The nuts and bolts you need to know!

A Message from your School Captains. We are so excited to welcome you to Normo! You are about to meet so many new people and discover so many new places. But don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed as this is a big place with lots of friendly faces around to give you a helping hand.

To help a fellow Normo girl out, we have put together this booklet to give you a heads up about what’s to come on your first day of school next year.

We hope you love your first Loreto experience, and grow to love this awesome school as much as we do. Remember to always ask lots of questions, make lots of friends and HAVE FUN  

We can’t wait to meet you all!

Love Evie and Ana

(School and Vice-Captain 2019)

Welcome to our new Boarders and we hope you find Boarding lots of fun as we do

Here at Loreto Normanhurst we are fortunate to be home to over 150 boarders from all over NSW, and overseas. The boarding community is a welcoming and loving environment which embraces all girls and their individual talents and personalities. You will come to meet many boarders at Normo and some of you may be a boarder yourself, which is very exciting.

The Boarding House is a very close community, full of optimistic girls who support one another and grow together, acting as sisters. Throughout the year, there are many fun events organised for boarders, such as trips to the beach, city and a boat cruise around Harbour.

We can’t wait to meet you all, especially those of you becoming ‘pink ladies’ (boarders)!!

Love Ella and Suzuki

( Captain and Boarding Vice-Captain 2019)

The 2019 Student Council’s priorities are:

Building Spirit across the whole School community. We will be aiming to do this by creating inspiring videos for the girls, encouraging participation in all school events, lots of fun interhouse competitions, long recess dance offs, Student vs Teacher events and much more.

Building Connections across the whole School community. We will be aiming to do this by saying hello to the girls in the morning with our meet and greet, creating a Normo closed FB group, community day activities that encourage whole school participation, bursary events, tutor and house activities and encouraging students to support one another at a range of sporting and extra-curricular events.

Some helpful tips for your first days at LN!

Over your years at Loreto you will collect many tags, badges, ribbons and special notes. You might like to find a box and start collecting the things you receive today.

At whole school events like the Music Festival dress rehearsal and sports carnivals, it’s a good idea to make your bag stand out. If you bring your sports or school bag it might get lost amongst all the other girls’ bags that look exactly the same. a good idea might be to place a bright ribbon on your bag so you will never lose it.

In Summer (Term 1 and Term 4), we don’t have to wear our blazers to school every day, but we aren’t allowed to wear a jumper outside of school without a blazer over the top, so pack your blazer on cold days! We wear our blazer to and from school in winter.

We need to wear our hats whenever we are in uniform outside of school, and also at recess and lunch during Terms 1 and 4.

The Loreto value for 2019 is ‘SINCERITY’ – you will hear lots about how we are incorporating this value into our daily lives, working towards recognising and embracing every person for their quirks and individuality and involving everyone within the School community. Year 12 has come up with a theme and banner for the year, which is “Let Sincerity be at the centre of the love we share with all”. Each year the value we focus on changes. You will hear more about the values later on.

The first bell rings at 8.20am at school and we need to be in class by 8.25am, so it is best to get organised at about 8.15am so there is time to go to your locker, drop off your bag and mobile phone, get your books and find your friends!

To get to school by train, all you need to do is catch the train to Normanhurst Station, which is one stop away from Hornsby. Then you walk up the hill to school – there will be lots of girls to follow or to ask for help.

When you get the lock for your locker, make sure you practice unlocking it, as the combinations can be tricky to master. Always keep your locker secure.

If you are ever trying to get in or out of the school after hours and find most doors locked, Boarder Reception is almost always open. 

Some words you might hear when you start at LN!

Advisor: Your integrated teacher and special carer.

Advisory Group: Your Integrated class – all the Year 7s in your House.

Assembly: A whole school gathering in the gym for messages and presentations on a Wednesday.

Café: A mini-canteen near the Curran Theatre that serves hot chocolate and other treats and is open until the end of lunch.

Communion Service: The liturgy we have before school each Friday starts at 8.00am in the Chapel. This is run by Year 12 girls (a great way to start Friday and spend time with your friends in the morning).

Conversation: A special meeting you will have every few weeks one on one with your Advisor or Tutor.

Conversation Period: A half hour session on Wednesday where you will see your Advisor and advisory group, while the older girls have conversations with their Tutor or hear from someone else.

Curran Theatre: The school’s theatre, where you will sometimes meet with your Year and House groups and where some presentations occur.

DRC: Deidre Rofe Centre – the centre for Year 7 Integrated, where Y7 meet for the first few weeks of school before being taken to your classes. GBC: Gonzaga Barry Centre – a beautiful building with a lot of glass windows. It has classrooms, meeting rooms and break out rooms for group work.

Half-time Bell: A bell that rings at 1.00pm, half way through our lunch time – you don’t have to go to class then!

Head of House: The teacher in charge of your House (Mrs Stanger, Ms Jenkins, Mr Moran, Mrs Nairn, Mrs Vink, Mrs Guthrie, Ms Taaffe, Mrs Hughes). House: The team you belong to at school – Integrated classes for Y7 are organised in teams and so are lockers and tutor groups (Aston, Barry, Kendall, Kuring-Gai, Maye, Mornane, Mulhall, Ward). House Captain: The Year 12 student leader in your House who you can go to if you need any help in your first few days of school, as well as your buddy (Sophie, Ella, Charlotte, Gabriella. W, Amelia, Lily, Hannah, Gabriella. B). House Music Conductor: The student in charge of teaching the House their song for Music Festival, and leading them on the night (Akshara, Sophie, Alice, Bianca, Eve, Isabelle, Samantha, Sarah). House Time: The House meeting we have on a Wednesday (on rotation with assembly), to receive messages, complete activities and learn exciting things.

Integrated Learning: The dynamic Loreto subject, where we learn a bit of everything; a lot about ourselves, our School and the world we live in.

Light Entertainment: A competition we have in Term 4 where each House creates a performance involving singing, dancing, and acting – one gets chosen to perform at Music Festival the following year. Long Recess: Freestyle dancing in the quad each Wednesday where you can get up and dance with your friends to the latest tunes from 10.05am to 10.35am.

Loreto Day: Our school’s feast day in Term 2 which we celebrate by being people for others. Year 11 students raise awareness for a Mary Ward International cause. It is a community day of prayer, fundraising and a talent quest concert in the afternoon.

LRC: The Learning Resource Centre where you can study and borrow a variety of different books – it opens at 7:30am in the morning until late each day.

Mary Ward: Born 23 January 1585, Mulwith, . The Foundress of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). She founded a new way of religious life for women focused on their active service to others. Mary was a woman of deep prayer who always listened to God in her life. She died on 30 January 1645 in Heworth, United Kingdom.

Midday Gong: A time of prayer, silence and reflection at 12.00pm. The whole School community stops at this time. This is an important part of our day as a faith community.

Mobiles devices: A very handy device often called a smart phone which is to remain in your school bag or locker, switched off or on silent between 8.20am-3.15pm. Your locker must be locked at all times. Mother Gonzaga Barry: Born 24 July 1834, Wexford, . Gonzaga Barry came to Australia with some of the Loreto Sisters in 1875. She established LN in 1897 after seeing a beautiful rainbow above our grounds which to her was a sign that this is where she was to build a new school. She died on 15 March 1915 in , . Music Festival: The big concert we all perform in on the last night of Term 1 – every girl sings in their House Choir to try and win the grand prize or spirit trophy, and you can be in many other acts as well! (School Choir, Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Chamber Strings)

MWC: Mary Ward Centre, the meeting area for Kendall House. You will find this building near the and you may often have some classes here as well.

Oak Tree: The tree outside Boarder Reception where we can sit to eat lunch and often gather as a School. Anyone is welcome here.

Open Circle: Mary Ward’s idea to make sure everyone is welcome in all of our friendship groups – where you leave a space open for others to join in.

Outreach: The trip that students take in Year 9 to Far North every year in August as part of their integrated program. It is often referred to as FNQE.

Teresa Ball: Born 9 January 1794 in Dublin, Ireland. She was the foundress of the Irish Branch of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). Teresa Ball sent many of the Loreto Sisters to establish Loreto convents and schools around the world. She died on 19 May 1861 in Loreto Abbey, Dalkey, Dublin, Ireland.

Tutor: The teacher who leads your Tutor Group and is there to help you when you need it.

Tutor Group: The place you go for 15 minutes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays with other students from each grade in your House, and a tutor teacher – we talk and enjoy catching up with one another. Tutor groups are named using your House and a number from 1 – 7 (for example, Aston 1, 2 and so on)

Year Time: A chance to meet with the other Year girls in your House on Fridays at the normal Tutor Group time.

At first, making your way around our school can seem like an impossible maze, but don’t worry, you will soon know it like the back of your hand!

8.25am - Period 1 First lesson begins. Go to your locker to get your books for Period 1 and 2 before the first bell rings at 8.25am. 9.20am - Period 2 Second lesson begins – you will have some time to move to class, but not enough to go to your locker. 10.15am - Tutor Time to meet with some members of your House Group in different grades, and your Tutor. 10.30am - Recess Recess. Go to your locker now to get your food, hat and books for Periods 3 and 4. 10.45am – Period 3 Third lesson begins. 11.40am – Period 4 Fourth lesson begins. 12.35pm - Lunch Lunch time. Go to your locker now to get your food, hat and books for Periods 5 and 6. 1.00pm – Half lunch The half-time bell rings at lunch. You don’t have to go to class yet! 1.25pm – Period 5 Fifth lesson begins. 2.20pm – Period 6 The last lesson of the day. 3.15pm – End of the Home time unless you have an after school day activity.

On Wednesdays, all of our times change slightly, to make room for Conversation time, an Assembly or House time. Teachers will never mind if you are a few minutes late to class, especially when you are a new student finding your way around the campus. You will love long recess on a Wednesday from 10.05am to 10.35am.

Some girls you will meet and who you can see for help (as well as your buddy!)

School Captain: Evelyn O’Brien Academic Activities Captain: Tamsyn

Coetzee School Vice-Captain: Anastasia Leaver Social Justice Captain: Isabella Boarder Captain: Ella Anderson Mincher Boarder Vice-Captain: Suzuki Yun Performing Arts Captain: Isabelle Liturgy Captain: Charlotte Duff-Clarke Humphries

Sports Captain: Zoe Warland Creative Arts Captain: Beatriz Music Captain: Jayda Gursel Fernandez

Communications Captain: Breanna Ivankovic