Our College newsletter, published three times a term, will share with you the happenings at St Andrews and provide information about opportunities to connect and to build community. I encourage all families to also follow our official Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as utilising the Facebook parent groups for your child’s cohort. Furthermore, I encourage you to reach out and phone or email if you would like to connect with any of your child’s teachers and key leaders.
STAFFING UPDATES
We welcome some new staff members to our Secondary School this year.
Mr Chris Atkinson, Science teacher.
Miss Monique Garamy, Science teacher.
Mrs Jacqueline Mikami, Japanese teacher.
Mrs Georgia Rogers, English/Drama teacher.
We welcome back to our Secondary School.
Mr Philip Rowlands, German teacher (Term four contract in 2023).
Ms Haylee Stalling, Design/Tech teacher (Study Supervisor in 2023).
Ms Sarah Slavin, Maths and Science teacher (returning from leave),
Dr Mellissa Saunders, Maths and Science teacher (Relief teacher in 2023)
Staff on long service leave for Term One with their replacement.
Mrs Ngaire Harman, Visual Art teacher – Mrs Alison Danziger.
Mr Jonathan Barker, English teacher – Mrs Helena Mackay.
STARTING WELL AND MAINTAINING A SUCCESSFUL YEAR AHEAD
Finally, as we embark on a new school year, I thought I’d share a few suggestions that may help your young person start well and maintain a successful year ahead.
Help them set a few goals for the year. Spend time discussing what they want to achieve this year. Were they happy with their end of semester report? Where are improvements needed? What are their strengths? What might they need to do to achieve their new-found goals?
Actively support them to do their best. Talking though the logistics of their weekly commitments and helping them establish their weekly homework schedule. It might also mean, ensuring they have a workspace in the home conducive to study. (i.e. a functional desk and simple whiteboard planner above it.)
Get to know their teacher. Make contact with their Connect teacher. Teachers appreciate being able to work in partnership with you to educate your child. Open lines of communication between home and school always benefits the child and their learning.
Maintain a positive attitude. Be supportive of the College and its decisions. Trust that staff are professional and work with your child’s best interests at heart. Children pick up on the attitude of their parents and often reflect the same attitude themselves.
Be aware of co-curricular opportunities. At this College there is an array of co-curricular activities provided. Not all children come rushing home with a list of endeavours they wish to sign up for, and subsequently miss opportunities they would enjoy, develop in, build friendships through and possibly thrive in. Research shows that students who are engaged in co-curricular programs or volunteer in some way, are more engaged in their school community and achieve better academic outcomes.
Remind them how good sport and exercise is. While we know academics are important, sport and exercise help children become team players, release tension, focus better and build resilience – as well as improving fitness levels obviously! It is also important to acknowledge that some children excel in sports through their God-given talent and may achieve important feelings of personal success equal to or perhaps even greater than what they could ever achieve in academics.
Cut down on screen time. A simple way to reduce this is to consider restricting access to social media platforms, gaming, television/Netflix during the school week. Although they are not all bad, they are designed to be at least somewhat psychologically addictive and can easily lead to bad habits, and then poor mental health and academic outcomes.
Ensure they are getting a good night sleep. This may seem obvious, but with such accessible technology in our homes, it is all too easy to assume teenagers are sleeping, while they may very well be gaming or using social media. Take measures to reduce the temptation for them, e.g. switch off Wi-Fi after 9:00pm or insist phones go in the kitchen at bedtime.
Our young people need our guidance, support and parenting, and while it is not always acknowledged, in time, they do or will appreciate it.
Operational Matters:
School Pick up
A reminder that secondary students being collected from school by car ought to be collected from the Worship Centre pick up zone. The carpark near the COLA (Sullivan’s Road entrance), is not a collection point. (There is no supervising teacher at this carpark after school.)
School Hats
As per the Student Uniform Code, students are required to wear their formal hats to and from school and when outside throughout the school day for sun protection purposes (Please ensure hats are named).
Donovan Shaw
Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School