italy under the leadership of Ms Bentivoglio, Mrs Ramundi-Di Bella and Mrs Rita Guerrera arriving back in Sydney on the last day of the holidays. What a wonderful way to experience the culture, language and heritage. Both the Duke of Ed, and the Italian Language tour, are examples of “experiential learning” – learning by doing, whereby students take a “hands-on” approach to their learning, rather than a purely academic one. Key to successful experiential learning is a process of ongoing reflection on what has been learnt. So these experiences aren’t simply “trips” – encourage your daughters to continue to think about, talk about and re-consider how their ideas or understanding have changed as a result of their opportunities to step beyond the classroom. It is certainly a case of the process being just as, if not more, important as the product.
In sport during the holidays Chloe Hatcher, Lucy Palmer and Teagan McDonnell of Year 9 and Chloe Devine of Year 10 competed at the Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Championships in Bunbury, Western Australia. Congratulations to these students for their selection and competition at the Championship.
Students from Santa Sabina College were selected to play in an NSW Metropolitan representative team to compete at the NSWU15 Volleyball championships at Homebush during the first week of the holidays. There were outstanding performances from Jasmine Ristovski, Danielle Bettridge, Brooke Henness and Luisa Uzelac.
Alana Goodchild has been selected in the NSW U16 Basketball team to compete at the Australian Championships on the Sunshine Coast in July. Alana is an outstanding basketball player and a wonderful ambassador for the College.
I conclude this update with the words of Pope Francis shared recently in my Parish bulletin:
“Take care of your spiritual life, your relationship with God, because this is the backbone of everything we do and everything we are.”
Dr Maree Herrett
