Student Stories, Achievements & Community News
Student Stories
Volunteering with the JPC Community Companion Van
"Helping out with the Companion Van was a very impactful experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Being able to hand out a variety of essential items, such as personal products, groceries, hot drinks, and food, greatly helped support the local community. Meeting and talking to different people was especially meaningful, as they shared their experiences and perspectives on life. Personally, this experience was very rewarding, as it gave me a new perspective on how privileged we are compared to those less fortunate." Kieran, Year 12
"I was fortunate enough for the opportunity to partake in the John Paul College Community Companion Van, to which me and two other students travelled with Brother Tony, Ms Campion and Ms Caretti to Frankston. Our job was to provide donated items such as baked goods, non-perishable items, hot drinks and toiletries to the less fortunate. My task was to make and hand out cheese toasties for the community. The community itself was amazing to see: witnessing these people looking after each other and making sure they all got something was extraordinary, such as those who asked for extra toasties to give to their friends, through to the 30 seconds of back and forth between who should get the first toastie! This was an unforgettable experience that offered me a greater insight into where donations end up and I am extremely grateful to Brother Tony for allowing me to get involved in this. I would definitely do it again." Dylan, Year 12
Advanced Maths Challenge
Students were challenged to blow up a balloon so that its volume is as close as possible to 2 litres. Students estimated, measured and calculated the size of a balloon needed to hold a volume of 2 litres, by modelling the balloon as a sphere.
"Learning new formulas—like the volume of a sphere—can be challenging, but the hands-on balloon activity made it much easier to understand. By exploring how the formula works in a practical way, the task became both engaging and enjoyable, helping to deepen understanding." Finnley W, Year 8
Tournament of Minds Training Day
"Tournament of Minds is an international problem solving competition that challenges students to think creatively and work collaboratively to solve complex, open-ended tasks.
The training day was a great experience and learning opportunity in which we practiced our teamwork, collaboration, and thinking skills with Competition Director, Geraldine who came to help prepare us for the upcoming competition. We worked together on Open-Ended (spontaneous) challenges designed to both challenge our creative thinking, and our critical thinking. One such challenge involved us having to see both sides to a Hamburger, which actually managed to spark a surprising amount of fierce discussion over whether or not a hamburger is a sandwich.
I most enjoyed working together in teams with other like-minded people and combining our ideas into unique solutions. The training was a valuable experience which all of us benefited from!" Kristian S, Year 8
"This training day was a valuable opportunity that strengthened my ability to think creatively and create original ideas. The day expanded my knowledge in how the tournament operates and what is expected of participants.
Ms Nicholas, Director & Professional Learning Coordinator, guided us through strategies to enhance our creative and critical thinking. She taught us to read between the lines; focusing on not just what's in the question, but also what isn't." Lucian H, Year 8
STEM Racing National Finals
"The STEM Racing National Finals was a great event where our teams could see all of the work that we had put in come together in such a memorable way at the College. We - Team Vitaliarrived early to complete the scrutineering of our cars, which unfortunately led to us gaining time penalties before we set up our trade display. Our trade display stood out among the competition as we incorporated a fish tank which brought many structural problems that we had to sort out the day before the competition. We had various judging sessions and many races which we would have won most of if we didn't have our time penalties. Overall, we placed 10th, which was slightly worse than we expected, but still a great achievement." Ren P, Year 9
"Team Valiant competed in the STEM Racing National Finals. The weekend was broken up into different sections: the pit display interview, where we talked about our trade display; the CAD and CAM interview, where we discussed the design and manufacturing process of the car; the verbal presentation, where we explained what we had done over the course of the competition; and finally, the racing.
In the lead-up to the competition, Valiant ran into many issues. Our first issue was time; we were only invited to the competition 6–7 weeks beforehand, which led to many time-related challenges. Our next issue was uniforms. Due to conflict overseas, our uniforms were delayed and did not arrive in time for the competition. Our final issue was our team member, Larry, getting badly injured just before the competition. Despite his injury, he still attended the competition in a wheelchair.
Whilst the results weren’t exactly what we wanted, considering all the challenges we faced in the lead-up to the competition, we performed well and were proud of our results." Sam J, Year 9
Celebrating Student Success
Congratulations to our students who competed in the Victorian Junior Track & Field Championships - with many podium wins!
| Under 14s | Placing |
|---|---|
| Asher B | 400m – 1st, 1500m – 2nd & 800m – 5th |
| Marcus S | 800m – 2nd & 1500m – 3rd |
| Sam C | 1500m – 6th & 800m – 9th |
| Under 15s | Placing |
|---|---|
| Christian B | 1500m – 13th |
| Under 16s | Placing |
|---|---|
| Hugo M | 800m – 12th |
| Fraser L | 400m – 1st, Long Jump – 4th & 200m – 7th |
| Tom J | Shot Put – 2nd & Discus – 4th |
| Under 17s | Placing |
|---|---|
| Eoin J | 1500m – 14th |
| Lachlan M | 400m – 9th & 200m – 14th |
| Matthew R (Para) | 400m – 1st, 800m – 1st, Long Jump – 2nd, 1500m - 2nd, 100m – 3rd & 200m – 4th |
In Memoriam
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who have lost their loved ones.
May God's love be a comfort to you at this time.
We pray for the eternal rest of Brother Hilary Walsh FSC, who passed away on Sunday.
We give thanks for Br Hilary’s life, his presence among us, and his faithful service. Br Hilary,was inducted into the St Bede’s Old Collegians Association Roll of Honour in 2013, where the citation reads:
Brother Hilary Walsh fsc was truly an exceptional teacher at St Bede’s during his tenure from 1964 to 1971. He also served as Middle School Principal for several years. It’s no surprise that he was inducted into the Roll of Honour in 2013, recognising his outstanding contributions to the school community. His dedication to education was truly remarkable, and he will always be remembered for his immense impact on the lives of those he taught.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Brothers' community.
Melva McRobinson, mother of Neil McRobinson (Staff) who passed away Wednesday morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with Neil, his father, Ian and his siblings Geoff and Lynette.
