IGNITE CREATIVITY, SPARK POSSIBILITY

This year’s Arts Day was a beautiful, sun-filled day full of colourful activities, PAC competitions, and performances on the Band Stage. The day had a vibrant energy, with students immersing themselves in the joy and power of the Arts.The themes this year were Clairvaux’s Fantasy world, Loyola’s Red Carpet, Padua’s Our Hero, and Siena’s Storytime.

The band stage showcased SHC’s VET music students, the SHC rock bands, and soloists. The activities on the day included key ring making, pendant making, a giant colour by numbers, a bake off, scrunchie making, and so many more! Students also got to view the Art submissions in the Cranbourne Gallery.

Congratulations to the winners of the Art competition:

Year 7 and 8: Celeste McLaughlin (Loyola)

Year 9 and 10: Charlotte Leicester (Padua)

Year 11 and 12: Charlotte Williams (Loyola)

Congratulations to this year’s Reni Turner award recipient, Zara Darby! Over the last six years, Zara has demonstrated leadership, passion and gentle guidance to younger students in the Arts. She has shone on stage in the last two combined schools’ musicals and has been a dedicated contributor to House Dance every single year—culminating in her house winning this year’s Dance Competition.

The competitions in the PAC this year were nothing short of electric! With categories spanning Instrumental, Small Group Choir, Dance, Art, and Theatre, the judges certainly had their work cut out for them. Thankfully, Mr Tracey kept spirits high—decked out in his Darth Vader costume and engaging in dramatic “battles” with fellow staff members—making the whole event as entertaining off-stage as it was on.

Students capped off Arts Day with the Evening Showcase, performing to an enthusiastic audience of parents and friends. The showcase brought together highlights from every Arts Day category, giving the community a chance to witness the creativity, talent, and dedication students have poured into their work over the past months.

You can watch the Arts Day performances by clicking here: http://bit.ly/3K9ywI3

FINAL RESULTS

1st - Siena - 1300

2nd - Clairvaux - 1095

3rd - Loyola - 1075

4th - Padua - 980

Congratulations to our Class of 2025 on their recent Graduation! After a moving ceremony at Kardinia International College, where the graduates received their certificate and a copy of the Mercedes yearbook, it was onto GMHBA for a lovely dinner and a chance to kick up their heels for the last time as a cohort. 

We wish all our wonderful Year 12 students the best in their endeavours outside the gates of SHC. Don't be a stranger - we hope to see you at future alumni reunions and events!

On Thursday 16 October our Year 12 students held their Celebration Day - a day devoted to having fun!

The students arrived at SHC in amazingly creative costumes, their imagination and enthusiasm on full display. The first order of the day was breakfast, with yummy pancakes for all. The signing of t-shirts followed, as did the running of an inflatable obstacle course, with absolutely no holds barred! It was then time for a boogie at the disco, with a picnic following in the beautiful sunshine on the junior oval. Next, the Student Awards were a hit, with students receiving their awards as nominated by their friends and peers.The Year Level video provided laughs and a few tears, as did the Farewell House Assemblies.

A delicious Burger Bar was provided for lunch, during which the Year 12s completed a chalk mural outside Talbot Street gym. Then it was a quick change into white clothes in preparation for everyone's favourite - the Colour Run! This activity once again proved to be fun, with the Year 12s emerging as rainbows of colour at the end. A Slip and Slide ensured the fun continued throughout the afternoon. A photo booth proved popular, as many photos were taken to memorialise this special day.

On Friday 17 October the Class of 2025 will be officially inducted into the SHC Alumni Association at the breakfast the Alumni Committee hosted. Following this we will hold our Transfer of Leadership and Year 12 Farewell Assembly, allowing us a final opportunity to gather as a whole school community to celebrate our wonderful Year 12s and acknowledge the student leaders of 2026. A Guard of Honour will follow, where we will applaud the Year 12s as they make a final walk through the College and out the school gates, sending them off with our best wishes for their exams and life after SHC.

Congratulations to Year 8 student Mylah Hunt on winning first prize for her essay in the St Columbans Mission Society: Season of Creation school competition! Mylah entered her essay through Mr Petkovic's Religion class, and as part of winning first prize elements of her essay were incorporated into a stunning video on the environment and the care of our common home, a Catholic social teaching that is part of our Year 8 Religion curriculum. You can see Mylah's amazing work below.

Congratulations Mylah on your outstanding achievement!

Our Design Futures Lab students completed the Women in Construction week-long internship at Deakin’s School of Architecture and Built Environment. Working alongside Matthew Flinders students, Deakin’s talented architecture lecturers and practitioners in the industry, they explored endangered bird species, designed and built bespoke nests, and created site-specific installations for the Deakin campus, once home to eucalypt trees that supported these birds.

The project took them through a full design journey: understanding their ‘clients’ (the birds), researching the site, developing concepts, prototyping, building in the workshop and presenting their final pitches to industry, families and the Deakin community.

The experience, skills and confidence gained will be invaluable as we move into our next major project, designing and building a tiny house on wheels to be donated. We are also thrilled to welcome our Deakin mentors to join this exciting new project.

Congratulations to all the students who travelled up to MSAC on Tuesday 7 October to compete in the CGSAV Table Tennis against Catholic Girls schools from around Victoria. 

All schools were very competitive across the day. The Juniors and Seniors made it to the semi-finals in competitive matches, with a special mention to Isla Hanna-Phillips and Cassie Deng for going undefeated for the entire day. The Intermediates finished 5th overall, showing great skill and team work.

Well done to all competitors on a fantastic effort. Thank you to Mr Ferraro and Olivia Mairos our trainee for coaching the students on the day.

Results:

Juniors - 3rd

Intermediates - 5th

Seniors - 4th

Teams:

The Science Talent Search is a Victorian wide competition with thousands of student entries across different age groups. Nevaeh showed passion and initiative by completing two projects in her own time: a scientific poster titled 'Quantum Science Driving Innovation in Medicine'; and a creative writing piece titled 'Echoes of the Universe'. Nevaeh achieved a Major Bursary award for both entries which is a wonderful achievement. Well done Nevaeh!

On Tuesday 5 May, seven Sacred Heart students were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to attend the 94th Legacy Day Annual ANZAC Commemoration, held at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.

I have been privileged to attend this Commemoration with Sacred Heart since Year 8. Every year has been a memorable and powerful reminder of the sacrifices made. I find Legacy Day important as it is dedicated to honouring the memory of deceased veterans. Legacy is an organisation established to provide, and continue to provide, support to veterans' families.

This year, we travelled up on the train with Mr Tracey and Claudia. We took the new Metro Tunnel straight to Anzac Station, which let us see the beautiful gardens and statues on the way to the Shrine. During the Ceremony, we listened to a powerful speech about remembrance and witnessed the cadets and catafalque party perform their roles with honour. During the wreath laying, Sacred Heart’s very own Shrine Young Ambassador, Milly Naylor, laid the wreath on behalf of the Shrine Young Ambassadors, which is a huge honour. We are incredibly proud of her for being chosen for this role. Ruby Ranger (Year 7) and I then laid a wreath on behalf of our College, which gave us the opportunity to represent Sacred Heart.

After the service concluded, we received a guided tour of the Shrine from a volunteer named Judy. She spoke to us about World War I and her personal connection to its history. Judy guided us through the crypt and sanctuary, sharing information about the significance and importance of these spaces. Judy’s passion was engaging and very admirable, and the information she shared will be deeply cherished by us.

As I am graduating this year, I am proudly passing the baton to the younger year levels to continue to take pride in keeping the ANZAC Spirit alive and to remember those who have sacrificed so much for us to live in the world we are today.

Sophie Nisbet, Year 12