Principal's Video News
Part of our human nature is that we enjoy receiving praise, this is also true when an institution that we are part of receives praise. In recent weeks, the excellent work and achievements of students have been acknowledged by a variety people in a range of ways:
- A staff member of ‘Campaspe Downs’ who hosted our first Year 7 camp contacted us to say that our Year 7s were the most polite group of young people she had experienced in 30 years. High praise indeed!
- Last week I shared lunch with a group of Year 10 and 11 students to acknowledge and thank them for their efforts. While heading home from a VET course one evening, the boys saw a man in his 90s who had fallen in his driveway. He was injured and was unable to get up. They rang an ambulance and cared for him until it arrived.
- On our inter-house athletics day, a large group of costumed Year 12s ran with a Year 7 student with high needs supporting and encouraging him to finish the race. His mother wrote “Thanks to the gorgeous young men who stepped up to support and encourage - a great bunch of lads who clearly demonstrate your school's value of compassion”.
This week the 2023 ‘Virtus’ will be distributed to families. It is a beautifully put together record of the 2023 school year at St Joseph’s and I hope you enjoy it. I would like to acknowledge the professionalism and hard work of Clara Orr from our Community and Development Office for her work in editing and producing the magazine.
I have visited the College library a number of times in recent weeks and have been enormously impressed by the number of students, particularly senior students, who are working diligently during class time, at lunchtime and after school. Many of our senior students are taking advantage of the library being open until 5pm (Monday to Thursday) and 4pm (Friday) with tutors available (along with free food and hot drinks), to catch up on work and study. Many are finding it a great opportunity to use the time between the end of school and the commencement of sport training or other commitments productively.
In the last newsletter, I emphasised the importance of communication and families and teachers working together. As we commence the second half of the first term, it is a good time to check in on how your student/s academic work is progressing. This can be done through PAM. Detail on how to access this is available in the parent portal. You can also see what assessment tasks are coming up to help ensure students are well prepared for them.
We are committed to continuous and regular reporting of student progress throughout each term, however, we also provide formalised mid semester and end of semester reports. The Mid Semester Reports will be available through PAM on Tuesday, 19 March.
One of our many learnings from the Covid period has been the popularity of online parent teacher meetings with many families. Online meetings can be booked for 9am until 12pm on Thursday, 28 March and face-to-face meetings can be booked for 4pm until 7pm on Wednesday, 27 March. Bookings can be made through PAM and open Wednesday, 20 March.
Last week our athletics team competed in the Associated Catholic Colleges Carnival. We have relatively few specialist track and field athletes and most of the team’s primary focus is on a different sport. Hence it was a terrific effort to finish second in the aggregate and in each of junior, intermediate and senior divisions while winning the U/13 and U/16 age groups. Outstanding performers on the day were Tobias Servin and Darcy Harrington in the U/16’s and Hunter McCarthy and James Richardson in the U/13’s.
The School Advisory Council plays an important role in the College as a forum for discussion and discernment, providing parent voice and community perspective in shaping important decisions. The Council is not a board of governance or decision-making authority and members do not hold legal or financial responsibility for any decisions of the College. The Council is supported in its work by our Finance and Planning Committee and our Governance and Risk Committee.
Following consultation with Advisory Council Chair, Shona Eland, we would like to call for expressions of interest from any member of the College community who might be interested in joining the Advisory Council, the Finance and Planning Committee or the Governance and Risk Committee. The commitment involves about eight meetings each year.
If you would like to know more about the Council and committees, please feel free to contact me on 5226 8119. Alternatively, you may wish to submit an expression of interest in writing providing some background as to your skill set and interest. These should be emailed to [email protected]
God Bless
Tony Paatsch
Principal
Deputy News
Celebrating International Women’s Day at SJC
Throughout this week, our college has embraced and recognised International Women’s Day, centering on the 2024 theme, ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate. Progress.’ Aligned with the United Nations 68th Commission on the Status of Women, this theme, ‘Count Her In,’ meticulously delves into the avenues for enhanced economic inclusion for women and girls universally. Despite commendable strides, women encounter formidable barriers hindering their equitable participation in the economy. As a school dedicated to fostering Respectful Relationships, we persistently impart the significance of this message, underscoring the imperative for equality for all.
Our observance of this pivotal day included a range of initiatives this week:
- A comprehensive school-wide wellbeing lesson.
- An engaging Kahoot quiz, crafted by Touchstone leaders to complement the overarching messages of the week.
- An invitation extended to both staff and students to write messages of appreciation and gratitude to the influential women in their lives, conveyed through purple post-it notes.
- On the actual day, Friday, International Women’s Day, our staff and student groups will represent the College at diverse community IWD events.
- The library team has curated a specialised IWD display, encouraging students to share messages celebrating the remarkable women in their lives.
Highlighting our commitment to gender equality, our senior AFL squad participated in the annual Respect Cup on 6 March. This significant event in the College calendar showcases male students playing a curtain-raiser game before the women’s match. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to Loreto College and St. Patrick’s College of Ballarat for hosting this event.
Beyond this, the College has orchestrated a multitude of extracurricular programs for our students. Special acknowledgment is extended to our Year 7 team for their instrumental role in managing two of the three Year 7 camps. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from students, parents, and external providers underscores the value of these camps as crucial opportunities for our new students to forge meaningful connections with peers and cultivate essential life skills.
Identity News
Shining a light on building communication and relationships skills with our Year 8 students and their Fathers and the mentors in their lives.
Last Wednesday, we welcomed Bill Jennings to lead our annual Year 8 Father/Mentor and Son Time & Space Event. Bill Jennings has over 30 years’ experience in ‘people program’ innovation and design. Bill is the Founder of Time & Space, a service for schools he established in 2006. Time & Space now reaches schools in every state of Australia and has been international since 2013.
It was a hot, but fun filled evening which got everyone actively involved and highlighted the importance of ongoing 1-to-1 conversations between young people and their parents or mentors in their lives. It was also a great opportunity for our excellent team of volunteer student helpers who gain Service Learning and House points by helping with the organisational aspects of the evening and as small group leaders along with past participating parents and Waterford Leadership staff.
Student Reflections
I had loads of fun going out of my comfort zone and meeting new people.
It was a really great night for me and my dad and me both had a great time.
We had a very good discussion about our interests and passions.
We both got to share our treasured item which was good because it expressed our feelings.
It helped me and dad bond a lot more and figure out where each other’s minds were at with this stage of our lives.
Parents/Mentors Reflections
It was good that we both were able to open up and express our feelings both good and bad.
Great event that will assist open and honest conversation with my son throughout his time at St Joseph's ... and beyond.
Brilliant to hear from fellow parents and my son’s peers.
Open and honest… made me think of a few things differently, especially coming from the boys.
Great eye opener to my child's needs and experience in life.
Shining a light on Gospel Spirituality
Today we gathered together for our first Touchstone Assembly for the year led by our Gospel and Spirituality Prefect Leaders Josef Paatsch and Ky Berends and their team. Our leaders focused on the following key areas: Laudato Si Action Plan, Lenten Prayer and reflection, International Women’s Day theme ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress,’ and the Respect Cup, Catholic Education Week events in Melbourne, guest speaker Josef Paatsch reflecting on the ACU Young Leaders Program, an interview with 7C students on their recent Chapel orientation experience, and a performance by the SJC Stage Band.
To conclude, we shared the importance of why we are encouraged to live our faith by supporting a broad range of service learning opportunities, where all members of our college community can get involved. Every student is required to do a minimum of three hours of service per year. During Lent, we are called to really live out our Touchstones and be involved in alms giving. Giving alms is about donating your time, money, services, or resources to others. Please start a conversation with your son and family about how they can make a difference and what type of service your son would like to complete. Service Learning and Enviro Service Learning opportunities are advertised on the student bulletin, student email, social media, the College Newsletter and at gatherings. We reminded students to, ‘Let your light shine through service to others, by completing your learning opportunities soon.’
Caring for Wadawurrung Country
In order to shine a light on caring for Wadawurrung Country, we are calling on our SJC community to engage in Pope Frances’ Laudato Si Action Plan, to ‘keep our college clean’.
We are committed to the action plan’s seven goals to provide guidance on urgent and immediate actions each one of us can take in care for our common home. It states: “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to their own culture, experience, participation and talents.”
A group including representatives from our Justice and Solidarity Touchstone leaders, FIRE Carriers, First Nations students, Identity team and Sustainability leaders met recently, to brainstorm ideas to do so in a variety of ways.
We all agreed, the state of litter in our yard and misuse of our recycling practices requires us to educate our community. We came up with the idea that if we make connections to the importance of activities students engage in, it will impact their practices such as when we are participating in Outdoor Ed and PE classes, using our local waterways, enviro service, sporting/training and recreational activities on our ovals at recess, lunch and after school.
Be on the lookout during the season of Lent in the weeks ahead for your son to share the reminders around the College and knowledge shared at gatherings to highlight ways to improve our daily actions and enjoy living and learning on Wadawurrung Country.
Lenten Prayerful Reflection
In this Year of Prayer, our Gospel Spirituality student leader Tom Slater, lit our Gospel and Solidarity Touchstone candle, from our college candle, to enflame our hearts with the Holy Spirit, reflecting the presence of our Lord, the light of the world. To fill us with compassion and courage, to live out our Lenten commitments to act through prayer. Acts that change our daily actions and especially the act of alms giving. Lent, the 40 days following Ash Wednesday, is like a spiritual makeover. We are given the chance to reflect on how we are living our lives and how we can ensure we are renewed and reflecting the best version of ourselves, as we begin a fresh new day each sunrise, and as we move towards the great celebration of Easter.
Josef Paatsch’s Reflection on ACU Young Leaders Program
My name is Josef Paatsch, and I have the privilege of being the 2024 Gospel Spirituality Touchstone Prefect. As a Gospel Spirituality Prefect, I was afforded the incredibly enriching experience to participate in the 2023 Australian Catholic University Leaders Program, in late November and early December of last year.
The ACU Leaders Program was a three week international program, with two weeks in Rome and one week in London. The program was structured around three modules, each with their own teachings, but all providing leadership formation for Year 11 Catholic school leaders like myself through an immersion in the Catholic tradition and Western civilisation.
Module 1 featured the Church and the West providing an overview of key periods in the development of the Church and its influence in shaping the Western world.
With learnings about the teachings of St Peter and St Paul being prominent throughout, I particularly enjoyed our visit to the medieval town of Assisi. Despite being a small town of around 30,000, Assisi was filled with significant sites both religious and historical, the most significant being the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, in which we had the opportunity to celebrate Mass in the presence of St Francis’ sacred bones.
St Francis, known for his ministry to the underprivileged, cared deeply for God’s sacred creations, for the environment and all that lived in it.
Module 2 explored some of the major ideas and challenges shaping the Church and the West, and how they influenced our understandings of politics, religion, knowledge and society. Module 2 provided arguably the best experiences of the trip with visits to Vatican City, the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, all of which were awe-inspiring. The visit to the Vatican City, including the life-changing experience of having a live papal audience with Pope Francis, in which his main message came from the first letter of St Peter, centred around spreading joy and hope while treating people well. A message I think is extremely relevant given the current conflicts in Gaza and the Ukraine.
Lastly, module 3 delved into the teachings of recent Popes on democracy, the challenges of the modern world, and the Catholic response to them. Although module 3 still had the religious undertones through these papal teachings, it placed greater importance on leadership and politics with a visit to the Churchill War Rooms and Westminster.
In closing, firstly, thank you for reading this reflection, but if you are able to take something away from it, make it be the importance of embracing challenges and seizing opportunities presented to you. At first I was apprehensive about going on the trip, I would be away from family and friends for a long duration and in foreign countries with people I’d only meet once. However, after the trip I’m eternally grateful to those who encouraged me to embrace the opportunity and challenge. So, whether it's in sports, academics, music, immersions or debating, our college provides opportunities that we should all be grateful for and embrace so don't shy away from stepping out of your comfort zone and seize the challenges presented to you. Thank you.
Josef Paatsch - Gospel and Spirituality Prefect Leader
The Respect Cup will remain in Geelong for another year after the boys and girls of St Joseph's and Sacred Heart combined for a 3-goal victory over St Patrick's and Loreto at MARS Stadium in Ballarat on Wednesday. The boys game saw 44 St Joseph's boys represent the College led by 2024 captain's Angus Hanley and Lachie Jaques.
Ms Gilda Incigneri and Ms Rebecca McInerney spoke to the team before the match about their connection to football and what the day meant to them, which set the scene for a fantastic day celebrating the week of International Women's Day.
In the blistering 30-degree heat of Ballarat, both the boys and girls game was played in good spirits with a lively crowd contributing to the atmosphere. St Joseph's led the first half of the boys match before St Pat's piled on three third quarter goals in what proved to be a match winning turn of events. Harry Segrave was dynamic up forward and kicked four major's in a best on ground performance for St Joseph's whilst Max Waight and Wichay Paul made substantial contributions in the halves that they played.
In the main game of the afternoon, Sacred Heart were dominant from start to finish against Loreto and well and truly made up for the boys loss on the scoreboard, leading to a 18-point combined score victory.
The Year 11 and 12 boys will play a series of friendlies over the next few weeks before the ACC season kicks off in Week 2 of Term 2 against St Patrick's in Ballarat once again.
1st XVIII Football Friendly |
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Respect Cup – Wednesday 6 March |
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Geelong 14.13 (97) def Ballarat 11.13 (79) |
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Sacred Heart 7.5 (47) def Loreto Ballarat 3.2 (20) |
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St Joseph's Geelong 7.8 (50) def by St Patrick’s Ballarat 8.11 (59) |
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GOALS: Harry Segrave 4, Charlie Meadows 1, Brady Smigowski 1, Benjamin Coote 1 |
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BEST: Harry Segrave, Max Waight, Lachlan Jaques, Wichay Paul, Jesse Mellor, Benjamin Coote, Jai Adams, Brady Smigowski, Oliver Maddalena, Tyler Monahan |
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MARS Stadium, Ballarat MATCH VISION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6M_gAQhJiI&ab_channel=RedVision |
The 2024 Junior Band Academy Kicked off on 28 February with an enthusiastic group of Year 7 students. 35 young musicians began their journey with the SJC music faculty and we couldn’t be more excited about what this year will bring!
Directed by Mr Gerry O’Callaghan, and supported by several specialist music tutors from the SJC music team, the students were introduced to the sounds and sights of their new instruments, how to follow the conductor and making their first sounds all together as an ensemble.
It’s not too late to join in the fun, with a few availabilities on percussion, clarinet, flute and low brass. If your child is thinking about being involved in the Junior Band academy, please get in touch [email protected] or fill in the expression of interest form here https://forms.office.com/r/qfH705xqBY
St Joseph's College Geelong Athletics Team Shines at 2024 ACC Athletics Carnival
On Thursday, February 29th, the St Joseph's College Geelong Athletics Team showcased their exceptional talent and sportsmanship at the ACC Athletics Carnival. Led by Captain Noah Burns, the team demonstrated outstanding performance across various events, earning commendable victories and accolades, coming second overall in an outstanding display of athletic ability, team work and perseverance.
A standout athlete of the day was Tobias Servin, who dominated four events in the under 16 category, securing first place in the 100m hurdles, long jump, 100m sprint, and the 200m sprint. Darcy Harrington joined in the triumph, clinching victory in the triple jump, thereby contributing significantly to the under 16 team's triumph in their age group.
Not to be outdone, the under 13 squad also delivered stellar performances, with James Richardson securing victory in the 80m hurdles, Hunter McArthur claiming top honors in both the 800m and 1500m races, Patrick Brown triumphing in the triple jump, and Luca Torsi emerging victorious in the 200m sprint.
The team's success extended beyond individual events, with notable victories from other members including Billy Blake in the under 14's 1500m, Jake Mcleod in the under 15 discus, and Patrick Wall in the under 17s 200m sprint. In total, the team won an impressive 13 wins throughout the day.
Furthermore, the St Joseph's College Geelong athletes displayed exceptional behavior throughout the event, embodying sportsmanship and representing their school with pride. Their conduct not only reflected positively on themselves but also a true reflection of the team’s ability to adapt, and cover athletes in events within the day.
In addition to their victories, the team's consistent performance led to second-place finishes in 16 events and third-place finishes in 11 events, ultimately contributing to the overall second-place.
In conclusion, the ACC Athletics carnival was a resounding success for the St Joseph's College Geelong Athletics Team. Their remarkable achievements, coupled with their exemplary behavior, exemplify the spirit of athleticism and camaraderie instilled within the school. These events were only able to occur due to the support from coaches Mr Doak, Ms McInerney, Mr Lynch, Mr and Mr Hood, Ms Gleeson, Mr Paatsch AFL Trainee Ben Slater and former SJC Athletics captain Massimo Pantano who came back to help the athletes and event run on the day.
A reminder that the 2024 Swimming Carnival will be held this Friday at Kardinia Pool. It is expected that all students in Years 7 participate in the 25m trials across the pool.
Not everyone is an elite swimmer, but you can have a go and earn some points for your house towards winning the Adam Bryant House Shield.
You can bring your own lunch or the canteen at the pool will be open to grab something to eat throughout the day.
Remember to bring an easily identifiable bag, wear PE uniform and apply sunscreen!
All results from Friday's Swimming Sports will be published in the next newsletter
Surf Life Saving Report 2024
On Tuesday 20 March, 14 boys represented the school at the School Surf Life Saving titles at Torquay beach. We did not have any senior representatives due to school commitments, so the load was left to our Year 7 to 10 competitors. Despite competing against larger teams from other schools, our students excelled and were able to defend their title from last year. After trailing early, they showed great spirit in rallying throughout the day to achieve victory.
Results:
1st – St. Joseph’s College 86 points
2nd – Padua College, Peninsula Grammar 83 points
3rd – Iona College 74 points
The newly re-branded Parent Network Group held our first meeting on Tuesday and it was filled with enthusiasm, fun and many new, positive faces! The AGM was also held with Ann O’Neil re-elected as Secretary and Sasha Dickson to continue as President.
The essence of the Parent Network Group is to increase connections and networks within the Joey’s community whilst supporting the school with initiatives including offering RSA for Year 12 students, donations towards Kensekka, contributions to the College Bursary Program and funding towards wellbeing programs and initiatives that directly benefit our boys.
Our first social event will be held on the 21 March with the Comedy Night starring Pete Helliar (otherwise known as Strauchanie and more recently from the jungles of South Africa) and Des Dowling (Kinne fame). Tickets are available now so please come along for a parent night out with plenty of laughs guaranteed!
The next gathering of the Parent Network Group will be held on 19 March. This is our Open Night - a fun and casual environment with refreshments and nibbles for all who would like to come and find out about us. The theme for this gathering is ‘Wellbeing’ with College Principal Tony Paatsch and Deputy Principal Wellbeing Cassandra Gleeson speaking about the wellbeing programs and initiatives that St Joseph’s provides.
We look forward to an exciting and positive 2024 school year brimming with opportunities and exciting events.
Comedy Night - Thursday 21 March
Book tickets via the link below
https://events.humanitix.com/sjc-comedy-night-2024
Year 11 English Language Linguistic Fieldwork
On Tuesday our Year 11 English Language students conducted their linguistic fieldwork at Federation Children Childcare Centre in Newtown. English Language students have been studying first language acquisition and are required to transcribe conversations and identify the developmental stage and subsystems of spoken communication. Students have also been learning about linguistic theories and needed to observe these in a real life context.
The young people at Federation Children were very happy to have 15 Year 11 students join them for the morning and were excited to provide them with lots of recorded conversations which will now be used for their up and coming SAC annotated transcripts.St Joseph’s students were commended by staff at Federation Children for their kindness, gentle natures, willingness to engage with the children, their enthusiasm for play and respect towards staff. We look forward to some of the four year-old children visiting our class here at St Joseph’s College later this term.
2023 Virtus Magazine
The 2023 Virtus will be distributed by homeroom teachers to students this week.
2023 graduates will have theirs posted to their home address.
ST JOSEPH’S COLLEGE ANNOUNCES JOSIP ZILIC AS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR & COACH
St Joseph’s College has a range of excellence programs, and the College is excited to announce Josip Zilic as Technical Director and Coach of their Senior Football team programs.
Principal Tony Paatsch said ‘I'm delighted to announce that we have appointed a Coach / Technical Director of Football (Soccer). Josip Zilic will be working with our elite players and teams at training during this semester and for their ACC games in Term 2. He will be supported by Tom Trupkovic our SJC Football Operations (Soccer) Manager & Liverpool FC IA Site Lead.
Zilic has great experience and after almost 20 years at North Geelong Warriors FC and working within Football clubs from the Geelong Region, he has coached all age ranges and through to senior teams including the previous Geelong Region Skill Acquisition Programs (SAP).’
Josip Zilic said ‘Thank you to Tony Paatsch and the selection team for the opportunity to come into the St Joseph’s College family to undertake the Head Coaching and Technical Director role.
It is an important step to make for the school as it builds further on its investment in football, along with the collaboration with the LFCIA, under the leadership of Kevin Grima (Technical Director) and Scott Collis (Football Operations Manager). I see this opportunity to provide what I have learned from the football community and share with the school and the students. I’m thrilled to be on board, and expect I’ll be able to share a lot of my experiences with the College and our teams. We’re underway with training preparations ahead of term two season kick off.’
Mr Paatsch said ‘This is an exciting addition to our excellence programs which currently provide training and pathways for our elite performers across a range of sports.’
The excellence programs focus on the four pillars of Development
Fundamentals – Technical
Principals of Play – Tactical
Athletic Development – Physical
Connection – Education
SUSTAINABILITY
UPCOMING EVENTS TERM 1
Thursday 29 February: Enviroservice (3.30pm-5.30pm) Making Eddie Coin
Friday 1 March: “30 for 30” Challenge, Schools Clean Up Day
Sunday 3 March: Clean Up Australia Day
Thursday 7 March: Enviroservice (3.30pm-5.30pm): Mulching Carey Oval embankment
Friday 22 March: National Ride to School Day
Friday 22 March: Earth Hour Schools Day SJC “Switch Off” hour
Saturday 26 March: Earth Hour 8.30pm-9.30pm (Global event)
ENVIROSERVICE: MAKING EDDIE COIN
On Thursday 29 February, 11 students volunteered to commence the production of the new edition Eddie Coin. Participants were involved in an induction process prior to the day and during the workshop, each student gained first hand experience in moulding the new coins. Moving away from the original green colour scheme, the new edition Eddie Coin colours (elected by student leader Luke Stacey during the first student-initiated Eddie Coin workshop), boast our St Joseph’s colour scheme of red, yellow and black. Students volunteering for the school Clean Up on Friday 1 March, were the first students to earn a new edition Eddie Coin.
“30 FOR 30” CHALLENGE – NATIONAL SCHOOLS CLEAN UP DAY
On Friday 1 March, volunteers set to task for 30 minutes during lunchtime to help clean and beautify the College grounds by collecting rubbish, in support of the National Schools Clean Up Day campaign. It was heartening to witness so many students keen to engage in the clean up to help create a better atmosphere for all to enjoy and ultimately to help improve the environment.
NATIONAL CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY
On Sunday 3 March, members of our college community joined the “Friends of Waurn Ponds Creek” to help "Clean Up" the embankments surrounding the creek, extending from the shopping centre to the baseball oval, swimming complex, skatepark and surrounding areas. Collectively, volunteers removed six supermarket trolleys, several bikes, office furniture, car parts and a skip full of general rubbish from the area. These efforts serve to improve both the outlook and habitat conditions for the threatened and vulnerable endemic native Yarra Pigmy Perch species, found in the Waurn Ponds and Thompson Creeks.
If you are interested in joining the community group, they gather on a fortnightly basis and new volunteers are always welcome. For more information, use the link below to view their website; https://www.friendsofwaurnpondscreek.org.au/
NEW “CASH BACK” BINS
Over the past week, “Cash Back” bins were introduced to the Year 7 and 8 areas for the sole purpose of collecting drink containers, eligible for a 10c refund, through the Victoria Container Deposit Scheme, introduced on 1 November 2023. As approximately 900 drinks are sold in the canteen each week (on average), there is an opportunity to donate up to $90 a week to our causes. In recent years, proceeds from our aluminium can recycling have been allocated to the Cancer Council. This year, it has been decided that half of the proceeds will go to the Cancer Council and half of the proceeds will go to a new initiative, to be elected by students in coming weeks.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
COMMUNITY FILM NIGHT – THE PERMACULTURE ORCHARD: BEYOND ORGANIC – FREE EVENT
If you are interested in learning how to “plant your own fruit trees and take them to the next level”, join in the Transition South Barwon group film and networking night on Saturday 16 March from 6.30-9.00pm at the Grovedale Scout Hall to watch “The Permaculture Orchard: Beyond Organic”. The film covers; grafting companion planting, irrigation and location selection. This is a free community event; however registration is required.
To register, visit https://events.humanitix.com/fim-night-b72n439y
If you have purchased a Myki and live more than 4.8km from St Joseph’s College, you are able to claim the cost of the yearly or half-yearly Myki you have purchased. Please forward the receipt to Lisa McDine ([email protected]) or drop it into the College.
Myki student passes can be purchased from train stations or at the PTV stand in Westfield. You will need a student concession card, your son’s student card with the PTV logo on it is acceptable.
Year 9 students may or may not be eligible depending on how far they live from the Westcourt Campus.
Any queries please contact Lisa McDine.
A memorial Mass in memory of Father Kevin Bates will take place at Holy Spirit Church on 21 March at 10am. All most welcome.
Our hearts go out to you all as we pray “That God will welcome these faithfully departed into His loving arms. And that precious memories will be of comfort to those left behind, knowing that their love will live on in their hearts forever.”