海角大神

Embrace your Spirit - Discover your Place

During this past week I have been acting principal on behalf of Darren while he has been representing CaPSA (Catholic Secondary Principals Australia) in the Northern Territory and Bathurst Island. It is an exciting time for our students as they continue the season of subject selection. 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. 

We will also have our staff Spirituality Day this coming Friday and is a student free day. It is a time for our whole staff to gather for faith formation and spiritual reflection. Thank you, again, for your support in regards to the timetable disruptions. 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.

School Mass

On Tuesday 8th of August, the College gathered together to celebrate Mass for Term 3. The purpose of the Mass was to celebrate and acknowledge our founders and their stories of courage and service. Thank you to all staff and students involved in the wonderful celebration, particularly those involved in the planning and execution. Students engaged and participated in what is a big part of our Catholic identity as a Catholic College. Thank you for the support of all parents and guardians who encouraged their children to be in attendance. Please remember that whole school gatherings such as masses and assemblies are a part of your child鈥檚 learning experience and that each member of the community is required to be in attendance. 

Applications for the 2025 intake

Our last College Tour for the 2023 school year took place on Monday 14th of August. Applications for the 2025 intake will close on August 19. Interest in the College is high because of the great facilities, extensive programs and opportunities for students. Please encourage your child to make the most of these opportunities.

Parent Teacher Conferences

On Tuesday 15th of August, the College held part one of the PT Interviews for VCE, VCE-VM and VCAL. On Thursday 24th of August, we will hold Year 7 Homeroom and Year 8-10 Subject Selection Interviews. Thanks to all the staff for their support of the students and your engagement in the interviews. There are a lot of decisions that are about to be made by students and your guidance in this process is important. 

Excellent Awards Assemblies

On Thursday 18th of August, the College held the Years 7-9 Excellence Assemblies. The purpose of the assemblies was to publicly acknowledge the achievements of the top 10 performing students for each year level. The event was a great success, with the parents of the award recipients present and some of the talents of the students from the Middle School, on show. Students were encouraged to strive for excellence and to be at the top of their learning as they progress through their schooling years. Well done to the award recipients and their teachers and thank you to the families in attendance. 

MACSIS School Improvement Surveys

Please refer to the information on this publication about the MACSSIS School Improvement Surveys, which is extremely helpful to the College as it plans to continually improve practice across all areas of student development and community engagement. Information about the process for the completion of the surveys can be referenced in . 

SAM Project

The SAM project has continued to make progress, with some commencing in recent weeks. It is an exciting time for the College and I look forward to reading progress updates in the 海角大神 Sports and Multifunctional (SAM) Project of this Newsletter. Please ask your children to be mindful of changes to the yard with addition of out of bounds areas to enhance safety.

High Standards

In recent days, our staff have provided the College Leadership Team with some direction on what should be areas of improvement for students. The direction clearly identifies thus far the need to share agreed standards for all members of the community with respectful relationships, uniform wear and appearance and the rightful use of technology. The direction will assist the leadership of the College plan and implement strategies to further develop the practice of respect, engagement and pride in the school. 

The Power of Faith

The Gospel according to Matthew provides us with many examples of the power of faith. Matthew 15:21-28 tells the story of the Canaanite woman who asked Jesus to save her daughter. In the busy times we live in our society, sometimes we struggle to rest, reflect and focus on the important things in life. Having faith in the better good for all is a virtue that we must promote amongst our young people. The world can unfortunately be a sad and cold place, and teaching our children to have faith, in whatever brings them hope and a desire to serve others, is our collective responsibility. Like the woman, desperate to save her daughter, found faith in Jesus, we must embrace our responsibility to be people of goodness by sharing our faith with those around us, particularly our young people. I hope that you will have a great couple of weeks ahead. 

Dr Napoleon Rodezno

Acting Principal

So Subject Selections have been submitted, here is what happens next:

• If a subject is not viable students will be informed of their options. Students will be advised by the Student Programs Coordinator (Ms Meredith Greenwood) about their next actions.

• Students who have applied for VCEReady will have the test on Monday 4th and choices will be finalised. Students will be advised by the Student Programs Coordinator. (Ms Meredith Greenwood) about their next actions, either they will study the subject or choose alternatives. 

• The VET Coordinator, Ms Ebony Monteau, will inform students of their VET enrolments.

• Some students will be contacted to amend their selections if they are incomplete. This will be initiated by the Head of Senior Years.

• Finalised subjects will be available to students at the time that booklists are made available in Term 4.

• Year 10 Mathematics recommendations will be sent to families with a process for questions early in term 4.

• If a student chose VCE Vocational Module the VM team will meet with each student that has applied for VM to assess their pathway options, VET choices and readiness for SBAT opportunities.  Meetings will be held during term 3 and the first week of term 4.  Following this students and families will receive written acceptance into the VM program for 2024 and an information session will be made available for families.

Specific questions should be directed, by email, to Ms Meredith Greenwood. General questions about the structure can be directed, by email to me.

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

Threatened species bake off

Loving the unlovely and getting to know the unknown

The Threatened Species Bake Off is an invitation to Australians to bake a dessert in the shape of a threatened species. The Bake Off aims to build awareness in the community about Australia鈥檚 incredible and exceptional threatened flora and fauna. Unfortunately, in Australia, there are more than 1,700 threatened species listed, with this number growing every year. Threatened Species Day on 7 September.

This year the Threatened species Bake Off theme is: Loving the unlovely and getting to know the unknown. It has been chosen to highlight the threatened species that don鈥檛 make the headlines because people might call them ugly, unknown or uncharismatic. It鈥檚 a reminder that these species matter too. They play important roles in our ecosystems and are valued parts of Australia鈥檚 biodiversity.

Are you up for the challenge to enter a baked creation that encourages others to love the unlovely or get to know the unknown?

How you can get involved:

1. Choose an Australian threatened species to bake! Check out the list of species that are underrepresented in data records here.

2. Write a profile about selected species. This should include reasons why your species is threatened and what can be done to improve its situation.

3. Get creative with your baking! It doesn鈥檛 have to be a sweet treat if you鈥檙e more of a savoury connoisseur - try to capture the likeness of your chosen species the best you can.

4. Creations will need to arrive to school between Monday 4th September to Thursday 7th September. Judging will take place during this period. 

Stayed tuned for further details in the daily messages on SIMON. If you have further questions please contact Ms Myers.

Karyn Myers

Environment & Sustainability Coordinator

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools 鈥� School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS): Monday 28 August 鈥� Friday 15 September 2023. Throughout each year, we pause to listen to our students, families and staff to gauge how our learning community is travelling. This feedback is invaluable to our progress as effective school communities and is backed by evidence-based research and best practices.

A significant and formal way in which we engage and gather data is through MACSSIS, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools 鈥� School Improvement Surveys.

Please read from the principal's office explaining the process and what to do should you not wish your student to be involved in the survey.

Seussical, a whimsical world where imagination knows no bounds! In the fantastical realm of Dr Seuss, we encounter quirky and unique characters, each with their own hopes, dreams and fears. The theme that spoke most deeply to us as educators, is that in recognising and respecting the contribution every individual has to make 鈥� no matter how big or how small; no matter how much the same or how different they are 鈥� we can make our community more compassionate and inclusive.

Seuss鈥檚 message of imagination is equally relevant. In our increasingly fast paced and technologically driven world, we must not forget the value of daydreaming, of letting our minds wander to uncharted territories.

It is through imagination that we can unlock new ideas, innovate and find solutions to the challenges we face. Daydreaming is a key part of the creative process, and then we can take steps to give shape and form to 鈥淲hat if..鈥�

I鈥檇 like to acknowledge the people who have taken some time this year to 鈥渢hink some big thinks鈥�. My big thanks go out to our Musical Director, Emily Mackenzie and pit band leader Jared Campbell, our Choreography team: Kate Chamberlain, Gina Goss, Lauren Bourke and Jennifer Roussos, and our Tech team: Maryanne Leavey and her Backstage crew, Alysia Silvagni and the folks at Impress. Thanks also to Brett Donohue for smoothly managing logistics and producing the show.

Each performer, no matter how big or how small, has made a commitment to contribute to the performance in lead and supporting roles. I hope you enjoy and celebrate the energy the student cast will bring to the stage each night. They started rehearsals back in March and have sought to balance life, school, sports and other assorted activities in addition to our rigorous schedule. Their hearts and souls were in this.

We are delighted to have had Kate Constable visit 海角大神 College last week as Author in Residence from 31 July to 4 August.

Kate, whose 2011 novel Crow Country is being studied by year 7 students, highlighted the importance of reading and the transformative power of words.

Students learned about the importance of Australia鈥檚 Aboriginal heritage and writing and research processes within a small class, workshop environment.

The author reinforced the elements studied in classrooms and spoke about how she develops a novel鈥檚 narrative and where she finds the inspiration for her characters.  Thereafter, Kate summarised the themes contained within her novels Crow Country, The January Stars, Cicada Summer, New Guinea Moon and the Chanters of Tremaris series.

At the conclusion of her tenancy, Kate enjoyed lunch with students and teachers.

The art gallery was filled with many unique pieces of artwork, it was a real eye-opener to the endless creativity of French impressionists, like Claude Monet, and how inspiring he is to me as another lover of art. One of my favourite impressionist paintings that I saw is La Maison as it demonstrates how detailed a simple landscape of a house can be and it was really interesting to look at. Overall the art gallery was a great immersion to French art and I鈥檓 glad I got the opportunity to see the artwork in person.

La petite chateau was a beautiful small French cafe in the city. The details on the decor from the various flowers hanging from the ceiling to the beautiful view of the arcade from the windows, it was a truly calming environment. The galettes were very tasty and had a great immersion into French culture and what they would eat. The crepes were amazing but rich and filling, and the chocolat chaud was extremely tasty. It was great being able to hear the waiters speak French as it almost felt like I was in France. Overall I had a very fun trip and I鈥檓 so glad I got the opportunity to go.

Declan Green

Going to the city was such a great experience, between seeing amazing art and chatting and getting closer with friends. We started our day at the NGV seeing the artwork. We looked at impressionism for the majority of the time we spent there. After that we saw some religious art and Japanese art. Fantastique!For lunch we went to this beautiful restaurant. It was decorated so nicely and it was a great place to be in. The food was so good and very filling. We had a galette and crepe, d茅licieux!

Overall it was so fun and I had a great time. Tr猫s bon! 

Zaria Smith

On the 7th of August, my french class went to the city to see the National Gallery of Victoria, the impressionist and french portrait display in particular, and to have a french lunch, consisting of a ham and cheese galette, a crepe with ice cream and a hot chocolate. 

We were taken on a tour through french portraits and impressionist artworks by a guide. It was interesting to see the differences in the portraits painting before and during the French Revolution, and how they moved away from the tradition of only painting the wealthy and royal people, and moved to painting regular people that played an important part in the French Revolution. It was also fascinating to look at more impressionist paintings, and observe the stark contrast between the earlier portraits and the new paintings. We also got a small glimpse into Japanese art, one of the great influences of French impressionist paintings. 

The French lunch was amazing as well. We ordered in French and were served a cup of hot chocolate first, followed by a ham and cheese galette, which is a savoury crepe. After everyone had finished their galette, we got a choice of a nutella or a caramel crepe, with ice cream on top. Both of the dishes tasted delicious, and we had a great time eating and talking. It was an incredible day!

Olivia Woods

On Friday 1st September we will be running our annual Fair Trade Fair. In preparation for this event, slides have been prepared to help students gain a greater awareness and understanding of Fairtrade and the impacts associated with fair working rights, a liveable wage and ethical and sustainable consumerism. We have included some of the slides discussed in pastoral classes.

This year the Fair Trade Fair will be a cashless event. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time , or bought on the day. A list of the various activities and items for sale will be posted on SIMON notices. 

We are still collecting donations of books and clothes for our second hand stall, so if you have anything you need to clear out from your shelves and closets, feel free to drop it off at the Catholic Life Office anytime this coming week.

All proceeds from the fair and other fundraisers held this Term will go to CAPSA (Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum). 

Thankyou for your ongoing support of our social justice initiatives. We look forward to a fantastic afternoon of fun at the fair.  

Martha Mugamu

Justice & Outreach Coordinator

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