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This week’s prayer is taken directly from the introduction to last Friday’s Year 12 Graduation Mass held at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Church. The eucharistic celebration was a more than appropriate way to conclude a memorable day for the 2024 Year 12 class. The final day’s activities provided a joy-filled and memorable finishing line for the 96 graduands who conducted themselves with great maturity and good humour. Special thanks to David de Grandi (Year 12 Level Leader), Paul Matthews (Head of Senior School) and all Year 12 teachers for their leadership and work both on and leading up to last Friday.
In coming weeks, many Year 12 and 11 students will be undertaking final VCAA examinations – we wish each of them all the very best.
Year 12 Awards
During the Year 12 Mass on Friday evening, the following students were awarded these prestigious awards:
Spirit of Sacred Heart College Term 3 and 4 | Otis Smith - Mercy Value of Compassion |
Genevieve Chalkley Mercy@Work Award | Scarlett Varga |
The Ethan McCulloch Courage and Resilience Award | Georgia Freeman |
Citizenship Award | Ivy Stevens |
ADF Long Tan Award | Jock McQueen |
ADF Future Innovators Award | Max Hanegraaf |
Applied Learning Outstanding Effort Award | D’Elle Edmonds |
Junior School Showcase
Every year, I look forward to seeing what our students produce as part of the annual Junior School Showcase and, every year, any possible expectations are surpassed! Last Thursday evening was no exception with an extraordinary range and quality of projects produced by students from Year 9 (Expo project), Year 8 (Make A Difference project) and Year 7 (Learning Journey project). The pride with which students were able to talk about their projects and the journey to completing them was fascinating and reinforced the important role that these projects play in the broader Sacred Heart College curriculum. It was fabulous to see and speak to so many parents and family members who took the time to visit the displays. Thanks also to the large number of SHC staff who supported the students in their work.
Melbourne Cup Long Weekend
A reminder to all in the Sacred Heart College community that the school will be closed from Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 November due to the Melbourne and Kyneton Cup public holidays. VCAA exams will continue onsite during this period.
Parent Involvement – College Advisory Council and College Finance Committee
Two important groups that support the operations of Sacred Heart College are the College Advisory Council and the College Finance Committee. I am looking for additional members for each committee with the departure of some longstanding members. A summary of the responsibilities of each group (as detailed by Mercy Education) is included below:
- The College Advisory Council provides a forum for discussion and discernment, where parent voice and community perspective are available to inform and support the decisions made by the Principal where students’ wellbeing and outcomes are paramount.
- The Finance Committee is responsible for the oversight of and summary reporting to College Advisory Council of the following aspects of school finances: financial performance of the College; policy matters relating to finance or capital works; recommendations on the annual budget.
I would welcome expressions of interest for either group from interested parents with appointments at the discretion of the Principal. Membership of each group is normally for two year cycles with two or three cycles preferred. Interested parents are invited to email the Principal’s Executive Assistant, Loretta Hanns (lhanns@shckyneton.catholic.edu.au).
Yours in Mercy,
Dr Darren Egberts
Principal
ACU Young Leaders Study Tour: Rome and London
We are excited to announce that Jack Meyer has been selected by an external panel to join this year’s ACU Young Leaders Study Tour to Rome and London. Jack will join a group of ten Year 11 students from Victoria, and 16 students from New South Wales to embark on a 3-week study tour in Europe, beginning in mid-November. We look forward to hearing all about Jack’s travels and his learnings on his return, and wish him well for the journey ahead.
Reminder: Lake Mungo Immersion 2025
A reminder that further spaces have become available for students to join the 2025 Lake Mungo Immersion. The immersion is open to students currently in Years 8-11, and will take place from Monday 5th - Saturday 10th May 2025. You can can read more about the immersion via this document. 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.
Year 12 2024
On behalf of the Senior School teachers, I would like to wish all of the VCE students the very best as they start the final exams next week. I hope all of the long hours of coursework, homework, and study are well rewarded. We are very proud of you all. Good luck!
For those students not completing exams and moving into employment and/or further education, I would like to wish them all the best in their next phase of life.
Semester 2 Exams
Information for the Semester 2 exams for Year 10 & 11 will be available from Thursday 24 October, including the exam timetable. The exams commence Wednesday 13 November and finish Thursday 21 November. During the last two assembly periods, Year 10 and 11 students have been allowed to develop a revision program in preparation for these exams. The Melbourne Cup break is an excellent opportunity to prepare for the exams, with the 5-day break enabling students to revise for all of their subjects.
There are several revision techniques available to help students.
A fantastic strategy is the Pomodoro Technique. This is a great time-management technique if you're having trouble concentrating. The Pomodoro method follows a basic pattern of 25 minutes of studying followed by a five-minute break, allowing for the perfect blend of study and rest. It is a way to manage your time and make tasks seem more achievable by breaking them down into manageable chunks. By completing revision tasks in a short time frame, whilst giving your brain a breather, you’ll be ticking things off your list without becoming overwhelmed by too much information.
The Pomodoro technique is for you if…
You get overwhelmed by how much revision you have to do, so end up not doing any at all.
You get distracted by everything – checking your phone, tidying your room – basically anything that isn’t revision.
You’re struggling to motivate yourself and find revision really boring.
You have exams coming up soon and need to do your revision in a short amount of time.
Active Recall
How to use active recall to revise for exams and revision:
Flashcards
Write key points on one side, and the answer on the other. Test yourself regularly!
Practice questions
Find past papers or create your own questions to mimic the exam format. Be sure to pick the right exam board.
Explain it to someone
Teach a friend or family member the topic, or plan a lesson. This forces you to truly understand it.
Summarise in your own words
Condense key points into a shorter text or bullet points. This tests your grasp of the material.
Blurting
Rapidly write down everything you recall about a topic. It's messy, but effective!
Step Up: 2025
The Step Up program then commences Friday 22 November and concludes Thursday 5 December. All students will start their pathway, either VCE, VCE VM or VET. Students will have 6 lessons during Step Up. These two weeks are compulsory and extremely important for all students.
Subject Changes for 2025
The 2025 Senior School subject loads will be emailed to students, on the afternoon of Friday 25 October.
From Monday 28 October, students can submit a request to change subjects via a link to a Google Form that will be posted on Daily messages. Students have until Monday 18 November to make changes to the 2025 subjects.
On Thursday 17 October the Year 9 students had the opportunity to display their Expo projects during the Junior Showcase. All the hard work they had been doing throughout the year in their Compass classes was on full display during the evening.
It was great to see the interactions between the Year 9 students with members of the public, as well as the younger children who were also visiting. The time and patience Year 9 took to explain their project spoke volumes about how passionate many were about their work.
What teachers enjoy the most about the evening is to see the journey the Year 9 students have gone through, the new skills learned, the boost in the student’s confidence when the goals were achieved, and most of all, the proud look of the students when parents and other students asked them about their project.
It was a long journey to get to Expo night, the exhausting two days setting up and then packing up, but worth it when you have the opportunity to look back to the beginning of the year and see how far many students have come, the growth in their confidence. When reflecting back on this, I can happily say, all the hard work that went into Junior Showcase was totally worth it when you get to witness and experience the outcome.
The Winners
- Most Sustainable: Audrey MacDonald
- Most Creative: Lucy Killick
- Most Practical: Angus White
- Most Unusual: Avery Kay Roberts
- Most Engaging Presenter: Ameliah Melville
- Most Outstanding Overall: Tony Iaria
Year 8 MAD Project Exhibition – Showcase evening
This year, the Year 8 students worked tirelessly to both prepare and present their Make a Difference (MAD) inquiry projects for the recent Junior Showcase evening.
This project is completed over an entire term of Religious Education classes and requires students to choose either an environmental or social issue to research and study, they are also called to make a difference to their chosen issue.
The showcase evening allowed the Year 8 students to share their research and work with parents, friends, and the SHC community. This was both a celebration of the work of the students, as well as a chance to come together as a community.
Pictured below are some of the students with their projects during the Junior Showcase MAD project exhibition.
In Year 7, our Junior Showcase exhibition was a wonderful celebration of the learning, and huge amount growth that is part of the first year of secondary school. The Year 7 team thoroughly enjoyed having so many of our families visit. Seeing our student's pride during the process of reflection gives us great joy.
The Ancient Rome Diorama's were extra impressive when seen on mass and complemented by all the bright and colourful posters from Japanese and Pastoral Care Respect Projects. Before the event comments from the Year 12s, who generally use Upper Dwyer, cemented how impressive these projects truly are.
The atmosphere was filled with excitement and pride, and we are so grateful for your support in making this event a success.
Our 2024 VCE Art Exhibition has its opening night tonight from 5:00pm to 6:00pm, then continues from 26 October and runs until Monday 4 November, open daily 10am - 4pm. Enjoy this look behind the scenes with Iona, one of our College Arts Captains. Why not visit the exhibition at Trio Art Studio & Gallery, 98 Trio Road Kyneton.
On Tuesday, 22 October, our Year 8 students were invited to participate in the Life4 Life celebration at the brand-new Macedon Ranges sporting precinct in New Gisborne. The event, which brought together students from Braemar, Gisborne Secondary, and Sacred Heart College, was filled with fun activities designed to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. Our students enjoyed engaging in arts and crafts, participating in physical activities, and learning about nutrition at the snack station.
In the lead-up to the event, students were challenged to create a unique Live4Life mascot. Isabelle Desira's impressive creation earned her a $150 voucher, showcasing her creativity and talent. I am proud of the way our students represented our school and hope they gained valuable insights from this enriching experience.
Displayed in the Year 7 showcase were impressive dioramas of Ancient Rome. From the Colosseum to aqueducts, their models unveiled creativity and understanding of Roman architecture. These projects not only served as a valuable assessment tool but also provided a hands-on fun learning experience that will help them remember the key concepts of Ancient Rome. Well done Year 7 historians for your impressive achievements.
On Tuesday 15 October our Year 9 students experienced a firsthand look at World War I. They examined primary sources, learning about propaganda, attitudes to war, soldier life, food and equipment.
This immersive experience gave them a deeper understanding of the brutal conditions soldiers faced in trenches, including the constant threat of injury, disease, and death. They also learned about the social and economic consequences of not enlisting, such as being ostracised by the community or facing financial hardship.
During RE week in September, many students created wonderful artwork and the winners were showcased in the 20 September edition. The Year 10 students have now been able to complete their artwork and the winners are:
Amber Bray
Farley Bracken
Year 10 Geography students embarked on a field trip to Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff to conduct primary research for their fieldwork report assessment task. The students investigated the effectiveness of coastal management strategies in these locations. By collecting firsthand data, they gained valuable insights into the challenges faced by coastal communities, and the measures taken to protect these fragile ecosystems.
The Year 10 ODR/OES and Year 9 LINCS students headed off this week on the Great Ocean Walk. The students obtained examples for coursework and practical skills development. LINCS students completed their Duke of Edinburgh Award by attending an overnight camp and completing a bushwalk as part of the Adventurous Journey component.
The Year 11 VCE VM students are currently completing a community engagement project where they visit R M Begg on a Fridays. We have now had two sessions with the wonderful residents at R M Begg, with three more to come. The students have planned what activities they are running each week, and spend time reflecting on their sessions. They are learning a lot about planning, preparation, communication, building relationships, compassion and empathy.
It has been wonderful to observe our students in this special environment and we are extremely grateful to the staff at R M Begg for allowing us the opportunity to work with them and their amazing residents.
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
Has your child has missed any of their secondary school-based immunisations?
Macedon Ranges Shire Council is running an evening immunisation session in Gisborne on the 28th of November from 5-7pm. To see if your child is due for any immunisations, check your child’s immunisation history statement on the Australian Immunisation Register using your MyGov account. If your child is over 14 years old, they will need to access their immunisation history statement themselves through their own MyGov account or the Medicare mobile app.
To book in for this session please go to https://portal.cirv.vic.gov.au/communityprivacycollection/. For more information about this session or vaccinations for high school students please email immunisation@mrsc.vic.gov.au”
