3 minute read
Deputy Principal - Pastoral
After the craziness that was our 50 year celebrations in 2019, we ran into the wall that is COVID in 2020! What a year!
To keep things interesting, this portfolio is responsible for a range of areas in the College. We started the year with staff inductions and welcoming our new students and families. Open Day was a huge success...thank heavens we slid in with the nick of time as, the following week, the world shut down! It was wonderful to see all the families who came to check out the amazing place that is Ignatius Park College. Our boys represented their school exceptionally well and all of our visitors commented on our students, referencing their courtesy and the pride they demonstrated in their school.
Moving online meant a complete rethink in how we did things. We assisted in making resources available to students and parents via the College Website. This was also the platform used for our subject preferencing process, with information provided in the form of videos, as well as the traditional handbook, to assist in the selection process. Our community continued to build, but mostly in the online world, due to COVID. We tried to ensure our Facebook page continued to act as a link for our community. We sincerely appreciate the engagement that so many of our parents, staff, friends, students and Old Boys, have with our social media platforms. We have just launched a ‘new look’ website and are excited to launch the new Iggy Park app for use in 2021.
Newsletters are also generated within our Department and it is a pleasure to celebrate the success of our students in all areas of endeavour. This year, we were also responsible for the Assemblies and it was fantastic to see the Seniors host the fortnightly Assemblies. It has been a pleasure to showcase the many achievements of our students and, this year, our Arts Department have regularly shared their talents. It was great to have the Junior Prefects step up to present the Assembly when the Seniors were busy with exams.
Staff Development has also looked a bit different this year. As it is imperative for our staff to be given the time and space to continue their journey of lifelong learning, many of us are now involved in Zoom Presentations, Webinars and Online Conferences. Our staff have also made great use of the Student Free Days to enhance their skills and knowledge.
Marketing also falls under our banner and, whilst we haven’t graced the back of any buses this year, we have taken the opportunity to address a range of topics in magazines such as Duo and PakMag. The Townsville Bulletin as well as WIN News and 7 News have also been very generous in their coverage of events at our College. Not only have our varied sports been highlighted, many other programs and activities have also achieved significant airtime, such as the Best Foot Forward Initiative, our Sleepout to highlight the issue of homelessness, anti-bullying and our response to learning in a COVID world.
It was lovely to finalise the bricks around the Edmund Rice statue on our front lawn - the last project for our 50 year celebrations. The addition of Edmund Rice roses makes wandering down the path a lovely opportunity to reconnect with our memories of those who have gone before us, as well as our current staff, students and families.
We are proud of the work that we have done to promote the College. Our aim is to ensure the publications, advertising and marketing of the school is professional in appearance and we certainly enjoy our outreach to the community. As a College, we are very blessed to have a professional team in this area and I sincerely thank Mrs Madonna Simmons and Mrs Kim Steele for their creativity and amazing capacity to generate ideas which are then brought to fruition.
Marg Hodgson | Deputy Principal - Community and Staff Development
