This week’s prayer reflects next week’s important ecclesial events of All Saints Day (Wednesday 1 November) and All Souls Day (Thursday 2 November); these follow the more recognised All Hallows’ Eve which has become the commercial behemoth of Halloween. These feast days provide opportunities for us to reflect on loved ones that we have lost. They are days of solemnity but also hopefully opportunities to celebrate the joyful memories of those who have died.

SHC Class of 2023

The past week has seen a number of significant rituals and events celebrating the conclusion of compulsory education for the Year 12 Class of 2023:

• Last Monday and Tuesday included a full school assembly, Year 12 final breakfast, Year 12 celebratory assembly and a symbolic farewell to the Year 12 cohort through the SHC Mercy Doors. Appropriately, the year level’s finish culminated in their Graduation Mass; the celebration was led by Fr Declan and Fr Wahid and brought together beautiful music, words and symbols. Congratulations to all involved.
• Many within this year level are currently sitting their Unit 3 & 4 VCAA examinations, we wish them all the very best!

Student Leadership 2024

Last week, I had the privilege of announcing the Sacred Heart College Senior Student Cabinet for 2024. Congratulations to all students who applied for the variety of positions available and on the quality of your presentations and interviews. Special congratulations to the 2024 SHC College Captains – Isabella McBride, Imogen Sparrow and Stephanie Waddington.

Good luck also to the large number of Year 7 & 8 students who have nominated for one of the 2024 Junior Cabinet positions. Presentations and interviews for these positions are currently underway.

Transition to Parent Purchase of Student Devices

In the last couple of weeks, I have written to 2024 Year 7 & 10 parents detailing the College’s transition from a leasing model to a parent purchase model for student laptops. Further information will be provided in coming days to these families and will be included in the next College newsletter.

Melbourne Cup Long Weekend

A reminder to all in the Sacred Heart College community that the school will be closed from Monday 6 to Wednesday 8 November due to the Melbourne and Kyneton Cup public holidays. VCAA exams will continue onsite during this period.

Yours in Mercy,

Dr Darren Egberts

Principal

Today we began the process of selecting students for positions in the 2024 Junior College Cabinet. Eleven very capable Year 7 and 8 students recently applied for the positions of Junior College Captains. As part of the application process, these students were required to present a speech they had prepared to their year levels. The speeches were fantastic! Everyone listened very respectfully and, following the assembly, voted electronically to select who they considered to be the most suitable candidates for the role, the most suitable representatives for the Junior School.

Interviews are held for all candidates. This allows them to expand further on the content of their speech and their great ideas. These are conducted by a panel including of a member of the Leadership Team and the current Junior College Captains. Each student’s answers are scored against criteria, making the entire process as fair and equitable as possible. We love to hear the student's great ideas, so this process is very exciting for all involved.

We are very proud of the Junior Student Leadership opportunities on offer at the College. This year we have had 42 applicants for our Junior Cabinet positions. It is wonderful to have so many enthusiastic young people prepared to step up into leadership roles, in order to make a difference. There will be more applicants than Cabinet positions, but there will be teams surrounding each Cabinet. We also have House Captains positions and roles on Student Representative Council to be filled, so we encourage all students who have applied to consider these options if they are unsuccessful in their bid for a Cabinet position.

BEHAVIOUR ON THE ROAD

It has been brought to our attention by a member of the public that a group of junior students, believed to be Year 7 or 8, have been ‘playing with the traffic’ after school along High Street. This is incredibly dangerous behaviour that could end very tragically if it continues. If any parent has seen this happening or have heard about it from their child who has seen this, could you please let someone at the College know, so that we can speak to those involved. We have spoken to the Year Levels, but a targeted approach would be more effective. 

This reminds us all that things such as road safety, which adults take as a given, need to be reinforced regularly to less mature young people. Please have these conversations with your child(ren) if you think they may need a reminder.

This week marks the beginning of the VCAA examinations for Unit 3/4 subjects for our Year 12, and Year 11 students who have accelerated in a VCE subject. We wish them the very best and hope all of their hard work throughout the year is reflected in their Study Scores and ATAR. I would also like to thank the Unit 3/4 teachers for their support of these students throughout the year, and the final days before the exams.

Year 10 and 11 (Unit 2 VCE subjects) are only a few weeks away from their Semester Two examinations, starting 13 November. These examinations provide students with opportunities to develop and refine their revision skills as they progress through the Senior School. It is important for all students who are preparing for the examinations to use their time effectively and develop a study timetable. This strategy will maximise the time available to them in the lead up to the examinations, especially over the five day Melbourne Cup break. Other useful revision strategies include the use of past examination questions, as explained in the article, Past exam papers: a useful study tool. There are a few other revision strategies in the article, Revise, revise, revise.

The remainder of Term 4 is a very busy time for our Senior students. There are a number of key dates and events taking place, such as the examinations and the Step-Up program for 2024. All Year 10 and 11 students have been provided with a year level specific End of Year Arrangements booklet to support them over the coming weeks.

Subjects for 2024 will also be finalised before the start of our Step Up porgram. Information for any subject changes will be available to students via Daily Messages.

Our Class of 2023 came together in celebration with their families and staff for our Year 12 Graduation Mass on the evening of Tuesday 17 October. The Mass was a celebration of their time together over the years at Sacred Heart, and the connections they have forged, as they have lived, learned and laughed together, always in a spirit of open-hearted joy.

It was also a time to recognise all that has brought our Year 12s to this moment, especially the love and support of parents, family, staff and friends. Our prayers centred on giving thanks for all that our newest graduates had learned in the last six years, and on rejoicing in the knowledge that the lessons of love, faith and fidelity have kindled a flame within each of them.

As our Mass concluded, we named and celebrated each of our Year 12s, as they were each presented with a candle by the College Principal, representing the light of the education that they have received from Sacred Heart College, and the light of God’s love in their lives.

Well that's a wrap for students of the Class of 2023, before commencing their exams! A busy few days last week with their final walk through the Mercy Doors (with the Year 7 students forming a guard of honour), End of Year Awards Ceremony on Monday, and Celebration Day Tuesday. We wish them well as they prepare for their final exams. 

At Sacred Heart College, we value the partnerships formed between families, the College and Community. Our intention is to support parents/carers/guardians while raising awareness of the benefits of engaging in their child’s education. Studies have shown that a family’s engagement has a direct, positive impact on a child’s learning success.

The aim of the Sacred Heart College’s Parent Engagement Partnership is to strengthen the collaboration between school, families and the broader community, by providing Professional Learning through quality presenters on a variety of current educational topics. These opportunities can provide parents with knowledge, strategies and skills to support their child.

Parent Engagement is one of the best strategies to create a positive learning environment for all students, where home and school come together as a team. When families are engaged in their children’s school lives, students have the home support they need to develop a lifelong love of learning.

As a result, we believe that this partnership can create a more effective network of support for our students, harnessing the full capacity of the community to support student learning and enhance student outcomes in all facets of their lives.

A group of Year 9 and 10 students recently visited Ilim Islamic College, following an invitation from their interfaith group.

As part of their visit, our students were welcomed into the school mosque and offered an introductory prayer. They were also given a tour of this sacred space, hearing students read from the Qur’an, and being introduced to the sajjādas (prayer rug), misbaha (prayer beads) and the mihrab.

The visit was also a social occasion, with time spent in conversation and a shared meal. Sacred Heart students and staff were humbled by the hospitality of Ilim College, who provided a delicious feast for lunch. The shared hope of both communities is that this is the first of many interfaith visits to occur between our two schools.

The final of Junior Chef was held on Tuesday 24 October in the Arthurson Atrium.  It was a fabulous night for our Feeder Primary Schools and congratulations goes to Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School for taking out the overall win!  We would like to thank our judges, Mark James (Owner of Donkey), Jennifer Beachey (Parent of Year 8 Student) and Ryan Buckland (Apprentice at Social Foundry Kyneton),  and SHC staff, for giving up their time to be involved in this wonderful event.  

Japan Sister School Online Video Exchange

The first Japan Trip since before Covid is fast approaching. 16 students and 3 teachers will be travelling to Japan from 19 to 29 November. We will be visiting Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. In Osaka we will be visiting our sister school, Ibaraki Nishi High School.

In preparation and in order to meet the students' respective buddies who will take care of us while we are at school, we had an online video exchange to meet them. Students said their self-introduction in Japanese, which included their name and year level, and then asked and answered questions in both Japanese and English about the weather, favourite sport, food and so on. SHCK students represented the College very well and did us very proud with their slow, clear English and their beautiful Japanese. There were plenty of laughs, waving and a long goodbye. We are getting very excited about our trip which is less than a month away.

Take a peek at some of the photos from the exchange.

The SHC Junior School Showcase, held on 12 October, provided an opportunity for parents, family and friends to view the amazing project work of our Junior School students. As you can see from these images the level of student work was, once again, simply phenomenal. Details on the various projects are outlined below.

Year 7 Portfolios

During Semester 2, students in Year 7 worked on a project to chronicle and reflect on their experiences at the College. These included reflections on key experiences such as transition activities, their first day at their new school, Year 7 Camp, Reflection Day, the Mercy value of Respect as well as their learnings from class.

Year 8 Make a Difference (MAD) Inquiry Project

The Year 8 students worked diligently to share their Make a Difference enquiry projects at the recent Junior Showcase Evening. This project is completed over an entire term of Religious Education classes, and requires students to choose either an environmental or social issue to research and study. They are also called to 'make a difference' to their chosen issue. The Year 8 Homeroom teachers also supported the Year 8 students with additional time to complete their projects, as well as wellbeing support.

The showcase evening allowed the Year 8 students to share their research and work with parents, friends, and the SHC community. Students found this to be an enriching and positive experience.

Pictured below are some of the students with their projects during the Junior Showcase MAD project exhibition.

Year 9 Expo Projects

This is a longstanding tradition at Sacred Heart College. Each year students pursue an area of their own passion and interest, to produce project items that celebrate their unique gifts and talents. The project fosters skills in planning, time-management, and design, with the presentation evening at the Junior School Showcase being a celebration of all that has been achieved.

Years 7 - 9 Art Exhibition

An exhibition of student work including items of Year 7, 8 and 9 Art, Visual Communication & Design, Media and Textiles.

Congratulations to all those involved in putting on a tremendous display and making the most out of this learning opportunity. 

WINNERS:

Student Voting:

Technology: Ben Cudmore

Sustainability: Chayenne Murphy

Most Outstanding: Angus Smith

Most Creative: Lowenna Embury

Best Display: Lucy Erwin

Members of the Public Voting:

Most Sustainable:  Hayley Hall

Most Creative: Ruby Fraser

Most Practical: Zara Hooppell

Most Unusual: Hayden Sims

Most Engaging Presenter: Will Tuck

Most Outstanding Overall: Saffron Thek

Student's Feedback

“I thought the expo was a fun chance to create and make something new. I definitely learned lots of new skills. I don't really think I managed my time well at all and left it to the last minute, but I finished everything anyway. There were some really challenging things about the expo but it was a fun experience. I do have some regrets and wish I had made something I could have sold, but I'm still happy with what I came up with” Kate B

“I enjoyed both the camp and the Expo, but in very different ways. The night of the Expo was very enjoyable and I had fun talking to people about what I had made, but how I got there wasn’t my favourite - mainly due to poor time management (which if done properly would have made this an amazing experience). Camp was also really fun. The idea and the process were terrific and something I have never done before. The competition gave everyone great motivation”. Liam D

“Expo was lots of hard work. We spent months working on our projects and then all of Thursday setting up and getting ready to present them. But once it was the day and everything was ready it was lots of fun. I really enjoyed looking at what everyone else had done and being able to buy things. I also liked presenting and being able to show my project”. Laura G

“I liked Expo because it was a challenging but fun learning experience for me. I made a baking book and I made my food from my book and sold that as well which was a huge success. One of the things I found really challenging about the Expo was baking the food and then freezing it until the Expo night but it was really great to learn some more skills about baking. I made around $100 profit, so I have donated the $100 to the WWF at it was my chosen charity”. Lilly S

“I really liked Expo night because I got to see what everyone did and how much effort everyone put into their projects, and how unique they were. I liked the process of the Expo but I think I could have been more productive. I think the night was really well set up, and I had plenty of space to show off my work”. Ollie

These last two months have been an extremely busy time for our Year 9 cohort, heading off to Sydney on 11 September for the Urban Challenge Camp, and then their presenting their Expo projects in the Junior Showcase evening on 12 October.

It was a huge undertaking for many of our students who were getting on a plane for their first time and/or going to Sydney, but their enthusiasm to the new adventure did not deter them …. not even the 6 am arrival to school on that very cold Monday morning. Who needs sleep any way?

Here are some Camp and Expo stories that our Year 9 students wanted to share with the rest of the SHC community, and again, we want to thank everyone involved in supporting our Year 9 in Camp and Expo

“I think that Sydney was one of my favourite camps I have been to by far. But I think that is probably because of the memories I made with my friends, whether that's accidentally locking all of our key cards inside our hotel and having to take the elevator back to the lobby wearing nothing on our feet, or laughing so hard we couldn’t breathe. It was fun to run around a city that I wasn’t familiar with, because everything was different to Melbourne. My favourite thing we did was probably taking the night ferry around the harbour and looking at Sydney from a different view, but it is incredibly difficult to choose just one thing. On the last day at the airport, I felt so exhausted from the week in Sydney, and all I wanted to do was sleep, so I did.” Lily B.

“Going to Bondi beach was amazing! The cabins we stayed in were fantastic, and helping to cook the snags was a good thing, being helpful and nice to others. Surfing and bodyboarding was exhilarating”. James C

“The Year 9 camp this year was 100% the best camp I’ve ever been on. The Urban Challenge activities were a lot of fun and our instructor Greggles was really funny. Throughout the camp we did a lot of team building activities and got to bond better with classmates we don’t normally talk to. As well as getting to see more of what our teachers' personalities and character strengths are.

Some of the best activities we did were the Surfing/Boogie boarding, the sand sculpture challenge, and the Manly beach clean up. Overall, I’m really grateful I got to experience this camp and I hope the next Year 9’s enjoy the camp just as much as I did”. Charlotte G

Tuesday 10 October saw 19 students engage with the Macedon Ranges Shires Sustainability Officer, Justin Walsh, to discuss the newly drafted Macedon Ranges Climate Emergency Plan. The Shire was very interested to hear from the youth of its region in how they think we should respond climate change as a community. Over the course of an hour the students workshopped ideas around nurturing nature, climate ready communities, post fossil-fuels, health and wellbeing, waste and circular economy, adaptation and emergency response.

The last two weeks have been jam-packed with all things musical around the College!

In the classroom, the Year 7 and 8 students have been studying hard for their theory and listening tests, the Year 10s have been rehearsing their little hearts out (more on that later), the Year 11s have been practising for their VCE Recital assessments, and the Year 12 students have now all completed their Music performance examinations, and are prepping for their written and aural exam. Normally, I would suggest that we wish all of our students the very best of luck, but they don’t need luck – they’ve worked incredibly hard, and will reap the fruits of their labour!

Last week, we had a Monday Music Matinee, which started with Astrid Le Noury wowing the audience with some frenetic drumming. Mother Nature then intervened with rain forcing us to stop the performance, and Coen Cursio-Brundle and Stella Egberts didn’t have the opportunity to perform on the day.

Tuesday saw a long rehearsal for the Year 12 Graduation Mass. Our students provided a beautiful musical environment to celebrate our Year 12 students’ last time together in uniform. Our young musicians formed a tight band and a strong choir to help make this important occasion even more special for all present.

Wednesday evening was enormous. Our Semester 2 Instrumental Recital evening gave approximately 90 students, who are enrolled in the College’s Instrumental Music Program, the opportunity to learn the art of performance. These students performed over three separate venues to significantly-sized and highly-appreciative audiences. Performance in front of an audience is a whole separate skillset to being able to play your instrument, and our students gain a wonderful sense of achievement after confronting this musical obstacle. I’d like to offer a special congratulations to all students who performed for the very first time at Sacred Heart!

This week, our Year 10 Music-Making students will travel to Riddells Creek to perform in an authentic performance environment as an important outcome for their curriculum. These students have been preparing for this important event for the entire semester. Not only does it include their musicianship, but students have had to plan repertoire, rehearsals and personal profiles. A huge amount of work has gone into this event, and our young musos are ready to rock Riddell!

On Friday, Helen Duggan and myself will spend the entire day in auditions for students that have applied for the Sacred Heart Music Scholarships. Over 50 students have applied, and this day is one of my favourite days of the year. These students pull out all the stops, and we’re treated to some incredible performances!

Next Thursday evening, 2 November, Kayla Hogbin and Billy Barclay will host our annual Music Leaders’ Concert, featuring performances from a wide array of ensembles, small groups and soloists. We warmly welcome all members of the community to join us to see the pinnacle of our year in performances! The concert starts at 7pm in the Mary Moloney Theatre, and we encourage all current, past and future members of the College family to join us! (no bookings required)

VCE Art Exhibition: Art From the Edge

We have had another busy few weeks in the Arts at Sacred Heart!

Hot on the heels of the Media and Drama Evenings and VCE Performance Exams, the VCE Art Exhibition, ‘Art From the Edge’ opened at the Kyneton Auction House on Friday 13 October. It was a fabulous opening, hosted by Arts Captains, Jemima Cudmore and Grace Stewart, and was officially opened by local artist and friend of SHC Arts, Danny Butterworth.

‘Art From the Edge’ features over 30 works student from Year 11 and 12 Art: Creative Practice and Year 12 Visual Communication and Design (VCD). Students in Art and VCD develop their individual ‘art practice’ and design skills and ultimately develop a folio of art/design works, a number of which are in the exhibition.

We’ve called our exhibition ‘Art From the Edge’, as artists and designers often sit at the edge of society, but we rely on them to speak truth about the way our society works and in the process, hold up a mirror to ourselves.

The exhibition is an amazing glimpse into what our talented students can create, and everyone who has seen ‘Art From the Edge’ has been blown away by the calibre of the work.

Congratulations to Year 12 Art student, Maeve Pierce, who was awarded the Acquisition Award. Maeve’s painting will be purchased by the College and professionally framed and displayed.

We encourage everyone to come and see all of our students’ amazing work at the exhibition, which runs till 7 November.

Huge thanks and congratulations to Mrs Anne Berend and Dr Lynda McCord (Year 11 and 12 Art: Creative Practice) and Ms Kirsten Gibson (Year 11 and 12 Visual Communication and Design) for their amazing efforts. We were also very fortunate to have Ms Sam Caddey, our former VCE Art teacher and Head of Arts, in attendance! It takes many hours, in and out of class time, to get our students to this stage. We are very grateful for the input of these amazing teachers and for their efforts inspiring their students to produce their work!

Year 11 Theatre Studies Play:  “Where in the World is Frank Sparrow?”

Last week, the Year 11 Theatre Studies class were involved in the staging of a play over two nights in the Mary Moloney Theatre.

The talented group of students staged an incredible new production of the play, “Where in the World is Frank Sparrow?”, a dark gothic ‘fable’, by Australian playwright, Angela Betzien.

The class designed and created the play and were involved in all aspects of the production: the acting, direction and choreography, as well as designing the lighting, sound, set costumes and make up.

Congratulations to Ms Haley Galloway, for her tireless work in bringing this to the stage and supporting the class, and special thanks to Mr Steve Huntley, our Property Manager for his assistance in the building of the sets.

Check out the promo trailer below:

Several members of the class also shared their experiences of the play:

My favourite part of the ‘Frank Sparrow’ experience would be the final week when we were all stressed, all thinking we were ‘done for’ and weren't going to have a play. But then it all came together, just like that, and we finished with a really good play. None of us were expecting that to happen, but it did, thankfully. Dylan Bunn

The thing that I enjoyed most about 'Where in the World is Frank Sparrow ?' was operating the sound in the bio box, as we had to be really on the ball, with dozens of sound cues that were timed precisely. I also found it really challenging to learn all the chorus lines, because each line is in a big ‘chunk’ of text, so it’s definitely tricky to learn the lines with the other chorus members. Mary Fox

One thing I found most challenging in my acting for the play was creating an old man’s voice, even though I got it in the end. I also enjoyed how the play, and particularly the set, finally came together, as this was my production area. Construction was a big challenge and we needed the maintenance team to help us put it all up. It wasn’t finished until Wednesday and we were performing Thursday, so that was a bit stressful. The process of constructing and painting the set was really enjoyable though, especially with our ‘over the top’ use of fluorescent paint, which glowed eerily under the UV lights. Georgia Bartlett

Year 8 Girls' Basketball

On Thursday 19 October I had the pleasure of coaching the Year 8 girls' basketball! Overall we had a very successful day finishing in second.

In the first game against Thornbury, the girls showed lots of effort, dedication and persistence to get the ball. Although they had a slow start we won by 25 points.

The second game was against Melbourne Girls College. Our students dominated the court and played with good sportsmanship and patience, making sure to include all team mates. The girls took out this game by 30.

The third game went by in a flash with yet another win! The girls' talent was put on full display and everyone hit the scoreboard with a 20 point win against Veiwbank.

After a great day of success we made it to the grand final where we spent most of the game in front. We had multiple girls in foul trouble and a lot of worked out legs, but the girls left their hearts on the court and put in so much effort. Unfortunately we lost in the last 20 seconds when Aitken scored a goal to put them in front, taking the win.

I am very proud of the girls and all the effort they put in. I witnessed the girls improve, grow in confidence and learn something new, and can happily say I was very impressed by the amazing teamwork and courage shown throughout the day.

Isabelle Nicholson

SSV State Athletics

On Monday 16 October, Tyler Fynch Year 7, and Sarah Fitzpatrick Year 9, represented the College competing in  the Victorian State Track and Field Championships held at Lakeside Stadium in Albert Park.

The weather was much like Kyneton, with rain and windy conditions challenging them both on the track.

Tyler ran Personal best in both the 800m in a time of 2:17.45 and 1500m 4:40.83, where he finished 3rd in both events.

Sarah ran in the 1500m and also clocked a personal best in a time of 5:12.67 finishing in 2^nd.

Their next event representing Sacred Heart will be in two weeks, The Victorian All Schools Championships, also held at Lakeside Stadium

Well done, Sarah and Tyler, and good luck for All Schools

Michelle Fynch