From the Assistant Principal- Students

Welcome back to the 2023 school year at St Andrews College.

I hope that your Christmas and summer break were filled with joy. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all students and families back to St Andrews College for another great year of learning.

I would like to congratulate the class of 2022 on great HSC results. These results were the result of hard work by the students. The bar has been set and we hope that all students make an effort to do their best each day. The motto for the year is “the focus is on Learning”. Students are challenged to keep their focus on learning and growing with each learning activity.  

Attendance

All schools in the Diocese have been set an attendance target of 94%. This will mean that during a school year all students are expected to attend the College as much as possible to take advantage of all learning possibilities. It is expected that there will be times that some students will be sick and cannot attend school. An acceptable absence rate for a term will be around 3 days. 

Parents will be contacted by their child’s learning advisor if the absent days go above this target rate. 

There is a lot of potential damage to a student’s learning and progress the more time they take off from school. It is important that each student is at school as much as possible to take advantage of every learning opportunity.

A reminder to families, if your child is late or absent, they must produce a note written by the parent/ Guardian and signed by the Parent/ guardian or enter the details on the Compass App. You have 7 days to produce the note or Compass entry or the absence or lateness will be recorded as unexplained. Please enter all absences on the Compass app.

If you have a planned absence a written application must be lodged with the Principal before you are absent from school. With a change of legislation, there is more paperwork that must be completed for absence. Families are discouraged from having family holidays during term time, however we are aware that there may be a few exceptions. 

If there is a problem with attendance, the College will make contact with each family to develop an attendance plan to ensure classes are not being missed. 

Lateness

As with absence, lateness to school has the potential to cause significant harm to the students' learning. Parents are asked to ensure their child is at school on time every day. There will be times that are unavoidable but if a pattern of lateness is evident the families will be asked to attend a lateness meeting to address the problem.

Uniform

Just a reminder about the College uniform. St Andrews has high expectations about the way each student wears the uniform. It is expected that each student is dressed according to the Colleges’ Uniform policy (which is in the student’s planner).

The College uniform expectations were developed by the College community and represent what the parents, students and College expect to see a St Andrews student looking like. I ask all families to work with their Learning Advisors and Leaders of Learning Wellbeing as they keep the standards set for the College Uniform.

Each male student is expected to be clean shaven each day. If facial hair is noticeable, they will be asked to shave it at school. 

No male students are to have earrings of any type including clear plastic ones. Females are allowed to have 1 set of earrings in their lobes that are simple gold or silver sleepers or studs with a small jewel in them. All other earrings will be asked to be removed. No nose rings, tongue rings or any other piercings are acceptable. 

Hair should be one natural colour and neat and tidy. Girls are to have their hair tied back at school. Boys are to have short hair according to the College policy. If a student’s hair is not acceptable, families will be contacted to have it rectified. No fad or extreme hair cuts are acceptable (no mullets or Mohawks etc. )

Communication

The first way to communicate with the College is through Compass and the new Online Planner. Teachers will use the Planner to communicate small concerns or praises. If you have any concerns you can contact the students' Learning Advisor who oversees a small group of students during the year or the class teacher of different subjects. If the matter is a major concern you can ring the College to speak to your child’s Leader of Learning- Wellbeing or Leader of Learning-KLA. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher if you have any concerns with your child’s progress in class. 

The College will be using the Compass App for all of its notes and notifications. 

Using the College car park

Parents are reminded that students are not to be using the College car park to drop students off unless they have permission from the College. There have been a number of times where students with disabilities have not been able to park because other parents are parking in their assigned spots. Please drop students off on Quakers Rd or Benalla Cr.

What’s on in the Student planner this week?

The six elements of wellbeing

1. Positive engagement- engaging in the moment in a positive way
2. Meaning and purpose- having passion and a reason for doing what we are doing
3. Skill and achievement- building capacity to strive, thrive and flourish
4. Relationships and optimism- believing you and others matter
5. Strength and emotion- soaring with your strengths and being optimistic
6. Exercise and Health- healthy body means a health mind

Use the website www.learningcurve.com.au and your planner for more information about the elements of wellbeing.

We have asked that all students complete the strength survey to help them recognise their strengths.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the College. I am looking forward to another wonderful year for the College and working with the great St Andrews community.

God Bless

Mr Nick Thrum
Assistant Principal