From the Principal

Dear Parents and Friends,

Welcome to Term three. I hope our students have had a restful, enjoyable and productive break from classes and are ready and eager to make the most of the opportunities that will be available this term.

Australian Jesuit and Companion Schools (JACSA) runs a yearly Student Leaders Immersion Trip to East Timor, in which two student leaders from most JACSA schools participate. This year, Alana Clarke (2023 Justice Captain) and Curtis McCoughtry (2023 Academic Captain) are representing our school. They left on July 1 and will return on July 14. You can stay updated on their trip through our College's social media pages. Curtis and Alana are enjoying their experience of embracing the Ignatian theme of being 'young people for and with others' as they explore school and community life in Dili and its surrounding region. We look forward to hearing their stories and experiences upon their return to share with our school community.

The Work Experience Program for Year 10 students in the last week of term two seems to have been very successful. After speaking with several students who participated, I gathered that the experience was a valuable one for them. Congratulations to the Year 10 students, and a special thanks to Ms. Dot Vajda (Acting Work & Further Education Coordinator) for coordinating this valuable program for our students.

We have an exciting event this term - our College production of "Anastasia"! It would be wonderful if all College families and friends could attend one of the Playhouse Theatre (GPAC) performances. Please check your calendar and see if you are available to come. The performances will be held from Thursday, September 14th to Saturday, September 16th.

The hardworking production team reports that the cast and crew are very busy rehearsing for what promises to be a very entertaining performance.

Semester One Reports

As you are aware, Semester One Reports were available from the Parent Portal from the end of Term Two.

Except for VCE Unit 3 & Vocational Major subjects, there are no formal Parent-Teacher interviews scheduled to follow up on these reports; however, you are most welcome, and I encourage you, to please make contact with any subject teachers regarding academic concerns or the Homeroom teacher if there are any pastoral concerns. Please phone the teacher to discuss this over the phone or organise a time for a meeting.

Subject selection for 2024

In term three, students from Years 8 to 11 must choose their elective subjects for the upcoming year. It's crucial to discuss with your child their strengths, interests, and future plans, and revisit the topic periodically. You can use their Semester One reports as a starting point for this conversation. If you need assistance, our dedicated staff, including Mr. Bruce Connor, our Work and Further Education Coordinator, are available for guidance and support. Additionally, students can check out our Career Centre resources, located in the Loyola Centre, by seeing Mr. Connor first.

Important opportunities for parents and students to obtain more information:

• Monday 24th July 2023 - Senior Pathways Information Evening (for this year’s Yrs 9 – 11 families) via Zoom 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

• Monday 7th August 2023 - Year 9 into 10 Pathway Interviews (no Year 9 classes)

• Monday 7th August 2023 - Year 10 into 11 Pathway Interviews (no Year 10 classes)

• Wednesday 26th July 2023 - VCE Vocational Major Information evening will also be held for Year 10 students and families. This would be of interest to families who may have been considering VCAL as an option in the past. (VCAL has been incorporated into the Senior Certificate.)

College Feast Day

Each year, our College community celebrates the Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, our patron saint, on July 31st. However, this year, since the 31st falls on a Monday and we're aware of the teaching and learning disruptions on Mondays, we will instead celebrate Feast Day on Thursday, July 27th.

All students are expected to attend school on this day and join in the spirit of the day by fully participating in the special activities that have been organised.

Parents are most welcome to attend the Full School Assembly on this day. Please report to the office at 8.50 am so that seating can be organised for you. This assembly in the Multi-Purpose Centre will finish at about 10.45 am, and morning tea will be provided for parents and friends of the College.

We have a formal College assembly once each term. This term’s assembly date has been specially chosen to coincide with our Feast Day. At the assembly, we will acknowledge staff service (10, 15, or 30 continuous years) to the College community, hear from the students who attended the recent Jesuit and Companion Schools Immersion trip to East Timor and present Loyola awards to some students.

Following the assembly, there will be a variety of activities organised for students to participate in for the rest of the day. As some of these activities may be of a sporting nature, all students are required to wear their correct sports uniform on this day.

The canteen will be open at both recess and lunch times. Students can order lunch (“red” foods allowed on our celebration day) from the canteen, and there will be a variety of food vans present on the day as well.

Previous years’ feast day celebrations received overall very positive feedback. We are hoping that this day will continue to be a special one in the culture of the college over the years and, indeed, a day the students and staff look forward to and celebrate – a very positive community-building event.

Yr 7 enrolments 2024

I am pleased to report that very strong interest in the College continued again this year, with many more applications than places available for next year.

The support the students, staff and parents provided for the Open Afternoon sessions and enrolment promotion program was a valuable and vital contribution to this success – thank you. The very positive reputation of the College is a commendable result of the commitment of our students, staff and parents to our College community and its continual improvement.

Due to the large number of applications received, with the College Advisory Council’s support, I applied to Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) to increase our intake for 2024 only. I have enrolled 260 students (ten classes of 26 students) for Year 7 next year.

Any enquiries about enrolment can be made to the College Registrar, Ms Deb Miles.

Best wishes for the new school term,

Michael Exton

Principal