Dear Parents 

In returning to AvÐÔ°® after an extended leave with my family, I am grateful to Karen Prendergast and the Leadership Team who covered for me in the last month. We are now in the last remaining weeks of term. Our annual awards presentation for students from Year 7 to Year 11 will be held on Friday 30 November – please save the date in case your child will receive an award. I know someone from the College will notify you prior to the event.

This is also the time of the year we conduct our annual Vinnies Appeal through Homerooms. St Vincent de Paul Society have taken a different approach this year, with each Catholic school given a choice of a theme for the donated items. Our College has chosen ‘Treats - anything with a Christmas feel’. 

I invite our families to contribute to this annual appeal and purchase some ‘Christmas treats’ for Homeroom baskets over the weekend. I would hope students may also give up some of their ‘pocket money’ to purchase items for the appeal too. ‘A Christmas without joy is no Christmas at all. Help Australians living in poverty this Christmas’. Please give generously.

Christmas Carols Wed 5 December

 

The Parents and Friends are organising a Christmas Carols community event on Wednesday 5 December. This year, the evening will include performances from the AvÐÔ°® Christi College Choir, the Yidarra Catholic Primary School Choir, and the St Thomas More Men Alive Choir. 

Please see the flyer below for more information. All are invited to come along and support this community event!

Representing parents in strategic planning

The College Board of Management is entrusted to assist in the financial management of the College, its strategic purpose and in the planning of future capital works. Members already elected previously, come to the Board with a combination of skills, including in Business and Finance, ICT and technical, Risk Management and Building and Construction. As we have a full complement of Board members, we are not currently advertising for additional members. However, on occasions, I know parents will sometimes commence with an involvement in the Parents and Friends Association as a way of serving the College. I know the P&F will be looking for additional Executive members in 2019, so I invite parents to consider participation in 2019.

 At the end of this year, we have two elected Board Members retiring, Board Chair Greg LeGuier, who is our current Board Chair and former Chair of the Finance Committee, and Board Vice Chair and former Chair of the Risk Management Committee, Dr Tonia Girardi.

Greg has been on the Board since 2012 and has made an enormous contribution to the College, voluntarily serving and strongly committed to our community. During this period of time we have developed and implemented a new Capital Development Plan, ensuring we have been well-placed to provide the best of facilities which are also affordable for our parents. With an outstanding background in corporate finance and being fully committed to Catholic education, Greg has also provided support and advice, not only to the College, but also to the management at Catholic Education WA and many other Catholic schools across WA. On some occasions, I felt Greg spent more time in voluntary service at the college, fully committed to implementing our strategic goals, more in keeping with the commitment of a paid staff member! Greg has also been very supportive of me as Principal through some difficult periods of time for me personally, for which I am grateful.

Tonia commenced on the Board in 2015 and given her expertise in business and management, has provided strategic leadership support to the College and chaired the Risk Management committee, assisting AvÐÔ°® to become one of the leaders in this field in Catholic schools in WA. I have appreciated her immense knowledge, business acumen and balanced approach when examining issues or discussing options during Board meetings.

Greg and Tonia have both made enormous contributions to these voluntary roles, both having served with distinction.

Acknowledgement in the Music Department

Yan Kee has conducted voice lessons for students since she commenced at the College in 2005. The numbers of students involved in school choirs have grown a great deal in the past few years, and I know many of our students have enjoyed their music lessons with Ms Kee.

Yan is a deeply committed and dedicated singing teacher who has used her experience as a classical singer in the professional music industry to support our students. She has developed strong, professional relationships with her students and will do whatever is necessary to ensure they are well supported. The majority of her students have also completed their AMEB (Australian Music Examination Board) exams, which is a wonderful achievement, and she has also provided many opportunities for her students to perform in public. The staff and students alike will miss Yan’s enthusiastic approach and bubbly personality.  

Amanda Alexander will be taking a well-deserved break after working with hundreds of students in Acoustic Guitar, both individually and as ensembles, since 2008. Many of these students have performed with distinction, winning many awards with her students performing at multiple eisteddfods including the Catholic Performing Arts Festival and the Fremantle Eisteddfod. Amanda is a very talented musician in her own right with an extraordinary ability to inspire this same level of professionalism in her students. They attribute their passion for music and their growth in guitar musicianship to Amanda, who is also particularly gifted at working with students who may be quite reluctant in the first instance. Amanda often volunteers to accompany students outside her normal schedule, including attending numerous music camps. I am grateful for her thorough preparation of her students for multiple College recitals and performances and preparation for ATAR exams. As a committed and devoted tutor focussed on getting the best out of her students at all times, Amanda encourages and inspires her students to aim high in terms of their expectations of their musical ability. Amanda has been a highly valued and much loved guitar teacher at the College and will be missed by both staff and students alike

On behalf of the College, I wish both of these tutors all the best in the future.

Best wishes and God Bless.

Mrs Caroline Payne

Principal