This Saturday we are hosting our annual open day. There will be many activities and displays at the College which will showcase the wonderful opportunities available to the girls enrolled. We have many students who will take parents and girls on tours of the site and as well we have our new facilities open for all to see. Please come along if you would like to view the College. Perhaps there are friends or family who are considering St Patrick's for their high school years? Bring them along or let them know we are open on Saturday 25 February from 10am until 2 pm.

I have no doubt you will have heard the furore in the press around the requirement that Year 9 students 2017 need to attain band 8 in NAPLAN to be eligible to achieve the HSC in 2020. I would like to highlight that this is a level of achievement in Year 9 that the girls can use in three years' time for their HSC. What concerns me, is the pressure and angst that this is causing in the outside community which, in turn, will impact on the young people sitting for their NAPLAN in May this year. Whilst I suspect there will be a number of Year 9 girls who will not achieve band 8 in all parts of the exam this year, I am confident they will achieve the required benchmark at some point in the subsequent three years so that they will be eligible for the HSC in 2020. Maintaining standards and rigour in the HSC through NAPLAN is important, however there is equal value in continuing to work on important skills across the board, that are not represented in the NAPLAN exam. Our girls will be prepared and will continue to have learning experiences that build their skills and expertise across all areas.

In this new digital age, we embrace the many ways we can communicate to our parents and community, on a daily basis. For many of our new parents joining the College Community, our official Facebook page is filled with real-time classroom pictures, inspirational quotes for students and parents, reminders about special events and dates to save, educational articles and celebrations of success. I encourage you, if you haven’t already, to “like” our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/saintpatrickscollegecampbelltown and read the great posts.

We have also launched our Twitter account and although similar to Facebook in the kind of information we post, many of our staff contribute to this page with what they are doing in class and various articles on girls' education. I encourage you to follow us on Twitter – our handle is @SPC_StPats.

Saturday 18 March is the day of our Emerald Gala Dinner Dance. You are most welcome to join us on the night. The tickets are $110 which is inclusive of music, entertainment, food and refreshments. Tables of 10 are $1,000 which is a saving on each ticket. We will have a number of live and silent auction items, a great raffle and each table will have a mystery box. We hope you will be able to join us. Collect some friends and book a table. It will be a fantastic night if you enjoy good food, good music and entertainment and terrific prizes of varying value. Just call the office and they will assist you with your booking.

We also have a VIP Sneak Preview Cocktail Party for past staff and students of the new building. If you would like to come, please contact the office for the details and leave your details. The event will be held in the Atrium on Friday 31 March from 6pm to 8pm.

We are now well into the term. I imagine all parents will have a desire for their daughter to do well and that they will provide the best support for her to achieve success in her learning.

There is ample evidence to demonstrate that the interaction and involvement of parents in their child’s education has a lasting positive effect on their child’s learning outcomes. How will you support your daughter? What will your support look like? Will you work with her on managing the assessments once the handbooks have been issued? Will you ensure there are minimal distractions and disruptions when she is doing her work at home? Will you insist that the telephone is kept out of the bedroom at night so she has an uninterrupted sleep? Our Year Coordinators and Pastoral Advisors have contacted you via email welcoming you to the year. I encourage you to communicate with them regularly. They will endeavor to respond generally within 24 hours. I also encourage you to attend the evenings we have calendared, as they have important information about how to support your daughter. All staff have a College email address. It is first initial followed by surname then @saintpatricks.nsw.edu.au.

Finally, we have the P&F AGM coming up on Monday 27 March. All positions will be open, so I would encourage you to consider assisting, in some way. The P&F are an enormous support to the College at the different events, so more hands will be greatly appreciated.

I will leave you with a reflection from a Ute prayer

Blessings

Sue Lennox

Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands all alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep with rain.

God Speaks in Many Tongues - Joan Chittister