
Over the last few weeks, our Year 9 LINCS students have been busy building a scarecrow installation for the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival. The project was proudly sponsored by Kyneton on Riverside, which is also where the finished display can be found.
The students showed terrific creativity and plenty of hands-on teamwork, but they also learned a great deal about time management. With both Year 9 ski camps falling in the lead-up to installation day, which pulled members of the class and myself away for chunks of time. We had to plan carefully around a genuinely tight timeline, and they rose to it.
A special thank you to Darren Paxton and Andrew Scarlett, who were extremely generous with their time and skills in creating the bus and the chapel. Another huge thank you to Jenny Baldwin, who brought the idea to us in the first place and did a great deal of behind-the-scenes string-pulling to help it all come together, and of course Steve Huntly our trusty Property Manager for support and set up.
Wednesday morning the students put the whole display in place, and they left the site feeling very chuffed with themselves, and deservedly so too.
Darren was appointed Principal of Sacred Heart College in January 2019. Darren has had almost 30 years experience in teaching and leadership across a number of Victorian Catholic secondary schools. These include eight years as Principal of Mercy Regional College, Camperdown; nine years as Deputy Principal and Director of Mission at Mount Lilydale Mercy College; seven years as a Chemistry, Religious Education and Science teacher as well as REC at Sacred Heart College, Geelong.
Darren has been committed to a lifetime of study and professional development. After completing his initial degree of Bachelor of Science and Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of Melbourne, he continued his study by completing a Graduate Diploma of Religious Education, a Masters of Religious Education and a Doctor of Education, all at Australian Catholic University. In 2018, Darren participated in the Enhancing Catholic School Identity programme in Leuven, Belgium.
Darren has a deep and passionate affiliation with the Mercy tradition and charism and believes that Mercy schools must be “…committed to holistic education; determined to ensure that each student flourishes academically, spiritually, emotionally, socially and physically”.
The purpose of the Catholic school is to provide “… an authentic Christian education, where students are called to embrace the essence of the Gospels, to flourish as whole human persons” and “… to provide exemplary learning experiences for the students who attend”.
Darren was appointed Principal of Sacred Heart College in January 2019. Darren has had almost 30 years experience in teaching and leadership across a number of Victorian Catholic secondary schools. These include eight years as Principal of Mercy Regional College, Camperdown; nine years as Deputy Principal and Director of Mission at Mount Lilydale Mercy College; seven years as a Chemistry, Religious Education and Science teacher as well as REC at Sacred Heart College, Geelong.
Darren has been committed to a lifetime of study and professional development. After completing his initial degree of Bachelor of Science and Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of Melbourne, he continued his study by completing a Graduate Diploma of Religious Education, a Masters of Religious Education and a Doctor of Education, all at Australian Catholic University. In 2018, Darren participated in the Enhancing Catholic School Identity programme in Leuven, Belgium.
Darren has a deep and passionate affiliation with the Mercy tradition and charism and believes that Mercy schools must be “…committed to holistic education; determined to ensure that each student flourishes academically, spiritually, emotionally, socially and physically”.
The purpose of the Catholic school is to provide “… an authentic Christian education, where students are called to embrace the essence of the Gospels, to flourish as whole human persons” and “… to provide exemplary learning experiences for the students who attend”.