海角大神

Embrace your Spirit - Discover your Place

We enter the season of subject selection and feedback on progress informed by parent / teacher interviews over the next few weeks. For students making choices about their subjects for the first time, it can be both exciting and maybe a little daunting. Those who have been through the process before have probably learnt the importance of choosing subjects wisely based on good information. It is a guided process and we put parameters in place to ensure that the requirements of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) are met and, as importantly, to promote education of the 鈥渨hole person鈥�. 海角大神 prides itself on offering a pathway for every young person. 

There will be some interruption to our normal timetables as a result of these events and I appreciate that school closure can add complexity in your home organisation. Thank you, in advance, for your support. We want to continue to offer opportunities outside of normal school hours so that working families have greater flexibility. We received this as feedback following the first round of parent teacher interviews that were conducted during school hours. We endeavour to balance this against an obligation to our teachers in regards to their workloads.

Subject Selection Expo - August 24

Between 2pm and 8pm on August 24, the College will be open and subject teachers available to provide advice and guidance in regards to the selection of subjects for 2024. It is important to try and get as much information as possible to assist in making good decisions about next year. Mr Michael Box provides more information about the expo in this edition. 

Staff Spirituality Day - August 25

Advance notice that August 25 is dedicated in our calendar towards the formation of our staff in regards to their roles and responsibilities as educators in a Catholic school. Students do not attend school on this date.

Year 7 2024 Information Night

The first Information Night for guardians of students joining 海角大神 for Year 7 in 2024 was held on Tuesday night. There was a lot of information shared on the evening about both the process from here and some suggestions of strategies for parents/carers if their young person is anxious about this next stage of their learning journey. Thanks to those who came along to the evening and we hope that you found it helpful.  

This is also the final reminder to 海角大神 families regarding enrolment in Year 7 in 2025. Applications close on August 19 and there are no guarantees that places will be available for applications received after this deadline.

Year 8 Camps

The feedback from Year 8 Camp participants over the last two weeks has been very positive and many students have found that overcoming the physical challenges posed on the camp is very rewarding. Special thanks to Camps Coordinator, Mr Jon Lau, Team Leaders, and to the staff who have made this experience available to our students through their willingness to contribute their time and pastoral care. 

Seussical The Musical

Our College Production, Seussical The Musical, was staged this week and it was a delight to be able to join the audience on Thursday evening. With two casts and live music, it was an amazing example of cooperation and dedication in staging such an enjoyable performance. While there are hours of preparation required to stage such a high quality show, it is the joy that emanates from the face of our young performers as they step into the spotlight that tells you that this is a worthwhile endeavour. Congratulations to Ms Paola Unger, Director, the Production Team, including Ms Gina Goss, Ms Emily McKenzie, Ms Kate Chamberlain, Mr Jared Campbell, Ms Maryanne Leavey, Mr Brett Donohue, Ms Alysia Silvagni, Ms Lauren Bourke, Ms Jennifer Roussos, the cast and crew for a most enjoyable production.

P&F Trivia Night

Thank you to our Parents & Friends Association for their work to stage our P&F Trivia Night last Friday. Those who attended enjoyed a fun night of good-hearted rivalry. Thanks to Ms Rebecca Presta (quizmaster), Ms Brodi Stone, Ms Meaghan Sadler, Ms Penny Tudor, Ms Sherie Robertson supported by the other members of the 海角大神 Parents & Friends Network and a number of student volunteers during the evening. Thank you to the local businesses and other generous supporters who donated excellent prizes for the raffle.

College Reception

Recent visitors to the College may have observed that College Reception is now located in the Middle Years Building. This brings reception geographically closer to the front of the College and makes it a lot easier to find for visitors. It has been tastefully isolated from the main gathering space for acoustic separation and to assist with meeting our child safety obligations. Thank you to Mr Luke Russ, Mr Jeremy Coburn and Ms Maddy Kalla who worked on this project over the recent holidays and to the trades who executed the design so professionally.

Darren Atkinson

Principal

Upcoming Parent Teacher Interviews

Students are in deep discussion about their pathways and subjects for next year. Years 8-11 received an introduction to the Subject Selection Web yesterday, August 3, during class time. Copies of the slides for all presentations are available on the Resources page of the Subject Selection Web for parents. To ensure that parents are able to participate, the Subject Selection Web is on PAM and there are meeting opportunities for parents later in August. There are different meetings for different year levels that are on the College calendar, but this table summarises all the upcoming meetings:

These arrangements are designed to give parents the opportunity to ask significant questions about the recent past and the future. If you wish to speak to a specific teacher about a particular matter, especially if this requires a lengthy discussion, as at any other time of the year, please contact the teacher via email. Email links to your child鈥檚 teachers are on PAM in the Learning Tasks Area.

Subject Selection Expo Events

The Subject Selection Expo has three components:

• A meeting with the homeroom/mentor to discuss performance and future choices.
• An expo of every subject to assist students in making decisions. Our course coordinators, careers and pathways staff, VET and VCE VM Coordinators as well as all of our Learning Leaders will be available to respond to questions.
• Information sessions about Careers, VET and VCE VM. 

Our goal is to help every student choose the subjects that are best for them. Subject Selections for 2024 are to be submitted by Monday, August 28.

Michael Box

Deputy Principal Learning

How you can help students be ready to meet the demands of school

Nap Rodezno

Deputy Principal

World Youth Day

Right now, millions of youth from around the world are celebrating World Youth Day - which really runs for a week. Four of those people are current 海角大神 students and staff, with even more from our Alumni. Pope Francis has now joined the group in Portugal and he will speak many times to the community with various messages. 

This week, I have gathered some quotes from Pope Francis鈥� speeches so that we too can share in the message from WYD. The photos are from one of our staff members, Aiman Aiashi, who is part of the MACS teachers study group and who met the Pope earlier in the week at the Vatican with the Melbourne group.

"There is room for everyone in the church and, whenever there is not, then, please, we must make room, including for those who make mistakes, who fall or struggle. 

"The Lord does not point a finger, but opens wide his arms: Jesus showed us this on the cross," Francis continued. "He does not close the door, but invites us to enter; he does not keep us at a distance, but welcomes us.

"Let these be days when we fully realise in our hearts that we are loved just as we are.

"Everyone needs to know that God is near, and that all he needs is a small response on our part in order to fill our lives with wonder.

"At this moment in time, our world faces enormous challenges, and we hear the painful plea, we are seeing a third world war in many places. But we embrace the risk of believing we are not in agony, but in the process of giving birth. Not at the end but at the beginning of a great new chapter of history. Courage is needed to believe this."

Tania Grace

Assistant Principal Mission

     

Senior Years Report

Students are the leading players in their education and development success at school. Parents, school, and the community influence young persons' ability to engage with their responsibilities. Joyce Epstein鈥檚 (1987) theory of overlapping spheres indicates that students are more likely to do their best if there are strong partnerships with the three spheres (parents, school and community). Parent-teacher interviews and the Subject Selection Expo (SSE) are opportunities to strengthen our partnerships with parents.

Much of school communication flows through a static screen, PAM, SIMON, email, and Lighthouse. Parent-teacher interviews and SSE are important to allow personal connections in our community. Strengthening familiarity between our spheres, clarifying any uncertainties between the two and aligning our expectations to empower and support our young people. Having parents present in learning conversations assists with students receiving a common message regarding how they are achieving and opportunities for providing guidance for further improvement. Thank you to all students and parents who could attend the Year 11 and 12 parent-teacher interviews.  

Next Thursday, the Subject Selection Expo and Yr7-10 Homeroom/Mentor meetings will be another opportunity for our community to join and personalise your child's learning experiences. Details around what takes place at the expo were given via an email (please search The Registrar email address from Monday 7th August). The event is an excellent opportunity for attendees to interact with experts, ask questions, find further information, explore possibilities, and support students in making decisions for their future. It also enables the community to recognise and reward students who have completed the subjects this year, presenting examples or work and insights into the subjects from a student's perspective. I can not recommend attending this event highly enough.  We hope to see as many of you at the SSE as possible, coming together to focus on the future steps of our young people is an energising and rewarding experience for everyone.

Rachel Crawley

Head Senior Years

Middle Years Report

鈥淚 said to the team before the game, it鈥檚 not about the medal around your neck, it鈥檚 about the heart beating on the other side of it. And the amount of heart and soul and passion that this team showed tonight, well there鈥檚 different ways of defining success. But for me, success is when you leave it all out there.鈥�

Yesterday in the Middle Years we celebrated excellence with our Excellence Awards Ceremony.

The above words from Tony Gustavsson (did you know his name 2 weeks ago!?) the Matilda鈥檚 coach (did you know who the Matilda's were a month ago!?) are topical at the moment but also quite relevant to how we can help our students think about setting their goals high and striving for excellence. His statement is equally relevant to a World Cup Final as it is to what we want our students' approach to be with their lives. People that are passionate about what they do, show heart and soul, take risks and are prepared to put themselves out there even though they might fail.

During the assemblies, we looked at many different ways that excellence is put on display at 海角大神. However, in particular, we made a special focus on the Top 10 students from every year level.

We are incredibly proud of the drive, the consistency, the work ethic, the creativity, the role modelling, the problem solving, the resilience, the intellect and many other qualities that they have demonstrated throughout this year.

Here are the Top 10s academic students from Semester 1 in no particular order:

Year 7

• Ruby McRitchie 
• Amelia Cossette  
• Nate Olavides 
• Sienna Stevenson 
• Senuka Aluthwala 
• Grace Seadon  
• Lily Peace
• Zia Smith 
• Oliver Simkin
• Tyler Socan

Year 8

• Deon Jito
• Jessica North-Coombes 
• Lyla van Marle
• Charlie Lowe
• Samuel Kare Armaan
• Riley Sear
• Anaya Franklin
• Priscilla Monewalu
• Janna Pham
• Charlotte Jones

Year 9

• Will Elliott
• Holly McGill 
• Ria Jijose 
• Emmanuel Varela Torres 
• Maria Skaliotis
• Mackenzie Buchanan  
• Rose Ennis
• Lucy Postill 
• Elicia Bracher
• Amalie Fricke

Phil Box

Head Middle Years

School Tree Planting Day

Selected students from across the College were offered the opportunity to participate in Schools Tree Day last Friday, July 28. We plant trees in an effort to absorb greenhouse gases.

Planting native plants can improve habitat for local wildlife, leading to increased populations, while also allowing for the development of vegetation corridors.

The students planted close to 50 plants in our Indigenous Garden. The plants all have specific uses, such as medicinal purposes, and are nutritionally beneficial and have technological uses.

"It was good. It was satisfying to fit the plants into the holes I dug." Riley Richards- 7 Gold

Special thanks to the Maintenance Team, Tania and Ian for their support

Karyn Myers

Environment & Sustainability Coordinator

As we move further into Term 3, students across the school are focussing more and more on their studies and it can be easy to forget that the end of the year is approaching so quickly. This is both exciting and nerve-racking for everyone, whether it be the transition between year levels, from Middle School to Senior School, or Year 12 into whatever path the students choose. This week our school musical 鈥楽eussical the Musical鈥� is running, which features students from Years 7-12 telling the story of some well known Dr Seuss characters. It has been a great experience for all involved to see their hard work pay off and get involved with the College鈥檚 community. Next week we will have another whole school Mass, which is a great opportunity for students to come together and celebrate our connection.

Brooke Tudor and Thomas Scutt

College Vice Captains

"Unleashing Greatness" - Welcome to The Summit!

What a start it has been to the term with the action packed adventures of Year 8 Camp located in Trafalgar East. Over three days, Year 8s from all three houses learnt to step out of their comfort zone and put their courage to the test in a myriad of ways. From abseiling, to flying fox, sky bridge walk, holding snakes, inflatable human foosball and walking on nails, the camp really showed the students how to "unleash greatness" and push themselves to their own limits with encouragement and enthusiasm. The weather may have been chilly, but it sure made for some slushy mud to add to another layer of camp life in Gippsland. 

One of the main highlights was definitely the mighty Monster Course (Mud Run), where students faced the gruelling challenge of slipping and sliding around the camp course - testing their strength, willpower and bravery to help each other through the various obstacles. Not only did they learn to stick together no matter the barrier, but the level of support shown to group members proved that they could provide trust and comfort when stretched to the limit. A HUGE thanks to all involved over the week and a half - with special mention to our Homeroom teachers, support staff and student leaders (海角大神 Alumni), there to guide the way.

Elisa Bettiol

Year 7 & 8 Level Leader, Rice

鈥淥n a cold, clear, winter鈥檚 night, the lives of the quirky residents of the fictitious town of Almost, in the US state of Maine, will collide. On this one magical evening, some will fall in love; others will have their hearts shattered. What they all have in common is that under the spectacular Northern Lights, their lives will be irrevocably changed.鈥�

So reads the synopsis of this year鈥檚 senior play: Almost, Maine, which we proudly staged in July at the Mahon Theatre to a small but appreciative audience of friends, family and 海角大神 staff.

The Senior Play, as an event, is a regular fixture on the 海角大神 College performing arts schedule, and has been for a number of years. The cast and crew are made up of students from Years 9 to 12 who very rapidly become a tight knit and inclusive, supportive community.

There are a number of reasons why continuing to produce a Senior Play, separate from some of the other bigger, more high profile  events on our performing arts calendar, is so important. As I wrote in the program, in Senior Play we can take risks: in the plays we choose, the ways we cast and the ways we stage. Adults can take a back seat and the students are the principal drivers. Senior Play is about learning, so not playing it safe is paramount. 

A huge congratulations to all the cast and crew: James Scott, Natasha Ladd, Tara Moulden, Imogen Burg, Alyssa Isgro, Shaelee Donohue, Olivia Westaway, Charlotte Oliver, Matilda Dring, Doug Oldfleld, Riley Nester,  Ethan Troiani, Jonathan Liew, Ben Haslam and Tom Crawley- the success of the show was down to all of you!

And a huge thank you particularly to our Theatre Manager, Ms Maryanne Leavey, and her tireless work throughout the year with the theatre, sets and props club. 

Putting on a show like 'Almost, Maine' was an incredible experience for my final year of high school. It was wonderful to work with such a close-knit cast, and having the opportunity to play multiple roles and transform between characters was a great test of our performance capabilities. Overall, it was such a joyous time, and I am so happy to have been able to work alongside such lovely people. Thank you so much to everyone involved!

- Shaelee, Year 12

'Almost, Maine' was a great fit for our small numbers and allowed us all to challenge our acting skills by playing multiple, sometimes contrasting, characters. We all really enjoyed all of the rehearsal times and the performance. I will miss the camaraderie and excitement I got from senior play, and encourage anyone with an interest in acting or theatre to give it a go.

- James, Year 12

The senior play, Almost, Maine was a really fun and positive experience for me! I had the chance to explore my love for theatre and production, as well as have a really great time with my friends! 

- Matilda, Year 12

Almost, Maine was an amazing part of my Year 12 experience. I got to spend time with my friends and have fun messing around, while still being able to express myself through drama. Although it was a lot of afternoons spent at school, being a part of the play helped me relax, do an activity that I value, get a break from my homework and spend time with friends and people I appreciate. Playing Jimmy and Dave challenged my abilities, but also allowed me to add my own personal touches through the play. Almost, Maine was such a special play, and being on stage in front of my friends and family made me feel so fortunate as I am able to participate in the many activities 海角大神 has to offer.

- Alyssa, Year 12

Almost, Maine was a great experience. It was such fun to be involved in and everyone's hard work led to a smooth performance.

- Doug -Year 12

Suessical the Musical has now reached the halfway point of shows. You can find a recap and photo gallery in the next edition of The Lighthouse.

Each year, the VET Hospitality/Cookery/Kitchen Operations students are treated to an excursion where they are taken for lunch and an experience in the Hospitality industry.

This year, students were treated to lunch at a Crown venue, such as Mr. Hive Bar and Restaurant or The Conservatory. They also had the opportunity to visit the Queen Victoria Market, and students had a behind-the-scenes industry-guided tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, seeing the kitchens in action. Finally, students completed an observation activity, in small groups, in the cafes and laneways in the city.

This excursion provided students with a great experience outside of the classroom. It is more than just lunch, but a chance to build on all of those other skills out of the classroom, such as critical reflection and teamwork. Students get a real insight into the industry and can be inspired by industry experts. Students put what they learn into practice during the Restaurant Nights and events that they run throughout the year.

鈥淢y favourite thing so far is the spag bol.鈥� Dekoda, Year 11

鈥淚 had to loosen my pants.鈥� Anonymous, Year 12

鈥淐an the dessert buffet handle 海角大神?鈥� Teacher

鈥淕ood food with good friends.鈥� Anonymous, Year 10

鈥淚t was a wonderful experience with so much food… it was great service. The MCG tour was very informative and great to see how much work goes into producing the restaurant and functions.鈥� Giulia, Year 12

鈥淭he wide range of produce at the Queen Victoria Market was great to see. There were things I have never seen before. I had to ask what something was. It turns out it was a green mango.鈥� Josie, Year 11

Please join the VET Hospitality/Cookery/Kitchen Operations students at one of our Restaurant Night. 

Bookings are essential: book here

Owen Stott

Director, Wurundjeri Trade Training Centre

PTV have asked 海角大神 College to inform our community of the upcoming disruptions in our area.