Our first weeks of spring have been brought alive in the most amazing way by our students. We have had a succession of really exceptional stories and I wish to share them with you all. I believe our Santa students are exceptional young people. They demonstrate concern beyond themselves through their strong sense of social justice, advocacy for the environment and sustainability, and desire for a better world. This concern is demonstrated both within and beyond the classroom. They also demonstrate a range of talents across all domains.
I commend this year’s HSC Design & Technology and Visual Arts students and staff. The combined exhibition of major works on Tuesday night was outstanding. Using industry-standard technologies, and producing industry-standard works, the projects were diverse, original and highly creative. Sustainability featured in many of the Design projects in terms of materials used, repurposing existing sites such as the Sirius building. 3D printing, laser cutting, virtual “walk-throughs” of buildings, as well as traditional skills of welding were employed by students in the execution of their projects. It is no wonder that this area of our curriculum achieves consistently excellent results at the HSC. Similarly, the Visual Arts projects were striking and diverse, with professional standard photography, painting, sketching, textiles, ceramics all featuring in the array of projects on display. The students are justly proud of their efforts and very grateful to their teachers and parents who supported them throughout this year-long process. A surprise but welcome guest on the night was the architect Tao Gofers, with whom Mary Ayoub had been communicating about the re-purposing and redesign of the inner-city social housing block, Sirius. He was delighted and impressed with the standard of Mary’s work. Our guest speaker was ex-student Courtney Wagner (2002) who is a practising artist with a varied career background in the arts. Her message to students was about the possibilities for fulfilling careers in the broader areas of the arts, despite advice that is often to the contrary. Being mentored, volunteering, taking chances were all steps on her professional journey.
The love of art and design resides across the College so congratulations to Daniel Brough! His work was chosen to be in the finals of the Threatened Species Children’s Art Competition. This competition is open to children 5-12 years old in NSW and the ACT. Daniel’s work will be on display at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, around the Children’s Fig, from 10-24 September. In the field of public speaking, Bella Merlino (Year 8) and Preethika Mathan (Year 7) represented the College in the Legacy Junior Public Speaking competition and did so with aplomb. Preethika has then succeeded to the Regional Final, and onto the State Semi-Final this Friday. Good luck Preethika!
After our stunning NSW Maths awards, we can now add two national winning entries to the list. Congratulations to Year 1 War on Waste and Year 4 Maths for Good.
Santa’s Search for the Next Tech Girl Superhero 2018 saw three Santa Sabina teams from Years 6 and 7 participate in the annual competition “Search for the Next Tech Girl Superhero”. The Superstar Coders of Year 6 at Santa Sabina College have been named joint winners of the NSW Tech Girls Movement 2018 competition. The Year 6 Superstar Coders – Madeline Douglas, Rochelle Dias, Bronte Sprotte, Su Yee Lay and Annie Mullen – created an App called Share2Care. This app connects businesses and individuals to charities. Share2Care aims to reduce the number of goods going to landfills.
This is a wonderful achievement by our students. They will be presenting their pitch and App this weekend at Accenture’s head office. Congratulations to the students, and to Ms Rosanne Sukkar who has been their inspiring coach, along with Helen Mayger, allocated mentor from Accenture. Our students benefit so much from such industry partnership.
We know that our very youngest Santa children at Mary Bailey House are being well cared for and well educated from babies to pre-school age, and this is evident in the recent assessment by the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate. After a thorough two-day assessment process that looks at all aspects of the program, MBH was found to “exceed” the outcomes.
“The Regulatory Authority congratulates Mary Bailey House Early Education Centre on its achievements in exceeding the National Quality Standard and providing quality outcomes for children. The commitment to quality is evident through planning and reflective practice, organisation of staff, respectful relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities and the leadership and service management.”
Congratulations to Jackie Baxter, Director of MBH, and member of the College Executive, and to all of her staff.
On our sporting “field”, there have been both individual and team successes. Congratulations to Darcey Babbage (Year 8) who is competing in the Under 25s Hockey competition in the State Finals in November, and to Renee Lewis (Year 10) on being ranked 25th in Australian Cross-Country Athletics. Volleyball continues its long story of achievements with two teams winning “Gold” and one team “Silver” at the recent NSW Schools’ Competition. Our Rugby Sevens – the “new kids on the sporting block” – have qualified for the State titles in Newcastle. At the CGSSSA (Catholic Girls Secondary Schools Sports Association), our Tap and Hip Hop teams achieved 1st and 2nd place respectively. Congratulations girls.
I look forward to seeing many of you at tonight’s PYP Exhibition. The Year 5 students are so excited, and I can’t wait to see their projects. And next week we have the Commissioning Masses for students and staff going on this year’s immersions to South Africa and the Solomon Islands. These experiences are part of the tapestry of education at Santa Sabina, as students learn through and with those who live in completely different cultures and contexts. The ideas of service and experiential learning that comprise an immersion are utterly different from notions of “charity”. While students do “give” of themselves, they also gain so much from being immersed in the lives of other people. They learn about the history, culture and politics of other countries, and then are challenged to think about how they will apply that learning when they arrive back home. I wish to thank the teachers who are travelling with the girls, and being immersed alongside them: Sr Sheila Flynn OP, Annette Janssen, and Brittany Poynting (South Africa), Sarah Tynan and Julia ChmieI (Solomon Islands). I also particularly thank former Santa Sabina staff member, Mrs Jeanette Carroll, for returning part-time to lead all of the processes necessary for successful immersions.
I wish to share that our student leaders from Primary through to Senior Years are working with teachers to construct student behaviour guidelines that put respect for self and others at the centre. I am and have always been committed to engaging student voice in matters that affect them. I have never failed to be impressed with the thoughtfulness and insight that students bring to issues. The process will involve consultation and communication with their peers within class, homeroom or House contexts. A student-driven code is much more likely to be owned by them rather than if one is imposed.
Finally, I have already shared with you my intention to retire, and of my desire to have my time for family, particularly six young grandchildren aged between two and eight years old. Being with very young children we are reminded of the wonder and playfulness that is at the heart of a happy childhood. Everything is new and surprising. Anything is possible. However as we grow and enter institutions such as schools, we sometimes lose that and become overly concerned with the practical and pragmatic. Our sense of wonder is no longer “useful”. It doesn’t enable us to achieve anything. So we suppress it and get on with life. But according to Einstein when we do that, we die. He once said: “the most beautiful experience we can have is of the mysterious. The person to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead”. There are people who never lose their sense of wonder (or regain it in later life): artists, poets, mystics, nature lovers, and hopefully very good teachers. We know that Jesus demonstrated a great sense of wonder. He was enthralled by the beauty of the lilies of the field; he marvelled at the birds of the air that find food without having to sow and reap and store in barns (Matt 6:26). In all the marvels of nature, Jesus saw the mysterious hand of God. Jesus surely must have noticed that children have an unspoiled sense of wonder. Would that not have been what he meant by welcoming the kingdom like a little child (Mark 10:15), namely, with a sense of awe and amazement?
Dr Maree Herrett
