In late July, the curtains rose on a truly magical production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Geelong Arts Centre, performed by students from Iona College, Sacred Heart College, Clonard College and St Joseph’s College. Hosted by Iona College this year, the combined schools musical brought students together to collaborate on this much-loved story, filling the theatre with colour, energy, and imagination from Thursday 25 July through to Saturday 26 July.

This year’s production was the result of months of dedication and creativity, with students beginning rehearsals at the start of the year. We would also like to acknowledge the two leads, Evie Dando and Mia Lester for their performances.

One of the highlights of the week was seeing our Year 8 students attend the production as part of a school excursion. For many, it was their first time seeing a live musical — and they were utterly captivated. It was a special opportunity for them to support their peers and witness the magic of live theatre firsthand.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a celebration of creativity, teamwork, and the power of the arts to bring students together. Congratulations to everyone involved on a spectacular show!

Well done to the following students who were part of this amazing production:

La Fête Nationale/ Bastille Day

Bonjour! Students’ taste-buds were tantalised in July with a sale of authentic French pâtisseries from the wonderful That Place Bakery in Belmont. Mais oui! We shared these delicious delicacies to celebrate La Fête Nationale, or Bastille Day, which commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on 14 July 1789, the event which marked the start of the French Revolution. ‪

This year we were tempted by croissants, pains au chocolat, lemon tarts, choux buns, mille feuilles, canelés and raspberry brûlées. ‪Oh là là! C'est magnifique! Miam miam!

What a season!

This year, two teams of Year 9 students competed in the annual Debating Association of Victoria competition. Held in the evenings at Geelong Grammar, students from across the region competed against one another on topics ranging from the use of herbicides and pesticides to mobile phones in schools.

In five rounds over the last several months, Sacred Heart College students argued their cases with tenacity, passion, and aplomb. Their hard work preparing and communicating as coherent teams resulted in shared second place, only a hair’s breadth away from first. A remarkable achievement, especially given the calibre of this year’s competitors.

If this wasn’t impressive enough, our students were also nominated Best Speaker several times throughout the competition.

Our outstanding orators should be most proud of themselves and the way they represented the College.

Congratulations to the students who travelled to the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre in Melbourne on Tuesday 29 July to compete in the CGSAV Futsal (Indoor Soccer) competition. The day started with all three teams playing in games in a round robin against other Catholic schools from around Victoria. The Juniors had very competitive games across the day, making it to the grand final against Sacred Heart Oakleigh. They won 4-0. Congratulations to Piper Mazaraki who won “Best in the Grand Final”. The Intermediates and Seniors had some close games across the day, finishing 5^th. Thank you to staff Kate Ryan, Alice McMillan and Max Cloonan for coaching on the day, and assistant Evie Ryan for helping.

Congratulations to all teams for their efforts and good sportsmanship throughout the day.