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As we begin this new term, and we look ahead on our College calendar to how the term will unfold, it is unsurprisingly busy! However, you have to expect that in a large school with so many wonderful opportunities that are provided to our young people in their learning space. Schools are dynamic places of engagement in a 21st century learning environment. We only have to take a glimpse at evening news services, newspaper articles, government reports, and what may pop up on the net, to realise that the landscape of schools today are wide and varied. Professionals and experts in many fields will often comment on the state of education or offer new, informative, and invigorating insights into the latest research and data. These matters require and demand our active attention. We need to keep ourselves informed as educators and as families as the key stakeholders of the young people we are investing our time and energies into for their future.
It can be easy at times to lose sight of the important things when inundated with a myriad of things that do require our attention. Our lives are busy! We are seemingly connected to our world 24/7 as technology allows us to navigate even our family spaces in ways that we may not have imagined decades ago.
Taking 'time out' can seem like a luxury for many people. Yet, it is important, as we know for our wellbeing- physically, emotionally and spiritually. And, it is the latter point that is vital in our space in the life of the college.
As we head into this term, we would have just concluded the last of our Year 10 retreat days, which focused on our young people reflecting on the relationship with themselves and with their faith. Conducted by the Youth Mission Team (YMT Australia), our young people were asked to stop and think about what is important to them in terms of themselvesir and their spirituality.
The Year 8 retreat program is about to commence with a day's reflection at the Don Bosco Youth Centre in Brunswick. Each individual Year 8 class spends time focusing on qualities and values that can be embodied in building greater connections with important people in their lives. Sharing ideas, teamwork, reflecting on how we relate to others is the encounter in this space.
Some of our staff would have attended a retreat at Lysterfield as part of the colleges' ongoing commitment to the faith formation of staff, over this past weekend. This weekend intensive program covers a variety of topics, allowing staff the opportunity to actively engage in lengthy discussions and lectures related to the Catholic faith. The retreat also aims to provide staff with quiet reflection time.
This Friday (27 July) the entire staff will attend a staff faith day with three other Catholic colleges at Thomas Carr College, Tarneit. The keynote speaker for the day, Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, will take staff through a series of discussions on contemporary faith matters.
Taking 'time out' to reflect, contemplate, share and discuss matters of faith and spirituality is vitally important in the life of the college. It is what we do as a faith community. Providing opportunities for all members of our community to connect with that other dimension in their lives despite the busyness of our day-to-day routines is important for our wellbeing.
Please note:
Next week on Saturday evening (Saturday 28 July) at 5:30pm, the college will join Our Lady of Mt Carmel and St Anne's Primary Schools for a Mass of thanksgiving for the contribution of Catholic education to the Sunbury parish. This Mass will take place at St Anne's Catholic Church, Riddell Rd Sunbury. All families are warmly invited to attend.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
All parents are invited to sit under the stars and enjoy a free movie night on our College grounds
On 2 April (student free day) at 6pm come along and enjoy a night out, watch the much raved about movie Bohemian Rhapsody, enjoy a wine and make new friends with fellow parents.
To register your spot please click here. Proudly organized by the Salesian College Sunbury Parent Engagement Group.
The booking system is now open for our Parent / Teacher / Student Interviews
Our Parent / Teacher / Student Interviews will take place on Monday 1 and Wednesday 3 April at Lakeside Stadium. The booking system is now open and places are filling quickly. To secure your place please click here.
If you are unable to make a booking with a teacher and would like to discuss your child's progress, you are encouraged to contact them via email or phone to arrange another time to talk.
It is also important to check your child's Pastoral Records on Schoolbox to see if a teacher has requested an interview to discuss a specific concern.
A lot has been happening on the College grounds. Click here for a full update
Transforming indoor and outdoor areas into safe, flexible, alternate and innovative learning and teaching classrooms drives our facilities improvement program. All developments focus on extending the range of activities our students can take part in and enhance their learning experience at the College.
Our recently opened undercover courts have transformed our outdoor education classes, provided recess and lunch time activities, as well as protection from the sun and rain. This four court complex facilitates basketball, netball, volleyball, tennis and soccer. Easy and fast access to the complex reduces travel time and maximises student learning time.
Our Ashes Oval refurbishment will ensures a safe, multipurpose, multisport arena for all students. When complete, this will be available for classes and general play allowing all students of the College to experience it.
We are proud to announce that during term 2, the Carroll Centre will be transformed into a multi-purpose venue. This refurbished venue will have tiered seating for 100 people, along with another 150 seats at ground level. We are excited for its future student, parent/guardian and staff usage as a drama centre, lecture theatre and assembly venue.
Anyone walking around the College feels great pride in our beautiful grounds. Over the past year our Maintenance Team have worked tirelessly to present our grounds as a magnificent backdrop for learning and teaching. On your next visit, you will be able to watch as the slopes around the Ashes Oval and Undercover Sporting Complex are planted.
Some people often don't look forward to Lent. Childhood memories of giving up favourite foods or sitting through weekly Stations of the Cross come immediately to mind. Words like "sacrifice," "discipline," and "self-denial" are often used in ways that suggest that Lent is something to be endured rather than a time of grace and spiritual growth.
Placed in the right context and with the intent of encouraging a journey of faith, Lent can easily be seen as a "yearly second chance". Each year the Church gives us six weeks to take a long, loving look at our lives to see if our values and priorities are in line with God's desires for us. Lent becomes that second chance to "return to God with our whole heart."
And here lies the crux of the matter- Lent is a season of repentance and renewal. We turn away from our transgressions (sins) and recommit ourselves to following Jesus.
This is what we have been saying to our students as they experience our Reconciliation prayer service as part of our Liturgical calendar for this term. Devoid of using words that we may associate that sense of enduring some form of trial, rather Fr Joe and Fr John have been reminding our young people that Lent and Reconciliation become a time for personal reflection that will hopefully be transformative. And that transformation is most readily seen in a renewal of our commitment to follow in the footsteps of Christ- to be a people who are forgiving, who seek forgiveness, who are compassionate and generous to others, who act with goodness and are thankful for the gifts and blessings we have in our lives.
Click here for an update from our Deputy Principal - Students
In an attempt to minimise the risk in relation to Anaphylaxis in the College I would like to remind parents and students to the following points in relation to the provision of food. This policy will be applicable at the Athletics Carnival on 30 April.
As always, the College seeks support from all families in relation to the wearing of the College uniform. Thank you to the students and families who do support us.
In the last 2 weeks of school, students are able to choose which uniform they wear to school, full summer or full winter. It is a great opportunity for families to check the Winter uniform and see if it still fits- you then have a month or so to correct anything that needs to be fixed or altered.
A reminder that the Uniform shop has been selling Winter shirts for boys in Years 10-12 that do not have to be tucked in. If you son needs a new winter shirt, a purchase of the new style would be great.
It is compulsory to wear Blazers to and from school. The Navy raincoat can be worn over the Blazer to and from the school when it is raining. As it gets colder we suggest wearing layers of clothing underneath the College shirt (long sleeve tee shirt or thermal top).
Students wearing the Navy Trousers to school, must purchase the ones from the College- they have a Salesian Crest on them. All boys in Years 7-9 wear the new blue trousers as part of the Winter uniform.
Repeated non-adherence to these simple expectations will result in a lunchtime detention. Failure to attend a lunchtime will result in an after school community service. If students come to school totally out of uniform or wear HPE uniform when they are not allowed to, parents will be contacted and asked to bring the correct uniform to school, or take the student home to correct the issue.
Last Wednesday 13 March was our SACCSS Senior Sports Day, held at various venues across Melbourne. Seven teams of Year 11 and 12 students represented the College across volleyball, netball, tennis and basketball. Congratulations to our mixed netball team and the boys double B, girls double A and mixed doubles tennis teams who won their respective competitions.
Our senior cricket and netball teams have progressed through to next week's SACCS Senior Grand Finals, which will be played at JJ Holland Park and the State Netball/Hockey Centre. We wish both teams the best of luck!
The remaining weeks of term will see tryouts for the eight Year 7 Premier League teams, who will represent the College in term 2. Keep an eye on the Schoolbox News to see when your tryouts will be!
The Year 11 Studio Arts class attended a whole day program at the National Gallery of Victoria to extend their understanding of where artists get inspiration and ideas, and the different materials, techniques, imagery and styles they use to express those ideas. The focus of the visit was the current MC Escher x Nendo exhibition, where students heard a talk about Dutch artist Escher and the design studio Nendo who created the amazing exhibition design. They then enjoyed exploring the artworks and the exhibition, taking many photographs to include in their folio as research. The day concluded with an art-making workshop, learning how Escher integrated mathematics with graphic art to create elaborate tessellations. Students (without even knowing they were applying mathematics) began creating their own tiles and tessellations and were fully engaged in the complex process. They will continue these in class, and include them in their folio based Outcome.
Students from Year 11 and 12 Drama have had a busy few weeks, attending two excursions to extend their learning and understanding of how to create and analyse performance work.
Students attended Top Class Drama – a selection of the highest achieving solo performance exams from the previous year across Victoria. This was highly beneficial for them to see the finished product at the end of Year 12 and how impressive a seven-minute solo can be at the most refined and sophisticated level.
Year 11 student Rick Daicos said:
"I really enjoyed the performances at Top Class Drama. We got to see the best of the best solos from last year. The students had clearly put in a lot of effort in researching their chosen stimulus. Their accents, transformation of props, characters and time and overall energy really demonstrated what you can achieve in your drama solo. This has inspired me for Year 12 next year where I will get the chance to do this myself."
Students also attended a VCAA listed performance that they are required to analyse for one of their written assessments now, and later on in the end of year written exam. This year the performance was a mix of eclectic theatre styles exploring a range of themes around humanity, storytelling and the idea of constantly evolving art and culture in an uncertain world.
Arts Captains Meet the Arts SAT team for 2019.
Bosco captains: Isaac McKenzie & Ebony Carlin
Savio captains: Zac Preaudet-Sartori & Alice Murray
All students are incredibly excited to enact their vision in the Arts team for furthering student engagement this year. A prominent figure in the Arts at Salesian over the last five years, Isaac, says – "I'm excited to push our program to new heights this year. To enrich the lives of students and inspire them in the same way I have been. By helping nurture people's talent and giving them their time in the spotlight. Bu also taking suggestions! If you feel you can contribute to the Arts Program please get in contact with us at any time."
Rehearsals are now underway for our 2019 production, 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. Students have been learning about the time period, culture and societies of the play, developing their characters and beginning some script work. We look forward to bringing you more updates, as we get closer to our performances at the end of term 2!
The VCE and VET Music students travelled to the city to the Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday 19 March to see the Top Class Music concert. There were two concerts featuring the best Classical and Contemporary performance soloists in 2018 from around the state. We saw a wide range of instruments featured including Cello, Violin, Piano, Bass Guitar, Drum Kit, Bassoon, Vocalists, Tuba and Tabala. One thing all the soloists had in common was performing with artistry and a wide palate of timbral qualities. The performances were inspiring and our students said they were going home to practice after the Concert!
Topics in this week's newsletter can be found here
What's news a Salesian's farm?
Let the Show's begin: Congratulations to all those students who both applied and successfully interviewed for the scholarship positions this year. Unfortunately, due to the large interest in the programs we were unable to find positions for everyone and like a good Carlton supporter would say, "There's always next year"!
This year the school has increased its Scholarship program from two to five programs, the sheep have been divided into Corriedale and Poll Dorset teams with a range of shows they will be entering and being judged at.
We no longer have just the steer program, we are bringing in the 1st XI Simmental stud team as well. Both teams will have to learn to break in their animals and be able to lead them around the ring in a judged competition. There will be several shows attended and the highlight for all four of these teams will be participating and competing amongst the best in the country at the Royal Agricultural Society's Melbourne Show. I am getting the feeling that all the scholarship students are extremely dedicated to bringing home the ribbons this year.
The fifth scholarship program is new this year, Horticulture. This team will be more commercially minded, propagating, planting and harvesting a whole range of produce from their dedicated planting areas. The current plan is to have a mixture of fresh vegetables and cut flowers available to the school community, and in future years, an orchard of citrus and Pome fruit. I think this is going to be an extremely rewarding and engaging enterprise for those scholars involved.
With the larger scholarship programs this year, we have managed to increase the student participation from 18 to 48, which shows a fantastic commitment to the agricultural program by the students and the school.
The School is very lucky to have so many generous supporters and I would just like to thank Mr. John Coyne, the owner of Coynes Forklifts in Laverton North. John has gone well out of his way and found the school an amazing forklift, that also happens to be in the school colours, and had it delivered to us for an extremely generous price. A quick plug! If you need a forklift, call John.
On a personal note, it has been great to see so many students enjoying and utilizing a greater proportion of the farm. While the weather has been good, I have often come across cyclists and walkers taking in the magnificent views out across the creek and beyond.
The wellbeing team will once again be running the Tuning in to Teens program in term 2
The wellbeing team will once again be running the Tuning in to Teens program in term 2. This time, we will be running an afternoon/early evening class.
Tuning in to Teens parent program:
The program, developed in conjunction with Melbourne University. It runs for 6 weeks from 4-6pm on Wednesday afternoons at the College. The program is FREE for Salesian parents, we just require the six week commitment from you.
Please contact Laura Spencer if you are interested in attending email@example.com
Upcoming important dates at our College
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
Last week I watched with interest the story of the two formerly conjoined Bhutanese twin girls, Nima and Dawa, as they arrived home in Bhutan to be reunited with their father for the first time. The girls were separated by a team of 25 surgeons, nurses, and anesthetists in an operation in early November at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital that lasted almost six hours. They recovered after the operation at a retreat run by the Children First Foundation, the charity that brought them to Australia. Barely controlling his emotions, their father, Sonam Tshering, said it was like a miracle. He took them from the airport to a monastery to light a lamp in prayer.
Although the culture between our two countries is vastly different, the respect for life shown by everyone involved in the operation and recovery was evident from the outset. And while there maybe differences in culture, it's interesting how the lighting of a candle in prayer is such a universal practice of thanksgiving.
So much of this is true of Salesian College too. We are challenged to celebrate the things that we have in common with one another and be respectful of our differences. In the classroom, we are focusing on being inclusive and, among other things, our Respectful Relationships Program. Respect is one of those elements of culture that forms us as a community. What it means for our school culture is that everyone can feel they belong because of how they are treated and accepted each day, they can feel safe and therefore grow as learners and people in the school setting.
But respect is not a one-way transaction. It asks something of all parties: parents, staff, and students. The main enabling personality strength is self-regulation; how we manage our own response to daily life, to relationships and stressors. It asks us to accept responsibility and take control, not seek to blame others or unreasonably hide behind excuses for our behaviour.
But a healthy school culture relies upon a high degree of consistent compliance with its expectations and understanding – by all. Teachers are really focusing this year on aligning their practice with the expectations of our CLEF – "A Faith Community committed to Excellence in Learning". They are accepting responsibility for getting better personally to meet those expectations. It is for this reason that our staff are constantly looking at how they can best act to build community and at what sort of supports they provide to students. We are always looking at how to provide more targeted intervention programs to help students who may be struggling to be fully part of the school so that they and others can benefit more from membership of this great learning community.
Parents too have a responsibility to maintain our positive school culture and align with our CLEF. Some examples include:
It is one thing to have a good strategy for improving as individuals, as a school. But, without the right culture our efforts are doomed. Please support the work of our staff and their teams when the opportunity comes your way.
The news last week regarding the conviction of Cardinal George Pell has no doubt shocked and surprised many of us. While I do not wish to make a public statement regarding Cardinal Pell, respecting both the ongoing judicial process as well as the role of our Provincial to be first in such matters of public comment, I do wish to echo the sentiments of Archbishop Peter Comensoli in asking that you keep all of those who have been abused in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. This is especially true for past pupils of the College whose stories of abuse by some Salesian clergy are well known to us.
The Church is in crisis as it struggles to rebuild the profound breach of trust caused by the abuse of children by Catholic clergy. I ask that you remember the many traumatised victims and their families, including those that are yet to come forward or share their horrific memories. It is in such times of crisis that Christian communities fall back on what it truly means to be Christian - reaching out to those damaged by the sins of others, accepting them and showing them the kindness and acceptance Jesus would have shown. While the Church's future may be in some doubt, there is no reason to doubt that authentic Christian communities built on love, respect, forgiveness, and hope will continue to grow if those who belong to them stay true to Gospel values.
Click here to read the open letter from Archbishop Peter A Comensoli.
Should you, or anyone in our community, be affected by this news - staff, students or parents - please do not hesitate to speak to anyone in a leadership position so that appropriate support may be provided.
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present.
Please keep the following in your prayers:
Come Holy Spirit of this Great Southland
Inspire our entire faith community,
As we prayerfully discern new horizons for spreading joy
in the lives and communities of the People of God.
Come Holy Spirit of Youth
Fill the hearts of young people with the hope and love of Jesus Christ.
Enliven our community with the creativity, energy and joy of youth.
Guide us together, as we strive to offer God's mercy
to those who feel abandoned or outcast.
Come Holy Spirit of Faith
Empower our community to be courageous.
Unite your people as witnesses of love.
Walk with us, as we blaze new trails of discipleship,
Accompanying young people as we renew the Church together.
Come Holy Spirit of Vocation
Stir within young people an awareness of God's call.
Reveal to us the graces of young people.
Guide us all, in finding our place and raising our voices
To build a civilization of love.
Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, friend of the young, pray for us.
Have you seen our 2018 College Yearbook?
Our 2018 Yearbook is here!
By now, all students in Years 8-12 should have received a copy of the Yearbook in their homeroom.
We hope you all enjoy flicking through and seeing all the great activities that took place throughout 2018.
This year - in line with our commitment to going green - we have also created a digital, flipbook version of the Yearbook.
The flipbook includes a table of contents to help you navigate through the book, and allows you to zoom in and out as you're reading different sections.
You can access the 2018 Yearbook Flipbook by clicking here.
If your child hasn't received a copy of the Yearbook, please contact their Homeroom Leader.
All 2018 Year 12 students (alumni) have been contacted via email and invited to collect their copy from College Reception.
Catholic Education Week 2019 is from Tuesday 12 March to Sunday 17 March. Find out more
Catholic Education Week 2019 takes place this week from Tuesday 12 March to Sunday 17 March. Since its inception, the celebration of Catholic Education Week has been growing in both numbers and scope. To the original Mass of St Patrick for Schools in St Patrick's Cathedral, the Concert in the park for primary students, and the week-long Visual Arts Exhibition, various other activities have been added, such as the Young Speakers Colloquium for senior secondary students. This growth not only reveals the desire of our schools to share the diversity of expression that is integral to our Catholic identity, but also reflects our tradition of a continual openness to God. This allows us to cooperate with God's creativity and newness and keeps us spiritually young.
This year, the theme of Catholic Education Week is just that: Growing Young in Christ. During this week, as we celebrate the learning, culture, and gifts of our students and staff, we can't help but be in awe of our students as we see them shine in their passion for life and self-expression. To see them fully alive fills us with joy and reminds us of Christ's promise in our lives: 'that they may have life, and have it, abundantly' (Jn 10: 10). This link between youth and Christ is not a chance association. The images of Christ we have in the New Testament constantly echo youth and vitality. These images create a space in our tradition, a place that is characterised by youth, which, when we enter into it, allows us to share in the spiritual vibrancy, creativity and fullness that echo what we see in the lives of our young people. This is what our tradition speaks of: a flourishing that occurs in the presence of Christ. And it is Christ who models those behaviours and gifts that create the space for renewal and growth: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
During this week when the fruits of Catholic education reveal so noticeably the 'beauty and truth' behind our work and align so closely with the fruits of the spirit, we can see Christ's message of hope. We live out this hope as we:
The spirit of the young people educated in Catholic schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne is a testament to the spiritual youth that is at the heart of a Christ-centered education that nurtures vitality and expresses God's renewed presence in our world.
Regardless of the difficult times, the struggle of faith and the challenges our society brings, the celebration of our students' Catholic identity, the pivotal role they play within their local community and their insightful expression into their world is a powerful tribute to their young lives. Catholic Education Week provides the opportunity to celebrate Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, and in particular all those students whose education is in our care here at Salesian College and across our parish schools.
Friday 15 March is National Day Against Bullying. Read on to find out more about 'Bullying. No way!'
Catholic Education Week this year coincides with the 2019 National Action Day against Bullying and Violence (Friday 15 March). The program's focus is to encourage parents and families to stand together with their school communities to recognise the important role everyone plays preventing bullying and violence.
Bullying is a complex issue addressing it requires constant vigilance by the whole community. Here at Salesian College we are committed to ensuring that bullying is not acceptable. We work with our students to constantly strive to achieve positive conflict resolution and to know how to combat bullying. Through our pastoral programs, students work on the skills required to resolve conflict and to be aware of the dangers surrounding bullying in all its forms.
The National Action Day Against Bullying is a great opportunity for us to really focus on this issue here at school and in the wider community. Some of the facts regarding bullying by school age children in Australia include:
Click here to download some information for parents on bullying. We encourage you to read it carefully and make yourself aware of the issues. As with any matter concerning your child's education and welfare, we are always available to parents who wish to discuss concerns with us directly.
Project Compassion for 2019 was launched last week. Each year Caritas Australia's Project Compassion brings together Catholic communities across Australia during Lent to help end poverty, promote justice, and uphold dignity.
The 2019 Project Compassion theme is hope, and giving Lent 100% in the name of hope.
Here at Salesian, we encourage classes to make use of the stories, videos, teaching materials, and activity ideas on the Caritas website to raise students' awareness of poverty and injustice as it affects young people globally, particularly as depicted in the six Lenten stories from Zimbabwe, Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, Australia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.
We make Project Compassion our only fundraising activity for the school community during Term One. Money raised for Project Compassion goes towards Caritas Australia's humanitarian and long-term development programs in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific, and with Australia's First Peoples.
It's hard to believe that we are already past the halfway point of Term One! Many classes are in the midst of assessments and more and more feedback will be posted onto Schoolbox over the coming weeks. It's therefore timely to recap some key points about how we report using Schoolbox:
Reportable Asessment Task
Schoolbox feedback is most effective when students are able to articulate the 'next steps' that they need to enact in their learning. We encourage families to discuss this feedback with these next steps as a focus.
As Campion is no longer taking payments for booklisted resources, unpaid digital items from the booklist will now need to be paid through the College accounts team. Notifications about any unpaid items will be sent to families shortly.
A reminder that these items are compulsory class resources and are currently being used in lessons.
Important reminders from the Catholic Education Office
Below is an article from the Catholic Education Office reminding parents and students about the importance of uninterrupted school attendance (with the exception of illness). Our day begins with a warning bell at 8.40am, all students need to be in homeroom by 8.45am. Homeroom is a vital part of the day as it provides at time for quite prayer, seeing your homeroom leader and looking at what is happening during the week via School box 'News'. The article outlines clearly to importance of regular attendance and some tips on how to work in a partnership (student, school and family) to achieve consistent attendance and allow Learning and Teaching to occur.
The College has a subscription to Parenting Ideas Schools which has webinars and interesting articles on ideas for parents.
Below is a link to some fantastic webinar program for parents. The College has a full subscription to Parenting Ideas, so these webinars can be accessed at a reduced rate. To find out what is being offered, and how to access the webinar sessions click on the link below
Click here to download the 2019 webinar program for parents.
On Monday 25 February, our four senior golfers went to Werribee Golf Course to play 18 holes in the SACCSS Open Golf Tournament. We were well represented by Luke Shoesmith, Malcolm Scoble, Josh McDonald and Pat Doyle, who finished second in the Best Team event. Pat Doyle also missed out on Best Individual Male by one stroke, shooting an 81.
Year 10 Premier League has seen the introduction of Boys Netball in 2019. Our boys are undefeated and have picked up the game quicker than expected. We look forward to seeing how the rest of their season goes. After a buzzer beater in their last game, our girls basketball remain undefeated along with boys basketball, girls volleyball and girls netball. We wish all teams best of luck for the remaining two home and away games and then hopefully finals.
Wednesday 13 March will see our Senior Sport Teams participate across various venues in a one-day round robin tournament, including tennis, volleyball, basketball and mixed netball. I'm sure the day will be filled with fun and hopefully lasting memories with friends for the students' final years of Sport.
Read some reflection pieces from the Performing and Visual Arts area
Over the January holidays, I attended the three-day National Visual Art Education Conference at the National Gallery in Canberra. The conference had some amazing speakers, including artist Ben Quilty and Director of Education at the MET Museum, New York, Sandra Jackson-Dumont, and Dr Flossie Chua of Project Zero, Harvard University. There were many break-out sessions exploring strategies to improve our teaching, and practical workshops to improve our skills (I even tried my hand at "glass fusion", melting glass at 3000 degrees to make decorative tiles).
I was also invited to showcase past and present student art work from Salesian College and explain how our Visual Arts curriculum and passionate teachers encourage our students to develop skills and use art as a meaningful tool to express compassion. We place the student at the centre, seeking to make tasks relevant to teens by offering individual choice of subject matter and using a studio process that allows every student to "be an artist". Art teachers and our Arts SAT (Student Action Team) and Learning Area Leader also explore ways to engage the whole school community in meaningful art opportunities, even for those not studying an Art subject. The presentation showcased student work demonstrating compassion in many ways, shapes and forms.
On the topic of compassion, Year 11 Media student James Mahoney has been selected by the Catholic Education Office to have his thoughtful photograph, "Water Boy" (pictured below) on display at the Annual CEO Exhibition in East Melbourne. Well done James.
On Thursday 14 March our Year 11 students are attending a whole day education program at the National Gallery of Victoria. They will be exploring the work of MC Escher, and participating in an art making workshop that they will apply to their Unit 1 folio. The following week, Year 12 students are going to attend Top Arts to gain valuable advice from, vcaa assessors and view high scoring artworks and folios.
Glenda Inglis-Gillespie, VCE Studio Arts teacher
When we first entered the ACMI studios, we were taken to a professional movie editing studio, where we learnt the professional editing process of a film. We learnt about Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production. We then split off into groups and used this newly learnt information to create our own production. During this process, we had to plan (Pre-Production) our storyboard, our plot and who would be who (actors, directors, cameramen etc.) We then had a short break before we started our production, the process of filming. In a very short amount of time, we had to run around ACMI and Federation Square, frantically trying to get all of our shots and scenes completed. There were some obstacles as there were multiple crowds of people constantly running around also, or using the doors, or having conferences, so we were limited to our movement and noise levels. Once our filming process was completed, we started editing. We used Final Cut Pro to cut and paste all out clips together. We were able to use sound effects, filters and music to give our short film a real, professional look. We then previewed all our films before going home.
Ms Felicity Collins
On Thursday 7 March, the music staff and band students went on a music excursion, to Goonawarra Community Centre. Where they spend the day practising band pieces; Havana, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Funky Town. Dr Robert McWilliams, conductor and Music Education Clinician from Yamaha Music Australia's Education Outreach, came up for the day to help the band improve their music and band performance skills. The band learnt about the importance of learning an instrument, and how learning an instrument benefits the brain. The band students now understand the effect of posture when playing an instrument and the importance of listening to each other when playing as a band. Overall the students and staff members had a great day of music fun.
Natalie Port, Year 9 Band Captain
All Year 10 parents/guardians & students are invited to the Year 10 Information Night: Morrisby, Life Skills & Career Conversations (individual reports distributed)
Tuesday 19 March, 6:30-7:30 in the Mansion Ballroom. Caremonkey sent last week to all families.
Year 12 students had RMIT student ambassador Cody Moore come to present to them on Friday 8 March about our SNAP partnership, course areas and pathways.
WORK EXPERIENCE: Year 10 requests for Term 2 have now closed. All requests for Term 3 placements are due by 24 May. See the Caremonkey letter or for the Request Form.
Visit our Salesian Schoolbox Careers Page for updated Careers Information, Resources & Links for career planning.
This week's newsletter can be found here. This week's topics include:
Find out the latest news from the farm
When it rains it pours and I wish that would happen from the clouds!
Over the summer, the farm staff needed to do little to keep the pigs happy and healthy. Five sows and a boar (Boris) spending their days fighting off the heat and wallowing in the mud, a simple task. However, over the past three weeks, our family has grown from six to 38 with three of the sows farrowing; quite a population explosion. The young piglets are extremely cute when they are first born so get down to the farm for a visit as it is all down hill for them in the cuteness stakes.
In other activities, the Lucerne paddock has been cut and hay should soon be made for the use of the Show teams, having the Lucerne short will also allow us to sow some rye grass into the paddock and make it more grazable for the cattle as well as the sheep.
Last week I had a thoroughly enjoyable time talking with the Year 8 students about the goings on on the farm, I hope that they have been inspired to consider a career in agriculture which needs the smartest minds available producing food for the world.
One of the first tasks of parenting is deciding how long we let the baby cry, how we respond when they do, when do we let them self-sooth. Then we decide what boundaries to set for the toddler how close to the fire, the pool, grandma's figurines do we allow them and how do we enforce those limits.
We calibrate the boundaries as they go through primary school and by the time they hit secondary we usually have had to have phone and device boundaries, sleep over, stay up, acceptable viewing and language boundaries and expectations on how they treat other members of the family. If we fail to set boundaries young people feel lost and will punish us usually with bad behaviour or defiance.
The battle of adolescent parenting is calibrating boundaries so that by the time they leave home they are independent, self-disciplined and well regulated. They only learn to be like this because they have practiced being responsible with negotiated and appropriate boundaries.
It is a tough job but here are a few considerations:
Michelle Grover shares her experience as a competitor for the Youth of the Year Award
Currently, I am representing our school by competing in the Lions Youth of the Year Award program.
This is an initiative run by lions to help young people improve their public speaking skills. About a month ago, I competed in the local competition in Sunbury, where I won overall.
The competition involves first being interviewed by three judges to discuss in-school and out-of-school commitments and asked for your opinion on three questions: a local topic, a state topic, and an Australia-wide or international news topic. Then, in front of an audience, you have to answer two impromptu questions with no time to prepare (which can be quite daunting!). After that, you read a five-minute prepared speech on a topic that you are passionate about, my topic was 'the benefits of Guiding'.
Last weekend, I represented our school at the regional final in Bacchus Marsh where I also won overall. On March 30, I will be going to Maryborough to compete in the district final for central northern Victoria. If I am lucky enough to win that, I would compete against students from across Victoria. The winner of this competition wins a trip to New Zealand, which would be an amazing experience!
Participating in this program has made me feel proud to represent our school, and it has helped me develop my public speaking skills and become more confident. I've also learnt a lot about the Lions clubs and all the wonderful things that they do!
I strongly recommend any student who meets the criteria to think about applying for this; it can really help with your confidence and public speaking skills, it looks great on a resume, and it gives you some insight into what interviews for jobs would be like. You may as well have a go - it doesn't matter if you don't do great because it's the experience that counts, and it's also a lot of fun! Even though I was a bit nervous when I applied, I'm so glad I did and I certainly don't regret it!
Michelle Grover
Year 11 Students
Take note of a few of these upcoming events around the College
In just over a fortnight we have our first Twlight School event of the year, the Hot Cross Bun Cooking Course.
Details are as below:
Please email email@example.com to purchase tickets.
We also have our first College Open Day for 2019 coming up on Wednesday May 15.
Keep an eye out for notices and more details about the Discovery Open Day in upcoming Newsletters.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
As our school year gets into full swing, I am grateful for the extraordinary role our school leaders play in the everyday 'busy-ness' of school life. Leaders of all varieties – staff, students and parents - play an enormous role in the life of Salesian College, but often go unseen or unheard. It's not just in what they do to make things happen, like Year 7 Camps, Swim Sports, or maintaining our wonderful environment, but it's what they model to others, the example they set for others to follow; they indeed leave a deep and lasting impact. What is more, what they model to others defines who they are and what they stand for! I'm not just talking about those who were inaugurated/employed into positions of responsibility, but to everyone in our community who leads by their example. We are ALL leaders, we ALL have the capacity to lead in our own individual way. Some will have high profile roles, some will get to stand up at assemblies and speak to audiences, but the most effective leadership will occur quietly, and will occur when someone simply shows a kindness to another; through their support, their assistance, and perhaps just through a sincere smile. Homeroom is an obvious time where this can occur, but so too in classrooms, in the yard, and on the bus! There are many, many opportunities. We ALL have GREAT leadership capacity in our own right and we have a responsibility to act in a way that demonstrates what we VALUE.
As we move towards Ash Wednesday (6 March) and the liturgical season of Lent, it is timely to reflect on the true meaning of this period in the Christian calendar. While our stores signal the arrival of this season with the early appearance of Easter eggs and hot cross buns on the shelves, Lent is traditionally designated as a time of reflection and repentance to assist us in preparing ourselves and our communities for the great feast of the Resurrection. Lent is a special opportunity to reflect on our lives and the life of our communities, and to begin to make changes in our attitudes and behaviours that are getting in the way of our becoming true Easter people. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and in the first reading of the liturgy of the day, the prophet Joel instructs: 'Call the people together, summon the community, assemble the elders, and gather the children'. This is a call for Christians the world over to live in solidarity and to come together in prayer and reflection for the common good of all people.
Each year Caritas Australia's Project Compassion brings together Catholic communities across Australia during Lent to help end poverty, promote justice, and uphold dignity. The annual Lenten campaign begins on Ash Wednesday. A special focus during this year's appeal will be the consequences of and the response of Caritas Australia to the current global water crisis. Money raised for Project Compassion goes towards Caritas Australia's humanitarian and long term development programs in 27 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific, and with Australia's First Peoples. I encourage everyone to be generous in their giving to this extraordinary organisation.
Click here to view a piece from Catholic Education Melbourne sharing information about Catholic Education in 2019.
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present. Please keep the following in your prayers:
Read all about our 2019 House Swimming Carnival
On Friday 15 February, our whole school took part in our House Swimming Carnival at Sunbury Aquatic and Leisure Centre.
Congratulations to Naughton House who finished the day in first place; as well as to O'Grady and Colliton for coming in second and third place, respectively.
It was a fantastic day filled with laughter and house spirit. It was great to see so many students participating and earning points for their house.
The day included other fun events such as volleyball, an inflatable race (for the Year 12s) and other games and activities that kept everyone busy and having fun.
While the day is just as much about participation as talent, it's important to recognise those who swam very well and those who became age group champions. See below for the complete list of age champions.
Well done to all the students and staff who got involved on the day - it was a wonderful day all round.
See the gallery below for some shots of our swimmers in action.
Read a piece about the transition from primary to high school from our Savio Campus Director
From day one at Salesian College, your child will experience many new things that will raise questions as well as provide great opportunities. These include:
Over the last few weeks, your child will have met their House Leader and Homeroom Leader, they will know where their lockers are, they will be much more familiar with the grounds - specifically their classrooms - and they will have created new friendships whilst nurturing old ones.
Of course, juggling all of these aspects in a new schooling environment does not come without its hurdles and you may find that your child is, at times, emotional, tired, disorganised, or feeling overwhelmed. It is important during this time that you, along with their Homeroom Leader, help them navigate through these emotions by providing them with tangible strategies. For example, you may find it useful to:
As parents, it is important that you allow for open and honest dialogue between yourself and your child, your child and their Homeroom Leader, and yourself and their Homeroom Leader. Through clear communication, we can manage any situation and provide avenues for the success of each student.
Your child may also find that in this very big school, they feel lost, or do not feel that they have yet forged strong friendships. Remind them that this is normal and that it takes time to adjust to new surroundings and new people. Encourage them to be kind and polite to everyone, not just those in their house. Encourage them to also participate in as many co-curricular and extra-curricular activities as possible such as Premier League, debating, public speaking, arts etc. It is through these activities that your child will flourish and create genuine friendships.
Finally, attendance at events such as our recent year 7 Family Night, Parent Teacher Interviews, sporting events, etc. is pivotal; your presence at these events is your opportunity to be a part of our very special Salesian Community.
Our Year 7s have been on their first camp this week and last; find out what they've been up to
Last week saw our first school camp for the year, with our Year 7 students from Colliton, Mahoney, and McKillop Houses head off to Dromana for a fun-filled, action-packed three days!
This camp is a fantastic experience for our students – especially those who may never have been away on a school camp before. It involves a mix of team-building and initiative activities, balanced with fun, outdoor experiences. The trip also includes a trivia night as well as a retreat session, and students have opportunities to climb tall trees and stand-up paddle board!
Thank you to the generous staff who gave up their time for this camp and who committed to making it a fantastic first camp experience for our new Year 7s – including a special visit from our principal, Mr Brockhus, who joined us on the middle night to run a reflection session.
This week it's time for the rest of the year level to go and have a turn. Our Year 7s from Naughton, Mannix, and Maiocco Houses are away at the moment and having a wonderful time, and our Bunjil and O'Grady Year 7s will head off on Wednesday.
See the gallery below for some fun shots of our Year 7s.
Q: What makes us Catholic?
This is a question that often comes up in a variety of contexts. Conversations in the workplace, a thought-provoking journal article, a professional development workshop, a homily at Mass, a statement made by a senior Church cleric, or perhaps challenges that are made to our own informed opinions and ideas.
There is quite obviously a far broader context here and the question itself poses numerous sub-questions and has implications for what we may consider to be the broader Catholic Church, especially in the light of the forthcoming Plenary for the Australian Catholic Church to be held next year.
Let's consider the question in the light of our context as a Catholic school. The Catholic school is an educational community where learning, culture, faith, and life find a meeting place. In 2019, in a contemporary pluralistic society, the challenge of making this meeting place meaningful for students lies at the heart of the challenge faced by all Catholic schools in our time. It is a challenge that is demanding and has its complexities.
The religious identity question of schools, in particularly, the Catholic identity of Catholic schools, has become critical in recent times, especially in the light of the above. Questions related to identity have become theoretical, theological, political, and even economical.
A number of things have caused me of late to reflect on the identity of Catholic Schools. Having completed a post-graduate subject called "Enhancing Catholic Institutional Identity" at Catholic Theological College, which was thought provoking and insightful, along with reading and hearing about the "political chatter" surrounding funding to Catholic schools, the question of Catholic identity has never been more relevant.
We have been informed as a school we are soon to be undertaking the Enhancing Catholic Identity Survey for Catholic Education Melbourne and The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria. The survey and subsequent analysis of its results will give us a comprehensive picture of how we view our school as being "Catholic". When we place this into the framework of our current practices and then consider things like the many new students and families and staff we have just welcomed into the college coming from various backgrounds and places, and then, the personal questions we can reflect on such as "what are we about as a Catholic school?; "do we make a difference?"; "does our vision, mission, and charism as a Catholic school still hold relevancy in 2019?", the picture evolves.
We can look up much research, read many articles and books (as I did at uni), and go to hear many speakers, but what do you and I think is a Catholic School's identity and purpose? Indeed, what is our purpose here at Salesian College Sunbury? Do we make a difference to student outcomes and how? We would all agree, bottom line, that we are about student learning. All we do here at Salesian College Sunbury is for the purpose of students learning. We want our students to be engaged in acquiring new skills and knowledge to equip them as 21st century learners with inquiring minds through approaches such as Project Based Learning. But more than this, new behaviours, new values, new beliefs, and new attitudes must also be a highly desirable outcome for us. And, all this to the highest possible standards. These new behaviours, values, attitudes, and beliefs are not necessarily the same as other non-Catholic schools. This is where we are different and do make a difference in students outcomes. As the National Catholic Education Commission said only a few years ago, "the goal of Catholic schools is to educate the whole child to the highest standards possible – academically, socially, spiritually, and pastorally."
Here at Salesian College Sunbury, we can see this reflected in our key documents such as our Annual Action Plans, our CLEF statements, and forward planning for 2030, which has just commenced. As we say, we are "a Faith Community committed to Excellence in Learning" (CLEF values). I would suggest that most - if not all - educational institutions would say they are committed to excellence in learning. However, where we really do make a difference in Catholic education is in the "Faith" aspect, which is the values, attitudes, and beliefs of students. We must work hard at all times to be academically excellent in all we do with students but it's the Catholic beliefs that make us different – we believe in God, in Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we believe in salvation and redemption and Eternal Life, we believe in living the Gospel values, we believe in fulfilment in a sacramental life, we believe in the veneration of our saints, and a faith that is joyfully proclaimed and lived.
We wish to make these Catholic beliefs very clear to all here at the College; we have an extensive RE Curriculum; a liturgical program of sacraments and prayer with both staff and students; we have wonderful visual symbols; we consider restorative justice to be the optimal way to deal with relationships and student issues; we have Campus Feast days; we have staff and students retreats; we have Accreditation to Teach in a Catholic School certification requirements for teaching staff; and we have our own personal commitment to the beliefs of the Catholic Church.
For me, this is where we make a difference to student outcomes; there is a God who loves and saves us, a God who is present in our daily lives journeying with us, our students are made in the image of God and given to us for a short few years. They are given to us to make a difference in their lives – to help them acquire and develop their belief systems, their attitudes, and their values based on this belief system.
We should therefore always be asking ourselves, as a 'Faith Community' do we communicate to our students and others, our belief in God and in Jesus Christ, and model this with our attitudes and values? This is what the Catholic Identity Survey will allow us to discover this.
In a few short weeks, families will be invited to complete the survey, as will all students and staff at the college. Details will follow in the next few weeks. The survey is important. There is little doubt that we will be given a narrative to work with for 2020 and beyond.
Our Year 12 mentoring program began this week with goal-setting interviews between mentors, students and their parents. It was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on each student's progress so far and the opportunities and challenges presented by the year ahead. Having set ambitious but achievable goals, mentors will continue to check in with students throughout the year to reflect on progress and offer support in meeting these goals.
We will soon be in touch with families who haven't booked in a mentor meeting time with information about a final opportunity to do so during our Parent/Teacher/Student interviews at the end of the term.
A reminder that Parent/Teacher/Student interviews are fast approaching – key dates are below:
Week 7 (starting 11th of March)
Week 8 (starting 18th of March)
Week 10 (starting 1st of April)
With the school year now well under way, it is a good time to discuss homework habits and expectations. The key purposes of homework are to consolidate learning from the day, engage in preparatory work for future learning, and to build the discipline of personal study. The College suggests the following times for allotting homework at each year level:
Parents are encouraged to discuss these expectations with their children and to monitor the amount of homework being completed. As with many things in our lives, establishing good habits early is much easier than trying to turn bad habits around later on. If your child is consistently coming home with significantly higher amounts of homework are beyond these guidelines, it is worth discussing this with your child and a follow-up contact with subject teachers or the homeroom teacher may be appropriate.
A message from the Student Hub, as well as an update from the Wellbeing team
The College is exceptionally well resourced with our Student Hub. The main function of this is Student Reception and First Aid. The Student Hub is looked after by Jo Little (Student Hub Administrator) and Sarah Isherwood (School Nurse).
Child Safety Standards require the College to be diligent in protocols regarding students coming late to school and/or going home early.
Please ensure families/guardians call the following phone number to notify the school of absence: 03 9744 0053
When a child needs to leave the College early on a day (due to illness, appointment, etc.) the following process needs to occur:
An adult must come into Student Hub and collect the student before they are officially signed out.
In the event of a student not feeling well at school, the following process takes place:
Students are not permitted to contact home via their personal mobile phone and them simply go home, or have the parent/guardian arrive at the College to say their child is ill. The process in place is to ensure that the child is safe and under the care of the College until officially signed out by a parent/guardian. The College really requires your support in this process.
We know transition is a time of high risk for both families and students. Poor transition can have a lasting legacy on engagement to school and mental health. It is always better to act early; anxiety - as an example - is very curable if managed early.
The College has a team of professionals available to provide wellbeing support to students to help with personal, emotional, social, and relationship difficulties, or if they are having trouble adjusting to College life. Our Wellbeing team is made up of:
The team can provide a range of strategies to help students do their best. This service is free and confidential and referrals to outside agencies are made where appropriate.
Feel free to contact us via email, or tell your student to drop in and see us in P Block (above the Student Hub).
The last fortnight has been a busy one for Sport at Salesian.
On Friday 15 February, we had our Whole School House Swimming Carnival at Sunbury Aquatic and Leisure Centre. It was a fantastic day; it was great to see high levels of participation and house spirit from our students. Congratulations to Naughton House for taking out the champion title at the end of the day. For more information about the Swimming Carnival (including detailed results), click here.
Since then, we have also had students competing in golf and SACCSS Premier League competitions.
Our Senior Golf team competed yesterday, Monday 25 February, and finished the day in second place overall. Patrick Doyle came second in the best individual player rankings, shooting 81 over 18 holes. Our Junior Golf team played last week and had a very successful day with many awards being won for their efforts. Salesian won the best pair in Max Ramsay and Oliver Powell, and Max Ramsay also took home the award for best individual of the day, shooting 50 over 9 holes. Salesian also won the best team overall which is a fantastic achievement!
The SACCSS Premier League competition involves a variety of Year 10 teams competing in netball, basketball, volleyball, and soccer over a six-week fixture. Well done to all of our players. We saw a lot of success with the majority of our teams winning their matches. See below for the winning teams' results:
Well done to all of our students who represented the College.
Important updates and upcoming events in Performing Arts
All Band students including Wind, Brass and Percussion players will be having a Band Camp workshop day on Thursday 7 March. We will have a special Guest Conductor, Dr Rob McWilliams, Education Consultant from Yamaha Music.
A highly respected conductor and musician, Dr. McWilliams has worked closely with secondary institutions, tertiary institutions, and professional development providers like ABODA, ASME, and government education departments. His work in the education community on behalf of Yamaha has significantly contributed to increasing quality and participation in music education around Australia.
The camp will include Music Workshops, Master Classes, Sectional Rehearsals, and Games.
The VCE Music and VET Music classes will be travelling to the City to the Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday 19 March to see Top Class. Top Class is a concert featuring the highest achieving VCE Music Performers of the previous year. This concert is sure to provide lots of inspiration for our Music Students.
Year 9 Music class have been enjoying learning to use all the digital features of our new keyboards, including sampling, recording, layering and accompaniment styles. The students have been working hard to learn new techniques.
Rehearsals are off to a great start, with Guitar ensemble held on Tuesdays, Band on Thursdays and Choir on Fridays. Each ensemble is growing rapidly, and new members are welcome. See Mrs Woodruff in the Music Centre to join.
There has been a 115% increase in the number of students taking Instrumental lessons at Salesian in the last year. We offer every student the opportunity to learn an instrument of their choice.
Specialist music lessons allow students to explore their instrument or voice on a weekly basis either as an enhancement to their classroom music program or purely for enjoyment and personal development. There is the opportunity to take instrumental exams through a number of exam boards as a way of motivating student progress. Any student studying curriculum Music at Years 10 to 12 are expected to take weekly lessons.
Instruments available:
To enrol in instrumental lessons for 2019 please fill out the form on Schoolbox, click here to view our Schoolbox page.
Our Year 12s have started their Term One Future Planning appointments to discuss their plans for 2020 and beyond and how to best prepare. Parents are most welcome to contact the careers team with any questions or queries.
RMIT will be coming to speak to the Year 12s in Pastoral next Friday to inspire students to look at courses and pathways.
The many volunteering opportunities, always offered at school, are a great way for students to broaden their experience which looks great on their resume. Universities are also looking for students who are involved in the community and to give early offers to students with volunteering.
Parents and students are strongly encouraged to keep up to date with Career News, as many exciting and informative events are advertised here fortnightly.
Being informed and going to events is going to help all students make the best decisions for their pathway and transition.
Look at these events coming up in April:
Click here to view our full newsletter which includes the topics below:
What's news on the farm?
February has traditionally been the end of one farming year and the beginning of the next. It is also the hottest month and the least likely to get rain and, consequently, the least likely to get any plant growth at all. This is why at this time of year stocking numbers are at their lowest and no crops are to be seen. In the past two weeks, a lot of planning has been going into the 2019 production year, Summer weed recommendations, irrigation possibilities, and expected livestock increases.
Vincent Lakey and his Ag students have been doing a marvelous job cleaning out the disused calf shed so that it can be revamped as the new pig and chook accommodation. Construction of these areas will begin shortly and hopefully we can be fattening pigs and collecting eggs in the next couple of weeks.
The heifers on agistment from northern NSW have been pregnancy tested and the pregnant ones will be returning home while the unpregnant (empty) ones will soon be heading off to a feedlot. These heifers have managed to grow quite considerably during their time on the farm, they have gained around 140 kg and should be well prepared for their trip home.
Later this week we will be interviewing for the scholarship positions and we can't wait for the programs to get up and running, I think they will not only be great fun but also an amazing experience for this years scholars.
Information around data that is collected and how it is used
The Department of Education and Training has recently requested that the College provide a statement of addresses, in accordance with the Australian Education Regulation 2013 (Cth). The two attachments below will provide details surrounding the purpose of the collection, the use and disclosure of personal information, what you need to do, and contacts should you require further information.
2019 Information Collection Notice - For parents/guardians
2019 FAQs around information collection - For parents/guardians
Find out more about a local Youth Group available to our young people
'Youth United' is a combined youth group supported by St Mary's and St Andrews churches in Sunbury. Click here to find out more about this weekly youth group.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
The 2019 academic year is well under way with all students into the swing of school life. The Year 7s have settled in well, thanks to the support of their Year 10 buddies, their Home Room Leaders, and their House Leaders. The Year 9s have made an easy transition into the Mazzarello Campus, thoroughly embracing their new home, and the seniors have begun well, focused on the challenges ahead of them as they complete their VCE and VCAL pathways. We are also thankful to the many students in Years 8-10 who have chosen to commence their studies at Salesian College this year; they too have made an impressive start.
Last Thursday was the day the Catholic Church acknowledges one of its greatest heroes. On the Feast Day itself, Pope Francis' homily was dedicated to St John Bosco, saying:
"Here was a man moved by tragedy on a purely human level, yet inspired by the divine to have the courage to go there and fight. He saw so much poverty and so many children living on the streets and said things cannot go on this way. Then when he took action he approached the youth with vitality, creating opportunities for them to play, bringing them together as a group, listening to them, crying with them while leading them forward and always being down to earth. St John Bosco was a master of joy."
Today marks the day, 90 years ago, when the very first students commenced at 'Rupertswood' as a registered school. How fortunate we are to be the beneficiaries of the Salesian charism handed down from St John Bosco to that very first Salesian community here in Sunbury.
Our first School Assembly for the year, last Friday, was an opportunity to congratulate our high achieving Year 12 graduates of 2018. Awards were presented for all 80+ and 90+ ATAR scores, as well as all 40+ study scores. Excellence Awards were also presented to Jack Drever (College Dux with an ATAR of 99.25) and to Angelique Pullella (VCAL Dux). These students were able to their turn potential into success by setting realistic goals and persistently working towards achieving these. There are times when each of us fall into the trap of thinking that 'near enough is good enough' and are prepared to settle for second best. To achieve excellence and to realize their best, students must persevere and continue to set their sights high with the support of parents, teachers and friends. As we build upon our great start to the year, I encourage all students to strive to be their very best in everything they do throughout 2019.
As part of our assembly, we also took the opportunity to welcome all those new to the College – students and teachers alike – and to wish them well on their journey of learning and faith with us.
Parent Engagement is a vitally important body in the life of our school. I would encourage those considering an avenue to contribute in another way to good learning at Salesian College to join the Parent Engagement Group (PEG). This group provides vital feedback to the College via the Principal as well as supporting important new initiatives such as the St Vinnies Winter Sleepout. I would welcome lots of new faces, especially from amongst our new Year 7 cohort, as your input would be most valuable. The first meeting for the year has been set aside for Wednesday 27 February, from 6:00pm, in the Mansion Dining Room. Please consider coming along!
In order to ease congestion in the mornings along our driveway, I encourage all parents who drive their children to school to drop students off at the Lakeside Stadium drop-off zone, or even on the other side of Macedon Street near the shopping centre. As you can appreciate, a large number of cars driving into the school zone cause a great deal of traffic chaos when congested already with buses and staff carparks. Alternatively, we encourage more students to ride their bikes to/from school each day. The College can be accessed along several bike paths (Macedon St and Racecourse Rd) and students have access to a safe and secure bike shed within the school. For more information regarding where to store bikes, please contact our College Reception.
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present.
Please keep the following in your prayers:
Last Friday, the College gathered to celebrate the achievements of our graduating class of 2018.
Last Friday, 8 February, we gathered together as a College for our first whole school assembly of 2019. This specific assembly was our Excellence Awards ceremony, celebrating outstanding academic achievement from our graduating class of 2018.
Our 2018 Year 12 cohort were invited back to the College to congratulate their peers who received recognition. All students who received ATAR results above 80, as well as those who received 40+ study scores, were formally recognised and invited to the stage to receive their awards.
We also recognised our 2018 College VCE Dux, Jack Drever, who finished with a score of 99.25, and College VCAL Dux, Angelique Pullella.
Congratulations to the entire graduating class of 2018 on fantastic results after a big year; we wish you every success with your futures.
Click here to read the speech from our 2018 College Dux (VCE), Jack Drever.
The list below is of all students who received a study score above 40 in any subject:
A special congratulations goes to Edith Spiers (Year 11, 2018) and Jack Drever, on achieving perfect scores of 50 in Biology and Mathematical Methods, respectively.
The list below is of all students who received an ATAR score above 80:
The final list below shows all students who received an ATAR score above 90:
Congratulations to all those students listed on an exceptional academic achievement.
Our 2019 College Play has been chosen...read more to find out what to expect!
2019 College Play - The Importance of Being Earnest
The Performing Arts department is pleased to announce that this year, we will be staging the play "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde.
Performances will be held on Wednesday 26 June and Thursday 27 June. It will be a play making fun of the upper class in the 1890s, full of farce, satire, and fun!
There will be opportunities for actors, dancers, and musicians (including singers).
Pick up your audition pack from outside the Music Office. Auditions will begin next Thursday 21 February between 3:30 and 5pm.
Mr Scollo, Mrs Woodruff, Ms Bond, and Mrs Valencich can't wait to see you there!
A start-of-year reminder regarding all things uniform
As we dive into the new school year, it's timely to share a reminder about College uniform.
Our uniform at Salesian College Sunbury is very attractive and when worn well, and sends a clear message about the standards set and adhered to by all. As with any uniform though, when not worn well it can create a very poor image.
All information about the College uniform, including guidelines, uniform shop hours, and uniform prices can be found on our College website, by clicking here.
Our uniform items can also be shopped online by clicking here. Noone Imagewear have Click and Collect set up as well to increase ease for parents who may not be able to make it to the shop.
A number of specific reminders are included below:
Students presenting to school in 2019 out-of-uniform can expect to be sent home until such time as the uniform is worn correctly.
It should also be noted that Monday 18 February is School Photo Day and students out of uniform will not have their photo taken.
Our College Uniform provider, Noone, are currently offering a special promotion on BLUE long-sleeved shirts that do not need to be tucked in.
This promotion is only available to those students who were the Salesian College Rupertswood uniform (the lighter blue rather than navy).
A two pack of the ice blue, long-sleeved shirts with a square tail (which means they do not need to be tucked in) can be puchased for $45.
If you would like to take advantage of this offer, download the order form here.
Welcome back to all of our college families for the 2019 school year. The new school year brings with it a sense of excitement, energy (despite the hot and humid weather), a buzz surrounding catching up with people we may not have seen for almost two months, the sharing of stories, meeting and greeting new faces, and hopefully the joy and optimism for whatever we encounter as the year progressively unfolds. Yet as I spoke last week to several new members who have joined our college community in 2019, I am aware that there may also be a bit of nervousness, whenever we encounter new beginnings. Unfamiliar faces, new routines, new things to remember, the feeling of hitting the ground running, and even a bit if tiredness can become part of a new narrative.
As we commence, we can look ahead at calendars and see the wonderful array of events that have been planned and booked and see the busyness of the year that lies ahead. This can bring more buzz and anticipation, but this may caution us somewhat as we may encounter a feeling of being slightly overwhelmed by schedules, conflicting dates, constraints on time and so forth. These are the moments when we need to take a few breaths!
Our faith life can be no different here. We can be animated by the festive season, and the richness of the liturgical celebrations that we may have experienced with the wonderful proclamation of the birth of Christ, but perhaps this will all too soon be tempered with the coming of the liturgical season of Lent. Looking ahead, our calendar sees Ash Wednesday only a few weeks away on Wednesday 6 March. The shift in liturgical seasons starkly reminds us that time can march on quickly. We are now invited to encounter Christ in the narrative of our Sunday Gospel readings as he commences his ministry in his adult years, gathers his disciples, goes out to the people, faces hostile opposition in numerous areas, and all the while preparing a path for our redemption and salvation. We are invited to be drawn deeply into this narrative in order to enter into a relationship with Christ that is on the one hand universal yet profoundly personal.
We pray together as a College for the prosperity of all members of our college community for 2019. We pray for comfort and compassion in difficult times, we pray for joy in the times that we will celebrate, and we pray that Christs presence with us will continue to remind us that we are a community of faith, hope and love.
In 2019 I am very fortunate to be able to work with a wonderful team: Ms Bridget Harding, our Religious Education Learning Area Leader; Fr Joe Binh Dinh, the College Rector; Fr John Papworth, the Vice Rector; and Sr Rochelle Lamb, our Pastoral Assistant. Together with our College Faith and Justice Captains, Alex Dyer (Yr 12) and Nikita Daicos (Yr 11), we look forward to reporting on and animating the faith life of the College in 2019.
It has been great to see our students make such an impressive start to the year, with an abundance of enthusiasm and hard work already on display. An especially warm welcome to our Year 7 students and families – I hope the beginning of the year has been as exciting as it has been busy and, at times, overwhelming!
Our big focus in Learning and Teaching this year is building on our tracking of student academic achievement. The purpose of academic tracking is to identify how each student is progressing in terms of learning growth, effort, and organisation. We want to celebrate achievement and consistent effort as well as identify needs for interventions where students are 'cruising' below expectations or at risk of falling behind in their learning. In the first instance, these interventions will begin with meeting students themselves before potentially escalating to parent involvement as well.
To come to these judgments, we will use measures such as assessment results (including any positive or negative shifts in grades), as well as learning habits such as punctuality of work submission, to inform our interventions. We will collate this information at the end of Term One before meeting with relevant students and parents at the start of Term Two. As the year progresses, we hope these meetings help continue to build a positive learning culture at the College.
Families of Year 12 VCE students will soon be invited, with your child, to a goal setting interview that will mark the beginning of a year-long mentoring program. The interview will examine your child's Yr 11 performance, which have been used to formulate an ATAR prediction. The purpose of this is to identify strengths and challenges, and to plan for success throughout the year. The person conducting the interview will act as a mentor for your child who will work with them to monitor and refine their goals throughout the year.
The bulk of interviews will take place on Monday 25 February. Some interviews will take place at a later date due to some mentors being away on Year 7 camp on this day. Full details about how to book interview times will be sent to families soon.
A reminder to those families that have not yet purchased the following booklisted digital resources that this needs to be done as soon as possible. To ensure that students have immediate access to these resources, the College pays for them upfront and then recoups the cost through the booklist.
These resources include:
• Maths Pathways (Years 7-9)
• Science digital resources (Years 8 & 9)
• Edrolo subjects where applicable (Years 10-12)
These items are compulsory class resources and are currently being used in lessons. There are still a large number of accounts where payment has not been finalised. Purchases can be made through www.campion.com.au using N2HT as your access code until March 2nd. After this point, payments will need to be made through the College Finance team.
This is a busy time of the year for the Wellbeing team. We have been meeting a big cohort of new Year 7s and students across the other levels. Transition can be a dangerous time for all students so we have been attending family meetings and supporting them as much as possible as they find their place in our Salesian Community. There are also a number of students returning following illness as well as those who may have struggled last year, and we will be working with them to develop support plans to make sure 2019 is a better year.
We are gearing up to deliver our Mental Health and parenting programs again this year in an effort to improve Mental Health literacy and support our parents in their vital and challenging parenting role.
As always, it was very gratifying to see the success of all the 2018 VCE students who we have supported during their time at Salesian College Sunbury. Interestingly, more than sixty of them have had some support from wellbeing during their secondary schooling; we were very proud to see a large number of those who had received support over the years return to the College to receive an academic award last Friday.
As always if you have any questions about parenting, mental health, or student support, feel free to email or ring the Wellbeing Team (firstname.lastname@example.com).
Wishing you all a calm mind and smiling heart for 2019.
Bernie Monagle, Wellbeing Team Leader
A big welcome to all families for 2019. I hope the year has started well for your daughter/son(s) and that they are feeling keen to do their best and make the most of opportunities on offer at the school. The start of the year appears to have been smooth for all students, with the Year 7s telling us that school has been "awesome".
As the year begins I would like to clarify the rules re mobile phone use at the College:
We understand mobile devices are a common accessory and an accepted part of society. We also understand the importance of students being safe when travelling to and from the College and the role that mobile phones play in this. Unfortunately, with the advancement of mobile phone technology, they are capable of much more than just making a phone call and, as a result, have the potential to be used inappropriately.
Misuse of mobile devices at school can cause disruption to classroom and school routines and interfere with student learning. Through the use of mobile phones, students can also make other students feel unsafe through text bullying, prank calls, and inappropriate emails, as well as invading their privacy through taking and publishing photos, video, and/or voice recordings without permission.
The students, staff, and members of the College Community all have a right to feel safe and for their privacy to be respected. As such, it is expected that all students understand and adhere to the following guidelines outlining the acceptable use of mobile phones at Salesian College. These guidelines are in line with Child Safety Guidelines and aim to ensure the wellbeing of all members of our community.
The College does not accept responsibility for the security of mobile phones brought to school by students.
If students do not adhere to Acceptable Use Guidelines, the following consequences will occur:
Consequence: The mobile phone will be confiscated and given to the Deputy Principal - Students. The phone will be securely held, and a parent/guardian will be asked to come to the College Reception at the Mansion to collect the phone. A parent/guardian will be sent an SMS as soon as is practicable to inform them of this confiscation.
Serious Offence: In the case where the College deems an incident using mobile phones to be serious, the College reserves the right to respond as it deems appropriate (i.e. it may involve the suspension of students, or the matter being referred to the police). In such cases, parents will be notified immediately.
It is time as the year begins to seek support from parents/guardians regarding this Mobile Phone Policy, and any other policy within the College. Whilst we understand that parents/guardians may be inconvenienced with the need to arrange the collection of a son/daughter(s) mobile phone, taking out this frustration on the phone or in person to a member of the College staff is not acceptable. The staff at the College are simply adhering to a policy that has been communicated to all parents/guardians and students in 2018, and again in 2019. Communication in 2018 was in the final letter to all families that was sent with the end-of-year College Reports, and the first newsletter in 2019 outlined the Mobile Phone policy. All students have been spoken to regarding the policy in 2018, as well as at the first Assembly in 2019. It is also outlined in the 2019 College Diary. Students will continue to be reminded of the policy during morning homeroom up to Friday 15 February and via email. The responsibility lies with the student to adhere to the policy, so that the College can continue to focus on the learning, teaching, and wellbeing of students.
Next Monday (18 February) is school photo day. Please ensure all students are in full, correct uniform.
Click the links below to download information about ordering photos.
Welcome to the 2019 school year! We have literally hit the ground running with our Senior Cricket and Netball teams playing against MacKillop College last Friday. Our girls battled hard against an impressive MacKillop team, going down by 9 goals in the netball, whilst our boys had an impressive 40 run win at cricket.
Our two Sports Captains for 2019 will be Kirby Elliott and Chelsea Humphries. Both girls have impressive sporting backgrounds and I know they will be both great role models and leaders for their peers, both on and off the sports fields in 2019.
This Thursday will see our Year 10 Premier League teams start their six weeks seasons. 2019 will see the introduction of boys netball into Premier League, which will be a new sport for many of the boys. Best of luck to all!
The College Swimming Carnival will take place this Friday at the Sunbury Aquatic Centre. We're looking forward to once again seeing staff and students getting into the spirit of the day and representing their Houses in a variety of activities, whether that be swimming, playing water volleyball, competing in the 'Staff/Student Biggest Bomb Competition' or contributing to the 'Inflatable Event', which provided plenty of laughs. Remember that the day isn't necessarily about winning, it's about giving your personal best for your House. Is there a House that will manage to knock O'Grady House off after winning the last two swimming carnivals?
Congratulations must also go to Maxine DiBlasi (Year 8), who was recently selected to represent Australia at the Under 14 Girls Futsal Championships in the UK in October. We wish Maxine all the best and look forward to her representing the college in both soccer and futsal this year.
We're looking forward to a big year of sport in 2019!
Over the school holidays, VCAA hosted auditions for their upcoming Top Class showcase of emerging Victorian Talent based on exceptional results in Units 3/4 VCE Dance. James Dillon, a Year 11 student who undertook Year 12 Dance in 2018, was fortunate enough to be invited to audition for Top Class Dance back in mid-January. The auditions took place in Dance Factory Richmond, in which 100 students would audition for one of 36 places in the showcase. The students must achieve an A+ perfect score to be chosen for audition. The 36 students are for VET and VCE dance so there are only approximately 18 places for all VCE students.
Salesian College have been fortunate to have had students audition in all but one year in the VCE Top Class auditions, this is a wonderful achievement as it is rare for schools to ever have a representative.
Although James wasn't selected, it was a outstanding achievement to gain recognition for his 2018 Dance Solo performances.
Would your child like to learn to play an instrument in 2019? At Salesian College we offer lessons on Brass, Woodwind, String, Voice, Percussion, Piano, and Guitar. Learning to play an instrument is a lifelong gift that has many academic and social benefits.
Specialist music lessons allow students to explore their instrument or voice on a weekly basis either as an enhancement to their classroom music program or purely for enjoyment and personal development. There is the opportunity to take instrumental exams through a number of exam boards as a way of motivating student progress. Any student studying curriculum music at Years 10 to 12 are expected to take weekly lessons.
Instruments available include:
Brass: Trumpet, Cornet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba
Woodwind: Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Saxophone, Bassoon
Percussion: Drum Kit and Orchestral Percussion
Keyboard: Piano
Guitar: Contemporary and Classical (including Bass)
Voice: Contemporary and Classical
Strings: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass
To enrol in instrumental lessons for 2019 please fill out the form on Schoolbox.
There is now an enormous amount of research that has explored, measured, quantified and illuminated the benefits of music education on cognitive, emotional, social and physical development. Such is the quantity and quality of the research that it is now understood that music education benefits the development of the whole person like no other human activity.
How does it do this? The answer is in the activities that are inherent in reaching the goal of performing a piece of music on an instrument. In order to reach a stage where children can perform a piece in front of an audience, no matter how large or small, they have to master the following skills.
1. Control of their motor cortex that directs their bodily movements – Getting the right note to come out of a musical instrument at the right time with the right sound is an incredible cognitive accomplishment. This is because the human brain needs to coordinate the motor, visual and auditory cortices to synchronise together to produce just one correct note. Imagine the coordination your child's brain is achieving after an entire piece or concert.
2. Control their emotional states and reactions – Rehearsals can be frustrating experiences, mainly because bring a whole piece together is a slow and repetitious process. This is actually an act in learning how to learn slowly and sequentially while controlling our emotional responses when we might get bored or frustrated or want to be anywhere else. This control becomes immeasurably more complicated in a performance situation when you add adrenalin and excitement into the mix. Your child has a huge number of stimuli running around in their bodies while they are up on stage performing, and yet they have to keep their wits about them and keep their emotional responses contained in order to contribute their part to a successful performance.
3. Staying flexible and responding to unforseen events – "Strange things happen in performance" is a common mantra of any musical conductor as well as "you have to be ready for anything". If the drumkit player is struggling to restrain his excitement and starts getting faster and faster, the rest of the band needs to get faster with him and adjust on the spot to the new tempo. If the cello section miscount for some reason and come in a bar early, the rest of the ensemble need to make a decision right away – do we follow the cellos or look at the conductor and follow them? The ability to adjust our responses is incredibly difficult, because most of the time we just want to start the piece again. But in performance, that just can't happen and you child is responding in the moment to a given circumstance. Remember, this also all happens without a verbal instruction being spoken.
These are only three of the cognitive activities that your child is managing right in front of your eyes during this concert. Inside their heads, their brains are working really hard to bring you a polished and seemingly flawless performance.
Adapted from Dr Anita Collins - educator and researcher in neuroscience and music education.
The end of 2018 really exemplified what the Arts is all about at our College, with students taking up every opportunity to showcase their hard work over the semester in every discipline. The junior students had displays of artwork in the new Learning Commons and performed for the community at their Music and Dance nights, and the Year 11 students also showcased their best to their families at our Music, Dance and Drama nights and at the Visual Arts showcase. For our Year 12s, they were able to focus all of their energies on finishing and submitting final folios, art pieces, films and solo performance works. All students certainly found success in their pursuits, with the Arts showing some wonderful VCE results.
We had many other successes in the last few weeks of 2018, with our first Christmas Play 'Where is the Love?' raising $1500 for the St Vincent De Paul Society. Our students were very grateful to have been involved and had the honour of hearing how their donation would help create happy Christmases for children in need in the Sunbury community. Our annual Art Competition winners were also announced, with James Dillon (11, 2018), Seana Garrett (9, 2018), and Mack Borchert-Krohn (8, 2018) taking first prize for Bosco Campus, Mazzarello Campus, and Savio Campus respectively. Lastly, James Mahoney (10, 2018), was accepted into the 2019 Catholic Education Office art competition. Well done to all.
This year the Arts continues to flourish at Salesian with a wealth of opportunities offered to our students, watch this space!
Congratulations to our 2018 Year 12s with 83% going on to tertiary study, 11% taking on apprenticeships and traineeship pathways and 6% seeking work.
The best career pathway decisions are made by students who have spent time researching their options and pathways. This can include conversations with family, friends and those in industry, work experience, researching on the web, and visiting tertitary providers.
All Year 10 and 12 students also have a careers appointment to discuss their ideas and how to best prepare for options with our Careers Advisers. All students and parents are welcome to make an appointments by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com
Year 10 work experience is fast approaching!
All Term 2 requests are due Friday 22 February.
This week's Career News can be on our Schoolbox page, by clicking here.
Topics include:
• Become an footy umpire with EDFL
• Applying for medicine? You may need to sit the UCAT.
• Careers in the automotive industry
• Short courses in art and design at RMIT
• AusAppPathways: download the apprenticeship and traineeship app to your phone
• Making the most of school for students who are feeling unmotivated
• Article for parents - making the most of opportunities for your child
• Sports courses - Richmond Football Club/Swinburne University and Carlton Football Club/La Trobe University
• How to write resumes and cover letters
• Organise your Tax File Number
• Work experience options
• What is study science and medicine at Monash like?
• Victoria University - Law and Victoria Police partnership
• Interested in engineering? Join the Engineers Australia Facebook page and take a quiz to find out what branch of engineering you'd be suited to studying
• A day in the life of a global studies student
• Top 10 occupations with the largest projected job growth over the next 5 years
• Dates for your diary
What's news at Salesian's farm?
The summer holiday break has been a busy time for the farm and the Ag areas, most of it pretty productive and some, not so. A lot of time has been spent preparing the Agricultural areas for the beginning of the new year, tidying up the Patch, the olives and vineyard, as well as the animal handling areas. The sheep were shorn and the rams have been out with the Corriedale ewes for joining, while the Poll Dorset ewes have been away to another farm for joining and should be back in the next week or so.
Progress is being made to the new chicken coop, with it being relocated down near the woolshed and dairy, which we will hopefully have in operation soon and we can once again become the preferred supply of eggs to the College families. The changes to the Coop will mean that the chickens will be free to roam the farm foraging at leisure and then be safely locked away at night. I am sure that there will be a noticeable improvement in the quality of the eggs because of it.
A new pig enclosure is also underway that will provide greater protection for the pigs from the weather as well as the ability to be cleaned more often and more easily as well as having greater control over their feed intake which should result in a better more marketable product. Last week we also saw the arrival of our first lot of piglets for the year and we look forward to watching them grow out over the coming months.
The stud cattle (Simmentals) are getting ready for a big year of showing, last year there was no stud cattle team so this is a welcome return for them to complement the successful steer showing team that will be running again.
The agistment heifers (Angus) have been doing very well, the bulls were taken out of the mob at the end of the year and we are waiting to pregnancy test them in a couple of weeks when the pregnant ones will return to their home near Condobolin in New South Wales. The heifers have been very successfully controlled grazed at the back of the farm through the use of single wire hot tapes. This has been a very economical and effective means of controlling the areas available for the cattle to be grazed and for how long.
We also welcome our new trainee Jazmine Anderson to the team, Jazmine completed Year 12 last year and will be helping out on the farm with particular input to the scholarship program. While this is great news, unfortunately we are losing Ben Roda to another job. Ben has been at the school for five years, two as a student and the last three on the farm. Ben has been extremely dedicated to the farm and has made an enormous contribution to its success. It will leave quite a void when he is gone.
At the end of last year, a number of our students travelled to Italy and Japan on cultural exchange programs
Last Friday at our first whole school assembly, our 2019 Language SAT Captains, Georgia Younan and Kristina Matesevac, introduced two language students to speak about the recent exchange trips that took place late last year.
Carla Hancock spoke to the school community about her unique and amazing experience on exchange in Japan. Carla, along with four other Japanese students, Hunter Kong, Isaac McKenzie, and Kristina Matesevac, visited Tokyo and Yohohama for three weeks.
Click here to read Carla's speech about her immersion experience.
Abigail Hine also addressed our assembly audience to share her experience in Italy. Abigail and Chloe Dredge spent six weeks in Verona and Trento. Abigail described the experience as unforgettable, "something that will stay in your life forever".
Click here to read Abigail's speech.
See the gallery below for some images from the trips, and click here for a collage from the Japanese students, and here for one from the Italian students.
Well done to each of these students for taking part in such an exciting - though daunting - experience. You'll undoubtedly have these memories for a lifetime.
Upcoming vaccinations for Year 7 and 10 students
The Secondary School Vaccine Program offers free vaccines to Year 7 and 10 students. These vaccines provide protection against:
• Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) – one dose for year 7 students
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – two doses for year 7 students
• Meningococcal A,C,W,Y – one dose for year 10 students
Parents/guardians of Year 7 and 10 students should look out for the vaccine consent card booklet coming home from school with your child. You need to read the information, complete, and return the card regardless of whether your child is being vaccinated at school.
The Hume City Council immunisation service may contact you about the Secondary School Vaccine Program. Schools are authorised to provide basic parent/guardian contact details to local councils for this purpose. Contact the school by 28 February 2019 if you do not want your contact details given to the Hume City Council immunisation service.
To learn more about the Secondary School Vaccine Program, the vaccines, the diseases they protect against, or how you can prepare your child for vaccination, go to betterhealth.vic.gov.au
Additionally, the Commonwealth Government is funding vaccinations for all children under 20 years of age who missed any scheduled vaccines, including a catch-up program for Meningococcal ACWY vaccine for adolescents aged 15-19 years of age who have not already received the vaccine in school. If students have missed vaccines, either in childhood or adolescence, and require catch-up vaccines, they should speak with their immunisation provider (i.e. local council or GP).
Information about conveyancing allowance eligibility
The conveyance allowance is a form of financial assistance for parents/carers to transport children to and from school in rural and regional Victoria. Allowances are available for public transport, private car and private bus travel.
In some locations, students are unable to access free school buses. In these instances, students may receive a conveyance allowance to assist with travel costs.
To be eligible a student must:
Families who wish to apply for this allowance are required to collect a Conveyance Allowance Application form from the College Reception. Completed forms need to be returned to the College prior to Monday 5 March.
If you have any queries regarding the conveyance allowance, contact Melody Cuthbert at the College on 9744 0000.
Please note that students living in the Hillside/Sydenham areas are not eligible for this allowance.
Paul Hillas
Business Manager
Information for registering your students' school photos
Next Monday (18 February) is school photo day. Please ensure all students are in full, correct uniform.
Click the links below to download information about ordering photos.
Photo Day Information One (ordering photos)
Photo Day Information Two (sibling photos)
An update from our Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus, as we prepare to commence the 2019 school year.
Welcome to the new school year! There is much to look forward to at our College in 2019 as we pursue our vision of a "Faith Community committed to Excellence in Learning". I hope your summer has been restful and enjoyable, and that you are ready for the challenges and excitement the year will hold for each of us.
A special welcome is extended to those students anxiously waiting for their first day at Salesian College. As well as each of our new Year 7s making the transition from primary school, we also welcome 32 new students in Years 8-12 who have transferred to us from other schools. We are thrilled to have so many choosing a Salesian Education, and on behalf of all the staff, we thank all our families for your confidence and trust in us.
A reminder that the 2019 start dates for each year level are as follows:
New beginnings are always exciting; they are a time to begin and renew relationships, and to discover the challenges and opportunities the year ahead may hold. Above all, new beginnings offer a sign of hope! I encourage all students to look with hope and a positive attitude as they plan to set their goals high for the year ahead, especially in the area of academic achievement. Establishing a good study routine at home should be a priority right from the start.
Congratulations are extended to the 2018 Year 12 graduates and to those young men and women who achieved their personal best. Our College Dux was Jack Drever with an ATAR score of 99.25, which was just reward for his hard work and dedication. It was also wonderful to see two students receive perfect scores of 50 in their subject results; congratulations to Edith Spiers (Biology) and Jack Drever (Mathematical Methods). Of the students receiving tertiary entrance offers last week, close to 82% received either their first or second preference which is an amazing result. At our first assembly for the year, on Friday 8 February at 12:00pm, we will formally acknowledge all high achieving students in both VCE and VCAL. Parents are certainly welcome to attend.
The Salesian Strenna (or 'theme') for 2019 is "Holiness for you, too".
The Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, has chosen the gospel passage from John (15:11); "So that my joy may be in you", as the inspiration for this year's Strenna. In describing himself as the vine, and we the branches, Jesus is inviting us into the gift of holiness, a call to live our lives to the full using Jesus as our guide. The call to holiness isn't just for some (those we deem to be 'saints'), but a call to live our lives to the full as 'everyday saints' according to God's plan for us. Sounds challenging doesn't it? St Francis de Sales (from whom Don Bosco drew his inspiration) challenged everyone to be holy through the practice of eight little virtues; each of which I'm sure are familiar and accessible to every one of us. The eight virtues are:
Who amongst us could not cultivate these 'little virtues' in our everyday living and so be on the path to holiness? Holiness is participation in the life of God, it is a journey to be walked, not an endpoint. The path to holiness can be beautiful, but at the same time demanding. Together, it is easier; this is what community is all about. Let this be our goal for 2019!
This is celebrated annually on January 31, and is a special day for all Salesians who make their profession to holy orders on this day. Here in our Rupertswood community we have seven Salesians:
Please keep these, and all Salesians, in our prayers.
As 2019 commences, we welcome the following new staff to the College:
There have been several changes to the staff at St Mary's School for the Deaf also:
I especially wish to acknowledge those staff members listed at the end of this newsletter who are taking on, or continuing, in important Positions of Leadership in the College this year. Their commitment to these vital roles is greatly appreciated.
Much work has been done at the College during the December-January period by our Maintenance Team and external contractors. This has included:
I commend the Maintenance Team for their tireless work over the Summer months.
With only days left before school commences, it's vital that all students (and their parents) have a good look at the uniform to make sure it fully complies with the College Uniform. The Salesian College uniform is very attractive and, when worn well, sends a clear message about the standards set and adhered to by all. As with any uniform though, when not worn well it can create a very poor image.
Prior to the first day back (Friday 1 February for Years 7, 10, and 12 and Monday 4 February for Years 8, 9, and 11), please ensure your child has regulation hairstyle and colour, a clean and presentable College uniform, and has removed any piercing apart from one plain stud allowed in each ear. Particular issues that some students need to address with regard to the summer uniform include boys having the correct school socks, girls' dresses being an appropriate length (on or below the knee) and ALL students wearing the blazer to and from school every day. Students presenting to school in 2019 out of uniform can expect to be sent home until such time as the uniform is worn correctly. It should also be noted that Monday 18 February is School Photo Day and students out of uniform will not have their photo taken.
As we do each year, a calendar showing the key school dates for 2019 will make its way home to you via your son or daughter in the first few days of school, along with a copy of the 2018 Yearbook. Both showcase the talents of our wonderful students and I recommend these publications to you for reading and display.
As a workplace, the College takes seriously its commitment to be fully compliant with all matters to do with everyone's safety. This includes behaviours related to the Occupational Health & Safety Act (2004) as well as the Child Safe Standards (2016). One area which can be of concern for students and parents is bullying, be it online or face to face. The College is committed to providing and maintaining, so far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risks to health. To that end, it is committed to providing for all employees, students, and other people who, for whatever reason, are in an area under the control of the College, a working environment where bullying will not be tolerated and where people can be productive without interference from bullying in all areas under its control.
For students, this means:
In addition to our strong commitment to identify and address bullying and harassment on school grounds, I ask for parents to monitor, provide guidance, and have frequent conversations about expectations for their child(ren)'s use of technology. Text messaging via mobile phones and photo sharing apps, such as Instagram and Snapchat, are used legitimately by students to share events from their daily lives. However, they can also be dangerous weapons for bullying and intimidation when not used appropriately. Great care and consideration should be given prior to allowing accounts to be created on all social media sites. Not only may children be in breach of each site's terms and conditions, they may indeed be involved in criminal activity which can result in charges being laid by the Police. For these reasons, students are not permitted to use mobile phones at school (to be kept in lockers at ALL times) and must not use BYO devices (laptops, tablets, etc.) during recess/lunch (unless in the Ciantar Learning Commons).
For further information, please click here, or contact Elaine Dugdale-Walker, Deputy Principal – Students.
Parent engagement is a vitally important body in the life of our school. I would encourage those who may be interested in contributing to good learning at Salesian College through another avenue to join the Parent Engagement Group (PEG). This group provides vital feedback to the College via the Principal as well as supporting important new initiatives such as the St Vinnies Winter Sleepout. I would welcome lots of new faces, especially from among our new Year 7 cohort, as your input would be most valuable. The first meeting for the year has been set aside for Wednesday 27 February, 6:00pm, in the Mansion Dining Room. Please consider coming along!
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present. Please keep the following in your prayers:
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
During their final days of Step-Up classes, our new Year 12 students engaged in two Reflection Days as part of the Faith Development Program. Both days were held off-campus with the first at Melbourne University in Parkville. The program on Day One was led by Dr Alicia Franklin from ACU who specializes in Positive Psychology. She focused on the importance of gratitude and developing a growth mindset as ways of approaching Year 12. Our Year 12 RE teachers will extend this theme into next year, with activities including mindfulness and meditation to equip our students with the skills needed to thrive in their final year at school. On Day Two, the students attended the Catholic Leadership Centre in Collingwood to examine their own personal journey of life and their relationship with God. Our new student leaders also presented the Salesian Strenna for 2019 – "Holiness for Everyone" – and challenged their peers to find ways of working positively with one another throughout the challenging year to come. All up the days were a wonderful way to conclude Step-Up and launch their journey into Year 12.
At the other end of the learning journey, we welcomed our new Year 7s for 2019 into the College last Friday. The high temperatures and blustery conditions did not dent their excitement or enthusiasm throughout a day filled with activities, tours, and lots of information relating to next year. We're all looking forward to their arrival on Friday 1 February, all kitted out in their new uniforms ready to start their Salesian Education.
As this is the last newsletter for 2018, it is time to thank all our families for the wonderful support shown to the College throughout the year. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all members of the Salesian College community a well-deserved break over the holidays and a reinvigorated return in 2019. God Bless.
Salesian College is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present.
Please keep the following in your prayers:
A Christmas Prayer
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Loving Father,
Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
May the Christmas morning
make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus' sake.
A few important dates to remember for the start of 2019
Book Collection Day at the College - Thursday 24 January
First day back for Year 7, 10, and 12 - Friday 1 February
First day back for ALL STUDENTS - Monday 4 February
The Uniform Shop has finished trading for 2018, it will reopen throughout January at the times listed below, and normal trading hours will recommence from Monday 4 February, 2019.
Monday 14 January - 9am-1pm
Wednesday 16 January - 12pm-4pm
Thursday 17 January - 9am-1pm
Monday 21 January - 9am-1pm
Wednesday 23 January - 12pm-4pm
Thursday 24 January (book collection day) - 9am-6pm
Monday 28 January - 9am-1pm
Wednesday 30 January - 12pm-4pm
Thursday 31 January - 9am-1pm
Friday 1 February (first day of Term One) - 8am-4pm
Normal trade commences from Monday 4 February
Our Christmas wishes of happiness and joy to our Salesian College Community.
As another year at the College comes to a close, we wish all of our Salesian Community a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
As you read this, we are now journeying into the second week of Advent.
I was struck last week by the inspiring yet challenging words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, from his first Sunday of Advent Homily.
Pope Francis said that the time of Advent is a time of "consolation and hope," the beginning of "a new liturgical year, which brings with it the newness of our God, who is the 'God of every consolation.'" The Holy Father called to mind a former Bishop, who had written, "We are inclined to new things because we are born for great things." It's true, Pope Francis said. "We are born to be with the Lord. When we allow God to enter, true newness arrives."
"I hope you will live out Advent in this way," Pope Francis said, "as a time of consoling newness and joyful expectation." He said this world often seems full of fear – but that Advent responds to this with "the Gospel of Fearlessness," the opposite of fear. Two words from the Gospel of the First Sunday of Advent sum up this message: "Look up," and "raise up your heads." If fear is holding us down, he said, "Jesus invites you to turn your gaze to heaven, from whence He will come."
Within all of this, Pope Francis clearly sets us a challenge. To live with a sense of newness and joyful expectation. And how can we do this? This holy season of Christmas invites us all to allow Jesus Christ to enter our lives with that sense of newness and joyful expectation that a life we live where we encounter the true presence of Christ on a daily basis in the things we do, in the things we say, in the way we cultivate our relationships with others, in our acts on generosity and outreach, in our moments of silence and contemplation, in our moments of prayer, in the receiving of the Eucharist, and in recognising our own fragility and weakness, that we come to know that Christ's presence amongst us is a true blessing.
Finally, I extend my prayers and thoughts to all our college families for a very safe, healthy and joyful festive season. May the spirit of Christ be with you.
God bless.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
We are fast approaching the end of the Church's liturgical year and the beginning of Advent. This time is a gift, for in the busyness of the winding up of the school year and the preparations for Christmas and holidays, we are called to find time for inner silence where we can reflect on our lives and how we can be more like Christ. Advent gives us four weeks to reconsider the priorities in our lives and to choose again to be people of light and peace and love in the world.
Our Annual Awards Ceremony held last week in the Stadium was a wonderful celebration of excellence across all aspects of College life. My sincere thanks to all who helped bring the ceremony together, and to those wonderful students whose efforts were recognized in a very public way. The complete list of students receiving awards across the various categories of achievement can be viewed here.
Click here to read more about the College Annual Awards Ceremony, including the list of award recipients, and some photos from the event.
This was once again held at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Friday November 23, and it was such a joy to share in this wonderful occasion with our graduates and their families, many of whom have now educated their last child at the College. The College Staff are so very proud of our Year 12s as they now await their final subject and ATAR scores. As part of the dinner, a number of awards are presented, including the subject 'Dux' awards, the Long Tan Award and the Bosco Campus Award. Congratulations to all recipents.
Click here to read more about the Year 12 Graduation Dinner, including my final speech to the class, the list of award recipients, and some photos from the evening.
The Semester Two reports will be distributed next week via email, along with an important letter from the Principal. Can you please check your inboxes to ensure these arrive and you take the time to read each document carefully, especially the reports.
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present. Please keep the following in your prayers:
An Advent Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness,
we wait in hope.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces
to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things
look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways
long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.
To you we say, 'Come Lord Jesus!'
On Friday 16 November, we celebrated the year's success with our Annual Awards Ceremony
On Friday 16 November, we held our Annual Awards Ceremony in Lakeside Stadium. The Annual Awards Ceremony recognises students with awards across the areas of Community, College Values, and Learning Areas. During this Ceremony, we also hear from our 2018 Hall of Fame recipients and are treated to brief performances from our music and drama students.
To read more about this year's Hall of Fame participants, click here to read the Alumni section of this newsletter.
Thank you to all the parents and friends who attended our awards ceremony to support our students. Special thanks must go to the special guests and sponsors who attended; including Mr Josh Bull, Mr Rob Mitchell, FLTLT Wesley Jenkins, the Kirwan Family, and representatives fromn Sunbury Coaches, Jones Catering, Campion Education, Noone Imagewear, Educator Impact, World Strides, McIldowie & Partners, Don Bosco Retreat Centre, StepFwd IT, Fuji Xerox, Raysett, and Consolidated Services.
Congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients.
Click here to see the list of all 2018 Award recipients.
See the gallery below for some images from the event.
On Friday evening we farewelled our graduating class of 2018 at the Year 12 Graduation Dinner
Last Friday 23 November our graduating class of 2018 formally completed a truly wonderful journey with us at our Graduation Dinner.
It was an opportunity to come together one last time and congratulate our top performers and our leaders, and reflect with our friends on what has been a challenging-yet-magical experience.
It was a fitting finale to a tremendous achievement.
Click here to read Principal Mark Brockhus' final address to the Year 12 students.
Click here to see all the Award recipients for 2018.
To purchase photos from the evening, click here.
This year we were honoured to induct three new Hall of Fame recipients at our Annual Awards Ceremony.
Hall of Fame candidates are selected based on their contribution to the College and/or their community, the values reflected in their achievements, and the longevity of their achievements.
Congratulations to Richard Dickmann, Daniel Attard, and Justin Moore. Read more about each recipient below.
Richard Dickmann
Richard is inducted into the Hall of Fame for his contirbution to science and sustainable agriculture. Through collaborative projects, regular public speaking engagements, and contact with government, Richard is an active voice that leverages his skills to improve his surroundings.
Click here to find out more about Richard.
Daniel Attard
Daniel receives his induction into the Hall of Fame for his willingness to give selflessly to help others. He is a leading and loyal volunteer that attracts, engages, and inspires others. Daniel has been a long-standing member of Scouts Victoria.
Click here to find out more about Daniel.
Justin Moore
Dr Justin Moore is inducted into our Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding and longstanding commitment and contribution to the field of neurosurgery.
Click here to find out more about Justin.
Pictured above from left to right: Mr Mark Brockhus (Principal), Dr Justin Moore's Father and Mother (Justin resides in the US and was unable to attend),
Mr Richard Dickmann, and Mr Daniel Attard.
On Saturday 24 November, we held an open Alumni Reunion on the College grounds. It was fantastic to come together and reminisce.
Thank you to everyone who joined us. If you would like to get in touch with us about upcoming Alumni events, email email@example.com.
A few photos from the weekend have been added to the gallery below.
This coming Sunday we commence Advent. We pray that this Advent will be a time of true spiritual awakening and renewal, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World - Jesus Christ! Few statements carry as much emotion as this one.
With the arrival of Advent, we wait in further anticipation, with joy and longing, for the birth of Jesus. Our Liturgical narrative during Advent will beautifully unpack this story. We are called to listen to and reflect on the significance of the birth of Christ for our own lives.
I have often commented to students, that we find God in surprising moments of grace and in moments when we least expect, and we also find God in the experiences that call for patient waiting and trust.
Waiting is not the strong suit of many of us in our hurry-up culture. Everything is urgent. Waiting and being patient is foreign to people who expect quick relief, easy answers, solutions in a moment's notice, and simply feel that they don't have the time.
We can struggle to guard Advent because popular culture short-circuits this season of waiting and hope. We are tempted to go directly to celebrating Christmas without getting in touch with the part of ourselves that is longing, hoping, and trusting. And that longing, hoping and trusting that Christ enters our lives in a way that profoundly impacts us, is part of the journey through Advent we are all called to be open to.
Waiting is also difficult because we're forced to admit that we are not in control - God is. But through prayer, reflection, contemplation and the grace of God, we hope that Advent draws us to our faith and to see a more deeper meaning for the joy of Christmas.
An update from our Deputy Principals - Learning and Teaching - including important information about 2019 classes and booklists
Our Step Up program is well underway and it has been great to see so many of our students truly 'stepping up' in their new 2019 classes. We hope that the experience has our students excited and confident about the year ahead.
As 2018 draws to a close, we would like to thank all of our students, parents, and Salesian staff for a great year. In particular, we thank our Campus Directors, Stephanie Parisi, Narelle Stone, and Matthew Hurley, as well as the members of the Curriculum and Learning & Teaching teams who have supported us throughout the year. We appreciate their hard work and dedication towards putting the needs of our students at the centre of everything we do.
As we approach the end of Step Up, applications for subject changes have now closed. Please note that no subject change applications will be accepted until the end of Semester One. This is to allow for continuity in our teaching programs.
A reminder that physical copies of booklists have now been distributed to all students and digital versions are available by clicking the links below:
Savio 2019 Booklist: Year 7, Year 8
Mazzarello 2019 Booklist: Year 9
Bosco 2019 Booklist: Year 10, VCE
For VCE Geography and Literature students, please note that there is a new edition of the textbook in these subjects. The online ordering form has been updated but if you are purchasing texts elsewhere, please ensure you purchase the edition listed on the Campion site rather than in the printed version of the booklist.
For many Year 11 and 12 subjects, we have booklisted an online resource called Edrolo. Edrolo is a comprehensive, online, interactive video and exam simulation resource for Year 11 and 12 students. It is a compulsory purchase for all students. We will use Edrolo as a teaching and learning tool to further enhance what our teachers and students are doing day-to-day, including:
This is a great resource and we encourage you to ask your child about how they are utilising it throughout the year. You can see Edrolo in action by clicking here.
Work experience is the short-term placement of secondary school students with employers to provide insights into the industry and the workplace in which they are located. It provides students with the valuable opportunity to:
If your child is in Year 10 and interested in completing a work experience placement, the summer break is a great time to start making enquiries with possible host workplaces. Students are invited to find placements within the following periods and our fantastic Careers team are on hand to assist with the process:
Term 2 (29th April to 24th May)
Term 3 (5th August to 20th September)
During Term 3 and 4, some of our Year 7 students were selected to participate in the Secret Agent Society program. The program "decodes" the challenges young people face around socialising and also navigating through those tricky emotions like anger and anxiety.
Within the program, Students had the opportunity to discuss relevant social situations and other challenges that may lead to feeling anxious or angry.
Well done to our newest graduates!
With the school year drawing to a close, the Sports calendar is still busy. Congratulations to our Year 8 cohort and coaches, who have recently been announced winners of the 'SACCSS Year 8 Premier League Aggregate'. This is awarded to the most successful of the 12 SACCSS Schools across the eight different sports, which is a tremendous achievement. This is the second year in a row that the year level have won the aggregate.
Well done to our Year 8 girls who represented the College at last Thursday's Premier League Netball Grand Final. The Grand Final was a rematch of last year's Grand Final against MacKillop, where the girls lost in a golden goal shootout. Unfortunately, after a slow start, there was too much work to do and despite winning the last three quarters; our girls lost the match by six goals.
Due to inclement weather predicted for last Thursday, the Year 8 Boys Cricket Grand Final has been rescheduled for today (Tuesday) at Arnold's Creek in Melton. We wish the boys all the best!
At our College Awards Ceremony last Friday, we recognised our female and male 'Sportsperson of the Year'. Congratulations to both Emma Makhlouta (Naughton, Year 12) and Mitch Bruce (O'Grady, Year 10) who received the awards.
See below for an overview of their contribution to Sport at the College in 2018:
Emma Makhlouta
Mitchell Bruce
We look forward to Thursday's SACCSS Awards lunch, where Emma and Mitch, along with 18 other invited students, will have the opportunity to be recognised for their contributions to Sport for the College.
Would your child like to learn to play an instrument in 2019? At Salesian College we offer lessons on Brass, Woodwind, String, Voice, Percussion, Piano, and Guitar. Learning to play an instrument is a lifelong gift that has many academic and social benefits.
Specialist music lessons allow students to explore their instrument or voice on a weekly basis either as an enhancement to their classroom music program or purely for enjoyment and personal development. There is the opportunity to take instrumental exams through a number of exam boards as a way of motivating student progress. Any student studying curriculum Music at Years 10 to 12 are expected to take weekly lessons.
Instruments available:
Brass: Trumpet, Cornet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba
Woodwind: Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Saxophone, Bassoon
Percussion: Drum Kit and Orchestral Percussion
Keyboard: Piano
Guitar: Contemporary and Classical (including Bass)
Voice: Contemporary and Classical
Strings: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass
To enrol in instrumental lessons for 2019 please fill out the form on our Performing Arts Schoolbox Page.
Our College Band and VCE Music class both performed at the Celebration of Excellence. The College band consists of an impressive 70 students playing Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and Bass Guitar instruments. The band entertained guests as they arrived, and then played two songs as part of the ceremony.
Some members of the VCE Music class were selected to perform a special song at the awards day, "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz. The students gave an emotional and moving performance. Congratulations to all the perfermormers and the Arts awards winner for 2018, Isaac McKenzie. Congratulations to the Arts SAT Captains for 2018, Isaac McKenzie and Ebony Carlin.
Step Up has begun with 2019 classes starting. We have record numbers of students choosing to study Music, Dance and Drama as an elective subject and students have eagerly begun preparing for performances next year.
Year 12 students & Year 11 students who completed a Unit 3 & 4 subject may REGISTER NOW for the fastest access to results once they are released and choose a secure password.
Registration is open now by clicking here, or by using the Results and ATAR App for Android and Apple phones.
To register, students need to confirm their details including their VCE student number, and provide a private email address. The secure password must be at least 8 characters containing three of the following groups: Uppercase letter (A-Z), Lowercase letter (a-z), Numeral (0-9), Special character (()~`#$*&@^).
Results will be released on Friday 14 December 2018 at 7am.
If you have registered, you will be able to access your VCE results using one of the methods below:
Our Careers staff will be available Friday 14th December, 9am – 3pm for Change of Preference Counselling.
Please phone 9744 0031 or email firstname.lastname@example.com for an appointment
Students are also advised to go to Uni/TAFE Change of Preference Events or phone them on their hotlines.
Final Change of Preference deadline is 12pm Wednesday 19 December.
Year 10 Step Up students have begun undertaking the Morrisby Online Vocational Assessment. This tool combines a student's abilities, interests, and personality to suggest suitable careers. A parent night will be held in March 2019 to explain the results, and for students to receive their individual report. More information on the Morrisby can be found by scrolling down to the Morrisby Online section on our Schoolbox Page.
Hear from our 2019 College Captains experience at the School Captains Conference this weekend.
Attending their first event as our 2019 College Captains, Michaela Frantz and Joshua de Jonge have been in South Australia this past weekend with Mr Brockhus attending a School Captains Conference. Both Josh and Michaela have shared a short reflection from the weekend below.
"Over the past three days, both Michaela and I have been in Gawler, a town an hour out of Adelaide. Before arriving we were both excited yet nervous for what was to come, what activities we were going to be doing, and how we would mix with the other captains. Within 48 hours we made incredible friendships with amazing people and while writing this on the bus to the airport we are both smiling in reflection, though a bit sad at having to leave. We have made sure to all stay in touch and maintain connection."
Josh de Jonge
"Josh and I were able to bond with the likeminded captains through a series of activities including presentations about our school, leadership events, a tour of Adelaide Oval, an amazing race around Adelaide, plus many more. It was eye opening to see how diverse, yet similar, each of the Salesian schools were, and how overall we share the common values of kindness, respect, and love. It was such a rewarding experience where we all came away with new ideas and initiatives that we will work hard to implement. There is no doubt in my mind that we have made special bonds with colleagues – and friends – that will last a very long time."
Michaela Frantz
Information about our Private Bus Service for 2019
Did you know that Salesian College Sunbury have private buses that service the following towns:
• Gisborne
• New Gisborne
• Gisborne South
• Macedon
• Mount Macedon
• Woodend
• Riddells Creek
• Romsey
• ...and those areas in between!
2019 Applications are open now for travel on the private bus service. The service caters for Salesian students and must be submitted as soon as possible.
Please contact Marylou Jones (firstname.lastname@example.com), Bus Coordinator, for further details.
Confirmation of important dates for the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019
Wednesday 5 December 2018 - Last day of school for all students, 3pm finish
Friday 1 February 2019 - Year 7, 10, and 12 students return
Monday 4 February 2019 - All students return
Stay tuned for details around book collection, Uniform Shop trading hours, and any other important dates: updates will be posted to Schoolbox.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
A big thank you and well done to everyone – staff, students, and parents - for the way the final term for 2018 is progressing.
I have been most impressed by:
There really is a positive feel about the place and I encourage us all to maintain this great atmosphere. When we all contribute positively it makes such a difference!
Staffing for 2019 is coming together well. We are shaping an exciting team of new staff to join us next year following news of several staff departures. Further news on those coming and going will be made available in our next newsletter. Please continue to pray for our Year 12 students as they continue their VCE examinations this week. I am sure they will appreciate it.
One of the more significant events on College calendar is the Annual Awards Ceremony, to be held this year on Friday 16 November, from 9.15am -11.00am. This is our one whole school opportunity to recognize the achievements of our community – students past & present, staff and parents. The Annual Awards Ceremony will take place at Lakeside Stadium and will feature a showcase of performing and visual arts. I encourage as many parents as possible to attend; it once again promises to be a most entertaining event.
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present.
Please keep the following in your prayers:
Read about our service to mark the Centenary of Armistice
Yesterday our students participated in a Remembrance Service at school to commemorate the Centenary of Armistice. Sunday 11 November 2018 marked 100 years since the day the armistice was signed to end World War One.
Together, we took the time to remember and show gratitude to those who fought for our freedom, and those who made the supreme sacrifice, during the First World War.
Some photos from the service can be seen in the gallery at the bottom of the page.
We remember with thanksgiving those who made the supreme sacrifice for us in time of war. We pray that the offering of their lives may not have been in vain.
Today we dedicate ourselves to the cause of justice, freedom, and peace; and for the wisdom and strength to build a better world.
Read about some of the great activities that took place during our recent Salesian College Book Week
Last week, as part of the project based learning (PBL) program in English & Humanities, Year 7 students facilitated Book Week. Each group was challenged to run a workshop or activity in the Ciantar Learning Commons that promoted the importance of reading.
After much planning and preparation, the final products were very creative and succeeded in starting a school-wide conversation about reading.
Some of the events included:
To conclude the week, one PBL group set a Salesian College record with the most people reading at once in a set place. This was held on the Mansion Lawns, with 71 students and staff in attendance; all reading consistently for a mimum of three minutes.
It was an exciting week of events and the students managed the challenge with maturity and enthusiasm. Congratulations to all involved.
Book your tickets now to attend our end-of-year production
You are invited to join us for our end-of-year College Production, Where is the love?
The show is an original arrangement featuring some original work and some excerpts from known stories including The Grinch.
It includes musical and comedic elements and is suitable for all ages!
Ticket prices are $10 for students/children and $15 for adults - all proceeds will go to the St Vincent's Christmas Appeal.
The production will be held in the Mansion Dining Room, at Salesian College Sunbury.
Friday 30 November, from 7pm (expected to finish at approximately 8:30pm).
Tickets are strictly limited, so get in quick! Click here to book your tickets now.
I wrote the following reflection to our staff last week, but I soon realised the application is relevant to most of us, especially busy family life. This time of year, is largely the antithesis of silence or a slowing down. We are bombarded with stimuli overload, professionally, personally and in other dimensions of our lives. We come to accept these things to be fact. But what happens when these things overshadow some of the more important things we should be saying or doing as a matter of our everyday interactions with our families, colleagues, friends, and loves ones? The lines can get blurred very quickly. Before too long, we can easily find ourselves making excuses not to stop and say "hello" to someone for even a few minutes.
We also need to find time to reflect, even in our busyness, on what matters; it's important to find time to attending to our spiritual/faith needs just as much as we need time to reflect on our relationships with others.
I say this because the liturgical season of Advent is just around the corner. If we stay too busy or too preoccupied with irrelevant and trivial matters during Advent, we will not be prepared for Christmas. In fact, by the time Christmas gets here we may be too overwhelmed, too tired, and stressed out to enter deep into the gift of the birth of Christ. The true meaning of the season of preparation for Christmas that we call Advent, is about reflection, preparation, anticipation, waiting, and joyful celebration.
We also need silence to grow in the spiritual life. Now is the time to plan a period of silence each day throughout Advent. 5-10 minutes away from devices, the frenetic buzz of work, the noise of traffic, the bustle of the gym, the craziness of the supermarket, or any other busy activity. Find time to stop and be still, stop and enter a silent space.
The reflection, the silence, and the stillness are aspects of the Advent season. We also need to spend time praying or contemplating as well.
Advent could be a time to find those moments when we 'ground ourselves' in what matters the most and what is inherently important - our relationships with others, Christ, and our own wellbeing. A few moments of silence each day may help us tune into these things.
All students have now been emailed a list of their elective subjects for 2019 in preparation for the beginning of our Step Up program, which begins on Tuesday 20 November. This involves all students from Years 7-11 moving into their 2019 classes. The aim of the program is to give students a head start on their 2018 classes, to learn their timetable, and to meet their teachers. This program means that the end of year period is utilised for worthwhile learning activities, and the beginning of next year is smooth.
Student timetables will be uploaded to Schoolbox on Friday 16 November. Normal classes are suspended for this day to allow for the College awards morning as well as providing an opportunity for homeroom, year level, and house assemblies, so that students can farewell their current homeroom teacher and, for some students, their campus, before moving into the 2019 timetable.
And a reminder that Monday 19 November is a student-free day to enable teachers to finalise 2018 and prepare for Step Up classes.
Before and during Step Up, students will have an opportunity to request subject changes. Not all subject changes will be possible due to classes being full or clashes between other subjects. Applications must be made with the appropriate form which has been emailed to all students and is available from the relevant campus assistant, and must include a parent/guardian signature. VCE students must also consult a careers advisor before submitting their application. The deadline for applications is Friday 23 November. Please be aware that no further changes can be made after this date until the end of Semester One, 2019.
Because students will not have their textbooks or book-listed resources before Step Up, staff will be working on the premise that students will bring their device and basic stationery to classes. Paper copies of the 2019 book lists have been distributed to students in Years 7-9 and will be distributed to Year 10 and 11 students after exams. Digital versions of the book lists are located on the College website on each Campus page. Click the links below to view.
As we head into Step Up Week, families may need to be aware that every student copes with this transition differently. Some are excited and eager to begin the next year level, others feel anxious and apprehensive. At times the new year level will have different expectations and requirements so it is really important for students to listen in homeroom, read the daily news on Schoolbox and regularly check their emails. One significant difference for students going into Year 10 is that they do not wear their PE uniform to school when they have HPE/Health or Outdoor Education - students wear full summer uniform to school and get changed during the class time - this is very different to Year 9. Feel free to contact your child's homeroom leader if you have any concerns.
Joshua De Jonge and Michaela Frantz, our 2019 College Captains, along with Kyle Anderson and Jessica Clarke, 2019 Bosco Captains, represented Salesian College on Sunbury 11 November at the Sunbury RSL Commemoration Service.
A great opportunity is on offer to parents who have a child starting into Year 7 in 2019 or beyond.
Tuesday 27 November, 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Beginning the journey of high school is a time of great excitement and anticipation for many children, yet also a source of great apprehension for countless others. The good news is that there is a lot you can do as a parent to help prepare your child for this next step of their school journey.
In this webinar popular parenting educator, author, and secondary teacher, Sharon Witt, will share a bag full of practical strategies guaranteed to remove the stress and ensure a smooth transition to secondary school.
In this webinar you'll learn:
Click here to sign up for the Webinar
Congratulations to our eight Year 8 Premier League teams that have represented the College with great pride over the last seven rounds of competition.
Congratulations also to our Netball, Cricket, and Boys and Girls Volleyball teams who finished on top of the ladder and undefeated in the Northern Conference and will now play in this Thursday's Premier League Semi Finals against the Western Conference for a spot in next week's Grand Final.
For details about venues and start times, please head to the Year 8 Premier League section on our Sport Schoolbox page.
Best of luck to all!
On Tuesday 30 October, the VET music band went to Roxburgh College for their Year 12 exam. The day started out at school with extensive rehearsal from 9:00 until 10:20am. Afterwards, we headed to Roxburgh College. The exams were held in their auditorium which had been set up with lights and boosted sound. After being introduced to the examiners, the exam commenced. The exam required a setting to be chosen and created, so our students chose a wedding scene and performed five songs that would be suited to being performed at a wedding. The songs ranged from upbeat joyous songs as well as some slow romantic ones. The total performance time was twenty minutes.
Well done to all the students who performed.
The Salesian Concert Band performed at St Anne's Art Show on the Wednesday 31 October. Parents and friends enjoyed watching our Concert band perform. It was a great opportunity to build community spirit and help St Anne's start an instrumental music program.
The Year 7-9 Dance and Music students held a performance last Thursday 8 November in the Ballroom to showcase the work they have been doing in their classes this semester. The students prepared group Dances and Songs to perform for parents and friends. Thank you to everyone who attended the show.
Would your child like to learn to play an instrument in 2019? At Salesian College we offer lessons on Brass, Woodwind, String, Voice, Percussion, Piano, and Guitar. Learning to play an instrument is a lifelong gift that has many academic and social benefits.
Specialist music lessons allow students to explore their instrument or voice on a weekly basis either as an enhancement to their classroom music program or purely for enjoyment and personal development. There is the opportunity to take instrumental exams through a number of exam boards as a way of motivating student progress. Any student studying curriculum Music at Years 10 to 12 are expected to take weekly lessons.
Instruments available:
Brass: Trumpet, Cornet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba
Woodwind: Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Saxophone, Bassoon
Percussion: Drum Kit and Orchestral Percussion
Keyboard: Piano
Guitar: Contemporary and Classical (including Bass)
Voice: Contemporary and Classical
Strings: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass
To enrol in instrumental lessons for 2019, please fill out the form on our Performing Arts Schoolbox Page.
The Year 7, 8 and 9 Music and Dance students performed a concert showcasing their work in class this semester. The Music students performed as a Concert band and entertained the crowd with a number of songs including Funky Town and Raiders of the Lost Ark March. The Year 9 Music class had formed Rock band and chosen a song to arrange, rehearse, and perform. There was a range of songs in different styles showing the students hard work and progress in Music this semester. The Year 7 and 8 Dance students performed whole class Dance items as well as small group performances, showcasing their dedication and commitment to dance this semester. We were also treated to Senior dance solo performances from VCE dance students who had recently completed their dance exam, including James Dillon.
Congratulations to all the students who performed and thank you to Mary-Lou Bond, Rani Valencich, Dennis Berto, Donna Cicero, Gerard Walker and Mackenzie Anderson who assisted on the night and to JayCees catering for providing delicious food at the event.
Careers Education at Salesian aims to develop students in three ways: self-awareness and self-development, careers exploration, and career management.
Over the last three weeks Mazzarello Year 9 students were presented with the future outlook of careers and technology. All students completed learning activities using our Schoolbox Careers Portal to complete self-awareness and job interest tests and quizzes, a personal Career Action Plan summary of their achievements and goals, career investigation, and a Resume and Cover Letter. Parents can see the learning activities and access resources by clicking here.
Click here for further Career News articles
Read about a recent project from Year 7 Applied Mathematics; an elective class for strong mathematics students
Year 7 Applied Mathematics is an elective class for strong mathematics students who are ready for a challenge. In class, students have been exposed to the many career opportunities in mathematics and they work to tackle real-life Mathematics problems.
For their major project, students were given the challenge to design a water theme park for Salesian College Sunbury using algebra, based on a design brief. Once completed, they presented their plans and the Mathematics behind it to Mr Brockhus for approval and answered all of his questions.
Congratulations to all the students involved for taking up the challenge and for presenting creative maps of their theme parks using complicated mathematics.
Some photos from the class are in the gallery below.
Relevant events and updates from our local community
'Positive Relationships, Resilient Families' is brough to you by Hume City Council.
Multiple sessions are being held over the next few months; all sessions are free but bookings are essential.
Click here for more information, and visit hume.vic.gov.au/parenting to book tickets.
On Saturday 24 November, all alumni of Salesian College Sunbury are invited to attend and open Alumni Reunion in the College Mansion from 11am to 1pm.
RSVP to College Reception, 9744 0000.
Come along and catch up with some of your old classmates!
The Mountview Theatre is hosting a local performer's show, The Magic Hour, on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 November.
For more information, click here.
To book tickets, click here.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
The signs of Hallowe'en are everywhere in our supermarkets and shops. It would be easy to forget in all this hype that Hallowe'en is really All Hallows Eve, the day before the feast of All Hallows – or All Saints – on November 1st.
The Christian feasts of All Saints and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (or All Souls Day) that follows it, are significant feasts in the life of the Church. They are a reminder that the Church is a community – a communion – of all the faithful, both in this world and beyond. We are connected in Christ to all those who have gone before us, as we are connected to the faithful here on earth. This year we include new members of the Communion of Saints, most notably St Pope Paul VI and St Oscar Romero, who were canonised recently.
These feasts invite us to pray for all those who have gone before us and all those who have led lives of holiness, and they begin a month of prayer for the dead. Indeed, to pray for the dead, and the living, is a spiritual work of mercy. Let us take the time to embrace this work of mercy during November and let's not lose sight of these important feasts in the midst of our busy lives.
Last week, the College bade 'farewell' to the Graduates of 2018 over several days, culminating in a joyous celebration of the Eucharist in our own Lakeside Stadium. I wish to commend the 12s on the way they concluded their formal classes, respectful of others and of their College. At our final whole school assembly for the year, I spoke of the importance of gratitude and of recognising the contribution of others in their education – parents, staff, and peers. You can read my entire speech here.
Last Friday was "World Teachers Day". As I said to our departing Year 12s at their final assembly, schools are 'human institutions' that owe their success to the dedication and commitment of all those who work in them. I would like to extend my thanks to all the staff at Salesian College for their commitment to the wellbeing, growth, and development of each student in their care and for their hard work to ensure that each student has every opportunity to flourish.
Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered the apology to the victims and survivors of institutional sexual abuse in the House of Representatives as part of the Royal Commission process. Salesian College recognises this apology as another significant moment in our nation's ongoing efforts to make our schools and institutions safe for all young people. As I have stated publicly before, the abuse perpetrated by individuals here at Rupertswood was a clear betrayal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and should never have happened. The great work of the Royal Commission in shining a light on these dark moments in our history must now result in actions that support survivors and create systems that keep children safe from such harm.
Maxine Di Blasi (Year 7) was recently selected in the U14's Victorian FFV NTC Squad (state team) for the 2019 soccer season. She has also been selected as Captain of the Victorian Futsal U13 team for the Nationals in Sydney, which will take place in January 2019. Congratulations Maxine!
On Friday I had the joyous task of calling five incoming students and their parents to inform them of their successful application for a scholarship in 2019. Well over 100 students applied for one of the five available scholarships, providing tuition fees for their first year at the College.
The recipients are:
These outstanding students will be introduced to the College at our Annual Awards Presentation Ceremony in November. My thanks to the many students who applied but were unsuccessful.
At the conclusion of our Year 12 Farewell assembly last week, we thanked our outgoing Captains Nicholas, Amy, Olivia, and Brad for their wonderful leadership throughout the year. Their successors will certainly have big shoes to fill, and we were thrilled to announce that our senior leaders for 2019 will be:
Bosco Captains: Jessica Clarke & Kyle Anderson
College Captains: Michaela Frantz & Josh De Jonge
The formal announcement and blessing of all our student leaders for 2019 will take place at our Awards Ceremony on November 16.
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present. Please keep the following in your prayers:
Remembering the Saints
Living God, in whom there is no shadow or change, we thank you for the gift of life eternal, and for all those who, having served you well, now rest from their labours. We thank you for all the saints remembered and forgotten,
who have died and entered into glory.
We bless you for their life and love, and rejoice that, for them,
'all is well, and all manner of things will be well.'
God of Jesus and our God, mindful of all who have gone on ahead of us, teach us, and each twenty-first century disciple of every race and place, to follow their example to the best of our ability:
to feed the poor in body or spirit,
to support and comfort those who mourn,
to encourage the meek and stand with them in crises,
to affirm those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
to cherish and learn from the merciful,
to be humbled by, and stand with, the peacemakers.
Let us clearly recognise what it means to be called the children of God, and to know we are to be your saints, neither by our own inclination nor in our own strength, but simply by the call and the healing holiness of Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Read about last weekend's Rupertswood Harvest
Last weekend, on Sunday 28 October, we hosted our annual Rupertswood Harvest on the mansion lawns.
The Harvest is a fantastic opportunity for our agriculture students and staff to showcase their livestock to the community and share some more information about the day to day happenings on the farm. This year, we were once again so pleased to have a fantastic level of community engagement, with attendance numbers in the thousands! It was a fantastic day with nice weather, great entertainment, and interesting displays including sheep shearing, whip cracking, and cattle demonstrations.
Thank you to all the students, staff, and community members (especially St Anne's and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary Schools, and Rupertswood Cricket Club) who took part in the day by hosting stalls, representing the College, performing, or volunteering. Jason Ritchie, our Farm Manager, shares how impressed he was with both the students and the animals on the weekend in his update later in this newsletter.
As always, we welcome any feedback in an effort to make sure we are always improving. If you attended our Rupertswood Harvest this year, we would be grateful if you completed our short feedback survey; click here to begin.
We look forward to another great Rupertswood Harvest next year; if you would like to be involved next year, please contact Kerri Pozaic (firstname.lastname@example.com).
See below for some photos from the weekend.
Last Tuesday evening we held our Year 12 Graduation Mass. Read more
Last Tuesday night the college community celebrated the Graduation Mass of the Year 12 Class of 2018. Such a fitting Eucharistic celebration for our young people as they formally end their time with us. Our Salesian Provincial, Fr William Matthews SDB, returned to the college to concelebrate our special Mass with our College Rector, Fr Joe Binh Dinh SDB.
The Mass focused on the Gospel values of Faith, Hope, and Love. Throughout the Mass, we were reminded that these values very much underpin our call as followers of Christ. Our Yr 12s were encouraged to live lives that reflect the worthiness of these values in all that they do, and in all that they say.
The Communion Reflection was a poem entitled Stand Tall, Stand Proud read by the Bosco Campus Captain, Olivia Manders. The poem reminded us that no matter what challenges we face in life, we can stand tall and stand proud with faith, hope and love, as a we are a unique gift made in the image of God.
The lighting of the candles given as a gift to the Year 12 Class of 2018, was prompted by words spoken by the Director of Bosco Campus, Mr Matthew Hurley, who challenged our Year 12s to ensure that they become an illuminating presence in the world.
Mrs Heidi Woodruff and Sr Rochelle Lamb FMA, led a choir of Savio Campus students who beautifully sang throughout the Mass, accompanied by staff playing various instruments.
A big thank you is extended to all who had a part in planning and preparing this liturgical celebration for our Year 12 class of 2018.
We pass on our very best wishes to the graduating class in both their upcoming final examinations and assessments, and their lives outside the College.
And the winners are...! Find out the results for this year's Papworth Cup
At the end of each year, one house is awarded the winners of the Papworth Cup, named after Fr Papworth, a previous Principal of Salesian College Sunbury. Points are accrued throughout the year at four House activities/events: Swimming, Athletics, MADD Day, and Cross Country. Points are awarded for participation across the year levels as well as excellence.
House Captains, Daisy Shoebridge and Charlie Greenwood, were presented the Cup on behalf of their house at the Year 12 final assembly last week.
This year, we had four different Houses win the four different carnivals which made the final standings rather tight.
Congratulations to all students who were involved in the different activities; it's great to see such high levels of participation and House spirit! A few photos from the events throughout 2018 are included in the gallery at the bottom of the page.
See the final standings (overall and for each event) below:
As we begin the month of November, it is a time traditionally set aside by Catholics to remember both the Saints and those who have died. "All Saints Day" (1 November) and "All Souls Day" (2 November) set the tone for the month in our Liturgical calendar, prior to our entrance into the Liturgical season of Advent. The pain of death and loss touches all people, a point that should never be forgotten.
The Saints have long been considered our ancestors and friends in our Catholic tradition. They accepted the godly realism of their lives, shared it with others on Earth, and continue to do so now. We believe that they "intercede" for us here below, and in a special way, they are linked with us in what we call "the communion of Saints."
All Souls Day and the commemoration of the dead throughout the month of November is a source of consolation and hope for each of us. It is dedicated to the memory, not just of the Saints but also to all the faithful departed. For Christians and Catholics, they are already within reach of eternal life, and the loving arms of Jesus.
No matter what your religious convictions are, during this month we are called to remember those close to us who have passed. We are invited to seek comfort and consolation from those around us. We are invited never to lose memories.
We pray to God that in our times of anguish and grief, and despair and isolation that may be experienced when we lose someone who is loved, that His warm embrace is felt and His healing presence is known.
The Oratory Program at Salesian College Sunbury recognises the need to challenge those high achieving students who will benefit from extension in their academic program. Students in the program study their core subjects (Religious Education, English, Humanities, Mathematics, Science, and Health and Physical Education) together, with an emphasis on going 'deeper' into the concepts and skills in these subjects. It is an excellent opportunity for like-minded students to learn with and from each other in an academically challenging environment.
We are currently interviewing students and their families who have been invited to join the Year 7 Oratory class of 2019, as well as some students to join the Year 8 class next year. Invitations are based on consistent academic performance, a demonstrated willingness to seek extension, and teacher recommendations (either primary school teachers or Year 7 teachers).
Here is a report from Iris Mentor, a member of the Year 7 Oratory class this year.
Hey Year Sevens of 2019!
My name is Iris, and I have been asked to write a little bit about Oratory for you.
In my opinion, Oratory is wonderful. I think that it was the best thing I ever could have done for my education. See, in primary school, Maths was never my strong subject. My English, on the other hand, was too good for most of the class. So, English for me was sometimes very boring for all of the repetitive nature involved.
When I applied for Salesian and got accepted, it was then that we found out about this "Oratory Program" that was being started up. The purpose of the class was simple- helping students to actually learn things at a rate that would test them. My parents then signed me up, because they knew how much I frustration I harboured at not being able to learn at my rate, as opposed to everybody else's.
Since joining Oratory, my English skills have soared, and (to my astonishment and surprise) my Math skills have improved as well! Oratory has sort of become my (albeit sometimes challenging) family, and I could not have wished for a better one.
Due to the progression of the Oratory program into Year 8 next year, this will be offered in the future to those who would have in the past been selected for BOOST Enrichment. Therefore, in 2019, we will no longer run a BOOST Enrichment program at the College.
In 2019, in response to changing demands and meeting students' needs we are going to be running a full literacy program in Year 7 BOOST. BOOST has always been made up of two periods per cycle of literacy and one period of numeracy but will become three periods of literacy support in the new system. With our increased numeracy results, our Maths Pathways program and more targeted teaching in Maths we have decided to focus solely on developing literacy skills in the future.
This does not apply to students currently in the BOOST program and continuing into Year 8 next year – the current system will still apply to them. Dedicated semester-based Literacy and Numeracy electives will continue to be offered in Year 7s on an invitation basis based on diagnosed need.
Please click here to download the end of year timetable.
The last day of Year 10 and 11 classes is Thursday 1 November and the day concludes at the normal time of 3.20pm. The first exams begin at 9.00am on Friday 2 November with English.
We expect all Year 10 and 11 students to sit their exams. If they have three exams scheduled for the same day, they can see Ms Carabott to reschedule one exam. Two exams on the same day is not unusual, and we would expect students to sit both. Exam results will be posted on Schoolbox by the end of term. Please make sure your child has their student ID card and the appropriate equipment for all exams. They cannot take phones or electronic devices into the exam room, so it's best if they leave these things at home on days of the exam. Mobile phones will be collected and stored for them if they require, they must be turned off.
Find out about Tuning in to Teens; the twice-yearly course offered by our Wellbeing Team
Twice a year, our Wellbeing Team at the College run a course for parents called Tuning in to Teens. This week the course begins for its second run in 2018 and we're looking forward to working with a new group of parents for the next six weeks.
The program runs in the evening and looks at how to respond to the challenging emotions and behaviours we see displayed in young people. Parents often feel like their child turns into a different person when they hit puberty, and can find themselves thinking "Who is this person? They're nothing like that friendly, grateful child I had in primary school!"
Young people, too, struggle to work out how to manage the changes in their body, hearts and minds. Being a teenager has never been more challenging, and the strong emotions of adolescence can really take over their life.
Tuning in to Teens supports parents to 'decipher' what their teenager's behaviours are really communicating to them. A teenager with 'attitude' becomes a young person feeling stuck, alone, judged or misunderstood. A teenager who is 'defiant' becomes a young person desperate for independence. The course teaches parents how to start conversations with their teenager to open up communication, connectedness and understanding.
If this program sounds like something you'd be interested in, please contact Laura Spencer (email@example.com).
Congratulations to our First XI Cricket team, who hosted Salesian Chadstone today and won the match, retaining the Fr. Terry Jennings Shield.
Salesian Sunbury won the toss and elected to bat in great conditions. We managed to get off to a flying start, with Riley Vernon and Emerson White posting an 83 run opening partnership off the first nine overs. The runs continued to tick over steadily until Luke Shoesmith entered the crease and whacked 77 runs off 27 balls, which took us to 5/212 off our 20 overs. With the ball, we managed to share the wickets around and keep Salesian Chadstone to 9/131 of their 20 overs. Flynn Lakey and Anzour Yousuf were the multiple wicket takers. We look forward to heading over the Salesian Chadstone next year to try to retain the shield again.
Congratulations to O'Grady House and House Captains, Daisy Shoebridge and Charlie Greenwood, who were announced as the winners of this year's Fr Papworth Cup at last week's Year 12 final assembly.
To read more about the Papworth Cup and the detailed results, click here.
Please see the Sports Page on School Box for further information and sporting updates.
The Salesian Concert Band will perform at St Anne's Art Show on Wednesday 31 October at 3:45pm. Parents and friends are warmly invited to St Anne's Primary School to watch the performance. The Band have been working hard to learn new work and rehearse together every week. Thanks to Sarah Holden, Donna Cicero and Ian Hocking who work with the band at rehearsals.
The Year 7-9 Dance and Music students will hold a performance on Thursday 8 November at 6:30pm in the Ballroom (College Mansion) to showcase the work they have been doing in their classes this semester. The students have been preparing group dances and songs to perform for parents and friends. All are welcome to attend the show.
To stay up to date with all the latest Performing Arts news please see our Schoolbox page.
Heidi Woodruff, Performing Arts Coordinator
The Salesian College Visual Arts department is proud to present the VCE Visual Arts Exhibition, an exhibition of Year 11 & 12 VCE Media, Studio Arts, and Visual Communication Design. Each year we are astounded by the creative results of our Visual Art students. We are fortunate to be able to work with all manner of materials, techniques, and production process. This year we have students working with wood, printmaking, drawing, watercolour, painting, photography, film, print, and several digital media techniques. The works will be on display during school hours, finishing Friday 2 November, in the SAGE Gallery.
Some examples are below. We hope you can join us all to support and celebrate the exceptional achievements of the Year 12 Graduates of 2018, and all of the Visual Arts students.
On Tuesday 16 October, the Year 11 Drama class had their solo performance night. The night included solo work from each Year 11 student and a Year 10 ensemble performance. As a year 11 drama student, we were required to develop a six-minute solo around a particular prescribed structure. We chose from six options and I chose the solo structure of 'The Statue'. The Statue was a performance about a living Statue busker in Melbourne who sees both the fragility and happiness of life from a range of perspectives and through many different stories that have happened in Melbourne over time. We created these over two months working towards this performance night where we were assessed on a number of drama skills and knowledge, as well as our creation of a performance against the prescribed structure. Our assessment also includes our documentation and rehearsal stages, meaning that a lot of work and research has to go into one, short six minute performance! After weeks of creating and rehearsing, the night had finally come. My classmates and I were feeling nervous all day leading up to the performance! After school we got dressed in our costumes and rehearsed to prepare ourselves for our solos. A highlight was being able to have dinner together as a family and to support each other through the process. The turn out was great with many of our friends and families coming to watch and support us. I was fortunate enough to watch all my other class mate's performances and see all the hard work that they had invested into their solos as well. The night turned out to be amazing with a great atmosphere, each of us performing incredibly well.
By Taylah Markham, Drama Student
The 2018 Year 12 dance students successfully completed their Performance Examination on Wednesday 10 October in front of a panel of three examiners at Dancescape Studios in Airport West. This is the first time we have not had to travel to Collingwood or Port Melbourne so the group enjoyed the convenience of a studio so close.
The dancers performed their Technique Solo Dance and thirty minutes later, their Composition (storyline) routine, which are both dances that the students choreographed themselves. They challenged themselves to create dance works that inspired, questioned ethics, mental and physical health issues, and even the evil within. They approached their exams with a calm attitude and in top form putting in many hours to ensure they were well prepared. We will find out their results on Friday 14 December. The students are currently preparing for their written exam and we wish them all the best.
Mary-Lou Bond
Many aspects of our curriculum relate to foundation, technical & entrepeneurial skills needed in future work and career development. This week in Year 7 Applied Mathematics, students were exposed to the many career opportunities in mathematics and tackle real life Mathematics problems.
For their major project, students were given the challenge to design a water theme park for Salesian college using Algebra, based on a design brief. Today they presented their plans and the Mathematics behind it to Mr Brockhus for approval and answered all of his questions.
Students are to be congratulated for taking up the challenge and for presenting creative maps of their theme parks using complicated mathematics.
All young people need a Tax File Number (TFN) if employed & when accepting an offer at a University or TAFE. Applying for a TFN is easy; students just fill in the online form & then have their identity verified at an Australia Post Office. Click here to apply.
Your tax file number (TFN) is your personal reference number in the tax and super systems. Your TFN is an important part of your tax and super records as well as your identity, & need to be kept secure. TFN is yours for life. You keep the same TFN even if you change your name, change jobs, move interstate or go overseas.
You don't have to have a TFN, but without one you pay more tax. You also won't be able to apply for government benefits, lodge your tax return electronically or get an Australian business number (ABN).
Since 2015, Victorian schools are not able to process them.
To view our full newsletter on the topics below, visit our Careers Page on Schoolbox.
Read an update from our Farm Manager about our agriculture program and the farm
The past fortnight has been very busy on the farm as we worked towards the most important and final showing of our livestock at our Rupertswood Harvest on Sunday.
The scholarship team did a fantastic job showing our livestock to the guests as well as providing detailed information and answers to their many and varied questions regarding the sheep and cattle. All in all, the animals behaved themselves very well except for Nav the Bull who was marched back to his paddock early in disgrace as he refused to participate in the festivities.
The lucerne has been cut for the first time and will be baled early this week. With some irrigation, it should be possible to get three or four cuts from the paddock over the next few months. The barley has also matured to the milky dough stage, this is the point when the seeds in the head are developing and beginning to harden but are still soft and form a white dough-like substance when squeezed between your fingers. This is the time to cut it for optimum quality of hay to be produced and Ben has done that last week. Later this week, the pasture hay will also be cut and we should have a lot of hay baled up in the paddocks by the end of the month.
A small reminder following on from the Harvest festival, the farm still has laying chooks for sale for $15 each as well as piglets (approx 15kg) in multiple colours for $35. Our piglets would make good pets and feed the family at the same time. You can also purchase small square bales of oat and rye hay for only $5, as well as larger rolls of ryegrass hay for $70.
All are an absolute bargain and I am sure will sell out quickly. If you're interested, contact Jan at reception on 9744 0000.
We are also holding a Clearing Sale at the College on Saturday 10 November where we will be auctioning a variety of surplus and vintage farm equipment. See our College Facebook page for more information.
Congratulations and best wishes to our Year 12 Class of 2018. Read the final Principal's Address to the Year 12 students
Friday 19 October saw the final day of school for our Year 12 graduating class of 2018. The cohort took part in a number of celebrations and activities throughout that week and the week after, as they celebrated the significant milestone together.
We would like to extend our congratulations and best wishes to all of the students as they tackle their final exams and assessments, and into their futures.
Read below for the final Principal's Address from Mark Brockhus to our Class of 2018; there are some photos of the students as they left the College on their last day in the gallery at the bottom of the page.
"Good afternoon everyone,
I would like to welcome you all here for this assembly, the final one ever for our graduating Class of 2018. Although it is certainly a special occasion for our Year 12s, each of us here today – teachers and students alike – share in the excitement and pride that comes with completing something through to the very end. In chatting with a few of you this week, this day comes with some mixed emotions – joy is certainly up there, but so is a sense of sadness and loss in knowing that your time at school together is at an end. For me at least, it only feels like yesterday when I welcomed you all to Salesian College Sunbury on your Orientation Day; excited, nervous, full of energy, and ready for a new adventure after stepping away from your primary schools. These years spent together have been full of ups and downs, as any journey is, and I have admired the way that you, as a group, have navigated the many challenges thrown your way, whether in the classroom, on the sporting arena on stage, or in the community. Each of you, in your own way, have made me very proud to be your Principal, and on behalf of all your teachers, I wish to thank you for all you've contributed to our school community.
I would normally use this opportunity to provide a few words of advice to you, either for the challenging weeks just ahead or for life in general, but instead thought I'd share a news article I read recently in the London Times about sport. Now, before the non-sporty people around me turn off, just listen for a moment.
Year 12s, I share these thoughts with you because I don't want you to leave here today without acknowledging the efforts of your Salesian teachers from across your six years here; those who have helped guide and mentor you into the fine people you are today.
Yes, we are all so proud of you today and wish you nothing but the best for your future. However, the way you finish something is just as important, if not more so, than the way you start it, and I challenge you to do this better than any year level that has gone before you. Make sure you acknowledge their efforts to be present in your lives – yes, they often nagged about assessments, reports, uniforms, behaviour - but above all else, what they really want is for you to be happy, happy at school and indeed into the years beyond school. I hope you have been happy here at Salesian College and we hope you find happiness in the years ahead. Make sure to thank your teachers for the gift of a Salesian education that they have all worked together to provide for you.
Make the effort to thank your parents also for this gift of education, all thirteen years of it! They were your first mentors in life and will continue to be part of the rich journey that lies ahead. As I've said often, you belong to the privileged minority of children in the world have received an education, and you have your parents sacrifice to thank for that.
Finally, acknowledge each other for the gifts you have brought to the College and for the loving support shown to each other. You have willingly and enthusiastically accepted the challenges presented to you in many leadership capacities, both formal and informal, to positively influence the student body as a whole. Special mention must be made of the fantastic contribution of our four Captains – Amy, Nicholas, Olivia, and Brad. They have been outstanding role models for our entire community and I wish to formally thank them for their efforts on your behalf.
Year 12s, as you prepare to leave Salesian College Sunbury next week, take a moment to reflect on the many valuable lessons this school has taught you. God bless you as you make your final preparations for your exams and then as you take on life beyond our school gates. With considerable guidance from both home and school, you have reached this milestone with honour and integrity, well equipped. If nothing else, I hope you have learnt to live your lives the same way – with honour and integrity – striving to be your best always. Year 12, you go with our fondest farewells, best wishes, and heartfelt prayers. God Bless!"
Mark Brockhus, Principal
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
After what I hope was a restful and enjoyable holiday, I extend to all members of the Salesian College community a very warm welcome back for the final term of the year. A special welcome is extended to all those who have been travelling recently, in particular the staff and students from the Kakadu Trip [pictured below].
All students have returned well and have re-engaged positively with school life, both in the classroom and out. Our Savio Feast Day last Friday was a great example of students embracing our College's charism of "being happy in the Spirit", with a beautiful celebration of Eucharist followed by some fun activities and a shared lunch. For those who have visited the College recently, you will see that there has been a great deal of progress with the Ashes Oval and Basketball Court re-developments, and both are on track to be completed before the start of the 2019 school year. At present, we have close to 1,300 students enrolled for 2019, with over 270 applicants for Year 7 in 2020. Offers for enrolment in 2020 will be made later this week, and parents are encouraged to complete the acceptance forms as soon as possible.
Our Year 12's will soon celebrate their final days in secondary schooling. Formal classes finish on Friday 19 October and the examination period commences on Wednesday 24 October for some students. I ask all members of the Salesian College community to keep these young people in your prayers, that they may enjoy success in their endeavors. I commend the prayer of St Francis de Sales (see below) to both the Year 12 students and their families.
Throughout 2017/18 there has been a great deal of funding uncertainty regarding Catholic Schools, especially here in Victoria. This was brought about by changes to the Federal Model for funding education that disproportionately impacted upon Catholic schools. Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM), led by our Executive Director Mr Stephen Elder, lobbied hard for a fairer system for allocating funds, with the support of many parents who contacted their Federal and State Members. Last week we received very positive news from Canberra regarding the future funding of Catholic Schools, and this has been further supported by State Government (and Opposition) promises for Capital Funding injections here in Victoria. This is wonderful news for all involved in Catholic education, especially for parents who are already making substantial sacrifices to send their children to Catholic schools. Further information regarding these funding announcements can be found here.
The Term 3 Student of the Term Awards were presented at our final Assembly in September. I wish to publicly congratulate each of the following students for their achievements:
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff, and parents, both past and present.
Please keep the following in your prayers:
Be at Peace.
Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;
rather look to them with full hope as they arise.
God, whose very own you are,
will deliver you from out of them.
He has kept you hitherto,
and He will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand it,
God will bury you in his arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
the same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you then and everyday.
He will either shield you from suffering,
or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace,
and put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.
Read about our students' recent trip to Kakadu, NT
Over the recent school holidays, 42 Year 10 students travelled to Kakadu, Northern Territory. We are extremely proud of the group as they were fantastic representatives of our College throughout the trip; we received very positive feedback from the general public that we encountered as well as from the group's driver and cook. The success of the trip is very much a credit to the mature, engaged, and enthusiastic students and the team of staff who joined them; everyone enjoyed a great experience with great weather, much laughter, and twelve days of memorable moments that will be cherised forever.
One of our Year 10 students, Michelle Grover, has written the reflection below:
Over the holidays, 42 Year 10 students and five teachers had the fantastic opportunity to go on the 2018 Kakadu trip. Our trip started on Friday 21 September where we all met at the bus stop at school early in the morning to travel to the airport and fly to Uluru.
Some of the amazing things that we did during the twelve days we were away included:
The last day finally came sadly, and we packed up camp for the last time, travelled to the airport, and left the Northern Territory for Melbourne.
By the end of the trip, we had all made many new friends and got to know people we wouldn't have met otherwise. We were also so lucky to have had the opportunity to visit so many amazing places and learn so many new things. It was a great trip that I'll always remember fondly. If you are in year 9 now, I definitely would recommend going on the Kakadu trip next year!
See the gallery below for some images from the trip, more photos have also been shared on our College Facebook page.
It's time for this year's Rupertswood Harvest; join us on Sunday 28 October
It's that time of year again! Join us on Sunday 28 October, from 10am-1pm for our annual Rupertswood Harvest!
Come along to see what our Agriculture Program has to offer, meet our livestock, watch sheep shearing, and visit the market stalls.
There will be free face painting and balloon animals for the kids, as well as a number of food and market stalls, including a coffee van, an ice cream truck, a sausage sizzle, and a variety of jams, chutneys and similar items sold by our students. There will also be live entertainment outside our College Mansion.
Entry is FREE, so grab the family and come along for a great morning on our College grounds. Dont forget: BYO shopping bags!
More updates and information will be share on our Rupertswood Harvest Facebook Page.
Our Year 11 and 12 VCE Media, Studio Arts, and Visual Communication Design are holding a Visual Arts Exhibition next week. Read more
The Salesian College Visual Arts department is proud to present this year's VCE Visual Arts Exhibition, an exhibition of Year 11 and 12 VCE Media, Studio Arts, and Visual Communication Design. Each year we are astounded by the creative results of our Visual Arts students. We are fortunate to be able to work with all manner of materials, techniques, and production processes. This year we have students working with wood, printmaking, drawing, watercolour, painting, photography, film, print, as well as several digital media techniques.
This year, the Exhibition will be opened to our parents and friends on Wednesday 24 October from 5-7pm in the SAGE Gallery at Salesian College. It will remain open in the SAGE Gallery until Friday 2 November during normal school hours.
We hope you can join us all to support and celebrate the exceptional achievements of the Year 12 Graduates of 2018, and all of the Visual Arts students.
I recently attended several events that made me stop and think about the inherent connection between faith and community. In all instances I witnessed, both in a liturgical setting and non-liturgical setting, I couldn't help but sense that in the given moments, the people who had gathered, young and old alike, were there because there was a sense of something uniting everyone at that point. There was a 'connection' that permeated the gathering beyond the need to be just present.
Congregations are often regarded as collections of individuals that occupy a particular building and worship according to a particular tradition. Questions about congregations focus on issues like "what do the members believe?" and "what do they imagine their mission to be?" While these questions are important, we also need to think about what brings people together. Congregations have beliefs and missions that stem from their experiences and shared history. But beliefs and mission are just two pieces in a much larger puzzle. Congregations do not exist in a vacuum any more than other organisations do. What they believe and what they intend to do must be understood in the context of the world around them.
As a college, we are a 'congregation' that exists in a vibrant faith community. We must be continuously evaluating the role of our faith integrating into the world around us. As a believing community, our shared experiences become powerful in expressing meaning. Whether this be Grade 6 students contemplating the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit in their lives in preparation for their Sacrament of Confirmation, Years 7 and 8 students thinking about the relationship and role modelling provided by Saint Dominic Savio in his circumstance and time and the relevancy for them today, or staff hearing about the 'call to holiness' in a professional development session. These are just a few examples where faith and community and faith and belief co-exist.
Being involved in a faith community encourages all of its members to follow a path of righteousness. Belief in God is the vehicle, but the community is the path. Here at the college we come together to celebrate feast days, each other's life cycle events, observe the rituals of our people and faith, become united in prayer and the sharing of the Eucharist, openly and joyfully express our charism, and strive to live out the Gospel values given to us as a gift by Jesus Christ.
And because we enjoy each other's company, our expressive moments of faith together regardless of the place, circumstance or time, enrich our sense of community.
Stephen Connelly, Director of Faith and Mission
An update from our Deputy Principals - Learning and Teaching, as well as an update from our Maths Department
Welcome back to Term 4, we hope you have had a restful break with family and friends.
Our Year 12 students are now in the last week of formal classes and some VCE exams have already begun. By now, students should have received feedback from the recent practice exams, and they are encouraged to use this to prioritise their revision. All students should develop a detailed study plan that includes clear targets and incorporates regular feedback from class teachers. They should reward themselves when these goals are achieved and adjust their plan when they fall short. Managing distractions is especially important at this time of year and we encourage all students to honestly reflect on how this can best be achieved. Temporarily disabling social media or handing over the mobile phone to a parent during study time are simple things that can make a big difference when trying to concentrate.
All information about VCAA examination timetables has gone to students studying a Unit 3&4 subject some time ago. You are able to check the VCAA exam timetable on their website. If we could ask your help please in making sure your son or daughter has a clear, organised calendar for studying, with their exam sessions marked clearly on it, and to help ensure that students arrive on time, with the necessary materials, and having eaten. These things will help ensure that all of the student's good work through the year can be fully utilised in the exam.
Best wishes to all the students sitting VCE exams (and their families!) in the coming weeks.
Please keep in mind the following dates regarding exams for the rest of the College:
The construction of our 2019 Timetable has commenced and we hope to start releasing 2019 subjects by the end of this month. Students will receive this information in an email, which will go directly to their school email address and students will be able to apply for a subject change in the two weeks after subject confirmations are given out.
Our Step Up program begins on Tuesday 20 November. A reminder that Monday 19 November is a student-free day.
Please note that 'early booklist' which contains English texts for Years 10-12 were distributed to these students in homerooms at the end of last week. This allows for early ordering of these texts so that students can begin reading them over the summer break. Please be aware that orders must be submitted by this Friday 19 October and books will be delivered by Friday 9 November. Alternatively, these books can still be ordered through the standard booklist which will be distributed at the end of the month, with these orders delivered by late January next year.
This week we see the final week of classes for our Year 12 cohort.
The week comes about with mixed emotions for the students and staff. For students, it can be a time of excitement, relief, anxiousness and, for some, a bit of fear or uncertainty of the future. For staff, it is a time of encouragement, support, ticking off final outcomes and revision check lists, and ensuring that everyone knows what is happening.
The final day for classes is Friday 19 October during period one and two. During period three Pastoral, we have a Whole School Assembly. This is a time when we, as a whole school community, farewell the Year 12 class and wish them well. At the Whole School Assembly, we also announce our College Captains and Bosco Captains for 2019 - another tradition in our school year that is eagerly anticipated by our community.
The afternoon sees the House Assembly, these are a great opportunity in a more intimate environment to reflect of the past six years of education and involvement in the House. This event is often filled with laughter and a few tears. The day finishes quite quickly, with some students heading off to future work prospects, other off to study for exams.
Well done on a great year, we wish you all the very best.
Read an update from our Maths Learning Area Leader, including some helpful exam preparation tips
Term four presents us with the opportunity to finalise and consolidate the current year's learning, usually culminating in exams. We are now at the 'serious end' of the school year and students should be beginning to prepare and revise for upcoming exams. Exam preparation involves setting a realistic study timetable, reviewing all supplied resources, preparing individualised study notes as well as being guided by class teachers about content, exam format and expectations. While it is the teacher's role to guide students, it is up to individual students to make their own study notes, having them in a format that works for them, this may be flow charts, mind maps, illustrations, highlighted phrases, formulas, and definitions.
Good exam preparation can ease nervousness and allow students to enter exams in a more positive mindset. Classes from Years 8-12 undertake end of year Mathematics exams with information being supplied to classes by their maths teachers early in term four so that students can plan to prepare and revise.
Students will be notified during term four as to which maths class they have been successful in choosing for 2019 for year's 8-11. 'Step up classes', which occur at the end of term four, see students begin their 2019 maths class. More information about 2019 classes and 'step up' will be supplied by our Learning and Teaching Deputy Principals throughout term four.
Congratulations to all students who have pushed their learning with a positive mindset towards maths. Many students have excelled in their personal achievements, with competition results and with their own determination to overcome misconceptions.
Term four has seen our Year 8 Premier League season continue, with some great results last week against Marymede College. Our cricketers have continued their unbeaten run, winning by eight wickets. Rhys Bennett was the standout with the ball, taking 2 for 3 and just missing out a hatrick.
Our netballers also remain unbeaten; after their impressive 43 goal win, they now sit on top of the ladder.
Both our boys and girls volleyball teams also remain undefeated and on top of the ladder. The boys won in four sets, while the girls, under the guidance of Mrs Harding, showed their composure in the fifth set and managed to hold on for the win.
Unfortunately, our soccer girls and boys went down 5-1 and 3-1 respectively against some quality opposition, but gave their all until the final whistle.
Our basketballers provided mixed results, with our boys having a comfortable win and our girls unfortunately losing to a well-drilled Marymede.This Thursday will see us take on CRC North Keilor, with some teams able to cement a spot in the finals with a win.
Next Wednesday 24 October will see our Cricket First XI host Salesian Chadstone, as the two teams compete for the Fr. Terry Jennings Shield.
Please see the Sports Page on School Box for further information with ladders, scores, venue locations etc.
Best of luck to all!
Our final term for the Year will be full of an exciting range of Performing Arts events including concerts, soirees, festival performances, Dance, Drama and Art events.
Parents and friends are welcome to attend our performances.
Heidi Woodruff, Performing Arts Coordinator
All students are warmly invited to submit artwork for display at the Catholic Leadership Centre.
Each school may submit up to FIVE pieces of art media which can include threads and textiles, digital images, 3D pieces such as sculpture, short films, figures and 2D in oil, water paint, pencil, charcoal, crayon etc. This year there is a new prize explicitly for film entries.
Submissions must be no longer than 4 minutes.
Please see Mrs Inglis-Gillespie or Mrs Collins to submit your entry.
This year has been very exciting in the arts department with a variety of activities ranging from MADD day to the production of Cinderella. The Arts SAT has been very busy, organising new installations around the school that feature a range of student artworks while also promoting performance and the arts in the school.
Mid-year hit off with the marvellous MADD day where students from every house could compete against each other in the events Music, Art, Dance, Drama and the all-new category, Music Video. This event showcased a large variety of creative minds dispersed among the houses and year levels.
Following shortly afterwards was the biannual production, this year Cinderella, with a cast of over 60 students ranging from year 7 to year 12. While the production offered students with musical and acting talent to shine, it also gave the opportunity for students to work behind the scenes during the entirety of rehearsals right to the final performance night. The amazing set and props design were run by a gifted group of backstage students, and there were many other roles such as a team of hair and make-up artists and my role as assistant director/stage manager. I want to take this opportunity to again thank everyone for their participation, effort and overall best work, teachers and students, on and behind the stage.
This year also saw the induction of the SAT's week, where each Student Action Team was responsible for organising events that promoted their area. The Arts SAT ran a variety of activities such as speed painting, a Just-Dance dance-off, Salesian's Got Talent and a drama improvisation workshop. Congratulations to all the winners of the canteen vouchers, and thanks to the artists who took part in this entertaining week, you really could draw a crowd. We had an extremely successful time and would love to carry on these events for the years to come.
It was our goal at the start of the year to promote the arts to all year levels and to encourage students to take an active part in any performance and art opportunities that presented themselves. I can proudly say that we have met and exceeded this goal, having huge participation rates throughout the year and an overall enthusiastic approach to the arts, as well as more displays around the school of student artworks and achievements. We hope the arts continue to grow in the school life and that more students get involved with the same enthusiastic, determined approach. We hope all artists continue to dream of colour and practice their pigments of imagination.
By Michaela Frantz, Arts SAT Captain 2018
On Wednesday 12 September, myself and other students from the senior VET Music class attended MiSound's competition in Ballarat where we performed 5 songs from our repertoire. We had to choose an industry standard setting which tasked us with creating a set list that was appropriate for our chosen theme – a wedding reception - we included modern hits such as Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" and Bruno Mars' "Marry You." It was a fantastic experience to not only perform in front of a completely random crowd and see their honest reactions but also it gave us a more realistic experience of what it's like to perform in a live setting you can't quiet learn in the classroom. Which is what our VET course is all about! Learning how to find solutions for when things go wrong, how to set up a stage in cooperation with an audio engineering team. All very relevant and important skills for anyone wanting to become a performing artist in the future. Thank you to Mr Berto for organising this!! I'm excited to use these new skills I acquired in future gigs!
By Isaac McKenzie, VET Music student
Congratulations to our successful Year 12 ASPIRE applicants who have been rewarded for their volunteer community or leadership work with a guaranteed place (with conditions) in a preferred course at La Trobe University:
Exciting news! Two Year 12 Salesian College Sunbury students can receive a Victoria University Achievement Scholarship. This is in addition to the Chancellor's Scholarship for students enrolling in VU with an ATAR over 90.
To apply
To apply: VU Guaranteed applicants are already eligible, or, visit the scholarships website to complete the application. Applications close Friday 19 October
To view full newsletter on this week's topics, visit our Careers Page on Schoolbox.
Read an update from our Farm Manager including updates about recent and upcoming competitions
The past few weeks have been busy with the final shows for our scholarship students, The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria's Melbourne Show was a mammoth achievement by the cattle scholars, after five long days of grooming, weighing, grooming, feeding, grooming, parading, grooming and more parading, the scholars were exhausted. A fantastic time was had by all and it was an amazing opportunity to be a part of the event. Everyone represented themselves and the College extremely well and I am sure they all learnt a lot!
Alice M, Kiera B, Kate M and Oliver M all won ribbons and I think the whole team should have won as they did very well as well.
Two weeks later they backed up again for a stellar performance at the Sunbury Show and were again extremely successful.
Prizes were taken home for: Champion – Cow, Heifer and Bull; Supreme Champion Cow
Student were also awarded for their handling skills: 1st Place Kiera B; 2nd Place Kate M; 3rd Place Tori H, and the junior judging section was won by Kate M with runner up Oliver M.
In the Sheep section of the Sunbury show the School managed to claim most of the prizes on offer:
7 x 1st Place; 5 x 2nd Place, 3 x 3rd Place, and 4 x 4th Place
Again, I think a great deal has been learnt as well as a fun time by all, Congratulations to all those involved.
See below for some photos; more photos are available on our College Facebook Page.
Shop online with our Uniform Shop
You can now shop all the uniform pieces you need ONLINE!
All you need to do is create an account and then you can add items to your cart.
We hope this makes it much easier for families who may find it difficult visiting our onsite uniform shop during its trading hours.
Click here to visit the website now.
Savio Feast Day and Year 12 best wishes
Last Friday, our Year 7 and 8 students from our Savio Campus celebrated Feast of Saint Dominic Savio. The students gathered for Mass, before sharing a meal together and joining in a range of activities. It was a fantastic day for both our students and staff. Our patron and founder, St John Bosco, did this with his own students on special Feast Days of the Church.
Last Week for Year 12
Congratulations and best wishes to our Year 12 students as they complete their final week of school. We wish them the best of luck for their upcoming exams and final assessments.
Well done on a fantastic year!
Find out about current events and announcements for our local community
The latest issue of the Salesian Missions Newsletter is out now. Click here to read it.
The Riddells Creek Festival is coming up! Held on Station Street on Saturday 10 November from 4-8pm, don't miss it!
Parentzone Northern and Hume City Council bring you this interactive workship on cyber safety. Held at the Sunbury Youth Centre, on Wednesday 14 November.
Click here for more information and to book your tickets.
The Red Cross mobile van is in Sunbury and looking for donors. If you can help, click here to find out more.
Sunbury Community Health is very pleased to offer the accredited Youth Mental Health First Aid Training to the Sunbury Community.
This is a great opportunity and it is being offered for free to people who reside or work in Sunbury or surrounding areas.
Places are limited, click here to find out more and book you place.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
How often do we come across people arguing with each other and we interject with the question "what are you arguing about?" As teachers on yard duty at lunchtime, it's way more common than we'd like! It's a simple enough question to disarm some escalating tension, but truth be known, the canny teacher already knows the answer, but simply wants the students to own up to how silly their argument is before it escalates to something big and gets out of hand. Which parents haven't asked the same question between two warring siblings? In the Gospel story for next Sunday, Jesus asks the same question of his disciples who are arguing about who amongst them is 'the greatest' or most important (as in who should lead them should something happen to Jesus).
Jesus' question is met with an embarrassed silence. The minute the question was asked they knew they were in the wrong. They could hardly say, "Well, we were wondering which one of us would take over when you are no longer with us." Jesus, of course, knew exactly what was going on in their minds so he gave them some guidelines if they wanted to be truly his followers. "If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all." This is quite a hard saying and most of us find it difficult to put fully into practice. It is, of course, totally in opposition to what goes on in the secular world where "success" means being on top, being in charge, being in control, calling the shots. Yet, who are really the greatest people in our society? Is it not those, especially those who are especially talented intellectually or in other ways, who use their talents totally for the wellbeing of others to the point of even sacrificing their lives? Apart from the obvious example of Jesus himself, we have many of the great saints. In our own times we have marvellous people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa. Don Bosco too, always put others before himself. They all have one thing in common: they put themselves totally at the service of their brothers and sisters. Success, promotion, status, material wealth, executive power meant nothing to these people. They served and in serving was their power, a power which inspires in a way that no mere politician or business tycoon or dictator could ever do.
To serve is not to be submissive or weak; it is not putting oneself on a lower level than those being served. It is simply to be totally committed to the good of others and to find one's own wellbeing in being so committed. Jesus then takes a little child, as a symbol of all those who are vulnerable, weak and exploitable. Children are used by Jesus as symbols of the anawim, the lowly and weak in our society. They are the ones who are most of all to be served and protected and nurtured. In so doing one is recognising the presence of Jesus and the presence of God in them.
The challenge thrown down by Jesus to all those who seek to lead others – be it within the Church, in politics, in business or even in education – is that authentic leadership requires the leader to put the needs of others before themselves, to work for the greater good of the most vulnerable, even if that sometimes works against what others see as 'sensible' or 'logical'. As a Catholic community, we are called to be inclusive of all people and to welcome the weakest, the poorest and the most in need. It is a challenge for all of us, not just those who seek to lead.
For Year 12 students, their last school term break is quickly approaching. The term break is an opportunity to strike the balance between enjoying activities in their down time and working hard to consolidate the year's work. During the break I urge Year 12's to:
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present.
Please keep the following in your prayers:
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
(Chinese Philospher - Lao-Tse - 6th Century BCE)
Join us on our next College Open Day, on Wednesday 17 October
Next month, on Wednesday 17 October, we will be hosting our second Open Day for the year.
There will be three tours held throughout the day where you will have the opportunity to be shown around the school and witness classes in action, while being led by our enthusiastic senior students.
There will be three main College tours on the day at: 9:15, 11:15, and 4pm. Bookings will be required so that we can endeavour to manage group sizes and make the tour informative and engaging for all attendees.
There will also be a number of specialist tours available, highlighting some of the specific curriculum areas offered here at Salesian College Sunbury. These will include agriculture, technology, and VCAL, among others.
For more details, visit the Open Day article on our website.
This will be updated with booking URLs and more information as we approach 17 October, so don't forget to check it over the next month.
Our Year 9s have been travelling to Melbourne to familiarise themselves with our city
Over the past few weeks, and continuing into next term, our Year 9 students have been spending time in Melbourne's CBD on Tuesdays as part of their 'City Experience' in their Challenge curriculum. The City Experience sees the students travel in and out of Melbourne by train and familiarise themselves with the city. They are working together to navigate around specific routes and develop maps that can be used as part of a tour. Throughout the day, the students are required to find different check points and locations where they may need to take a selfie with a monument or building or meet up with a teacher.
While in Melbourne, the students have also been visiting the Salvation Army to see the work that they do with Melbourne's homeless population, and the Shrine of Remembrance.
All of this work is in preparation for a day in November where Mazzarello parents and staff will be invited to join the students in Melbourne before being led on a tour around the city by them. Following the tour, the guests (parents and staff) will have to evaluate their tour based on a number of criteria.
We look forward to hearing more from our Year 9s as they continue their City Experiences.
See the gallery below for a few pictures.
It's almost time for our annual Rupertswood Harvest. Read more to find out what you can expect
It's that time of year again!
Next month, on Sunday 28 October, we will once again be hosting our Rupertswood Harvest at Salesian College Sunbury.
For those who have attended before, we are not anticipating the event to be quite as big as last year (last year we were celebrating 90 Years of Salesian College), but it will still be great fun!
The Rupertswood Harvest is an event to showcase our College's spectacular agricultural commitment. With the help of our students, we run an on-site farm with cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens, as well as a patch where we grow a variety of plants and vegetables.
A number of stallholders have been invited to add to the day including a couple of our local Catholic Primary Schools, Jaycee Jones' Catering (school canteen caterer), the Rupertswood Cricket Club, and more. You will have the opportunity to witness sheep shearing, buy some locally grown produce, and enjoy a coffee or an ice-cream!
Join us for a fun-filled day where you can meet some of our farm animals, enjoy a bite to eat, and be entertained by our talented music students.
Entry is free, so bring the family! We look forward to seeing you there!
The school holiday period can be a great time to reflect before the last term, prepare for upcoming changes and new challenges in the term that lies ahead, review skills that need to be improved, do any homework that has been assigned, and hopefully enjoy some nice weather! No doubt though, there will be many students and staff looking forward to the upcoming break at the end of this week, as there are likely to be many families heading off on well-deserved holidays.
Time away from our normal day to day routines, especially if it's 'time out' is time to take a breath, pause, and allot some time for reflection and anticipation of the things that may lie ahead. We can coast through life either celebrating every day or just taking what is handed our way but…do we actually take time to reflect, learn and renew?
Our Catholic tradition builds seasons of reflection into our liturgical calendar for this to occur, such as Lent and the forthcoming season of Advent. Without this time to reflect, we may miss out on moments to embrace 'open doors' or chances to renew our spirits or faith.
Recently I read an article from a Catholic Bishop in Pennsylvania, who in a pastoral letter to his diocese said, "Reflection turns experience into insight. By taking the time to pause, we allow understanding to catch up with us." A simple message in some ways, but perhaps slightly harder to cultivate.
Our Gospels record numerous times when Jesus took time out to reflect. When we look at Jesus' ministry, we may ask ourselves — how did he do it? Yes, Jesus was divine, yet he was also human, and we can't deny that humanity has limitations. We all have our limits and our breaking points. With all the demands placed on Jesus, we can ask ourselves, how did he do what he did and not 'burn out'?
Jesus practiced good self-care. When Jesus needed food or water, he asked for it. When Jesus needed emotional support from his friends, he didn't hide it. When Jesus' heart was broken, he wept. Jesus was faithful to God, and part of that faithfulness was taking care of his real and legitimate human needs.
No one will deny that Jesus' life included suffering and sacrifice, yet it did not include self-neglect. Jesus is a good role model for self-care and reflection. What we can learn from the Gospels is the importance of time out for reflection and to renew ourselves, so that just like Jesus, we can be attentive to those things that matter the most.
Read an update from our Wellbeing Team including an update about our students' Pastoral sessions and an important uniform reminder
Each Friday during period three, the whole Salesian College student body is involved in Pastoral Care. Throughout the year, the students have been involved in activities such as whole school assemblies, house assemblies, campus assemblies, Respectful Relationships, Cyber Pass for Year 7s, guest speakers on contemporary issues such as respect, bullying, use of drugs and alcohol, time management and study skills; interhouse sporting events in year levels, debating, MADD preparation, and mindfulness.
Two weeks ago Mannix House, the mighty Emus, conducted a huge Scavenger Hunt with the winning team being awarded the inaugural Mannix Medallion. This activity was the culmination of the Mannix House Social Justice week where the house raised money for the Don Bosco High School in Cambodia. This activity involved each Year 12 Mannix student partnering up with a Mannix student from Year 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 and racing around the school finding clues in the quickest time. It was a great session to be involved in!
See the gallery below for some photos from these sessions.
A reminder to all families that summer uniform is to be worn to school at the beginning of Term Four. Could families please use the holidays to check that the uniform still fits (the dress length may need to be attended to (just above the knee)), shoes polished, blazers cleaned, shirts and shorts checked. It is also a time to get the hair length and styling checked to ensure it's in line with College expectations. For more details on College Uniform expectations please refer to our website.
SEPTEMBER SCHOOL HOLIDAY HOURS: Over the school holiday break, the Uniform Shop operate as below.
Week One:
Week Two:
Monday 1 October - 8am-12pm
Wednesday 3 October - 12pm-4pm
Thursday 4 October - 8am-12pm
Reflecting on Term 3 and preparing for Term 4
Term 3 is always the biggest term for the learning and teaching team and we wish to thank everyone for their support, allowing the team to accomplish what we have. We began next term with subject selection for 2019 and conducted many interviews with enthusiastic, well-spoken, and sometimes nervous students who were thinking about their pathway beyond school. These interviews are our favourite things to do because they are so hopeful and inspiring. We are so lucky to have such wonderful students at Salesian College Sunbury and during these times of big decisions and quiet contemplation, we often see them at their very best.
Whilst the formal process of subject selection is over, the time, thought, maturity, dedication, and family support that went into these decisions can now shift to students putting maximum effort into their studies. This is what prepares them best for the year ahead. We recommend that students spend some time reflecting on their learning progress over the holiday period and come back ready to tackle Term 4 with maximum effort, persistence and good ol' fashioned hard work.
In terms of reflection, students can ask themselves three simple questions:
This could be a good conversation over dinner.
Many of our senior students will be spending time at school over the holiday period with holiday classes and practice exams. We wish them well and hope that they use this valuable time wisely. Many of our past students have said that they approach these practice exams before they study and use them to "see what we already know". While that sounds like a reasonable response, it's not a very good use of their time. They should be approaching these exams with a good amount of preparation behind them, using their first week of the break to prepare. These exams should be treated like the end of year exams, and this mindset will really put students in good stead for what they face in the coming months.
Why are we talking about reflection and end of year exams this early?
Term 4 is the term that flies. When we return from our break, the 2018 timetable only runs for six weeks. We commence 2019 classes on Tuesday 20 November. This is the time that our current Year 8 and 9 students move campus and homeroom and we begin the 2019 school year.
Why do we do this?
The step up program is a great way to keep our students engaged and focused on their studies as we move towards the end of the school year and it means that we start 2019 very smoothly. It also really gives them a head start and allows them to meet their new teachers and classmates before we take our end of year break.
The Sport calendar has been very busy over the past fortnight, see below for a few highlights.
On Tuesday 4 September, 101 students represented the College at the SACCSS Athletics Carnival at Albert Park. We finished second in the aggregate for both the Junior and Intermediate divisions which was a fantastic effort.
Two weeks ago, our Senior Boys AFL team kicked off their Herald Sun Shield campaign with an impressive win over Padua College in the Semi Final, putting us through to the Grand Final against Westbourne Grammar last week. The Grand Final was a tightly contested match but unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the scoreboard when the siren went, losing by two points. Congratulations to all of the boys, it was a magnificent effort to make it as far as we did.
Our Gymnastics team, made up of six girls, recently competed across both the A1 and B2 divisions at the Interschool Gymnastics Carnival in Altona. All the girls performed very well on the day, with our A1 team finishing second overall and Matilda Gavaghan winning the A1 individual event against some quality gymnasts. See the Gymnastics Schoolbox page for photos and a video of Tilly's floor routine.
Thursday 6 September saw the Year 8 Premier League season kick off against Kolbe College, and last Tuesday, our Year 9 Boys AFL team played off in the Grand Final against Penola College, but unfortunately went down by a few goals on the day.
Congratulations to all of our eight teams across cricket, netball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball that won their matches.
To round out a very busy fortnight in Sport, last Wednesday and Thursday, our Junior and Intermediate tennis teams competed in the SACCSS Tennis Carnival at Hume Tennis Centre. The days provided both magnificent weather and results, with our Junior team winning the Aggregate Pennant and our Intermediate team finishing second by two points.
Please visit our Sport home page on Schoolbox for photos, results reports, and more (some photos are included in the gallery below).
The VCE Music performance night was a wonderful night to showcase all our hard work for the year in front of our family and friends. Tim and I both had to put on a 25 minute performance of all the songs we are performing for our end of year Music exam. The Year 11 Students also performed several songs in a range of styles. It was a great way to get feedback and have a fun night with friends showcasing our talents.
VCE Dance Night is a culmination of hard work and time put in by the Year 12 dance students to present a solo dance work. Earlier this year we had presented our Technique Solos that focused on physical skills and body actions such as flexibility, strength, elevation etc. On Wednesday the 5thof September we prepared two solo dances, Technique and Composition; the Composition being a dance that tells a story. The process of choreographing two solo dance works entirely by yourself with help from others, is laborious to say the least. There are times where nothing creative comes, and a week's worth of dance moves are scrapped, in which all of this effort is to prepare for an end of year Performance Examination, taking place on Oct 10th at Dancescape Studios. I can happily say on behalf of our teacher, Ms. Bond, our class displayed the best renditions of our dance solos this year, all in preparation for our Performance Exam in early October. James Dillon VCE Dance Student Year 11
We have recently started a Guitar Ensemble for our enthusiastic guitar players. Led by guitar teacher Shane Ryall, the ensemble meets each Tuesday at 1:15pm in the Music Centre. Playing as part of a guitar ensemble is a wonderful way for students to rapidly improve their playing, listening and music reading skills.
Our Musical Theatre Club is another new ensemble that has formed now our fabulous production is over. We will be rehearsing weekly on Fridays at 1:15pm in the Music Centre. The group will be learning to sing in harmony parts and add movements and dance routines, in a Glee Club or Pitch Perfect style. We are currently learning the beautiful "Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman and will be adding new songs to our repertoire.
Thank you to the 40 plus students that auditioned for our upcoming Christmas play last week.
We were blown away by the turnout and each and every one of you did an amazing job.
Unfortunately, we only have 20 roles to give out and you really did make our job of casting difficult.
Congratulations to the students below for making the cast:
Friday 21 September
12pm - Band performs at Whole School Assembly in the Stadium
Tuesday 9 October
5pm - Instrumental Soiree in the Music Centre
Thursday 18 October
VCE Drama Night
Sunday 28 October
Rupertswood Harvest
Wednesday 31 October
5pm - Band performs at St Anne's Art Show
Thursday 8 November
Performing Arts Showcase Year 7-9 Music and Dance classes perform
Please see our Performing Arts Schoolbox page to keep up with all the latest news.
If you would like to learn to play an instrument, please fill out the enrolment form on our Schoolbox page.
See the gallery below for some photos from our recent events.
Congratulations to our six Year 12 students who have been successful with their Community Achievers Program applications with ACU. They have been guaranteed places in their preferred courses with a lower ATAR requirement. This is based on wonderful volunteer work in the community that they have demonstrated.
All our students are all encouraged to participate in community service as it develops their experience, skills and they can give to others.
On Friday 14 September, the Year 11s learnt about the incredible first aid volunteer work that St John's Ambulance does for our community at events and emergencies. Our young presenters have all studied, or are studying, paramedicine at university. It was especially rewarding to hear from our our two alumni, Alethea Barclay-Hilton and Danielle Mlikota, as they spoke to our students about their experience and how it has helped them in their career path.
Well done to our Year 10 students learning about diverse career areas. Pictured below, Nikita Daicos at Sunbury Animal Hospital & Drew Kibble at Gisborne Veterinary Clinic had a valuable week learning about animal & veterinary science.
For upcoming career events & focus information on courses, including the below, visit our Careers Homepage on Schoolbox
Read an update from our Farm Manager including updates about recent and upcoming competitions
Spring is always the best time of year on the farm, as the days get longer, everything begins to grow at an incredible rate. The grass on the top of the farm is now easily out-competing the grazing pressure and the barley sown for hay is just beginning to push out its seed head.
Last week we received, 127 eight-month old Angus heifers from north of Condobalin, NSW, where there is no grass at all. I have recently sent some photos to the owners who couldn't believe the luxury their girls had moved to and they were extremely happy.
Last weekend, some of the Sheep Scholars ventured off to the Poll Dorset show in Bendigo where they not only brought all the ribbons home for an outstanding presentation of sheep and handling, they also represented the school extremely well, which was noticed by a large contingent of the attendees.
The steer scholars are busy with their final preparations for the Melbourne Show and I think they will be rewarded well for their efforts, the cattle are looking great and the scholar's have good control over them. We must thank Luke Taylor and his family for providing the steers for this event as well as the time he has put in. Without these generous connections of the school, programs like this would not be possible.
Hear from the students!
This fortnight we hear from two of our VCAL students on their recent Work Placement as well as a term wrap up from some younger students
VCAL Work Placement
As a part of the Year 11 VCAL program, each student is required to complete work placement in both Term 2 and 3 for two weeks. Work placement is a great way to gain the skills and knowledge you need for the future when joining your desired industry. Both Charlotte and myself are wanting to get into the beauty industry when we have completed school so getting a placement related to beauty would have been ideal but it is quite difficult as most employers are looking for experienced workers or simply don't take on work placement students at all.
In Term 2 we both completed our work placement at hairdressing salons in Sunbury. It wasn't something that we were particularly keen on as we would have preferred to be in a beauty/makeup work environment instead. However, we did both learn a lot about customer service, booking in clients and how a business runs, which was great. Charlotte and I are now completing our Term 3 work placement here at the school, in the mansion with the Development Team (Kerri Pozaic and Emily Jones). Our tasks so far have included updating the staff phone list, creating a Salesian Bosco recruitment video which consisted of using the GoPro and filming certain parts of the school as if it were in the perspective of a student's day, organising the distribution of the agriculture uniform and many more exciting tasks.
We have both learnt a lot, including how to use Microsoft excel extensively, how to complete a mail merge, and much more. Charlotte and I have also learnt many new things about the Development Department and how much time and effort really goes into what they do. Kerri and Emily have both been amazing in welcoming us into the team and have made it very enjoyable for us but at the same time very educational.
By Raquel Scarano
Term Three Reflection from a Savio Student
It's the last week of term, and as 2018 nearly draws to a close it's time to look back on an amazing term and look forward to a well-earned holiday and an exciting new term in October.
What a great term it has been; from Year 10 formals and athletics competitions, to book-in-a-day competitions, and much more. This term, one of my key personal ideas was achievements. Achievement is not all about getting good grades or winning your sporting grand final; for me, it is about looking deep into yourself and finding what you have improved and discovered within yourself. We can achieve incredible things in our friendships, relationships or thorough our experiences, we can even achieve things that we didn't know were possible.
We have such amazing teachers that are putting all their effort into making each term the very best for all students. If you get the chance, it would be nice to thank them for all the amazing work they have done so that you can improve mentally and physically. It really has been such a great term and I hope that you have a safe holiday and come back ready for the last term of 2018.
I would like to leave you with this quote "I don't wait until the end of my term to say I made mistakes at the beginning. That's too late. I try to adopt the proper behaviour, if everyone around me gives me the chance, right from the start".
By Sian D'Monte (Year 8)
Important reminder regarding school fees
During the second week of the holidays, the 2019 re-enrolment fee of $500 per student will be billed to your account.
This will be billed to all families from Year 7-11. Only families that have responded on CareMonkey and confirmed that their student will not be returning in 2019 will not be charged.
If you have any questions or queries please contact School Fees at firstname.lastname@example.com or on 9744 0000.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
Creating and maintaining a safe environment for children in our school communities is the greatest priority for educational leaders today. As September commences, two key events - National Child Protection Week (2–8 September) and the Australian Catholic Church's Child Protection Sunday (9 September) - provide us with an opportunity to reflect on steps we have taken so far and what is still needed. The gospel reading for Child Protection Sunday (Mk 7: 31-37) has some key points to help us with our reflection. It is Mark's account of Jesus curing a deaf man, and there are (3) key aspects to this miracle that are relevant. Before any healing takes place, it is the community who took the man to Jesus and 'begged him to lay his hands on him' (Mk 7: 32). Jesus put his fingers in the man's ears in a somewhat confronting scene, directing him to 'be opened' (Mk 7: 34).
As we move forward from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and implement the recommendations, it is timely to reflect a little deeper on the effect that state and federal government inquiries have had on our awareness, commitment, and practice. Do we institute child safe standards as a matter of regulatory compliance and external mandates, or do we strive to create environments of safety and security out of love and concern for those in our care? Have we, as a community, come together to acknowledge and learn from shocking past failures, or begged for healing grace to embrace our schools and help us to move forward with hope and optimism? Do we acknowledge that child safety is everyone's responsibility, every day, and work towards making this happen by creating strong and respectful school communities where children and families are known and valued, connected and supported by each other, and have a strong sense of belonging within the community?
Jesus said to the deaf man 'Ephphatha' which means 'be opened'. Are we open to all that is necessary to progress in this sensitive area? As a school, we have embraced the sacred responsibility to create environments which enable each student to flourish for the sake of their own wellbeing and, more broadly, for the health and wellbeing of the entire school community. But to be effective in this space, we need to be deep listeners, to give voice to children, parents, caregivers and staff as active partners contributing to a positive culture. This is an ongoing challenge, especially as new staff arrive and new families and their students join our community. We need to give everyone the chance to be heard, really listened to, to feel their contribution matters to the life of the greater community. If all school members are empowered to have a voice about safety and know how to raise concerns, and these are taken seriously and responded to promptly and thoroughly, then an inclusive child-safe environment can be fostered and maintained.
The description of Jesus putting his fingers in the man's ears and spitting on his tongue is very confronting. Do we really need to know this much detail? We can also feel like this when confronted with the reality of past harm to children, especially here at 'Rupertswood'; it is an uncomfortable space, often one I would prefer to avoid or assert could never happen again. But being open and honest about the harsh realities of life is the first step to creating environments that protect all, including the most vulnerable, to providing refuge and respite for wounded hearts to heal. This is the work and mission of our Church. If we attend to our duty of care recognising we are imbued with the responsibility to carry out this sacred task, we can work towards knowing our school is a place where the sacred dignity of each person is recognised, respected, and fostered and where children and young people not only feel safe, but in reality are safe.
Last week, in response to the 'Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the People of God', our newly installed Archbishop Peter A Comensoli wrote a 'Letter to the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Melbourne'. While Pope Francis again acknowledged 'the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons', Archbishop Peter noted:
"No words of apology – while always needed – will ever be enough to right the evil done to those who have been abused, and those who were not listened to and believed. Efforts to repair the harm done – while entirely necessary – cannot overcome the evil perpetrated upon innocent children and vulnerable adults, and the harm experienced by families and communities".
He went on to reinforce the Church's commitment in relation to the recommendations of the Royal Commission, with reference to redress and reporting obligations. Archbishop Peter's letter is available here.
Commencing this week, our newsletter has had a slight 're-jig' to make it more accessible and relevant to both current and prospective parents. The intent is to make the stories shorter and highlight key events taking place across the College and, where necessary, to direct parents to SchoolBox where they can access greater detail about events relevant to their children.
The new look newsletter will contain:
• three feature articles each week focussing on key events (past or future) (for example, Father's Day, Book in a Day, Exchange Students, etc.);
• articles on Learning, Wellbeing, and Faith;
• articles on Sport, Arts, Agriculture, Community, Student Leadership (including Student Voice), and Careers.
We hope the new format is easier to read and informative, providing easy links to SchoolBox for more detailed information and news. Feedback welcome!
Each year the College publishes an Annual, or Yearbook, highlighting the key events and achievements from across the school. This is a much sought after publication, especially by our Year 12 graduates, commemorating their final year at the College. In order to include more of their highlights (i.e. Graduation Mass and Dinner, Subject Awards and Leadership Awards, etc.), we have decided to delay publication of the Yearbook until Feb-Mar of the following year. We are also exploring the development of an eYearbook, containing videos and other forms of multimedia.
Last Friday evening, the College Board once again hosted our annual Staff Service Awards Dinner, held in the Mansion and recognising the long and dedicated service (10, 20, and 30 years) of our teaching and educational support staff. We recognised fourteen men and women for their generous commitment and service. Mr Joe Caruana, Board Member, thanked the entire staff for their work with your children, describing the duty of caring and educating for them as both an honour and a privledge.
You can read his entire speech and find out each of the staff members who were presented awards for their dedication later in this newsletter.
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present.
Please keep the following in your prayers:
You asked that the little children
be allowed to come to you;
for it is to such as these that
the Reign of God belongs.
You entrust them to the care and protection
of our communities of faith.
Guide us as we strive to ensure
that our Catholic communities
provide a safe environment for each child.
We pray especially for all those
who have been harmed in their childhood.
Give them courage in facing the past
and lead them to your healing protection. Amen.
Cricket great, Darren Lehmann, visited last week as part of our Ashes Oval Redevelopment Project and our Father's Day Breakfast
Yesterday work commenced on our $1.1 million Ashes Oval Redevelopment Project. The project will see the Ashes Oval grounds upgraded to align with the historical significance of the site; complete with a traditional picket fence! Last Thursday, we were lucky enough to have former Australian Cricketer and former Coach of the Australian National Team, Darren Lehmann, join us as the guest speaker for our Father's Day Breakfast. Afterwards, Darren joined Principal, Mark Brockhus, and Sports Captains, Olivia Cautley and Matthew McDonald, to turn the first soil of the project on the grounds of the original Ashes Oval. The project is scheduled for completed during Semester One, 2019.
Last Thursday we hosted a Twilight School Father's Day Breakfast in the College Mansion. Over eighty guessed joined us for what was a fantastic morning; a great way to start a work day! We were privledged to have Darren Lehmann, former Australian Cricketer and former Coach of the Australian National Team, attend as our special guest.
After a welcome address from our College Captains, Nick Fox and Amy Iskra, our guests were treated to a light hot breakfast of egg and bacon rolls, sausages, and home-made hash browns while they listened to music performed by Isaac Mckenzie, Ebony Carlin, and Finn Callinan, three of our talented Year 11 students. Once our guests had had a chance to eat their breakfast, the main event got underway with Sports Captains, Olivia Cautley and Matthew McDonald, inviting Darren onto the stage for a relaxed interview where they each took turns asking him questions about his career, life in the limelight, and what he has planned for his future.
Darren was a fantastic guest, he was happy to answer all the questions the students posed for him - and even opened questions up to the floor - before posing for photos and happily autographing memorabilia for members of the audience. We had some very excited cricket enthusiasts in the room who were very excited by the opportunity to meet and hear from Darren, but even for those who don't follow cricket, Darren's interview with the students was very fascinating and gave a look into the life of professional sportspeople. We are so grateful to Darren and Cricket Australia for attending our event and making it such a great morning for everyone in attendance.
See below for some photos from both the SOD Turning of the Ashes Oval project and the Father's Day Breakfast.
Seven Year 7-9 students had eight hours to write a book, completely from scratch, using strict parameters provided that morning! Read more...
On Tuesday 21 August, seven students in years 7-9 participated in the Book in a Day competition.
The competition required students to write, edit, illustrate, and publish a book over an eight-hour period at school. The funds raised from this project were donated to the Kids' Cancer Project and the books were sent to patients in children's hospitals across Australia. Our team's book, The Silver Necklace, was written according to strict parameters provided on the morning of the competition by the organisers. The project required close collaboration, creativity, maturity, and determination.
Below is a brief account of the competition, written by one of the competitors, Tanelle Galea:
The Book in a Day competition was a very enjoyable, worthwhile activity. Everyone had a great time creating the story. Although it took a lot of hard work, it was all worth it in the end. We are very proud of the book that we have produced. We really bonded as a group during the creative process and we all grew and developed our skills as writers and illustrators throughout the day. It was a great experience and we are very thankful that we could participate.
Congratulations to Madeleine Moloney, Ryan Drage, Harmony Faltiska, Tanelle Galea, Sian D'Monte, Katharine Watson and Emily Bojczuk on their amazing effort!
Last week we celebrated a number of staff achieving service milestones. Read more...
Last Friday evening, all staff from Salesian College Sunbury gathered for the Annual Board Dinner and Staff Service Awards evening. Each year, it is a great opportunity to bring everyone together and celebrate the outstanding service and contribution made by members of our staff. It was a lovely evening of delicious food, great entertainment, and excellent company, giving all staff an opportunity to socialise and catch up with people outside of their direct teams.
The main event of the night, of course, was the celebration of staff who had reached service milestones of either 10, 20, or 30 years. It was wonderful to see that this year there were 14 members of staff being commended for their dedicated service.
Mr Joe Caruana, Board Member, thanked the entire staff for their work with your children, highlighting that their vocation to education was the greatest work of the Catholic Church today. You can read the entire script of Joe's speech here.
Congratulations to all those listed below who were presented awards.
10 Years
20 Years
30 Years
At the recent Parent-Teacher interviews, you may have noticed a display by members of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish here in Sunbury promoting the forthcoming Plenary Council 2020 for the Australian Catholic Church.
This is an important event happening in two years' time in the Catholic Church in Australia. Popular perception might be that it's just another meeting of bishops to discuss various matters—something that will not greatly affect them or other ordinary Catholics. Well, it's not. It's actually a meeting of the entire Church in Australia, meaning everyone—bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful—with the intention of shaping the future course of the Catholic Church in this country. And while it won't affect matters of doctrine (official Church teachings), it will have legislative power to mould practices within the Australian Catholic Church. So, as a Catholic community here at the college, the outcome of the meeting will most definitely have an impact on us.
The word "Plenary" simply means "entire" or "open". In theory, everyone will be allowed a voice through different forums and feedback that has been invited in these initial planning days, leading up to Ash Wednesday next year. The Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish is working very hard behind the scenes to gather feedback from its parishioners, and here our college families who are members of the parish are warmly invited to share their thoughts on life in the Catholic Church.
Through the Plenary Council of 2020, the Catholic Church in Australia will determine its structures and strategies for the future. And this of course will affect its mission of evangelisation—how it will spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in a culture that the recent national Census date recognises is becoming increasingly secular in its values.
This is a pressing matter of consideration for Catholics in Australia at this point in time. And this is a theme that Pope Francis has emphasised—how do we evangelise in a culture moving rapidly away from the Christian world view?
"The way in which we locate ourselves in history has changed. Things we thought would never happen, or that we never thought we would see, we are experiencing now, and we dare not even imagine the future. That which appeared normal to us – family, the Church, society and the world – will probably no longer seem that way. We cannot simply wait for what we are experiencing to pass, under the illusion that things will return to being how they were before."
There is much to contemplate in this quote from Pope Francis.
So there is a context for the Plenary Council to gather, to listen, to discern and to move forward. We pray that in these initial planning days that all members of the Australian Catholic family will feel that they have a voice and have something to contribute to the future of the Catholic Church.
Our Wellbeing Team share an update including Youth Mental Health First Aid training.
The end of August concludes our 2018 training in Mental Health First Aid. That means that every Salesian student from Year 9 to 12 has completed the teen version of Mental Health First Aid. They now know how to tell if their friends might be struggling with a mental health problem. They also have a simple plan to get them the adult support they might need, and to manage a crisis.
The new batch of Salesian staff to complete the adult 14-hour training in June means that approximately 80 of our current staff are certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. With the support of Sunbury Community Health, we have even trained our first batch of parents in the 14-hour Youth Mental Health First Aid.
We hope there will be more opportunities soon to roll out more courses so that more members of our community are Mental Health literate. We seek to start conversations that defeat the silence and stigma around Mental Health and facilitate better community outcomes and safer young people. Please check out our Wellbeing page on SchoolBox and for more information about Mental Health First Aid visit Mental Health First aid Australia.
Salesian College has installed their 'Choose Tap' aquaBUBBLER as an initiative which promotes the environmental and health benefits of drinking tap water. These bubblers have drinking fountains as well as a water bottle refill station. The intitiavie supports the College's goal to become a Water Only school. We have installed 7 aquaBUBBLERS and one chilled water bubbler around the College and we are encouraging students to bring along their own reusable drink bottles to fill up. Thanks to the Canteen who are supporting this initiative by phasing out the sale of bottled water. supporting the College's desire to further look after the environment and reduce waste.
To find out more and keep updated with the Wellbeing team, visit their SchoolBox page.
An update regarding 2019 Subject Selection
We are now in the process of constructing the timetable and allocating students' elective subjects for 2019. Should any student not receive a subject that they have selected as an elective choice, they will be contacted via email confirming that they remain happy with their reserve selection. This is a slow and intricate process, but students will be contacted as soon as possible if there are any difficulties, and all students will have their allocations and 2019 timetables in Term Four, well before the Step-Up program commences.
As planning for 2019 is now under way, we cannot make changes to subject preferences already in the system. Students will be able to apply for a subject change in the two weeks after subject confirmations are given out and will be subject to available spaces. We will advise the process for this early next term.
Over the last few weeks, our students have been actively participating in a number of sporting finals. Read more...
Over the last few weeks, our students have been actively participating in a number of sporting finals throughout Year 9 Premier League and Senior Soccer.
Congratulations to the Senior Girls Soccer team who won the SACCSS Senior Soccer Premiership last Wednesday against Penola College 1-0. This is our first ever Senior Soccer Premiership! Well done also to our Year 9 Boys AFL team who have won through to next Tuesday's Grand Final after beating MacKillop College last week. We wish them all the best.
All results are now available for our annual House Cross Country (Friday 10 August), which saw 322 students run the 3.2km course around the College and close to another 800 students walk the course. Congratulations to Bunjil House for taking out the competition. Please see the House Cross Country School Box Page for all results and hundreds of photos.
Please visit our Sports home page on Schoolbox to find out more.
Term 3 has been a flurry of activity in the Performing Arts department. Read more...
Term 3 has been a flurry of activity in the Performing Arts department.
Our school ensembles have been busy rehearsing and our College Concert Band performed at the Savio Assembly on Friday 17 August. The audience was impressed by the size the band has grown to and the impressive sound they are making as they performed "Raiders March" from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Rehearsals for the College Band are held each Thursday at 1:15pm in the Music Centre. Thanks to Sarah Holden, Donna Cicero, and Brother Duc who assisted with the performance.
Arts Week was held from 20-24 August. The week was a fun celebration of the Arts at Salesian College. The week started with a speed painting competition, with students having 15 minutes to paint a picture on the theme of "The Elements". Congratulations to the winner Katharine Watson (pictured right). Thanks to our Arts Captains: Michaela Frantz, Janella Ramos, Ava Marshall, Bardyn McIntyre and Arden Pangallo for assisting with the organisation and planning of Arts Week.
Last week on Tuesday we held a "Just Dance" competition in the Ballroom, congratulations to the junior winners Ashleigh Macken, Christopha Maiuolo, and Alec McGregor, and senior winners, Izaac Chatfield, Tia Case, Rick Daicos, and Matthew Bruce.
Then on Wednesday, we held "Salesians Got Talent" in the Amphitheatre with a variety of acts including singing, tap dancing, guitar playing, and a clown singing and dancing to a rap song. Congratulations to our winners Mia and Chloe Papakalodoukas who sung a beautiful original composition and Aeddan Murer for his excellent guitar solo.
Finally, last Thursday, we had a drama improvisation workshop - with thanks to Rani Valenchi for organising this.
We also have a number of exciting performances this term. On 30 August, VCE Music students Ebony Carlin, Isaac McKenzie, and Finn Callinan performed at the Father's Day Breakfast. And this week, we have VCE Music students performing in the College Mansion at 6pm on Tuesday 4 September (tonight), and VCE Dance students performing in the Ballroom at 6pm on Wednsday 5 September. On Thursday 7 September, there will be a music performance at the Bosco Assembly and on Friday 21 September, our College Band will perform at the whole school assembly.
This year we are putting together a Christmas play titled "Where is the Love". If you love physical comedy, music, and a bit of fun, this is the perfect project for you!. Students can audition on Thursday and Friday (6 and 7 September) at 1:15pm in A104.
Please see our Performing Arts Schoolbox page to keep up with all the latest news.
If you would like to learn to play an instrument, please fill out the enrolment form on our Schoolbox page.
This fortnight, seventeen of our Year 10 students completed work experience. Read more...
This fortnight, we have seventeen Year 10 students learning about the world of work and testing out careers in areas including electrical, law and courts, the Australian Defence Force Air Force, medicine and health, beauty, and government-owned businesses such as Western Water.
Sarah Sneddon undertook an interesting work experience observing medical procedures with Alexus Services Ltd who are Kidney Specialists. Sarah observed medical procedures to locate kidney stones as well as sound wave removal. She had a "valuable and fantastic experience" and learnt a lot about medical conditions and a range of procedures.
Make sure you check our Careers page on Schoolbox to find out about important dates and invaluable opportunities for you to get a head start on planning your career.
Right now this includes information about an upcoming RMIT Design Workshop, plumbing apprenticeship opportunities, Open Day and information session dates, as well as important application information for Year 12s.
Read an update from our new Farm Manager.
The past fortnight has been a very exciting time for the Ag department - and for myself, having only just begun managing the school farm. I see a lot of potential for the school and the farm, developing its Ag program and the farm into a world-class facility.
Our scholarship students involved with both the sheep and cattle showing have been working hard to get their animals to a level of control where they can be lead around the yard, quite a tough job when they, the sheep and cattle, can be very stubborn at times. There is also a lot of grooming and preparation that needs to be done. I am sure they will be well prepared for their performances at the upcoming Bendigo and Royal Melbourne Shows.
Our paddocks are also being prepared for hay production later in the year, with fertilizer and weed spraying to give them the greatest chance of a high-yielding crop. Given the devastating drought gripping the majority of the east coast of Australia, hay has become a very valuable commodity and we are looking to take full advantage of the opportunity.
I'm looking forward to sharing more updates with you throughout the rest of the year as our students compete in the various shows.
Hear from the students!
This fortnight they share an overview of the recent Winter Sleepout.
Each fortnight we will be featuring a piece in our newsletters from - or about - our students! This will help to capture and share some insight into student life at Salesian College Sunbury.
For this edition, Michelle Grover, Sian D'Monte, Rachel Grover, and Maddi Vick, have written a piece about the recent St Vinnie's Winter Sleepout. The girls are very passionate about the cause and would love to raise awareness and encourage people to donate to a couple of worthwhile charities.
Do you have a warm bed to sleep in? Do you have food that keeps you alive? Do you have a roof over your head to keep you warm and safe? Thousands of people all over the world DON'T have any of this. Each year more and more citizens of Australia are becoming homeless due to family issues, job loss, and taxes. Our school, Salesian College, decided that it is time for the younger generation to step up and raise awareness for this worldwide issue.
On the 17th of August, a group of students ranging from different years came together to raise awareness for homelessness. This night was purely to understand what it would be like to sleep rough in the city. Straight after school, we each got changed and headed to the bus where we were off to the Ozanam House in North Melbourne.
Shortly after we arrived at Ozanam house, we were greeted by one of the workers there and a volunteer, who explained to us what they do, who they help, and a few of the facilities they provide. Then they took us for a tour of their centre, as if we were a person in need entering for the first time. We even got to see their kitchen where they make food, and have a look inside their pantry. From this tour, we learnt about the many facilities the centre has to help those in need, such as podiatrists, art therapy groups, dentists, and a cafe group. We were also able to find out about their new expansion of their crisis accommodation centre near the Children's Hospital and that they are soon going to be moving the centre and everything in it to the new centre, as well as building accommodation for women there. At the end of our tour, to thank them for their time and help them with their renovations, we donated over $1000 in Coles gift cards to support the centre through their renovations. After leaving Ozanam house, we all got back into the bus and went to drive past the homeless 'hotspots' of Melbourne where a lot of homeless people would sleep the night. Some of these places included the Queen Victoria Market, and Flagstaff Gardens. Mr Connelly explained to us why homeless people would choose to sleep there, and how they were treated there. From visiting these places, we were able to gain a greater understanding of the struggles homeless people in Melbourne face, and realise how important it was to try to help them.
We then came back to school and had some soup that represented the soup vans that come to feed the homeless people. Straight afterwards, we went to the FJCC to watch a documentary about homeless people and their day to day lives. It was a really emotional day as none of the students really knew how hard their lives are. Later on, we got ready for bed; it was -1 degrees so it was REALLY COLD. Unfortunately, at 1am it started to rain and some of our students got wet, but were able to get inside. Just imagine living on the street where it is raining, and having to place to go to keep warm and dry! Homeless people would just sit in their area and be drenched for the night. Overall, Salesian students and teachers have learnt how hard life really is for homeless people.
We have so many amazing charity that are willing to support people in need. So we ask you if you could please donate money to the following charities as there are trying to make this world a better place for homeless people:
Thank you.
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
On Saturday 1 September 2018, the universal Church will mark the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Instituted by Pope Francis in 2015, the Day of Prayer is an opportunity for us to give thanks for all of God's creation, which has been entrusted to our care, and to renew our commitment to its stewardship. It is also an opportunity to pray for God's help in protecting all of creation.
In his letter establishing the day of prayer the Pope outlines his intention for the day: that it will offer
individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live (Pope Francis 2015).
In celebrating this Day of Prayer, Pope Francis wishes the day to become an opportunity for all Christians to join in prayer to safeguard creation. The Day of Prayer begins a month of prayerful focus on caring for creation.
It was great to see so many parents take up the opportunity last week to meet with teachers regarding their child's progress so far in Semester 2. Whilst SchoolBox allows us to report continuosly on progress and assessments, there is still tremendous value in the face-to-face meeting to ensure both teacher and parent are "on the same page" with regards such things as attendance, classroom behaviours, homework and study. I also wish to take this opportunity to thank the staff for making themselves available after-hours for these important meetings. If anyone missed the opportunity, please feel free to email teachers to request a call or to make an appointment.
Enrolment interviews for the 2020 Year 7 intake are set to take place on September 4 and 6. If you are anticipating that your child will commence in Year 7 in 2020 and haven't yet completed an enrolment application, please contact the College Registrar immediately.
Our 2018 Year 7s have settled in really well to life at Salesian College with many excelling in their studies and participating actively in College activities such as Cinderella, Premier League Sport and Agricultural Shows. Shortly, all Year 7 students and their parents will have the opportunity to provide feedback on their transition from primary school via an online survey. The College values highly the feedback that such surveys provide, and I encourage all parents to take a few moments to complete the questionnaire when it arrives via Schoolbox.
Last Friday August 17, members of the school community participated in our third annual Winter Sleepout in support of Ozanam House Homeless Services. Before braving the elements out on the Mansion decking, staff and students visited Ozanam House in North Melbourne and heard from Louise Augustinus, from VincentCare, who spoke about the plight of Melbourne's homeless community and encouraged students to raise awareness and much-needed resources for their clients. Louise was presented with over $1500 worth of grocery vouchers which were generously donated by staff, students and parents in recent weeks. Congratulations to all who participated in this wonderful event!
It was fantastic to hear of the recent achievements of Chloe Harris (class of 2014) as she pursues her interests in opera. Chloe, a Mezzo Soprano, was recently awarded the Melissa and Peter Hebbard Scholarship by Opera Australia. Congratulations Chloe!
Read more here.
There have been a few changes to our staffing this term. I am pleased to introduce to you:
Furthermore, two staff have recently announced their retirement from the College:
On the 'news' front, we are pleased to announce:
At our College Board Dinner for Staff later this term, we will be recognizing the service achievements of a number of staff, including 30 year awards for the following 'veterans':
I'm sure you will join with me in thanking them for their contribution to the College over a significant period of time.
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present. Please keep the following in your prayers:
On Friday 10 August, students across the whole school came together to partake in a fun yet competitive (as always!) House competition. Students could choose to either run or walk around the track of our school and win points for their houses. I would like to congratulate all students on their willingness to be a part of the day and to show true House spirit!
Congratulations to Lachlan Fish in Year 8 who came 7th in the whole school, running 3.25kms in 12:31:3 and Mitchell Fitzpatrick in Year 7 who came 10th in the whole school, running 3.25kms in 12:59:1. What an amazing effort for both boys!
Congratulations to our Junior Netball team for making it to the finals round on the 29th August. We wish them the best of luck! And of course, a big thank you to their teachers Mrs Harding, Miss Crilly and Miss Roberts for their effort and time with our students.
Elective choices for 2019 and well and truly under way. Thank you to those who submitted their choices on time. If you have any questions regarding this process, please do not hesitate to contact myself or Mrs Jones.
Congratulations to the following students for their commitment to representing the College in different areas of schooling life:
Debaters Association of Victoria (DAV):
Legacy Public Speaking:
ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools):
Congratulations to Cooper Cann who received the principal's award for outstanding performance!
Well done to the following students who received either Credit or Distinction for their performance in the Science test:
Year 7:
Harrison Eldridge - Credit
Brendan Jones - Credit
Lachlan Smallacombe - Credit
Iris Mentor - Credit
Matthew Wall - Credit
Cooper Cann - Distinction
Year 8:
Patrick Bren-Clarke - Distrinction
Bardyn McIntyre - Credit
Lachlan Dawson - Credit
The showcase of the Global Projects will occur on Tuesday 28 August.
The Premier League group will be showcasing in the Shearing Shed from 11.10am – 12.00pm and the Activity Group showcasing in the Mansion from 12.10pm – 1.00pm.
This is a great opportunity for parents and friends in the community to come along and see what the students have been investigating.
A snapshot of a project…
"We are looking at fundraising for Variety - the children's charity. This charity makes wigs for kids in Australia who suffer from alopecia and cancer. They accept both hair and money donations and we are looking at donating both of these elements. Our plan is to go to a primary school, whom we are already in contact with, and hold a crazy hair day.
Our final product will be a video that documents the experience as well as raises awareness of alopecia, cancer and Variety. We are also considering the idea of making a hair donation. Footage of this hair donation will be included in our final product. All five of our group members have expressed our willingness to cut our own hair out of support for the kids in Australia who do suffer from hair loss."
Some of our students recently learnt the art of Japanese paper folding in class – making shapes and animals. They enjoyed being creative as the pictures below show.
This week some of our students have been enjoying "Cooking 101" – making some of those treats that Grandma used to make. Students pictured are making rum balls – without the rum of course! Next week is chocolate crackles and honey joys. Thanks to Mrs Judy Irvine who has been running the sessions with the students.
At our recent Mazzarello Assembly we congratulated the following students:
Leaders comes in many forms, from the softly spoken to the charismatic. However, whatever their style may be, most assuredly the best leaders are those that lead by example. We expect and demand a lot from our leaders as they are the ones who represent us and put into practice all the things we value. They need not be perfect, in fact, where they are not, a great leadership quality is in learning from their mistakes or experiences and growing even better. They are people who personify striving in life.
I have been delighted to work with the student leadership body of 2018. There are many impressive young men and women in this group that have embraced the role they have been entrusted with. However, now that the proximity to graduation grows ever nearer, we are calling on the next generation. Ms Dugdale Walker and I recently met with our graduating cohorts of 2019 and 2020 (this year's Year 10 and 11 groups) to discuss the opportunities for student leadership next year. Not only are we seeking candidates for the School and House captaincies, there are House leadership positions as well as School Action Team roles. Importantly, we also have a newly formed VCAL leadership position so that truly all aspects of school student endeavor are represented by our Student Leadership executive. For further details regarding the specific roles please refer to our Student Leadership Handbook 2019.
Our Kakadu Tour team are only weeks away from departing and have been busy preparing for the trip with, not just a focus on the logistics, but attention to ethical and global perspectives as well. We are committed to being more than simply tourists with cameras and have therefore invested some time in preparing to engage with the cultural, spiritual, and even linguistic differences we will meet while on this journey.
The Northern Territory is a part of Australia with ancient history but also quite challenging contemporary issues. While our tour will never leave Australia, it certainly will enter a very different society and, as a Salesian School in the tradition of Don Bosco, it becomes vitally important for us that our students grow an appreciation for the core beliefs and tenets of faith of other as well. Our team are tremendously excited to be able to not only see this magical part of the world, but also learn and reflect on the spiritualty and religious traditions and practices that are special to this unique place.
Click the links below to read more.
An update from the Director of Faith and Mission
By the time that you read this, 27 students and 5 staff would have participated in the Winter Sleep Out last Friday evening, in support of Ozanam Community Centre in North Melbourne, an outreach service of the St Vincent De Paul Society Victoria.
Many of you would have seen the display in the stadium foyer by the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Sunbury representatives over the two nights of parent-teachers last week, promoting the 2020 Plenary Council of the Australian Catholic Church. 2020 will be an important year for the Church, as this gathering looks to examine the future of the Catholic Church here in Australia. You will hear more about the Plenary Council in my articles over the remainder of the year. Hopefully, if you took a flyer from one on the parish representatives, it has sparked your curiosity and will hopefully lead to the much-needed conversations and feedback that the Council desires in the pre-planning period.
Find out more about what's been happening in our technology subjects
The Technology Learning Area is always full of action, practical applications, the acquiring of knowledge, and the development of industry specific skills. Here is a small snapshot of the amazing projects that our staff and students have been engaged in recently.
In their introduction to textiles, our Year 7 students are working towards finishing the idea sketches and design options for their felt pin cushions with designs ranging from different types of fruit and donuts, to animals and emojis. During practical lessons, the students have been developing their skills in hand embroidery stitching, and next week are branching out to use a sculpting putty to make designer buttons. Our Year 8 textiles students are designing pencil cases, and applying hand stitching and applique techniques during production. The challenge for them is to practice newly acquired skills in using the sewing machine for the first time.
At Year 9, our textiles students are working hard to create their portfolios. Students have been sharing ideas and are working towards the production of pyjama tops and bottoms. They are currently sourcing material, with some choosing to use recycled bed sheets and t-shirts.
Our Year 11 textiles students are learning the benefits of working in teams to create a product by researching a design movement, culture, or style. Groups have collaboratively decided what to make, and this choice has either led them to work on a range of sleepwear apparel or producing a rockabilly skirt complete with tulle petticoat. An excursion later in the month to Lincraft will provide hands on experience in selecting patterns, taking measurements, selecting and cutting materials required, and purchasing other goods to make their designs.
Materials Technology - Wood students have been working diligently on their individual design folios in preparation for the construction phase of their product. In conjunction, skills, techniques, and safety associated with the materials workshop, have played a key role in the students' practice projects; these projects provide hands-on, real-world application of specialised workshop skills students will use in their final piece.
VET Furnishing students have been learning many different industry skills while manufacturing three of their four main projects. Leg and Rail construction is not a simple task and students have learnt many skills, from producing detailed technical drawings of the products, to the types of techniques used in constructing this type of furniture, the quality of finishing, and whether the product meets specifications; all the while concentrating on transferable skills for industry.
Students enrolled in digital technology are completing a unit on how computers and digital devices use binary bits (ones and zeros) to represent numbers and characters, as well as to represent images and sounds. Students learn to count using bits and bytes (0110 0011 = decimal 99) and use ASCII codes to convert bits to alphanumeric characters (0100 0111 = 'G'). Students also learn about digital images and sounds, using Photoshop to create and edit digital images, as well as Audacity to create and edit an audio podcast.
Game development students have already completed a unit investigating the hardware and networking components of gaming consoles (Playstation, XBOX, Nintendo). This included specifications for the various hardware components. Students are currently collecting data from other student about their gaming habits. This includes gaming platforms, gaming genres, time spent, as well as attitudes and impacts around health effects and addiction. In the following unit, we will be learning to code some simple games for platforms including Android devices using AppInventor and desktop devices using Gamemaker.
Our VCE Computing students are learning to code using the visual basic development environment. We are developing a wide range of commercial apps including temperature converters, BMI calculators, home loan calculators and contact databases. Students learn the fundamentals of commercial design using common components like textboxes, buttons, scrollbars, radio buttons and checkboxes, and learn to design algorithms to assist with the development of code and coding structures.
Software Development students have been working on their School Assessed Task project for about 4 months now. Their project has involved identifying a software need or opportunity for a real client and then designing and developing a fully functioning software solution for their client. Students are in the final stages of developing and testing their solution before they hand over their solution to their client for evaluation. Their project has been undertaking using project management tools and techniques to schedule and monitor the project from start to finish.
At the moment in Yr 10 multimedia, the students are creating a Photoshop Folio while learning a variety of functions from online tutorials that match their project. Yr 9 Multimedia students are recreating movie posters using Photoshop. They are producing the photos themselves and sourcing complementary images, learning text effects and applying a variety of special effects relevant to their task. Our Yr 12 VCE/VET Creative Digital Media students have just completed an animation unit. Using Adobe Animate, they have animated a computer game trailer for a game they have previously created.
It was Hippocrates who said, "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food". Our food studies students have all been exploring and developing their food preparation techniques and skills during production classes, and of course, loving the eating! As an introduction to the skills involved in food studies, our Year 7 Students have been learning the hygiene and safety rules required to operate safely in the kitchen. Our Year 8 students have begun exploring the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating through producing food for meal times. There is a strong focus on the importance of sharing a meal together and the warmth that it can bring.
Our major focus for Year 9 food studies currently is to explore the issues involved for individuals and groups who experience food inequity in communities globally. This is proving challenging and thought provoking. The Year 10 food students are investigating the individual, social, ethical and environmental influences on food behaviours, and will shortly move on to explore current food fads and trends.
The VCE food students are exploring new areas of study after participating in engaging excursions in term two and three. Our Year 11 students were guided on an indigenous food walk at the Royal Botanic Gardens, followed by a cultural fling around the streets of Melbourne. Our Year 12 students have recently visited the Queen Victoria Market to explore the wide offerings of fresh produce and current food trends. The current project in the learning area of which we are proud is the development of the indigenous bush foods and herb garden for our students to access fresh produce during practical classes. The garden beds are in and the planting will begin shortly; a very exciting opportunity for our students to engage more deeply in their learning.
This fortnight, we have 22 Year 10 students learning about the world of work and testing out careers areas such as Livestock Station Agent, Veterinary Nursing, Law, Engineering, Plumbing, Interior Design & Defence Airforce Careers!
Brandon Abdilla has undertaken his work experience with Shane Abdilla, a Salesian Alumini, who is an AFL Football Development Manager based at Windy Hill. Shane completed a double Bachelor of Business (Management)/Sport Management. Brandon has been enjoying learning about all aspects of the sport management.
Last University OPEN DAYS are this weekend. It is essential that Bosco families attend Open Days to research careers areas, courses and campuses. Sat 25th August JMC Academy
|Saturday 25 August
|JMC Academy
|Sunday 26 August
Prerequisites for courses for current Year 10 students is now available here. These subjects must be studied to be eligible for entry in 2021.
Students can research courses they may be interested in through VTAC CourseSearch. Our Careers Centre has course guides and students can pop in at recess and lunchtimes.
To explore careers including duties/tasks, study pathways & future employment growth, take a look at https://www.joboutlook.gov.au/ and Good Careers Guide
Australian Apprenticeship Pathways: This site enables you to undertake apprenticeship aptitude tests, find local apprenticeship and group training centres, and learn about different trade occupations.
The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) course applications are now open. Students need to create a VTAC account and apply for Universtiy and TAFE courses. Year 12s are deciding on preferences for courses and need to list up to 8 courses including dream courses and pathway courses.
All Year 12s will have an application appointment with a careers adviser to support them with the application process & parents are welcome to attend. Attending Open Days is crucial to decision making. Parents can support Year 12 students with VTAC applications by going through the Application Checklist sent via Caremonkey or click here.
La Trobe University, Aspire Early Admissions Program: Applications close 31 August Selection is based on written application about community service/leadership/volunteerism.
Victoria University, VU Guaranteed: Open until 30th September. Salesian is an eligible school for this program. ALL students are guaranteed a place in either Uni or TAFE course. To apply, click here.
Undergraduate teaching courses in Victoria: For most courses, you will need to complete the CASPer test, as well as apply for the courses via the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC). For information, click here.
Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) course deadlines: Double check application dates for the courses you will be applying for via VTAC. Some courses require early applications – including Screenwriting, Animation, Dance, and Film & TV at the University of Melbourne (by Friday 31 August).
Applying to The University of Melbourne? Salesian College students gain acess to courses with the following ATARs:
Huge demand for bilingual law graduates: Top tier employers such as Westpac, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, are increasingly calling for Asia literate graduates to meet the growing demand for global talent in the Asian century. Bilingual law graduates are in short supply and as a result, are far more employable.
Reports from online Australian publication 'Lawyers Weekly' suggest that, if law graduates want to gain a competitive edge over their peers, the best way to get ahead is by combining their law degree with an Asian Language. The following two courses are examples of how you can combine an Asian language with a Law degree.
To read this feature on the future of work, visit our Careers Page on Schoolbox.
Don't miss out! Join us to hear from Australian Cricket great, Darren Lehmann
It's time for our annual Father's Day Breakfast again!
We are very excited to announce that Darren Lehmann, former Australian cricketer and the former coach of the Australian National Team, will be our guest speaker at our Father's Day Breakfast.
Join us at the College Mansion, from 7am on Thursday 30 August.
Come along to hear from one of the biggest characters in Australian cricket as he speaks about his career, the feeling of winning the World Cup twice, how he managed to juggle various roles during his career, and his future plans.
Any and all dads are invited to come along and enjoy this event over a light hot breakfast.
Limited tickets available: $20 adults, $10 students, $50 family pass.
You won't want to miss this huge event, book your tickets now.
Read about our Year 9 students' global projects
Our Year 9 Mazzarello students are currently working on their 'Global Projects'. The projects are part of their Challenge classes and are designed to help the students consider what they can do to help make a difference in the world.
The students are working in small teams of three or four where they are assigned to either the Activity Group or the Premier League Group. The Activity Group students are working on developing an action plan to address a local, national, or global issue in society, while the Premier League Group are working together to analyse an action and make recommendations for improvement.
Throughout their work, students will learn to analyse contemporary issues relating to Australia and global connections, examine the influence of a range of media, and examine how ideas about Australian identity may be influenced by global events. Students will need to hold meetings and interviews, and present their ideas in a pitch forum. These projects will help the students to develop a broad range of lifelong, invaluable skills.
Some examples of the work and ideas of the students include:
The ideas and projects vary widely and showcase a number of different types of action, from fundraising, developing a marketing campaign, and building awareness through education, to creating and submitting a proposal for a business or government.
There will be a showcase day for the Global Projects next Tuesday, 28 August. The Activity Group will be showcasing in the College Mansion from 12:10pm - 1pm. The Premier League Group will be showcasing in Shearing Shed from 11:10am - 12pm. Parents and friends are invited to come along and support the students as they showcase their work.
Well done to all of the Year 9 students for their fantastic efforts and their creative ideas of ways to make a difference.
Find out the results of our recent House Cross Country competition
On Friday 10 August, our students competed in this year's House Cross Country event. With one running race and one walking race, we saw a fantastic level of participation across the school.
The course this year was 3.25kms for the runners, and 2.05kms for the walkers; all students who participated, whether walking or running, contributed to their house total.
Congratulations to Bunjil house who finished the day in first place! The final tally for each of the houses is below, how did your house go?
Congratulations to Ben Zarb for finishing in first place, with a total time of 11:26.5. The top ten places have been listed below, well done to each of these students on a great effort.
|Ben Zarb
|Mitch Bruce
|Ben Galea
|Ronan Teese
|Ned Crotty
|Aidan Teese
|Lachlan Fish
|Tim Zarb
|Rick Daicos
|Mitchell Fitzpatrick
It was great to see so many students taking part and supporting their House; great work to everyone involved.
The latest edition of Certantes, our Salesian College Sunbury Alumni Magazine, is out now
Certantes is Salesian College Sunbury's Alumni Magazine. With an edition published each year, Certantes aims to keep our College Alumni connected and up to date with other members of the Alumni community as well as with exciting or notable events from our College.
Our latest edition (2018 edition) is published as the '90 Year Special Edition' and shares stories from each decade of College's history with features from specific students throughout the years.
This year we have published the magazine online; click here to read it now. Don't forget to share among your fellow Salesian College Sunbury friends!
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
Grade 5 Schools Visits
In recent weeks I have had the joyful task of visiting our four Catholic Primary Feeder Schools to speak with all the Grade 5 students about the transition to secondary education. This follows on from their visits to the College in term 2 and aims to answer all those burning questions about life in High School. I have been accompanied in these visits by Year 8 students returning to their primary schools. My thanks to each of them for their preparedness to assist with this important transition activity:
§ St Brigid's Patrick Bren-Clarke & Molly-Leigh Murphy
§ Holy Cross Aiden McCarthy & Ava Marshall
§ St Anne's Varun Suttatti & Amy Webber
§ OLMC Lachlan Fish & Sian D'Monte
Our College Production – 'Cinderella'
Last weekend our Annual Production, 'Cinderella', hit the stage at The Clocktower in Moonee Ponds. After many long hours of audition, rehearsal and practice, the cast and crew put on three amazing performances to packed houses. I wish to commend all the hard-working actors, musicians, dancers, designers, directors, singers and producers for their dedication and commitment to this momentous project. Well done to all involved & thank-you for your generous and spirited participation, especially the many staff who gave up much of their own time to ensure the students enjoyed this 'experience of a lifetime'.
For a full wrap-up and acknowledgments - as well as some photos from the weekend - see the Cinderella Wrap-Up Article later in this newsletter.
Pope Francis' Prayer Intention for August: Families
Pope Francis' prayer intention for the month of August is a universal prayer intention for the treasure of families:
"When speaking of families, often the image of a treasure comes to my mind. Today's rhythm of life, stress, pressure at work, and also the little attention paid by institutions, could put them in danger.
It's not enough to talk about their importance: it's necessary to promote concrete means and to develop their role in society with a good family policy.
Together, let us ask Jesus that any far-reaching decisions of economists and politicians may protect the family as one of the treasures of humanity"
As a College, we see our role as one of partnering with families as each child's 'first school', where children are raised and formed as human beings. The parental role in this human formation is governed by love, a love which places itself "at the service of children to draw forth from them ("e-ducere") the best that is in them" and which "finds its fullest expression precisely in the task of educating" (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church). This is visible through our Pastoral Care structures, through financial support for school fees and associated expenses in times of hardship, as well as wellbeing support for students and parents when it is needed.
Victorian State Election, 2018
The recent by-election in the seat of Longman (Qld) highlighted for many the influence of Catholic school parents in shaping the focus of politics (see article from The Australian, 4 August). With Victorians going to our own State Poll in November, I thought it would be informative for all parents in our community to know the views of both the Labour and Liberal candidates for the seat of Sunbury, especially on where they stand on a number of issues important to our College. I met with both candidates in recent weeks and we discussed matters including:
1. State funding for Catholic Education in Victoria?
2. Public bus transport in the Macedon/Sunbury region?
3. Improving traffic flow in Sunbury, especially out of our driveway into Macedon St/Riddell Rd?
4. Government support for the VET in schools program [eg. Hospitality, Agriculture, Plumbing]?
5. Improving the availability and quality of sporting and arts infrastructure in Sunbury, including on our own Rupertswood Estate?
This week, I welcome feedback from Cassandra Marr (Liberal for Sunbury). You can read her responses to these topics in the article later in this newsletter.
School Travel/Exchange Opportunities
Students at Salesian College are blessed with opportunities to participate in learning experiences outside of the classroom through travel and exchange. In recent weeks this has included:
Information and news about each of these opportunities and events can be found on the International Exchange page of Schoolbox.
Student Achievements
We are praying for
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present. Please keep the following in your prayers:
Lord, God, we thank you for the gift of family. We acknowledge that our image and name as family come from you. We believe that within our family lies a homemade holiness. We affirm that it is in this household of faith that we experience your presence, your forgiveness, and your love.
We are Family. We give thanks to you for the many joys and blessings that have come to us through family.
As a family we sometimes feel pain. And so we offer you our disappointments, frustrations, and hurts. Help us to forgive those members of our family, including ourselves, who have caused pain.
We pray for the strength to be a light within our family. May we open our hearts, our eyes, and our ears and carry our light to those in need.
God, Creator of the earth and all its people, help us to be mindful that, as members of one global family, we are equal in your eyes. Help us to continue to appreciate the diversity of persons in our homes and in our world. As members equal in human dignity, may we build a better world and proclaim our willingness to be the holy people you call us to be.
Congratulations all round!
This term has already seen the incredible efforts of a number of our students. In particular, well done to our amazing Savio students who participated in the College production of Cinderella. It was a great performance by all!
A big congratulations also to Amelia Wouti who represented Australia in the Taekwondo Championships in Tahiti recently. We are so proud of your efforts!
Pastoral in Savio
Year 8 students enjoyed a performance titled The Hurting Game by Brainstorm Productions. This presentation focused on anti-bullying and cyber safety through an engaging and thought-provoking drama act. Such topics are always worth a conversation, and so it would be valuable to create a dialogue at home around these issues with your child.
Year 7 students were given the opportunity to compete in some fun Inter House sport competitions, where they fostered their House connections and their team work skills. Thank you to the staff who facilitated this fun event!
Students are currently working hard on their Global Projects and have begun to choose their teams and formulate their action plans for the coming weeks. Issues are wide and varied and include road safety, domestic violence, deforestation and animal rights.
Our Premier League teams have had 2 matches and come away with some good wins against the competition.
Those not involved in teams are undertaking a variety of activities. One of these is ten pin bowling at Watergardens – some of them are very good!
What's happening in our classes…
Students have been practicing their debating skills in English. This is an assessment piece and students have worked very hard to hone their arguments and rebuttal.
In Curiosity – Humanities, the subject for the start of the term is Geography and in particular the food bowl of Victoria. Students have been exposed to where our food comes from locally and some of the issues around food supply with an ever-growing population.
Our sessions for the first few weeks have been focussing on subject selection. This week we build on this with a talk from the Careers staff around work experience.
Week Four is the House Cross Country. There will be a run and walk option and our students will represent their House in one of these. Students may wear PE gear to school on this day.
Congratulations to the Cinderella Cast and Crew
I would like to add my congratulations to all the members of the Cinderella cast and crew for all their hard work in producing a magnificent production. Having attended with a very excited seven year old, I can assure everyone the event was both wonderful and inspiring. Such productions don't just magically appear with a wave of the fairy Godmother's wand and I have admired the way so many members of the Bosco community (not to forget Savio and Mazzarello as well of course) have juggled their educational commitments with this creative endeavour.
Well done to everyone once again.
Visitors from afar
The Bosco campus has been honored this term to be the host to two international groups. Initially a group of Italian students from Don Bosco Instituto, Verona, and Giovanni Prati, Trento, had the opportunity to experience what school life is like for us here in Victoria. Presently, we have students from Salesio Gakuin Junior and Senior High School and Meguroseibi Girls School in Japan enjoying a homestay with members of our college community. I thank everyone who has extended a friendly welcome to our visitors and encourage all to continue to extend the warm hand of friendship I have had the pleasure of experiencing since my arrival to the College this year.
Click the links below to read more.
An update from the Director of Faith and Mission
Last Saturday night, the college came together with our Catholic primary schools in Sunbury to celebrate Catholic education and its partnership with the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Fr Kevin McIntosh spoke of the intrinsic value that Catholic education plays in educating us in a world where justice and peace can be fragile.
Winter Sleep Out - Friday 17 August
The college will again be conducting a winter sleepout to support Ozanam Community Centre in North Melbourne, part of the St Vincent De Paul Society. The aim is to support Ozanam Community Centre by donating Coles-Myer group gift cards, which they then use to help clients who access their services in the need to obtain assistance for food and basic needs such as toiletries. For Ozanam Community Centre, the gesture of solidarity in our students and staff undertaking the winter sleep out, demonstrates our Christian commitment to compassion and charity.
Read more in the article later in this newsletter.
Read an update from our Head of Library, Vicki Hudson
The Ciantar Learning Commons is now open for business!
The new building is a learning hub and a community zone in which students and teachers can gather for learning, reading, communication, collaboration, and leisure. The multi-zoned, flexible and attractive spaces, innovative resources, and Information Literacy and Wide Reading programs are designed to inspire, motivate, and expand the horizons of our students. Learning support will be provided for classes, individual students, and Year 12 private study groups in the various zones. Curriculum and learning and teaching support will be provided for teachers.
There are multiple zones for learning, reading and gathering in the Learning Commons including:
The Learning Commons is a physical and virtual learning and collaboration space that connects learners and helps them to construct knowledge and build understanding.
The Learning Commons is well on the way to becoming a thriving, essential part of our College community.
Read an update from our Careers Department featuring important dates and events
Representatives from ACU, La Trobe, Deakin and AIE attended our Subject Selection Night. It was great to have Bosco and Mazzarello families discuss opportunities and have questions answered.
Congratulations to eighteen Year 10s out on work experience placements this week. Students have enjoyed learning about the world of work and testing out careers areas at Sunbury Animal Hospital, Netball Australia, Herald & Weekly Times, Kindies Early Learning, Sunbury Physiotherapy, & Horse Dentistry!
Year 10 students Aidan Heyne & Ben Whiting recently spoke to the Year 7 Maths Enhancement class about careers in STEM from their work experience at Melbourne University Science Department & Air Services Australia.
OPEN DAYS are on NOW. It is essential that Bosco families attend Open Days to research careers areas, courses and campuses. This Sunday 12th August RMIT & ACU have their Open Days:
|5 August
|12 August
|19 August
|26 August
Prerequisites for courses for current Year 10 students is now available here. These subjects must be studied to be eligible for entry in 2021.
Students can research courses they may be interested in through VTAC CourseSearch and by attending Open Days. Our Careers Centre has course guides and students can pop in at recess and lunchtimes.
To explore careers including duties/tasks, study pathways & future employment growth, go to https://www.joboutlook.gov.au/ and Good Careers Guide
IMPORTANT YEAR 12 News:
La Trobe University, Aspire Early Admissions Program: Applications close 31 August Selection is based on written application about Community service/ leadership/ volunteerism http://bit.ly/1cXetap
Victoria University, VU Guaranteed: Open until 30th September. Salesian is an eligible school for this program. ALL students are guaranteed a place in either Uni or TAFE course. To apply: https://bit.ly/2uAJXxU
See our Careers Schoolbox page for further details on the following:
Inside Monash Seminars: Get the inside story of what it's really like to study at Monash. The following seminars are running:
For information and to register, go to https://bit.ly/2ki2NYw
Experience Days at Kangan Institute: Kangan is a TAFE with several campuses located across Victoria. The Institute is running the following experiences days at the following campuses in August. For information and to register your place, go to http://bit.ly/2ttNFrp
25 & 26 August Dance Audition Preparation Workshop, Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne, https://bit.ly/2Ob6Cdl
29 August The Hotel School Melbourne Discovery Day, Lonsdale Street campus, https://bit.ly/2uHVxs9
Over the weekend, our students performed our 2018 College Production in Moonee Ponds
Over the weekend, our talented students - assisted by their supportive crew - performed three showings of our 2018 College Production, Cinderella.
Congratulations to all those involved on a fantastic performance; the energy and talent on show was matched only by the obvious enjoyment each young performer and back stage crew member exuded. Singing, costumes, dance, makeup, music, the sets, scene changes - everything was outstanding!
We are incredibly lucky to have such a supportive and creative team in our staff, students, and families that are able to pull together such a great project. Thank you to everyone who donated their time, talent, and expertise to contribute.
We hope you had a chance to attend and see our students shine. See the gallery below for some photos of the action.
Special thanks again to those members of the crew below:
Book your tickets for our next Twilight School Event, a Father's Day Breakfast on Thursday 30 August
It's time for another Twilight School event! This time we are hosting a Father's Day Breakfast on Thursday 30 August.
We are very excited to announce that Darren Lehmann, former Australian cricketer and the former coach of the Australian National Team, will be our guest speaker!
Come along to hear from one of the biggest characters in Australian cricket as he speaks about his career, the feeling of winning the World Cup twice, how he managed to juggle various roles during his career, and his future plans.
Any and all dads are invited to come along and enjoy this event over a light hot breakfast.
Limited tickets available: $20 adults, $10 students, $50 family pass.
You won't want to miss this huge event. Book your tickets now.
Don't forget to submit your applications for 2020
Just over a week left to get your applications in for any students hoping to join us in 2020!
Enrolments for 2020 close on Friday 17 August.
Don't forget, even if you already have another child already attending, you will still need to submit a full application by the closing date.
Our new College website allows you to apply online; click here to begin.
Some of our staff and students are participating in an upcoming Vinnies School Sleepout
As you sit by a warm fireplace, turn on your heater, or snuggle into your electric blanket, think about how cold it is outside. Though you certainly do not want to venture out into the winter elements, not everybody has a choice.
Salesian College Sunbury have a number of Young Vinnies students that have committed to sleep outside on Friday 17 August to raise money for charity as part of the St Vincent De Paul Winter Sleepout. This is our third School Sleepout for the St Vincent DePaul Society and Ozanam Community Centre in North Melbourne.
Vinnies Sleepouts give people a glimpse into the realities of homelessness by 'sleeping rough' for a night to raise awareness and funds for Vinnies homelessness services. It is estimated over 105,000 Australians experience homelessness each night; half of these people are women and a quarter are young people under the age of 18.
The 'hands on' nature of our Vinnies School Sleepout by our students helps them to develop an understanding of the impact of homelessness and provides an opportunity to take action. This experience challenges our students' sense of home and offers unique insight into the complex issues faced by people experiencing homelessness.
It is a great opportunity for us all to be grateful for what we have in our life while giving back to others by supporting Vinnies in their efforts to help those facing homelessness rebuild their lives and reconnect with the community.
Salesian College Sunbury is collecting Coles-Myer Group gift cards to give to clients who access the St Vincent DePaul Society and Ozanam Community Centre.
If you are interested in donating, please contact College Reception on phone 9744 0000.
Hear from Cassandra Marr, Liberal for Sunbury, about topics relevant to our College
Victorian State Election, 2018
The recent by-election in the seat of Longman (Qld) highlighted for many the influence of Catholic school parents in shaping the focus of politics (see The Australian article from 4 August). With Victorians going to our own State Poll in November, I thought it would be informative for all parents in our community to know the views of both the Labour and Liberal candidates for the seat of Sunbury, especially on where they stand on a number of issues important to our College. I met with both candidates in recent weeks and we discussed matters including:
1. State funding for Catholic Education in Victoria?
2. Public bus transport in the Macedon/Sunbury region?
3. Improving traffic flow in Sunbury, especially out of our driveway into Macedon St/Riddell Rd?
4. Government support for the VET in schools program [eg. Hospitality, Agriculture, Plumbing]?
5. Improving the availability and quality of sporting and arts infrastructure in Sunbury, including on our own Rupertswood Estate?
This week, I welcome feedback from Cassandra Marr (Liberal for Sunbury). See below:
Mark Brockhus
College Principal
1. Funding for Catholic Education in Victoria
Catholic school communities already raise 80 per cent of every dollar they spend on capital works, the essential bricks and mortar parts of school facilities. That takes a real burden off the public purse by ensuring government funds go a long, long way.
In the 2018/19 budget, there is an allocation of $1.3 billion for new schools and existing school upgrades, but not one new dollar for Catholic and independent schools that educate 37 per cent of Victorian students.
The Liberal Nationals are committed to providing choice to Victorian parents in education, noting there is a greater proportion of Victorian students in Catholic and independent schools than any other state in Australia.
2. Public Bus transport in the Sunbury/Macedon region
Easing congestion on our roads is fundamental to our liveability and part of that is to look at our public transport network and how were we can improve it. It's without a doubt that public transport within the Sunbury and surround areas has had increasing pressure put on it as the town grows. This is why I am reaching out to residents to find out what services they want to see more of as well as frequency to see what areas need the most urgent attention. If you haven't let me know please contact me via www.cassandramarr.com.au
3. Improving traffic flow in Sunbury
Traffic congestion is a major issue not only for Sunbury but also for the state of Victoria. We have committed to removing the intersection at Gap and Horne via grade separation as part of our 55 intersection removal program. I am advocating that we put forward the Macedon St/Riddell Rd intersection up for consideration for the remaining 22 intersections to be removed and I am looking for your support by having your say and filling in the details below so we can continue to improve Sunbury for the future. http://www.getvictoriamoving.com.au/intersectionremoval/#content-section-4
4. Funding for VET courses, such as Hospitality, Agriculture, Building/Construction, etc.
Making sure that we have alternative pathways for students is essential to us having a well-rounded community. This is why having Vet courses available is essential for our community. Sadly there are 145,900 fewer students in TAFE today than in 2014 when Labor came to power. Many employers and small businesses that I speak with are desperate to employ skilled workers, but can't find any. This is why we need to continue to support the VET sector and ensure that there are a variety of options available to students.
5. Funding support for a Community Sports & Arts Facilities at Rupertswood
Local sport is a must for me as it is what I grew up with playing Softball, Squash and Basketball and in order to do that we need to ensure that we have the right facilities to play in. That's why we are committed to supporting local sporting clubs and not the AFL. This is why I am advocating for improvements for the Rupertswood Football and Netball Club to help improve the facilities so players and supporters have the best experience possible playing the game they love.
I have always been a fan of the Arts and always enjoyed going to the theater and other performances (although I don't get as much of a chance at the moment with two young children). I will certainly encourage my children to be involved in the arts as they get older. I was involved in arts and drama throughout high school and made many lifelong friends. I feel that art and drama provide students with many skills including confidence building and public speaking. There are certainly many benefits to improved performance facilities in our schools and I will happily investigate this further.
Cassandra Marr
Liberal for Sunbury
An update from our College Principal, Mr Mark Brockhus
I would like to welcome all students back to school for Term Three, as well as several new members of staff who commenced last week. I encourage all students, especially our Year 12s, to settle into a school routine quickly so as to make the most of the educational opportunities on offer at the College.
At the end of Term Two, Semester One reports were completed and distributed to parents. Please ensure that these reports are read together with your student/s in order to implement any suggested strategies for improvement in Semester Two. Please make contact with teachers and/or House Leaders if you have any concerns that need to be addressed as a result of the reports.
I was pleased to see the majority of students return in complete and correct uniform this week. The wearing of the uniform in an appropriate manner is an important part of our education here at Salesian College, and I wish to commend those who do so each and every day. Ours is a wonderful uniform, but only when worn well. Unfortunately, a small minority wish to challenge these rules, with consequences issued accordingly. May I remind students that rain jackets may only be worn to/from school when it is raining, and not in place of the College blazer.
Thai Schools Visit
During the school holidays I had the opportunity to visit a number of our Salesian Schools in Thailand as part of the Australia/Pacific Salesian Principal's Association (APSPA). For a number of years now, Sunbury has been host to a large contingent of Principals/Educators from Thai Province, and this was a chance for us to see how the charism of St John Bosco is kept alive in a predominantly Buddhist culture.
Firstly, we were all overwhelmed by the generosity of the Thais in hosting us and going out of their way to make their teachers, classrooms, and students available to us. Their schools certainly varied in size (from 150 to upwards of 4000!), in focus (academic and trade-oriented), in style (single-sex and co-educational) and in resources. However, one thing that stood out in every single school we visited was the sense of joy and belonging the students felt, absolute hallmarks of a Salesian school. Whilst the students may not have had a Catholic Faith connection in the traditional sense, their knowledge and experience of Christ through the charism of Don Bosco was evident for all to see. As Principals, we are hopeful that this experience will grow into further opportunities for our staff and students in the years ahead through reciprocal visits and professional learning.
Subject Selection, 2018
It was great to see so many enthusiastic students and parents at last week's 2018 Subject Information Evening for students in Year 9-11. Choosing the right subjects is a critical step, not only in engaging students, but in creating a successful transition through to tertiary studies and future employment. As with all information evenings organised by the College, the attendance of many staff at this event is seen as a visible sign of our commitment to your child's education here, and I wish to thank them publically on your behalf. Students are encouraged to use the many resources available to them (parents, teachers, open days, subject handbooks, etc) before completing the online subject selection preferences due in a few weeks.
Our College Production – 'Cinderella'
Next weekend (3 August), our College Production opens the curtain on some amazing talent here at Salesian College. The many long hours of audition, rehearsal and practice are now behind us and the first performance of 'Cinderella' is ready to hit the stage at The Clocktower in Moonee Ponds. I wish to commend all the hard-working actors, musicians, dancers, designers, directors, singers, and producers for their dedication and commitment to this momentous project. Well done to all involved & good luck! If you haven't yet purchased tickets, it's still not too late to do so; please see the information presented later in this newsletter.
Ciantar Learning Commons Offical Opening
Yesterday saw the official opening of the Ciantar Learning Commons (CLC), our new library space. It was a joyous occasion lead by our College Captains Amy & Nicholas and attended by Josh Bull, our local member for Sunbury, and Fr Will Matthews, Salesian Provincial. Please read my piece later in this newsletter where I explain the purpose behind the naming of our new learning space.
We are praying for
Salesian College Sunbury is a large community of students, staff and parents, both past and present.
Please keep the following in your prayers:
§ All Year 12s as they enter their final semester of secondary education here at Salesian College.
§ All those members of our community suffering ill-health at present.
Moments of Grace
God of Life, Holy One in our midst,
the light of your grace fills our days.
We give thanks for all the daily blessings we take for granted:
Water and bread;
conversations and sharing of ideas;
morning and evening;
family and friends.
Your love fills every moment.
May our lives quietly give thanks to you day after day.
Through Christ, our Lord.
Looking ahead
Firstly, welcome back to Term Three! I hope that you all had a wonderful break, with plenty of time to rest and recuperate before another big term.
Term Three is just as jam-packed with events, assessments, and plenty of learning. As we begin a new semester, keep in mind that it is a chance to start anew, with fresh beginnings. Whether you are a Year 7 or Year 8 student, your learning journey is your responsibility. How you choose to see your studies, your goals, and your successes are in your control. So, welcome the beginning of Term Three with open arms, an open mind and an open heart, and see what opportunities come your way!
Year 8 Retreat
Over the coming few months, Year 8 classes will be attending retreat days at the Don Bosco Youth Centre in Brunswick. Keep an eye out for Mr. Stephen Connelly's article in this week's newsletter (under Director of Faith and Mission).
College Production
Our College production is well underway, and our talented students are ready to perform on stage. Well done to our Savio students involved in the production whether on stage or off.
Student of the Term (Term 2)
Congratulations to Darcy Young, in Year 7, and Ava Marshall, in Year 8, for being awarded Student of the Term by our principal, Mr. Mark Brockhus. You are both to be commended for your efforts and should be very proud of receiving such a prestigious award! Well done!
At the end of the last term, students had the opportunity to hear guest speakers from the Cagliero Project and the Sea Shepherds,. This was to help us to start the Global Project we are undertaking in Challenge. Both presentations made a real impact on our students as they start to think about the positive change they can make in the community.
Our Challenge students are now undertaking Premier League or Activities. The first match is against Kolbe away in Week Two. Activity students enjoyed a trip to the rock climbing wall in Preston - they were amazing and starting scaling the heights almost straight away!
See the gallery below for some photos from the day.
Great Victorian Bike Ride
Last year we offered the Great Victorian Bike Ride for the first time and seven students had an amazing time riding their bike through the Gippsland region of Victoria. We are again offering the experience this year and the 2018 course looks even better than last year. The Great Victorian Bike Ride is a nine-day cycling and camping trip through some of Victoria's most picturesque areas, with this year's ride beginning in Bright and covering 524km from the mountains to the Murray River, finishing in Benalla via Beechworth, Rutherglen and Yarrawonga. This year the ride will take place from Saturday 24 November until Sunday 2 December. Any interested students are encouraged to see Mr Pell.
Well done to Marco Renda who has been selected in the Victorian Soccer squad and will hopefully be selected for nationals later this year.
The students to represent the College in the SACCSS FUTSAL recently were Emily Cugliari, Flynn McIver, and Marco Renda.
Congratulations to Dylan Visscher who has received the Australian Scout Medallion. This is somewhat equivalent to the Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award. To attain the top award in each of the five sections reflects initiative in tackling challenges, sustained effort over many years, and self-discipline, teamwork, and leadership. Only a small percentage of young people reach this level.
Three students represented the College at the successful Holbrook Show recently as part of the Ag Scholarship program: Caitlin Thomas, Wade Ryan, and Tilly Crowther.
Subject Selections
A reminder that Year 10 elective preferences, VCAL applications and accelerated subject applications are due by Thursday 2 August. Students are encouraged to submit these as soon as possible.
Keep parenting!
Thank you for the positive feedback on the information I provided about social gatherings in the end of Term Three letter. I felt the following image summed up the challenges faced by parents in the modern age:
You are all doing a terrific job – keep it up!
A warm welcome back to you all as we commence Term Three. Believe it or not, we're more than half way through the educational year already and now a period filled with truly exciting and innovative educational opportunity awaits.
Subject Selection
At the time of writing, we are preparing for our Bosco Subject Selection Evening (Thursday 19 July). No doubt many of you attended this event and embraced the chance to become better informed regarding learning options for 2019 and beyond.
Even though we begin this process effectively four and a half months before classes convene, the decision making process can still feel rushed and I have always empathised with students and parents who find this process daunting. For many, it is the first time they have had a real say in the curriculum with which they engage and, while there's lots of good advice on offer, frequently this advice is good for some but not all. So, at the risk of adding to the confusion, here are some suggestions for approaching the decision making process based on my own personal experience.
• In considering what is involved in studying a subject, the best source of information is the Bosco Subject Handbook. I urge students especially to read this carefully in order to orientate themselves to what is expected of them in their subjects of interest. Also, students and families should consult widely with those members of the college community who can provide insight into a subject based on their own experience and expertise.
• Spend some time considering how a subject is taught and assessed. It is quite common for this aspect of the decision making process to be overlooked or underestimated. Every subject we offer at the Bosco campus comes with a degree of academic rigour and an expectation that students will need to put in a genuine effort. Candidly, there are no 'bludge' subjects. Indeed, the subjects which may appear to be 'easy' because they don't seem to have many assessments from week to week, tend require the most diligence and attention to time management. They will all require an effort so it is a good idea to understand the nature of this.
• Try not to over emphasise who is involved in the study of a subject. The one constant in a student's education is themselves. It is always a comfort when students retain a teacher with whom they already have a strong working relationship or find themselves in the same class as close friends, however, these are short term influences at best. In the long run, other factors matter more.
• Be honest and consider carefully why you want to study a subject. Ultimately, students tend to invest their effort and energy in the subjects they like (admittedly this is a relative term) and feel they can succeed in. Choosing a subject because you think you should do it or other people suggest you should do it comes with a degree of risk.
New Year 12 Study Area in the CLC
While the recent opening of the Ciantar Learning Commons is an exciting event for the College as a whole, it also comes with a particularly exciting and innovative opportunity for the Year 12 students in Bosco. A forum was held recently with myself, Chief Librarian Ms Vicki Hudson, and student leadership to consult and collaborate on how best to use the remarkable learning environment set aside for Year 12s in which to study. The area will undoubtedly provide an inspiring space for our 12s as they complete Unit 4 and prepare for exams. I thank them and commend them for their contribution in helping to establish engagement in learning where we are collaboratively responsible.
Click the links below to read more.
An update from the Director of Faith and Mission, including a prayer
As we begin this new term, and we look ahead on our College calendar to how the term will unfold, it is unsurprisingly busy! However, you have to expect that in a large school with so many wonderful opportunities that are provided to our young people in their learning space. Schools are dynamic places of engagement in a 21st century learning environment. We only have to take a glimpse at evening news services, newspaper articles, government reports, and what may pop up on the net, to realise that the landscape of schools today are wide and varied. Professionals and experts in many fields will often comment on the state of education or offer new, informative, and invigorating insights into the latest research and data. These matters require and demand our active attention. We need to keep ourselves informed as educators and as families as the key stakeholders of the young people we are investing our time and energies into for their future.
It can be easy at times to lose sight of the important things when inundated with a myriad of things that do require our attention. Our lives are busy! We are seemingly connected to our world 24/7 as technology allows us to navigate even our family spaces in ways that we may not have imagined decades ago.
Taking 'time out' can seem like a luxury for many people. Yet, it is important, as we know for our wellbeing- physically, emotionally and spiritually. And, it is the latter point that is vital in our space in the life of the college.
As we head into this term, we would have just concluded the last of our Year 10 retreat days, which focused on our young people reflecting on the relationship with themselves and with their faith. Conducted by the Youth Mission Team (YMT Australia), our young people were asked to stop and think about what is important to them in terms of themselvesir and their spirituality.
The Year 8 retreat program is about to commence with a day's reflection at the Don Bosco Youth Centre in Brunswick. Each individual Year 8 class spends time focusing on qualities and values that can be embodied in building greater connections with important people in their lives. Sharing ideas, teamwork, reflecting on how we relate to others is the encounter in this space.
Some of our staff would have attended a retreat at Lysterfield as part of the colleges' ongoing commitment to the faith formation of staff, over this past weekend. This weekend intensive program covers a variety of topics, allowing staff the opportunity to actively engage in lengthy discussions and lectures related to the Catholic faith. The retreat also aims to provide staff with quiet reflection time.
This Friday (27 July) the entire staff will attend a staff faith day with three other Catholic colleges at Thomas Carr College, Tarneit. The keynote speaker for the day, Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, will take staff through a series of discussions on contemporary faith matters.
Taking 'time out' to reflect, contemplate, share and discuss matters of faith and spirituality is vitally important in the life of the college. It is what we do as a faith community. Providing opportunities for all members of our community to connect with that other dimension in their lives despite the busyness of our day-to-day routines is important for our wellbeing.
Please note:
Next week on Saturday evening (Saturday 28 July) at 5:30pm, the college will join Our Lady of Mt Carmel and St Anne's Primary Schools for a Mass of thanksgiving for the contribution of Catholic education to the Sunbury parish. This Mass will take place at St Anne's Catholic Church, Riddell Rd Sunbury. All families are warmly invited to attend.
Read an update from our Sport Coordinator, Dylan Hannan
We were fortunate enough to, once again, have many opportunities for students to represent Salesian College Sunbury in sport throughout Term Two, with many teams and individuals winning their respective divisions. Below are just some of the interschool sports that were offered throughout Term Two:
• Senior AFL Boys/Girls
• Junior/Intermediate AFL Girls
• SACCSS Cross Country
• SACCSS Junior/Intermediate Futsal
• Year 7 Premier League (Basketball, AFL, netball, soccer and volleyball)
Our Senior Boys and Girls AFL teams both made it through to the SACCSS Division 1 Grand Finals, with our boys going on to beat the previously undefeated Emmanuel College by 32 points and our girls unfortunately missing out to a very strong MacKillop College outfit. Our boys will now play in the Herald Sun Shield Semi Final on Wednesday 5 September at Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham.
It is great to see the enthusiastic uptake of female football this year. Due to the growing interest, the Senior Girls AFL competition has progressed from a one-day tournament in recent years to a seasonal competition that now mirrors the boys. Salesian College Sunbury also recently hosted the SACCSS Junior Girls AFL Tournament for 12 schools across two venues, which is the most highly participated event on the SACCSS calendar. Despite our girls just missing out on a spot in the final, it was great to see so many out there genuinely enjoying themselves and learning about the game that is new to so many of them.
We had quite a successful day out at Brimbank Park for this year's SACCSS Cross Country. A special mention must go to Mitch Bruce, Ben Zarb, and Hugh Tighe who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively out of 107 runners in their Intermediate Boys event. However, the combined effort of all Salesian runners was the highlight; we managed to take out top spot in both the Boys and the Girls Intermediate Divisions on the day.
After their success at the SACCSS Swimming Carnival earlier in Term One, we had 12 students selected to represent the SACCSS Sports Association at the inaugural Swimming Victoria All Schools Swim Meet at MSAC. This was a great experience for our students who competed against many state and national swimmers on the night. Congratulations to the following students: Johno Need, Alec MCGregor, Austin Burnell, Amy Iskra, Brooke Williams, Tiannah Brne, Izabella Crawford, Mitchell Bruce, Matthew Bruce, Bradley Bruce, Grace Avenall-Thompson and Rose Avenell-Thompson.
While there was a great deal of interschool sport on offer throughout Term Two, there were also many sporting opportunities for students to represent their House within the College. One of these opportunities included the House Athletics Carnival. We were blessed with the weather and it was great to see so many students involving themselves and representing their Houses in a variety of events. One of the most popular events of the day was the tug-of-war rope, which will need a few repairs before next year. Congratulations to Naughton House who ran away as overall winners on the day.
Our Sport Captains, Olivia Cautley and Matt McDonald, also planned, umpired, and held a Savio lunchtime Mixed Netball Competition that ran in the stadium each Friday throughout the Term. This competition was a great success, every house easily filled a mixed netball team and we had in excess of 100 spectators supporting their houses and creating a competitive-but-friendly atmosphere in the stadium each Friday lunchtime. Congratulations to Colliton House who, after finishing 4th, managed to save their best form for the finals and were crowned 2018 Premiers.
Throughout the year, in House Sport and MADD Day, each house contributes points towards the Papworth Cup, which is awarded to the House with the most points at the end of the year. Term Three will see points on offer for the House Cross Country Competition. See below for the ladder as it stands at the end of Semester One.
Looking ahead to Term Three, we again have many opportunities for students to represent the College in sport. Below are some examples:
• Senior Boys and Girls Soccer
• Year 9 Premier League (basketball, soccer, AFL, volleyball, and netball)
• SACCSS Chess
• SACCSS Athletics
• Junior/Intermediate Tennis
• School State Netball Championships – Boys and Girls (six teams)
• House Cross Country
We know our students will continue to be reliable team members who win humbly and lose gracefully in Term Three.
Read an update from our Careers department including upcoming opportunities
Careers Week is happening here at the college! It's all about having career conversations with young people. At home, we encourage parents and family members to discuss their career journey and those of relatives and friends. The aim of the week is to inspire our young people to understand success, career journeys, challenges and future possibilities. Some pointers:
With subject selection underway, it is a great time to research careers, courses and prerequisites.
Prerequisites for courses for current Year 10 students is now available here. These subjects must be studied to be eligible for entry in 2021.
Students can