Dear Parents and Caregivers
By the time you read this, the academic year will have concluded, and St Benedict’s Catholic College will have closed the door on its 8th year. We finished the year on a very high note with our best Year 12 results to date and amongst the top school results locally including State, Independent and local Catholic schools. And this, in only our third year of presenting students for the HSC. In 2018 over 7% of our results were in the top band (Band 6), 6 of our students were shortlisted for either the Design and Technology or Woodwork touring showcases, and 4 students had ATARs over 90. For those who like league tables, St Benedict’s moved up over 130 places to now be in sight of performing in the Top 200 schools in NSW. It is all the more impressive when one considers that these students enrolled in a non-academically selective environment and joined us in 2013 when the school did not have a single permanent building. The results are a tribute to the faith of the families who firmly believed that the quality of a school is reflected in the quality of its staffroom and the strong, positive relationships that exist between home and school, and between the teachers and the young men and women whom they engage with each day.
In the final week we held our closing Mass which was celebrated by Fr David and this was followed by our annual Academic and Community Awards. Nearly 300 parents were present to see their children receive a variety of Awards from Merit Badges through Academic Course awards, the two stages of the Leadership Diplomas and heard an inspirational talk from our guest speaker, nominee for ICT young entrepreneur of the year, Brandon Cowan.
It is with sadness that we farewell some of our teachers who move on to bigger and better things in 2019: Ms Chloe Chalmers who is moving to Queensland with her family, and Ms Haylee Williams who will be working elsewhere in Sydney. It is with enormous sadness that we also farewell Foundation Staff member, Mr Paul Dempsey, who is giving up the long drive from the Illawarra each day to be closer to home, teaching at Edmund Rice College. I thank Mrs Profilio who filled the temporary position of Careers Adviser for the last 3 terms and is returning to her own school. We will introduce to you our new staff (additional and replacements) in the first newsletter next year.
We also temporarily farewell and offer best wishes to Mrs Bec Sammut and Mrs Catherine Whiter who will be on maternity leave during 2019.
Over the last month the College has also been involved in the process of employing staff for a new multicategorical special needs unit which will be called the McKillop Gold class. This is a Year 7 only (Stage 4) small group of students who are, in the main, transitioning from the McKillop classes at St Justin’s Primary. We welcome their teacher, Mrs Christine Keramea who joins us from Mary McKillop (quite a coincidence!) College at Wakeley. Mrs Therese Smith will also be supporting the class and is well known to the students already, having worked with many of the students in their earlier years at St Justin’s and who has been at St Benedict’s for the last few years.
Lastly, on behalf of all the staff may I wish you and your family all the joys and blessings of Christmas and, for those on the road, that you travel safely to return to us in 2019. We look forward to you joining us as we grow to 940 students in a College where there is “something to strive for and nothing to run from”.
Christmas Blessings
Michael Hanratty
Principal
