From the Principal

Congratulations, thank you and farewell to Mr Bernie Lowes

Whilst our College is only 15 years old as Saint Ignatius College Geelong, our story is a relatively recent chapter in the long history of Geelong Catholic education.

We acknowledge with gratitude the contribution of staff, parents, students and parishes of the various school communities that preceded our College.

Staff member Mr Bernie Lowes retired last Thursday after 43 years of dedicated service to Geelong Catholic secondary education. Bernie was our longest-serving staff member who had an unbroken connection to our College and the schools from which Saint Ignatius College was formed. He has significantly contributed to the development of our College during his years of service.

The Lowes family had considerable involvement in Geelong’s St Mary’s Technical School, where Bernie went to school and later commenced as a Woodwork Teacher. During his early career, Bernie undertook further studies in ICT. With the development of and the increasing reliance on ICT over the years, Bernie helped lead the inclusion of ICT courses into the schools’ teaching and learning programs, as well as the development of the ICT infrastructure needed for these programs and the schools' administration systems at St Mary’s, Catholic Regional College and now Saint Ignatius College.

At our College, Bernie has held the Director of Infrastructure and Operations position and was a member of the College’s Leadership team. In these roles, he was instrumental in developing the College’s ICT and was involved in our extensive building programs and upkeep. Our laptop program is a testament to his significant contribution and the work of the team he led. 1500 laptops connecting smoothly to our ICT system each school day is a remarkable result of Bernie’s work.

In his Operations role, Bernie ensured we had a workable timetable each year that maximised students obtaining their subject preferences.

Bernie was very generous with the time he devoted to his job. When something needed to be attended to out of the norm, Bernie would step up to help manage the situation, even out of usual hours. He was a loyal servant of the schools’ he worked at over the years. Indeed he continued the Lowes’ family involvement in Geelong’s Catholic education story.

On behalf of our school community, I express my gratitude to Bernie and wish him a very happy and healthy retirement.

Term finish-up and Parent / Student / Teacher Interviews

It is hard to believe that next week is the last week of Term Three. When the Year 12 students return next term, they will have just over two weeks of formal classes remaining before exams commence in late October. To maximise their level of achievement, our senior students obviously need to plan to make the most of the remaining time.

To help you with your planning, can I please remind all parents about the following?

• Please check your son or daughter’s Term 3 progress by accessing the feedback available on our Learning Management System, “Canvas” (ask your son or daughter to show you how to access this if you are not sure how to find this information)

• Parent, Teacher and Student Meetings will be held on next Thursday 15th September (4.00 pm to 7.00 pm) and Friday 16th September (9.00 am to 12noon) and conducted online via Zoom;

• Last day of term three classes will be Thursday 15th September. Please note that Friday 16th September is a student-free day due to the Parent / Teacher / Student meetings.

• The first day of term four is Monday 3rd October.

A letter has been sent home with students to explain how to book a Parent, Teacher and Student Meeting. Bookings opened yesterday and close next Wednesday.

Gillies road

Please do not park in our neighbours’ (east side of Gillies Road) driveways when dropping off or picking up your daughter or son.

Summer Uniform compulsory for Term Four

With the warmer months approaching, can I please ask parents to check that their daughter's/son’s summer uniform is in order before they need to wear it next term? Some things to be mindful of are:

• The tie does not have to be worn with the summer uniform in Term Four;

• The summer shirt can be worn not tucked into the shorts;

• The only type of school shoes permissible are black leather (able to be polished) ones, preferably lace-up (no skate or sports type shoes);

• The jumper is not to be the outer garment when travelling to and from school, if it is cold the student should wear their blazer;

• Long hair (longer than to the shoulder) is tied back with college-coloured ribbons and kept off the face;

• Summer uniform dress length must be to the knee; and

• The navy blue school hat is compulsory in term four.

Please find a copy of the uniform policy that relates to the summer uniform in the front section of the student planner.

Staff changes

Term 3

Term 4

Best wishes

This is the final newsletter for Term Three. The next newsletter will be available late in the day on Thursday 6th October 2022.

I hope all students have a restful break with some time spent revising work and preparing for next term included. Best wishes to all families for an enjoyable time together.

Thank you to our dedicated and hard-working staff members for their efforts to support our students’ educational experiences throughout the term. I wish all staff members who will be on holiday my best wishes for a well-deserved and enjoyable break.

Michael Exton

Principal