Principal's Update

Dear Families, 

Welcome to Term 3. I hope that all students had a restful and enjoyable break and that they return to school energised for another busy and exciting term. There are many wonderful things happening at Trinity College this term. 

In staffing news, we warmly welcome Cherie Butcher to Trinity College staff and our Colac community. Cherie has commenced this term in the role of Development and Communication Leader and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. Cherie has come from Western Australia to live a little closer to her daughters, who are in Melbourne, and is hoping to spot a platypus or two while enjoying the beauty of the Otway waterways. A copywriter and graphic designer with more than 15 years’ experience in education communications and marketing, Cherie is committed to Catholic education and excited to be of service to our community. We look forward to working with her. 

We welcome back Mrs Jo Carmichael and Mrs Karen Hart from their time on Long Service Leave and thank Mrs Michelle Buchanan for her management of the Canteen in Jo’s absence.  

Mr Jaimi Taylor will be leaving Trinity College at the end of this week to take up an exciting new employment opportunity. Jaimi has been a valued member of our ICT Team and will be missed. We wish Jaimi all the best in the next stage of his career. 

Over the term break, six of our Year 11 students and Mrs Sarah Borch hiked the 96km Kokoda Track across the Owen Stanley Range and under the famous arches at Owers Corner.  We congratulate them on their determination, courage and leadership, and hope that the adventure, with its deep connection to history, was an incredible and transformative experience for all. We look forward to hearing their stories and thank Shane Vicary and AKD Softwoods for offering our students this invaluable opportunity. Thank you also to Mrs Borch for her support and encouragement of our future leaders – these memories will last a lifetime.

Our Year 10 students enjoyed their time on Work Experience at the end of Term 2 and both students and employers expressed appreciation of the opportunity to spend time immersed in real world work environments. The positive feedback from students and their workplace mentors highlighted the success of the program in fostering personal growth and professional development. Thank you to Mrs Julie Demasi, staff and employers and local businesses for their support of our students throughout this time. 

Families will have received an email this week advising that our College Uniform Shop will be relocating to Borne Apparel as of Wednesday 19 July. The key reasons for this change are to offer greater access to uniform requirements and to make way for our next stage of the College Master Plan, which will see the construction of a new senior school building at the front of the campus. We would like to thank Mrs Carol Clayton for her dedicated service to Trinity College as Uniform Manager since 2006. Carol will join our team in the Canteen and continue to be a valued member of our community. 

Borne Apparel is situated at 216 Murray Street, Colac, and opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. The owner of Borne Apparel, Tim Hassett, has a long association with Trinity College and understands all elements of our uniform requirements.  

Our Principal Mr Paul Clohesy sends his best wishes to all staff, students and families for the commencement of Term 3. He is enjoying his time volunteer teaching in Thailand and looking forward to other learning opportunities, and a well-earned rest, while on Enrichment Leave. In Paul’s absence please feel free to reach out to me via email rmcgennisken@tcc.vic.edu.au or by contacting College Reception. I’d also like to warmly welcome Mrs Natalie Holt to the role of Acting Deputy Principal, Mr Caide Robertson to the role of Acting Director of Students and Miss Vicki Andres to the role of Acting Year 9 Coordinator for the first six weeks of term. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by committed staff who seek only the best for our students and our community.

Ms Rachel McGennisken

Acting Principal