Dear Parents, Students and Friends

We have come to the end of the academic year and what a year it has been! This will be the final newsletter for 2020, as the last day of term for students and staff is Wednesday 16 December.

I take this opportunity to thank all families for their support and understanding as we have navigated an enormously challenging year together. I hope at all times you have felt supported and informed as developments occurred. Our community has been strengthened by the experiences of this year, despite the unpredictable nature of events. The human response in times of devastation, hardship and loss is heart-warming. We are a people of faith and with this comes the courage to face adversity. I pray that this Christmas brings your family the peace and joy that deprived us last year.

I acknowledge the work of the College staff and thank them sincerely for what they bring to their roles each day. Our collaborative approach has enabled us to meet the challenges of 2020.

Thank you to Mr Paul Penberthy, Chair of our College Community Council, and to Council members for their support and direction. Also to Parish Priests, Fr Martins and Fr George. Fr Martins has been a regular presence at the College and has offered spiritual input with staff and students.

Year 7, 2021 Orientation Day
A fantastic day was enjoyed by Year 6 students last Friday as they explored their new secondary learning environment. New friendships were made and students were actively engaged in activities as they interacted with peers. It was a fun day of new adventures as students became familiar with the College and gained confidence in themselves as they began the transition process to Year 7! The new school year commences on Friday 29 January 2021 for Year 7.

Student Leadership Team (SLT) Camp
I had the pleasure of attending part of the SLT Camp last week at Narooma. What a dynamic group of young people! Lots of laughs and great energy as they brainstormed and planned for 2021. There is a great level of respect among the students. It was wonderful to see their leadership skills in action. Special thanks to Mr Hodges, Mrs Dell and Mr Mansfield for their leadership at camp!

Staffing
We have a number of staff completing temporary contracts at the end of the term. On behalf of the College, I extend our thanks to these colleagues for the commitment they show to our community on a daily basis. Thank you to Laura Wales, Peter Sutton, Cathie Cahill, Jenni Knight, Tim Lyttle and Laura McLarnon.

Our TAS Assistant, Mr Neil O’Hanlon is retiring after many years of working at the College. I wish him every happiness in retirement and thank him for sharing his skills and expertise in the TAS department.

Cheryle King will be returning to work in 2021 in a job-share capacity as Classroom Support Teacher with Rita Cremerius. Mrs King will be working five days p/week until PM Break each day.

Louisa Bonner is commencing Maternity leave at the end of the term. Our warmest regards go to Louisa and partner Ewan and their family, as they await the arrival of their baby due at the end of January.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities – 3 December 2020
Yesterday marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. As a Catholic community, we are an inclusive learning community focused on providing the same access to opportunities for all students with a disability. We work closely with families to create Personal Plans that will ensure adjustments are appropriate to the learner and students feel safe and secure at school.

Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World.

Disability inclusion is an essential condition to upholding human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security. It is also central to the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind. The commitment to realizing the rights of persons with disabilities is not only a matter of justice; it is an investment in a common future.

The global crisis of COVID-19 is deepening pre-existing inequalities, exposing the extent of exclusion and highlighting that work on disability inclusion is imperative. People with disabilities—one billion people— are one of the most excluded groups in our society and are among the hardest hit in this crisis in terms of fatalities.
https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/international-day-of-persons-with-disabilities-2020/ 

End of Year Awards Ceremony – Tuesday 15 December
With COVID-19 restrictions easing slightly, we are able to adapt our plans for our end of year Awards Ceremony in Week 10. We will be holding two separate ceremonies to cater for student, staff and parent numbers. Years 7 & 8 students will come together for the first gathering at 9.45am - 10.35am. Years 9, 10 & 11 students will gather at 11.25am – 12.15pm.

One parent per child is welcome to attend if they are available. Both Award ceremonies will be recorded and the link made available to all parents, so please do not be concerned if you cannot make this occasion. Social distancing and appropriate precautions will remain in place for this function. Parents will be required to sign in at the entrance to the Hall and be seated 10 minutes prior to commencement time.

If your child is a recipient of an award this year, parents will receive an email confidentially a couple of days prior. Again, I thank all families for their understanding with these restrictions.

Return Dates for 2021

• Staff return for two days of professional learning on Wednesday 27 & Thursday 28 January 2021
• Years 7, 11 & 12 return on Friday 29 January 2021
• Years 8, 9 & 10 return on Monday 1 February with ALL students

May the blessings of Christmas fill your homes and hearts. From all at Carroll College, I wish your family a safe and joyous Christmas. Enjoy a special holiday period this year.

Merry Christmas

Jacqueline Heffernan
Principal

Meet Mr Jon Brady

PDHPE Coordinator 

At the age of 10, I started my working life as a self-employed entrepreneur. I would spend my evenings scouring the tree lined rough of Federal Golf Course in Canberra for wayward golf balls abandoned as lost by the disheartened players. I would take them home, clean them up and grade them for sale back to the eternal optimists that are weekend golfers. Some of my teachers were my best customers! To supplement my golf ball sales I would also collect aluminium cans around the course to make some money on Saturdays at the local “cash for cans”.

Ready for a new challenge and steady pay check, I took up a pamphlet run at the age of 14. I spent Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings delivering news of the best bargains Canberra had to offer to the grateful people of Hughes and Garran. I soon learnt the location of every vicious dog in both suburbs.

In Year 9, I was lucky enough to be offered a job by one of my best friend’s dad. He was in charge of the opening of a brand new family restaurant, Henry’s. It was Canberra’s newest place to go for families with tasty burgers, party plans, a video arcade and the world’s greatest salad bar. I got to work in the kitchen with many of my friends, dressed like a chef, making gourmet burgers and steak and dampers. I was also pretty impressed with the front of house staff, or one in particular, the future Mrs Brady.

When I was completing Year 12 at St Edmunds College, I applied for a number of gap year programs in English schools. I was accepted by the Kingswood School in Bath. An amazing school with a history dating back nearly 300 years. In preparation for the trip, I took on a second job washing dishes at Grande’s Cafe in Manuka to pay for my plane ticket. So at 17, two months after Year 12 graduation I headed to Bath, England to spend a year as a PE assistant at The Kingswood School. I lived on site (it was a boarding school) and had an amazing year working with the PE team. In the holidays, I was able to travel around Europe with another of my best friends, who was also on a gap year. Of an evening I worked in a pub, The Hare and Hound, to help pay for my trips.

I was due to commence university at ANU studying Science on my return but enjoyed my time as a PE assistant so much that I transferred to PDHPE Teaching (Bachelor) at the University of Canberra. It was the right decision, and I enjoyed every moment of my four years at UC. I worked at the Canberra Southern Cross Club and The Yamba Club, as well as the Southern Cross Pitch and Putt course whilst I was studying at university.

My first teaching job was at Lanyon High School, in Tuggeranong. It was a relatively new school with young staff and modern curriculum design. I spent four years there, making some great friends, and working with some amazing senior staff who helped me develop my teaching skills.

In 2003, I started life’s most important job, being a parent. With Mrs Brady on maternity leave, we thought it would be a good opportunity to make a move to the country and have a break from city life. We saw the ad for a PE Teacher at Carroll College, Broulee. “Is there even a school there? That’s where we go for holidays! Surely I couldn’t be that lucky to get a job there!” Well, I was, and here I am. 16 years and four boys later, at an amazing school, working with wonderful staff, students and families. Was this my plan when I was 16? Not even close, but I am glad it’s worked out this way.

Volunteering has also been an important part of my time on the coast. I have been keenly involved in many local sports as a player and/or volunteer including rugby union, touch football, athletics, surf club and cricket. As a teenager in Canberra, I was always so appreciative of the volunteers who made sport possible, coaches, referees, canteen helpers, managers and more. I was fortunate enough to play at a first grade level in rugby union and cricket in Canberra, and now have the opportunity to provide those opportunities for many kids on the South Coast.