Head of Junior School 

We have had quite a couple of industrious weeks here at the Junior School since the last edition of The Star. Here is a snapshot of what has been happening: Friday afternoon option activities, STCPSSA Football, Gadomski Cup, Years 3 and 4 Camps, Year 4 excursion to Mt Field National Park, Fire Education Week, Children’s Book Week, Mini Vinnies 50c fair, Father's Day Breakfasts (x2), Kinder excursion to Bunnings and Kinder Space Night! No wonder some of us are exhausted.

I would like to say thank you to staff members Mrs Coleman, Mrs Read, Miss Daun, Miss Reardon, Mr Sanders, Ms Medhurst, Mr Terhell, Mr Boulter and Mr Franzin for the parts they had to play in helping to make last week’s Year 3 and 4 Camps such a great success as well as enabling them to happen. Thank you also to Mr Shanny, from Murphy’s Café at St Mary's College, for preparing the evening meals.

Bon Voyage

On Friday this week we say bon voyage to Miss Amelia Daun as she heads off on her much-deserved Long Service Leave for a European vacation. We will welcome Miss Daun back for the commencement of Term 4.

Junior School Football Tipping

We have had a very exciting Junior School football Tipping competition throughout the AFL roster season. Each week we have been fortunate to reward the round winners with a free double pass to one of the four North Melbourne games at Blundstone Arena, courtesy of Mr Aaron Pidgeon. Congratulations to the following boys who were the eventual winners:

1. Jesse Mackey (6B)
2. Oliver Wagstaff (4R)
3. Charlie Booth (6L)

In the hotly contested staff competition, Mrs Leon outscored Mrs Messer by 2!

Australian Teacher Aide Appreciation Week

The quote "it takes a village to raise a child" adequately sums up what happens here at the Junior School. This week we celebrated Teacher Aide Appreciation Week, known at St Virgil’s as Learning Support Officers. Across both campuses their roles are many and varied. Our teaching staff could not carry out their duties without them by their side, in the classroom, working with your boys. Their calm and caring demeanour and presence, ‘can do’ attitude, willingness to learn new skills, coach teams, attend camps, take photos, cook bbqs, umpire games, take on feedback, the list goes on and on, is invaluable. Their efforts and gifts are all very much appreciated by us all here at the Junior School. I would think that you, as parents in the college would agree whole heartedly with me as well.

Thank you to Mrs Priest, Mrs Thomas, Miss Mazengarb, Miss Banks, Mr Hine, Miss Gardner, Mr Arkley, Mr Sanders, Mr Paynter, Mrs Read, Mrs Tollard, Mr Ditton, Miss Boston, Mrs Stokes, Mrs Berry, Ms Lancaster, Mr Payne, and Mrs Cubit.

Father's Day Breakfasts

What a fabulous week we had this week celebrating our fathers, grandfathers, uncles and special people in our lives. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend one of our two breakfast barbecues this week, Kindergarten and Prep to Year 6. We had a wonderful turnout to both events. Also, a big thank you to our Parents and Friends mums who turned out to help cook and prepare the bacon and egg rolls. As well as food we also had hot drinks. Our Year 9-10 Hospitality students under the guidance of Mr Aaron Lucas, Mr Chris Tsakiris and Mrs Trudi Bauer were kept busy all morning making coffees and hot chocolates for the adults and our boys.

Happy Year 3-4 Campers

Last week our Year 3 and 4 students had the wonderful opportunity of heading off on an overnight camp. Year 3 spent a lovely sunny day in Richmond on Monday visiting the gaol and spending some money at the lolly shop. Next stop was their campsite for the night, Orana. They exhausted themselves on a long walk from Roaches Beach to Seven Mile Beach before heading back to their accommodation to spend the night at Orana. In the evening they engaged in building and lighting sand volcanoes on the beach. The next morning the boys were buzzing as Year 4 left school to join the Year 3s at Orana for some group activities. The boys enjoyed making marble runs on the beach, games on the oval, an awesome obstacle course and roasting marshmallows on the campfire. Even the rain couldn’t dampen the boys’ spirits as they joined in the fun of the day. Year 4s said goodbye to the Year 3s, and then headed to the beach to build their own volcanoes. After packing up, they went for their own long walk before their similar adventure at Richmond. A great time had by all!

2023 Book Week: Read, Grow, Inspire

Last Friday we celebrated Children’s Book Week, with the theme of: ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’. It was heartwarming to see so many boys join in the spirit of the day/week by wearing a book week outfit. We had a group of Peppa Pigs, Minions, Ken and Barbie, we had ‘Atlases’, Pinocchio, Darth Vader and so many more. Each class was awarded a winner and runner up. Some of our boys, William Lowe, Thomas Chivers, Sullivan Stride even featured in The Mercury newspaper on Saturday, with more photos in The Mercury online article. Mrs Erin Young, our Librarian, was very industrious in her prize giving, having prepared succulents for each of our winners, in line with the theme. The winners were:

Prep:  Teddy Johns and Archie Benka

Year 1: Theodore Kline and Thomas Canning

Year 3: Jack Kilgour and Alexnader McKenzie

Year 4: Clancy Gillie and Liam Hazi

Year 5: Archer Kilgour and Hunter Rolls, aka, Ken and Barbie and Oliver Cooper

Year 6B: The Grug, aka: Ryder Vagg and Hamish Deveraux

Year 6L: The Minions Team of: Hamish Bewley, Jack Lemm, Charlie Booth, Charlie Todd, and the Mad Hatter: Cooper Jenkins

State Winner

Australian School Library Day was celebrated on 23 August  - right in the middle of Book Week!

'Students Need School Libraries' is an organisation whose mission is to ensure students have access to a dynamic, well – resourced library. This year the theme was to celebrate the people who work in these libraries.

They ran a competition to find out what was special about our school library. One of eight $100 Booktopia book vouchers was up for grabs!

Hamish Bewley (6L) wrote the winning submission from this state that made special mention of how our library has the books he enjoys to read and great staff.

He would like the money to be spent on keeping his favourite book series up to date.

50 Cent Fair

The Junior School Mini Vinnies Conference hosted a very successful 50 Cent Fair on Wednesday 30 August.  They have raised $475.40 for Catholic Mission, which will support the provision of healthcare in Timor Leste. We thank Michael Hangan from Catholic Mission and Leanne Prichard from Catholic Education Tasmania for coming along to support the Fair.  We also thank all our Junior School families for sending your sons along with coins in their pockets to support this valuable charity work that supports those in need and also builds the leadership skills of our students.  

Gadomski Cup

The Alex Gadomski Cup games were played last week between St Virgil’s College and The Hutchins School. Our 5/6 team although not winning the game, fought valiantly against a team who towered over us in most positions. Our boys are to be congratulated for the way they played the game and never gave up at any time, representing SVC with so much pride. Our 7/8 and 9/10 teams both came away with wins. Thank you to Miss Mikayla Lack who coached the boys in the lead up to the game and on the day.

Football Representatives Chosen

Franklin vs Clark Game: Each year at the conclusion of the Friday afternoon STCPSSA roster, each school is asked to nominate their top performing players to play in the Franklin vs Clark game (so named for the electoral division the schools fall in). The game this year has been re-named the Doran vs Webb game in honour of STCPSSA Life Members Mrs Elaine Doran and Mr Tony Webb. The game will be played at Dominic College on Wednesday 13 September from 4.00 pm.

The four boys who have been chosen this year are: Harrison Nadler, Benjamin Pigden, Charlie Booth and Oscar Henley. We would like to congratulate and wish these boys all the best.

Under 12 Soccer

The Under 12 Soccer team has wrapped up the season, with only one loss for the year. This is an outstanding effort, particularly as they were playing in Division 2.

Choomalaka Festival Reminder: Friday 22 September

The Choomalaka Festival is a College celebration of every student’s skills and talents through sound, light, colour and movement. It is a celebration of the artistic talents of all our students.

As in previous years, all of our classes will be performing a musical item on the night, from Kindergarten through to Year 6. For these class performances to be a success, it will require all students from each year group to participate. Along with a celebration of our students’ talent, there will also be food and beverage options available for purchase.

Cash and card facilities will be available. Coins and small notes are requested.

St Virgil's Austins Ferry Campus

Friday 22 September

5.30 pm - 8.00 pm