From the Principal
Newsletter 3 2023
Dear Members of the St Andrews College Community,
Congratulations on the way you have been taking up the learning opportunities at the College. Both inside and outside of the classroom I see evidence daily of students striving to better themselves, taking a risk, working hard, and seeking feedback. This type of attitude and approach to your learning can only reap rewards as we are seeing in our results as a College. Keep up the enthusiasm.
‘It’s All About Learning’
Gospel Reflection: Matthew 17:1-9.
Themes for the 2nd Sunday of Lent Year A
The readings for the 2nd Sunday of Lent focus on our personal encounter with God. The First Reading tells of how Abraham encountered God and trusted in the call he heard. The psalm is ” Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. “, which echoes the theme of trust heard in the first reading. The Second Reading reminds us that God is always present in our lives, giving us strength. And in the gospel recounts the story of the Transfiguration, when Peter, James, and John encountered Jesus in all of his glory.
Some possible themes to reflect on for this weekend are:
- The call to holiness - the call is for each and everyone of us
- God keeps His promises
- Trust in God
- Coming down the mountain - what has changed?
Our College Leaders Shine:
Congratulations to our College Leaders who shared with the local community their thoughts on Leadership and life.
Open Day:
Thank you to all students and staff for the way they demonstrated what it is to be a St Andrews College community member. The feedback from parents has been outstanding. In providing the opportunity to view our great school as it functions during the day we provide a wonderful insight into our learning culture. Many parents expressed their appreciation of this opportunity.
College Swimming Carnival:
Congratulations to all students and staff who participated in some way to the day whether it be competing, catering, cheering or supervising. Congratulations to our Age Champions who were presented with their Medals at Assembly today. Congratulations to the Chang House for winning the Carnival. It was a wonderful community day and we look forward to the Athletics Carnival in early Term 2.
Building Works:
At present the new portable classrooms on the Junior Campus are almost complete. They look great and the feedback I am getting from staff and students is that they are great for learning. Once all six are online we will take offline the last three and fully renovate them as well.
Primary School Visits:
Thank you to all the students who accompanied me to our Primary Feeder Schools over the past two weeks. Now that we have visited Good Shepherd Plumpton we have completed all the Catholic Primary Schools in the area including St Andrew’s Primary, St Bernadette’s Lalor Park, Our Lady of Lourdes Seven Hills, St Michael’s Primary Blacktown, St Patrick’s Primary Blacktown, St Francis of Assisi Glendenning, and St John Vianny’s Doonside. Thank you to the Principal’s and staff at each of our feeder schools for the warm welcome. It is appreciated.
As a result we have over 200 applications already in for Year 7 2024 and the number is growing daily. It looks like we will have a massive waiting list again in 2024. We interview all students who apply and that will start on Monday March 20.
Enrolment for Year 2024 NOW OPEN
We have already accepted many applications for 2024 so please get them in soon.
Fidem in Christo
Dr Stephen Kennaugh
Principal