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This week’s prayer reflects on the contrasting themes of peace and war; the two sides of the ANZAC Day coin. In the week when Australia stops to commemorate the sacrifice and service of hundreds of thousands of service men and women, the Christian message of ‘Peace, Shalom’ is as contemporary as ever. Our world is beset by several entrenched conflicts with the threat of others on the horizon, the promise of peace following the horrific conflicts of the 20th century seems diminished.
The start to this new term has been an extraordinarily busy one with a number of large and successful events, these have included: The College came together on Wednesday for its own Anzac Day commemorative service with the whole school gathering in Quambi. It was a moving tribute highlighted by the personal testimony of Mr Michael Gretton, President Kyneton RSL as well as College Captain, Isabelle McBride.
This week, the College enjoyed beautiful late autumn weather as we welcomed more than 600 people from 190 families for the annual Sacred Heart College Open Day. Prospective students from a range of primary school levels were engaged in a wide variety of subject-based and co-curricular activities gradually filling their show bags as they moved around the school. Special thanks to all who contributed to the success of the evening including school staff and 100+ current Sacred Heart College students.
Sacred Heart College students were very well represented at local events yesterday to commemorate ANZAC Day. These commemorations are always moving and continue to grow in stature notwithstanding the time that has passed since those awful years of conflict. Thank you to all students and staff who contributed to these community events in any way.
Last Friday, the College hosted 50 student leaders from Catherine McAuley College Bendigo who joined the SHC student cabinet members for a day that explored ‘Leadership from the Heart’. Hopefully the gathering is just the first of many future events for our schools’ student leaders who share a common Mercy heritage.
Students are enjoying a four-day weekend with the ANZAC Day public holiday being followed by a Professional Learning day for all Sacred Heart College teaching staff and learning support officers. The day is focusing on the school’s strategic priorities in learning and teaching and includes significant time for collaboration and planning within teaching teams.
Bereavement - Your prayers are asked for the Hartnett family on the passing of Barbara Hartnett, grandmother of Eli Knight Year 9. Our thoughts are with you at this sad time.
Yours in Mercy,
Dr Darren Egberts
Principal
Term 3 has begun with gusto! From the final two weeks of term to now, there have been some fantastic leadership opportunities and experiences on offer at Sacred Heart, including Macedon Ranges Youth Summit and a combined leadership day with students from Catherine McAuley College in Bendigo.
The aim of these experiences was to expand our students’ opportunities to connect with our College and the broader Regional Community. In each event students were able to add their voices to matters concerning young people, generate ideas for improvement and plan actions to bring these ideas to life.
Our College Leadership Cabinet also led our College ANZAC Day Service with reverence and pride. Many then went on to represent our College in Dawn Services and ANZAC commemorations across the region. Thank you to those student leaders, and their families, for taking part in this special day.
Finally, this Saturday sees many Year 11 and 12 students participating in the Debutante Ball. This is the culmination of many evenings of practice and is yet another opportunity for our students to represent Sacred Heart and be recognized by our wider community. A big thank you goes particularly to Year 11 Level Leader, Anthony Diamond, and the Year 11 Team, as well as Gayle and Andrew from GA Events for all their work behind the scenes to get this event up and running. Like all families involved, we are looking forward to seeing our students shine!
IDAHOBIT
As part of IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) Sunbury Cobaw Community Health has a range of community events to connect young people across the ranges. At SHC we support diversity through our D@SH Group which meets on Wednesday each fortnight. If you would like to access the events flyer click here.
Student reflections from Macedon Ranges Youth Summit
On the 21 March, approximately 20 Sacred Heart students travelled to the Woodend Library to participate in the 2024 Youth Summit. There were students from many different schools around the area and we all got together to discuss today's issues. It was a really fun day. During the many 15 minute sessions we discussed different issues in small groups such as Climate Change, Public Transport, Mental Health and more, to get young people's opinions and thoughts on improvements. To break up these discussions, there were many fun activities to participate in. We had live music (with a Didgeridoo), a visit from 'The Zoo comes to you', a polaroid photo booth and a delicious lunch. It was a really fun day and it would be great to have even more people joining in next year!
Inga Foerster, Year 9
At the MRSC Youth Summit, we worked in groups with people from different schools to come up with new ideas and suggestions for what could happen in the Macedon Ranges. We looked at different things that affect people our age, such as transportation, education, school holidays etc and tried to brainstorm things that could be done to improve these areas. We worked in groups and were also given breaks so we could talk to people from other schools and learn about what they are doing for their school. There were lots of fun activities available during the breaks such as a photo booth and a mini animal show. I really enjoyed hearing about what ideas other people had thought of because it meant that I got to use their ideas to help expand my own, which meant that I could come back to school with a better understanding of what people my age might want to happen in the school or the community. Another thing I really liked was the activities that were provided at breaks because it gave us time to reset our minds and made the day flow really smoothly, it also added a lot of fun into the whole day. The people running the MRSC Youth Summit were all very kind, they made sure everyone was included in the discussion and wanted to hear every person’s point of view. I think the Youth Summit was a great way for people to share ideas and a way to give younger people a voice.
Nic Needle, Year 9
On 21 March, selected students from Year 7 to 9 went to a Youth Summit held in the Woodend Hall. On the day we went through different topics on what we think as the younger generation that Macedon Ranges Shire could explore in the future. Throughout the day I learned that there are so many problems in this shire that could easily be fixed by a few actions such as fixing the potholes in the roads, or just fixing the road in general, or allowing us to make transport easier by putting in more transport options in place. I contributed to the discussion and the ‘Zoo's come to you’ activity that happened later in the day. I enjoyed being able to share my opinion on what I believe should be done to make this shire better. I also enjoyed meeting other students from other schools. For any students that are involved in the Youth Summit next year, I would like to say that you should give truthful answers and have as much fun as possible.
Charleigh Ager, Year 8
This week, the College enjoyed beautiful late autumn weather as we welcomed more than 600 people from 190 families for the annual Sacred Heart College Open Day. Prospective students from a range of primary school levels were engaged in a wide variety of subject-based and co-curricular activities gradually filling their show bags as they moved around the school. Special thanks to all who contributed to the success of the evening including school staff and 100+ current Sacred Heart College students.
Prayers in times of grief and conflict
Recent events in Australia and internationally have been cause for great grief. With hearts of sorrow, we pray for the community in Bondi and for the Assyrian community in Sydney. In response to these acts of violence, Stan Grant recently wrote about his own belief in the importance of prayer, declaring: “All I know is this – and I am sure of this more than I am sure of anything – God is love and I pray that is enough.” This certainty in the God of love is at the core of our own prayers; and in our own community we continue to declare our mission to serve as instruments of peace, and as people of Mercy in our world. And as we pause and recognise the meaning of ANZAC Day for our nation, we pray that Jesus, Prince of Peace, might defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands, allowing us to turn our swords into ploughshares.
Discussing events of this nature with young people can prove to be challenging for families. A range of organisations offer resources to assist families when responding to distressing items in the media:
For further guidance on helping children cope with the trauma of disaster-related news coverage, please visit the Trauma and Grief Network or the eSafety Commissioner website for resources.
Project Compassion: Total Collection
Sincere thanks is offered to all of you who contributed to the Project Compassion campaign, whether this was cash donation into the money boxes in your classrooms, or an online donation made via the Sacred Heart donation page. We are pleased to announce that our total fundraising efforts are over $1400, all of which will be used by Caritas in support of their mission to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. It is worth noting that a significant portion of these funds were raised by our Year 7s through their Caritas Ks event, and by our Year 12s through their OpShop formal. Special thanks are offered to both of these Year Levels for their efforts.
The College came together on Wednesday for its own Anzac Day commemorative service with the whole school gathering in Quambi. It was a moving tribute highlighted by the personal testimony of Mr Michael Gretton, President Kyneton RSL as well as College Captain, Isabelle McBride.
Sacred Heart College students were very well represented at local events yesterday to commemorate ANZAC Day. These commemorations are always moving and continue to grow in stature notwithstanding the time that has passed since those awful years of conflict. Thank you to all students and staff who contributed to these community events in any way.
It was great to have the Senior School students back in the classroom after the Easter holidays. I hope students used the time to relax with friends and family and prepare for Term 2. There is plenty of learning and assessments to complete this term for all three-year levels. I would like to wish every student the best of luck and hope their efforts are well rewarded.
Semester Two Subject Changes
Semester Two subject/elective changes for Years 10 and 11 will open on Monday 27 May and will close on Wednesday 26 June. Student timetables will be uploaded to SIMON for the start of Term 3.
Instructions for Semester 2 subject changes:
Students are to register their request to change subjects via a Google Form link that will be available on SIMON.
Mr Matthews will review the request for the unit change, and then communicate via email the outcome of your request if the change is not possible, due to a subject clash or the class is full or if the change is possible, a Change of Unit Form and relevant instructions will emailed to the student, to finalise their request.
Any subject changes that could potentially have a significant impact on future career plans, students will be required to organise a Career appointment. Information the Change of Subject Process will be available to all students via Daily Messages towards the end of May.
Subject Selection: 2025
The process for Subject Selection (2025) will commence this Semester (refer to dates below, with more information relating to the specific year levels to be published in the lead up to the selection process.
Year 11 moving into Year 12 (2025): Tuesday 4 June
Year 10 moving into Year 11 (2025): Wednesday 17 July
Year 9 moving into Year 10 (2025): Tuesday 30 July
Merci et Au Revoir la France, by Amelia Walsh et Charli Shalders
Our recent Study Tour to France was a great experience of language and culture. We arrived in France on Saturday 17 March. Our first few days in Paris were spent visiting many iconic monuments such as La Tour Eiffel, Sacre-Coeur, and les Champs Elysse, exploring the streets of Paris and using our French-speaking skills to order some French cuisine.
We then travelled the four hour bus ride to La Roche Sur Yon and spent a week with our French exchange students. While there, we were welcomed into their homes and experienced the French family’s lifestyle. We got to try some home cooking, play French board games, watch soccer games, and many people also visited the local beach. During our time there, we also visited our sister school and shared our cultures. In between our studies, we travelled to the nearby towns of La Rochelle and Nantes. After saying a bitter-sweet goodbye to our host families and friends, we hopped back on the bus.
We visited several picturesque French castles such as Chenonceau and Close Luce. We spent a night in the Loire valley in a town called Tours and before continuing back to Paris, we visited Versailles. We toured around the beautiful castle, getting to see the King and Queen’s chambers and, of course, the famous Hall of Mirrors. We spent some time wandering around the beautiful Gardens of Versailles, before heading back to Paris.
Our final three days were spent visiting l’Arc De Triomphe, les Galeries Lafayette, le Musee d'Orsay, and le Centre Pompidou, and finally on Sunday morning, we visited the Louvre before we shared one last French meal together and regretfully departed for Australia. It was such an amazing experience and we will be forever grateful for this opportunity.
Below is a brief video, created by the students, with highlights from their trip.
Sacred Heart College is hosting a forum for families to contribute to the Macedon Ranges Youth Mental Health Advocacy Process.
The purpose of the Youth Mental Health Advocacy, is to advocate for the establishment of a youth mental health service in the Macedon Ranges. We aim for this to offer a flexible and accessible range of support and specialist services in the areas of mental and physical health, work and study support as well as alcohol and other drug services.
Currently we are putting together a needs assessment. Majority of the data available is pre-covid or not broken down into municipal areas so we do not have a true capture of the issues and gaps in the Macedon Ranges. The purpose of hosting a community engagement session with the Sacred Heart Community is to capture this information.
We have heard from parents and young people formally and informally that there are not enough youth mental health services in the area, but we are needing to gather this information more formally.
The community engagement session is to understand the gaps in mental health support and intervention for young people, by consulting with young people and their parents.
The questions we will be asking will include:
- What is your experience in seeking help?
- Who do you turn to for help? home room teacher, coach, parents, friends.
- What are the barriers in seeking help? Stigma, access (appointments, costs), not close to home, not realising support is available and helpful.
- Where would a positive mental health support system look like?
- Where would you feel comfortable in going for support?
For the session we will place attendees into smaller groups to discuss, with parents and young people put in different groups to allow more open discussion. All information will be recorded anonymously. There will also be opportunity to answer these questions via an online format for those who do not feel comfortable sharing in a group setting.
The community engagement session also aims to de-stigmatise, and allow others to know they are not alone in their experiences when trying to access youth mental health services.
Please use the following link to book your attendance. https://MRSC.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/132586
Last Friday, the College hosted 50 student leaders from Catherine McAuley College Bendigo who joined the SHC student cabinet members for a day that explored ‘Leadership from the Heart’. Hopefully the gathering is just the first of many future events for our schools’ student leaders who share a common Mercy heritage.
Student Reflections from Leadership Day
The visit from CMC Bendigo was a great way for student leaders to expand their knowledge of what it means to be a leader, and how to learn from other leaders. Throughout the day we had guest speakers talk to us about leadership, and we were given an opportunity to work in groups and share our ideas for what we wanted to do for the school. The presentations from the guest speakers included information about the values of a leader and what we can do to ensure we are successful with representing our school. A main takeaway a lot of people had was that it isn’t just what we do while representing the school that makes us a leader, but also what we do during school hours to help the people around us.
We did a group activity where we looked at leaders from around the world and discussed what values made them who they are. Being able to meet leaders from CMC Bendigo meant we could share our plans, and we could hear their ideas, and use that in our own school. While we got to spend time with students from CMC Bendigo during group work, we also were able to get to know them and have longer discussions during breaks which made it more comfortable to be working and communicating together. I think that having the ability to share our plans with people from outside the school meant we could spot any issues with the plans and it made it easier for us to expand and improve these ideas. We also got to hear what CMC Bendigo students were doing at their school, which helped inspire us to develop our own ideas. Nic Needle, Junior School Captain
The Year 7 immunisation session is occurring on Monday 29 April 2024. There are still some students who don’t have parental consent. To provide your consent response (yes or no) for your child, please click here https://portal.cirv.vic.gov.au//PrivacyCollection/?id=3d8c0ddb-0e9a-ee11-be37-000d3ae1aeaf&;
Students are to wear FULL PE Uniform on the day, are encouraged to eat a healthy breakfast and are to bring their water bottle with them on the day.
Should you have any questions regarding the immunisation session, please do not hesitate to contact Jalna Holmes, Health Centre Coordinator on 54211 200.
Year 10 English
I am extremely pleased to be able to share this outstanding example of student writing with our school community. Matisse has received 100% for this submission which addressed all of the outcomes on the rubric and showed excellent writing craft.
We have some truly inspirational writers in this class so stay tuned - I will share more in the coming weeks!
The Old Farmhouse - Matisse Donnellon
The original farmhouse still stood on the hill as a grim reminder of the events of that day years ago. Somehow the house withered away along with Daniel. The slats grew tired and the roof was worn but showed familiarity, warmth and a sort of understanding. Something that no one else could offer.
Daniel had just come home from an afternoon at the pub drinking schooners with his neighbour, Darrel. The pub was extremely old, but stood as tall as a mountain. Over the hours he’d have a chat with all the people he knew. He talked to Chris the postman about the footy, he talked to Lisa about her cafe down the road, to Truck and Pete about the dog races and to Anthony about his crops. Daniel grew up in this town, would most likely die in this town and would do anything for anyone in this town.
The afternoon sun was glaring, ..... (to continue reading click here)
We welcome a number of new staff to the College this term:
Elaine Dugdale Walker is an experienced educator in areas of Health & Human Development, Mathematics including VM Numeracy, and Religious Education. Elaine is replacing Christina Shennan, whilst she’s on Long Service Leave. At SHC, during Term 2, Elaine will be teaching Year 9 and 10 Mathematics and Vocational Major Numeracy Unit 1. She is also sharing the pastoral care of the students in Homeroom 9C with Andrew Scarlett.
Celia Gall has joined the Music Department and is replacing Terry Carrick, whilst he’s on leave. She is an experienced VCE Music teacher, who most recently taught at Braemar College. In addition to VCE Music Units 1 & 3, Celia will be teaching Music to students in Years 7 & 8. She is also looking after the students in Homeroom 7D with Mr Sam Weir.
Amy Vandenham has joined the H&PE Department for the next two terms. She is replacing Brett Gardner whilst he’s on Long Service Leave. Although still studying, Amy has been approved by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) with a Permission to Teach (PTT) registration. Amy gained experience at SHC in 2023 under the guidance of Lauren White and this mentoring will continue over the coming months.
Finally, we welcome Katie Fish who is joining the Learning Support Team over the next six weeks, whilst Jenny O’Brien is on Long Service Leave. Katie has experience in the emergency services and will be a valuable addition to the team in supporting students in Year 9.
Elaine Dugdale Walker
Celia Gall
Amy Vandenham
Katie Fish
Year 7/8 Tennis
Tuesday 18 April saw the Year 7/8 Boys and Girls teams have their turn in the Mickleham Tennis division. Some very good competition throughout the day against strong opposition had results seesaw, with both wins and close losses for Sacred Heart. Our students performed and conducted themselves very well throughout the day. We are yet to find out how both year levels went overall, and whether any of the teams have gone through to the next round. Either way the future looks bright for our tennis players. Thank you to Mr Carroll for his support on the day.
NMR Intermediate Girls Tennis
The Year 9/10 girls team made the NMR round and acquitted themselves well playing two matches against Mill Park Secondary College and Preston Secondary College. First match against Mill Park saw the girls come through winning 3 sets to 1 and 15 games to 4. Second match against Preston was more competitive unfortunately going down 3 sets to one and 11 games to 6. This wasn’t enough to go through as we had to forfeit two games playing one short. The girls were terrific and matches were played in great spirit.
SSV State Swimming Championships
Five students attended the State Swimming Championships on Friday 19 April with some wonderful results:
Individual - Dylan Campbell-Quigley - 8th in the 16 Year Old 50mtr Backstroke
Relay - Simone Durrant, Anna Elliott, Mia Feist and Natalia Scuteri - 8th in the 15 Year Old 200mtr Freestyle Relay
Well done to these amazing swimmers who represented the College so well.
In term one, students in the Year 10 Japanese class learnt how to order a meal in Japanese at a restaurant. As a part of the unit, they also studied Japanese fake food samples. The extremely realistic fake food samples are used in a lot of restaurants in Japan to entice the customer into their establishment. Students watched videos on how the fake food samples are made, and what a lengthy but also very artistic process it is. The students then made their own replicas of some of the foods with the assistance of Bouchier sensei in their last lesson of the term. If you were fortunate enough to attend the Open Night on Monday night, you may have seen some of this realistic-looking food on display. If not, you can see some photos below. Enjoy. Itadakimasu!
This week’s prayer reflects on the contrasting themes of peace and war; the two sides of the ANZAC Day coin. In the week when Australia stops to commemorate the sacrifice and service of hundreds of thousands of service men and women, the Christian message of ‘Peace, Shalom’ is as contemporary as ever. Our world is beset by several entrenched conflicts with the threat of others on the horizon, the promise of peace following the horrific conflicts of the 20th century seems diminished.
The start to this new term has been an extraordinarily busy one with a number of large and successful events, these have included: The College came together on Wednesday for its own Anzac Day commemorative service with the whole school gathering in Quambi. It was a moving tribute highlighted by the personal testimony of Mr Michael Gretton, President Kyneton RSL as well as College Captain, Isabelle McBride.
This week, the College enjoyed beautiful late autumn weather as we welcomed more than 600 people from 190 families for the annual Sacred Heart College Open Day. Prospective students from a range of primary school levels were engaged in a wide variety of subject-based and co-curricular activities gradually filling their show bags as they moved around the school. Special thanks to all who contributed to the success of the evening including school staff and 100+ current Sacred Heart College students.
Sacred Heart College students were very well represented at local events yesterday to commemorate ANZAC Day. These commemorations are always moving and continue to grow in stature notwithstanding the time that has passed since those awful years of conflict. Thank you to all students and staff who contributed to these community events in any way.
Last Friday, the College hosted 50 student leaders from Catherine McAuley College Bendigo who joined the SHC student cabinet members for a day that explored ‘Leadership from the Heart’. Hopefully the gathering is just the first of many future events for our schools’ student leaders who share a common Mercy heritage.
Students are enjoying a four-day weekend with the ANZAC Day public holiday being followed by a Professional Learning day for all Sacred Heart College teaching staff and learning support officers. The day is focusing on the school’s strategic priorities in learning and teaching and includes significant time for collaboration and planning within teaching teams.
Bereavement - Your prayers are asked for the Hartnett family on the passing of Barbara Hartnett, grandmother of Eli Knight Year 9. Our thoughts are with you at this sad time.
Yours in Mercy,
Dr Darren Egberts
Principal
Term 3 has begun with gusto! From the final two weeks of term to now, there have been some fantastic leadership opportunities and experiences on offer at Sacred Heart, including Macedon Ranges Youth Summit and a combined leadership day with students from Catherine McAuley College in Bendigo.
The aim of these experiences was to expand our students’ opportunities to connect with our College and the broader Regional Community. In each event students were able to add their voices to matters concerning young people, generate ideas for improvement and plan actions to bring these ideas to life.
Our College Leadership Cabinet also led our College ANZAC Day Service with reverence and pride. Many then went on to represent our College in Dawn Services and ANZAC commemorations across the region. Thank you to those student leaders, and their families, for taking part in this special day.
Finally, this Saturday sees many Year 11 and 12 students participating in the Debutante Ball. This is the culmination of many evenings of practice and is yet another opportunity for our students to represent Sacred Heart and be recognized by our wider community. A big thank you goes particularly to Year 11 Level Leader, Anthony Diamond, and the Year 11 Team, as well as Gayle and Andrew from GA Events for all their work behind the scenes to get this event up and running. Like all families involved, we are looking forward to seeing our students shine!
IDAHOBIT
As part of IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) Sunbury Cobaw Community Health has a range of community events to connect young people across the ranges. At SHC we support diversity through our D@SH Group which meets on Wednesday each fortnight. If you would like to access the events flyer click here.
Student reflections from Macedon Ranges Youth Summit
On the 21 March, approximately 20 Sacred Heart students travelled to the Woodend Library to participate in the 2024 Youth Summit. There were students from many different schools around the area and we all got together to discuss today's issues. It was a really fun day. During the many 15 minute sessions we discussed different issues in small groups such as Climate Change, Public Transport, Mental Health and more, to get young people's opinions and thoughts on improvements. To break up these discussions, there were many fun activities to participate in. We had live music (with a Didgeridoo), a visit from 'The Zoo comes to you', a polaroid photo booth and a delicious lunch. It was a really fun day and it would be great to have even more people joining in next year!
Inga Foerster, Year 9
At the MRSC Youth Summit, we worked in groups with people from different schools to come up with new ideas and suggestions for what could happen in the Macedon Ranges. We looked at different things that affect people our age, such as transportation, education, school holidays etc and tried to brainstorm things that could be done to improve these areas. We worked in groups and were also given breaks so we could talk to people from other schools and learn about what they are doing for their school. There were lots of fun activities available during the breaks such as a photo booth and a mini animal show. I really enjoyed hearing about what ideas other people had thought of because it meant that I got to use their ideas to help expand my own, which meant that I could come back to school with a better understanding of what people my age might want to happen in the school or the community. Another thing I really liked was the activities that were provided at breaks because it gave us time to reset our minds and made the day flow really smoothly, it also added a lot of fun into the whole day. The people running the MRSC Youth Summit were all very kind, they made sure everyone was included in the discussion and wanted to hear every person’s point of view. I think the Youth Summit was a great way for people to share ideas and a way to give younger people a voice.
Nic Needle, Year 9
On 21 March, selected students from Year 7 to 9 went to a Youth Summit held in the Woodend Hall. On the day we went through different topics on what we think as the younger generation that Macedon Ranges Shire could explore in the future. Throughout the day I learned that there are so many problems in this shire that could easily be fixed by a few actions such as fixing the potholes in the roads, or just fixing the road in general, or allowing us to make transport easier by putting in more transport options in place. I contributed to the discussion and the ‘Zoo's come to you’ activity that happened later in the day. I enjoyed being able to share my opinion on what I believe should be done to make this shire better. I also enjoyed meeting other students from other schools. For any students that are involved in the Youth Summit next year, I would like to say that you should give truthful answers and have as much fun as possible.
Charleigh Ager, Year 8
This week, the College enjoyed beautiful late autumn weather as we welcomed more than 600 people from 190 families for the annual Sacred Heart College Open Day. Prospective students from a range of primary school levels were engaged in a wide variety of subject-based and co-curricular activities gradually filling their show bags as they moved around the school. Special thanks to all who contributed to the success of the evening including school staff and 100+ current Sacred Heart College students.
Prayers in times of grief and conflict
Recent events in Australia and internationally have been cause for great grief. With hearts of sorrow, we pray for the community in Bondi and for the Assyrian community in Sydney. In response to these acts of violence, Stan Grant recently wrote about his own belief in the importance of prayer, declaring: “All I know is this – and I am sure of this more than I am sure of anything – God is love and I pray that is enough.” This certainty in the God of love is at the core of our own prayers; and in our own community we continue to declare our mission to serve as instruments of peace, and as people of Mercy in our world. And as we pause and recognise the meaning of ANZAC Day for our nation, we pray that Jesus, Prince of Peace, might defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands, allowing us to turn our swords into ploughshares.
Discussing events of this nature with young people can prove to be challenging for families. A range of organisations offer resources to assist families when responding to distressing items in the media:
For further guidance on helping children cope with the trauma of disaster-related news coverage, please visit the Trauma and Grief Network or the eSafety Commissioner website for resources.
Project Compassion: Total Collection
Sincere thanks is offered to all of you who contributed to the Project Compassion campaign, whether this was cash donation into the money boxes in your classrooms, or an online donation made via the Sacred Heart donation page. We are pleased to announce that our total fundraising efforts are over $1400, all of which will be used by Caritas in support of their mission to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. It is worth noting that a significant portion of these funds were raised by our Year 7s through their Caritas Ks event, and by our Year 12s through their OpShop formal. Special thanks are offered to both of these Year Levels for their efforts.
The College came together on Wednesday for its own Anzac Day commemorative service with the whole school gathering in Quambi. It was a moving tribute highlighted by the personal testimony of Mr Michael Gretton, President Kyneton RSL as well as College Captain, Isabelle McBride.
Sacred Heart College students were very well represented at local events yesterday to commemorate ANZAC Day. These commemorations are always moving and continue to grow in stature notwithstanding the time that has passed since those awful years of conflict. Thank you to all students and staff who contributed to these community events in any way.
It was great to have the Senior School students back in the classroom after the Easter holidays. I hope students used the time to relax with friends and family and prepare for Term 2. There is plenty of learning and assessments to complete this term for all three-year levels. I would like to wish every student the best of luck and hope their efforts are well rewarded.
Semester Two Subject Changes
Semester Two subject/elective changes for Years 10 and 11 will open on Monday 27 May and will close on Wednesday 26 June. Student timetables will be uploaded to SIMON for the start of Term 3.
Instructions for Semester 2 subject changes:
Students are to register their request to change subjects via a Google Form link that will be available on SIMON.
Mr Matthews will review the request for the unit change, and then communicate via email the outcome of your request if the change is not possible, due to a subject clash or the class is full or if the change is possible, a Change of Unit Form and relevant instructions will emailed to the student, to finalise their request.
Any subject changes that could potentially have a significant impact on future career plans, students will be required to organise a Career appointment. Information the Change of Subject Process will be available to all students via Daily Messages towards the end of May.
Subject Selection: 2025
The process for Subject Selection (2025) will commence this Semester (refer to dates below, with more information relating to the specific year levels to be published in the lead up to the selection process.
Year 11 moving into Year 12 (2025): Tuesday 4 June
Year 10 moving into Year 11 (2025): Wednesday 17 July
Year 9 moving into Year 10 (2025): Tuesday 30 July
Merci et Au Revoir la France, by Amelia Walsh et Charli Shalders
Our recent Study Tour to France was a great experience of language and culture. We arrived in France on Saturday 17 March. Our first few days in Paris were spent visiting many iconic monuments such as La Tour Eiffel, Sacre-Coeur, and les Champs Elysse, exploring the streets of Paris and using our French-speaking skills to order some French cuisine.
We then travelled the four hour bus ride to La Roche Sur Yon and spent a week with our French exchange students. While there, we were welcomed into their homes and experienced the French family’s lifestyle. We got to try some home cooking, play French board games, watch soccer games, and many people also visited the local beach. During our time there, we also visited our sister school and shared our cultures. In between our studies, we travelled to the nearby towns of La Rochelle and Nantes. After saying a bitter-sweet goodbye to our host families and friends, we hopped back on the bus.
We visited several picturesque French castles such as Chenonceau and Close Luce. We spent a night in the Loire valley in a town called Tours and before continuing back to Paris, we visited Versailles. We toured around the beautiful castle, getting to see the King and Queen’s chambers and, of course, the famous Hall of Mirrors. We spent some time wandering around the beautiful Gardens of Versailles, before heading back to Paris.
Our final three days were spent visiting l’Arc De Triomphe, les Galeries Lafayette, le Musee d'Orsay, and le Centre Pompidou, and finally on Sunday morning, we visited the Louvre before we shared one last French meal together and regretfully departed for Australia. It was such an amazing experience and we will be forever grateful for this opportunity.
Below is a brief video, created by the students, with highlights from their trip.
Sacred Heart College is hosting a forum for families to contribute to the Macedon Ranges Youth Mental Health Advocacy Process.
The purpose of the Youth Mental Health Advocacy, is to advocate for the establishment of a youth mental health service in the Macedon Ranges. We aim for this to offer a flexible and accessible range of support and specialist services in the areas of mental and physical health, work and study support as well as alcohol and other drug services.
Currently we are putting together a needs assessment. Majority of the data available is pre-covid or not broken down into municipal areas so we do not have a true capture of the issues and gaps in the Macedon Ranges. The purpose of hosting a community engagement session with the Sacred Heart Community is to capture this information.
We have heard from parents and young people formally and informally that there are not enough youth mental health services in the area, but we are needing to gather this information more formally.
The community engagement session is to understand the gaps in mental health support and intervention for young people, by consulting with young people and their parents.
The questions we will be asking will include:
- What is your experience in seeking help?
- Who do you turn to for help? home room teacher, coach, parents, friends.
- What are the barriers in seeking help? Stigma, access (appointments, costs), not close to home, not realising support is available and helpful.
- Where would a positive mental health support system look like?
- Where would you feel comfortable in going for support?
For the session we will place attendees into smaller groups to discuss, with parents and young people put in different groups to allow more open discussion. All information will be recorded anonymously. There will also be opportunity to answer these questions via an online format for those who do not feel comfortable sharing in a group setting.
The community engagement session also aims to de-stigmatise, and allow others to know they are not alone in their experiences when trying to access youth mental health services.
Please use the following link to book your attendance. https://MRSC.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/132586
Last Friday, the College hosted 50 student leaders from Catherine McAuley College Bendigo who joined the SHC student cabinet members for a day that explored ‘Leadership from the Heart’. Hopefully the gathering is just the first of many future events for our schools’ student leaders who share a common Mercy heritage.
Student Reflections from Leadership Day
The visit from CMC Bendigo was a great way for student leaders to expand their knowledge of what it means to be a leader, and how to learn from other leaders. Throughout the day we had guest speakers talk to us about leadership, and we were given an opportunity to work in groups and share our ideas for what we wanted to do for the school. The presentations from the guest speakers included information about the values of a leader and what we can do to ensure we are successful with representing our school. A main takeaway a lot of people had was that it isn’t just what we do while representing the school that makes us a leader, but also what we do during school hours to help the people around us.
We did a group activity where we looked at leaders from around the world and discussed what values made them who they are. Being able to meet leaders from CMC Bendigo meant we could share our plans, and we could hear their ideas, and use that in our own school. While we got to spend time with students from CMC Bendigo during group work, we also were able to get to know them and have longer discussions during breaks which made it more comfortable to be working and communicating together. I think that having the ability to share our plans with people from outside the school meant we could spot any issues with the plans and it made it easier for us to expand and improve these ideas. We also got to hear what CMC Bendigo students were doing at their school, which helped inspire us to develop our own ideas. Nic Needle, Junior School Captain
The Year 7 immunisation session is occurring on Monday 29 April 2024. There are still some students who don’t have parental consent. To provide your consent response (yes or no) for your child, please click here https://portal.cirv.vic.gov.au//PrivacyCollection/?id=3d8c0ddb-0e9a-ee11-be37-000d3ae1aeaf&;
Students are to wear FULL PE Uniform on the day, are encouraged to eat a healthy breakfast and are to bring their water bottle with them on the day.
Should you have any questions regarding the immunisation session, please do not hesitate to contact Jalna Holmes, Health Centre Coordinator on 54211 200.
Year 10 English
I am extremely pleased to be able to share this outstanding example of student writing with our school community. Matisse has received 100% for this submission which addressed all of the outcomes on the rubric and showed excellent writing craft.
We have some truly inspirational writers in this class so stay tuned - I will share more in the coming weeks!
The Old Farmhouse - Matisse Donnellon
The original farmhouse still stood on the hill as a grim reminder of the events of that day years ago. Somehow the house withered away along with Daniel. The slats grew tired and the roof was worn but showed familiarity, warmth and a sort of understanding. Something that no one else could offer.
Daniel had just come home from an afternoon at the pub drinking schooners with his neighbour, Darrel. The pub was extremely old, but stood as tall as a mountain. Over the hours he’d have a chat with all the people he knew. He talked to Chris the postman about the footy, he talked to Lisa about her cafe down the road, to Truck and Pete about the dog races and to Anthony about his crops. Daniel grew up in this town, would most likely die in this town and would do anything for anyone in this town.
The afternoon sun was glaring, ..... (to continue reading click here)
We welcome a number of new staff to the College this term:
Elaine Dugdale Walker is an experienced educator in areas of Health & Human Development, Mathematics including VM Numeracy, and Religious Education. Elaine is replacing Christina Shennan, whilst she’s on Long Service Leave. At SHC, during Term 2, Elaine will be teaching Year 9 and 10 Mathematics and Vocational Major Numeracy Unit 1. She is also sharing the pastoral care of the students in Homeroom 9C with Andrew Scarlett.
Celia Gall has joined the Music Department and is replacing Terry Carrick, whilst he’s on leave. She is an experienced VCE Music teacher, who most recently taught at Braemar College. In addition to VCE Music Units 1 & 3, Celia will be teaching Music to students in Years 7 & 8. She is also looking after the students in Homeroom 7D with Mr Sam Weir.
Amy Vandenham has joined the H&PE Department for the next two terms. She is replacing Brett Gardner whilst he’s on Long Service Leave. Although still studying, Amy has been approved by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) with a Permission to Teach (PTT) registration. Amy gained experience at SHC in 2023 under the guidance of Lauren White and this mentoring will continue over the coming months.
Finally, we welcome Katie Fish who is joining the Learning Support Team over the next six weeks, whilst Jenny O’Brien is on Long Service Leave. Katie has experience in the emergency services and will be a valuable addition to the team in supporting students in Year 9.
Elaine Dugdale Walker
Celia Gall
Amy Vandenham
Katie Fish
Year 7/8 Tennis
Tuesday 18 April saw the Year 7/8 Boys and Girls teams have their turn in the Mickleham Tennis division. Some very good competition throughout the day against strong opposition had results seesaw, with both wins and close losses for Sacred Heart. Our students performed and conducted themselves very well throughout the day. We are yet to find out how both year levels went overall, and whether any of the teams have gone through to the next round. Either way the future looks bright for our tennis players. Thank you to Mr Carroll for his support on the day.
NMR Intermediate Girls Tennis
The Year 9/10 girls team made the NMR round and acquitted themselves well playing two matches against Mill Park Secondary College and Preston Secondary College. First match against Mill Park saw the girls come through winning 3 sets to 1 and 15 games to 4. Second match against Preston was more competitive unfortunately going down 3 sets to one and 11 games to 6. This wasn’t enough to go through as we had to forfeit two games playing one short. The girls were terrific and matches were played in great spirit.
SSV State Swimming Championships
Five students attended the State Swimming Championships on Friday 19 April with some wonderful results:
Individual - Dylan Campbell-Quigley - 8th in the 16 Year Old 50mtr Backstroke
Relay - Simone Durrant, Anna Elliott, Mia Feist and Natalia Scuteri - 8th in the 15 Year Old 200mtr Freestyle Relay
Well done to these amazing swimmers who represented the College so well.
In term one, students in the Year 10 Japanese class learnt how to order a meal in Japanese at a restaurant. As a part of the unit, they also studied Japanese fake food samples. The extremely realistic fake food samples are used in a lot of restaurants in Japan to entice the customer into their establishment. Students watched videos on how the fake food samples are made, and what a lengthy but also very artistic process it is. The students then made their own replicas of some of the foods with the assistance of Bouchier sensei in their last lesson of the term. If you were fortunate enough to attend the Open Night on Monday night, you may have seen some of this realistic-looking food on display. If not, you can see some photos below. Enjoy. Itadakimasu!
