Sydenham Campus 

Principal Message 

Sydenham Campus Term 4, 2025

As we approach the end of our academic year, we thank staff and students for their work this term. It has been another great year for our campus with lots going on and many opportunities for students to enjoy their time at school. 

We look forward to welcoming our new Year 7 students on Orientation Day, 9/12/25 and officially farewelling our Year 10 students at the Year 10 Celebration Evening on 11/12/25.

We look forward to welcoming our new Year 7 students on Orientation Day, 9/12/25 and officially farewelling our Year 10 students at the Year 10 Celebration Evening on 11/12/25.

We farewell Mr Joe Dagher from the College. Joe has been a valued member of the teaching staff for over 20 years, his engaging and interesting classes are always mentioned by students as highlights of their time in Joe’s classes, we wish him all the best as he moves on to a new school in 2026. Mr David Laba has also taken on a position at another school for 2026. David has been an integral member of the LOTE Team over several years and his organisation and support of this year’s Fuji Junior High School visit was much appreciated. We wish David every success at his new school. We also say ‘goodbye’ to Ms Stephanie Browning and Ms Vandhana Prasad; we thank them for their contributions to our College and wish them well in their new schools.

The Robotics team at Copperfield College Sydenham Campus was excited to receive the new purchase of a VEX Competition field recently. This new field has enabled the two robotics teams at Sydenham to practice on.

Teams have found that having this new field has been especially beneficial when the teams have needed to run tests on their designs and get a prototype of how their designs would work when performing in competitions. 

This VEX field has also been seen as very useful for the robotics drivers. It allows the drivers to practice and improve their tactics, strategies and overall analysis on what their robot specialises in, allowing them to put their best designs forward on competition days. 

Odysseus Pavlidis -Robotics Team 

We wish the College Team every success as they compete in their next competition this weekend.

Thank you to Ms Brooke Briggs, our College Facilities Manager who has been working with us to complete several projects this year. We have recently had concrete poured to begin the new basketball court at the back of K Team, and painting and renovations in the Admin area. 

Outside, we have had our resident artist Lukas Kasper working on several student inspired murals. 

The mural project at Copperfield College Sydenham was a collaborative artwork created with students to celebrate the school’s core values of Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, and Excellence.

Students were actively involved from the very beginning helping to shape the concept, suggest imagery, and ultimately paint sections of the final mural. It all began with a workshop where we brainstormed what these core values meant to them personally, generating a range of thoughtful and inspiring ideas that became the heart of the artwork.

Seeing the students’ enthusiasm and pride as their ideas took shape on the wall was an incredibly positive experience, capturing the spirit of creativity and collaboration that defines the project.

Lukas Kasper is a Melbourne-based muralist with 15+ years creating bold, large-scale public art that connects people and places. Rooted in street art and graphic design, Lukas blends spray and brush techniques with playful, meaningful imagery often containing native animals and the environment. He loves working with young people: running workshops, teaching practical techniques and mentoring students so they can try new skills, find creative confidence and chase their passions.

Lukas will be working with students on a mural at the canteen and a multi panel sports themed design for the exterior of the gym.

The completed Performing Arts mural is the latest collaboration.

The Year 7 and 8 students have recently completed their first exams in English and Maths. Thank you to Mr Hasip (7/8 Campus Leader) and Team Leaders Ms Angelic Ferreira (E Team) and Mr Adrian Azzopardi (H Team) for their care and support of students again this semester.

Year 8 Snow Day: On Monday July 28th, our Year 8 students attended Lake Mountain Alpine Resort. This year, there were lots of snow and the students were amazed how white Lake Mountain was when they arrived. Our students had lots of fun and were able to make snowmen and use the toboggans down the slope. Overall, the students were able to bond with their peers and make great memories on the day.

Sovereign Hill

On Friday October 31st, Our Year 7 students went on an excursion to Sovereign Hill. It was a fantastic experience, giving students the chance to explore the historic goldfields and learn about the rich history of the area. They enjoyed touring the township, stepping back in time to see how people lived during the gold rush, and taking part in hands-on activities like gold panning, candle making, and watching the old-fashioned demonstrations. It was a fun, engaging day that brought history to life and left the students with great memories.

Year 7 students also participated in the annual Local Area Walk and Solar Buddies, energy poverty session. Thanks to Mr Brandon Cutajar (Science KLA Leader) for organising our ongoing partnership with Solar Buddy and Capgemini.

All students participated in the LOTE week celebrations during the term. Many activities were organised to showcase the culture of both Italy and Japan; from sport, games, art, and food. Thank you to Mrs Pina Powell (LOTE KLA Leader) and campus staff for their enthusiasm and support. Thank you also to Mr David Laba and his Year 9 Japanese class who prepared a scrumptious Japanese curry for students to enjoy!

During the year, student leaders have been involved in a wonderful program-Be Bold Be Heard (BBBH). The program empowers young female students to focus their voice and talents on current issues. This term, students hosted an informative session on female health. The morning concluded with dance, music and food. Thank you to Ms Rhiannon Hatton (Student Engagement Co-ord) and Ms Taylor Van Orsouw for their support and leadership.

Our Copperfield College Alumni Program continues to strengthen ties with past students who are keen to visit the College and to share their insights and life experiences with current students. This term we have had several sessions with alumni from health, science, business and legal backgrounds. Thank you to Ms Chiara Mastrilli (Alumni Co -ord) for her ongoing work in connecting alumni to our College, and to the wonderful staff, past and present, who continue to inspire students.

We were also very happy to attend the annual Western Chances Forum where Alumni featured prominently. 

Faith Samuels spoke to guests about the importance of her scholarship and how the ongoing support of Western Chances continues to provide positive impact long after the scholarship concludes.

The ABCN programmes that ran this semester included Future Thinkers, It’s her Future, Find Your Purpose, Full Steam Ahead and My Career Rules Student feedback showed that they were extremely effective in supporting the personal growth and leadership capacity of our students. 

A few weeks ago, we were honoured to announce that Riley Davis has been successful in obtaining an ABCN scholarship. This scholarship will assist Riley over the next 3 years as he completes his VCE and then into his first year of tertiary studies. Congratulations Riley on achieving this very prestigious opportunity.

The Police Proactive Unit (PPU) also paid the school a visit to speak to our students about the challenges facing young people in our society and related consequences. It was clear that there was an air of seriousness and students were able to ask meaningful questions to support their understanding of the consequences involved when wrong choices are made. There were conversations around gang violence, drug abuse and a range of other issues that are causing young people to face unpleasant consequences. The students were very engaged and had plenty of questions at the end of the presentation.

Semester two also saw the celebration of various special days. These included Wear it Purple Day, LOTE week, RUOK Day and NAIDOC Celebration day. Students were invited to take part in various activities that had been organised such as face painting and dance lessons! LOTE week also celebrated culinary diversity by organising a Gelato truck and Kebab van during the week.

For the first time ever, Copperfield College held the Be Bold Be Heard initiative. This initiative was held to build confidence and support the mental and emotional development of our students. It involved a guest speaker followed by some fun activities and the best part was that everyone received a goody bag!

Thank you to Campus Leaders, Ms Faryal Niazi (9/10) and Mr Ercan Hasip (7/8) and Team Leaders, Ms Angelic Ferreira (E Team), Mr Adrian Azzopardi (H Team), Ms Ana Cakovska (B Team) and Mr Paul Singh (K Team) for all the support, care and leadership they have shown our students and staff this year.

Our annual Sydenham Campus Awards day was held on Monday 8/12/25 and as always, a wonderful way to celebrate the achievements of our amazing students. Congratulations to all our award winners.

Consistent EffortE Team 

7E1 - Paul Pavlides

7E2 - Ethan Kyle Mangabat 

8E1 - Mackenzie Harper 

8E2 - Alana Robertson-Balogh

8E3 - Deborah Adebayo

8E4- Ashton Petherick

Consistent EffortH Team

7H1 - Maja Rancev 

7H2 - Aurora Axford-Chew 

7H3 - Bella Stefanov 

8H1 - James Wu

8H2 - Amelia Bajada 

8H3 - Celine Robertson

8H4- Lamia Selman 

Consistent EffortB Team

9B1 - Jenny Nguyen 

9B2 - Lily Nguyen  

9B3 - Jayden Hodgson 

XB1 - Emily Zahovic 

XB2 - Braydan Ho 

XB3 - Sashka Trajcevska 

XB4- Roman Barbaro

Consistent EffortK Team

9K1 - Isaac Cassar 

9K2 - Jason Portelli 

9K3 - Hope Anderson 

9K4- Jujhar Sandher 

XK1 - Salina Navarro 

XK2 -  Alyssa Bajada

XK3 - Anika Potschin

Triple R Awards

Aaron Truong - 7H2

Miracle Pelenatino - 8E4

Janessa Clarke - 9B3

Ava Chircop- XB1

Year 7 - KLA Award winners in one subject

Roshni Radhakrishnan 7H1 - Art

Nathan Tran 7H1- Health

Aries Delmore 7H3- Italian

Mikayla Le 7E2- Japanese

James Jozinovic 7E2- P.E 

Paul Pavlides 7E1- Food Technology

Year 7 - KLA Award winners in two subjects

Zhanelle Aragones 7H1-English & Mathematics

Arella Garlito 7E2- Humanities & Science 

Year 8 - KLA Award winners in one subject Isabella Raso 8E2- English

Sevin Zadeh  8E2- EAL

Charlize Peperkamp 8E1- Health

Aliah Tran 8H3- Italian 

Molly Hamilton 8H3- P.E

Lachlan Palmer 8E1- Technology

Year 8 - KLA Award winner in four subjects

Year 9 - KLA Award winners in one Subject

Manvir Singh 9B2- Materials

MJ Raciti 9B1- Robotics

Holly Martin 9B1- Food

Luke McDougall 9K3- ICT

Ryan Elliot- Theatre studies

Year 9 - KLA Award winners in two subjects

Jenny Nguyen 9B1- Art Making & Japanese

Year 9 - KLA award winners in three subjects

Year 10-KLA Award winners in one subject

Isabella San Pedro XB2 - Media

Logan Smith XB3 - Sport and Movement

Sophie Le XK2 -  Business Management

Ryder Lawrence XB2 - Philosophy

Edwin Siby Issac XB3 - Food Technology

Kevin Nguyen XB2 - Economics

Anika Potschin XK3 - Advance

Ruby Weir XK1 - Mathematics B

Nellie-Ann Tafa XB1 - Biology

Xavier De La Porte XB4 - Real World Science

Monika Kocoska XK1 - EAL

John Pilla XB4 - ICT

Odysseus Pavlides XK1 - Robotics

Salina Navarro XK1 - Textiles

Sophia Bezzina XK2 - Materials Technology

Sashka Trajcevska XB3 - VISCOM

Year 10- KLA award winners in two subjects

Year 10-KLA Award winners in four subjects

Sporting Excellence

Year 7: James Jozinovic

Year 8: Jayden Wita

Year 9: Levi Abela

Year 10: Tiana Stinton

Performing Arts Awards

Year 7 - Roshni Radhakrishnan 

Year 8 - Timothy Bugaring 

Year 9 - Yuan Gabriel De Leon 

Year 10 - Sashka Trajcevska 

Student Leadership Awards 2025Year 7 -Diva Mai and Jada Lazaro

Year 8 - Maria Axiotis and William McFarlane 

Year 9 - Julia Portelli and Addison Cooke

Year 10 - Anika Potschin and Abbey Hamilton

Student Leadership Awards 2025

Year 10 Campus Captains:

Alayna Anwar

Suad Pajaziti

Academic Excellence Year 7

Nadia Mitic- 7E1

Mikayla Le- 7E2

Zhanelle Aragones- 7H1

Cassie Tam- 7H2

Chloe Shepherd 7H3

Academic Excellence Year 8

Academic Excellence Year 9

Julia Portelli- 9B1

Connor Roczniak- 9B2

Janessa Clarke- 9B3

Ramin Ali Zada- 9K1

Ashley Nguyen- 9K2

Hope Anderson 9K3

Xavier Gao- 9K4

Academic Excellence Year 10

Harley Chamberlain - XB1

Olivia Martin- XB2

Alayna Anwar- XB3

Ivan Tang- XB4 

Taniya Redhu- XK1

Alyssa Bajada- XK2

Bill Power- XK3

RMIT Science Scholarship 

Successful applicants for the RMIT Science Experience Program occurring over the summer break. They will have the opportunity to explore STEM careers, make new friends, and experience uni life. Participants will solve real-world problems in cutting-edge labs and facilities and engage in disciplines such as space science, AI, computer science, chemistry, health science, sensory science, and engineering

Isabella Raso

Charlize Peperkamp

Zahra Kazmi

Harding Miller Education Foundation Scholarship

The Harding Miller Education Foundation is an Australian charity that supports high potential girls across Australia through a $20,000 scholarship over four years of high school. 

As well as receiving multiple pre-requisite resources to support their education, each scholar is allocated a personal coach who supports and guides them through the four years of the program

Presented by Makayla Witte HMEF Alumnus

Maria Axiotis- 8E3

Western Chances Scholarships 

Western Chances scholarships are awarded to talented and motivated young people in Melbourne’s west and the City of Greater Geelong, who have been recognised by their teachers. 

Leah Harris 8E4

Alana Robertson-Balogh 8E2

Zahra Kazmi 8E1

ADF Long Tan Leadership Award

The ADF Leadership Award recognises one Year 10 student who demonstrates leadership and teamwork within both the school and broader community.

Tiana Stinton - XB1

ADF Innovation Award

Award recognises one Year 10 student who demonstrates innovation in the learning area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, known as STEM.

Ivan Tang - XB4

Kwong Lee Dow Award

The Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program is an academic enrichment program designed to support high-achieving secondary school students in achieving their personal best. Successful applicants will take part in an exciting two-year program of events and activities that will expand their academic and personal horizons and set them up for success at Melbourne University, and beyond.

Alayna Anwar

Campus Principals Award

We are delighted to congratulate Leon Nonev on receiving the Campus Principal’s Award for Year 7.

Leon has made an exceptional start to secondary school, demonstrating a smooth and positive transition from primary school. His outstanding artistic talent shines brightly in the classroom and in his Team, where creativity and imagination are evident in all his work.

Equally impressive is Leon’s character. His is a student who values friendships, treats others with kindness, and consistently shows respect towards teachers and peers. His positive attitude and willingness to engage fully in school life makes him a wonderful role model for others.

Congratulations, Leon! We are proud to recognise your achievements and look forward to seeing you continue to flourish.

Year 7: Leon Nonev

We are pleased to congratulate Lachlan Palmer on being selected for the Campus Principal’s Award for Year 8.

Lachlan consistently demonstrates exceptional commitment to school life, shown through his excellent attendance and impeccable uniform standards. He upholds our core values of Respect, Responsibility, and Valuing Relationships, setting a strong example for his peers.

A dedicated and enthusiastic contributor to our school community, Lachlan is actively involved in supporting Information Nights, displaying maturity and a positive influence within the school. His outstanding musical ability is also a highlight, with a willingness to join school bands and confidently perform in concerts and musical events.

We congratulate Lachlan on this well-deserved recognition and look forward to seeing his continued achievements and contributions to our school.

Year 8: Lachlan Palmer

We are proud to congratulate Hope Anderson on receiving the Campus Principal’s Award for Year 9.

Hope has shown exceptional dedication to their learning, consistently demonstrating strong focus in the classroom and excelling across their schoolwork. Her commitment to personal and academic growth is evident in everything they do.

Hope upholds our school value of Excellence, showing remarkable resilience and strength through adversity. Despite challenges, she continues to persevere and maintain a positive attitude, inspiring others along the way.

As a valued participant in the Exceeding Program, Hope is a quiet achiever and stands out as both a good friend and a positive role model, contributing to a supportive and encouraging environment for her peers.

Congratulations, Hope on this well-deserved recognition. Your determination, character, and achievements make you a wonderful representative of our school community.

Year 9: Hope Anderson

We are delighted to congratulate Fiona (Kate) Wacuka on receiving the Campus Principal’s Award for Year 10.

Over her four years on campus, Kate has shown remarkable growth, maturity, and personal development, becoming a standout member of our school community. She is an active and committed student leader, serving as a positive role model for her peers through her actions, attitude, and willingness to support others.

Kate is a caring and dependable friend, consistently supporting those around her and taking genuine interest in their passions and wellbeing. One of the most admirable examples of her kindness is her willingness to learn a new language to help a new student feel welcomed and included—a true demonstration of empathy and initiative.

Her resilience and positive outlook on life shine through in all circumstances, making her not only a valued member of our school but an inspiration to others.

Felicidades, Kate, on this well-deserved award. We are proud of the young woman you have become and look forward to seeing your continued success.

Year 10:  Fiona (Kate) Wacuka

Student of the Year

Announced by Mr Atherton, presented by Mr Adamou

It is my privilege to present one of our most significant honours, the Student of the Year Award. This award recognises not only academic excellence, but character, perseverance, and the positive impact a student has on our school community. This year, it is awarded to someone who embodies all of these qualities with quiet confidence and unwavering dedication.

From the very beginning of the year, this student has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to their learning. They approach every class, every task, and every challenge with purpose and determination. Their work shows a depth of understanding, a thoughtful attention to detail, and a genuine desire to grow. This student consistently sets high expectations for themself and meets them through hard work, resilience, and an admirable sense of responsibility.

But what sets this student apart is not only their academic achievement. It is their leadership. Their leadership is grounded in kindness, integrity, and humility. They support their peers without being asked, listens attentively, and brings out the best in those around them. Whether working in groups, contributing to school events, or helping create a positive learning environment, this student leads with respect and purpose. 

On behalf of the entire school community, it is my honour to congratulate you, Alayna Anwar, on being named our Student of the Year. 

Alayna, we are incredibly proud of you, and we know that this is only the beginning of all you will achieve. Your dedication, your commitment, and your strength of character have made a lasting impression on our campus. You are a role model for your peers, a trusted member of our community, and an outstanding representative of what it means to be a student of excellence.

Congratulations, Alayna.

Alayna Anwar

Year 10 Leadership Team 2026

Pasifika Dance Performance

In the final weeks of this term, we officially opened our new state of the art basketball/netball court in the 9/10 area.

The court will be available for students to use from the beginning of term 1, 2026.

Thank you to all our students, staff and families for another wonderful academic year.

We look forward to working with you all again in 2026. Wishing you all a restful and relaxing festive season.

                                                Mr. Andrew Atherton and Ms. Mary Chiodo

                                                             Campus Principals- Sydenham