Today was an exciting day of firsts for Catholic Education South Australia!
103 Catholic schools across the State welcomed our biggest ever intake of students, with 48,000 students returning to schooling both in classrooms and online.
“2022 is a year of expansion and growth for Catholic Education SA, including two brand new schools opening their doors for the first time today,” says Dr Neil McGoran, Director, Catholic Education South Australia.
Compass Catholic Community is enjoying its first week open to students at Davoren Park. Catholic Education SA’s first fee-free school, Compass Catholic Community is providing a unique learning community for 17- to 24-year-olds who have not thrived in mainstream schools.
The first Catholic secondary College in the Riverland, St Francis of Assisi College, has also opened with the inaugural Year 7 and Year 8 classes on site today. The College will offer an additional year level annually until it expands to Year 12 by 2026.
Four regional Catholic schools have welcomed Year 8s for the first time today as they expand to R – 9:
Adding to this exciting day was the 4,000 Reception students who have attend school for the first time.
‘We welcome these children with all our hearts, and I offer my best wishes to the families of these children, for whom this will be a very memorable time. Indeed, in years to come, they will look back on this day fondly, and wonder where all that time has gone!’, said Dr McGoran.
Dr McGoran said whether starting in class or online, we are committed to ensuring that students continue to thrive in our Catholic schools and ready for the best possible start to the school year.
“We have COVID-safe measures and processes in place for students and staff across all of our schools.
“We were expecting 40% of students to be doing online/remote learning today. Some schools have indicated that large numbers of students are attending for supervised learning.
“I’m confident our staff will support all our students – whether they are in the classroom or at home – to have a great start to the 2022 school year.”
Tomorrow is a big day. For us all. As your child starts their first day, either in the classroom or remotely, it is a big day for you all as a family. New classes, new teachers, new friends and of course, fresh new haircuts. It’s all a bit new. Adding the additional “new normal” with the added disruptions of COVID-19 may take it is toll on the family.
