Sport & Outdoor Education

SCSA Basketball

Mount St. Joseph Girls' College entered Junior, Intermediate and Senior teams into the SCSA Basketball competition at MSAC on May 23rd.

The teams represented the school with great pride and tenacity throughout the day.  Each team played 4 games each and then onto the semi finals and then fortunately one team went onto the Grand Final.

The Senior Team finished 5th in their Division as coached by Ms Baka. The Junior Team as coached by Mrs Sofarnos, made the semi finals ultimately finishing fourth.

Super coach for the day was Mr Piazza, whose undefeated Intermediate team  won their exciting Grand Final against Presentation College Windsor in the final minutes of the game by 3 points!

Well done to all the girls and coaches on a fun and rewarding day of Basketball.

Aerobics Competition

On the 14th of May, MSJ aerobics teams  performed their Aerobics routine at the Geelong basketball arena. Everyone was fully prepared and excited to compete  and although team 'Upsurge' had one less teammate due to an injury, this did not dampen our enthusiasm. Everyone was not only nervous but also ecstatic to be finally competing against other schools in Victoria.

Mount St. Joseph Girls' College had 3 teams participating in Stage One; Firecrackers, Energetix and Upsurge. With Firecrackers placing 7th and Energetix placing 8th they fortunately made through to the next round which is the State Finals.  Both teams were absolutely thrilled to go straight through. Upsurge did not make it through to the next round, but the students gave an amazing performance and tried their  best.

On June 4th the two MSJ qualified teams returned for the State finals. Unfortunately, neither teams got through to Nationals, but the students gave it their all and were happy with the performance they gave. 

Mount St. Joseph Girls' College had one team compete in Stage Two, MSJ Adrenalin. The students have been training very hard for the competition. As a result, Stage Two did not go straight through to the next round but did have the opportunity to get given another chance to compete in the Wildcard rounds. There was definitely an enormous improvement. 

Fortunately MSJ Adrenaline came first in the Wildcard stage which meant they had the opportunity to continue in the competition and try to compete for State Finals entry. Everyone gave it their all and were happy to go a second time around. The students did not make it through  but had enjoyed everything they had achieved.

Overall it has been an amazing experience for all involved. Congratulations to all the students that participated and for all their efforts. . In particular we all would like to give a massive thank you to Ms Hawkins and Ms Snooks, without them none of this would have been possible or turn out as successful as it was.

By Nadine Dib 9C and Jenan Dib 9J

Duke of Edinburgh Camp

On the 24-26th of May, the two Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh classes embarked on their adventurous journey to Anglesea. This hike was 18km long and we completed it over two days.

We faced many challenges along the way including sleeping in a tent outdoors in extremely cold weather, walking across a long beach in the wind with packs on our back, climbing up some steep steps, and when we had already done 7km and it was a lot of extra work for our calf muscles as the sand was too soft to properly walk on. This camp was both a physical and mental challenges.

While the hike was challenging, there were many highlights that we experienced during the camp including cooking a meal over the trangia, roasting marshmallows over the fire and bonding with our classmates. We also enjoyed spectacular views along the walk, such as the clear waters at Point Addis and seeing the whole of Anglesea from the clifftop.

Working in a group was motivating as we were all able to encourage each other to keep going and finish the hike. It also had its challenges such as learning how to cooperate with each other while setting up tents, preparing a meal together and negotiate which way to go when we reach an intersection along the track but in the end we were all found a way to work things out.

During the camp, we learnt many new things about ourselves.

 ‘I learnt that for me to overcome anything hard, I just need to have the motivation and to work to get through it. I also learnt that I really enjoy hiking and being in nature, especially the beach as it clears my mind and makes me forget about other worries/stress.’

Chante Mullins

‘I have learnt that I possess a lot more determination and perseverance than I thought, as I do believe I was extremely determined to complete the hike properly. I can use determination in my everyday life, I can use it when studying for a test’.

Madeleine Nelson

 ‘When I thought that I could no longer go on, I had my amazing friends there to support me. I need to remember that in life we have others to support us.’

Hong Lam

VCE Outdoor & Environmental Studies

The Year 12 VCE Outdoor & Environmental Studies class went on an overnight camp to the Mornington Peninsula in early May as part of Outdoor studies. Students were able to experience and be able to talk about the ways that different relationships with the Mornington Peninsula can have an impact on the environment and the way we view and interact with it. The students participated in a beautiful scenic kayak along the Portsea foreshore and then walked through the Point Nepean National Park, seeing stunning views of the Mornington Peninsula, across to Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale.

The students were also lucky enough to encounter kangaroos, sugar gliders, barking owls, wombats and other native Australian animals at a night tour of the Moonlit Sanctuary. This highlighted the importance of conservation practices to reduce the rate of extinction and to improve the biodiversity of the environment. We were also able to visit a working goat dairy farm where the owner showed us the impact that dairy farming could have on the environment, and ways in which they were combatting and minimising their impact. Finally, we finished off the camp with a tour of an eco-friendly and sustainable house, which was completely 'off the grid' and used solar energies and battery to source their power as well as their own tank water, a septic sewerage system and a working worm farm.

It was a great camp overall, the students learnt a lot and will be able to use their experiences and examples in the end of year exam and assessments throughout the year.

Hayley Tagell

Teacher