COLLEGE NEWS

PARENT & CAREGIVER SURVEY

St Joseph’s College values continuous improvement. Information about the experiences families have with the College helps us to understand where we need to improve and why.

On Monday 10 August, all parents and caregivers of St Joseph’s College students should have received an email with instructions on how to access a survey where they can have their say on various aspects of the College’s climate.

If you did not receive those details, you can access the survey here. When you arrive at the NSI Partnerships website, enter the code SJMparents into the ‘Start Questionnaire’ field.

The survey closes at the end of the day on 30 August. If you have any problems accessing it, please contact College Reception or the team at NSI via the email hyperlinks in this paragraph.

VCE MUSIC PERFORMANCE

Join us for performances by our VCE Music students on Wednesday 2 September. The evening begins at 6:00pm in the St Joseph’s College Chapel. 

The highlight of the night will be Year 12 student Cynthia Chan on piano as she prepares for her exams at the end of the year. Please come along to support our talented students as they share their passion for music.

NAIDOC 

On Thursday 25 June, Uncle Brian Hunt, a Barkindji Elder and musician, visited the College to explore culture through song with Uncle Brian as part of a special celebration in advance of NAIDOC Week: 5 to 12 July 2026. Students also had the opportunity to sample food made with native Australian bush tucker ingredients. 

Uncle Brian has entertained audiences here in Mildura and elsewhere in Australia since the 1960s, and he continues to share music, poetry, and his experiences as a Barkindji Elder in our community. We thank him for spending time with our students in the lead-up to NAIDOC Week's – 50 Years of Deadly.

MERCY CUP

Congratulations to Mercy Cup champions 8D! Their skills won them the Ultimate Frisbee Competition on the last day of Term 2! 

FRAYNE SPEECH FESTIVAL

2026 marked the 30th year of the Frayne Speech Festival, an event where all Mercy schools come together to participate in activities such as debating and public speaking on a range of topics. This year, I and six other students had the opportunity to attend the event, located at St Aloysious in Melbourne on 7 August. However, our story began in Term 2. 

All students were made aware of the Frayne Speech Festival on the bulletin board in learning areas, and all Year 12 students were emailed as well. The seven of us in attendance all applied and were absolutely honoured to be chosen as candidates for the festival. We were given the topics for debate and public speaking. Public speaking had the topics of untold stories and the illusion of choice, and debate had the topics of the government introducing a windfall tax and the abolishment of private education. Our school was affirmative for the introduction of a windfall tax, on the negative side for the abolishment of private education, and had two public speakers to speak on each topic. 

Speech writing began almost immediately. Our research into the topics of the debates we chose taught us all things we did not know about these topics. For example, did you know that in 2020 windfall revenue in Australia was over a trillion dollars? 

With meetings regularly to ensure everyone was on track, emailing Mrs Mary Manfield and Mr Douw Grobler to an extent that it probably made them sick of some of us, the commitment that all of us showed towards this event was clear. On 6 August, we headed off to Melbourne to attend the festival the next day. The bus was buzzing with excitement, and many of us found ourselves correcting each other’s speeches and reading through what each other had written. Once we arrived at our hotel, we prepared to present our speeches to our teachers and fellow students. We also got to enjoy a delicious meal at Brunetti Classico, as there was no way our Italian teacher Mrs Manfield would have allowed anything else for us.

The next day we made our way to St Aloysius to attend a day of speeches and debates. When we first arrived, there was a liturgy all about Mercy schools and the festival's namesake, Ursula Frayne. Ursula Frayne’s passion for education and the Sisters of Mercy inspired us all and reminded us that this festival is about connection between Mercy schools, not competition. 

We may not have won our debates or been chosen as public speaking finalists, but the event was worth every second of preparation and travel. The friends we all made and the connections within our group will last a lifetime, and I highly recommend all students who are in Year 9 and up in 2027 to give it a go, even if they’re scared of public speaking.

Miss Sophie Lloyd

Year 12  

CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENTS VICTORIA 

CSPV is pleased to launch its new quarterly newsletter which can be viewed here. This edition includes:

• Introductions for the CSPV Chair and Executive Officer
• NAPLAN Results Are Coming Home  – What do they mean for your child?
• Parenting in the Digital Age
• Webinar – 'Understanding AI and New Online Risks for Children' – presented by the eSafety Commission

Parents and carers are encouraged to access CSPV resources via the CSPV website www.cspv.catholic.edu.au and view CSPV social media channels. 

COLLEGE UNIFORM ALTERATIONS AND REPAIR SERVICE

A uniform alteration and repair service is available through the College.

Items can be brought to reception and should be clearly labelled. Once alterations and repairs are completed, the items will be sent home via students.

Please attach cash payment with any submitted items. Services and costs are outlined below:

Pants Hem – $20

Summer Dress Hem – $20

Winter Skirt Hem – $30

Re-sew Shirt Pocket – $10

Blazer Pocket Changeover – $30

Button Replacing – $5

Other repairs and minor alterations are negotiable.

Contact Jill Peters jpeters@sjcmda.vic.edu.au for any further information.

IMPORTANT DATES

Read about upcoming important dates here.