The year is quickly coming to an end, and I am grateful that we have managed staff and student absences due to Covid so well. The Year 12 students have completed their exams and I hope are having a well-deserved rest. It was wonderful to be able to hold their Graduation ceremony on site so that we could acknowledge them and their achievements. I am incredibly proud of all that they have done during their time at MSJ. Most of them arrived as very excited Year 7 students and now leave us as very grown up and mature young people, well-equipped to take on the challenges and excitement that lays ahead. I wish them all the very best for the future.

Over the next week, our senior students will be involved in our Head Start program and in activities that prepare them for next year. Our current Year 11 students will be involved in an important retreat which allows them time to reflect, set goals and to have fun as a year level. I am really looking forward to spending time with them on retreat. Our Year 7 to 9 students will, over the next two weeks, be involved in completing course work and assessments and I am confident that they will continue to work hard until the end of the year.

We have spent the last few years consulting with our students, parents and staff on the significant features of an education at MSJ, including curriculum changes. After much consideration of this feedback, as well as changes in conditions for staff, a timetable change will be implemented at MSJ for 2023. The length of lessons will change from 75 minutes to 60 minutes; this will provide more frequent contact time over the ten-day cycle. It will also mean the structure of the day will change, however, the beginning and end times of the day will remain the same. As you may be aware, there are industrial claims that have been made that will impact all schools. These remain unresolved at this stage and may have an impact on how the day needs to be structured. Details on the new timetable will be provided to students and parents as soon as we are able.

Now that things are becoming somewhat normal in schools after two years of lockdown and remote learning, many staff across the system have taken the opportunity to obtain new positions in other schools. This has certainly been the case for several MSJ staff. At the end of the year, we will be farewelling these staff as they retire or take up positions in other schools or in different industries. We have been fortunate enough to be able to replace these staff with well-qualified and committed staff who will join us in 2023.

Kate Dishon