Cranbourne Campus News

SWAC - Student Wellbeing Activity 

Blurred Minds

To support the targeted pastoral programs and guest speakers that we engage to speak with our students the College has a Student Wellbeing Activities Committee (SWAC). This group is a cross-campus committee made up of the two Heads of Campus myself and Mrs Banda, the two Pastoral Care Leaders Ms Hogan and Mr Brannan and two of the College Counsellors Mrs Picinali and Mrs Paten. Together we meet to discuss trends and threads of risk-taking behaviour that we are seeing and hearing about right here at St Peter's College. The data collected is rigorous and the programs chosen are responding to the evidence we are seeing about the issues facing young people at St Peter's College and offering an educative approach to respond to needs. 

Late in term 3, the SWAC team was able to secure the services of the Blurred Minds Company which came and spoke with the students about Vaping and E-cigarettes. While the presentation clearly shared some of the health concerns that researchers have about ingesting heated nicotine and other unlabelled chemical vapours into the lungs, the speaker also focused on the subliminal and unethical marketing and advertising practices that have led to young people seeing vaping as an acceptable practice. The message was very clear that it is not good for anyone but hopefully through targeted education like this and through health classes, and your vigilance at home, our young people will stay away from the temptation and learn that they are being tricked into a habit that is harmful. An older person like me only hopes that the health lessons on vaping can be learned quicker than the generations of the 1950’s and 60’s who were tricked into believing cigarettes were good for us. Seems hard to fathom that today. 

Interestingly the following is an excerpt taken from a Sydney Morning Herald article dated 11th October

“Researchers examining vaping rates in Australian teenagers have detected clear links between vaping and mental health challenges including anxiety disorders, higher perceived stress levels, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation.

So clear are the links that research co-author Dr Mandy Truong, from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), recommends that parents and carers who discover a teenager has been vaping seek mental health assessments and supports for their child.

Pat Cronin Foundation- Be Wise - Let’s end the coward punch

At Year 10 (and continued for Year 11 for 2024) the SWAC team have been able to enlist the support of the Pat Cronin Foundation to educate students and staff about the horrors of violence and how avoiding violence at all times is always the right thing to do. Pat’s story is a tragic one of a young man out with mates who lost his life as the result of a single punch to the head. Over the next 6 months our current Year 10 students will hear from two guest speakers on the topics of violence and how to be safe, and then complete a series of activities during their pastoral lesson. While physical violence is not an area that we are seeing much of at a school level, there is no doubt that as students mature through the years they are being given the responsibility to attend social occasions where other people can resort to violence (often under the influence of illicit substances and alcohol) and so preparing the whole group with such an education program is seen as a vital task for us, to help support Child Safety for our young people. Later in this publication is a flyer that introduces you to the Be Wise Program and Pat’s story.

McGuigan Shield

I am sure that our parents and guardians are well aware of the InterHouse Competition that runs on the Cranbourne Campus from Term 4 to the end of Term 3 the following year. Named in honor of Fr Jimmy McGuigan who started St Peter's College, the McGuigan shield pits House against House in a number of lunchtime and extra curricular challenges of sport, art, performance, creativity together with some challenges that are sheer fun. 

While the College organizes the ‘big three’ of Cross Country, Swimming and Athletrics, the other events that make up the McGuigan Shield challenge come from the various House Captains, thus ensuring the activities are driven by student voice and responsive to what students want. 

In 2023 the McGuigan Shield was hotly fought out with as many as five Houses still in the running with a term to go. As the competition grew to the crescendo, two Houses were neck and neck until the final event of the year - Lip Synch Battles. Trailing by 10 points to Assisi, and despite a mighty performance by the Assisi House with some classics from Pitch Perfect, by weight of numbers and excellent energy, the mimers and dancers of MacKillop House took out the event making up the 10 minutes to complete a tie with Assisi in 2023.

This week both Houses enjoyed the spoils of their victory with a day of fun and a Pizza lunch.

Already the other six Houses have started to plot a victory for 2024. The question remains whether someone will come from the clouds or whether we see MacKillop and Assisi fight it out again in 2024.

A massive thank you went out to staff and House Captains for leading these activities and ensuring energy and fun in the school yard for those who wish to participate. 

Jeremy Wright

Deputy Principal - Head of Cranbourne Campus