Principal's Update 1 December 2023

Dear Members of the Marcellin College Community,

This Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent and as we await the birth of Jesus, we are urged to 'stay awake' and to be ever vigilant for God.

It is time to wake the parts of ourselves that are asleep - to be alert to the world around us, to say sorry for our failings and prepare in hope and anticipation for the birth of Christ. To echo the words of St Paul this weekend, we give thanks to God for all the graces that we have received through Jesus, and for enriching us in so many ways.

As we look forward to Christmas and a well-earned break, it is important for us to find time over the coming weeks to be grateful for all that we have achieved this year. In this last newsletter, it is important to highlight just a few of our successes this year.

We introduced the community to Compass as we transitioned from Schoolbox / MyMC. As we start HeadStart, all learning materials will now be located on Compass. My thanks to the staff who have worked to ensure that all lesson plans, homework tasks and all learning tasks are now easily accessible through Compass. I also acknowledge and thank those parents who attended our Compass Information Sessions earlier this term. I am looking forward to 2024 as Compass becomes our 'one-stop-shop’.

This year saw us working with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) as we reviewed our College against their School Improvement Tool. As a result, the College will be promoting a new Strategic Improvement Plan that will give us direction across all areas of the College over the next four years. Students, staff, parents and stakeholders formed part of this consultation and we look forward to sharing this in 2024.

Our newly refurbished Chirat Learning Centre opened earlier in the year and saw our Careers Practitioners, Counsellors and Learning Diversity staffed in a central area. It is an attractive space that allows for different learning and support of young people. We are currently out to tender for our library and hope to begin renovating our space early next year.

Our gifted and talented program, SOAR, has been a welcomed addition at Year 7 as we work to ensure that all of our students are being challenged academically. Next year this program will run for both Year 7 and Year 8 for the first time. There has also been a greater focus on providing a more challenging academic environment across our year levels. Post-COVID, we need to ensure that all students are being challenged and this will be a focus in 2024.

Our music area has gone from strength to strength, winning several awards this year. Our choir and music students enhance so many of the things that we offer at our College. There was a real sense of achievement this year as we hosted a lunch with our music students towards the end of this term. Our Year 12 students modelled strong leadership and I thank our music staff who oversaw many additions and improvements.

Our partnership with Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) saw two productions - Rock of Ages was a hit earlier this year and we are about to begin performances for our junior musical, High School Musical Jr. I enjoyed watching our students flourish on stage as they entertained the crowds. The acting and singing took us on a journey and I am grateful to the staff and students who were involved in the productions.

With 2024 just around the corner, I wish all our Marcellin College families a happy and Holy Christmas. May the true joy of Christmas be realised in all of you. I look forward to 2024 as we continue to see improvements at the College.

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St Marcellin Champagnat, pray for us
Mary our Good Mother, pray for us
And may we always remember to, pray for one another

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Marco Di Cesare
Principal