The partnership we share with parents and families is very important. At the recent Father’s Day Breakfast, we were able to celebrate the special relationship between fathers and sons. Again, the staff gave freely of their time to ensure everything ran smoothly for which I am most grateful.
My sincere congratulations to all students who participated in the St Joseph’s and Mater Christi Colleges’ combined production of ‘A Chorus Line’. Ms Libbie Rogers, who was the Director/Producer from Mater Christi College, did an amazing job bring together such an incredible show. My thanks also to Miss Bronwyn Dean, who acted as the St Joseph’s College liaison for 2019. We are now looking forward to hosting the 2020 Musical and, once again, encouraging many students from our two Colleges to get involved.
Book Week was launched with the great support of our Library Team, and Chieri became a focus for the many activities which took place to celebrate the amazing world of literature. My appreciation is extended to Ms Michelle Wilson, Mrs Annette Thompson, Mrs Sharon MacDougall, staff and students for their involvement in this event.
On Sunday 25 August, Mass in the Parish was held at St Jude the Apostle, Scoresby. Father Jim Acreman was the Main Celebrant with Father Longinus Onyeschesi from St Jude’s. Roger Anthony (9 Edwards) spoke about relationship with St Jude’s and what this continues to mean to him as a member of the St Joseph’s College community. Connection with our local parishes is a core value of our College.
Throughout each year, we pause to listen to our students, families and staff to gauge how our learning community is travelling. This feedback is invaluable to our progress as effective school communities and is backed by evidence-based research and best practices. One of the more important formal ways we engage and gather data is through CEMSIS, the Catholic Education Melbourne School Improvement Surveys.
CEMSIS is a set of surveys that have been built specifically for Catholic Schools in Melbourne by Learning Services teams at Catholic Education Melbourne, in partnership with researchers at Learning First, and in wide consultation with Principals in our schools. In 2019, students from all year levels, families and staff are invited to participate in CEMSIS using a brand new, secure and purpose-built online platform. The online platform is where our school leaders will access the summary reports that visualise the results of the student, family and staff surveys.
The CEMSIS survey platform is operated by an independent supplier, ORIMA Research Pty Ltd. The platform meets with the very high security and privacy standards for handling student and school data.
Students at our school will be provided with supervised sessions where teachers are on hand to help and answer any questions. Families and staff can complete the survey anytime up until Friday 20 September via a link that was emailed to all families. Feedback from last year’s pilot trials indicate many surveys were done across a range of mobile devices and different web browsers. If you do not wish your son to participate in the survey, please email me by Tuesday 10 September.
Year 11 students who have offered their services for particular leadership positions in 2019, have undergone several weeks of training as part of a Leadership Program. The boys were presented with a certificate to acknowledge their successful completion of the program.
On Friday 18 October from 6pm-8pm, the annual Arts and Technology Evening will be held in Chieri and I hope we see many people in attendance to celebrate the inspiring student work.
I hope to see as many as possible from the Class of 2018 on Monday 9 September 6pm for the one-year reunion.
Ms Carmel Lardner begins Maternity Leave at this time. I would like to wish Carmel and Liam O’Keefe all the very best as they await the birth of their second child.
All the best for the fortnight ahead.
Ms Cathy Livingston
Principal