Clyde North Campus News

We are officially halfway through the term as I write this edition of the newsletter. The second half of this term brings us more exciting events and learning opportunities.

The major event of February was of course the Swimming Carnival. A fantastic event that showcases the talent of our swimmers as well as the creativity of Year Eleven and Twelve students with their colourful costumes. We had typical Melbourne weather, a little chilly in the morning followed by a quick downpour of rain leading to a very sunny and pleasantly warm afternoon.

Whilst this year we did not have access to the smaller pool to run novelty events, students are to be congratulated for not letting this dampen their mood, instead turning the attention and energy into supporting their House. This was probably one of the best years for House Spirit as it was very tightly contested, with Marian House the ultimate winners of the House Spirit Shield. And in the pool the contest was also fierce between the Houses, however Augustine led all day and were the ultimate champions for 2025.

Congratulations to all students who participated either in the pool or on the side lines cheering all day. My sincere thanks to Mr Brown and his team including our wonderful VCE VM students provided a very delicious BBQ throughout the day.

I am very happy to release the first Rosemary Graham Shield Ladder for 2025. We have many more House competitions to go, so the race is still open for all Houses to win. Augustine are in front but hot on their heels is MacKillop.

Year 7 camp

Monday 3rd March saw the first half of our Year 7 students heading off to camp returning Wednesday. The second group will depart Wednesday 5th March and return on Friday 7th March in time for a well-earned long weekend, for staff and students.

From the amount of luggage that appeared, you could be easily mistaken that instead of a 2-night 3-day camp it was a month-long camp. Happily, the students and staff boarded the buses on what will be a wonderful experience. And as you can see by the

photographs once they arrived at camp they were into the activities as soon as they could. Happy smiling faces.

Thank you to Mr Brannan and Ms Barrett who are leading the camps and to the staff who have also given up time away from the families to provide our students with an experience and memories that will last forever.

Prayer Garden

As featured in an earlier edition of the newsletter, the Prayer Garden and a seating area was to be designed and built by the Year 10 Product Design class. This project is now under way. Last week the Liturgy, Social Justice and Arts Captains met with the Year 10 Class, their teacher Mr Cardona and our Prayer Garden gardener, Paul to discuss design, materials and the key criteria for the purpose of the seating.

This is a wonderful collaboration of students embracing their space and being able to bring to life a facility that will become their legacy once they have graduated. For the Year 10 students this is putting their skills and knowledge in action which is one of the most effective forms of learning. Thank you to the team, Mr Cardona and Paul for the passion and vision they have brought to this exciting project.

The second session of the College’s new Pastoral Program got under way this week with a variety of targeted age-appropriate activities across the year levels. Year 12 students spent time reflecting and unpacking the concept of values through two lenses, one as a cohort and secondly as an individual. Sharing their ideas was enlightening and I was particularly impressed with their maturity in expressing what matters to them and what they want from each other in terms of respectful and positive relationships.

Year 10 attended an incursion Violence is Never OK and Violence Prevention Strategies presented by the Pat Cronin Foundation. We have partnered with the Cronin Foundation for several years now as this is a critical incursion that encourages young people to be agents of change, promote better school behaviour, prevent incidents, and help them people to reflect on and change their attitudes to violence. The story of Pat Cronin who died because of a "coward punch" is sobering is told through the lens of his parents, his friends and his siblings and facilitated with a keynote speaker. Please ask your Year 10 son/daughter about this critical topic.

For some of the other year levels, it was activities time for their pastoral session this week. Physical activity promotes teamwork, collaboration and fun all important for the wellbeing of students.

Some upcoming events for your consideration.

· Naplan Year 7 and Year 9 begin 17th March

· Harmony Day 18th

· Yr 8 Blurred Minds incursion – the truth about the dangers of vaping.

I wish you all a safe and productive week.

Mrs Julie Banda

Head of Campus - Clyde North Campus