In 2024 our College theme has been, “Let the love you have in your hearts be shown outwardly in your deeds.” If we can contemplate our foundresses, Sr Sebastian Whyte and Sr Bernard Whyte, 126 years ago planning the original Mercy Convent School, and we can appreciate that those amazing women poured out their love in so many actions to build a school from the ground up… We can see in this story of our beginnings, that their “heart work” was made manifest, and now today, Padua College is the largest Co-educational Catholic High School in the Arch-Diocese of Melbourne, a vibrant and faith filled community that welcomes and embraces all.

2024 has seen many new beginnings, marked with signs of hopefulness for our collective future, we’ve witnessed the opening and Blessing of the Coolock Learning Centre and welcomed our students into this amazing space. Coolock is named after the original Coolock House located just outside of Dublin where Catherine McCauley, the founder of the Mercy sisters begin her work in the early 1800s.

There at Coolock House, Catherine and her colleagues who share a vocation with our Padua Staff today, cared for, and educated young people at this critical stage in their lives. For our Padua staff, our work today, with our students and their families must be different in many way, no social media or A.I. back then for starters, but at its core, I believe much of our teaching is an echo of the work of those women from years gone by, caring for and nurturing young hearts and minds.

As we come to the conclusion of the year it is time to recognise and thank many who have contributed to our successes this year.

To our students, well done on all you have achieved, in aspiring towards your own North Star, being the best, you can be to make a positive change in our world. Well-done of course to all the students who received awards at our end year assemblies!

Thanks also to our amazing staff, with many initiatives and developments in our curriculum thanks, to Andrew Ferguson and Chris Ryan Assistant Heads of Campus, Learning & Pedagogy, for all their efforts. This extends to the work done by our Aspire9 Team led by Mark De Fazio and Charlene Smith offering so many opportunities for our Year 9 students to grow and learn.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of the many teams that ensured the support of our students during the year; the Learning Enhancement team led by Virginia Dunwoodie and Bronwyn Keane, Careers and Pathway team, Maintenance Team, and the Well-being team and Student Administration, particularly Caroline Leaver in Village Reception.

As our students navigate their adolescent years, it is a great comfort to know that the pastoral care provided to our young people continues to be exemplary. Our House system ensures each student is known, I wish to thank and acknowledge our House Coordinator team which is led by Rebecca Haas and Jodie Williams as Assistant Heads of Campus – Student Wellbeing and Growth, and then comprised of Kate de Lacy, Sean Egan, Steph Murphy, Barry Howle, Matthew Price, Anne Marie Furness, Josie Luppino and Josh Probyn Smith.

To our Year 9 group I wish you well as you move into the new Year 10-12 Campus, your enthusiasm and spirit has made Padua College and particularly the 7-9 Campus in the Coolock and Village a better place… thank you!

I wish all in the Padua Community a happy and Holy Christmas and we look forward to a year of success and achievement in 2025!

Wishing you continued blessing,

God Bless,

Stephen Veneris

Perpetual Awards

We congratulate the following students who were recognised at the end of year Academic and Endeavour Awards Assembly on the final day of term, Friday 6 December.

Joan Cotter Award - Atticus Treyvaud

Darren Crewe Award - Mika Robinson

Adam Lyddy Award – Oscar Mannering

Year 7 Dux - Gretchen Mitchell

Year 8 Dux – Jaxon Landfried

Year 9 Dux – Ella McCarthy

Mornington Medal Winners - Millie Smith, Logan Shelley

Mercy Award Winner - Cooper Hall

Mercy Award Nominees - Millie Smith, Logan Shelley, Cooper Hall

Year 7 Principals Honour Award

Gretchen Mitchell, Henry Tacon, Jack Hubbard, Tom Busby, Oliver Martin, Toby Gomme, Geri O'Shea, Georgie Charlton, Emily Blundell, Imogen Beer, Evie Duggan, Patrick Ryan

Year 8 Principal’s Honour Award

Amelia Murray, Archer Amado, Neethu Diya, Jaxon Landfried, Jeremy Beattie, Nathan Shibu, Henry Johnstone, Caitlin Oliffe-Betts, Ebony Krongold, Isabelle Ferlin, Chelsea Oliffe-Betts

Year 9 Principal’s Honour Award

Millie Smith, Logan Shelley, Cooper Hall, Lachlan Turnham, Ella McCarthy, Izzy Torrington, Alyria Cenacchi, Amatiel Herbert, Henry Caldecott, Jacob Norris, Gordon Xu, Harrison Margetts, Flynn Beckley

North Star Award Winners

Millie Smith, Logan Shelley, Eleanor McCausland, Georgie Charlton, Patrick Ryan, Atticus Treyvaud, Caitlin Oliffe-Betts, Gracie Williams , Rafael Luppino, Lincon Pingiaro, Ammy Herbert, Lachlan Turnham, Cooper Hall

Music Award Winners

Lincon Pingiaro, Macy Hall, Henry Tacon

Maths Awards

Year 7 Prime Award - Gretchen Mitchell

Year 8 Pi Award - Amelia Murray

Year 9 Pythagoras Award - Lachlan Turnham

Sports Awards

Year 7 Sportsperson of the Year - Stella Duyvestyn

Year 7 Sportsperson of the Year - Ashton Trebilcock

Year 8 Sportsperson of the Year – Ella Seaburgh

Year 8 Sportsperson of the Year - Oliver Deka

Year 9 Sportsperson of the Year - Logan Shelley

Year 9 Sportsperson of the Year – Jude Shannon

Academic Awards

Year 7 Academic Award Winners

Tom Busby, Kalani Vegar, Liam Beer, Alastair Glennon, Harvey Wagner, Henry Tacon, Liliana Zosel, Willow Van Grunsven, Ollie Martin, Penny Tierney, Georgie Charlton, Hayden Groves, Gretchen Mitchell, Zander Marino, Geri O'Shea, Evie Duggan, Patrick Ryan, Emily Blundell, Charli Batters, Milly Amado, Jack Hubbard, Sienna Mones, Xavier Sibio, Imogen Beer, Atticus Treyvaud, Charlotte Davis, Lexi Galvin, Eleanor McCausland

Year 8 Academic Award Winners

Sienna Mulhall, William Hiles, Stella Gibbs, Amelia Murray, Lincon Pingiaro, Kyle Phillips, Indi Smith, Chelsea Oliffe-Betts, Archer Amado, Tilly Hogg, Emily Slattery, Nathan Shibu, Jude Koelmeyer, Eve Pertile, Ash Grice, Jaxon Landfried, Isabelle Ferlin, Gracie Williams, Roisin Crombie, Jeremy Beattie, Ivy Clutterbuck, Diya Neethu, Caitlin Oliffe-Betts, Isla Gibson

Year 9 Academic Award Winners

Mika Robinson, Rufus Stanley, Ollie Ewer Tahlia Jolly, Ammy Hopmans, Makayla Akehurst, Lachlan Turnham, Claudia Cox, Cooper Hall, Maddi Haley, Alyria Cenacchi, Logan Shelley, Amelia Howarth, Emily Bugeja, Izzy Torrington, Ammy Herbert, Gordon Xu, Millie Smith, Finn Brook, Ella McCarthy, Henry Caldecott

Holiday Reading Competition

The library is excited to announce that students can borrow books over the upcoming holiday period!

To make it even more fun, we’re launching a competition, open to students across all campuses. Students simply take a photo of a book they’ve borrowed while on holiday—whether it’s a biography beach read, a murder mystery whilst on a mountain escape, or a sci-fi short story on the sofa —students simply share their happy snap via library@padua.vicedu.au. The most creative photos will win amazing prizes.

As always, students can borrow up to 10 books at a time.

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 .