Cranbourne Campus News

Romero Feast Day

One of the foundational structures of St Peter's College is the strong House system that supports the care of all of our young people. As you would be aware, each House is guided by the spirit of their House patron - an inspirational figure in the Church who lived out Jesus’ call throughout their time in history. 

This week we had the first House Feast day of the year, celebrating Romero House and commemorating the life of assassinated Archbishop of San Salvador, Ocsar Romero, who was targeted in the 1970's and 80 due to his courageous act of standing up for injustices and violence in his own country. 

During our feast days, the students have the chance to celebrate Eucharist together and to join in a shared morning tea - a symbolic act of solidarity and support for each other in their House. It is a lovely moment for the House to get together.

Sometimes a different voice can trigger the right conversations for change

In recent weeks we have taken the opportunity to bring in some expert voices to help add flavor and a different perspective to the messages that we are delivering and modeling every day. Ideally these guest speaker appearances do not sit in isolation but instead become a launch pad to follow up dialogue in the yard amongst peers and with families in the home. On some occasions the speakers also support a starting point for ongoing message reinforcement in the tutor group and the pastoral lesson. 

Year 8 - Blurred Minds

Following a successful first year with us in 2023, the team from ‘Blurred Minds’ presented to our Year 8's. Blurred Minds is a group coming out of Queensland University who take a novel approach to the education about Vaping and e- cigarettes. Instead of focusing solely on the medical or health advice about vaping, the presentation looked into the role that clever and somewhat questionable marketing plays in tricking young people into this habit from a very young age. No one likes to have ‘the wool pulled over their eyes’ and so some understanding of how these companies are drawing us into the habit with colors and designs, appeared to make many students think more critically about whether they wish to get sucked in by peer pressure or dodgy marketing techniques.

Year 11 - Be Wise Pat Cronin Foundation.

The ‘Be Wise’ foundation is backed by the family of Pat Cronin ~ a young man who died after being hit from behind with a coward punch while Pat was helping a friend up from the ground. 

This presentation was the second of a two part session to this cohort of students, where the students were reintroduced to Pat's story this time with a particular focus on the consequences and traumatic impact of that one punch. 

A message about avoiding situations where conflict can escalate and realizing that there is always a choice, seemed to resonate with our senior students. Spreading this message of what real courage looks like is a powerful way to share Pat's legacy and keep our young people safe.

Harmony Day

We were once again treated to some wonderful cultural dishes prepared by our senior students who were celebrating their different cultures. Furthermore we had six separate cultural performances this year including a Samoan movement, a Mauritian Sega dance, a Punjabi Dance, a Bollywood dance and two Filipino songs sung proudly by Charlize and Chloe. The pride of these young people promoting their heritage and the raucous applause and support of all the other students, showed us all that St Peter's is a place that experiences successful  inclusion every day.

Another highlight of the day was the appearance of two time Olympian Peter Bol as keynote speaker. Students were moved by Peter's authentic story of resilience, dedication and the importance of setting goals and persevering toward them in spite of setbacks. The message was one of inspiration and passion. 

Although each expert was very different, having them deliver the messages has been a spark that we believe will help bring about change and improved outcomes for our world bit by bit.

Year 7 Camp

Nothing helps explain the joy of a school camp like the mixture of exhaustion and excitement on the faces of a busload of Year 7's arriving back to campus. Flying Foxes, raft building, rock climbing, bush walking, hill surfing and many more activities helped tucker the students out by day and copious bags of sweets and late night bonding sessions with mates all add to the experience ~ an experience that might be left best further explained by the photos below.

Mr Jeremy Wright

Deputy Principal - Head of Cranbourne Campus