IONA 1

A Very Special Year

Welcome back to the school year for 2022.  It has been a delight to welcome the students onsite and to commence with a face to face learning program.  There is a feeling of excitement and relief in the air as students connect with their friends and teachers, and settle into the routines that support their academic learning and their wellbeing.

We have commenced the year with a recognition of our 125th Anniversary milestone – a tremendous achievement, and a significant legacy as we reflect upon the generations of women who have been gifted with a Sisters of Charity education.  These women have gone out into the world to make a positive difference to the lives of people in their communities.

As part of our professional learning program in January, the staff reflected on the significant people in our tradition who have contributed to our identity and mission:  Mother Ursula Bruton, the Foundress of St Columba’s College; St Columba, our namesake; Mary Aikenhead, the foundress of the Sisters of Charity; the Sisters of Charity; generations of lay women and men; and Mary Aikenhead Ministries.  We listened to the reflections of three current staff members who were also students at the College in the 1960’s, the 1980’s and the 2000’s, and heard what the College meant to them as students here.  As we listened, staff members were tasked with reflecting on the characteristics that have contributed to our identity and mission today.  This is what we heard.

We have inherited a tradition of inclusion, courage, fearlessness, innovation, tenacity and service given in faithful and generous love, all in the name of God, active and present in our world.  The stories remind us of where we have come from, but also serve as pointers for our future, of hopeful aspiration as we work to honour our forebears, and in our present day, animate the very best parts of our tradition that make us who we are.

The students and staff all received their 125-year commemorative badges after they were blessed as part of the Opening School Assembly on Thursday morning.  We encourage our students to wear them with pride.

We look forward to more birthday celebrations to come.

Welcome to New Staff Members

We officially welcome:

• Loretta Joyce – Human Resources Manager
• David Pino – Physics and Science
• Olivia Zouev – Visual Arts
• Adele Trigona – Dance and Drama
• Lance Jilbert – Williams House Leader, Religious Education and English
• Marisa di Milta – Justice Leader, Religious Education and English
• Vivian Ly – Youth Mininster
• Nicola McCaskill – College Receptionist
• Lorraine Lusis – Assistant to the Deputy Principal and Head of Students
• Rachel Rotondo – College Nurse

Welcome Back to:

• Michael Camilleri – Humanities, Senior Business studies, VCAL
• Donna Kellett – Assistant to the Deputy Principal and Head of Students

This year will also mark the end of an era.  Ms Debra Randall has served as Personal Assistant to the Principal for the past 18 years, and has offered diligent, exemplary and caring service to the community in that time.  Debbie has supported 5 principals in their role here at St Columba’s and has provided outstanding executive level support to all of us.  I am very grateful for all that she has provided me over the past 4 years.

Fortunately for the College, Debbie will remain with us taking on the role of Risk and Compliance Officer.

Mrs Josephine Marazita has been appointed as the new Personal Assistant to the Principal.

I am grateful for the generosity with which all staff members share their giftedness with the College community.

College Prayer for our 125th celebration

During term 4 a small group of students met weekly over a month to create a commemorative prayer for our 125th celebrations. We followed a process that included brainstorming three key questions:

• Who are we as a College?
• What is important to us as students?
• What do we represent as students of STC? 

After sharing our ideas Mrs Fleeton asked us to do some reading that would help us understand the importance of prayer as a community and also the importance of prayer being an example of our Catholic identity. 

We then spent some time just talking about all of our ideas and working out some key points and thoughts we shared as a group. At each stage we also tried to think about all of the students here at STC and what might be important to everyone here today. Being inclusive and people of justice became a common theme. Once we had a long list of keywords and statements we tried to group into sections with similar ideas. 

Some additional considerations we made:

• Our prayer had to be uncomplicated
• It had to make a point
• It needed to tell our story a a College 
• We wanted to be able to read it beyond 2022 
• And importantly we wanted it to be easily read by 1000 people at once

This process taught us how important it is to listen to everyone’s ideas in order to come up with the best possible prayer.  We connect to the world around us and we convey God’s message of love through crucial messages of today. Also that there are many stages of refinement before you get to a final product. Through this prayer we hope that future readers will be able to reminisce about the core values which we hold today and hope that they will carry them on, into the next generation of students at the college and beyond.

We want to thank the following students who were part of this group:

Tiana Ciavarella

Sophie D’Aspromonte

Monique Davood 

Bella Page

Siana Sands 

Elisa Slovacek

Amelia Uberti 

God of Love 

We give thanks for the gift of each other
and the joy that comes from being in our community.

Give us the courage to engage in our world
with curiosity and open hearts. 

We are committed to learn from our mistakes,
in walking the path of justice,
towards a future that brings hope to all. 

Help us connect compassionately
where truth and love
are our foundation for action

Amen 

Student Executive

We would like to introduce the Student Executive Team, once again, particularly for the new families who have joined our community.

They helped to prepare a wonderful Opening College Assembly for students and staff and I thank them for their efforts.

House Representative Student Leadership Role

We are currently looking for applications for the 2022 House Representative student leadership role.

The role of the House Representative is to:

– Actively promote and participate in House activities and events within the College

– Support the organisation of House activities and events such as Liturgies, Assemblies, Performing Arts Competitions, Athletics and Swimming Carnivals

– Model and raise awareness of the values of the House and House Patron

– Advocate for and raise awareness of their House Partnership within the House Groups and the College

– Assist their House Teacher with organisational matters within their House group

– Encourage interactions within the House group and their twin House group

– Meet regularly with the House Leader, House Captain and other House Representatives

– Be connected with at least one of the Arts, Environment, Liturgy, Social Justice, Sport or  College Captains and their related activities

– Work collaboratively with the Student Engagement Team

The number of House Representatives to be elected are as follows:

1 Yr 7 student representing each  House – 7 reps

1 Yr 8 student representing each House – 7 reps

1 Yr 9 student representing each House – 7 reps

1 Yr 10 student representing each House – 7 reps

1 Yr 11 student representing each House – 7 reps

1 Yr 12 House Captain for each House – 7 reps

Outline of the election process:

• Interested students complete their online applications by 9:00am Monday 7 February
• House Leader advises students if they are selected to give a short 1min speech by 3:00pm Tuesday 8 February
• Applicants give speech to their House Year Level on Thursday 10 February
• Voting by each House Year Level occurs directly after the speeches
• House Leaders advise successful applicants on Friday 11 February

We encourage students to consider whether they would like to extend their experience as a leader at St. Columba’s College and help to shape the experience of school life for their peers.

Bronntanais o Dhia Program

Bronntanais o Dhia is a Gaelic phrase which translates to “gifts from God”. We feel it is a very apt name for our program as it celebrates the practise and development of the gifts and talents of our students for the good of our College community.

This program aims to do the following:

1. To extend opportunities for positive reinforcement of student achievement & behaviour
2. To build a holistic story of an individual student’s development
3. To extend the pursuit of excellence into a wider range of fields
4. To promote additional opportunities for students to demonstrate their skills

Students were encouraged to engage in the co-curricular activities that the College offers. Not only is it important for their own personal growth but every participant accrues valuable points for their House.

I have provided a link here so that you can read over the document for a better understanding of how it will operate this year.

Vaping Detectors

In the 13 August edition of Iona, in 2021, I wrote an article about the growing concern about vaping amongst our young people. In this article I included a few useful links to provide additional information. Please revisit/visit this article to access this information if required.

Since then, a number of parents have expressed concerns about vaping and their young people.

In the later part of 2021, the College liaised with other schools and explored the idea of installing vaping detectors. Earlier this year, vaping detectors in toilets, and CCTV outside of toilets, have now been installed along with signage for students.

Incidents where vaping detectors are activated will result in an investigation by the House Leaders. Should a student be identified as being involved in the incident, parents will be notified and consequences for the student will result.

If you have any queries regarding vaping, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Nakkita Egan (Head of Students) or myself.

Year 12 Commemorative Windcheaters

We are currently liaising with Noone Imagewear regarding the delivery of the Year 12 Windcheaters. Disappointingly, delays, as a result of COVID, mean that we will not be able to distribute them until mid-February. We will communicate any changes to this timeframe to parents and students.

As per the Yr 12 Agreement which all parents and students were asked to acknowledge at the time of transition in November 2021, students will be permitted to wear the windcheater every day as an alternative to the College jumper. Should a student be found in breach of any grooming or uniform expectations on 3 occasions, their windcheater will be confiscated for four school weeks. They will then be able to continue to wear the windcheater provided they comply with all uniform and grooming requirements moving forward.

The St Columba’s Tutoring Group is once again being held each Thursday after school from 3.05 – 4.00 pm, in the Library, for year 7-10 students.

It will begin on Thursday, 10th February.

The sessions are facilitated by a Learning Support Officer and a Maths teacher. Attendance is free of charge.

Students are invited to attend with any class work they need to complete, revision or simply to get some help with understanding a topic or task.

No prior appointments need to be made. Students do not necessarily have to remain for the whole time and they will need to make their own travel arrangements after leaving the College grounds.

For further information, please contact Olga Angelini, Learning Support Officer, either via 93319144 or at angelinio@columba.vic.edu.au.