Principal’s News

Prayer

May the lord bless his land
with the precious dew from heaven above
and with the deep waters that lie below;
with the best the sun brings forth
and the finest the moon can yield;
with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains
and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;
with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness
Amen


Spirit Squad Fundraiser – Rodeo for Research

The Spirit Squad, a student run group, aims to build spirit and awareness of causes close to the Brigidine Community. It was initiated by students with the core purpose to fundraise for Cancer following the passing of our College Principal, Jan Neumann in 2012. With passion and dedication students every year since have dedicated time to raise much needed awareness and funds for Cancer Research, specifically Breast and Ovarian Cancer. In the following nine years, Brigidine has raised in excess of $200,000 and we are immensely proud of the many, many students who have been actively engaged in these endeavours.

Last week on Friday 29th July we had over 60 students and one teacher ‘rocking the chop’ and cutting off their ponytails at the Rodeo for Research. The country-western themed day saw students and teachers come to class in their best cowboy outfits, share in baked goods and a sausage sizzle before the formalities of the day afterschool. Before ‘rocking the chop,’ students, staff and community members engaged in country themed afternoon including popcorn, fairy floss and a fiercely contested Nutbush competition. The Spirit Squad would like to thank all members of the community for their contributions to this day and the funds raised. Funds raised by this event are the highest we have achieved with fundraising currently sitting at over $56,000. Stay tuned as the Spirit Squad will be finalising their fundraising with a raffle, to be drawn at the conclusion of Term 3.

Ponytail Project Fundraiser

Catholic School Parents Survey

Please take the opportunity to participate in the Catholic School Parents Australia survey below.

Brendan Cahill
Principal


News from our  Deputy Principal, Mission

NAIDOC Week

Our First Nations’ Students participated in the Junior School NAIDOC Mass at ATC which was followed by a shared meal together with their First Nations Brothers.

Senior First Nations’ girls led the Year 4 and 5 students from ATC in an interactive QUIZ to share their knowledge and cultural learning.

On Friday afternoon, our Year 7’s participated in NAIDOC celebrations at the College. We welcomed ATC to participate in the Welcome to Country Dance. Year 7’s participated in rotating workshops, where they learned about “Dance, “Strong Women” and “Cultural Knowledge” with our First Nations’ Students and guests.

Retreats

Year 7’s first Retreat at Brigidine focussed on learning about Brigid and her story. They wrote letters to their future selves which will form part of a time capsule to be opened in Year 12.  Year 8’s Retreat and Solas Bhride were facilitated by the Passionist Youth Ministry, followed by a workshop with Storm from Butterfly Effect. On Friday they ventured bravely in the rain on the Mt Coot-tha Kokoda Trail.

Year 9’s had an engaging day of music and spiritual reflection with Dave Jorna from Project Hatch. The retreat focussed on “The Real Gift” including their Giftedness, The Giftedness in Others and Gifted Moments.

Life Lessons From Mary and Martha by Fr Pan

For centuries people in the church have puzzled over the Mary and Martha story, knowing that someone has to do the work. The point of this passage, however, is about making Jesus and his word our priority. Today we come to know Jesus better through prayer, church attendance, and Bible study.  If all 12 apostles and some of the women who supported Jesus’ ministry were traveling with him, organizing and preparing the meal would have been a major job. Martha, like many hostesses, became anxious over impressing her guests.

Martha has been compared to the Apostle Peter: practical, impulsive, and short-tempered to the point of rebuking the Lord himself. Mary is more like the Apostle John: reflective, loving, and calm.  Even still, Martha was a remarkable woman and deserves considerable credit. It was quite rare in Jesus’ day for a woman to manage her own affairs as the head of the household, and especially to invite a man into her home.

Welcoming Jesus and his entourage into her house implied the fullest form of hospitality and involved substantial generosity.

Andrew Beiers and Fr Pan
Deputy Principal – Mission


News from the Environment club

Environment Club flower growing competition

The Club meets Friday lunch time in the Marian Auditorium. The girls are keen to do what they can to protect and preserve our environment. Recent projects have ranged rom rubbish education, special bins and mulch creation. This Term, getting ready for spring, we have decided to put interest into practice and grow our own flowers. The calendula was chosen as the seed packet claimed it was “hardy” and would grown anywhere. ​

At the recent meeting on 22nd July, 40 girls took home calendula seeds. The race was on, the seeds needed to be planted, cared for – soil, sun and water – and watched for growth. There would be prizes for first seeds to come up, first to flower and healthiest looking plant at the end of Term.

At the very next meeting on July 29th, the first seeds were up – those planted by Year 7 student, Zara Maslen. Zara sent in a photo of her plants, actually, several had come up and Zara seemed to be using a special seedling box. Members were impressed. Watch this space for growth reports, and maybe even flowers by the end of Term!


News from the Technologies Department

The annual Technologies Day conducted on Monday 18 July 2022 was a festive event that celebrated and highlighted the myriad of subjects within the Technologies Department. Subjects ranged from Fashion, Enterprise Education, Design, Food and Textiles, Accounting, Business, Legal Studies, Food and Nutrition, and ICT’s across Middle to Senior School.

The Fashion show was an opportunity for some of our Fashion students to showcase the work they have created in Semester 1. Year 7 saw the benefit of making their own clothes, designing, and creating their own pair of pyjama shorts. Year 11 Fashion have been studying the development of fashion throughout history. Students task was to create a contemporary fashion item inspired by the fashion of a historical era. Year 12 Fashion investigated some of the worlds most loved designers and the influence they have on the fashion world. Their task was to design and construct a fashion item inspired by the work of a chosen designer.

Year 9 Design students showcased their digital animations in the Auditorium and Library for which they had created their own unique characters, narratives, and storylines. Students tested their own design and flying skills in building paper planes to competitively win chocolate prizes. Design folios were displayed in Room M06.

The Year 10 Enterprise Education classes highlighted the prototype of their new products and services that formed part of their Feasibility Study. They used Technologies Day to spruik their new business idea in the hope of attracting investors. Products ranged from digital diaries, personalised decal stickers to attachable holders for computer bags.