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This week’s prayer recognises the numerous and terrible threats of war across the world in 2024 and the millions of innocent civilians whose lives have been decimated. The prayer recognises that war ultimately has no winners, only desperate degrees of losing. Its sentiments were reinforced by a letter from the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli last weekend (https://melbournecatholic.org/news/archbishop-comensoli-calls-faithful-to-pray-for-peace).
Over the last two weeks, I have been privileged to travel interstate and attend two separate events both of which celebrated the importance of teaching in Australia in the 21st century:
- Last week, the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) held their national conference on the theme of Reimagining Education: A future beyond boundaries. As the peak conference exploring the future educational trends in Australia, it included some fabulous speakers as well as challenging ideas. The twin pressures posed to schools by the post-Covid environment and the surge in influence of artificial intelligence featured in most presentations.
- On Tuesday night, I was invited to attend the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science presentation in Canberra. As a principal and passionate Science teacher, it was a very special night. Alongside the recognition of a number of Australia’s pre-eminent scientists, the night was notable for the recognition of the importance of quality teachers in schools and the influence that teachers can have on children and young people.
Junior School Showcase
All parents and members of the Sacred Heart College community are reminded that the 2024 Junior School Showcase is on next Thursday evening from 4.00 – 7.30pm. The Showcase is always a wonderful night that celebrates the creativity, determination and hard work of students. Similar to recent years, the Showcase has three components:
- Year 9 Expo projects
- Year 8 Make A Difference (MAD) projects
- Year 7 Learning Journey projects
I encourage as many family and community members to attend and applaud the work that will be on show.
Year 12 Last Day
The current Year 12 cohort will celebrate their last formal day at Sacred Heart College next Friday 18 October. The Year 12 last day is always a very symbolic and memorable occasion providing students, teachers and parents the opportunity to recognise the completion of thirteen years of education. The day concludes with the Year 12 Final Mass which will be celebrated at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Kyneton.
Yours in Mercy,
Dr Darren Egberts
Principal
Announcement of 2025 Sacred Heart College Senior Student Cabinet
Following an extended appointment process that included speeches, interviews and voting, I was delighted to announce on Monday the 2025 SHC Senior Student Cabinet. Congratulations to all who were appointed but, more importantly, to each student who applied for any of the leadership positions. This year’s senior cabinet appointment process was notable for the large number of applications as well as the diversity of students represented.
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COLLEGE CAPTAINS |
Lucie Cousins Astrid Le Noury Justin Vardon |
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Faith Captain |
Jack Meyer Charlotte Oppy |
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Academic Captain |
Genevieve Eames Madison Morgan-Smith |
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Applied Learning Captain |
Larissa Lo Giudice Thorsten Perch-Nielsen |
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Culture Captain |
Eilis Blanks Mila Pereira |
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Mercy Justice Captain |
Aimee Brown |
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Sports Captain |
Jasmine Short Jennifer Sullivan |
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Student Wellbeing Captain |
Elissa Balancy-Mazou Lachlan Hall |
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Sustainability Captain |
Molly Curtin Kejsi Schulz |
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The Arts Captain |
Dylan Bunn Emily Turner |
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Public Speaking & Debating Captain |
Sophie Dunn |
Parents of SHC are invited to take part in the 2024 National Parent Survey
The CSPA 2024 Parent Survey on Student Wellbeing and Learning is seeking your perspective as parents/carers of children who attend a Catholic School in Australia. You are invited to share your views on existing and emerging affirmations and/or challenges in relation to your child/children’s wellbeing and learning.
Please consider completing this anonymous, confidential, and completely voluntary online survey.
More information about the study, how to participate, and how to have questions answered, can be found here.
Thank you for your interest
Lake Mungo Immersion 2025
We are excited to announce that our planned immersion to Lake Mungo will be going ahead in 2025. The immersion will take place from Monday 5th - Saturday 10th May 2025 and you can read more about it via this document. Further spaces have become available for students to join this immersion experience, so please contact sweir@shckyneton.catholic.edu.au if you have an interest in joining the travelling group.
We are grateful for the kind support of the Catholic Development Fund who have helped to facilitate the immersion program in its inaugural year. The CDF has been helping to grow the Australian Catholic community since 1956.
Season of Creation Photo Competition
The Season of Creation is an ecumenical season, running from the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (1 September) until the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi (4 October). As part of our celebrations at Sacred Heart, we run an annual photo competition the invites submissions for the following two categories:
Category A: Photos that awaken our hearts to the beauty of creation.
Category B: Photos that call us to care for creation.
We’re pleased to share some of the great photos submitted this year, and some from last year. The winners of this year’s competition will be notified in the coming weeks.
Music Dates Term 4
Term 4 has lots of action in the Music Department, and plenty of opportunity for you to come along and hear/support our musicians.
Year 12 Graduation Mass - Choir and select musicians
Show Band @ The Foundry Kyneton - Saturday 26 October - performing 12pm to 2:45pm
Music Leaders Concert - Thursday 31 October @ 7pm -Mary Moloney Theatre
Music Recital Evening - Thursday 14 November @ 7pm. Chapel/Theatre/Music Classroom
Applications for 2025 Music Enrolments and Music Scholarships
Applications are now open for students to apply for the 2025 Music Scholarships. This is open to all students studying at Sacred Heart in 2024, and all musicians are encouraged to apply. Applications are completed online click here. Please note that applications for scholarships close on Wednesday 23 October 2024.
We are also accepting enrolments for the Instrumental Music Program in 2025. If you would like to apply, please do so online click here.
Year 10 Work Experience - Carmen Stehle, Year Level Leader
In an exciting and valuable initiative, our Year 10 students recently participated in a week-long Work Experience program, designed to provide them with first-hand exposure to the world of work and help them explore potential career paths. This experience not only allows students to develop important skills, but also gives them a deeper understanding of the day-to-day operations of various industries.
From budding politicians to aspiring teachers, our Year 10 students had the opportunity to choose placements in a wide variety of sectors. Whether working in local businesses, creative agencies, hospitals, or technology firms, each student gained insights that will prove beneficial in their future studies and career choices.
The Work Experience program is a key component of our school’s commitment to preparing students for life after school, offering them practical experience, building professional networks, and helping them develop essential soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and time management.
Work Experience is invaluable for students, as it allows them to explore careers they might not have considered and gain hands-on experience that will help them in their future studies. By stepping into a real-world environment, students are able to apply classroom knowledge in practical situations, making the learning experience more meaningful. Additionally, the program helps to develop a strong work ethic, as students take on real responsibilities and tasks, giving them a taste of what life in the workplace is like. Many students also find that this exposure strengthens their sense of direction and purpose when it comes to choosing subjects for their senior years.
We are incredibly proud of the hard work and enthusiasm shown by our Year 10 students during their Work Experience placements. It’s clear that the skills and insights they’ve gained will help shape their future academic and career decisions.
A big thank you to all the businesses and organizations who welcomed our students and provided them with such valuable opportunities. We look forward to seeing the future successes of our Year 10 cohort as they continue to grow and prepare for the next chapter in their educational journey.
Students Reflect on their Work Experience
Melbourne Parliament – Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Health
I had the amazing opportunity to do my work experience with Mary-Anne Thomas, the Minister for Health, in Parliament. It was a really immersive experience that gave me a firsthand look at how government policies are made. Watching how decisions that affect the public are discussed and shaped was eye-opening.
One of the best parts was seeing debates and meetings in action, which helped me understand challenges in politics and how important teamwork and communication is. Mary-Anne Thomas and her team were very welcoming and always ready to explain things, which made me feel involved and eager to learn more. This experience has made me more interested in working in public service and has given me a much better understanding of how Parliament works. - Claudia Campbell
Mary-Anne Thomas wrote the following in her Facebook post regarding her time with Claudia
"Meet Claudia. When she’s not busy starring in theatre productions, she’s a student at Sacred Heart College Kyneton. For Work Experience, she joined my team last week. From local school visits, to writing speeches, and Question Time in Parliament – no two days are the same. Claudia was a natural, and I know I wasn’t the only one impressed. I’d like to thank Minister for Youth, Natalie Suleyman MP, for making time to chat about some of the policies and ideas Claudia put together about being a young person living in regional Victoria. Best wishes for the rest of the school year Claudia, and thanks for all your hard work".
The Melbourne Museum
- Where: Melbourne Museum
- What: helped register a mineral into the museum database, put a paint x acetone mixture on a fossil to strengthen it and put barcodes on minerals and fossils to know what mineral or fossil it is on the ipod barcode scanner.
- When: 16 to 20 September 2024
- How did I feel about this? I was amazed by how many things I learned during my time at the Museum. One of the interesting things I learned was that amethyst is a type of quartz and that when a lightning bolt lands on sand, it creates a structure called a quartz lightning bolt. James Chew
Trust For Nature (TFN or Trust) of Castlemaine
As part of Year 10 Work Experience, I spent a week with Trust For Nature (TFN or Trust) of Castlemaine. Although I found the process of organising a workplace quite stressful, it became a reality with the help of a family friend, and I was immensely happy with this selection.
My experience with Trust went above and beyond my initial expectations. They welcomed me with open arms. This more than made up for the less appealing early starts and late finishes. One thing that surprised me was the many different components of conservation.
Some of the components that truly surprised me:
1 How gosh darned complicated and intricate the paperwork is! I was expecting some paperwork, but blimey. I learnt so much about critically endangered species and the State-wide Conservation Plan. I was especially intrigued by the conservation covenants, which is the main service that TFN offers.
2 The very practical part of conservation; on one of my first field trips with Trust, I travelled to Long Swamp where we participated in weed killing and kangaroo counting. I learnt about a bunch of nasty weeds found in swamps and, learnt that quite a major part of TFN and Landcare efforts is the killing of weeds
3 The social part of conservation; on my second field trip, we went to Myrtle Creek and on the way the TFN members explained the connection they had with the landowner we were going to talk to, and why connections matter. The main component of covenants, of TFN, of the world we interact with, is people. If we don't connect with them, if we don't understand them, and let them understand us, we can't get anywhere.
4 The scientific part of conservation; though this was the component I was expecting, it was awesome to be able to see it happen first-hand and to be able to participate in it. After we had explored the property with the landowner, we set off to inspect it ourselves - I heard more plant names than I ever thought I would hear in my lifetime and we documented these to assist in recording the biodiversity of the property.
5 The agricultural component; my third and final field trip was to the Kinypanial native grassland reserve. We went there to set up a watering system for grazing animals.
Work Experience was incredible, and it truly changed my perspective on conservation and sustainability in general. I had an amazing and actually life-changing week. I learned a whole lot of new and important things about conservation, met a bunch of incredible people who are doing the planet's work, and I now have a wealth of ideas to help me in my role as one of the Sustainability Captains for 2025. Thank you Trust for Nature! Kejsi Shultz
Last term, Year 8 student Charlie Meadows participated in the Boys in STEM program at Ballarat Tech. The program, focused on the Wastewater Treatment Industry in partnership with Central Highlands Water and challenged students to develop innovative solutions to industry challenges. One such problem was the formation of 'fatbergs', a buildup of debris like tissues and wet wipes that forms and block our water pipes.
Charlie's design, which featured a separation stage followed by laser-like water jets to break down debris, offered a promising solution to this issue. His innovative approach earned him recognition from his peers, culminating in a peer-choice award. We are incredibly proud of Charlie's accomplishments and congratulate him on his efforts.
Applied Learning
During Term 3, the Year 12 VCE VM Personal Development Skills class planned and implemented a group community project. This project involved improving the school environment by renovating and updating a previously unused area.
Students fixed the fence, refurbished a discarded picnic bench, painted and reclaimed a barbecue frame, including mounting mosaics and barbecue. In addition, a group of four students created some mosaic stepping stones. They also planned and carried out a Year 12 lunch social event, where they served sausages and cupcakes to their peers.
Overall, despite the tight time frame, the project was a huge success and the weather behaved itself.
Special thanks to Danny and Steve for all the practical support they provided.
Next week the students in Year 8 will be presenting their Make a Difference (MAD) portfolios. Molly's project is on Coeliac Disease, and below is her action for the project.
Make a Difference (MAD) - Coeliac Disease
Molly Freeman 8D
For my MAD project I decided to study Coeliac disease. This is an autoimmune disease that impacts 1 in 70 of the Australian population today. This autoimmune disease impacts the stomach lining and the small intestine when exposed to Gluten: a protein found in rye, barley, wheat and oats. It can also occur if something has been cross contaminated with gluten eg: using the same board to cut gluten free stuff that you also use to cut gluten containing stuff. Eating these foods or a food that has been cross contaminated can trigger a reaction leading to vomiting, migraines, or diarrhea. If this reaction is not visible it can still have a lasting impact on your health long term. Finding places to eat where people actually understand the concerns and the triggers of coeliac disease can be difficult. There is no scale for being coeliac, you can't be 'just a little bit coeliac' because if you have been diagnosed with coeliac disease then you are coeliac,the protein found in gluten will still affect you because no matter the amount that enters your body even if the effects aren't visible they are still doing damages.
Year 12 'Sacred Grounds' Cafe
Our College Captains tried their hand at trialing a coffee shop today, selling coffee out of the Frayne Hospitality Building, with support from Janet Monaghan, Jodie Wattie and Paul Matthews.
College Captains (Izzy, Imogen & Steph) were trained to make coffee and initially sell to Year 12 students. Funds to sustain the coffee shop will come from the sale of coffee. They sourced the required resources from a local coffee shop as wholesale prices.
The aim of the Sacred Heart College’s Parent Engagement Partnership is to strengthen the collaboration between school, families and the broader community by providing Professional Learning through quality presenters on a variety of current educational topics. These opportunities can provide parents with knowledge, strategies and skills to support their child.
Parent Engagement is one of the best strategies to create a positive learning environment for all students, where home and school come together as a team. When families are engaged in their children’s school lives, students have the home support they need to develop a lifelong love of learning.
As a result, we believe that this partnership can create a more effective network of support for our students, harnessing the full capacity of the community to support student learning and enhance student outcomes in all facets of their lives.
We invite all parents in the Community to our Parent Engagement Evenings in 2024
Reminder: VTAC 2025 Upcoming Key Dates
Timely applications through VTAC |
Monday 30 September 2024 |
SEAS applications close |
Friday 11 October 2024 |
Scholarships through VTAC close |
Friday 11 October 2024 |
Also, students applying for courses that have essential requirements (i.e., submitting a folio, a pre-selection kit, arranging an interview, etc.) are reminded that failure to meet the deadline date for these means students may no longer be eligible for selection into their desired course.
Students eligible to apply for SEAS are also encouraged to apply for VTAC Scholarships.
The VTAC website is www.vtac.edu.au
