Newsletter
Issue No. 9
Welcome Back: First Day Smiles
First Liturgy 2024
On Thursday, the 8th of February, the entire college celebrated the new academic year with a whole College Liturgy. We were blessed with the presence of Fr. Tadros, Fr. Sourial, Fr. Steven, Fr. Habib Girgis, Fr. David, Fr. George, Fr. Kerillos, and Fr. Saliba. Fr. Saliba delivered a wonderful sermon relating to the parable of the Ten Virgins.
He reminded us of the importance of wisdom, making good choices, and organisation, emphasising the relevance of this parable in various aspects of our lives, including the Church, at home, and at school. We express gratitude to all the fathers who attended the Liturgy and pray for a successful and fruitful year through the intercessions of the Mother of us all, St. Mary.
Download SEQTA Engage
SEQTA is our learning management system. Part of SEQTA is SEQTA Engage, which It is a powerful tool for parents and carers to have an overview of their child’s learning and assessments. It provides parents and carers with access to key information about their child's academic programs and progress, which is quick, easy and confidential. This includes access to their timetable, as well as attendance and punctuality records, assessment results, teachers’ feedback and College reports, enabling greater collaboration and enhanced learning outcomes for your children.
Both the SEQTA Engage and SEQTA Learn (for students) sites use the SEQTA Teach programmes as the primary vehicle, through which all the teaching and curriculum-related information are shared.
As parents and carers, you can download SEQTA Engage below.
Primary Excellence Awards
On Monday, the 5th of February, we celebrated the high academic achievements of our Primary students. The students arrived with big smiles, feeling immensely proud of their accomplishments. The atmosphere was vibrant with many parents and caregivers joining us to celebrate our students' outstanding academic achievements.
The students were presented with badges, which they wore with great pride. Additionally, we honoured our very special Father Macarius Awards. Father Tadros humbly named these awards after our beloved Late Father Macarius. We are exceedingly proud of our students and extend our gratitude to our teachers, parents, and the College community for their support and dedication to our students.
Primary Meet & Greet
On Thursday, February 22nd, we hosted the Primary Meet and Greet evening in the College Gym. It was a fantastic night, and we were thrilled with the turnout of all the parents and carers who attended. Each cohort had its own station with information about the year level expectations, and we had other engaging stations set up, including Religion and Coptic, Music, The Arts, and Languages. Our SEQTA station was available to assist parents and carers with any enquiries.
The evening was made even more enjoyable with the delicious spread of savory and sweet canapés, along with cold beverages. It was a great opportunity for everyone to connect with their child's teachers and get a glimpse into the exciting year ahead.
Mervet Boulos
Head of Primary
Year 12 Parent Information Evening
To commence the 2024 academic year, a forum was held specifically for Year 12 parents and carers on Thursday, the 8th of February. A keynote presentation by myself and Mr. Evan Kasapis (Head of Secondary) was designed to inform families about what to expect in VCE and offer useful tips to navigate the unique challenges and stresses of supporting a child in Year 12.
A copy of the slideshow, which included important information about relevant VCE procedures, how the ATAR works, as well as academic supports and interventions, will be distributed to all families via SEQTA.
I am very grateful for the insights of our College Counsellor, Ms. Nardine Saad. She shared some great tips for monitoring well-being and supporting mental and physical health at home during Year 12.
It was a privilege to meet so many engaged parents at the forum and to answer the plethora of great questions. I hope to see many more of you at the Secondary "Meet and Greet" later this term.
IMPORTANT DATES FOR YEAR 12
YEAR 12 Camp: Wednesday 13th March – Friday 15th March
GAT (GENERAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST): Tuesday 18th June
Compulsory Trial exams: Thursday 26th September – Wednesday 2nd October
Written V.C.A.A Exam period : Tuesday 29th October – Wednesday 20th November
God Bless,
Gavin O’Sullivan
VCE Coordinator
Harmony Day Celebrations
Humanities Week is an annual event that celebrates studies in all aspects of human society and culture.
Students have enjoyed a variety of cultural performances from Cultural Infusions.
In the program, Opa! Greek Dance and Culture, children explored Greek culture and history through traditional music, dance and storytelling. Students participated in the Zorba dance and listened to Greek mythology and folk songs. They were introduced to authentic instruments such as the Baglama, Tzoura and Cretan Lyra.
In the program, Seble Girma, Ethiopian Dance and Culture, the presenter shared the rich diversity of Ethiopian culture. Seble presented songs, dance moves and stories from her home country.
Finally in the Taiko Drumming program, students were introduced to Japanese culture through music and language. Students were delighted with the sounds of the drumming and even more thrilled when some had the opportunity to play them,
Harmony Day concluded the week with a whole-college assembly.
Father Tadros reinforced the principle that ‘Everyone Belongs’ and emphasised the fact that we are all so blessed to live in such a multi-cultural country.
Finally, the College paid homage to our First Nation’s people, as SMCOC’s choirs and bands performed a variety of Indigenous songs.A truly harmonious and multicultural week was had by all.
Connie Spina
Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Leader
Foundation to Year 10
Excellence Awards:
Secondary & VCE High Achievers
What a wonderful three months it has been for SMCOC. In late December 2023 we finished the year on a high note by achieving the best VCE results in SMCOC’s history – which was deservedly recognised within the College community. This was followed by the successful start to 2024 with both the Primary and Secondary Academic Excellence Awards. The Academic Excellence Awards rewarded students for their academic success in all subjects in their year level as well as their Work Practices.
The Secondary Academic Excellence Awards were held on Monday 12 February 2024 to a great reception. The recipients showed similar characteristics that allowed them to be successful. Some of these characteristics were: attending class regularly, being attentive in class, being organised, seek teacher assistance when required, and valuing their
education.
I would like to personally congratulate all award recipients. Student success cannot be achieved without the three-way partnership of students, teachers and parents/carers. On both the classroom and schoolwide level, family involvement in education can make a profound difference in early learning outcomes. When educators build strong relationships,
families can reinforce what their children are learning in the classroom as they set their own routines and expectations at home.
For those parents wanting to support their children at home with their learning, you can assist them with the following steps:
1. Knowing what to focus on (ask them to explain the task they are doing).
2. Remove distractions (assist them to be in an uninterrupted environment including turning off phones and notifications).
3. Process (assist your child to break things down into small chunks and articulate what they will do first, second, etc.).
4. Connect (help your child to link new knowledge to prior knowledge - ask questions like "what is this similar to?" or "what can youconnect this to in your mind")
5. Retrieve (assist your child to revisit their newly acquired knowledge by helping them test themselves, use flash cards, repeat or recite knowledge or vocabulary) It takes a community to raise a good learner and we have a wonderful collection of people to assist our learners tobe their best!
Evan Kasapis
Head of Secondary
Revisiting Our Vision and Mission
College Vision
We aim to deliver a solid foundation of academic excellence and spiritual nourishment, underpinned by Coptic Orthodox Christian teachings.
رؤية الكليه
.نحن نهدف إلى تقديم أساس متين من التميز الأكاديمي والتغذية الروحية ، مدعومة بالتعاليم المسيحية القبطية الأرثوذكسية
College Mission
Our Mission is to
▪ Facilitate an integration of Christ-like character attributes in students based on Coptic Orthodox Christian faith.
▪ Promote excellence in Coptic Orthodox Christian education based on Biblical truth.
▪ Maximise students’ academic achievement, through providing a rich curriculum and suitable challenges in order for our students to reach their full potential.
▪ Create and maintain a positive atmosphere in which our students can grow and learn, developing a high level of personal integrity, appreciating the value of each person as an individual and respecting others with their varying cultural, academic and socio-economic differences.
▪ Provide a safe and supportive environment for students and staff.
▪ Create and maintain a culture of child safety with a focus on minimising or eliminating, as much as possible, risk of harm to our students.
رسالة الكلية
مهمتنا هي
- تسهيل دمج سمات الشخصية الشبيهة بالسيد المسيح في الطلاب على أساس الإيمان المسيحي القبطي الأرثوذكسي-
- تعزيز التميز في التعليم المسيحي القبطي الأرثوذكسي على أساس الحق الكتابي (الكتاب المقدس)-
- تعظيم التحصيل الأكاديمي للطلاب ، من خلال توفير منهج غني وتحديات مناسبة حتى يتمكن طلابنا من الوصول إلى إمكاناتهم الكاملة-
خلق والحفاظ على جو إيجابي يمكن لطلابنا أن ينموا ويتعلموا فيه ، ويطورون مستوى عال من النزاهة الشخصية ، ويقدرون قيمة كل شخص كفرد ويحترمون الآخرين باختلافاتهم الثقافية والأكاديمية والاجتماعية والاقتصادية المختلفة
.توفير بيئة آمنة وداعمة للطلاب والموظفين-
.خلق والحفاظ على ثقافة سلامة الطفل مع التركيز على تقليل أو القضاء ، قدر الإمكان ، على خطر إلحاق اي أذى بطلابنا-
Medical Information & Emergency Contacts Annual Update Form
This is a friendly reminder to return your child’s completed Medical Information & Emergency Contacts Annual Update Form, which was sent to all parents and/carers on 13th November 2023. Your action on this matter will ensure that we have accurate information when responding to emergencies.
Thanking you for your cooperation and support for your child’s health as well as for the College efficient response to student medical and wellbeing emergencies.
تذكير
نموذج التحديث السنوي للمعلومات الطبية وجهات الاتصال في حالات الطوارئ
أعزائي الآباء ومقدمي الرعاية ،
هذا تذكير ودي لإعادة نموذج التحديث السنوي للمعلومات الطبية وجهات الاتصال في حالات الطوارئ المكتمل لطفلك ، والذي تم إرساله إلى جميع الآباء و مقدمي الرعاية يوم 13 نوفمبر/ تشرين الثاني الماضي. سيضمن الإجراء الذي تتخذه بشأن هذه المسألة توفر معلومات دقيقة لدينا عند الاستجابة لحالات الطوارئ.
نشكرك على تعاونك ودعمك لصحة طفلك وكذلك لدعمك لإستجابة الكليه الفعالة لحالات الطوارئ الطبية ورفاهية الطلاب.
Hanan Khreish
Policy and Compliance Leader
School Photos 2024
Annual school photos including sibling photos will be taken by Arthur Reed Photos on Friday 22nd March 2024.
There is no need to return any forms or money to school.
Unique image codes will be issued to all students on/after photo day so families can register online to view images when they become available in the webshop.
Registration is simple, just follow the 3 simple steps on your child’s personalised flyer once you receive it and remember to add the codes for all your children attending this school.
Even if you registered last year, it’s important that you do again this year using your child’s 2024 image code to link their images for the current year with your contact details.
When images are ready to view and in the webshop, all parents who have registered will be notified by SMS and email. Once registered, please wait for notification that 2024 images are online to view before making your purchase.
Looking forward to seeing all the bright and smiling faces!
Important Dates
Year 8 Camp: 6th - 8th March
Coptic Lent: Commencing 11th March
NAPLAN Commences: 13th March
Year 12 Camp: 13th – 15th March
SRC Ceremony: 18th March
Secondary Meet & Greet: 21st March 6pm to 8pm
School Photos: 22nd March
Final Day of Term One: 27th March
CANTEEN PRICE CHANGE
As you have been informed the prices at canteen have changed, please make yourself familiar with these changes and ensure your child has the correct money to purchase from the canteen.
You can find out price updates on via the menu changes we circulated via SEQTA.
St Mary's Coptic Orthodox College
19-35 Thorpdale Avenu, Coolaroo 3048
93 - 301 0999
stmarys.vic.edu.au