2023 is going to be an exciting year for local schools
THESE are the new values of Oxley Primary School from 2023.
During the 2022 school year, the staff at Oxley Primary School worked hard to implement a School Wide Positive Behaviour approach to working with the students.
This work led to the auditing of the then school values.
The outcome of this work was to streamline the values to make it easier for the students to remember them.
Throughout this year, the school will be conducting exercises to imbed these values into the culture of the school.
On Thursday, February 16 the community came together for a picnic on the grounds of Oxley Primary School.
This picnic was a ‘welcome to’ and ‘welcome back’ for the school community.
The evening started with information sessions in the different classrooms where teachers spoke to families
about the classroom learning routines and how they can assist.
Families were then able to speak with teachers and have a look through the classrooms.
The evening concluded with the school community coming together on the lawns of the school and enjoying the company of other families while the children played.
Oxley has welcomed 10
OUR Lady’s Primary School is a small school with a huge capacity to cater for individual student needs.
With small class sizes and attention to detail, their aim is to ensure all students have the ability to learn with the learning adjustments to do so.
Small also means that students don’t miss out.
Their entire school has been refurbished to provide outstanding educational facilities and they have a 1-1 iPad program to ensure their students have contemporary learning at their fingertips.
school is learning Auslan together.
This change in curriculum has been embraced with excitement by the student community who are loving the handson, engaging pace of the Auslan curriculum.
With the embedded motto of Strong Minds, Compassionate Hearts Our Lady’s believes in educating the whole child.
At Our Lady’s Primary School they are first and foremost a Child Safe School.
new Foundation students who have settled in well to their new environment and routines.
Foundation students have been paired with year six buddies who assist them with learning activities and in the yard.
Not only is it a very exciting time for the Foundation students, the year six students are finding it extremely exciting too.
Our Lady’s is fortunate to also have access to their very own Speech Pathologist and receive ongoing support from an Occupational Therapist to ensure what they are doing meets the needs of the students entrusted in their care.
This year, they have embarked on a refreshed specialist timetable offering performing arts, visual arts, physical
SAFE AND INCLUSIVE: Isla is one of the Our Lady’s students benefiting from a small, inclusive school environment.
education and Auslan.
They are trialling Auslan throughout the school as they embrace two students into their community who are deaf or impacted by hearing loss.
As a way of demonstrating real life inclusive nature, the whole
They believe that all students have the right to be safe and feel included. They also believe in supporting behaviour through their Positive Behaviour Framework. Their schoolwide expectations of Do your best, Help others succeed and Respect your school allows students to learn and grow within their environment.
Behaviour expectations and social skills are explicitly taught to ensure all children succeed.
THIS year Cathedral College Wangaratta is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The first newsletter on record states: “A number of people are familiar with independent schools and are very supportive of the establishment of one in Wangaratta. Many others appreciate the proposal of a school that will strive for high academic standards within a caring and nurturing environment where every student is cared for as an individual and encouraged to work to his or her highest standard. Most families want a safe and
happy environment where learning is valued.”
Cathedral College started at the Close, in the grounds of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in 2003 with 34 students from prep to year seven.
“The students’ uniforms hadn’t arrived (they came the next day) but there was great excitement as the bell was rung to herald the start of a new era for education in Wangaratta,” Mrs Julie Findlay, the College’s current Director of Studies and founding staff member recalled.
In 2005 the College purchased the ‘Murdoch Road’ site and in 2006 the
adjacent farmhouse.
The sprawling 14-hectare site is to this day, the largest in the region.
It was originally planned to be a second campus; however, as enrolments increased it became apparent that the needs of the students could not be met at the Close and it was decided that all students and staff would begin the transition to, as it was affectionately known, ‘out the road’.
In 2011, Cathedral College Wangaratta joined the Anglican Schools Commission.
The College was the first
Victorian school to join the commission from outside Western Australia, and stood as a beacon for the model.
By 2015, 800 students from prep to 12 were on one campus.
Preceding this was a monumental building program that saw the campus develop rapidly to cater for increasing enrolments as the College grew from strength to strength.
Today’s campus hosts state-of-the-art facilities that include science labs, an arts precinct, food technology kitchens, a hockey pitch, a VCE centre,
full-size football oval, two libraries, a chapel and customised spaces for junior, middle and senior school students.
Fast forward to 2023 and Cathedral College has more than 1000 enrolments and has proven itself to be an outstanding educational provider in North-East Victoria.
More than 700 students travel by bus, and the College is honoured to provide a quality education not only for students in Wangaratta but also for those from other regional communities.
Proudly Anglican, the
College has stayed true to what its founders envisioned Cathedral College Wangaratta to be; an inclusive, low fee-paying school where every child is known well and encouraged to strive to be their best.
This year, the College will celebrate and acknowledge its 20th anniversary with various celebrations and events including Founders Day celebrations, alumni events, a historical display, and a mid-year ball.
It is an important milestone, one where the College’s past can be celebrated and the future can be embraced.
STARTING school is often both an exciting, yet at times, slightly scary prospect for many young people.
At Wangaratta Primary School, fostering friendships and providing students with a buddy is a key aspect of ensuring a positive start to school for Foundation students.
This process starts the year previous, when, on their transition days, new
foundation students are introduced to and complete a range of fun and engaging activities with their ‘next year buddy’. This ensures that come day one, there is at least one familiar face the students can go to if they need anything at all.
The Wangaratta Primary School buddy program provides time in those first few weeks for the year five/
six students to sit and eat with their buddies each day. Encouraging conversation while eating, prompting the students to express what they have done throughout the session and articulate themselves in a positive way about learning time. The buddies then flow out into the playground with the Foundation students.
Modelling appropriate behaviour in games, providing one on one support and allowing the ‘Foundy’ kids to become accustomed to the wider playground.
This time is crucial in modelling the school values and providing positive interactions that the younger students will remember for quite some time.
Weekly buddy activities
are also a huge hit with the students.
Whether the five/ six students go down to Foundation, or the Foundation students take a trip up to the five/six room, the students get to spend a session learning alongside their buddy.
These activities are designed to be engaging, fun and encourage collaboration.
If you would like to learn more about the wonderful buddy program or just to see all that the school has to offer, please feel free to pop down to the upcoming open morning.
This event kicks off on Thursday, March 30 from 9.15am.
Alternately, if you are unable to attend on the day you can call the school and book a tour at any time.
THERE has already been plenty happening for new and returning students at Yarrunga Primary School this year.
Last week they took part in RoadSafe North East’s Bike Education program which gives students the opportunity to learn how to ride safely, be confident and have fun while promoting to the school community that riding to school is an easy, fun and rewarding activity.
RoadSafe North East bike educator and former Olympic/ Commonwealth Games cyclist, Glenn Clarke brought the bicycle education trailer to the school and the students were put through their paces with a bike skills challenge course, guided workshops and supervised practice sessions over the course of the week.
On Monday this week, a number of students were presented with their school badges at a special assembly.
Recognising their contributions to the school in 2023 are:
School Captains Jackson Hickson-Richards and Jaxson Davern;
Vice Captains Lillianna Webb and Rylan Russell; Kids Council members
Harry Gathercole, Xander Hickson-Sutcliffe, Leah Forshaw, Lily Britton, Georgie Duncan, Mason Joyce, Miss I and Abbey Booth.
Sports Captains: Lawson - Jackson HicksonRichards and Ben Jessup; Gordon - Isabella Trewin and Dylan Meloury; Paterson - Sharlotte Bourne and Paige Whitecross; Dennis - Ashley EliottScragg and Jack Mumby.
This week Yarrunga Primary also have some very exciting visitors at the school. They are enormously privileged to be welcoming the Australian Ballet to their campus where members of the troupe will conduct an hour workshop each day with the grade five/six students and the grade three/four students will also receive a one hour workshop during the week.
Friday will see the culmination of all the hard work and learning by the grade five/six students when they perform on stage at the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre (WPACC) before the whole school is treated to a performance at the WPACC of Romeo and Juliet by the Australian Ballet.
AS announced by the state government, significant changes are happening or are planned to happen in the early childhood space.
These changes are welcomed by early childhood teachers, educators and early years management organisations, such as NERPSA.
These changes bring with them the continued focus on learning through play.
Play-based learning supports children to explore and make sense of themselves and their world.
It builds on children’s natural curiosity.
Play supports children in all areas of their development, including their understanding of themselves and relationships with others, their connection to the communities they live in, how they communicate effectively with others and how they think about and solve problems.
Programs that help children to learn through play are supported by educators who will provide children opportunities for:
Adult-led learning where the educator plans or introduces a play experience, idea or topic to purposefully direct the child’s learning; Child-directed play and learning where the child leads their own learning through exploration, imagination and experimentation; and Guided play and learning where educators involve themselves in children’s spontaneous play and extend their learning as opportunities arise.
All NERPSA early childhood teachers and educators understand the
importance and implement such learning through play opportunities to support a child’s educational journey.
As all children are learning all the time there are many opportunities for children to learn at home.
One simple example that can be used is when hanging out the washing, ask your child to hand you one, two, three pegs, sort pegs by colour, or talk about bigger, longer, smaller, and so on using clothes.
Learning through play happens throughout a child’s day, in the home and in the early childhood settings they attend.
THIS new school year is a particularly exciting one for the community of St Patrick’s.
Their eight-classroom building is anticipated to be completed by June, and planning for a redesign of the school’s landscape has commenced.
Both changes will transform the environment, however what remains unchanged as always, is their
dedication to the wellbeing and teaching and learning of their students.
St Patrick’s values the close connection with their families, and after three years of COVID separation, 2023 is a time for them to focus on re-engaging their community into school life.
They commenced their year with a welcome morning tea, held ‘meet and greets’ with parents and students and enjoyed
Shrove Tuesday by holding a pancake breakfast for families.
Pancakes were enjoyed by all for a gold coin donation, with all funds going to Caritas.
They are also excited for the upcoming twilight sports event run by Kaboom.
This is another opportunity to gather and engage in family life together.
P: (03) 5721 5795
A: 40-52 Ovens St, Wangaratta
W: spwangaratta.catholic.edu.au
E: principal@spwangaratta.catholic.edu.au
GALEN Catholic College
(GCC) is leading the way in science education and they continue to encourage their female students to pursue the varied subjects within this area.
The successful offerings include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), VEX robotics, forensic science, microbiology, environmental science and astronomy.
For the enthusiasts, extracurricular programs extend to STEM Engagement, VEX robotics competition teams and In2Science, an e-mentoring program.
On December 7 2022, GCC year 11 student Ashlee Davey had the honour to be a guest speaker at the annual In2Science awards night in Melbourne, which was attended by many political and industry leaders including the Honourable John Brumby.
Ashlee won the Mentee of the Year Award in 2021 and was invited back to talk about her In2Science experience and her relationship with her
Mentor Georgia Eleftheriou, a neuroscience PhD student at the University of Melbourne and Florey Institute.
This was a wonderful example of the importance of a female mentee connection that the college nurtured.
GCC Science teacher Maree Timms is also no stranger to leading in science.
She established GCC’s VEX robotics teams which have been the local pioneers of the program; being the first teams in the region, attending world championships in the US in both 2018 and 2019, and qualifying in 2020 (however COVID prohibited travel for that year).
The travelling teams had several female students who as Maree says importantly ‘bring a different perspective to engineering’.
GCC is now supporting and mentoring other local regional teams in their efforts, such as the Border Robotics Club (Albury/Wodonga) who are attending a competition in Dallas this year.
IT has been a smooth beginning for students and staff at Appin Park Primary School this year.
A new year brings with it opportunity for a fresh start, consolidation of things that are going well, exploring new ideas and embracing change.
Appin Park have welcomed new classroom teachers and education support staff and 24 Foundation students have been welcomed to their new environment.
The grade five buddies have taken great delight in showing new Foundation students around and supporting them closely through the first few weeks of the next stage in the education journey.
Appin Park students will have the opportunity to take part in lessons from The Resilience Project as part of their learning around understanding the importance of looking after their emotional health and wellbeing.
Appin Park has a strong focus on developing and supporting students’ mental health via classroom learning throughout the week and through avenues such as daily breakfast club, classroom check-ins, brain breaks and support from the wellbeing team members.
Providing students with a voice in decision making and a platform for them to share ideas for change and improvement is an opportunity that the grade six students look forward to each year.
Successful students are voted in by their peers after presenting speeches to an audience.
At an assembly on February 20, three School Captains and seven House Captains were introduced to the school community.
The students were presented with their badges by some very proud members of their families as is the tradition for their new leaders.
Term one will provide an opportunity for the year five and six students to attend a three-night camp in Melbourne.
Students are excitedly looking forward to exploring places such as Scienceworks, MSAC, The MCG and Eureka Tower.
The camp helps to support students in further developing their independence, organisational skills, and social connections.
For some students it is their first time visiting the city and travelling on trains and trams.
Appin Park Primary School prides itself on being a warm and welcoming community for students and their families.
Offering a comprehensive curriculum and learning support for students at all levels, staff welcome you to come and look around their beautiful school.
Look out for upcoming open sessions early in term two for prospective students and their families or contact the office for further information.
THE Wangaratta Marathon and Fun Run 2023 will take place on Sunday, March 19 2023.
“We now invite all Primary School aged children to register for the 2km Primary School Challenge,” said Wangaratta Chronicle Marathon and Fun Run event manager, Karen Mayhew.
“There will be two ‘waves’ for the Primary School challenge - Racers and Chasers.
“The Racers wave is for Prep/Foundation to year six students who want to race hard and challenge themselves to achieve their best.
“The Chasers wave is for all primary school aged children, along with siblings, parents, grandparents or carers who just want to participate without ‘racing’ to the finish line.
“All children in both waves will receive a customised medal at the finish and their official time will be published on the website and in our newspaper the following week.”
The 2km Primary School
event focuses on student participation, representing their particular school and earning points and while some students may like to race other entrants, there are no prizes or additional points for those achieving
the fastest times.
“Smaller schools will not be disadvantaged in the enrolment points system when compared to larger schools with factoring based on actual student enrolment numbers on the
first day of the new school year,” Ms Mayhew added.
“Every student finisher in the Primary School Challenge is awarded one ‘Finisher’ point for their school.
“A ‘Finisher’ point will
only be awarded if the entrant has listed their school in their entry submission.
“This is then divided by an enrolment factor and the school with the greatest tally of
‘Enrolment’ points will be declared the winner.”
The winning school will be awarded a $1000 cash prize thanks to event partner R J Sanderson & Associates and will be given a perpetual trophy to display for 12 months.
Primary School children who enter the 2km event may also enter a Community Team, but only if their parent or carer is also a member of the Community Team (entered in a longer event).
A presentation will be arranged to take place at the winning school within a couple of weeks of the event.
Last year’s winner - Cathedral College Wangaratta - were grateful to receive the prize money which was used to purchase more sporting equipment and contributed to sporting clinics for their students.
To register your child and their school, visit https:// wangarattamarathon.com. au/ today.
To ensure you are earning points for your school, choose the school name from the Team drop down menu.
FUN was had by all at the Wangaratta High School 2023 Swimming Carnival with students and staff parading their house colours loud and proud.
Students competed in numerous championship races and novelty events and staff also entered events and showed off their skills.
The halftime entertainment was students and staff dancing to the Nutbush and Macarena.
Year 12 students and staff went head-to-head in the annual Swimming Carnival Students vs Staff relay.
All groups competed in great spirits with the staff (Mr Clark, Mr Manning, Mr Roche and Mr Belci) taking out the win, although not by much.
Well done to all students on their efforts and exemplary behaviour throughout the day.
Wangaratta High School was sent an email by Wangaratta Sports
and Aquatic Centre who were thrilled with the behaviour of the students and the way they cleaned the area before leaving.
Thank you to the Prefects and VCE-VM students for providing everyone with delicious treats throughout the day which consisted of hamper packs containing lots of goodies and were great value at $15.
Further congratulations to all age champions and Merriwa house on taking out the carnival. Congratulations to Wangaratta High School’s sports organiser Sandy Newman on her 25th swimming carnival and to all of the staff for making the day such a huge success.
HOUSE PROUD: Students
Caeleigh Cornhill (Merriwa), Swaye Frankland (Ovens), Ruby Bihun (Wareena) and Millie Meggs (King) proudly represented their house colours at the recent swimming carnival.
INFORMATION EVENING
5:15pm (for a 6pm start) on the 22nd of March 2023
As part of our transition for 2024, we would like to invite future families to join us for our first Year 7 2024 Information Evening, which will be held on Wednesday, the 22nd of March 2023 at 5:15pm (for a 6pm start)
For any queries, please contact our Transition Leader, Hannah Nott on 03 5723 0500 or at Hannah Nott@education vic gov au
We look forward to meeting you
NEW research released last November from Elastoplast has highlighted the importance to parents for their children to have basic First Aid knowledge. Parents understand the importance of being able to act swiftly and calmly in First Aid situations, with 98 per cent of Aussie parents agreeing that being involved in a previous accident had highlighted the need for basic First Aid knowledge.
Sometimes an adult may not be immediately close by, highlighting the importance for children to have confidence in their own First Aid skills so they feel empowered in their ability to help themselves and each other when needed.
The study showed that 81 per cent of parents believe children as young as three years old should be able
to dial triple zero and ask for help, opening up the conversation around where and when children should be participating in their own First Aid training.
While 50 per cent of parents believe that parents/guardians are responsible for teaching age appropriate First Aid to children, 78 per cent believe First Aid should be taught at schools, with four to seven years being the age group where more than
half of parents believe this teaching should commence.
To provide a solution, Elastoplast is running its Kids First Aid School Program for its third year in a row, equipping teachers with the knowledge to teach basic First Aid in schools, and empower students with the skills they require to keep themselves and each other safe.
Developed with ACHPER (The Australian
Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation,) the program is useful for all aspects of life and is curriculum approved, integrating First Aid knowledge into foundational, year one and two learning structures.
“With Elastoplast Kids
First Aid Program, we are confident that teachers have the necessary resources to teach children these essential life skills that help them
At Springhurst Primary school we enjoy a strong focus on positive, respectful and supportive relationships between all members of our school community. A sense of belonging is the basis for a safe, purposeful and inclusive learning environment. Our school reflects the vibrant, ever-changing nature of education, giving opportunities for self-expression and equipping each student with the desire to be a lifelong learner. You are most welcome to call in for a visit.
Our students are valued, encouraged and supported to fulfil their academic, social and emotional journey within a dynamic learning community. We value being a rural school, aiming to provide the best opportunities for our students. Our school hosts a commercial kitchen for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program and our students participate in cooking sessions, raise our own produce in our gardens, enjoy our sensory garden, learn Italian, Music, Science, robotics and coding, enjoy camps, excursions, swimming program, tennis coaching…all in a beautiful rural environment.
We have a bus that runs from Moyhu and school visits are most welcome!
keep themselves and others safe, also giving parents peace of mind,” Dr Sue Whatman, president of ACHPER said.
Elastoplast’s mission is to grow the next generation of life savers by providing children with the tools to not only treat minor injuries, but to help them recognise and respond to unsafe situations by either sending for help or knowing who to call in an emergency.
motto is ‘small school, big ideas, endless opportunities!’
Having commenced here in March last year, it was real pleasure to be on board for the start of this school year, especially to welcome our 125 new Year 7s to the High School. They are now well into their fourth week of secondary schooling. After so much disruption to school camps over the COVID period we are all grateful that these Year 7’s were able to head off on a school camp already to further nurture their connection and relationships with each other as we draw students from so many schools both near and far. I was very pleased to be welcoming so many new teachers in the context of a national shortage. We have been able to attract a wonderful group of experienced and passionate teachers from near and far.
The community may have heard of a significant Government commitment made last year - a $116 million commitment to build and equip 6 new Tech Schools in Victoria, including one in Wangaratta. This commitment is in addition to the $11.7 million committed for improvements and updates to Wangaratta High School. Combined it’s a wonderful outcome for our town and our young people.
I had the pleasure of meeting with the staff in the Department of Education who lead the Tech Schools initiative across the state and hear more about the opportunity and what it means for our school and our town.
This new campus in Wangaratta will complement the existing ten Tech Schools across the state. Wangaratta High School will be a key partner school and be deeply involved in its development and design and is perfectly placed to capitalise on the remarkable opportunities for our students. As a school leader, I am very excited and energised by this commitment to build a unique and world class facility that has bold aspirations. I recognise the very significant opportunities for our students and our community, and I look forward to supporting and serving its design.
It is a very different model than what the name may mean to those that have been in Wangaratta for some time. It is not modelled on what has been here beforehand and is instead very much focused on the type of aspirational and future focused learning and topics that young people need and ensures that our town, schools, and community flourish in the rapidly changing global. Think instead of a ‘Hi-Tech School’ or a
WANGARATTA HIGH SCHOOL
17-49 Edwards St, Wangaratta
Phone (03) 5723 0500
‘STEM School’ (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The Tech School will provide programs for secondary students from Year 7 to 12 that complement and extend their curriculum at school, and our students will come and go as needed from the new campus.
Our new Tech School uses leadingedge technology, discovery and innovation to deliver the advanced education and training to Victorian school students. It will partner with industry to expose our student to real world challenges and inspire them to pursue careers in lowemissions manufacturing, renewable energy, health technologies, food manufacturing, defence, aerospace and digital technologies. It will be a purpose built facility on the GOTAFE campus in town.
It is a very exciting project and opportunity and focused on learning, experiences and aspirations that are the forefront of the rapid change we are experiencing at present such as coding, biotech, clean energy (beyond PV’s), AI, robotics, ag-tech, gamification etc. It is very focused on motivating and inspiring students, and it will give our students access to real-world high-tech STEAM learning experiences aligned to the curriculum and tied to clean energy sector. It will offer programs that serve our students from Year 7 to 12 to enrich and extend their learning beyond what we can do, with world class equipment and expertise that no school would have.
Parents or carers do not enrol their child at the Tech School. They would still need to be enrolled at a partner secondary school, such as Wangaratta High School. If you are interested, please visit www.vic.gov. au/tech-schools or have a look online at Gippsland Tech School https://www. gippslandtechschool.vic.edu.au/ for an idea of what is possible.
We do have the following upcoming events this term; however, I invite you to have a look at our website www.whs. vic.edu.au for lots of information about many programs and offerings and follow us on Facebook/Instagram.
Upcoming:
Year 7 Welcome BBQ on Wednesday, 1st March at 6:00pm.
2024 Year 7 Information Evening on Wednesday, 22nd March at 5:15pm. Talent Quest on Wednesday, 5th April.
www.whs.vic.edu.au
ni C k jones
Cathedral College Wangaratta is proud to celebrate our twentieth anniversary in 2023. In twenty short years, the College has established an outstanding reputation for providing a high-quality, Prep to Year Twelve learning environment for the young people of the Rural City of Wangaratta and the Northeast region. It is appropriate that we celebrate this significant milestone and give thanks for the foresight of the Diocese of Wangaratta, its leaders and community members who understood the importance of providing a low-feepaying, independent schooling option for the community.
The 2023 school year will be an exciting time for the College as we recognise and celebrate our past and look forward to the next exciting phase in the history of Cathedral College. There will be various opportunities this year for our community to gather and celebrate the significant occasion of our twentieth anniversary.
In May, we will introduce our first Founders’ Day celebration. This will be an opportunity for community members who have played an integral part in the growth and development of the College to celebrate with our current students, staff and broader school community.
I look forward to seeing many past students, staff and community members at these events throughout the year.
Each year at Cathedral College, we develop a school-wide theme that identifies an important aspect of the College which we want our school community to focus on. Cathedral College has traditionally used the tagline of Belong. Discover. Achieve to help articulate the essential values of our College. It is appropriate that in our twentieth year, we revisit these values as our school-wide theme in 2023. In simple terms, Discover describes the many opportunities our students are provided to assist them in identifying their individual strengths, passions and talents. Belong identifies the school culture we create to ensure students feel safe, connected and supported in and outside of the classroom. Achieve describes the high expectations and pursuit of excellence that all students are expected to strive for. Each individual is unique, and we walk alongside our students as they discover what excellence looks like for them.
The health and wellbeing of our school community remain a priority for the College in 2023. Our new strength and conditioning gymnasium will be
opened at the end of Term One and will be another addition to the high–quality sporting facilities that the College enjoys. The gymnasium will be utilised by our health, and physical classes, including the expanding VET certificates, offered to our students. Our STRIVE Sporting Academy students will benefit from this new facility, along with the many community groups which utilise the excellent sporting facilities that our College enjoys. STRIVE is expanding in 2023 as we introduce basketball to the program.
This year, our College has partnered with The Resilience Project to embed a whole school approach to the concept of mental health and wellbeing. The Resilience Project assists our staff in delivering emotionally engaging programs which provide practical, evidence-based strategies to build resilience and happiness. The program has its foundations in the concepts of gratitude, empathy and mindfulness and also incorporates emotional literacy, connection and physical health as cornerstones for positive mental health and wellbeing. We look forward to working closely with The Resilience Project to support our young people in developing lifelong strategies to support their mental health throughout their lifetime.
Providing genuine and authentic opportunities for our students to develop as community leaders is integral to a Cathedral education. Traditionally, our student leadership model has been based around our house system with Junior, Middle and Senior school students appointed to House Captain positions. In 2023, we have introduced four new leadership positions, which allow for greater input and direction from our student body. These positions include; Anglican Identity and Service Leader, Arts and Culture Leader, Environment and Sustainability Leader and Student Wellbeing Leader. We look forward to our school leaders working alongside staff to provide authentic opportunities for our young leaders to demonstrate initiative and implement
In our twentieth year, Cathedral College Wangaratta is thriving, and I encourage you to contact us to enquire about the possibility of your son or daughter joining the College. We have limited spaces in certain year groups, and I invite you to attend one of our Open Day events or arrange an individual tour of the College with our Registrar, Ms Louise Trenkner.
Welcome to the 2023 school year, This year Galen Catholic College commences its school year with over 200 new students, fortunately for all our students we started this year with no restrictions on how we operate our college, which is a major change considering the past three years. This large number of new students come to us from 26 feeder schools located not just around Wangaratta, but regionally and interstate. Some students come from large feeder primary schools, whilst others are the only student transferring to Galen Catholic College from their previous school. Added to this we also welcome 17 new staff who have joined our teaching and support teams to provide the best possible learning opportunities for our students. Our theme for 2023 is, “Created and Called, living with Grace and Respect.”
The first part of the theme “Created and Called,” comes from Marist Education Australia who are one of Galen Catholic College’s two original founding orders, the other order being the Brigidine Sisters now known as Kildare Ministries. When the theme was presented to our senior school leaders late in 2022, our leaders chose to add, “living with Grace and Respect.” Importantly, when presented with a theme for the year our students must have the opportunity to explore the theme and add to it so that they are able to bring the theme to life through their words and actions. This ownership of the theme will assist our leaders to develop a school culture which reflects our theme.
Recently at our Year 12 Jumper Presentation I spoke to our senior students about their year ahead and focussed on the short time they have left in secondary school which is now under 240 days. I spoke to each of our Year 12 students about achieving the results that they are truly capable of based on their gifts and talents, by giving this year their best possible effort. I also explored how their gifts and talents are a reflection of who they are, what they are capable of and ultimately the pathway they can take for their success.
In the week following the Year 12 Jumper Presentation I accompanied our Year 12 students on their threeday retreat at Falls Creek. This gave us the opportunity to further explore our 2023 theme with our students. Over the three days I was amazed at the way in which our students not just embraced the theme, but also considered how they can work together as a cohort to achieve their best throughout 2023. I consider myself to be very fortunate to have experienced such an uplifting retreat with a wonderful group a senior students.
Over the remainder of 2023, I will further extend the conversation I started at the Year 12 Jumper Presentation by exploring what it means to be created and called. There are clear links between our 2023 theme and each student being created and called to develop a pathway for their learning which aligns to their gifts, talents and passion. Due to the significant pathway and subject offerings we have at Galen Catholic College, our students are able to explore their passions and interests across our VCE, Vocational Major and VET streams.
As an educator, it is my firm belief that student engagement in learning is critical to a student utilising their gifts and talents to achieve success in their chosen pathway. If you like, it is what each of our students were created and called to do in an educational sense. At the same time, each of us as educators are also called and created to provide each student with the best possible learning opportunities, which allow our students to excel in their chosen pathway.
My hope for all our students and staff at Galen Catholic College in 2023 is that each of us are able to engage in learning opportunities which will continue to progress us on a pathway to success. A pathway which reflects our gifts and talents, whilst also being deeply invested in who we are called to be.
Happy days Darta
