SGC CAMPUS

UPDATE # 7

Dear Parents / Guardians & Carers,

The Steering Committee is pleased to provide you with an update regarding planning and progress for St Stephen / Gaudete Campus. Term 3 is always an exciting term at St Monica’s College and it is set to be an eventful time in Reservoir also. We look forward to sharing this update with you and others to follow in the weeks and months ahead.

If you happen to live locally to 71 Whitelaw Street, Reservoir, you will have undoubtedly noticed the significant works that have been underway at the campus. The exterior of the building has been painted and the classrooms and services continue to be modernised to bring the campus in line with our familiar Monican buildings and grounds. At the same time, considerable work continues behind the scenes in relation to curriculum. We are confident that this innovative way of teaching and learning will provide your child with the learning experience of a lifetime.

During your child’s semester in Reservoir, each morning will commence with a familiar Homeroom routine which will take place on the bus. This first period of the day will be called ‘Journey’ and will involve the commute from Dalton Road to St Stephen / Gaudete Campus. The time on the bus will be used to meaningfully (and creatively) engage students with their learning and will focus on a particular subject area – Religious Education, Badano (our new and engaging pastoral care program) and Languages. The students will continue with their timetabled ‘Journey’ subject area as they settle into the campus for the day.

As mentioned in previous bulletins, the curriculum at St Stephen / Gaudete Campus will have a concentrated focus on literacy and numeracy in the morning. We believe that this unique offering will provide your child with the opportunity to develop essential skills which will benefit them throughout their education and beyond. The explicit teaching of foundational literacy and numeracy skills will enable the students to transfer skills and knowledge across multiple disciplines – every subject at Reservoir will be one which teaches literacy and numeracy!

In the afternoon, students will enjoy the ‘Discovery’ program which will see them rotate through the following subjects: Arts, Humanities, Science and Technologies. They will spend approximately four weeks immersed in each subject and will then rotate to the next. This intensive ‘block model’ is used by many tertiary institutions around the world and will be a new way of learning for our young Monicans. Students will be able to engage deeply with the exciting subject matter that will be on offer in each of the four subject areas. In addition to this, our students will continue to participate in PE classes on a regular basis. During the final period of the day, the students will board the bus back to Dalton Road and continue with their learning whilst travelling down Cheddar and Dalton Road. Upon arriving back in Epping, students will be dismissed and able to meet siblings and friends to catch public transport home, attend ASH or their sports training.

There is still much to share with you all in relation to the curriculum, but we hope that this update excites you as much it does us!

We continue to thank families for contacting the Steering Committee with questions regarding St Stephen / Gaudete Campus. We encourage families to reach out to the College through the following email – principal@stmonicas-epping.com

Yours faithfully,

Questions

Some questions which have been asked recently:

Yes. Wellbeing is integral to all we do at St Monica’s College and there will be a counsellor and a counselling office available in Reservoir.

Significant time and effort is put into assisting each and every student with their transition at the commencement of Year 7. When your child commences their semester in Reservoir, the same will occur. As a College, we know how important it is for your child to feel comfortable in their learning environment and this will be a focus for all staff in Reservoir.

We know this is the biggest question in the minds of our students. We always say to our students, ‘we cannot make guarantees’ but always strive to do our best for the students and their learning. Discussions have commenced in regard to how this will occur for Year 8 in 2025, and families will be updated in due course.

We would like families to know that considerable time is spent each year carefully putting together class lists. This process involves input from classroom teachers, Year Level Leaders and Campus Directors. Specific learning needs, subject selection and social dynamics are taken into account.

 

Yes. Being in Reservoir does not exclude any student from participating in Premier League. Students will be able to attend the training sessions which are held before and after school at Dalton Road Campus.