Head of Junior School 

The Junior School have all worked so hard, we can have next Monday 11 March off! Yes, that's right, better known as Eight Hour Day. The history behind this public holiday is fascinating. However, all that is important for our families is to remember not to send your son to school but to stay at home, rest and relax instead. It also coincides with the halfway point of the term… who can believe that?

Swimming Carnival

The Junior School, Years 3 to 6,  had their annual House Swimming carnival on Thursday this week. A day centred on participation, House spirit and fun, it had all of that and more. The students swam, they chanted, they encouraged, they supported and they had fun. There were some serious races between the teams, which led up to the penultimate events: the 50m King of the Pool Race and the Year 6 House Relay Race. The King of the Pool (the fastest swimmers in the school) was contested between Nate Debnam, Cash Salter, Clancy Gillie, Alexander Pritchard, Oliver Wagstaff (all Year 6), Winston Whittle (Year 5), Alfred Wojcik and Gabriel Knaj (Year 4). As expected, this was an exciting race, with Nate Debnam winning ahead of Alex and Oli. In the Year 6 relay, Joyce's team, consisting of Lewis Finlay, Hugo Rickards, Clancy Gillie and Alexander Pritchard, finished first ahead of a fast-finishing Doyle and Dwyer, with Hessian coming in 4th place. Congratulations to Dwyer House for winning overall points on the day.

The overall points:

1st: Dwyer: 627

2nd: Joyce: 558

3rd: Doyle: 537

4th: Hessian: 532

Project Compassion Launch

On Monday of this week, I had the pleasure of attending the Project Compassion 2025 Launch at Corpus Christi Catholic Church with Junior School Captain, Reuben Schaller, Mini Vinnies President Clancy Gillie and  Vice-President, Edward Hickey, along with many students from other Catholic Schools and Colleges. After the liturgy, the students attended an informative Q and A session all about Project Compassion. Our students took away the message of how important it is that we remain thinking of those less fortunate than ourselves, not only in Australia but in other countries and that our actions speak much louder than our words.

Shrove Tuesday

On Shrove Tuesday, the Junior School students were treated to pancakes at recess. The day before Lent traditionally signifies using up all rich foods including eggs, milk and dairy produce before a period of fasting. We use Shrove Tuesday as a day where we raise much needed funds for Project Compassion. Thank you to the many generous donations of pancake mix, jams, maple syrup and lemons from our parent community. Thank you also to Mrs Graves, Mr and Mrs Gillie and Mrs Spotswood for cooking the yummy pancakes as well as Clancy Gillie, Edward Hickey and Reuben Schaller (all Year 6) all who volunteered or helped out on the day. We have raised $430! Well done SVC Junior School Community.

Ash Wednesday

On Wednesday of this week, many of you wondered why your son came home with an ‘ash cross’ on his forehead. Hopefully he would have informed you that yesterday we had a liturgy for Ash Wednesday which signifies the beginning of Lent. Lent is a period of 40 days, signifying the time Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and praying. It is a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

SVC Caritas Classroom Fundraising Initiatives

Each class in the coming five weeks have been asked to run a fundraising initiative for Caritas Australia. The ideas have been varied: Kindergarten: guess the number of jellybeans in a jar; Prep: Brownies sale; Year 1: will be selling seedlings; Year 2: Sticks in the Sand; Year 3: Chocolate Toss; Year 4: Sideshow Alley; Year 5: Homemade Lemonade Stall; Year 6: Wheel of Fortune and the SRC are going with a Milkshake Day. To end our Caritas Fundraising on Monday 7 April, we will have a Hot Chip Day.

Where do all the funds raised go? One of the stories on the Project Compassion Website is a story focused on Toefuata’iga, from Samoa. Her school often had to leave school to fetch water from nearby homes, due to a lack of clean water available at the school. This led to school closures, as well as increased compromised hygiene because of waterborne diseases which affected the health of students. Samoans struggle with consistent access to clean drinking water.

By raising $100 alone, we will be able to provide water tank maintenance and training, $150 will provide a household with money to purchase a toilet and $4000 will provide a water tank for the school. How great would be if we could achieve this?

Mini Vinnies: Ice Cream/Zooper Dooper Sales

On Fridays at lunch time, our Mini Vinnies students will be selling icy poles and ice-creams to raise money for charity. Zooper Dooper icy poles are now $1.00 and ice creams are $2.00. Profits from sales in Term 1 will all be donated to Caritas.

2025 NAPLAN Information - Years 3 and 5

In 2025, testing for the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will occur between 12 and 24 March. Further information about the schedule of specific tests will be provided for parents/carers via EdSmart and we invite you to read this information carefully.

All NAPLAN testing for Years 3 and 5 will be completed online except Year 3 Writing. This allows for adaptive testing where individual students are presented with questions of higher or lower complexity, depending on their performance during the test. To allow students to become familiar with this style of testing, as well as the format of the NAPLAN online environment, we recommend students and parents visit the NAPLAN Public Demonstration site. This test allows you and your son to become familiar with the type of questions and functionalities that are available in the NAPLAN Online environment. The results of this test are not recorded.

NAPLAN data is one of the sources of feedback the College uses to inform us of individual student strengths as well as areas for further growth and development.

Please note that to undertake NAPLAN testing, all students must have their own earphones to be able to access the auditory functions of testing. Students will also need to be prepared with a fully charged iPad for the day's testing.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Further contact details are provided in the information sheet should you have more general queries about NAPLAN. Further resources can be found in the official National Assessment Program website.

Junior School Parents & Friends Association

Football Margin tickets were all sold on the Parent Information Night. The tickets were for the first round of the AFL season between Brisbane and Geelong on 6 March. This game has now been postponed until Round 3. Your ticket is still valid for that very game. It just won't be happening on Thursday 6 March. The suspense will have to wait.

2025 St Virgil’s College Football Tipping Competition 

The St Virgil’s College Football Tipping Competition is back this year in what shapes as a very exciting AFL season. If you haven't joined yet, it’s not too late, please contact Mrs Leon in the office or Mrs Messer to ask how to join.

Junior School Choir: Mondays: 8.30 am - 9.00 am in the Junior School Hall

It was wonderful to see the boys turn up for choir this week for the first session. We have a week off before our next session on Monday 17 March. We would love more students to join! Our Junior School Choir offers an incredible opportunity for students to explore the joy of singing whilst reaping a host of cognitive, emotional, and social benefits.

Participating in the Junior School Choir offers students a supportive and inclusive environment to explore their musical talents and build friendships at school. Through weekly rehearsals and exhilarating performances, students develop essential skills such as teamwork, discipline, and perseverance. 

Key Dates

Monday 10 March: Public Holiday - Eight Hour Day

Wednesday 12 March:  NAPLAN commences

Tuesday 18 March: Junior School Formal Photos Day

Tuesday 18 March: P&F Annual General Meeting at Junior Schoo