ANZAC DAY CEREMONIES

St Joseph's College was invited to continue its association with the Mildura RSL by participating in the War Graves Service at the Nichols Point Cemetery on Anzac Day. On a sunny Saturday morning we had a fantastic turnout from our students who showed the utmost respect to the Mildura RSL and the occasion.

I thank all students, staff and families that participated and attended the service. It was a very moving experience. I also thank our College Captains Julia O’Bryan and Alexander Kambouris for joining me in representing the College at the service held at Henderson Park. A special mention to Lilliana Bertalli who performed the Australian National Anthem at the Dawn Service, War Graves Service, Henderson Park morning service and the College's Anzac Day Assembly. The RSL were very thankful, as was the College.

The College Anzac Day Assembly was held on Cleadon Oval on Thursday 23 April. Mr John Searle spoke to our students with his message to make us all remember the importance of the gesture to thank all serviceman. John was born in 1945 and joined the RSL on returning from active service in Vietnam in 1968. In recent years, John has played a crucial role in the education of school children in the Mildura area in his role as the Mildura RSL’s Education Officer. He has been involved in supporting veterans through his volunteer work with the Sunraysia Regional Veterans Centre, but his real passion is getting younger people to understand and appreciate Australian Military history. John is extremely proud of the Mildura RSL and continues to offer his support in any way possible.

We were also grateful to have other ex-servicemen and Mildura RSL representatives also join us at the assembly.

The College's Anzac Day Assembly is a very important ceremony where our community can acknowledge and remember all former students who served or are serving in the Defence Force.

FEAST DAY: CROSS COUNTRY, STALLS AND CARPENTERS CLASSIC

Always a day to look forward to on the College calendar, we celebrated the Feast Day, Cross Country and Carpenter’s Classic on Tuesday 28 April. Congratulations to MacKillop House who were the Cross Country winners.

We congratulate our age group champions:

Year 7 Female – Niamh McClaer

Year 7 Male – Ollie Richardson

Year 8 Female – Mackenzie Sobkowiak

Year 8 Male – Johnny Guthrie

Year 9 Female – Alexis Paterson

Year 9 Male – Jesse Kalms

Year 10 Female – Montana Zappia

Year 10 Male – Darby Fraser

Year 11 Female – Liana McClaer

Year 11 Male – Nicholas Hahnel

Year 12 Female – Billie Bartels

Year 12 Male – Hugh Jones

The top place getters at the Cross Country Carnival will go on to represent the College at SSVS level. I thank Miss Airlie Arnold and all other staff for all their hard work in preparing and overseeing the cross country event.

Following the Cross Country, students took part in and enjoyed the variety of Homeroom food and activity stalls. I thank Mrs Jodie Birnie, Mrs Jacinta Jones, Mrs Tracy Aston, the canteen and maintenance staff and all the staff and students involved in planning and running these stalls.

The final part of the day – the Carpenters Classic – gave students the opportunity to show off their vocal, dance and theatre skills. As is tradition, the Year 12 students performed the final act together. I thank all the students who supported and cheered on all the performers that were brave enough to perform in front of their peers.

While all the performers were outstanding, congratulations to ‘Metricol’ consisting of band members Eli Morrison, Ian Taylor, Rebecca Fernandes, Oliver Capp and Aidan Silcox, who took out the 2026 Carpenter’s Classic, with Chisholm winning the House act, two years in a row now! Thank you to Mrs Jennifer Gibson and Mr Lewis White who ensured the concert was a great experience for the community. A special thank you to Mr Dion Collins and the College Captains for emceeing the concert.

COLLEGE UNIFORM

A reminder that students are required to wear the College Blazer as the outer garment when they enter and exit the College during Terms 2 and 3, as well as to morning Homeroom, as per the College Uniform Policy.

The following message was also placed in the student bulletin as there have been some changes to the winter uniform.

While Term 2 marked the return to the Winter Uniform, the weather has felt more like summer. We have made a significant change to uniform this year by allowing the boys to wear the school shorts during summer and winter – which clearly has been popular. To provide equality, we are also going to change the winter uniform to allow girls to wear the culottes, which had previously been a summer item only. As with boys’ trousers, girls will still have the option of the tartan skirt or tailored slacks.

With the warm weather, we have been flexible with students wearing the summer shirt in the past two weeks. However, the Uniform Policy states that the long-sleeve shirt must be worn as part of our winter uniform – and this will be enforced moving forward.

Given the climate in Mildura, we are also going to be re-introducing a two-week crossover period at the end of Term 3 2026 and then the start of Term 2 in 2027. This means that students will have the option of wearing the summer or winter uniform during the crossover period.

SPORT

Congratulations to our Intermediate Girls Volleyball team, who on Tuesday 28 April were winners at LMR level and went on to represent the College at State Level.

We had several Tennis teams participate at the LMR level with some great results, particularly our Junior Boys who narrowly missed out on progressing to State level. All students represented the College with great pride and gave their best efforts.

Our Senior Girls and Boys football teams played against Mildura Senior College at the Mildura Sporting Precinct on Wednesday 29 April, in the now annual twilight match. Both teams gave their all but were ultimately unsuccessful, although both games were played in great spirit by the two schools. We had a great turn-out from our junior students, who got behind and cheered for our senior students. Thank you to our coaches, Mrs Jane Roberts, Mr Sam Doering and Mr Dion Collins, and Miss Airlie Arnold for all her organisation and planning.

With many more sporting events happening this term, we are excited to continue seeing our students thrive in sport and teamwork. Head over to the College Sport page for more information on their win and other sporting wins at St Joseph's College.

120 YEARS REFLECTIONS – MRS DENISE KNIGHT

With the College celebrating its 120th year in 2026, we will be inviting past members of the St Joseph's College community to speak to our students at assemblies. Mrs Denise Knight, a former staff member and parent, was asked to come in to present to the students about her time at the College. Denise is known to the students and often comes into the college as a representative of St Vinnies Mildura, where our students participate in several fundraising and community activities.

Read about her reflection on the 120 Years page.

We were very appreciative of Denise’s presentation and her service to the college over a long period of time. We hope that, through these presentations and 120-year celebrations, students will gain an understanding that they are part of something much bigger than themselves, thereby fostering a deeper sense of connection, pride, and responsibility to uphold the values and traditions of the college for future generations.

JUDY MALONE – THANK YOU

On behalf of the students and the broader St Joseph’s College community, I would like to thank Judy Malone for her outstanding dedication and service. Judy has worked as the Crossing Supervisor on Eleventh Street for over 20 years and retired on Tuesday 5 May. She often speaks highly of our friendly and respectful students and greets each of them with a warm smile. Her consistent presence has provided reassurance to students and families alike, and her commitment to their safety has been deeply valued by our community.

We wish Judy all the very best in her retirement as she spends time with her family – especially her great-grandchildren – and enjoys her garden.

Looking ahead...

We have another busy and exciting five weeks of term ahead. Many of our Year 12 students enjoyed their subject camps in the first week of Term 2, and they will all travel to Anglesea during the last week of the term for their retreat.

Our Year 8 students headed down to Halls Gap on 18 May, so look for more on their adventures in our next newsletter.

Finally, our first F1 Study Tour to England and Germany will take flight during the Term 2 break.

Mr Heath McClaer

Deputy Principal Students

MERCY JUNIOR CAMPUS