Earlier this term our Year 7 students went to Mill Valley Ranch for their Year 7 Camp. The students participated in a wide range of activities, from horse riding to late-night hikes, and they had an amazing time bonding with each other and exploring the great outdoors. Students challenged themselves to overcome the crate climb, solve the amazing race, and get a bullseye in archery. 

As always, Year 7 Camp is a fantastic opportunity to make new friends and create unforgettable memories. At Sacred Heart College we recognise the significance of experiential learning and the impact it has on personal growth and development.

Below are some short comments by some students of their experience at Year 7 camp:

Year 7 camp was a blast! I made so many new friends and by the second night it felt like we'd known each other for a long time. My favourite activity was the crate climbing because I've never done it before. It was a great experience that I will never forget. - Rachael

We were split into cabin and activity groups. My groups were really nice, and I got to know most of them. We did many activities including my favourite: Crate Climb. I only stacked 7 but one of my friends in my group got 17, almost 18. It was so fun to watch and hilarious. I also loved movie night, when I got to spend time with friends that I had made along the way. Year 7 camp was a great time for bonding and making heaps of memories and friends, and I can’t wait for the next!! - Audrey

Going into year 7 camp I was very nervous that I wouldn’t have any friends in my cabin or group. But at the end of camp I had double the amount of friends I had before I arrived. My favourite activity was the crate climb. At the end of the camp I had realised I had really enjoyed myself and I do think it was a really good way to make new friends. - Pearl

Please see below a selection of images from the Year 7 camp. For more images, please visit the SHC Photo Gallery on Imagebank.

We congratulate the following students who recently achieved outstanding sport results:

ATHLETICS

Victorian State Track and Field Championships

KARLA BORAS

• U/16
• Long Jump – Silver Medal
• Triple Jump – Bronze Medal

TILLY MCBAIN

• U/14
• 200m – Gold medal
• 200m Hurdles – Gold Medal
• 80m Hurdles – Gold Medal
• 400m – Gold Medal
• 100m – Silver Medal

ERIN FOLEY

• U/18
• 400m Hurdles – Silver Medal

JEMIMA HOOD

• U/14
• 100m – 4th
• 400m - Silver Medal
• 200m - Bronze Medal
• 200m Hurdles - Silver Medal
• 80m Hurdles - Silver Medal

SAMANTHA MILES

• U/14
• Discus – 4^th
• Shot Put – 6^th
• Javelin – Silver Medal

ISLA BRADSHAW

• U16
• 800m – Silver Medal

CHANTEL GLOGOLJA

• U/19
• Pole Vault – Gold Medal

We wish everyone all the best at Nationals in April.

All Schools Track and Field National Competition

Chantel Glogolja

• Pole Vault - Silver Medal

SWIMMING

EVIE LEE

• Bronze Medal in 50m breaststroke at State Open Swimming Championships
• Silver Medal and Australian Record in 4x50m Freestyle Relay

We wish Evie all the best at the National Swimming Championships in April

MACY LEE

Congratulations to Macy who won 7 Gold Medals, 2 Silver Medals and 1 Bronze at the State Championships. Macy was also Age Group Champion. Well done, Macy!

SURF LIFE SAVING

MINKA PESTKOWSKI

Silver medal in the relay team at the Victorian States Surf Life Saving competition for the 4x 100m relay.

CRICKET

SCARLETT CLARKE

Well done for coming 3^rd in the State competition.

SAILING

LUCIA STEPHENS

Congratulations to Lucia who was a finalist at the Victorian Open skiff state championships.

ROWING

BEATRIX HEARN

Congratulations to Beatrix who won a Silver medal in open B grade double in Nagambie at the 2023 Victorian Rowing Championships on 5 March.

Bella Bradbury 7CLMN recently represented Victoria at the Hockey Australia Indoor National Championships. Bella was in the U13 Victorian Indoor Hockey girls team and scored her first Nationals Tournament goal against the NSW State Team. Victoria had 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses and finished up 5th overall.

It was a great experience for Bella to be part of the team and represent Victoria. Well done Bella!

The talent was certainly on show at our annual International Women's Day Talent Show. Congratulations to all who participated and entertained the crowd, especially Melody Campbell-Gordon 12LOBRC, Matilda Snowden 11LOKAJ and Sabrina Horne 12SIACR, who came 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The 2022/23 rowing season commenced back in October last year and since then we have been hard at training. On 25th February, our year 8s ,9s and 10s competed in the Junior State Championships. We would like to congratulate our year 9 Division One crew who came 4th in their A Final, and to Laura Ahearn and Rio Smith for racing 6 races across the day and both making 2 A finals. Rio placed second in the single scull earning herself silver, therefore making her the runner up states champion.

For us seniors we have been busy at away regattas making the long trek up to Nagambie for our State championship where Beatrix Hearn had a stand out race in her single scull making the open schoolgirl division 1 A final and earning a PB 2k time. This was an amazing result especially considering Beatrix was racing against predominantly year 12 students. For the senior quad crew we placed 4th in our division against some strong competition just short of a bronze medal.

The SHC rowing team is now in full force preparing for the Head of Schoolgirls Regatta. This is the final regatta of the season taking place on the 17-19th of March on the Barwon River. Schools from all over the state come to compete with well over 2000 athletes in total. There will be a SHC tent set up near the finish line and we would love to see as many Sacred Heart supporters come down to cheer us on for our final regatta of the season.

Hannah and Sophie - Rowing Captains

Head of Schoolgirls Regatta

Well done to all our rowers after a huge weekend of racing. We have had some fantastic results come through.

Congratulations to Hannah Glover, Sophie Whelan, Ruby Davey, Olivia Broadbent and Charlotte Schouten-O'Bryan on their 3rd Place in the Open Division 4 coxed quad event.

Hannah and Sophie are in their Final year, What a fantastic way to finish up their schoolgirls rowing career.

On 7 March, 22 students participated in the SCSA Tennis at Geelong Lawn Tennis Club, competing against a range of different schools including Clonard, Ave Maria, Avila and OLSH. 

The students played in 6-8 sets and had some very good rallies throughout the day. Amazing sportsmanship and support were displayed by the students. 

Junior, Intermediate and Senior teams all fought hard throughout the day against some tough competition. Thank you to Steph Ellis and Kate Swift for coaching the 3 teams.

Results:

Juniors - 2^nd Intermediates – 4^th Seniors – 3^rd

Congratulations to the following students:

This year our SHC swimmers representative team competed in the All Schools Swimming Relays, held on Monday 6 March at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

Students and staff headed up on a bus together, and all students came prepared to race and were very supportive of one another, cheering and clapping throughout the events. Sacred Heart College were very competitive in all relay events against the best schools in Victoria. The students should be very proud of their efforts. Well done!

I would like to say thank you to all students who came along on the night and a special thanks to Miss Abbey Turner for organising the team before the competition.

TEAM

HEATS RESULTS

The Story 

(with apologies to the theme from Gilligan’s Island)

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale

A tale of a mighty win

That took place at GMHBA Stadium

And it came from a magnificent team.

Best afield was Mekah again.

The skipper Leila was brave and true

35 team mates took the field that day

For a four quarter duel, yes a four quarter duel.

Loreto College started very rough

But Tess and Ellie weren’t getting tossed

If not for the courage of our backline crew

Sacred Heart could have lost, yes our girls could have lost.

But our heroes held firm in front of all their mates

With Kate and her best mate Jo

Tamykah Brown and Smithy too

Sophie Mahar, Tilly Kidd and Mako

Down at Kardinia Park

Mr.Todd kept running out messages

Lloydy manned the board

Bianca Cheever organised everything

And we won by 21 points, yes we won by 21 points.

Tara just kept getting the ball

Conroy and Dicko both kicked a goal

Eve Cannon kept having a crack

There was no way for us to get beat, no we were never getting beat.

There was a big crowd there just to urge us on

With Lila Burns, and little Morrissy

Mia and Maddi too

Eleanor, Jasmine and Kate

Loreto were resigned to their fate

And they were getting back late.

A few on the bench finally got a run

Mary Rolfe in front of her mum

Evie Albones darted here and there

And Charlotte Elder too, yes she got on the ground too.

Olivia Mellington took the field

Alyssa ran on too

Elara showed her silky skills

As the crowd roared their approval, yes they roared their approval.

At games end all the players shook hands,

The emergencies too (Meg, Ally, Izzy, Sienna, Chloe, Maddi & Maggie)

With Pecka, and Marcelle Korth, Mr. Blackburn too

Michelle Abbot, Lauren and Carl

And the speeches were great

Down at Kardinia Park.

- Anthony Petkovic

SCORES:

Sacred Heart College Geelong 1.4, 3.5, 5.9, 5.9 (39) defeated

Loreto College Ballarat 0.0, 0.3, 0.3, 2.6 (18)

Goalkickers - Mekah Morrissy 2, Sarah Conroy 1, Neave Dickson 1, Sophie Mahar 1

Best Players - Mekah Morrissy (Best-on-ground), Sophie Mahar, Tess DeGrandi, Kate Martin, Tara Trethowan, Eve Cannon, Leila Owens, Lila Richard, Sarah Conroy, Tamykah Brown

Congratulations to SHC staff member Laura Torresi who recently was awarded the very first 'Longie' award from ABC Radio Melbourne. The 'Longie' is the Geelong version of the 'Melbie', an award given to someone each Friday in recognition of a good deed they performed in the community.

A caller to the radio station named Katrina rang in to nominate Laura for a Melbie (Longie) Award, who had very kindly returned the cards Katrina lost while taking a walk along the beach in Queenscliff. Initially, Katrina didn't know her good Samaritan’s name; all she could remember was that the person said that she worked at Sacred Heart College.

After some detective work by the resourceful Jane at College Reception, it was discovered that the kind person was our very own Laura Torresi, who had found the cards and returned them to Katrina at her house. Katrina said the woman restored her faith in humanity and made her remember that there are still kind and honest humans.

To hear Laura receiving her award, please visit https://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/programs/melbourne-friday-breakfast/friday-breakfast/102146488. Laura can be heard at the 1:52:20 mark.

Well done Laura on your recognition of Mercy in Action. We are so fortunate to have you and so many others like you on our staff. Enjoy your Longie!

College Reception will be open the first week of the holidays, Tuesday 11 April - Friday 14 April, 8.30am - 4.00pm. We will be closed for the second week of the holidays, and will reopen 8.00am Monday 24 April (which is a student free day).

A reminder that we will close for Anzac Day on Tuesday 25 April, and all students will return to school on Wednesday 26 April.

We wish all in our College community a safe and restful Easter break.

Sacred Heart is a place of constant opportunity for young people to grow and develop. In 2024 we are excited to be able to offer a range of interstate and international immersion opportunities for our students.

Interstate Immersions

Current Year 8 & 9 students have the chance to participate in one of two amazing immersion programs for 2024:

Sacred Ecology - Rainforest and Reef Immersion Program

This conservation program in Far North Queensland is an environmental adventure that will take students to the Great Barrier Reef, ancient Daintree Rainforest and beautiful Fitzroy Island. As part of this 9 day immersion, we are partnering with a variety of world class non-government organisations and service organisations. Students will go behind the scenes to join programs focusing on Daintree Rainforest regeneration, turtle rehabilitation, aquaponics and food security, Indigenous connection to country and women’s health, climate change and its effect on coral, microplastic pollution and sustainability.

First Nations Immersion Program

This Indigenous immersion and service program combines cultural learnings and community service with an exploration on Country in Kakadu National Park. As part of this unique opportunity, students will learn about local peoples and ancient culture that have lived in harmony with the land for thousands of years, as well as challenge themselves physically on a number of on Country expeditions. The Kakadu National Park is a World Heritage Area covering some 20,000 square kms. Waterfalls tumble from the red cliffs of the Arnhem Land escarpment into shady pools; tranquil wetlands teeming with animal and bird life, while 40,000 years of Aboriginal cultural heritage is on display in the numerous rock art galleries.

International Immersions

Current Year 10 students have the chance to participate in a life changing immersion program in Timor for 2024:

Timor Kolega Immersion Program

This 11-day exploration begins in Dili, where students are introduced to Timor’s turbulent history, socio-economic context, development issues and Australia’s past and future impacts on our closest international neighbour. We then travel to Baucau, to join our community partners at CTID, Canossian College and also visit the Vanilale Orphanage to learn about the wonderful work of the Salesian Sisters. Kolega means friend in Tetum (the language of the Timorese people). This program looks to build friendships with our community partners and make lasting positive impacts on the lives of others.

Current Year 8, 9 & 10 students will be emailed at the start of Term 2 with itineraries and information regarding the immersions application process. There will be a program information session outlining all three immersion programs via zoom on May 10 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. Interested students must attend this session. Student applications will be submitted online and must be completed by May 19 2023.

For further information, please contact Christina Symons (Faith Life and Mission Education Leader: csymons@shcgeelong.catholic.edu.au)

Back to Back! Well done to the students who represented SHC in the female teams section of the Independent Schools Surfing Competition held at Jan Juc last Thursday 4 May - Lila Burns 11LOGR, Ivy Burns 9LONCR , Cedar Davie 9SIARE, Darci Barker 9LOCEB, Isabel Toohey 7PARDS and Zoe Van Dreumel 7SIARE.

Under overcast skies and with an in-coming tide, wave selection was tricky, but for the second year in a row our girls were victorious. The final placings were SHC Geelong 35.1, St Ignatius College 32.9, Christian College 30.5 and Kardinia International College 11.6.

Thank you to Surfing Victoria for all their work in planning and running the event, Daisy Giandomenico (SHC PE Trainee) and the various parents who attended and helped with transport on the day.

Well done team! Once again I was proud of your efforts.

Carl Tracey, Surfing Team Coach

The next Parent Communication Afternoon will be held on Tuesday 16 May 2023, 3.50 - 4.50pm.

The sessions will be held via Zoom and bookings can be made via the parent portal. Please refer to the guidance which will be included in the Principal's Update closer to this date on how to book.

We were delighted to have more than 250 Year 10 students participate in the Work Experience program last week across many different sectors with jobs ranging from Equine Vets to Conservation Management, Robotics to Preschools and Florists to Occupational Therapists. The feedback we received from our employers has been exceptional, indicating that our students have made themselves, their families, and the school proud.

We hope this program has helped our students gain a better understanding of themselves and how their interests and abilities may shape their future paths, and we look forward to offering even more opportunities to our students in 2024.

Fiona Smith, Pathways Consultant