Edmund Rice Education Australia Touchstones

Liberating Education

As a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice Tradition, we aim to provide quality teaching and learning experiences to enable students to experience personal achievement within a safe, supportive and healthy environment.

Celebrating Student Achievement

On Wednesday July 19, the College Community gathered to celebrate the academic achievements of students throughout Semester One. Students received awards in the following three categories: Consistent Effort, Academic Achievement and Outstanding Academic Achievement. Students who received a Consistent Effort Award have been nominated by their teachers for their continued application and effort across all their subjects. This is an important award as it identifies students who continually challenge themselves to improve, seeking feedback from their teachers on how they can continue to grow as a learner. These students may not necessarily achieve the highest grades in their classes but have made a commitment to take responsibility for their learning, which is a key aspect of the College Aspiration Statement. Students who received an Academic Achievement Award have been nominated by their teachers for excelling in most of their subjects. They have established learning goals and are working independently, while also seeking teacher support to improve. Finally, students who received an Outstanding Academic Achievement Award are students who have performed at the highest level receiving a top grade or mark in all their subjects. These students are to be commended for their commitment to being the best they can be in their academic pursuits.

I would like to thank the many parents who attending these assemblies in support of their sons. Importantly, I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful St Edward’s teaching and support staff for their dedication, professionalism, and care of our students and the work they do in supporting them in achieving their learning goals.

Outstanding Academic Achievement Award Recipients

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Learning Conferences

I would like to thank the many parents who have scheduled meeting times with teachers for the second round of Learning Conferences over the last two weeks. These meetings provide an important means of obtaining feedback on student progress, identifying commendations on student performance as well as recommendations for ongoing improvement. The importance that you place on meeting with your son’s teachers, as a show of support for his learning, can never be undervalued. A recent article in the Educator Australia Magazine stated that “more than 50 years of research confirms students have higher academic outcomes and improved attendance, behaviour, confidence and motivation when their parents are not simply ‘involved in their school’ but are actively engaged in supporting their learning”.

The approach that we have adopted for these conferences is designed to engage students directly in conversation with their parents and teachers about their learning. It is hoped that by students being encouraged to lead the conversation that they take greater ownership and responsibility for their learning, establish learning goals and work with their teachers on achieving these goals.

The conferences are scheduled at this time of year to provide further feedback to students in Years 7-10, following the Semester One Academic Report, provide guidance to Year 11 students as they approach the completion of their Preliminary Courses and to support Year 12 students as they prepare for their Trial HSC Examinations in the coming weeks.

Year 12 HSC Trial Examinations

Year 12 students will be sitting their Trial HSC Examinations from Monday July 31st and conclude on Monday August 14th. These examinations contribute significantly to the final Higher School Certificate Assessment mark that is submitted to the NSW Education Standards Authority. All Year 12 students are encouraged to establish a structured revision program in consultation with their teachers to best prepare themselves for these examinations. The examination timetable is available on the College Website at the following link Trial HSC Examination Timetable. I would like to wish all of Year 12 the very best of luck in these examinations.

College Annual Report

The 2022 College Annual Report to the community of St Edward’s College provides a summary of the achievements and operations throughout last year. This report is completed each year as part of the College’s registration and accreditation requirements and provides evidence of accountability to the College’s Strategic Improvement Plan. The Report outlines some of the key strategies introduced in 2022 to improve the learning for all students and an overview of expenditure and resourcing aligned with our improvement plans. The Annual Report is available on the College website on the following link. Annual Reports