Parents & Partnership
Parent Engagement
Parent engagement at St Paul’s Catholic College aims to build and strengthen the partnerships between the parents, teachers, staff, local parish and the wider community. Parents are involved in the life of the College in a number of ways with opportunities provided to support students in their learning, wellbeing and formation, as well as events that connect parents to one another.
In creating this partnership, parents and the school can recognise learning as a shared responsibility. In supporting effective parental engagement, St Paul’s Catholic College provides opportunities for parents to be engaged in their child’s education, volunteer at events, participate in mass and liturgies and be involved in various activities. Parent engagement fosters a strong sense of connection between the families, parish and the school.
All parents and their families are welcomed into a very special and supportive community at St Paul’s College.
Parent Advisory Body
The College has a Parent Advisory body that meets throughout the year with the College Principal and members of the College’s leadership team. This body advises the College’s leadership in a range of areas and is a conduit between the parents and the College.
Parent Engagement Coordinator
The Parent Engagement Coordinator at St Paul’s is Katrina McDonnell. The role of Parent Engagement Coordinator is to support family’s wellbeing by facilitating and promoting parental involvement in all areas of school life, provide valuable resources, parent education, support services and referrals for parents and effectively communicate with parents as their wellbeing needs arise. The Parent Engagement Coordinator facilitates ways to ensure that the voice of parents and carers is sought and heard in relation to their engagement in the life of the school community.
St Paul’s Communication Channels
At St Paul’s Catholic College, we understand that effective communication is crucial for fostering a strong partnership between the College and families, which in turn supports the best possible learning environment for our students. We utilize several methods to keep everyone informed, including:
Compass Portal
The College Student Management Portal, Compass is designed to provide active links so you can easily access important information relating to your son/daughter’s wellbeing and progress at any time including attendance and academic results. Parents should advise the College of absences, view student timetables and progress through the portal.
Reminders and messages from various staff are also distributed through Compass and will arrive to parents as an email or SMS depending on your setup preferences.
New students and parents will be added to Compass by Catholic Schools Broken Bay (CSBB) once the College year has started and provided with further information/instructions about using the portal once school begins.
College Calendar
A reminder that the College Calendar is available to parents and students via Compass. To access the calendar, simply click on the Calendar icon in Compass in the toolbar at the top of the screen (next to the House icon) and view activities by day, week or month.
College Newsletter
Our College news publication is emailed to all parents/carers, currently sent twice per term. Whilst the newsletter provides valuable insight and updates on the happenings of the College, Compass and Social Media will provide more timely reminders of upcoming events and general information.
Student Planners
All Year 7-12 students are given a Student diary at the start of each year for their use. The diary is a valuable source for information on College policies and procedures and is also an important organisation and communication tool for students. As such, the College expects them to be kept in a neat and tidy condition. Your support of the diary system is essential for sound communication and monitoring of your child’s progress.
Social Media & Parent Groups
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for regular updates on day-to-day activities at the College. We are also on LinkedIn where you can find out about position vacancies and Careers & Pathways activities within the College.
We have closed (private) Parent Facebook Groups set up for interested parents of each year group to share information (please email the College with your details and your child’s, such as Year Group, to join).
Expectations
Note that it is an expectation of the College that families read College notifications and newsletters as they are essential communication tools.
