Congratulations to the Class of 2023
We welcomed back the Class of 2023 this morning for the traditional Year 13 Breakfast and Achievers’ Assembly, where the girls are acknowledged in front of the school community for their achievement in both the ATAR and ACCESS pathways.
In 2023, Santa Maria College was very pleased to be named as a Top Performing School in the state in six ATAR courses. These courses are:
- Business Management & Enterprise
- Children, Family and the Community
- Economics
- English
- Politics and Law
- Visual Arts
Many students from the Class of 2023 have received awards from the Curriculum Authority, and today we proudly acknowledged these award recipients.
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT
In 2023, 49 Santa Maria students received Certificates of Merit. This number was more than double the previous year. These certificates are awarded to students based on the number of A grades achieved in Years 11 & 12 ATAR, General and VET courses. A certificate of Merit is the highest state award available for ACCESS students.
Olive Asquith-FlynnÂ
Jasmine Bacich
Ivy Baldwin
Rebecca Barker
Mia Barkla
Ava BennierÂ
Jordan  Borgward
Chloe Brown
Evie Castley
Gabriella Craig
Sienna Creek
Giulia Di Biase
Sasha Fitzgerald
Scarlett Franklyn
Gabrielle Goes
Tyla Grant
Sophie Griffiths
Genevieve HeinzleÂ
Alissa KeeleyÂ
Esther Kipchumba
Jaimee Langton
Alice Leavy
Myra Lee
Maeve Lehane
Abby LuznyÂ
Chantrea Marston
Ruby Martinovich
CERTIFICATES OF DISTINCTION
Certificates of Distinction are awarded to ATAR students based on the number of A grades they achieved throughout their Years 11 and 12 studies.
Bella Bryan
Sienna Curtis
Anna Doherty
Mia Galipo
Zima-Jade Henderson
Nishi Jayawickrema
Caitlyn Lee
Claudia Rock
Ciara Smithies
ATAR ABOVE 96
The following students are acknowledged for their achievement of an ATAR greater than 96. This means they had an average of 76% or higher for their top four ATAR subjects.
Isabel Bauer
Evlynn Biju
Ella Blazevic
Milly Butcher
Hannah Carmody
Adele Carrick
Anastacia Doyle
Sasha Finlay-Collins
Scarlett Huston
Alexandra Lilley
Natasha Mark-Amin
Sophia Marra
Bronte McGoldrick
Monique Mirco
Ashlee Nelson
Lily Richardson
SUBJECT CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE
Two students were awarded a Subject Certificate of Excellence. Receiving this award means these students achieved a WACE exam result in the top 0.5% of the state for their respective subjects.
Receiving a Subject Certificate of Excellence for English is Isabella Mowday, Isabella also received a Certificate of Distinction and an ATAR of 96+. This year Grace is pursuing an engineering pathway at Curtin, having received a Curtin Excellence scholarship.
And for Dance, Grace Ivory. Not only did Grace receive a Subject Certificate of Excellence for Dance, but she also achieved a highly sought-after Subject Exhibition, meaning that she was the top student in the state for ATAR Dance last year. This is an amazing accolade for Grace and for the College’s Dance program. Grace also received a Certificate of Distinction and an ATAR of 96+. In 2024, Grace is studying at UWA pursuing a Bachelor of Bio-Medicine.
HIGHEST ATAR
We are very proud to acknowledge Kate Creasey who achieved our top ATAR result, an exceptional ATAR of 99.25. This means that Kate was ranked in the top 1% of ATAR students in the state last year. This year, Kate will begin a double degree at UWA, a Bachelor of Engineering (honours) and a Bachelor of Philosophy (honours) majoring in physics.
"Real achievement is not the certificate, or the number achieved, it is the skills and attributes they have mastered in order to be here today"
Jayne Kingwell, Acting Deputy Principal, Teaching & Learning spoke at the Assembly and had this to say:
“Each of today’s achievers has much to be proud of, and we celebrate their success with pride. Having had a front-row seat to many of these students’ academic journeys myself, I can attest to the fact that the real achievement is not the certificate or the number achieved. It is the skills and attributes they have mastered in order to be here today. It is the dedication to their own personal best – balancing study with sport, hobbies, work, friendships and service. It is the persistence they have shown through struggle, not giving up after a disappointing test result or when a new topic is particularly challenging. It is their willingness to seek and act on feedback, harnessing and respecting the expertise and support of their teachers, and it is the support they have shown each other, collaborating and celebrating each other’s successes. The Class of 2023, it is these attributes that will serve you well when your ATAR score is long forgotten. We wish you all the very best for your future endeavours, knowing that you will continue to empower others as you make a positive change in our world.”
Alumni Dr Genevieve Hohnen (Class of 2001) was today’s guest speaker. Genevieve has a PhD, and has worked in law, policy-making and academia, she is also a mother of three. She left her corporate job to pursue an idea with her sister Bernadette (2000) and two other friends. Together, they launched the first online peer-to-peer fashion platform in the world. The Volte allows women to rent designer dresses for as little as $30.00 and make money from the clothes sitting in their wardrobes. The Volte is now the largest platform of its kind globally. Their idea is to change the fashion industry to be more sustainable and circular. Â
In her talk to the girls Genevieve told them to be comfortable with failure telling them them they are likely to hear ‘no’ many times before they hear ‘yes’, but not to give up. She reminded the girls that their path is likely to change many times and that the journey is more important than where they are going. “Be true to yourself, follow your interests, and do things you enjoy.”
Congratulations to the Class of 2023. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.
Michelle Attains Lead Teacher Status
Our Head of Professional Learning, Michelle Carrick, recently attained national certification as a Lead Teacher, one of only 64 people nationally to have attained this certification in 2023.
From the President: May 2024
We have some great stories in this month’s blog. Also Look out for information about our OGA Movie Night screening of The Way, My Way.
Lisa Sorger: Sisterhood Network Series
Join us for an inspiring evening at the second session of our Sisterhood Networking Series with Dr Lisa Sorger (Ramakrishnan, 1987).
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Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
