The purpose of the school houses are to provide students with another level of connection to Trinity College and their fellow students, by fostering a sense of belonging and creating opportunities for friendly competition with other houses.

Up until now, the houses tend to have played key roles in major College-wide sporting events – Swimming, Athletics, and Cross-Country. Our aim this year to is to build a much stronger house system that will broaden to include all aspects of Trinity College.  Students will be able to accumulate points for their house through participation in a range of extra-curricular activities, all of which will contribute to their overall house tally – the winner of which receives the House Spirit Cup at the end of the school year.

Newly designed icons and animal mascots for each house have been developed and can be found below this message with an explanation of their origin.

Each house will also have a designated day throughout the year where all students and staff in that house will be able to celebrate the life of their house namesake through a liturgy and other activities.

All of these changes will help our students to build their identity as members of the Trinity College community, and to further their understanding of our college’s proud Catholic heritage. 

House Celebration Days 

House	Celebration Day
Rice	Monday 8th May
McAuley	Friday 16th June
Glowrey	Friday 28th July
MacKillop	Tuesday 15th August

House Icons

Rice - named after Blessed Edmund Rice, founder of the Christian Brothers.

The Rice House Icon, depicting a tree growing out of a heart, is inspired by a line from a letter that Edmund wrote to Brother Edward Patrick O’Flaherty in 1837: ‘Have courage, the good seed will grow up in the children’s hearts later on’.

McAuley - named after Venerable Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy.

The McAuley House Icon, depicting a flowing river, is inspired by a line from correspondence called ‘The Spirit of the Institute’, where Catherine writes: ‘We must try to be like those rivers which enter into the sea without losing any of the sweetness of the water’.

MacKillop - named after St. Mary MacKillop, foundress of the Sisters of St Joseph, and Australia's first Catholic saint.

The MacKillop House Icon is inspired by a famous instruction of St. Mary MacKillop: “Never see a need without doing something about it”. The icon features a pair of hands reaching out in compassion, as well as the Southern Cross to mark the significance of Mary MacKillop’s status as the first Australian saint.

Glowrey - named after Dr. Sister Mary Glowrey, a Biregurra-born doctor, sister, missionary who devoted most of her life to assisting the poor in India. 

The Glowrey House Icon is inspired by a line from a letter that Sister Assumptia van Ray JMJ wrote to Mary’s parents after a decade of working alongside their daughter in India. In this letter, Mary is compared to a lighthouse, who kept in the background while spreading ‘the light of her good deeds over a very great distance’.

Animal Mascots

The mascot was chosen by linking the house colour to a feature of the natural landscapes of our region. These animal mascots will appear on banners that are currently being developed.

House	Colour	Landscape Link	Animal Mascot
Rice	Red	Volcanic Plains- Red Rock	Brolga
McAuley	Blue	Waterways & Rivers- Lake Elizabeth	Platypus
Glowrey	Green	Forests- Otways	Tiger Quoll
MacKillop	Yellow	Coastline - Great Ocean Road & Twelve Apostles	Little Penguin

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