Secondary School

On this page: Upcoming Events | Ignite Worship Night | Culture Week | Father's Day Breakfast | Science and Engineering Challenge State Final | Emmaus UNO Champions | Emmaus students winners of the IM2C | Year 7 History Excursion  | Year 7 learning Circus skills 

Upcoming Events

Term 3 and Term 4

Ignite Worship Night

Last Thursday, the Student-led Worship Night came to life with more than 100 students gathered for an evening of community, food and worship. 🙌

Gaga ball, small groups, a sausage sizzle, worship, prayer and encouraging testimonies made it a memorable night. 

Well done, student leaders, for organising a great event, and to those who helped support. We hope this Worship Night will continue for many years to come! ❤️

Culture Week 2025

Bradley Turland, Year 12 student and Student Action Committee Member

Last week (Week 8), our South Plympton Campus celebrated Culture Week, with many activities and events planned by the Student Action Committee, a new initiative to involve our students. 

Monday was a day full of cultural recognition and celebrations. Students and staff were invited to dress in cultural clothing and colours representing flags from across the world. We connected as a whole College to participate in our dress-up parade. Thanks to all the parents who joined us for this!

We also experienced special assemblies, with performances from our peers who shared their cultural experiences and gifts with us. These included dance and music performances, as well as presentations on culture. 

It was wonderful to see our student leaders stand up at Monday's assemblies and recite the Lord’s Prayer in their own languages: Greek, African languages, Italian, and Hungarian. It was moving, encouraging, and powerful. Students also seemed proud as they shared their language with everyone. 

The week's activities involved various lunchtime activities to teach students about different aspects of culture, such as art and dance. These activities were student-created and led for an authentic student-to-student teaching experience.  We also had daily sport, notably a giant Zorba dance led by Mrs Mangos for halftime entertainment on Friday!

We’re grateful to all those involved in planning and executing these activities and for all those who participated.

Father's Day Breakfast 

Week 7 saw our biggest ever Father’s Day Breakfast at Emmaus Christian College, with over 600 dads and granddads joining their children for this special celebration. It was truly heartwarming to witness the joy on the children’s faces as they spent quality time with their fathers and grandfathers on campus.

A huge thank you to all the parents who attended and to our dedicated Emmaus staff for their outstanding organisation that made the event such a success.

Enjoy these photos capturing some cheerful and memorable moments! 🥰

Science and Engineering Challenge State Final 

Last week, our school proudly competed in the Science and Engineering Challenge State Final. This prestigious event brings together the top-performing schools from across South Australia, testing creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork in a variety of engineering and science-based challenges.

Our students gave their very best effort, showing determination, collaboration, and a willingness to think outside the box. We are delighted that our school placed 4th overall in the State. This is a fantastic achievement for our team, which included both Year 9 and Year 10 students who were passionate about being on the team. 

The Challenge provided our students with the opportunity to put theory into practice, exploring real-world applications of science and engineering. From designing bridges and turbines to solving complex problems, they demonstrated resilience and ingenuity under time pressure. 

We are incredibly proud of our team’s efforts and how they represented our school community. As the Bible reminds us: ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters’ (Colossians 3:23)

Congratulations again to all the students involved. You were all amazing, and it was a joy to supervise you all at this very exciting event. 

Allison Storey 

Secondary Science Coordinator

Year 12 Pastoral Coordinator  

Emmaus UNO Champions Revealed 

In Week 7, the long-awaited Secondary School Interhouse UNO Competition finally kicked off after weeks of planning by our dedicated House Leaders. Over the past term, they worked hard to prepare for this exciting event, and it was fantastic to see more than 60 students from Years 7–12 register to play.

Round after round, students battled it out, skipping, reversing, and slamming down those +4 cards until only the finalists stood. On Wednesday, Week 7, we crowned the Emmaus UNO Champion, and a big congratulations to Logan K (7Bright) Laura K (7Bright) took out the runner-up spot and gave a lead to Emerald.

A huge thanks to our House Leaders for organising and running such a fun and engaging event. It was a wonderful opportunity for our Year 7–12 students to come together, enjoy friendly competition, and most importantly, have so much fun.

Lucia Mangos and Kate Brice

Year 7 Pastoral Coordinator and Year 10 Pastoral Coordinator

Emmaus students winners of the IM2C

On Thursday, 28 August, our students who received the “SA Award” in the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge (IM2C) had a fantastic opportunity to tour the University of Adelaide, led by Dr Lewis Mitchell, Director, Adelaide Data Science Centre.

Emmaus students had the chance to see the researchers' work in the front lines of Data Science and Machine Learning, and how Computer Science and Mathematical Sciences are used in these areas.

Our students also had a chance to present their IM2C submission report on creating a “Fair” Global Sports Competition to Data Science professors.

We thank the University of Adelaide for hosting us. It was eye-opening for our students to see how the skills they’ve learned during the competition are used in academia.

Congratulations to Jesse M, Zekai R, Isaac D and Caleb W for their outstanding achievements. We look forward to witnessing the bright future of your studies and careers. 

David Chu 

Maths and Digital Technologies Coordinator (Y7-12) 

Year 7 History Excursion

In Week 7, the Year 7 History classes went on an excursion to the South Australian Museum to investigate the mysteries of Deep Time in Australia. Acting as amateur archaeologists, the Year 7s learned what life might have been like in Ancient Australia by researching artefacts and completing a journal of their findings. 

They studied a range of Indigenous Australian artefacts in the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery (the largest collection of Australian Aboriginal cultural material in the world), as well as examining the fossils of Australian Megafauna, including the giant wombat-like animal Diprotodon and marsupial lion Thylacoleo. 

The students also compared Indigenous Australian artefacts with those of Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Cultures Gallery (the largest collection of Pacific artefacts in Australia) to gain a richer understanding of the similarities and differences between cultures. 

For many students, a highlight of the excursion was lunch at the food court! Many were also able to explore other sections of the museum, including the Ancient Egypt Gallery, World Mammals Gallery, and the Giant Squid.

Alisha Dutschke

Secondary School History Teacher

Year 7 learning Circus skills 

Year 7 Drama students took centre stage this semester with our thrilling Circus Unit, where imagination and performance came alive. 

Students developed essential acting skills, such as character creation, physicality, and storytelling, by exploring classic circus roles like clowns, ringmasters, and acrobats. They also practised teamwork and creativity, learning to engage an audience with confidence and flair. 

We hope these photos provide a small window into the fun we’ve had bringing our “Circus of Wonders” to life on stage!

Anna Briggs

Dance, Drama, and English Teacher - South Plympton