As we enter Autumn and the second month of the term, it is timely to reflect on some of the happenings so far:

• 1491 students have been engaged in learning across both campuses
• Year 7 Meet & Greet sessions have been conducted on Wednesday 16 February via Teams and were well attended by the parent body
• Our Opening Assembly presented the students with some great models from the VCE class of 2021
• Years 7 Camps take place next week
• Whilst there have been a number of staff and students who have contracted COVID-19 since the beginning of term this has not been as many as anticipated or projected
• Parent feedback on the transition of our new students has been most positive

All of these activities take planning and preparation to ensure that they are successful events. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Penola community to thank our staff for their efforts, they have been extremely diligent and generous with their own time to enable the many events listed above to take place. Without the support of staff these activities simply would not take place, so I thank staff most sincerely for their efforts.

Beginning of Year Mass
The church season of lent began on Wednesday and is a time of preparation for Easter, the key event of Christianity. We celebrated our beginning of year mass on Wednesday 2 March with a whole school event for the first time for 2022. Even if some students don’t believe themselves, they recognise that it is important to others within our community. The mass is another way of reinforcing our Catholic identity. Thanks to the Faith and Mission team for organising the Opening Mass. It also happened to be Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent.

The celebration of the Eucharist is what unites us as a Catholic community and reinforces to us, within a sacramental way, our identity as a Catholic school. We have very few opportunities to pray together as an entire community and this mass allows us to give thanks for all our blessings. Any time we have an opportunity to gather together as a faith community it not only builds our community but also reinforces our culture.

Face masks in schools
As per the directions of the Victorian Chief Health Officer, the following actions are mandatory:

• Face masks are to be worn by individuals over the age of 12 when on public transport and school buses – unless they have a lawful exemption.

• Individuals over the age of 12 must carry a face mask at all times.

The same exemptions to the wearing of face masks apply in schools as when people are out in the community. This includes students who are over the age of 12 and are unable to wear a face mask due to the nature of their disability. This also includes students or staff who have a medical condition, such as problems with their breathing, a serious skin condition on the face, a disability or a mental health condition.

Face masks are recommended for use by staff and students when physical distancing of 1.5 metres cannot be maintained. Students will always have the option of wearing a mask if they wish. Whilst we acknowledge that we are attempting to socially distance as much as possible in classrooms it is not compulsory to wear a mask within classrooms unless directed to do so by a staff member e.g. when students are required to gather close together around an experiment or demonstration in class etc.

At Penola Catholic College students will be required to wear masks where there are large gatherings such as Campus Assemblies, Whole School events. A face mask must cover the nose and mouth.

2023 Year 7 Enrolments
A reminder to all of our existing families that Year 7 enrolments for 2023 closed on Friday,20 August, 2021. A number of families applied after the close of enrolment last year and it makes it very difficult to accurately plan for the following year, so I ask that you submit your enrolment as soon as possible. Often families assume that we know that there is a younger sibling but I would be very disappointed if one of our existing families missed out on an enrolment due to not submitting their enrolment in a timely manner. If there are any current families with children in Grade Six who are intending to enrol them at Penola in 2023, I would ask that you make contact with Ms Anita Harding at the College as soon as possible.

Parent Teacher Student Meet and Greet Sessions
The first of our Parent Teacher Student Meet and Greet sessions will take place next week on Thursday 10 March on the Broadmeadows campus and Wednesday 16 March on the Glenroy campus. These sessions will be conducted via Microsoft TEAMS with our final session on Thursday 7 April hopefully face to face. These sessions are an opportunity for parents to meet with the subject teachers of your sons and daughters to let them know relevant information about your child/children. I hope that they are a productive night for all parents who attend. We continue to engage more parents and students in the learning process with the aim of further improving student outcomes. There were many conversations about learning, setting realistic goals for the year and future pathway options.

As part of this approach, we recognise that during the period a young student is participating in their secondary education, they grow and experience many significant changes in their life. As such, we strive to have conversations with families about each stage of the adolescent journey. We share approaches the College has developed that promote positive conversations and effectively influence young people. Because this is a period where the students strive to be independent, there are some times when communications between sons and daughters and parents can be challenging, and for this reason Penola works hard to foster dialogue in the family.

The purpose of the Meet and Greet Session is for parents to meet the teachers of their child or children, to convey important information about your child or children to the teacher and to discuss their goals for the year. What we are seeking from these sessions is to find out as much information as we can about your child to assist us with planning and maximizing the growth of each student in our care.

Although we believe we are the educational experts in relation to each student’s learning, we readily recognise that parents are the experts in their children. Therefore for us, a parent’s insights and understanding helps the College tailor its approach to each young student’s learning and growth. We achieve this by aiming to ensure that all conversations and planning about each student’s development are undertaken in a collaborative and supportive way. This approach is used by everyone, teachers, school counsellors and leaders.

Rapid Antigen Testing
Thanks to the many students and families who are completing their rapid antigen tests on Monday and Wednesday mornings. A reminder that it is okay to complete on another day if you forget. As you will notice from the COVID notification letters released each day there are still a number of cases being reported each day and the vast majority are being picked up by Rapid Antigen Tests. This surveillance testing using RATs is helping our community to remain safer, so I encourage all to continue with the testing.

Student Vaccinations
COVID-19 third-dose vaccinations are now available to 16–17year-olds who had their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine three or more months ago.
Getting vaccinated is one of the most important steps we can all take to get direct protection against COVID-19.

How to book an appointment

There are many convenient options to access vaccinations. These include state-wide vaccination clinics, and your local GP or pharmacy.
You can book your appointment in a few different ways, including:

• online: www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/vaccine
• by phone: 1800 675 398 (Coronavirus Hotline)
• via the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder: www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covid-19-vaccine-clinic-finder
• in person: talk to your local pharmacy or GP, or attend one of the state vaccination centres: www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/vaccination-centres.

Welcome
Welcome to Mrs. Amanda Michielin who commences her role as e-Learning Leader this week. She will be teaching Year 12 Software Development as well as providing EAL support in some Maths classes.

Welcome to Mr James Giannoukos who has been appointed as our new Psychology teacher and Literacy tutor, James commenced with us on Monday 28 February. He joins us from Australia International Academy where he has been teaching VCE Psychology.

Welcome to Mr Anthony DeAngelis who has been appointed as our new ICT Helpdesk person to assist staff and students with ICT issues. Anthony is a former student who graduated in 2014 and completed a Bachelor of Information Technology and previously worked as IT Service / Support Technician at one of Australia’s leading Desktop PC and Laptop suppliers, Aftershock.

Congratulations
Congratulations to Chantell Lipplegoes who has been appointed as Receptionist at St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School in Airport West. Chantell has been working with us for nearly 10 years both casually and more recently in full-time ongoing capacity in the Broadmeadows Campus Office. Chantell will finish with us on Thursday 17 March and begin her new job the next day. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly recognise the contribution that Chantell has made here at Penola Catholic College in a range of different roles including First Aid, both Campus Offices and Reception. I take this opportunity to thank Chantell for her contribution and wish her well for the future.

VRQA Review
Our VRQA review will take place on Wednesday 9 March and our reviewers, Meredith Nolte and Graeme Luck will both be onsite. We have provided Meredith and Graeme with electronic access to our curriculum documents, policies, compliance requirements and other evidence to support our ongoing registration as a Secondary school within Victoria.

Tutoring Learning Initiative 2022
Despite the best of efforts of teachers in 2020 & 2021, there are some students who were not able to engage as fully in the remote learning program as they would have been able to in the usual classroom teaching program. Evidence suggests that roughly 20% of students have fallen behind during the period of remote and flexible learning. This includes students at all ability and achievement levels.

Students who may require additional support include those:

• with low levels of English
• with home environments not conducive to remote and flexible learning
• already at risk of disengaging from school
• enrolled in applied programs, and
• who need educational and health and wellbeing supports at school but were unable to access them at home.

As you may be aware significant funding has been made available by the state government to employ tutors who will assist students to catch up on their learning. This initiative is supported by the CECV. At Penola, the Tutor Learning Initiative is designed to support students whose learning was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tutors have been engaged to provide targeted teaching to students as identified as needing additional support to mitigate learning loss. We have identified approximately 80 students who fell behind during remote learning. It is our intention to utilise the funding provided by the Victorian Government to close the achievement gap. Parents of these students will be notified when the tutoring program begins.

Prayer for Lent
Lent is a time to pray, fast and do good deeds. It is also a time to change our ways and to

turn to God for forgiveness. The Church invites all to pray traditional prayers such as The Confiteor, the Act of Contrition and the Our Father as these are prayers of acknowledgment of our sins and prayers, asking for forgiveness. Each time Mass is celebrated, those gathered ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness in the Penitential Act.

The Church also offers the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation: a sacrament of healing and forgiveness. It is a celebration of God’s love and mercy. In this sacrament Catholics are invited to confess their sins and receive forgiveness from a priest who is God’s representative.

Lent is an appropriate time for celebrating the Sacrament of Penance. The following is an extract taken from Pope Francis when talking about lent.

Fast from hurting words and say kind words.

Fast from anger and be filled with patience.

Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.

Fast from worries and have trust in God.

Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.

Fast from pressures and be prayerful.

Fast from bitterness and fill your hearts with joy.

Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.

Fast from grudges and be reconciled.

Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.