Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to congratulate all students for the positive way they have returned and quickly settled into class for this final Term of the school year. As a College community, we keep Year 12 students in our thoughts and prayers during their current HSC examinations. Our prayer and wish are for all their efforts to be richly rewarded in producing their very best over the coming weeks. As a College, we remain very proud of all students:
A Prayer for our HSC Students
Heavenly Father, we bring before You our HSC students.
May they be enriched by the gifts of the Holy Spirit –
wisdom, understanding, knowledge and courage.
Bless them with clarity of mind as they sit for their exams.
Grant them the confidence they deserve from years of diligent study.
May they be affirmed in their efforts, and may they know that You are there with them.
We pray they will stay calm under pressure and work to the best of their ability.
May they feel Your loving presence in their lives, now and always, and may they be
strengthened by the prayerful support of us, the Edmund Rice College community.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen
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During the past three days, our Year 11 students have participated in their senior retreat at various conference venues. Thank you to Mrs Judith Hurley and the Identity Team for planning these valuable, liberating experiences. These senior retreats have once again been a significant experience for our students as they take the opportunity to reflect and continue to nurture their spirituality. I have personally appreciated the opportunity to witness how ‘open’ the young men of ERC are in sharing and engaging with their own personal growth and the strong connections they have with each other.
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Thank you to Mrs Jodie Hughes and the Pastoral Care Team for their preparation and planning of our recent staff development day, which was held on World Mental Health Day. The day was facilitated by Dan Hardie from the ‘My Strengths’ organisation, who provided valuable insights into current data and research on youth wellbeing. This day proved to be a valuable opportunity for staff members to enhance further their approach to the inextricable link between student learning and student wellbeing. Our strengths-based approach to both students and staff is foundational to our approach to pastoral care, informed by each Touchstone. This was further illustrated the following day with our whole-school assembly, organised by the new College SRC leaders who focussed on the theme of ‘Tuning In’ to the wellbeing of yourself and others within Mental Health Month.
Best wishes for the Term ahead.
Stephen Gough
Principal