Secondary News

Secondary Sports Uniform Days - Term 4

Term 4 Mentor Pastoral

During Term 4 in Mentor Pastoral, students in Year 6-10 are participating in projects of their choice. It is exciting to welcome Year 6 to join secondary during these sessions, giving them an opportunity to engage in an initial secondary schooling experience. Activity choices include cultural mural, chicken club, rock band, textiles, Christmas crafts, chess club, Pilates, STEM challenges and cake decorating. With such a wide variety of activities, there was a tangible buzz in the air as students completed their first session.

Awards Focus - Term 4

As we move through the term, our secondary school community is highlighting the Mercy values as our awards focus. This fortnight, we are focusing on Compassion—not just as a feeling, but as active, practical care for one another. At assembly, we drew inspiration from figures like Dr. Fred Hollows and Catherine McAuley and outlined that true compassion means stepping into someone else’s shoes to lighten their load. We challenge every student to live compassion out loud this week by looking out for classmates who may be struggling, pulling up an extra chair, listening closely, and choosing grace over sharp remarks. We are keeping an eye out for everyday actions transforming our school into a warmer, safer, and more supportive environment.

Below are our award recipients for Week 1 of Term 4, who demonstrated the Mercy value of Courage as we begin the new term.

AVCAT Scholarships 

A student with a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who served in the Australian Defence Force can qualify for scholarships worth up to $18,000 for uni or TAFE. AVCAT applications opened 18 August and close 31 October - and most eligible families have no idea these exist. There's a free resource here and a paid service.

Free: diggerscholarships.com.au - all 67 veteran-descendant scholarships and grants in one searchable place, with eligibility, closing dates and application links, plus a map showing which ones are available near your school.

Paid: a strong application needs proof of service and a real connection to it, and most families are working from records in copperplate handwriting and Army shorthand they can't read. Our decode service ($59) turns a service record into an editable Word narrative and an Excel timeline in about 15 minutes. The ancestor's Australian story (think ABC Australian Story style), ready to attach as supporting evidence. It's the difference between writing "my great-grandfather served" and showing the selection panel where he served, what happened, and what it cost him.

Veteran-descendant scholarships - applications close 31 October. Students with a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who served in the Australian Defence Force can qualify for scholarships worth up to $18,000. AVCAT applications opened 18 August and close 31 October. Digger Scholarships (diggerscholarships.com.au) has a free searchable database of all 67 veteran-descendant scholarships and grants, with eligibility, closing dates and application links, plus a map of scholarships near your school. Their $59 decode service turns an ancestor's service record, copperplate handwriting, army shorthand and all, into a plain-English Australian story and timeline that students can attach to strengthen their application.