From the Principal

Dear Saint Ignatius College Geelong community members,

We are now in our third week of the academic year, and I am glad that the school year has commenced very well. We have already held several significant events that have ‘set the scene’ for the new year – promoting our values, Ignatian story and sense of community and encouraging students to make the most of their wonderful opportunities at Saint Ignatius to grow and develop themselves. Themes that have underpinned our encouragement to our students include: we have high expectations for our students, we want our students and school to be ‘outstanding,’ we have pride in our College, we nurture and support a strong learning culture, we are women and men for others - we support each other to build a strong school community, and we support those in need in the wider community. And these link very well with the theme chosen by the senior student leaders for this year.

In early December last year, our School Captains, Matilda Steptoe, Ross de Lange, Amy Thompson and Zac Dwyer, attended the national Jesuit and Jesuit Companion Schools Student Leaders Conference hosted by Xavier College, Kew. One outcome of this conference was the choice of our College theme for 2023 – “Lean into the wind.” I commend Matilda’s article later in this newsletter that explains their choice of theme.

Lent

Next Wednesday, we commence the Lenten period in the liturgical calendar of the Church year with the celebration of ‘Ash Wednesday.’ Lent is a period of forty days leading to the high point of the Church’s year, Easter. During Lent, we are encouraged to reflect on our lives in the light of the example of Jesus. How are we travelling with our faith life? How can we improve our spiritual life and our relationship with God? What about our prayer life, worship and praise involvement, charity, and service to others? We are encouraged to make Lent a particular time to reflect on and redirect our lives where necessary, so we better align our ways to the values, actions and truths of the Gospel.

On Ash Wednesday, we will conduct our usual liturgy in the morning, involving the distribution of ashes. Each student will be marked on the forehead with the Sign of the Cross in ashes as part of this prayerful liturgy as a call to ‘Repent and believe in the Good News.”

Ash Wednesday also begins our efforts as a College community to raise our consciousness of and much-needed funds for CARITAS through “Project Compassion”. These funds support many disadvantaged and needy communities in Australia and overseas. 

Annual House Swimming Carnival

This event will be held next week on Thursday, 23rd February, at Kardinia Pool, Geelong.

Following the 2021 review of our House Sports Carnivals, we trialled some significant changes to how we approached and ran last year’s swimming carnival. We have decided to implement these changes again this year. As I mentioned at about this time last year in our newsletter, our plan is:

Why?

We want to reset the culture with a long-term view to:

• increase the number of students competing;

• enhance House Spirit;

• enhance student connection to the College;

• build a stronger College swim team; and

• celebrate student achievement in the swimming area.

How?

We will change from a full-school fun social day at the pool with some students competing to:

• compulsory for Years 7 & 8 only;

• years 9 to 12, students can register to compete voluntarily;

• competitors will wear College approved swimming attire;

• years 7 & 8 students are expected to compete if they can and undertake a separate swim test;

• years 9 to 12 students not swimming to remain at school for their usual classes; and

• enhanced involvement of senior student leaders to organise the carnival and encourage House spirit.

What?

Our Sports Coordinator, Mr Andrew Philp, will provide details about the carnival via Operoo.

A parent permission letter will be sent via Operoo to all Year 7 & 8 families and those registered for events from other year levels.

Swimming is an important part of our Australian and our local lifestyles. Most students will have undertaken swimming lessons during their primary school years. We want to build on this to support a healthy lifestyle and allow talented swimmers to progress to higher levels of competition. I encourage parents to discuss with their daughters or son the value of participating in the carnival if they can.

I am looking forward to next Thursday’s carnival setting the scene for further building of our swimming program into the future. Parents are welcome to attend the carnival.

Open Afternoons & Yr 7 2024 enrolment applications

We conduct our Yr 7 2024 enrolment season during Term One and early Term Two.

We will be running a series of tours and information sessions for prospective parents, students, and public members to meet some of our wonderful students and professional staff, learn about the programs and opportunities we offer and view our facilities.

Guided Tours will be conducted on two afternoons:

• Tuesday 28th February

• Wednesday 22nd March

Two timeslots will be available each afternoon for visitors to select from using our online booking system. The link is available on our College website.

Each timeslot will be about 1.5 hours long and comprise a brief information session followed by a tour. The information sessions will take about 30 minutes, including presentations by the Principal, Yr 7 Coordinator and some students, and will be held in our impressive new Multi-purpose Centre. The tours will run for approximately 50 minutes and be led by teachers and some students. (Viewing the campus will be as a member of a tour group only.)

The schedule for the Open Times each day offered is as follows:

• Session One - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm

• Session Two - 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Please note that the closing date for Yr 7 2024 applications is Friday, 6th May 2023. (This includes current families.) Online application forms are available on our website under ‘Enrolment.’ We have changed from paper to digital forms.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Registrar, Ms Deb Miles (P: 03 5251 1136 or E: registrar@ignatius.vic.edu.au)

Our visitors have commented positively about our young women and men who have acted as tour guides and helpers in previous years. We will need some students to help with the tours again this year. Having students present in uniform and interacting with our visitors is a significant way visitors get a feel for the College. I am very confident that they will be excellent ambassadors for their school. Please encourage your daughter or son to put their name forward when they receive an email calling for volunteers from our Director of Community Engagement & Development, Ms Elana Cole.

Parent Information Evenings

Please check the College calendar (available on Xuno or the College website) for next week’s online “Zoom” information sessions. Parents will be emailed a link to log on to the Zoom session.

Parents & Friends Association (PFA)

The PFA is a very positive and vital support for our community. It held its first meeting for the year on Wednesday, 8th February. I want to recognise the generous and valuable contribution parents can and do make to our school community through membership of this group. Thank you to all members of this group and, in particular, the current office bearers:

Ms Leanne Dunn President

Ms Melissa Cartledge Secretary

Ms Julie Castle Treasurer

Please consider coming to the next PFA meeting on Tuesday, 14th March. Many of the members of this group have given outstanding service to the school community for many years, and we must have new parents join this group each year to replace those who finish up. So, I encourage all parents to consider joining this group – a strong PFA will strengthen our school community and improve student outcomes!

There are a variety of ways parents can help out. The College canteen helpers are vital to helping us provide a canteen service to our students. Many parents and friends of the College have put their names down to assist in the canteen, and I encourage you to consider contacting our Canteen Manager, Mrs Sandra Woodall, to offer your services.

Some ways the PFA supports our school community include: running fundraisers and social events, helping out at school functions, organising working bees, encouraging and supporting a sustainable school environment, and running a second-hand uniform shop and a second-hand book sale. I ask all parents to please support the PFA where they can, as their work benefits all students.

Gillies Road traffic

There has been a recent report that some drivers have been dropping off or picking up students on the east side of Gillies Road. Most of this section of the road has no stopping signs. Parking inspectors may visit this location from time to time. And please do not park in our neighbours’ (east side of Gillies Road) driveways when dropping off or picking up your daughter or son.

This a reminder that you could drop off or pick up your daughter/son on the old Andersons Road on the north side of the bypass. It is a short walk to and from school via the new underpass for students. In this way, you will avoid the heavy Peninsula Drive traffic.

Thank you in anticipation of your cooperation.

Road Safety

All drivers travelling to and from our College are reminded of the need to adhere to traffic sign requirements at all times.

To promote safety, I remind our community that the speed limit on Peninsula Drive is 40 km/h (all times.)

When attending after-hours events at the College, please do not park in the St Thomas Primary School carpark.

Thank you for your support in prioritizing the road safety of all those in and around the College.

COVIDSafe measures for schools

COVIDSafe measures have changed, but all Victorian Catholic schools are required to continue to implement important practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

We are following the CECV advice to ensure air purifiers are in use, external ventilation is maximised, good personal hygiene is encouraged, and face masks continue to be made available for staff, students and visitors who wish to wear them.

Therefore, all staff, students and visitors should practise good hand hygiene, particularly on arrival to school, before and after eating, after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing or using the toilet. I ask parents to please reinforce these requirements with their daughter or son.

The Department of Health recommends:

• that masks should be worn by a person who is a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 when leaving home.

• that masks should be worn by a person who has COVID-19 for at least 7 days after a positive test when they need to leave home.

• that a person who tests positive to COVID-19 report that result to their employer, school and household.

• where a student is identified as a positive case, the following steps should be taken:

  • Parents/carers should inform the school by phone or written notification if a student tests positive to COVID-19 (via a PCR or rapid antigen test).

  • Students who report a positive result are recommended to isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved. (Students who isolate as a result of a positive COVID-19 test can access learning materials via ‘Canvas’ to support their continued learning.)

Rapid Antigen Tests are available for all Victorians from Council sites. People can get 2 free packs (10 tests) for themselves and 2 free packs (10 tests) for each of their household members.

Thank you & best wishes for the next two weeks,

Michael Exton

Principal