There is nothing more wonderful than coming together to acknowledge the achievements of our students. The Semester One Year 10 & 11 Awards Assembly was an opportunity to celebrate the academic, sporting, and hardworking endeavours of so many of our students. Being up on stage to receive an award, in front of one’s peers, teachers and parents is an incredibly proud moment and one that we look forward to each semester. We hope that students watching on are inspired to set their own goals and work towards them for Semester Two.

Senior School Awards

On 25 July Padua College took a moment to recognise our senior students on their achievements over the course of semester one. Our Senior Awards Ceremony provided an opportunity to celebrate those students who excelled across a range of different disciplines including sport, languages, academic excellence and those who showed exceptional community spirit. Congratulations to all.

Award recipients:

YEAR 11
4 OUT OF 5 AWARDS
Elliotte Richardson
Isabella Saporito

5 OUT OF 6 AWARDS
Ashley Jenkins
Madison Sheard

YEAR 10
5 OUT OF 6 AWARDS
Jet Angus
Alanah Barnett
Olivia Barry
Lily Clements
Paige De Blaquiere
Siabh Gogarty
Mitssy Gonsalves
Molly Green
Georgia Hughes
Angela Krtalic
Tahlia Love
Leonardo Luppino
Isla Parris
Kaitlyn Pettinato
Matilda Richards
Chloe Sayers
Milly Shelley
Grace Slocombe
Charlee Smith
Jasper Tourbier
Charlie Waugh
Mitchell Welsh

6 OUT OF 6 AWARDS
Finn Atkins
Marlee Black
Asha Blight
Matisse Dancer
Emily Geddes
Emma Hall
Sophie Kavanagh
Georgia Kulzer
Roan Shibu
Ashleigh Smith
Bella Sullivan
Persia Taranto
Shay Vedamuttu

Monash Scholars Program 2024
Aurora Bampton
William Bigas
Angelique Brun
Siabh Gogarty
Jasper Tourbier
Georgette Ziebell-Barnes

SIS Sports Most Valuable Player Awards

TERM 1
Harry Michie
Jesse Somdecerff
Cass Mackay
Ava Masterson
Eva Cortes
Noah Koole

TERM 2
Asha Smart
Tahlia Love
Marlee Black
Brad Ratubuli

Education Perfect Championship Awards

YEAR 11 ITALIAN
3rd Place Liam White 2nd Place Thomas McInnes 1st Place Eric Geslicki

YEAR 1O ITALIAN
3rd Place Lachlan Eccleston 2nd Place Matisse Dancer 1st Place Orlando Ortantzoglou

YEAR 11 FRENCH 1st Place Mikayla Morabito

North Star Awards
YEAR 11
Fyonn Munro
Zoe Smith
Thomas McInnes
Jake Symes

YEAR 10
Charlee Dornom
Angela Krtalic
Sophie McKenzie-McHarg
Billy Bigas
Leonardo Luppino
Jasper Tourbier

Future Planning

Year 12 students considering further study have some important decisions to make regarding university course selections. VTAC is now open, and students must think carefully about the eight preferences they will make. Even if planning a ‘gap year’, students are encouraged to complete their preferences with the option to ‘defer’ their course should they choose. It’s important to keep all options open. University Open Days are the perfect opportunity to step right on campus and take a guided tour. It’s a great way to help inform your decisions.

See the Careers website for more information.

United Nations Youth Evatt Competition

Last week, Padua College students competed against teams from Nossal High School and Kambrya College in the United Nations Youth Evatt Competition where each represented a country from the 2024 United Nations Security Council. Students participated
in model UN activities, debating resolutions on peacekeeping in Haiti, international poaching and environmental pollution.

Students are to be commended on their participation in this nationally prestigious extra-curricular activity and for the extensive preparation they completed in order to represent and speak on behalf of their assigned country.

Emma O’Dowd, Learning Area Leader Humanities

Teen Chef

On Thursday 1 August the final of the Teen Chef Competition was held at John Paul College in Frankston. Congratulations to Zoe Smith, Leila Binder, Nic Geslicki and Osten Mulcahy who represented Padua College and produced an outstanding main and dessert for the competition. Nic and Osten made salmon soba noodles with a citrus dressing for the main and Zoe and Leila produced a lime stack for dessert. Zoe and Leila received a special commendation from the judges for the level of technical skills required for the dish. Well done to these amazing young chefs who demonstrated a high level of creativity and skill.

Senior Debating

On Friday, 26 July, Padua students from across all three campuses and year levels competed in SIS debating at Flinders Christian College.

Senior Team 2 Fin Fowler, Jess Conroy and Layla Rule won both debates. Fin got best speaker in both debates.

Senior Team 1 Gabby Hall, Lilyana Holder, Elly Sheard, all first time debators, won their prepared debate and, while unsuccessful in the unprepared debate, put in an excellent effort.

Fin Fowler (Year 11 Bernard), who won Best Speaker in both of his debates, reports “After preparing, training and practicing speeches and debating techniques, all of us worked collaboratively as a team, having both a fun and successful day! It was terrific hearing some of the other teams debating topics, from 'Australia should make lying in political advertising illegal' to 'The Mainstream media are socially irresponsible,' as well as several other topics that made for a robust debate. A big thank you to all the staff who helped the teams prepare and work on our arguments. It was amazing to see so many Padua teams win after much hard work. However, regardless of a win, loss or draw, every team presented strong, clear and important arguments. Debating is of course not just about arguing, it is in the interest of working together with people you both agree and disagree with in order to find common ground in the interests of the common good, so it was certainly a terrific opportunity for all of us to extend those skills and have a great time!”

Business Management Studies

Recently, our Unit 3/4 Business Management classes had the opportunity to visit the Yakult manufacturing facility in Dandenong. It was a great excursion that allowed us to view the entire production process of Yakult, which tied perfectly to our classroom study of operations management. We witnessed inputs, processes and outputs, quality checks, and examples of how Yakult operates in a socially responsible manner. All of which will assist us in answering questions on our end-of-year examination.

Maya Denvir, Year 12 Merton

Padua Team Passes Diversity Bill

During the mid Semester break, the Padua College Youth Parliament team made a significant mark by debating their Improved Agricultural Sustainability and Biodiversity Bill in the Victorian Legislative Council. Team members Bella Walsh (Year 11 John XXIII), Fin Fowler (Year 11 Bernard), Connor Kingston (Class of 2023) and Quinney Brownfield, who joined the team from Chisholm Tafe, dedicated months to crafting this Bill, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to present it at Parliament House.

The proposed Bill focuses on enhancing resources and knowledge available to Victorian farmers to promote sustainable farming practices. It aims to reintroduce more biodiverse native plants and establish new regulations and systems for farmers.

The Victoria Youth Parliament provides a platform for young people to voice their concerns and propose solutions through Bills that they will ultimately debate in the Victorian Parliament. Managed by the YMCA, this program invites individuals aged 16 to 25 to address issues they are passionate about.

Fin Fowler described the team’s Bill as a response to the “pressing issue of agriculture and land usage and regulation on the Mornington Peninsula, which is also more pressing across the state”.

The team’s emphasis on sustainable farming garnered positive attention from the chamber, sparking a vigorous debate among Youth Parliament members. The Padua College team underscored the importance of agriculture as “one of the pillars of the Victorian economy,” asserting that it must not be neglected.

The Bill passed almost unanimously through the Legislative Council and will now be reviewed by Parliamentary officials, with the potential to become law in the future.

Padua College is immensely proud of the dedication and effort demonstrated by our Youth Parliament Team. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Our Senior House Athletics Carnival was held on Tuesday, 6 August. Blessed with great weather, our students showed outstanding House spirit and enthusiastic competition. Congratulations to Ruby Geurts (Year 10 John XXIII) and Jesse Somdecerff (Year 10 Mercy) for being named the fastest male and female sprinters in the 100m for 2024. A big shoutout to Francis House for winning the athletics carnival for a second year in a row. Thanks to our dedicated sports staff, student helpers and best of luck to all students competing in the SIS athletics carnival on Tuesday 27 August.

Year Level Assemblies

Assemblies were held across the College, following a number of concerning behavioural matters that were brought to our attention. The College is clear that respecting the dignity of every person guides the way we treat one another, staff and students alike. This extends to outside the school gates, where students are representatives of Padua and as such, are expected to behave in a manner that is in alignment with our values College. Ms McGurn stated clearly, “Each one of you has the potential to make a positive difference. We must work together to uphold our values and make our school a place where everyone feels safe, respected, valued, and inspired to grow.” We ask that parents speak with their children and reinforce the message about treating others with acceptance, kindness, respect and speaking out against behaviours that hurt others.

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 .