Student Achievements

Year 9 Outstanding Arts Achievement: Taysha Farrugia

Taysha Farrugia is only 15 years old, but she has already accomplished extraordinary success as a singer and songwriter. When she is not completing her Year 9 studies at MSJ, Taysha spends her time writing, recording and performing music. Last year she released two singles - 'Fearless' and 'Dance Take A Chance' - and won Wyndham's Young Person of the Month in December of 2025.

Taysha says “being a singer is like being an artist, you paint your own picture, and give a visual to the people who listen.“ 'Fearless' has featured on radio stations and TV networks worldwide, has more than 400,000 views on YouTube and has reached number one on the European Indie Music Charts and a break on the American Indie Charts. Taysha says “I view singing as an expression of a feeling or emotion, to make someone feel what I feel, while singing, that would be the greatest feeling.“

Taysha often performs at school events and functions, sharing her music and performance skills with the MSJ community. Taysha is just getting started - and isn't afraid to dream big. “I will tell someone who’s making the music if I don’t like it. If it doesn’t connect with the lyrics properly, I won’t use it,” she says.

Taysha is currently working on some new material. She says “I’m planning to kind of have a bit of a different impression on my new songs...I feel like the next few songs I’m going to release will be more me, personally.” We wish Taysha every success, and can't wait to hear her new songs.

Helen Debono - Performing Arts Domain Leader & Performing Arts Teacher

Woods Street Youth Art Prize Exhibition - Caitlyn Phan & Harper Stubbs

The Visual Arts staff would also like to congratulate Caitlyn Phan of Year 12 Art Making and Exhibiting who, after seeing the exhibition promoted on the Simon Daily Messages, successfully applied for the Woods Street Youth Art Prize Exhibition. 

Caitlyn said "It was an amazing opportunity to be a part of the Woods St Art exhibition earlier this month, being in a space with so many local and emerging artists had me seeing different perspectives through new mediums and artforms, a very beautiful and inspiring experience. It was great exposure as an artist to meet new people and an even greater night. Events like these are an amazing way to endorse the arts and I encourage anyone with an interest to enter into the next one!"

Also, a huge congratulations to Harper Stubbs of Year 8 also successfully applied with a painting she made in Visual Art. Harper and Caitlyn’s paintings will be exhibited with other young artists from Hobson’s Bay. The exhibition is currently open to the public from the 4th - 19th of September and will be presented at The Woods Street Art Space, 44 Woods Street, Laverton.

Sally Frith - Visual Arts Domain Leader

Parliament Prize Writing Competition - Lola Crosbie-Paul

A huge congratulation to Lola Crosbie-Paul, who participated in the Parliament Prize Writing Competition 2026. The Parliament Prize attracted 1180 entries from over 180 schools across the State. The judging panel included members of parliament and parliament’s education advisory staff.

We would like to acknowledge Lola’s achievement; her article was about “Violence against women and girls” and placed at the top 6% in the state. Taking part in a competition at the Parliament Prize level is a wonderful achievement, it involved the ability to think critically, express ideas clearly and engage with important issues. 

Lola’s commitment to developing her writing skills and sharing ideas are truly commendable. Congratulations and we encourage you to keep writing and be creative with your brilliant ideas and look forward to reading your stories in the very near future.

Anthea Heiniger - Teacher

Debating News:

Term 4 Debate Team Finalists:

We are delighted to congratulate our talented debating students who have progressed to the Octo-Final Round of the Debating Competition. Reaching the Octo-Finals is a fantastic achievement and reflects the students’ hard work, preparation, teamwork and commitment to developing their public speaking and debating skills.

Throughout the competitions, our students have demonstrated confidence, critical thinking at a high level. Their dedication and enthusiasm have been wonderful to watch. 

We are incredibly proud of their achievement and wish them every success as they continue into the next round. Mia Le, Emily Klova, Isla Evans, Hannah Mackey continue to hold the titles of Best Speaker throughout the competition. 

Congratulations to all our students with an amazing work & wishing MSJ Teams all the very best in the Quarter Final round.

Junior Debating Team:

We are proud to introduce our talented Junior Debating Team for 2026, who are representing our school to debate in the Werribee Region in term 4.

This is an exciting opportunity for our students to step outside their comfort zone, share their ideas and learn from each debating experience. In the last two terms, students have worked hard to prepare their arguments, anticipate opposing views and deliver their speeches with confidence.

Our Debating Teams have shown great enthusiasm, confidence, dedication and commitment as they prepare to compete against other schools. We wish them the very best for the upcoming competitions and look forward to celebrating their achievements.

Anthea Heiniger & Meaghan Paul - Teachers

Local Theatre Participation

Williamstown Musical Theatre Company’s August show, Newsies Jr, was a fast-paced, toe-tapping show featuring some talent from our MSJ students. Both Jemima Sutton and Grace Coulson had roles; Jemima as Race, the young newsie with dreams of being king of New York and Grace as Ethel, one of Medda’s night club girls. The WMTC's junior program is open to young performers aged between 8 - 18 years old and aims to provide them with high-quality creative learning experiences in the theatre arts. The cast perform 9 shows over a two-week period, a big commitment for young students.

Congratulations to all those involved in this fabulous show from Disney composer Alan Menken. The rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a band of young newsies in Manhattan who rallies young workers from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what's right!

Trudi Camilleri - Music and Performing Arts Coordinator