Message from Ms. Carolyn Liddy
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
This coming Sunday, we will celebrate Mother's Day, a special occasion dedicated to honouring the incredible women who have nurtured, guided, and supported us throughout our lives. It is a day to express our love and appreciation for the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, godmothers, and maternal figures who have been such influential figures in our lives. Whether through a warm hug, a thoughtful gift, or possibly the most precious gift of all these days, our time, we have the opportunity to express our love and recognition for their unwavering love and support.
Throughout the history of All Hallows’, mothers have played a vital role in the life of our school. We are most grateful to our past and present mothers for their generous sharing of their time, talents, and insights as volunteers in the tuckshop, valued members and leaders of our Parent Support Groups, members of the school board and committees, as well as the incredible work of our Mothers Network and Parents and Friends committees. Our students and school community benefit daily from the wisdom, joy, and leadership that our mothers share with their daughters and our school.
Feedback Opportunities
Feedback is an essential component in nurturing good scholarship at All Hallows’. Constructive feedback from teachers helps students recognise their learning progress, understand their performance, and identify areas for further development.
Parent-Student-Teacher meetings at All Hallows' provide a valuable opportunity for collaboration and communication between parents, students, and educators. These meetings offer a structured forum for discussing each student's progress, strengths, and areas for improvement. Our Term 2 meetings will occur this evening, Thursday 8 May, and next Wednesday, 14 May. We continue to conduct these meetings online using Teams. Online meetings provide flexibility for busy families, avoid traffic and parking challenges around the school, avoid rushing between crowded rooms, and afford increased privacy for each conversation.
Our Year 11 and 12 students also receive the opportunity for further feedback by way of annual progress meetings. Our Year 12 students completed their first round of these meetings during Term One and we are now planning for the Year 11 progress meetings at the end of this month. The focus of the progress interviews is to help students reflect on their approaches to school and scholarship. The key discussion points are effective study strategies and study planners; the importance of understanding feedback and marking guides; and approaches to wellbeing. I am always impressed by the thoughtful and honest reflections and insights of the students I am privileged to meet with.
Students in Years 7 to 10 also benefit from programs developed by their Head of Year. This year, we have adapted our weekly Fit4Life programs to include specific lessons devoted to the understanding and implementation of effective study strategies and approaches to scholarship. These lessons are delivered by Mr Yeats and Mr Lynch in collaboration with the students’ Head of House.
Indoor Ergo Rowing Championships
For the first time, All Hallows’ will be hosting the annual Brisbane Schoolgirls Rowing Association Indoor Rowing Championships. The event will take place on the 20th of May in Loretto Hall. This will be an exciting night of competition, where students will compete in indoor rowing races using ergometer machines. Students will compete in various categories in both individual and team events. The championship is a highly anticipated event on the BSRA calendar, showcasing the dedication and hard work of students from a variety of schools who are preparing for team selection and the forthcoming regatta season.
All Hallows’ rowers currently hold a number of individual and team records in the annual event. Everyone is invited to come and witness racing on the big screen and support our All Hallows’ rowers.
Many thanks to Mr Paul Brown, our Rowing Coordinator, our hard-working Rowing Parent Support Group, Miss Becki Leo, and all of the All Hallows’ sports team. Hosting such a significant event is a complex undertaking, and we are most grateful for the work and dedication of everyone involved.
Foundation Day
On the 10th May 1861, after a one hundred and fifty-three day voyage, Mother Vincent Whitty and her companions arrived in Brisbane at the invitation of Bishop Quinn. We can only imagine the scene, as the Sisters disembarked from their small boat and walked along the dirt tracks of the developing colony of Brisbane. By December of that year, All Hallows’ School was born, the first secondary school for girls in Queensland. On our Foundation Day, we acknowledge and celebrate the incredible work of the Sisters of Mercy in fashioning the educational landscape of our school and Queensland in general. We also honour the many staff and students who, over the last 164 years, have written the story that continues in our current community.
