Dear College Community,

We are in an interesting phase now, as we recover from COVID19. It has required us to take a very plain and simple approach to College life at this time. This term, there has not been the same degree of extra-curricular opportunities, nor whole school events, assemblies and other significant activities. We have maintained a log of the events anactivities which would normally take place in Term Two and look forward to rescheduling most of these in the second half of the year. You will notice in Mrs Powell’s section of the Star, that there’s an opportunity to view what is still happening and is going to be reimagined. We can expect changes to what is documented in the mid-year break.  

Despite many events having not being held, there is a huge amount of consideration that takes place in rescheduling according to Catholic Education Guidelines. To save confusion, we have been encouraging our staff not to refer to State Government guidelines, but to those issued to schools and colleges, specifically from Catholic Education Tasmania.  

In terms of future thinking, there’s been some exciting things happening relating to the educational opportunities we will soon provide to our students. Firstly, Packages of Learning is a crosssectoral opportunity that our College is very keen to be involved in. Packages of Learning is aimed at Year 9 and 10 with both VET and pre-tertiary focused pathways established, enabling highly engaging, authentic experiences for our students linked to pathways, such as building, construction, engineering, architecture, hospitality, tourism and agriculture.  

Pandemic “learnings” have had us considering how we best support our students who live remotely but commit to travelling long distances each day to attend the College. During my time as a student at the College, I remember my classmates from Circular Head who were prepared to travel by bus for three hours per day to attend. We currently have 75 students from the Circular Head area who still commit to the travel. Why? Because, what we doand how we do things, but most importantly, why we operate highly is valued and appreciated. People desire the quality of learning, the culture, the broad experiences and the spirit of the College. I believe there are more families in Circular Head and other remote locations who would enrol their children at our College, but the five days of travel is seen as unsustainable.  This is particularly an issue for children transitioning into the College from Grade Six. Three hours on a bus for children in the Middle Years (Years 7-8) can be hard to sustain.  

To our families from Circular Head, please stay tuned for upcoming consultation. We are keen to engage with you.  

As leaders, it is an opportunity to see growth in areas that can be sometimes viewed as challenges and barriers.  It is also important for us to provide others with opportunities to uncover new potentials.  

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to engage in future focused conversations. I remain committed to maintaining this focus despite my contract as Acting Principal concluding at the end of the year.  

In partnership  

 

Mr Gregg Sharman 

Acting Principal  

Year Seven 2021 Enrolment 

Please see the following timeline outlining the next steps in the enrolment process for Years 7-10, 2021. Our arrangements have obviously been altered for this year, however, this has provided an opportunity to review. We understand that many families would love to visit the College; we would like to extend an invitation, but this is not yet possible due to COVID 19 restrictions.  

Timeline here

Senior College 2021 Enrolment 

This has not been an area of focus for the College previously. However, unbeknown to most, there have been many students who have joined our community for Senior College only. We have found that there have been many students who have flourished in their senior years due to outstanding pastoral care, appropriate structure for those who might find a “loose” culture difficult to navigatethe outstanding staff who work with students and their families effectively to see outstanding academic results and the ongoing vibrant extra-curricular opportunities that underpin College spirit that is hard to replicate. 

Timeline here