To our Sacred Heart Community
St Vincent De Paul Can Drive
Students at Champagnat Campus recently participated in a Can Drive to collect non-perishable food items for those in need in our community. An amazing total of 684 cans was collected! A competition between the five Sacred Heart College Houses was conducted and Chavoin was victorious with 203 cans. St Vincent De Paul was very appreciative of the large donation that Sacred Heart College made. Thank you to all the families that supported this MSol (Marist Solidarity) initiative.
Care for Creation
September marks the ‘Season of Creation’ and is a time to renew our relationship with our natural environment. The Season of Creation sits nicely within the Spring season; a time where the natural world revives and reinvigorates after the colder winter months. In his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si, Pope Francis posed the question “What need does the earth have of us?”
Our students and staff are blessed to have such beautiful natural environments to come to school each day. We are constantly reminded of the need to care for our school grounds, gardens and buildings and are always open to student initiatives that enhance our Champagnat and Marcellin campuses.
Recently, our Year 10 Mission Leaders, Caitlin and Grace (pictured) completed their Butterfly Garden project. By planting specific plants native to Somerton Park, the aim is to attract butterflies back into our community. According to the Butterfly Conservation of South Australia Inc, it is vital to have these native animals in our environment as they support one another, creating a balanced ecosystem. The butterfly gardens can be found on Brighton Road Oval and behind the Boarding House, just off Scarborough Street.
Congratulations to Caitlin and Grace for their passion, vision and courage to complete this project!
Year 9 Bell Shakespeare Performance
On Tuesday, Year 9 students at Champagnat Campus viewed a performance by Bell Shakespeare to consolidate their studies of The Bard in Term 3. During the show, Shakespeare is Dead by Joanna Erskine, students were exposed to key scenes from a range of plays and analysis of Shakespeare’s language and themes. Overall, the show challenged students to consider that while Shakespeare might be dead, his stories and characters live on. A key highlight was the participation of several staff and student audience members who showed off their flair for the dramatic arts, much to the delight of the enraptured audience.
Society & Culture students host Pop-Up Op Shop
On Friday 9 September the Stage 1 Society and Culture class hosted a lunchtime event to raise funds for Trees for Life by selling quality used clothing.
The aim was to raise awareness about the sustainable clothing movement through the event, and divert quality clothes from ending up in landfill. Students researched and voted before determining the charity which would receive the funds raised. There was a strong consensus that Trees for Life should receive the donation as our event was inspired by our studies on waste and the impact it has on the environment.
Students promoted the event through designing posters and brought in quality unused clothing from home to donate to the cause. A special mention needs to be made for the amazing artwork made for our event by student Ingrid Tinney, using recycled materials to make something beautiful to promote the event.
Important Pastoral Care Sessions at Marcellin Campus
Some of you may have seen in the news last month a joint press conference held at Sacred Heart College between the Minister for Education, Hon. Blair Boyer (MP) and the CEO of Encounter Youth, Nigel Osborn announcing a new Vaping Education program in schools. This week, our Year 10’s participated in the presentation which outlined the dangers associated with e-cigarettes, in particular the health risks associated with vaping and the likelihood of addiction. Our Year 11’s will be participating in the program next week.
Issues of consent and respectful relationships have been widespread and reported frequently in the media of late. To better inform our community, we have secured the SAPOL Community Engagement Team to deliver their Sex Offence Awareness Program to our Year 10 and 12 students in coming weeks. The program covers sexually based offences and image-based abuse, as well as the very important aspect of consent, the laws, victims rights and choices and important contacts. If you are concerned about your son or daughter participating in this session, please do not hesitate to contact their Head of House.
Public Holiday – Thursday 22 September
A reminder to families that next Thursday 22 September is a National Day of Mourning (Public Holiday) in honour of the life of the late Queen Elizabeth II. All students will return to school on Friday 23 September.
Champagnat Campus Parent/Teacher Learner Conversations
Champagnant Campus Parent/Teacher Learner Conversations are scheduled for Monday 19 September between 3pm – 8pm and Wednesday 21 September from 4pm – 6.30pm. These interviews will be held face to face at the Brother McAteer Centre at Marcellin Campus, Somerton Park.
The online booking system EdvalInterviews has now closed and schedules will be sent to parents/caregivers by the end of the week. If you have missed the Parent/Teacher Learner Conversation please contact your child’s teachers directly.
Marist Day 2022
On the last day of Term 3 (Friday 30 September), all staff and students across the College will gather at Marcellin Campus to celebrate Marist Day. This is an opportunity for cross-campus interaction and collaboration, to celebrate our Marist Spirit and continue to grow as one College. The theme for this years’ Marist Day is “Voice of the Courageous Heart”, chosen by a cohort of student leaders.
All students will be dismissed from Marcellin Campus at 1.00pm. More detailed information about the day is being communicated to families via separate correspondence.
The 2022 Marist Day appeal will support “Australian Marist Solidarity” in their efforts to provide education, resources, meals and other essential items to communities in the South East Asian area. Sacred Heart College continues to have a strong relationship with Marist communities in India / Sri Lanka, Fiji and the Philippines, and the majority of funds raised on Marist Day will be directed towards supporting current projects in these countries in particular.
This year, we have set a target goal of $6,000 which will have a huge impact in our associated Marist communities. Donations above $2 are tax deductible and can be made by clicking on the following link.
Leaving the College
Preparations and planning are well underway for the 2023 school year. A reminder for families that may be considering leaving the College at the end of 2022 that written leaving notification to the Principal one term in advance is required. Failure to give such notice will involve payment of fees in accordance with our current enrolment agreement.
Due to very limited placements in Year 7 in 2024, current families with sibling’s eligible for commencement at this entry point are requested to please complete an Application for Enrolment Form as soon as possible. Application forms can also be downloaded from the College website or collected from the Front Office at both Campuses.
For any questions in relation to enrolments, please do not hesitate to contact our College Registrar, Virginia Miller, on 8350 2580 or by email registrar@shc.sa.edu.au and for all Boarding enquiries, please contact Julie Raymond, PA to the Head of Boarding, on 8350 2559 or via email boarding@shc.sa.edu.au.
Call for Exam Invigilators
We are continuing to seek expressions of interest from members of the Sacred Heart College community, to join our pool of Exam Invigilators at Sacred Heart College – Marcellin.
Exam Invigilator volunteers provide valuable assistance to staff and students as they progress through a critical stage of their education, through the supervision of students undertaking exams.
Assistance is specifically required for the upcoming October/November examination period.
All volunteers must meet the College and CESA screening processes, including holding a Working With Children Clearance.
Volunteers receive an honorarium to cover costs.
For more information regarding volunteering, please visit www.shc.sa.edu.au/volunteers.
Interested community members are asked to please email hr@shc.sa.edu.au and include a current resume.
As mentioned above, this week our Year 10 students were involved in a Vaping Education Program presented by Encounter Youth. Our Year 11 students will take part in the program next week and our Year 7-9 students will participate in Term 4. The use of e-cigarettes and vaping is a significant issue within our society. We share the concerns of many in our community about the significant short and long-term health impacts of e-cigarette use and these educational programs along with a zero tolerance approach to students who are caught using e-cigarettes are important ways to help reduce the risk taking behaviours of our students. We encourage all our parents to have conversations with their children about the dangers of vaping.
The following resources provide important information about vaping and e-cigarette use:
Encounter Youth: Is vaping bad for you?
Special Report: Vaping & E-Cigarettes
On a more positive note, it was great to see and meet many of our parents at the Marcellin Campus Parent Teacher evenings held on Monday and Wednesday evenings. We look forward to our Champagnat Campus Parent Teacher evenings next week, the first face-to-face parent teacher evenings in 3 years!
Alex Dighton
Acting Deputy Principal
