Augustine House
Ms Sonya Barnes, Middle Leader Pastoral - Augustine
St Stephen's Catholic College
Our Year 12s have left us, and Augustine feels different without them
I have known this group since they were Year 7s who could not find their way to the Holy Spirit Centre without an escort. Watching them walk out as young adults was a genuinely emotional week for me. They were a House that showed up: at carnivals, at assemblies, at St Stephen’s Day, and for each other. To every Augustine Year 12, thank you. Go well in your exams and in whatever comes next, and please come back and tell us about it.
Jasmin Sayed and Ava Phillips deserve a particular mention. They set their goal in February as participation and fun, and they delivered on it all year. Assemblies people actually wanted to attend, activities planned in their own time, younger students quietly checked on, and a lot of work nobody ever saw. They were a pleasure to work alongside and they have left the role in better shape than they found it.
St Stephen’s Day was a highlight of the year for Augustine. Our students ran stalls, performed in the winning skit, won the tug-of-war and cleaned up afterward without being asked twice. That day is really about service, and our College patron’s question “How can I help?” was being answered all over the grounds by students who just got on with it. Thank you to the students who baked, donated and turned up.
Special congratulations to Jamie Trevillion and James Schafer, our Senior and Junior Spirit of Augustine award winners. Those two awards are the ones I care most about, because they recognise the students who show up for the House and for each other all year.
Looking to 2027, Nicholas Dugri and Georgia Hughes step up as our Augustine House Leaders. They have big shoes to fill, and I have no doubt they will fill them in their own way. We are also in the process of selecting the rest of the Augustine student leadership team for next year, and those positions will be finalised next week.
Families will also have heard that Vertical Pastoral Care will be introduced in 2027. From next year, Augustine students from Years 7 to 12 will sit together in the same home form class with the same teacher. Our Year 7s will have seniors beside them every morning, and our seniors will have younger students watching how they behave, which tends to improve everyone. I am genuinely excited about what this will do for House spirit.
A few practical notes for the last weeks. Assessment is finishing, so please keep students here and on time, and keep an eye on the uniform and hats as the heat sets in. If something is going on at home that is affecting school, tell me. Earlier is always better than later.
Thank you to our students, staff and families for a year I have loved being part of. Augustine, you have done me proud.
Kind regards,
Ms Sonya Barnes
