IONA 13

Season of Creation

The Season of Creation runs from 1 September, the Day of Prayer for Creation, to 4 October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology, each year. It is a focused time of prayer and action, that acknowledges the integral link human beings have with the planet – we are a part of the living ecosystem that we must also take responsibility for. The Season of Creation also allows us to reflect on climate change issues, and the magnified effect that extreme weather events have on those who are the poorest with the least access to resources. 

The following excerpt is from Pope Francis. His key documents, Laudato Si and Ladaute Deum, provide guidance for examining our relationship with the planet, and all the living beings we are privileged to share it with.

“Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here and increasingly evident. No one can ignore the fact that in recent years we have witnessed extreme weather phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, drought and other cries of protest on the part of the earth that are only a few palpable expressions of a silent disease that affects everyone. […] I ask everyone to accompany this pilgrimage of reconciliation with the world that is our home and to help make it more beautiful.”

We have made great strides in recent years to become not just a sustainable community, but one that also commits to regeneration, taking on Pope Francis’ message, and endeavouring to make a difference to the small precious piece of the planet that we steward. The Season of Creation website provides further information about this special time of the year.

Parent Education Program – Anxiety 

It was a pleasure to host Bianca from the Big Sister Experience for our Parent workshop addressing anxiety issues our young people want us to understand. Bianca took us through practical strategies and tools that create connections that support young people experiencing anxiety. Thank you to the parents who supported this online event. The parent workshop followed on from work that the staff at Big Sister Experience undertook with our students and staff. This summary family handout provides some of the key points from the presentation. 

As always, if you have concerns about your child’s wellbeing, please contact the House Teacher or House Leader for support.

As we approach the Season of Creation, spanning from September 1 to October 4, we’re gently reminded of our sacred duty to care for our common home. This special time offers us a moment to pause and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation while reflecting on our role as caretakers of the Earth.
Inspired by Mary Aikenhead, the visionary founder of the Sisters of Charity, we are called to respond to the pressing needs of our world today. Just as she dedicated her life to serving the poor and the marginalised, we’re asked to extend that same compassion to all of creation.
St. Paul’s words in Romans 8:19-22 resonate deeply with us during this season: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.” We are those children, entrusted with the responsibility to heal and protect our planet.
We take great pride in the efforts of our Laudato Si Committee, whose important work brings Pope Francis’s encyclical to life within our community. Their dedication reminds us that we are all called to be “protectors of God’s handiwork” (Laudato Si, 217).
As we enter this Season of Creation, let us open our hearts to the cries of the Earth and the poor. May this be a time for us to renew our commitment to caring for our common home and all its inhabitants.

Loving Creator,
As we embark on this Season of Creation,
Grant us the courage to confront the environmental challenges before us,
And the strength to take meaningful action.
Inspire us to be worthy stewards of Your magnificent creation,
To protect the vulnerable and nurture the Earth’s rich biodiversity.
Guide our Laudato Si Committee and all who work tirelessly for ecological justice.
Bless us with wisdom to make sustainable choices,
Compassion to care for all Your creatures,
And perseverance to continue this vital work.
In Your name, we pray.
Amen

LAUDATO SI ACTION GROUP                                                    

The theme for Season of Creation 2024 ‘To hope and act with Creation’

The Season of Creation, running from September 1st to October 4th, is a growing and meaningful part of the Church’s liturgical calendar, encouraging Christians to reflect on their connections with God, people, and the environment.

We are hoping to celebrate Season of Creation during the week commencing Monday 9 September.

2024 NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION WEEK: 1 – 7 September 

In 2024, the National Child Protection Week message that ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’ will be complemented with the theme ‘Every conversation matters’.

Conversations are powerful tools to keep children and young people safe and well.  This theme provides a platform to:

engage in important conversations,

promote the value of conversations, and

equip us to have conversations that keep kids safe.

A few activities will occur this week to encourage conversations: twin House Groups will be joining during the week to engage in conversations via the ‘speed dating’ method.  There will also be a Pictionary Challenge held in the library. A notice will be placed in SEQTA for students.

PARENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE (PEC)              

Every parent in our community is a member of the PEC and we welcome your involvement. If anyone is interested in joining the PEC or learning more about what we do you can join us in person or online – 7.30pm – meet.google.com/fij-hziu-ymk). Here are the PEC meeting dates and events planned for 2024:          

• 17 September
• 15 October
• Friday 15 November                    2025 Yr 7 Parents’ Welcome
• 19 November

This year, the PEC will use our events as opportunities to raise some funds for the upkeep of our beautiful wellbeing dog, Millie.

If you have any questions or feedback for the PEC, please contact us at parents@columba.vic.edu.au

TRIVIA NIGHT

Many thanks to all those who attended our Trivia Night. It was a great night filled with lots of fun and laughter. Millie put in a surprise appearance too! We are happy to announce that we were able to raise $1700 towards the Dogs Connect program which supports us to have Millie at the College.

Well done to the PEC team who planned and organised the event, and were in attendance to support the smooth running of the evening.

We aim to plan for another great Trivia Night in 2025. Hope you will join us then.

ALUMNAE COMMITTEE

Our Alumnae Committee meet once per term on a Wednesday night between 7:00pm and 8:00pm. They are working hard to build the College’s connections to our former students so that our alumnae are able to remain in touch with each other and with the college, improving engagement with our staff and students, fostering lifelong relationships and a sense of belonging.

Recently, the Committee has been reaching out to support alumnae who would like to promote their businesses to the STCC community. The first of these promotions can be seen below and we have several more to promote in the coming months. If you are an alumna, or know of an alumna, who would like to have your business spotlighted, please contact alumnae@columba.vic.edu.au.

If you are an alumna and would like to become a member of the Alumnae Committee, again feel free to use the email above to contact the team.

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT TEAM REPORT

We are delighted to provide an update on the recent activities and initiatives undertaken by the Student Engagement Team (SET). Below, we outline our recent endeavors and future plans.

The student wellbeing survey has yielded crucial insights into the student experience at our school, and we are dedicated to addressing the concerns and suggestions highlighted in the survey to ensure that every student feels valued and supported. In response to student feedback, we are currently discussing how to address pricing concerns for items available in the canteen, aiming to ensure that our canteen remains affordable and accessible to all students. To broaden our students’ horizons, we are exploring opportunities for greater engagement with other schools. This initiative aims to complement our existing inter-school activities and provide students with additional opportunities to connect and grow.

We are pleased to announce that Millie, a valued member of our team, has increased her availability from one day a week to two days this term. Millie’s presence as a wellbeing dog has had a positive impact on our students’ wellbeing and sense of community.

We have clarified the rules regarding uniform and grooming, particularly concerning blazers. Understanding the rationale behind these requirements helps promote a respectful and cohesive school culture.

The SET has recently reviewed the College’s Student Management Guidelines to ensure that they are student-friendly and accessible to all. The updated guidelines for both students and parents were finalised and reviewed over Term 2 to ensure they are comprehensive and effective. These are now located in SEQTA Engage for reading.

We are proud of the progress we have made and excited about the initiatives we are planning.

Mary S

Student Engagement Team Member

We attended the CGSAV Soccer Competition, and our Seniors once again clinched the Senior Championship!  The grand final was intense, ending in a nail-biting penalty shootout after a nil-all draw. Huge congratulations to Cartia G, who was named Player of the Match!

Our Junior and Intermediate teams narrowly missed out on a spot in the grand final, and we’re excited to see what they can achieve next year.

Netball Update

Charlize has been in the Netball Victoria pathway starting from the young age of 6. Charlize has played rep netball then got selected to be apart of the talent academy program. This year Charlize has been selected to play for City West Falcons in the Victorian Netball League where she has debuted and played multiple games in the U23s. 

In  2023 Charlize represented her region in State Titles winning the state titles for Elmer team. In the following year she also represented the region in 2024 as Under 17’s 

Charlize also made top 25 in State in 2023 for Under 17 in Victoria. Charlize has recently gone through a demanding and intense selection process for the u17 Victorian team where there has been multiple cuts.

After hard work and determination Charlize has made the 17 and under Victorian squad and will represent our state with pride.

On Friday 23 August, Ave Maria, St Bernard’s and St Columba’s hosted the Kick Arts for 2024. This concert featured the impressive talent of students from all three colleges, showcasing their hard work and dedication to the Arts. Competing against other students from Ave Maria and St Bernards in categories such as dance, drama and music, the best performance in each category was awarded a prize. 

Representing St Columba’s, Cailey F performed an exceptional Traditional Scottish dance. Her performance, characterised by lively rhythms and an upbeat tempo, the audience was captivated by her skill and vibrant energy. Zee E performed Vanilla Ice Cream from the musical “She Loves Me” in the drama category. Zee’s performance, blending sweet nostalgia, enchanted the audience with her remarkable acting and vocal ability. And for the music category, The Small Little Band featuring Julia S, Claire O, Melissa T, Lucia R, Saskia C, Arpita S, Hannah T performed “The Chicken” by Alfred James Ellis/arr. Kris Berg. Their rendition of the jazz-funk piece, with its iconic bass solo and dynamic drum fills was both infectious and captivating. 

Overall the night was a success, with Zee winning the drama award and the Small Little band winning an unprecedented overall award. A big congratulations to all the performers for showcasing their immense talent and the students and staff that made the night possible. 

Important Update Regarding Attendance on School Reports

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We have discovered a technical issue that has affected the accuracy of the attendance records on the end of semester reports. While the attendance that appears on the subject information page on page 3 is correct, the attendance was incorrect on the individual subject pages. The error occurred because data had been entered into the college system stating that students on extended absence would be away for a time frame that was outside of the semester on the report. This occurs when families alert us about upcoming absence periods, which are acknowledged by a letter to families formalising the student’s absence.

We apologise for any confusion or concern this may have caused. Please be assured that our Assessment and Reporting Team as well as the IT Help Desk Team has worked diligently to rectify the issue. College practices and policies will be updated to reflect how the software operates and to ensure that this does not occur on future reports. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to resolve this matter. Our priority is to ensure that you have accurate and up-to-date information regarding your child’s progress. We kindly ask that you download the corrected version of the report that will be uploaded to the SEQTA Engage for you to view on the 30th of August 2024. The incorrect 2024 Semester 1 Report that you may have downloaded or reviewed when it was released to you on the 28th of July 2024 will be removed from SEQTA Engage.

Regards,

Brad Taylor
Performance and Development Leader

Hannah and I had the opportunity with other peers to visit St Albans Secondary College to participate in the MAV Maths Games Day. There were many schools there which made it a bit intimidating. After the opening ceremony, we started the day with some puzzles.

With our time limit, we had to hurry and figure out as many as possible. As time passed, we solved most of the puzzles, leaving just the hardest problem. This first session really helped to boost our confidence. After recess, we moved on to problem solving, which wasn’t our best result but we attempted all the questions.

After problem solving, we actually competed against other schools. We split into pairs and we played against our assigned school. The games involved a lot of mental addition and strategy. We all enjoyed this part the most. It was fun and good, friendly rivalry. After lunch, it was the second last activity of the day.

We had a team relay, where one person had to run to a teacher and back to the group with a problem solving question. We had three attempts to get it right. Hannah had to do a lot of running because we were the furthest away from the teacher. There were many ups and downs but we solved as many as we could. Our last activity of the day was paper airplane making.

Hannah had the best airplane so we nominated her plane to be thrown. It wasn’t too bad. Some paper planes made it all across the room. It was a fun way to end the day. At the closing ceremony the winners were announced, with Melbourne High and PEGS winning.

In all honesty, it was a really fun day. You can go with your friends and collaborate together to solve problems. It doesn’t matter if you are good at maths or bad, it is a great opportunity to work on different areas of maths in a really fun way. If you get the opportunity to sign up for a maths games day, you should.

We all really enjoyed it and we think you would too.

Earlier this term, Year 12 Japanese students participated in the Japanese Language Model United Nations. This event simulated a full-day session of the United Nations General Assembly. The day was conducted entirely in the Japanese language and through role play and debate students had the opportunity to step into the shoes of country ambassadors and use their negotiation and diplomacy skills to express the views of their allocated country. Students presented their country’s position to the General Assembly, interacted with other delegates during the caucus sessions, and moved amendments to a Draft Resolution. This was a unique language immersion opportunity for students to learn about international relations, the UN system and global issues in an engaging, dynamic environment, while developing their Japanese language skills.

Year 10 Immersion Excursion: 

On Thursday 17 July, the Year 10 Italian students participated in an immersion experience at Co.As.It in Carlton. They were placed in groups with students from other schools and rotated through various activities where they were required to use all three macro skills; listening, reading, viewing, speaking, and writing. The students also participated in a scavenger hunt and asked to find significant landmarks in Lygon Street Carlton that represent the birth of Italian culture in Melbourne. A shared pizza lunch at Miss Frankie was a highlight where our students chatted about their experience while enjoying delicious traditional Italian food. Well done to all the Year 10 Italian students for their effort on this day; they stepped out of their comfort zone and did an amazing job applying their Italian language skills.  

CIS Poetry Competition: Wednesday 28 August 

The recitation of poetry in a foreign language lays the foundation for the appreciation of the beauty of language and helps students acquire a natural speech rhythm while perfecting their pronunciation of the target language. On Wednesday 28th February, Year 7 and 8 Italian students participated in the annual CIS (Center for Italian Studies) Poetry Competition. The students worked diligently to memorise a poem and present it to an external judge from CIS. It was wonderful to see so many students rise to this challenge and collaboratively work in groups to achieve their goal of perfecting their poems. They celebrated their success during the lunch break with a shared pizza lunch. Well done to all the students who participated. 

Year 7 2025 Languages Taster Evening:

 It was a pleasure to welcome our 2025 Year 7 students to the College on Monday 5 August. While their parents attended an important Year 7 2025 information evening, the Year 6 students were given the opportunity to participate in rotation language activities to give them a taste of all three languages on offer at the College. This evening aimed to help the Grade 6 students make an informed decision about the language they would like to learn in their first three years at St Columba’s College. The teachers of French, Japanese, and Italian prepared and delivered a variety of activities for the students. The evening concluded with refreshments and treats from Italy, France, and Japan. It was lovely to meet our 2025 Year 7 students and take in the enthusiasm and excitement they projected on the night. We hope this evening helped each of them with their choice of language and we look forward to welcoming them in 2025. 

Shin-ai Exchange Program – August 5 – 14

This term, fifteen students from Shin-ai Girls High School visited St Columba’s College and were hosted by students from our school and their families. Our visitors arrived early on Monday 5 August and immediately met their host sisters. They spent the next week participating in activities with their host sisters and experiencing the Australian classroom. They also went on organised excursions to the Ian Potter Museum, Melbourne Central, the Victoria Market, and Healesville Sanctuary. 

This was an enriching experience for our students and members of their families who immediately forged close bonds with our Japanese visitors. It was sad to see our guests depart but at the same time bittersweet with the knowledge that the students from Shin-ai and St Columba’s intend to remain in touch and hopefully will see each other again in the future. 

Thank you to all the host students and their families for the hospitality they extended to our Japanese visitors. This program was possible because of their generosity. 

Last Wednesday was anything but ordinary for eight students from our French class. We embarked on an unforgettable journey to the heart of Melbourne, where we competed in the annual Olympiads at the Alliance Français. Our day was packed with excitement, challenges, and a taste of French culture that left us all craving more—both intellectually and gastronomically.

Our adventure began with a meeting in front of the student reception, where we met with our chaperones for the day, Madame Clark and Monsieur Le. Together, the ten of us made our way to the train station, buzzing with anticipation. The ride to the city was filled with last-minute practice, nervous laughter, and discussions of strategy.

As soon as we arrived in the city, our first stop was Roule Galette, a little crêperie that made us feel like we had been transported to France. We confidently placed our orders in flawless French, much to the delight of the waitstaff. The crêpes were beyond delicious—undoubtedly the best we’ve ever had—and provided the perfect fuel for the challenges that lay ahead.

With our bellies full and spirits high, we headed over to the Alliance Français headquarters, where we were greeted by Annabelle, our guide for the day. She briefed us on the competition format, and we were split into two teams, ready to face off in a series of five challenges across the city.

Our first destination was the Sacré-Cœur (or at least, Melbourne’s version of it). Here, we participated in a thrilling version of the Olympic Torch Relay. Each team ‘leader’ was handed a card with a sentence in French, and the challenge was to whisper the sentence from one person to the next, with the final person writing down what they heard. Though the pressure was intense, Team Two emerged victorious, showing impressive communication and translation skills.

Next, we made our way to the Notre-Dame, which in our case was Fed Square. This challenge required quick thinking and a deep vocabulary, as we were tasked with creating as many French words as possible from a random selection of letters. With a three-minute timer ticking away, both teams scrambled to outdo each other. Team Two took the win once again, impressing everyone with the longest word: Toilettes.

Our third stop was the Arc de Triomphe, where we engaged in a game of charades with a twist. One team member acted out a sport, and the rest had to guess the sport’s name in French. The game was fast-paced, filled with laughter, and once again, Team Two claimed victory with their quick guessing and sharp language skills.

But the competition wasn’t over yet. We then visited The Musée du Louvre for the most physically demanding challenge of the day. Annabelle would name a sport, and the teams had to come up with as many related French words as possible. The catch? The opposing team had to squat each time the other team got a word right. After a series of intense squatting sessions, Team One finally claimed their first win of the day, much to their relief and joy.

After all the challenges were completed, we returned to the Alliance Français headquarters for a well-deserved break. We indulged in fresh baguettes and French-made jams, savouring every bite. But the day wasn’t over yet—there was still one final hurdle: the toughest multiple-choice and true/false quiz we’d ever faced. After what felt like an eternity of pondering and second-guessing, the scores were tallied, and the first and second-place winners were announced, receiving prizes that crowned their efforts.

With the competition behind us and a sense of accomplishment in the air, we made our way back to school, just in time for period 4. Though tired, we were all buzzing with the thrill of the day’s events. The Olympiads at Alliance Français de Melbourne was more than just a competition; it was an experience that tested our skills, broadened our horizons, and brought us closer as a team. It’s a day we’ll remember for years to come.

Please enjoy the French translation…

Mardi dernier, huit étudiantes de notre classe de français ont entrepris un voyage inoubliable au cœur de Melbourne, participant aux Olympiades annuelles à l’Alliance Française. Notre journée a été remplie d’excitation et de défis, en commençant par un arrêt chez Roule Galette, où nous avons passé nos commandes en français impeccable et savouré certaines des meilleures crêpes que nous ayons jamais eues. Revigorées, nous nous sommes dirigées vers le siège de l’Alliance Française, où nous avons été divisées en deux équipes et avons entrepris une série de cinq défis à travers la ville, allant d’un palpitant Relais de la Flamme Olympique au Sacré-Cœur de Melbourne à un jeu de charades rapide à l’Arc de Triomphe. 

Tout au long de la journée, l’équipe deux a dominé grâce à son esprit rapide et ses compétences linguistiques impressionnantes, remportant la plupart des défis. Cependant, l’équipe une a finalement remporté la victoire lors du défi le plus physiquement exigeant au Musée du Louvre, où les squats et le vocabulaire français se sont affrontés. Après la compétition, nous sommes retournées au siège de l’Alliance Française pour une pause bien méritée, en profitant de baguettes fraîches et de confitures françaises. La journée s’est terminée par un quiz difficile avant que nous retournions à l’école, fatiguées mais ravies de l’expérience. Les Olympiades à l’Alliance Française de Melbourne ont été plus qu’une simple compétition—c’était une expérience enrichissante qui a mis à l’épreuve nos compétences, élargi nos horizons, et nous a rapprochées en tant qu’équipe.

On Monday the 26th of August Year 11 and 12 VCE Music Students went to Catholic Ladies College for a VCE Performance workshop. This event was designed to prepare us for our upcoming recitals and performance exams, providing us a new and unique environment to test our talents and skills. 

In particular, the Year 12s were required to perform two or more pieces from their repertoire to an audience consisting of VCE Music students and staff from CLC and Mercy College. 

Performing from St Columba’s were several talented students who showcased their progress and hard work leading up to their solo exams. Each performer was met with great support, encouragement and constructive feedback from teachers and students. This feedback was very valuable and useful in helping us refine our performance as we closely approach our exams. 

All of us enjoyed performing individually but we also found the workshop a great way to learn from others too. Watching performances from our school, CLC and Mercy College, was enjoyable and educational. We gained a new perspective on aspects such as interpretation, phrasing and expression which are crucial parts of the marking criteria. 

Overall this performance workshop was a great opportunity for all students from Year 11 and Year 12. Thank you to all the schools and staff for organising this event and making the day fantastic. I certainly learned a lot from this experience and have left feeling even more determined, motivated and inspired. 

This year, we were fortunate to have nine industry partners join us as part of our Year 10 PBL (Project-Based Learning) Program. The week started off with students visiting their assigned industry partners, where they spent the day fully immersed in the daily operations and creative processes of these professionals. This hands-on experience provided our students with invaluable insights and inspiration for their own projects.

From Tuesday to Thursday, the students turned their attention to the design brief they were given, diving into the design process to develop their final products. Throughout the week, our students demonstrated incredible dedication and creativity. The ideas they generated were not only impressive but, in some cases, exceeded our expectations for their age group, showcasing the talent and potential within our school community.

The week concluded with students presenting their work to their industry partners. These presentations highlighted the students’ journey from concept to creation, offering a detailed explanation of how their products came to be. The collaboration between students and industry professionals made this PBL week an enriching experience.

Congratulations to our Year 10 students and to all our staff involved in making the week a success! 

Here are a couple of reflections from our students on their experiences throughout the week.

For PBL week, we worked with RMIT as our industry partner. We learned that Australia is the biggest consumer of clothes and that we accumulate the most amount of clothing waste in the world (per capita). These items of clothing either end up in overcrowded landfills or are exported to other countries to be discarded. Over 300,000 tonnes of clothes go to landfill each year. This is a significant environmental issue, particularly in countries with high consumption rates, where fast fashion has become a dominant market force. Our challenge for the week was to shift towards more sustainable and ethical ways to refresh our wardrobes without purchasing new clothes and instead using what we already have. We needed to promote circular economy principles where clothing is designed to last, be repaired, reused, or recycled rather than discarded. Visible mending, which is a creative approach to repairing clothing, is one of many techniques we used. It intentionally highlights, rather than hides the repair work. Instead of trying to make the mend invisible, it is made to stand out as a design feature. Below are some of the visible mendings that we tried over holes and stains.  The Makers – RMIT

Last week, the Year 10’s participated in Project Based Learning (PBL) Week. Over the 5 days of PBL – one of which we travelled to our industry partner -, the year 10’s worked in their allocated clusters to help solve various problems presented to them by their given industry partner. The LaTrobe University Innovators class, who is working with Plants For Space – were presented with the problem of plant life on Mars. Mars is unsuitable for all plant life to survive and thrive (a quote that was constantly fed to us throughout the week). This past week we – Vespa, Saskia, Alicia, Alessia and Jasmine – all came up with our idea to improve the ability to grow plants on Mars with a product we like to call “The Donut”. It’s a circular facility that efficiently and logically grows crops using materials and resources found on Mars. This experience pushed us to think innovatively and work collaboratively to solve complex problems. It helped us build team working skills and a deeper understanding of the universe and what the future could hold. 

Vespa L on behalf of The Innovators -La Trobe University

From Monday the 26th to Friday the 30th of August, the Year 10’s participated in PBL, or Project Based Learning Week. The first day for most groups involved attending an excursion to our chosen Institution – for us it was Bradmill, a Project Development in Yarraville.  We first visited the Yarraville Village to get a feel of the local culture and overall aesthetic of the suburb, before meeting with a representative from Frasers Property Australia, the company behind the development. He taught us about the history of Bradmill, the challenges of the project so far, the future plans of Bradmill and he finally introduced what we had to do – create an event or initiative that could be launched within Bramdill to empower youth, engage the community and promote the new development. We arrived at school the next day filled with ideas and we began working through the Design Thinking Process. Our booklet, with the stages of Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test were what guided us through the week. Our group decided on the idea of a Yarra Market within Bradmill. We even made a scale-model of our market using materials like clay, popsicle sticks and coloured paper.

It was really fun watching our project come to life. Although we had a lot to do including a video, a presentation, brainstorming and a prototype it all went so quickly because we collaborated so well. When designing our prototype of our market, we carefully considered the historic and cultural aspects as our aim was to connect the Bradmill development more closely to Yarraville. Bradmill used to be a denim manufacturer that exported jeans to big fashion houses like Dolce & Gabbana and Diesel. In order to honour this heritage, we decided to incorporate a denim designing stall in our market. In addition, we were informed that Yarraville has a Greek heritage so we designed a Greek food store. By the end of the week we were ready to pitch our idea to the Fraser Property Group and it was a fantastic opportunity to share our vision and gain insight into the professional world. Overall, our experience of Project-Based Learning (PBL) was incredibly rewarding, providing us with valuable lessons and hands-on experience solving real-world industry problems. We would like to thank our Pathways teachers and the Fraser Property Group for this opportunity and for their preparation and guidance throughout the week. 

Sophia D & Tiana C on behalf of The Coordinators – Fraser’s Property Group – Bradmill

The Vinnies Winter Sleepout was conducted online this year from 6 to 8 pm on the Friday 23rd of August, hosted by Kathy Vo and Charlotte Mollica (the Social Justice and Liturgy captains). We were joined by other students from years 8 to 12 (pictured below).

The night began with a group prayer on the theme of homelessness as well as introductions about where people were spending their night (most were choosing to sleep on their living room floor). We spent the night collaboratively learning about the causes of homelessness and what individuals like us can do it help. We heard from STC students via a video, Frontyard and the ‘You Can’t Ask That’ series. The evening continued with us partaking in simple pastimes like building card houses and jigsaw puzzles. We concluded the night with a Kahoot about homelessness, showing what everyone had learnt throughout the night and consolidating that newly acquired knowledge.

The night was a great success, thanks to all the support of family and friends we raised over $1500. Evidence of the exceptional planning, thought and organisation that had gone into it. We hope that the Vinnies Winter Sleepout will continue to be a focus for the Social Justice and Liturgy captains in the coming years. It would give them great experience in planning and hosting an event linked to their respective leadership foci.

As part of our Year 12’s VCE VM Community based project, they are required to assist an organisation with donations from the community.

Group 1 are asking for donations of Pet Food, Toys and treats from our  College Community to assist with Helping Hands Pets of the Homeless.

You can donate your pet goods at either student reception or front reception.

Group 2 & 3 are looking to raise funds via selling Cadbury Chocolates to fund hygiene kits for St. Vincent De Paul.

You can purchase chocolates from Front Reception or various locations across the College.

Please help us support these groups and donate generously!

Thursday 5 Sept – Spring Music Concert

Thursday 5 Sept – Great Book Swap

Friday 6 Sept – Journalism Incursion

Monday 9 Sept – STC & SBC Mixed Netball Match

Wednesday 11 Sept – RMIT Future STEM Leaders Program

Thursday 12 Sept – Charity Run Breakfast, R U OK? Day