ST THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE
2019 ANNUAL REPORT
2019 ANNUAL REPORT
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CONTENTS
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT 3
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT 5
RELIGIOUS EVENTS 6
VALUE ADDED 7
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 11
STUDENT RESULTS & DESTINATIONS 14
THE STUDENT BODY 20
SATISFACTION WITH THE SCHOOL 21
FINANCE REPORT 22
STAFF 23
CONTACT DETAILS 24
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PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Fr Andrew Cranshaw
2019 has been a busy and very successful year for the College. The Board approved the Five Year Strategic Plan and the Annual Action Plan early in the year, setting the course for the College’s Executive team to follow. A very important part of the Strategic plan is the spiritual formation of the students. To achieve this important work, we have made the weekly school Mass a focal point for their spiritual growth by encouraging greater student participation in serving and singing. To help with this we have developed a Girls’ Chapel Choir and a Boys’ Schola (Gregorian Chant choir). They practice weekly to prepare beautiful pieces for each school Mass. We continue to run our annual retreats for the graduating students, which offer them an occasion to deepen their spiritual lives and discern their vocations. At the level of religious studies, we have responded to parents’ and students’ feedback by revamping our VCE Religion course to address more modern issues facing our youth like dating, alcohol, bioethics, marriage, priesthood, vocational discernment and more.
I have continued working closely with teachers to ensure that all curriculum content aligns with Catholic teachings and the Australian Curriculum. In both Science and Humanities, I have guided teachers towards embedding more Catholic content for students, and I have provided professional development focused on helping teachers grow in their knowledge of the College’s ethos so they can embed it in the delivery of their lessons. Child Safety has been a high priority for us. We have reviewed our Child Safety policies to ensure they are up to date with government regulations, and we have been regularly messaging our school community on our Child Safety standards and procedures through our College Chronicle, our website and our Parent evenings.
An important part of our Annual Action Plan this year has been to revitalise the P&F Association. I am most grateful to the P&F directors and the parent body for their efforts in this area. The directors are a group of very motivated and organised parents who are doing great work and deserve all our support. They organised a very successful Dinner Auction fundraiser in 2019, raising over $50,000, which we have used to upgrade our cooling and heating systems for the Primary school.
2019 has seen a lot of development around student wellbeing at our College. We have developed the College’s House System as a Pastoral Care mechanism that provides positive discipline, combats bullying, develops leadership and extends education beyond the classroom. For the first time ever, we ran a three-day 7-12 Secondary Houses camp to strengthen the cohesion of House members, form the House captains into better leaders and give the House Mentors the scope they need to nurture the House spirit. The experience was very rewarding and enjoyable for all involved.
One of the highlights of 2019 for our VCE Boys was their international trip to Fiji. It was an eye-opening experience for them to live amongst the Fijian villagers and experience their simple, humble but joyful way of life. It was an occasion for our students to join the priests in their rounds of missionary activity and reach-out to other Catholic communities in the South Pacific.
The trip later inspired our Primary school to fundraise over $2000 for the support of these communities, for which they were most grateful. The trip was a beautiful experience that both myself and my students will never forget.
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FIJI 2019
COLLEGE 2019 OPENING MASS
SECONDARY GIRLS CAMP
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DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Mr Mark Stanton
2019 was a great year at the College and we had many highlights throughout the year. Some of these highlights have been provided below. The year started with the introduction of a new House system and the re-appointment of Mrs Sue Pastor as Dean of Primary and the appointment of Mr Lawrence Phillips as Dean of Boys and Mrs Sarah Faulkner and then Miss Alexis Bell as Dean of Girls. The change in leadership coincided with a number of changes rolled out across the College. This included significant work done to the Policy Framework of the College.
In 2019 we refined our Secondary curriculum and added greater emphasis on Drama and Music and Technology and Visual Communication and Design. In Primary we decided to introduce Latin as our second language since it goes hand in glove with the Latin Mass conducted within our Community. These changes have made a significant difference to the experience of our students throughout the School.
We had a few staff changes, including Mrs Sarah Faulkner going on leave for the birth of her second child. We welcomed and said goodbye to Mr Patrick Lyons and Mrs Kirsten Wheeler who helped shape our Music and Performing Arts courses in Secondary. We welcomed Miss Helena Massey on exchange from our Sister school in Brisbane and thank her for a wonderful year. And we said goodbye to Father Damian Fox, Mr Michael Dillon, Mr Trevor Thomas, Mrs Yan Robinson, Mrs Preeti Dhanoti and Mrs Jessica Irvin. We thank them all for their wonderful service.
I had the privilege of working with a new team of parents on our Parents and Friends Committee this year. Their achievements in helping the College raise funds in 2019 was amazing. A big thank-you to all of the parents who volunteer their time for the benefit of our students. We greatly appreciate your efforts.
Before I move on to some of the highlights of the year, I’d like to thank the staff of St Thomas Aquinas College for their hard work and for their efforts in making 2019 such a wonderful year for the College. I’d also like to thank the students and their parents for their cooperation and support. We greatly appreciate it.
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RELIGIOUS EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF THE COLLEGE
2019 started with our Official Opening School Mass held at Corpus Christi Church on the first Sunday of Term One. This was a beautiful occasion where staff, students, parents, and friends were able to come together to pray for the College.
In 2019 we refined our in-School Mass program so that our Primary sub-school had time for Mass set aside once a week, and our Secondary sub-School also had a common time set aside for Mass every Friday. This change made the Mass both more significant and more appropriate for our setting.
Throughout the year, we celebrated key events in our Religious Calendar, including Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Easter, and the Hold Days of Obligation – the Ascension of Our Lord, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Feast of All Saints. We also marked many other special days including the Feasts of St Thomas Aquinas, St Joseph, Corpus Christi, St Pius X, and Christ the King.
Our Primary students marked the Feast of All Saints with a Saints Parade where they dressed up as their favourite Saint. This was a wonderful event which our students and parents alike loved.
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VALUE ADDED
INCREASED FOCUS ON HOUSES
Across all three sub-Schools – i.e., the Primary and Secondary Boys and Girls – we held a series of events and activities designed to build team spirit, foster the development of leadership, and generally provide a sense of fun to students in the School. The new House system in the Secondary sub-Schools meant that morning and afternoon roll call occurred in House Mentor groups or in line ups in House order. The increased focus on House has added a lot of colour and life to the life of the College. These activities were run across all three schools. Some of the highlights (only) have been referred to below.
• We asked House Captains to work with their Houses to design a House Flag which they felt represented their House.
HOUSES PRIMARY SECONDARY BOYS SECONDARY GIRLS
BOSCO
KOLBE
MacKILLOP
MANNIX
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• Going hand-in-hand with the new House Mentor system, we introduced a raft of House Activities to engage students and help them learn to work together as a team. These House Activities included a Crucible Challenge which was a test of leadership and teamwork, which will become an integral part of the start of each College Year. The winners of the Crucible Challenge for 2019 were Mannix (Boys’ sub-School), Bosco (Girls’ sub-School) and Mackillop (Primary).
• In March, we held our College Athletics at Edwin Flack Reserve (home of Berwick Little Athletics Club). The event was an enormous success. Our House Athletics Winners for 2019 were: Mannix (Boys’ sub-School), Kolbe (Girls’ sub-School) and Mannix (Primary sub-School)
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• Throughout the year we ran a series of competitive House activities, including House Volleyball. These ran in two parts – a team of students in Years 5 to 8 played then a team of students in Years 9-12 played. Volleyball was played in amazing spirit and drew huge crowds. The noise coming from the Multi-Purpose Hall would have carried to Pakenham; it was so deafening. The inaugural winners of the House Volleyball Championship were: Mackillop (Boys) and Kolbe (Girls).
• Following on from this we ran our House Cross Country Carnival in May. This was a great day full of colour. The winners were: Kolbe (Boys’ sub-School), Bosco (Girls’ sub-School) and Mannix (Primary sub-School).
• The action continued with the inter-House Netball and Futsal competitions. The winners were: Futsal (Kolbe), Netball (Mackillop)
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• At the end of Term Two, we held our now annual House Drama Competition. Houses were required to create a 10 minute drama production to the theme of Aesop’s Fables. Points were awarded for the quality of the production, the originality of interpretation, and the participation of students from the House. The winners in 2019 were: Boys – Mannix, Girls – Mannix.
• At the start of Term Three, we took our Secondary students away on the first-ever House Camps. The boys went to Phillip Island Adventure Resort and the girls went to Forest Edge Camp. The Camps were an excellent opportunity to help build the House groups and students typically enjoyed their time away.
• The Secondary House Competitions continued with the House Debating, which was highly competitive. The winners of the Debating for 2019 were: Mackillop (7-10 Boys), Mackillop (VCE Boys), Mackillop (7-10 Girls) and Mackillop (VCE Girls). OVERALL HOUSE CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS OVERALL CHAMPIONS - MANNIX SUB-SCHOOL WINNING HOUSE SECONDARY GIRLS KOLBE
SECONDARY BOYS BOSCO
PRIMARY SCHOOL BOSCO
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OTHER HIGHLIGHTS Across the College year we had a raft of other activities going on as well. Some of the highlights from the year included:
• Our VCE Boys were able to head off to Fiji for the bi-annual international trip. Students were able to see several highlights of the small Pacific Island nation while touring various missions run in Fiji by our founders the Society of St Pius X. This was an amazing experience for our boys.
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• In August, we were honoured to receive a visit from students from our sister school in Brisbane – St Philomena’s School. Each year the two schools participate in fiercely friendly (!) competitions in Volleyball, Netball, Basketball and Debating.
The scores were as follows:
EVENT SCHOOLS SCORE RESULTS Girls’ Netball STAC vs STPHILS 35 vs 13 St Thomas Aquinas College Boys’ Volleyball STAC vs STPHILS 2 sets to 1 54 vs 51 (25vs19, 25vs20, 4vs12) St Thomas Aquinas College Girls’ Volleyball STAC vs STPHILS 2 sets to 1 69 vs 51 (19vs25, 25vs13, 25vs13) St Thomas Aquinas College Boys’ Basketball STAC vs STPHILS 24 vs 54 St Philomena School
DEBATING TEAM SCORES Secondary Girls’ STAC 225 ST Phils 228 St Philomena School Secondary Boys’ STAC 224 St Phils 225 St Philomena School
• In September, we had guest speakers come out to speak to our parents and students about Cyber Safety. • In October, we had guest speakers come out and speak to our students about Alcohol and Drug Awareness. • In December and January 2020, we undertook a wide ranging Professional Development program for our staff on Youth Mental Health First Aid. • Our Primary School Concert is held on the second last Friday of Term IV and has become a highlight of our year. This year our Primary students surpassed themselves in their performance of various Christmas songs and skits. A huge thank-you to our Primary staff for all of their hard work in making the Primary Concert happen.
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• In 2019 we introduced a Mentoring program between our Year 6 students and our Year Foundation students. This ‘buddy’ program was greatly appreciated by our Foundation class who eagerly looked forward to seeing their Year 6 ‘buddy’ at different times throughout the year.
School Sport Highlight
Students participated in a range of inter-school sporting competitions in a variety of sports including Volleyball, Netball, Basketball, Tennis, Table Tennis, Athletics, Cross Country, Soccer and TBall. We had a number of excellent performances:
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STUDENT RESULTS AND DESTINATIONS
STUDENT OUTCOMES OF STANDARDISED NATIONAL LITERACY AND NUMERACY TESTING In 2019 students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 undertook the NAPLAN testing.
The data below shows the results were very positive, with our students doing at least as well as their peers in other Australian schools or better (see green results below).
Our student gain results were also incredibly positive. The following graphs show that our student results in Writing between Years 3 to 5, 5 to 7, and 7 to 9 have all improved by more than students with similar starting scores and similar backgrounds. In 2019 this was true in eight out of nine of the measures, which shows that our students are improving by more than like students in other schools across Reading, Writing, and Numeracy.
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Our five-year trend data is incredibly pleasing. It shows our five-year trend across Years 3, 5, and 7 up (in most cases significantly) across 13 of the 15 measures and holding steady in one. Our Year 9 data shows us up across 4 of the five measures over the past four years. The graphs below show our performance over five years in Reading across Years 3 to 9.
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VCE OUTCOMES 2019
No. of students in year 12 15 Percent attaining VCE 100% ATAR of 90 or above 15.4 ATAR of 80 or above 23.1 ATAR of 70 or above 30.8 ATAR or 60 or above 38.5
Our Year 12 students all managed to complete their VCE. This year's dux was Lachlan Sauze with an ATAR score of 90.85. Putting this in context, Lachlan is placed inside the top 2,000 students out of the 46,000+ students who received scored assessment in the State.
35% of our students received ATARs that placed them in the top 25% of the State. We received one other 90+ score.
POST SCHOOL DESTINATIONS 2019 No. of students in Year 12 15 Completed Senior Secondary School 14 Students at University 36% Students at TAFE/Vocational Study 29% Students in Employment 21%
The following students have given permission to be promoted as the Subject Duxes of the following subjects: (printed with permission)
Chemistry Lachlan Sauze Latin Lachlan Sauze / Joseph Verleg Further Mathematics Mitchell Youngman Maths Methods Lachlan Sauze Physical Education Paul Beckenham / Ignatius Ryan Physics Lachlan Sauze
We’d like to take the time to not only congratulate the students but to also thank the parents for entrusting us with their children and supporting us through their journey. I’d also like to thank all of the staff involved in this group's 13-year journey at the College.
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CAMBRIDGE During 2019 the College had students sit exams for four separate IGCSE courses. The courses were:
0500 First Language English – sat in May - June 0580 Mathematics without Coursework
0486 Literature in English
0653 Combined Science – sat in October and November period The grades are displayed on the graph below.
IGCSE EXAM RESULTS FOR 2019 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 A+ ABCDEFGU
IGCSE Exam Results for 2019 0500 First Language English IGCSE Exam Results for 2019 0580 Mathematics w/out Coursework IGCSE Exam Results for 2019 0653 Combined Science IGCSE Exam Results for 2019 0486 Literature in English The results showed a better A-C grade dispersal in the English based courses, with a broader distribution in Science, and then for Mathematics, we saw a cluster of grades in the middle and bottom. The Science course this year is different from previous in that it only gives 1 grade as opposed to science dual, which offers two at the same time. No students took exams in Humanities or Languages this year.
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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THE STUDENT BODY
On Census Day, 2 August 2019 St Thomas Aquinas College had an enrolment of 272 students (P-12) of whom 155 were Primary and 117 were Secondary.
The average whole school student attendance rate as a percentage in 2019 was 94.17 %
STUDENT ATTENDANCES IN 2019
Level Prep Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Yr 6 Yr 7 Yr 8 Yr 9 Yr 10 Yr 11 Yr 12 % 94.94 94.41 92.63 96.77 94.39 94.03 92.69 93.46 93.51 94.11 94.00 93.25 93.83
ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT Students are marked present or absent in Homeroom every morning at 8.31 am. Students must also register their attendance if they arrive at school after this time. Parents / Guardians are requested to phone the school to advise of their child’s absence each day they are not attending. If this phone call is not received by 9.00 am, the School Reception will phone parents directly to advise their child has not been recorded as attending school. Students must also submit written notification signed by a parent/guardian upon their return to school to be given to the College receptionist. Students’ absences are recorded on each student’s Semester report. Parents are contacted to discuss irregular or persistent absences. Formal procedures are actioned for unauthorized absences.
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SATISFACTION WITH THE SCHOOL
In 2019, STAC Secondary students responded to an Attitude to Schooling Survey. The questions ranged across three domains of school effectiveness. Sample results taken from the survey are shown in the charts below.
▪ Spiritual Formation ▪ Teaching and Learning ▪ Student Relationship and Wellbeing
Spiritual Formation
Religion is important to me I feel the school is doing enough to help me spiritually 2.9% Strongly Agree 3.9% Strongly Agree 7.8% Agree 8.8% 6.9% Agree Neither 6.9% 14.7% 69.6% Neither Disagree 62.7% 15.7% Disagree Strongly Strongly Disagree Disagree
Nearly 85% agreed or strongly agreed Over 75% agreed or strongly agreed
Teaching and Learning Doing well in school is very Continuing or completing my
important to me education is important to me Strongly Agree 2.9% Strongly Agree 7.8% 7.8% 6.9% Agree Agree 8.8% 10.8% Neither Neither 60.8% 9.8% 70.6% Disagree Disagree 13.7%
Strongly Strongly Disagree Disagree
Nearly 75% agreed or strongly agreed Over 80% agreed or strongly agreed
Student Relationships
I get on well with other students Students are mean to me at this at my school school Strongly Agree Strongly Agree 6.9% 8.8% 4.9% 4.9% Agree Agree 2.9% 6.9% 2.9% Neither Neither 4.9% 74.5% 82.4% Disagree Disagree Strongly Strongly Disagree Disagree Over 80% agreed or strongly agreed Over 85% disagreed or strongly disagreed
Notable outcomes in the 2019 STAC Secondary students’ responses include: ▪ nearly 85% of all Secondary students either agreed or strongly agreed that their Religion was important to them. ▪ nearly 80% of all Secondary students either agreed or strongly agreed that they got on with their fellow students. ▪ over 80% of all Secondary students either agreed or strongly agreed that continuing with their education was important to them. ▪ Less than 1 in 10 Secondary students surveyed had concerns about safety.
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FINANCE REPORT
Other Income, 2019 Revenue Source $147,314 School Fees, 4% Revenue Source 2019 $478,342 School Fees State Grants, 11% School Fees $478,342 $778,198 18% Commonwealth Commonwealth Grants $2,873,015 Grants State Grants $778,198 Commonwealth State Grants Other Income $147,314 Grants, TOTAL REVENUE 2019 $4,276,869 $2,873,015, Other Income 67%
Depreciation , 2019 Expenses $568,174 Expenses 2019 12%
Other Employment Expenses $3,263,559 Expenses Employment Other Expenses $771,042 $771,042, Expenses 17% Depreciation $568,174 Other Expenses Employment TOTAL EXPENSES 2018 $4,602,775 Expenses, $3,263,559 Depreciation 71%
In 2019, financial highlights at St Thomas Aquinas College included:
• Investment into the new Music, Performing Arts, Visual Communications and Technology programs in the Secondary sub-school • Installation of split-system air-conditioning units throughout the Primary sub-school (with thanks to our Parents & Friends Association) • Installation of fixed digital projectors into most Primary sub-school classrooms • Introduction of staff salary packaging arrangements with a third-party provider • Security upgrade, including new carpark gates, a layered keying system and additional CCTV cameras • Installation of new solar power array system on the Admin and Library Buildings • Implementation of upgraded Information Technology Server Infrastructure, including enhanced virus protection and automatic off-site data storage
Other minor expenditures included new sports equipment, library resources, implementation of a digital attendance system for staff, visitors and contractors, upgrade to the bell system, and development of the College’s website.
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STAFF
2019 WORKFORCE TEACHER STANDARDS AND QUALIFICATION (TEACHNG AND NON-TEACHING) The following teachers were employed by St Thomas Aquinas College in 2019. The data below is a snapshot of the staff cohort at the time of the annual census. All individuals were registered with the
Victorian Institute of Teaching. No. of teaching staff 35 Mrs Laura Alexander BA, DipEd (Sec.) No. of general staff 14 Miss Colette Ballard DipTeach BEd (Prim), MEd (SLD)
Miss Alexis Bell BEd Sec, BSport & Outdoor Recreation (Monash)
Mr Aaon Bell Teacher Absences in 2019 BSc(Spec Hons), BEd-Inter/Snr Health & PhyEd. Gen. Sc.
Attendance rates for teaching staff Mr John Calnan BIT (Swinburne) DipEd. (Qld) Teaching Staff 96% Fr Andrew Cranshaw BArch (Victoria Uni, NZ), DipEd Sec. (NZ) Mr Emyn Davis BA. (Hons), MA., PGCE. (UK) DipEd Sec.(Morling) Teacher Retention 2019 Mr Michael Dillon BA, BTheology, GradDipEd Sec. St Thomas Aquinas College retained 30 Miss Amy Doyle BSc (Victoria Uni NZ) GradDip Teach(Sec) out of 35 teachers Fr Raphael du Chazaud Grad DipEd (Prim.) (Eastern Aus. College) Mrs Sarah Faulkner BESc. (Hons.) (Monash), DipEd (ACU) Fr Damien Fox BSc, GradDipEd Mr Mark Hanney DipTeach; DipPhilosphy; DipFinance Mrs Jacinta Hurst DipTeach Mrs Ziena Iskander BMusic(Lebanon) DepEd (Monash) Mr Ennal Kapoor BSc(Math/Physics), PGCE,(FIJI) Miss Jessica Irvin BA (RMIT), MSTEd. Primary (Monash) Miss Deloriane Keegel BEd (Post Grad) (Melb. Uni) Mr Patrick Lyons BJ. (Griffith Uni), BM,(Monash) MEd. Sec (Melb. Uni) Miss Helena Massey BEd. Primary (Qld Uni) Mrs Joelene McKenna BSc (RMIT), DipEd (Monash) Miss Leanne McKenzie BSc, DipEd. (Sec.) Miss Louise McNamara BEd Primary (University of Sydney) Miss Alison Morris BEd, BA (Mathematics) Miss Edel O’Hea BEd Secondary Mrs Anne Olsen BA (Hons) DipEd. DipLang. Teaching (French) Mrs Susanne Pastor DipTeach Primary (Coburg) Miss Natalie Pastor BEd Primary and Secondary Mr Lawrence Phillips BEd. Primary (Monash) Ms Janine Ponsonby Dip.Ed (Dower College of Edu, South Africa) Miss Jasmin Rosario BA Early Childhood Education (Monash) Mrs Yan Robinson BPh(SA Uni), DipEd Secondary (Monash) Fr Jodie Stephens BBus, (Swinburne Uni) BEd (Tabor) Mr Trevor Thomas DipTechTeach Sec (Hawthorn Instit of Tech Teaching Mr Jason Velnoweth BA, BSc (Hons), (Monash), DipEd Prim/Sec (Deakin) Mrs Kirsten Wheeler BA, (Monash), DipEd (Monash)
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MONTH OF THE ROSARY DEVOTION
STAC 2019 Annual Report VRQA College No 1966 ABN 54 090 811 911
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