As we approach the end of term one it's with great pleasure that I reflect on the past few months and express my deepest thanks to everyone who has contributed to such a positive start to the year.

Once again, thank you to a number of students who have contributed to this report. Recently, the House Co-ordinators and I had the pleasure of interviewing several Year 7 & 8 students for a position on the SRC. We were impressed by the students’ presentation and their enthusiasm and passion for the role. It was truly encouraging to listen to the students’ ideas on how our campus could be enhanced, which reaffirmed the great potential we have within our student body.

Congratulations to the following Year 7 & 8 students who will represent their house on the SRC this year.

McAuley SRC: Henry Miller-Heinze and Pia Rowe

Goold SRC: Maisie Brown and Scarlett Moore

Anthony SRC: Winter Cannone and Raphaela Lieberman

Teresa SRC: Izzy Thomson and Melissa Fairhall

Victorian State Athletics Champ

Congratulations to Tom McGough (Goold 3) for his outstanding results at the recent Victorian State Athletics carnival. Tom received seven Gold medals and one silver medal as well as records in the 400m, 1500m and the hammer throw.

He has also had great success competing in the 2XU Triathlon series and, in the final round of the series at St Kilda on Sunday, he came second in the race and took the overall series win for Padua in his event.

We wish Tom all the best in his upcoming events and look forward to sharing future results in the next Paduan.

We love hearing about our students' achievements outside of school and greatly appreciate it when parents share any news with us. Please feel free to give us a call or email me phelisma@padua.vic.edu.au

Year 7 Camp

Our new Year 7s took a journey out to Ferngully Lodge in Healesville mid-term, to partake in their first adventure together. This year the four Rosebud Houses were split into Teresa and McAuley going on camp from Monday to Wednesday and Anthony and Goold going on camp from Wednesday until Friday.

The first two days of camp are for the Year 7s to really get to know each other and their Year 9 House Leaders. Then the final day is for them to enjoy a change and a bit more freedom when they journey to the Healesville Sanctuary to spend the day learning about our beautiful native animals and plants.

Highlights of the camp included:

"I liked the commando course the best."
James M, Yr 7

"Year 7 camp was a blast. I enjoyed it because I made lots of new friends, including the year 9 helpers."
Pippa C, Yr 7

"The giant swing was our favourite part of year 7 camp. We got pulled up by our teammates and got to choose how high we went up. Once we were at the top we got dropped and then we hung in the air until it was our time to go down."
Roxy, Sierra and Maddie, Yr 7

"I got four nights with dreams in a row, best sleep ever."
Lincon, Yr 7

"At camp I enjoyed going in the pool on all of the days. Especially after the giant swing and pulling the ropes. It was amazing."
Isabelle M, Yr 7

"The highlight of this camp was bonding with the year 7’s. It was such a fun experience coming on this camp as a Year 9 leader."
Taylor A, Jaime M, Yr 8 & Yr 9

Year 7 Transition

It was a great privilege to speak to the Grade 5 students at St Joseph’s Primary School, Sorrento with Pia Rowe (McAuley) and Atlas Kearney (Anthony) and Our Lady of Fatima, Rosebud accompanied by Winter Cannone (Anthony) and Kurtis Sosic (Teresa). I was very proud of the students as they represented the college with pride and really enjoyed the experience.

We went to Our Lady of Fatima to talk to the year fives about what to expect when they enter year seven at Padua. We found it extremely nostalgic and awesome to go back to our primary school and see some of our old friends and teachers. We gave out little sheets of paper that the Padua Year 7 students had written outlining what they were enjoying at Padua so far. A lot of the papers mentioned the fact that you got to make a lot of new friends, study new subjects and, of course, they talked about our amazing canteen. This was then followed up by some questions from the Grade 5’s asking about if we had different classmates for each subject and what food they serve at the canteen.

Winter Cannone and Kurtis Sosic

"When we went to St Joseph's we spoke to the Grade 5's about Padua College. This was a fun experience and I love going back to my old school. Everyone was very welcoming and the Grade 5’s loved listening to us. We also gave them handballs for answering our questions about Padua. We loved seeing all the old Grade 5’s in their Grade 6 uniforms. This was a great experience, and I would welcome the chance of returning to speak at my primary school."

Pia Rowe and Atlas Kearney

Sports

Volleyball

SIS volleyball was a great success and a lot of fun! During this term we played multiple games, and we had two close games losing to Balcombe but coming out on top against Woodleigh. During this term the team have improved so much all thanks to our coach Ms Goldsmid.

Thanks to Ms Goldsmid, for helping us so much by giving us tips during training and in between sets in a game. I’m very proud of us for improving so much in such a little amount of time and it was very fun!

Gabi Pavihi, Anthony

Rosebud Swimming Carnival

After 15 long years, McAuley House finally won the Rosebud Campus swimming sports carnival. But that is not to say there weren't a few close calls during the races, as the other Houses performed amazingly, all showing immense House spirit. But with the new wave of McAuley students from Year 7, and the determination of all swimmers, we won. As a McAuley House Captain, I couldn’t be more happy to say that. But competition aside, the day was incredibly fun, with the big swim, funny costumes, waterslide, and so much more. It's sad to say that this was the current Year 9 student’s final Rosebud swimming carnival, and it will be missed. But congratulations to all who participated, as someone who was watching, it was evident your participation inspired everyone there to go and have a try. Go McAuley!

Tenzin Anderson, McAuley House Captain

Saint Patrick’s Day

Each Year on the Friday before St Patrick's Day, the Archdiocese of Melbourne invites all Catholic schools under their banner to come and celebrate their Cathedral’s mass. This year Padua College extended their invitation to all the Mission Captains throughout the College. Our College Mission Captains, Thomas and Laura, led us into the mass with one of our College Captains, Yasmine, holding our banner. The entire mass was such a powerful experience with a beautiful choir and cantor and very moving readings. St Patrick's Day is a very widely celebrated day, and we were so glad to be a part of it.

Rosie McInnes

We wish Mr Jim Baird our Campus Co-Director all the best as he takes on a new position at our Senior Campus and welcome back Ms Lisa Modd who resumes her position as Rosebud Campus Co-Director. We also extend our best wishes to our ‘Receptionist Extraordinaire’ Sharon Ryan as she takes leave during term two.

Thank you to our Faith Assistant Ms Kathleen Ronchie for her creative energy in developing our ‘Journey to the Cross’ Easter Liturgy which took place on Thursday 28 March. We will provide a more detailed report in the next edition of the Paduan.

We wish you a blessed and restful Easter break.

Phillip Helisma and Jim Baird

Student Photo Permissions

At times, photographs or videos of our students will be published in newsletters, on the school intranet or website, or in our social media. Copies of our Standard Collection Notice and Privacy Policy are available on the College website in the Enrolments section of our Policies page. Please note that consent to use these images in this way, if provided at enrolment, may be withdrawn at any time by contacting our marketing team via email: marketing@padua.vic.edu.au .