Principal's Message
Welcome Back
It was a pleasure to welcome students back to the College last week. Once again, classrooms are settled and focussed as students re-connect with their studies. Particularly pleasing is hearing students using the language related to their “learning toolkits”, setting good study habits for now and the future.
The planning for our renewed learning structure continues. Staff had the opportunity to examine this year’s program in next year’s structure, comparing their mock 2027 timetable to their current timetable. Feedback will continue to inform our change management process. We will provide more information to students and families in coming weeks.
Easter Season
We are Resurrection People. While the Easter Triduum has passed, we remain in the Easter Season, an ongoing celebration and reflection on the Resurrection. Jesus’ triumph over death fills us with hope. We experience moments of resurrection when we choose, hopefully, to follow Jesus’ teaching – when peace wins out over violence, when connection trumps distance, when love beats indifference and hate. Each time we choose to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, we experience a resurrection moment that draws us closer to God.
AI at St Columba’s College – Al READY PROJECT UPDATE
The College has been working with external consultants Matt Esterman and Dr Tim Kitchen from The Next Word to develop a whole-school approach to artificial intelligence. This work is part of our Al Ready Project, which runs through to the end of the year.
The Leadership Team and our Cybersecurity Committee will be in ongoing conversation with Matt and Tim as we refine our approach to AI to ensure that it enhances learning, while at the same time setting guidelines for ethical, safe and responsible use by the whole school community.
To date:
- Following the December staff professional learning session with Matt Esterman, staff filled in a survey to provide us with a reference point of current AI use and understanding. The Leadership Team has reviewed the results to inform various aspects of the project.
- The current Al Policy is being reviewed and its scope broadened – this is a fast-moving space and our Policy needs to reflect the work we are undertaking.
What’s coming in Term 2:
- Matt and Tim will return to conduct a review of our IT systems and data practices in relation to Al.
- We will offer further professional learning opportunities to staff.
- Student focus groups will take place to ensure student perspectives inform our approach.
- A revised Al policy will be shared for consultation.
- Appropriate reminders and prompts to staff and students, alongside our current cybersecurity messaging, to promote safe, ethical and responsible AI use.
College approved Al platforms are Microsoft CoPilot and Google Gemini, both available through school accounts. If your child is using personal Al tools like ChatGPT, please make sure their model training settings are turned off (Settings – Data Controls – Improve the model for everyone) and talk to them about not including any identifiable or personal information about students, staff or the school in their prompting.
The team at The Next Word have made two resources available for families, which you can access via this link:
- Prompting Parents AI Planner: “A one-page guide to help families navigate AI with confidence, curiosity and care”.
- Prompting Parents Framework: An AI Framework to support parents to have informed and proactive conversations to guide their child’s/children’s AI use. From the Framework, “The goal is not to make parents into AI experts. It is to give them the language, confidence, and structure to have meaningful conversations with their children about AI, to set thoughtful boundaries, and to model responsible engagement.”
