Newman News Term 1 Week 6 : From the Vice Principal

Welcome to autumn! Thinking about autumn can bring about enjoyable thoughts of amber leaves, cooler temperatures, and pretty scenery. Autumn, more than any other season, is a season of change and transformation. The symbolic associations of the leaves falling alongside the temperature, hints to us that letting go is an inevitable process in the seasons of life. The symbolic associations of autumn are a strong reminder that mother mature has an enormous influence on our lives. The disruptions of the last two weeks have continued to challenge our entire community. The constant change and impermanence of the situation are stark reminders of the importance of embracing the Marist characteristics of family spirit, presence, and simplicity.

I have been amazed by the resilience of our students, staff and families in responding to change.  Resilience can be defined as the capacity to recover from difficulties. Resilience is not a bobo doll, where you are pushed down one minute and spring up the next. Rather, resilience is more like climbing a mountain trail, without necessarily knowing the direction. It takes endurance, time, faith, patience and most importantly, support from the people that surround you. Setbacks are inevitable, but the joy of reaching the top of the mountain and celebrating together by looking back, makes the journey worthwhile.

As we reflect on what has been the first half of Term One, for our school, WA and the world, we have a sense that our resilience is being developed and stretched. Through collaboration and challenge, we do have faith that we will be able to celebrate our journey and the gifts of resilience at a future point. This week was a turning point for the schooling guidelines for those identified as close contacts of COVID cases, whereby staff and students who are not household close contacts can return to school under certain conditions. The College will continue to provide online learning options for those students who are household close contacts remaining in isolation.

Please check our website regularly for our COVID updates.

Key Dates 

College Calendar Link – In recent times, our school calendar has changed regularly.  Incursions, Excursions, Retreats, Carnivals, Year 12 Ball, to name a few, have all had to be cancelled/postponed or delivered in a different format.  We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support. We encourage you to continue to look at the online College calendar as entries are updated daily.

Parent Teacher Interviews Y7/11/12 

Online interviews took place last night for students in Years 7, 11 and 12.  A big thank you to our parents, students, and staff for adapting to this different mode of delivery. We will be reviewing the process and format with the view to continually improve in our flexible offerings to families and teachers. If you have any suggestions on the format, please email lucie.mccrory@newman.wa.edu.au.

NPCC (online) Meeting – Monday 14 March @ 4.45pm 

Parents are reminded and encouraged to join John Finneran, Principal, and myself at this online meeting on Monday.  The agenda will speak to our ASIP, School COVID-19 response, along with offering a Q & A session at the end.  A SMS will be sent out on Monday including the link, or you can join by clicking here.

Code of Conduct for Parents

Please click here to download the Newman College Code of Conduct for Parents.