PART 7 COMMUNITY

Student Wellbeing

St Aidan’s Pastoral Framework

St Aidan’s Pastoral Framework identifies five pillars of well-being that underpin and drive the development and delivery of our pastoral care initiatives. All pastoral initiatives aim to enhance individual and community wellbeing through inspiring leadership, inclusion, engagement, capacity building, connection, and care.

St Aidan’s SOAR Program

The St Aidan’s Pastoral Framework together with the Australian National Curriculum builds the foundation for the development of the formal pastoral care program called SOAR. From this framework, SOAR, our weekly program is delivered by Pastoral Care teachers under the direction and leadership of the Pastoral Care Leadership Team.

Students with well-developed social and emotional skills find it easier to manage themselves, relate to others, develop resilience and a sense of self-worth, resolve conflict, engage in teamwork and feel positive about themselves and the world around them. The development of personal and social capability is the foundation for learning and for citizenship. In particular, the more students learn about their own emotions, values, strengths and capacities, the more they are able to manage their own emotions and behaviours, and to understand others and establish and maintain positive relationships.

SOAR identifies five key strategic pillars of learning that underpin the design of the program.

Personal and Social Responsibility

Students learn to understand themselves and others, and manage their relationships, lives, work and learning more effectively. This pillar involves students in a range of practices including recognising and regulating emotions, developing empathy for others and understanding relationships, establishing and building positive relationships, making responsible decisions, working effectively in teams, handling challenging situations constructively and developing leadership skills.

Academic Management

This pillar is targeted at providing the opportunity for student academic mentoring and the development of effective study skills and work strategies. Time may be used for guided NAPLAN or ATAR preparation strategies

Health

Health literacy improves a student’s ability to gain access to, understand and use health information and services in ways that promote and maintain health and wellbeing. This pillar explores drug and alcohol awareness, risk minimisation programs and reproductive health.

Digital Literacy

Students learn to navigate technology with confidence, care and consideration, understanding its possibilities, limitations and impact on individuals, groups and communities. Students will learn how to apply digital information security practices and apply personal security protocols in their practice. This pillar incorporates several cyber safety programs and an appreciation of the legal rights and responsibilities of online usage.

Human Relationships

Students will critically analyse and critically evaluate contextual factors that influence decision-making, behaviours and actions, and explore inclusiveness, power inequalities, assumptions, diversity and social justice and its impact on human relationships. This pillar explores consent education programs.

Parent Engagement, Feedback and Consultation

An essential component of our School community is parental involvement. The St Aidan’s Parents and Friends’ Association holds meetings once a term. The purpose is to communicate the activities of the Support Groups, receive reports from the School Principal, P&F Executive and Support Groups, and more importantly, to receive feedback from parents and friends.

Within the P & F, a network of Support Groups operates, with the function of fundraising for and supporting co-curricular activities enjoyed by both Junior and Senior school girls. St Aidan’s Support Groups cover the Senior School Friends of Sport, Music, and STAGE.

A system of Parent Ambassadors – parent volunteers in each class of the School – also functions under the auspices of the P & F Association Inc and the School. These parents offer their help to act as liaison persons between parents and staff. They encourage other parents at the school to become involved in the many different events that occur during the school year, make contact with new parents and are of great assistance in the organisation of such events.

Another way we engage with parents is through our bi-annual Parent Survey. St Aidan’s is committed to listening to the views and expectations of key stakeholders and commissions independent surveys to provide performance feedback on a wide range of education topics. The feedback from these surveys greatly assists the School with both its operational and strategic planning, and its determination to continually improve the educational experience offered to the students.

Regular communication is maintained with parents via a fortnightly online newsletter (Aidan’s Captured) and weekly online updates from the Principal and Head of Junior School. Email distribution lists, the School app, Facebook and Instagram pages are also used to provide timely information to parents.

The school holds Academic Progress meetings twice a year although parents are invited to set meetings to discuss their daughter’s progress with members of staff at any time throughout the year, as required. Teachers remained accessible during 2020 and 2021; parents were invited to participate in Academic Progress Meetings via telephone when face to face meetings were not possible due to covid-related government directives.

Parent Information Evenings are held for the Junior School, Secondary School Year levels and at transition times (Orientation to the Junior and Senior Schools, Semester 2 progress meetings). Each year parents are invited to a presentation concerning issues relating to the needs of their daughters.

The production of a Parent Handbook, Subject Handbooks and details provided on the school’s Online Learning Management System (Aidan’s Central), assists parents with information.

The School Council comprises two nominees of the Society of the Sacred Advent, current and past parents as well as past students and “independent” members from the broader community. The St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School Foundation Board also comprises current and past parents and community members.

Alumni Engagement

The St Aidan’s Alumni Office aims to create a living bridge between our past students and families with the current school community. These links are fundamental to the School, allowing current families to be enriched by our history. By facilitating reunions, we ensure past students are kept in touch with each other and St Aidan’s future direction. Every year the Alumni office organises the ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty and sixty-year reunions. Each group is contacted and encouraged to reunite and share school memories. The Alumni Office facilitates mentoring between past and current students. Past students are invited to the School to give talks and share their expertise, and personalised, handwritten cards are sent to every Old Girl over 70 years of age

2022 Alumni Achievements

Kate Carnell (Knowlman 1972) was appointed as the first Patron of The Family Business Association.

Jessica Allen (2021) has been awarded the Australian National University CECS Engineering Research and Development Female Excellence Scholarship.

Tessa Heath’s (2015) single, ‘The Hell of it All’, received national radio spins and was nominated in two categories in the Clipped Music Video Festival for 2021/22.

Melissa Maclean (1994) received a Logie for her role as Executive Producer on the hit television show, Travel Guides, on Channel Nine.

Krissy Teng (2022) was accepted and has commenced her study of Bachelor of Music at The Juilliard School in New York.

Andrea Davey (Tjoeng 2002) was awarded CEO of the Year (Medium Corporation) at the Outstanding Leadership Awards.

Carol Lee (1980) was appointed as Magistrate, in the role of Southern Eastern Coroner, based in Southport.

2022 Alumni Award Winners

Emma Betts Award Recognising young alumni (30 years or younger at the time of nomination) whose early accomplishments inspire and provide leadership to students and alumni.

Sarah Kaese (2010) is a naval officer with the Royal Australian Navy. After finishing school, Sarah went on to study a Bachelor of Arts in Information Systems and commenced her Junior Warfare Officer Court to become a qualified Maritime Warfare Officer. Over the years, she has ventured across the border on deployments, gained extensive training within the Navy, and is now working towards becoming a Principal Warfare Officer.

Mother Emma Award Recognising the achievements made by St Aidan’s alumni in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Hannah Gartside (2004) is a successful and highly regarded artist, who’s work centers around costume-making and design. Hannah’s work is featured regularly at exhibitions around Australia, most recently at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, NSW.

Caroline Amy Award Recognising the significant contributions made by St Aidan’s alumni in their local communities and beyond.

Michele Sterling (Thorne 1978) is a clinical physiotherapist who has worked across both the public and private health sectors in Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia for over 20 years. Michele has conducted extensive research in chronic pain development and now leads a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Road Traffic Injury Recovery at The University of Queensland.