Teamwork made the dream work at Domremy Catholic College, where the class of 2023 celebrated outstanding HSC results.
The Year 7-12 school in Five Dock was among the top 150 in the state, jumping 46 positions to number 103, making it Sydney Catholic School’s third most improved school across the archdiocesan system in 2023.
Principal Antoinette McGahan said her dedicated team of staff encouraged the students to work together and make sure nobody was left behind.
They provided wrap-around support from the beginning of Year 7 to the end of Year 12, with a homework club, targeted interventions and care packs and prayer right up to the last exam.
“These young women are absolutely phenomenal, there’s nothing they can’t do in my eyes and they’ve proved it again and again,” McGahan said.
“And the staff here are amazing, there is so much good will among them because this is not a nine-to-five job.”
Krystal Cheers is Domremy’s dux for 2023 and studied Extension 1 Maths, Extension 1 English, Studies of Religion II, Music and Business Studies.
She was so nervous she couldn’t sleep from 3am and logged on at 5.30 to see her marks on 14 December.
“I had a bit of a happy cry and then put them into an ATAR calculator before the websites crashed,” she said.
Her goal was an ATAR of 99.5 to get into law at Sydney University but she reached 99.65.
“My parents were over the moon and I was just shocked.”
School captain Zara Ashley Norel was born in Thailand and she moved with her family when she was in Year 5, knowing only a handful of phrases in English.
She was “ecstatic” at her results and proud of her cohort.
“All our hard work and dedication has gone into something we’ll always remember,” she said.
Domremy curriculum coordinator Elsa Minadeo said the staff also pulled together over the crucial months.
“And our principal is amazing, she’s invincible,” she said.
“She consistently offers hope, encouragement and support and I think that’s really key.”