Did you know this week is Refugee Week? The theme for this year, ‘Celebrating the Year of Welcome’ reminds us to take meaningful action to welcome refugees and people seeking asylum to our community.
Last year two of our graduating Senior students were refugees to Australia having fled the war in Iraq with their families. Through the generosity of the Villanova College Old Boys Association and the Terry Hendle Bursary, these young men attended the College for three years before graduating in 2019.
These young men were warmly welcomed into our College community by the students and the staff. They were so happy to have the opportunity to attend the College and showed their appreciation through enthusiastically tackling their studies and entering into life at the College wholeheartedly.
Few people in our community knew much of their story. The young men were understandably reluctant to speak about their past. However, they were extremely grateful for the welcome extended to their families by our community and were so appreciative of the gift of education afforded to them. Both young men have gone on to further studies and I know the support they received at Villanova College has made a real difference in their lives.
Virtual Sleepout
This Friday evening our students and staff will be holding a Virtual Sleepout to raise funds for the St Vincent de Paul Society. Due to COVID-19 restrictions our actions for this event needed to be adjusted and the virtual sleepout is one way in which our students and staff can continue to show their solidarity for those who live rough on the streets of Brisbane.
Semester One Reports and Parent-Teacher Conferences
Semester One Reports for all students will be available through the Parent Lounge Portal from Wednesday 15 July. I encourage our parents to set aside some time to sit down with their son/s to review the report and to discuss the past six months. We know that Term Two has been a disrupted period of time and this has affected student achievement in their subjects in a variety of ways.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held via video conferencing on Wednesday 22 July from 9.00 am until 7.00 pm. Please note this day will be a student-free day.
The College will facilitate bookings for conferences via the normal process of Parent Teacher Online (PTO) platform. Details for PTO will be sent home to families. The College will also provide to families all the details for the video conferencing so that the process will run smoothly and allow parents the opportunity to discuss their son’s academic results with teachers.
The Parent-Teacher Conferences will be enhanced if the student can be present. While I appreciate this may not be possible, I know our staff are very happy to have the students join the meetings and be a part of the discussion.
Spectators at sporting events – Term Three
When sports resume in Term Three the government restrictions and social distancing guidelines will be operating at Phase 3. Subject to further planning and review, a maximum of 100 people will be permitted for community sport. The AIC Management Committee has requested all member schools have COVID-19 Safe Plans in place for all venues hosting sports during Terms Three and Four.
Basketball and Tennis will be the two sports to begin the Term Three sporting program. Due to the restrictions in place, it will not be possible to have spectators at the majority of matches. The decision on spectators for all schools is shown below:
- Year 5 to Year 10 Basketball and Tennis will be DROP and GO only – no spectators at any games – only players and officials.
- Open Teams – DROP and WATCH – One family member will be able to be in attendance to watch the match with a limited number of spectators.
I know for parents and extended family members this arrangement will be disappointing. However, the restrictions are in place to protect our community and we must follow this directive. Further details about the arrangements on sports days are available in this edition of the Villa View under the Sports section.
Please be aware the trials for Basketball and Tennis to be held on Saturday 11 July will be DROP and GO for all teams and no spectators will be attending games.
Prayer
God, no one is a stranger to you, and no one is ever far from your loving care.
In your kindness watch over migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, those separated from their loved ones, those who are lost and those who have been exiled from their homes.
Bring them safely to the place where they long to be and help us always to show your kindness to strangers and those in need.
We ask this through Christ our Lord, who too was a refugee and migrant, who travelled to another land searching for a home. Amen
God bless
Mr Mark Stower, Principal