School Advisory Council

It is my honour to share the Seton Catholic College School Advisory Council Annual Report for 2022 Our Council has been led by the wonderful Mrs Deb Barbas this year as our Chairperson Deb has guided the Seton School Advisory Council with such competence, grace and a terrific sense of humour On behalf of our Principal Chris Wallace, Seton staff, students, parents and School Advisory Council

Members we acknowledge her time, work and commitment We thank her sincerely for her 6 years of service, which include a year as a member, 2 years as secretary and 3 years as Chair

Our 2022 Council members included:

Chairperson: Deb Barbas

Deputy Chairperson: Kristy Polimeno

Treasurer: Daniel Papaphotis

Secretary: James Punch

CSPWA Representative: Mike Waine

Members: Meredith Drynan

Alex Foster

Nikki Harney

Ex Officio Members: Chris Wallace – Principal

Peter Farer-Smith - Director of Finance and Operations

Fr Paul Raj – Zone of Priest Representative

We welcomed our new Seton Principal, Chris Wallace, this year. Chris has already made such a positive impact at Seton. He began the year prioritising meetings with students to ensure he was authentically listening to the Seton student voice. Chris often speaks about the importance of student voice, as well as staff voice and parent voice, as he pursues a Christ centred, child focussed quality education at Seton. It has been a privilege to sit on the Council and witness his community approach to our school, where every stakeholder is valued.

This has been a year where we have all had to be agile as COVID-19 became a reality for us in WA While this has been challenging, it has also demonstrated the strong faith filled community we have at Seton as students, staff and families remained connected to each other and still flourished through flexible learning possibilities and creative opportunities for interaction As a School Advisory Council, we were also affected, starting the year meeting via TEAMs, with many of our meetings becoming a hybrid model of members meeting at Seton and online concurrently

The School Advisory Council transitioned this year from a Board to a Council operating with the new Terms of Reference and is accountable to Catholic Education WA Ltd All new members completed a training session provided by CEWA which covered the Terms of Reference, the four pillars of Quality Catholic Education including Catholic Identity, Education, Community and Stewardship, CEWA Ltd Policy Suite, Executive Directives, Delegations of Authority and the role of a Council member in providing support and endorsement to the Principal and Executive Team

We meet 6 times a year as an Advisory Council on a Tuesday evening The agenda is presented as a series of reports Chris Wallace presents his report on the four pillars of Quality Catholic Education These pillars link to the school’s strategic plan, vision for learning and the school improvement plan There are many initiatives and celebrations we can acknowledge as a college this year within the pillars

Catholic Identity: This year Seton had a focus on staff formation with the completion of the evangelisation plan Many staff have trained as Extra Ordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist this year, under the guidance of Father Paul Student retreats, Seton Day and online Mass and prayer celebrations were highlights in this area

Education: Seton’s School Improvement Plan (SIP) has met so many goals in 2022 The rollout of the Vision for Learning and the alignment to the college acronym of RISE continues to showcase the academic rigour and excellence in the area of Education Staff provided an excellent pastoral and comprehensive online program for those students learning from home during the COVID peak Some other foci in this area include the College’s Sporting events and student achievements, the Future Qualified Pathway, Frangelico Arts awards, Performing Arts events and student achievements, and NAIDOC week

Community: Seton’s COVID response this year has been exceptional The clarity, timing and amount of information from a parent perspective was sincerely appreciated Community highlights were the introduction of the Walyalup Catholic School Network with 7 neighbouring Catholic primary schools, culminating in more schools having the opportunity to attend Seton Experience Day and the development of a network that has increased connection opportunities across schools.

The P & F has done a wonderful job in providing opportunities for connecting as a community even amid the challenges of COVID The Mother’s Day bags were so well received, and another highlight was the Father’s Day Breakfast Our community also had so many opportunities to attend many events during the school year including Legally Blonde, the Dance Showcase and the Annual Music Concert as well as many others

Stewardship: The College has had a focus in their school improvement plan on the implementation of the CEWA Strategic Wellbeing Framework This year has also seen planning improvements for the Uniform Shop and Cafeteria for 2023 The introduction of a Kaartidjin Leader has increased Aboriginal connection with the inclusion of this student leader in the Student Council The College received an Architectural Design Award for the Mother Seton Centre Seton's budget, enrolments and financial forecasts are reported on by Peter Farrer-Smith, Director of Finance and Operations Seton has become a school of choice for many in the area with enrolments increasing Funding implications from State government grants continue in 2023; however, the College is in a stable position financially due to comprehensive management and considered planning to strike a balance between the needs of the College while still being an affordable option for Seton families

We would like to acknowledge the work of the Seton P & F for ensuring community events and connections were still able to take place in a year affected by COVID-19

A sincere thank you to Kymberly Florenca for her diligent coordination of agendas, minutes and everything else

Special thanks is also extended to the Seton staff and Executive Team Seton is a College where the staff efforts, time and dedication are so evident Care for every single student is at the core of this dedication, of which we are truly grateful

Kristy Polimeno School Advisory Council Chair