I recently tagged along with four of our Year 10 student leaders to the National Mercy Education student conference in Bendigo. I say ‘tagged’ along as they led the table discussions, they shared with other students and staff how Padua College lived out being a school founded by the Mercy Sisters. I just sat back and listened in admiration and drove the bus.

What was the key message of the gathering? Service to others.

In a Catholic place of learning, in a Catholic school with a dual charism (one being Mercy), service to others must be lived and breathed.

So why does service matter? A central aspect of a Catholic education is learning the importance of service to others. When students take part in service activities both locally in our Mornington Peninsula community and beyond, they demonstrate the values and faith they gain through their Catholic education and learn how to make their communities a better place.

Service is really putting our faith into action. Jesus and the Mercy Sisters encourage us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the sick.

In our Winter Term, our service activities kick up a notch.

Winter Coat Collection

Our Mission Captains have recently called for us with a vocation for working and studying in a Catholic school to serve others in our Padua community. They called us to gather our Padua resources and Padua people power to support the common good. End point was the collection of 150 coats across all campuses that have now been donated to a local Vinnies outlet. As we enter the depths of winter, it is our hope that these coats provide a warmth to someone who needs that warmth.

Vinnies Trivia Night

On 9 August we hold our annual Padua College Vinnies Trivia Night to raise funds for a good cause while having fun with friends and family. The event is organised and run by our Year 12 Catholic Action Program class. We thank the dozens of businesses from across our Mornington Peninsula who have donated towards the silent auction.

Community Service

Our Year 9 and 10 Catholic Action Program classes are consistently a visual presence in our local community supporting and visiting aged care facilities and partaking in community projects.

Inspirational Social Justice Students

Congrats to Charlee Dornom (Year10) and Max Traube (Year 10) on representing the Padua College Social Justice team/ACRATH in the Run Melbourne event held on 21 July. They raised close to $1000 for ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against the Trafficking of Humans).

The poor need help today, not next week.

Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Mercy Sisters

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 .