From our Principal

Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

As the sun starts to peek through, the days are getting longer and Spring has sprung, we leap into the final term of 2022. This year sees a return to all of our milestone and rite of passage events which traditionally occur in Term 4. There is a plethora of events which celebrate the richness of opportunities students can and have engaged in over the course of the past year or years. Here is a sample of the events celebrated in the first fortnight. Creative Arts Night, VCAL presentation evening, Art and Technology Exhibitions, Chapel Centenary celebration, Year 9 camp (Cranbourne), Year 6 into 7 Information evenings.

Chapel Centenary (11 October 2022)

A thanksgiving mass was held this week to celebrate the centenary of the St Peter’s College Chapel, formerly the St Peter’s Church, Tooradin. Our foundational principal, Terry Feely realised the vision to welcome the former Church onto the grounds of the St Peter’s College Cranbourne campus in February 2003. The interior of the Church which aligned so well with the symbols and colours so prominent in telling the St Peter’s College story meant that the generous gift given by the parish of Tooradin was welcomed with open arms. We are blessed to have a beautiful chapel. It has served as a centre to nourish our student’s faith and a vehicle to bring many towards a closer relationship with our God. We welcomed Fr Herman Hengel, our principal celebrant, and Fr’s Peter Kooloos, Denis O’Bryan, Joseph Abutu, Stanly Divasia, Avinash George. We also welcome Ms Maria Kirkwood, the Director and CEO of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Sale, parishioners from St Agatha’s, Cranbourne, St Thomas the Apostle, Clyde North, St John the Baptist, Koo Wee Rup and St Mary’s, Lang Lang, for what was a beautiful mass.

Creative Arts Night

Held in the first week of Term 4, our Creative Arts night was a celebration that was 12 years in the making. This was the first of countless events which will be showcased in our new Performing Arts Centre. It was a wonderful celebration of music, dance and drama. Students presented beautifully and confidently on stage where the talent shone through. My thanks to the Performing Arts team, very ably supported by the AV/IT team for an outstanding event. I believe I speak for everyone that when I say we look forward to the Performing Arts centre becoming a centre of excellence for both our Cranbourne and Clyde North students.

VCAL Presentation Night

A night I always look forward to immensely is the VCAL presentation evening. Each of the graduating students are required to give a 15 minute oral presentation on an investigative project on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that they have undertaken in 2022. With family present, each student is also asked to reflect on their time in VCAL, what they have learnt during their time and as importantly what they have learnt about themselves during their time in VCAL. Each of the students were able to articulate clearly how proud they were of their achievements and as you looked around the classroom where they were presenting you could sense a great sense of pride their parents had in their young person’s achievement. That, together with a few tears as the realisation that their son or daughter is on the precipice of joining the big wide world becomes a bigger reality, made this evening a very special one.

The growth in our students witnessed in their confidence, communication and their ability to interact with each other and their teachers is a privilege to watch and each and every student must be congratulated on their achievements.

Art and Technology Exhibition

This annual event on both campuses was held this week. I had the privilege of viewing both campus exhibitions ahead of opening night and was just so impressed with the quality of the exhibition pieces on display. An interesting interpretation was that colour and happiness was back. In comparison, the past couple of COVID affected years featured a prominence of dullness and dark interpretation. It just goes to show how much Art and Design can reflect the prominent emotions of the time. The quality of Visual Arts and Product Design pieces was outstanding and students, together with staff, are to be congratulated for an outstanding display of creative and artistic talent.

Congratulations is extended to the following students who were awarded Principal prizes for Excellence in the areas of Art and Technology:

Cranbourne Campus

Principal’s Prize for Art – Alannah Egan
Principal’s Prize for Technology – Liam Foggo

Clyde North Campus

Principal’s Prize for Art – Charlotte Francis
Principal’s Prize for Technology – Mia Legeant

High Achieving Student

St. Peter's College warmly congratulates Year 11 Clyde North student, Hasrat Gill on securing a contract with Melbourne Stars for the upcoming national Women's Big Bash League 2022/2023 season. In announcing Hasrat's signing Melbourne Stars General Manager had this to say: "Gill is one of the brightest young talents in Victorian cricket, having already taken a hattrick for the Melbourne Cricket Club in Victorian Premier Cricket. Earlier this year she was the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 26 wickets. Gill also competed for Vic Country in the Under 19 National Championships this year."

Hasrat has recently been appointed as Clyde North's female Sports Captain for 2023.

Congratulations Hasrat from all at St. Peter's College

Enjoy the week ahead and for our students, enjoy the holidays and stay safe.

Mr Chris Black

Principal