Need to Know 

Anzac Ceremonies 

Yesterday St Helena Captains and representatives from our Interact Club laid wreaths at the Eltham and Montmorency Anzac Dawn Services.

On Wednesday,  College leaders organised Anzac commemorative services for all students to attend during Period 4 at school . The services were moving, and students responded with solemnity and respect.   Thank you to our student leaders and RSL representative Bill Little for attending and speaking inspirationally about the Anzac legacy and the meaning of the Anzac legend for today's young people.  

Even though the skies opened and light rain fell for the last three minutes of the Years 10-12 service, students remained silent, contemplative and respectful through the playing of the Last Post, and the minute's silence to reflect on those who lost their lives that we may enjoy our democratic freedoms today.    

Locker security

An alarming number of students do not have padlocks on their lockers.  The College cannot take responsibility for the loss or theft of any student materials that are not secured in the locker and we will not be using staff resources to investigate theft if lockers are not secured.  Of particular concern is that laptops and mobile phones are often left in unsecured lockers.

Please have a discussion with your child and ensure they are taking responsibility to secure their possessions at school.   Locks are available from the general office for $15, payable via debit card, or phone the office to arrange payment.

Excursion consent

For the avoidance of any doubt, I am republishing the information that went out in the first newsletter of this year:

A lot of time and effort goes into organising school excursions, camps and internal activities.  There are many legal accountabilities for the staff organising, including ensuring no child leaves the college without consent, we have current contact details for students, we have personalised first aid needs met with our kits, venues have the correct numbers and correct payment has been made, sufficient buses have been booked etc etc.

For this reason, once a Compass consent/payment deadline has passed, THE EVENT  WILL NOT BE RE-OPENED FOR PAYMENT OR CONSENT unless there are exceptional compassionate circumstances, or the College is in error.  The closing date is made in order to give the organiser time to ensure they have met all their responsibilities.  

Please do not ask organising staff to re-open events, as a refusal may offend! 

Comedy for A Cause

Approximately 80 people booked to come to our Comedy for A Cause on Wednesday night, and what a great night it was!   I was still giggling in the car on the way home! 

Although the date probably wasn't ideal for many families, the event's success means we are confident to run another later in the year.

Funds raised from Comedy for a Cause will go towards our Cool At School air conditioning project.    Thank you to our Community Engagement Leading Teacher Caitlin Fecondo for her organisation and to College Vice Captain Martina Charalambous for being a good sport and taking the heat from the comics!

Our Town Performances now on sale

For our amazing students, we've got a special deal! We are selling half-price tickets EVERY TUESDAY at lunchtime in front of the theatre for just $7.50 (cash only). ️

Otherwise, book your tickets through Trybooking at this link: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1190779

A Rising Sports Star!

We are so proud of Oscar Hatty (Year 8) who recently represented Victoria in the Under 19 Division at the 2024 Australian Underwater Hockey National Championships in Cairns! 

What an interesting event -I'm sure many of us have never heard of underwater hockey.

Even though the team narrowly missed out on the Bronze Medal in an intense overtime match against South Australia, it's a huge achievement to compete at this level.

Congratulations, Oscar! 

Athletics Australia National Championships 

Toby Hamilton is now the U15 National High Jump Champion having won Gold in his event clearing 1.84m. 

We're absolutely wrapt with his performance which is a new PB by 5cm.

He also finished 7th in Javelin with a 2m PB so he's had a great week!

Results for the other SHSC athletes competing are...

*Tara Smith 

- U20 Javelin... 11th place.

- U20 Hammer Throw... 17th place.

*Vanessa Smith

-U18 Javelin... 6th place.

-U18 Hammer Throw... 18th place.

*Charlee Dickson - 400m Hurdles... 6th place.

*Lucy Johns - U16 3k Walk... 8th place.

Congratulations to all.  

Would you like your child featured in our newsletter?

We don't always hear about the great achievements of our students in arenas outside of school.  If  your child has excelled in sport, performing arts, community service or any other area outside of school and you would like them featured please email AskLeadership@sthelena.vic.edu.au

Daring to be excellent is an important characteristic to recognise in our young people, both in and outside of school.  

Cool At School Fundraising Kickstarter meeting

All welcome - kickstart meeting for our Cool at School fundraising:

We are kicking off our fundraising with a brief online meeting on Wednesday May 1st at 6.30 pm. 

You are invited to hop online and contribute your ideas/put your hand up for tasks or roles/offer whatever support you can! Please don’t feel  you have to become a regular member of the group! 

Hope to see you online.    

Meeting link:

https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/j.php?MTID=m34a07b32e92bf30b37bc7e92b56553cf

Meeting number:

2650 199 7334

Meeting password:

Dp6mUuXG5n8

Join from a video or application

Dial 26501997334@eduvic.webex.com

You can also dial 210.4.202.4 and enter your meeting number.

Join by phone

+61-3-8593-9167 Australia Toll (Melbourne)

Access code: 26501997334

Global call-in numbers

https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/globalcallin.php?MTID=ma3632a678fc3b05f4cd7899ff1c43389

If you have difficulty connecting on the night, please email me directly kt@sthelena.vic.edu.au

Athletics Carnival and parent attendance

Years 7-10 enjoyed a festive and fun athletics carnival on the first Wednesday of term.  It was great to have our students able to enjoy a relaxed day together, seeing some amazing performances on the field.  Well done to Sports Coordinator Erin Milton and the PE Domain for their organisation of the event.

The day did raise some questions about parent ability to come and see their children compete at school and interschool sport events.  Child Safety regulations mean we must ensure any parent who attends an event has a current Working With Children check, and clear parameters about the extent of their involvement at the event.  We will be working on this over the next couple of  months to formalise a way for parents to spectate if they wish to.   We would love to involve our community more.