From the Deputy Principal (Thursday 10 November)


To our Sacred Heart Community


Celebrating 125 Years of Sacred Heart at ‘Back to Paringa’

More than 400 Old Scholars, families, staff and friends attended the College’s 125 Year celebration, ‘Back to Paringa’ in Walter Park on Sunday 6 November.

The day began with the induction of Professor Denis Ralph (SHC ’61) into the Sacred Heart College Hall of Honour for his exemplary service to the community and to the Catholic Church. Prof. Denis Ralph was a life-long teacher, public servant, consultant and academic. His long list of achievements include Chief Executive of the Department of Education and Children’s Services and the Department of Education, Training and Employment in South Australia; Professorial Fellow and Executive Director of the Centre for Lifelong Learning and Development at Flinders University; Chair, Adelaide Metropolitan Area Consultative Committee of the Federal Government; and Chair of the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools (SACCS), along with receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Medal from Aquinas College and an Award from Pope Benedict XVI for outstanding service to the Catholic Church.

Guests then made their way to the Chapel for Sunday Mass, led by Father Brian Angus, followed by 125 year celebrations in Walter Park. Year 9 and 11 Student Leaders became tour guides for the day and led guests through Paringa Hall, enabling Old Scholars to relive memories of their time at the College and tell stories to their families. 

Our talented music students, including the Guitar Band, Guitar Rock Band, Studio Band, Jazz Band and Show Band, took to the stage and played throughout the day. They were joined in the afternoon by Old Scholar, Alice Haddy (SHC ’13) who sang a few tunes. The event also gave guests the opportunity to farewell Principal of 10 years, Steve Byrne, who has been appointed to Cardijn College next year.

Families enjoyed the games on the lawn, including tug-o’-war, bowling and ring toss, to name a few, whilst enjoying the range of delicious food and drinks on offer, and taking home a little piece of history at the merchandise stand. All proceeds from sales made on the day will go to Marist Mission Program and SHOC Hearts Hub Project.

The College is overwhelmed by the support and love for Sacred Heart College and we give thanks to all who joined us to celebrate a wonderful 125 years of Sacred Heart!


Positive Education Day

On Wednesday, students and staff across the College celebrated Positive Education Day with a myriad of activities to highlight the importance of wellbeing at Sacred Heart. Students and staff were invited to wear a splash of colour and ‘colour their threads for Pos Ed!’. 

At Champagnat, students began the day in homerooms by receiving individual SHC Character Strength stickers to place on their chromebook devices. Through the completion of the VIA Character Survey, students have identified top strengths which are reflective of the positive parts of their personalities. These stickers are a visual reminder of one’s strengths and how these can be used to help students achieve their learning goals. At lunchtime, students were invited to participate in yoga, friendship bracelet and keyring making, games and mindful colouring. It was great to see many get involved, enjoy time with friends and have a conversation as they participated. 

At Marcellin, as our students submit their final assignments and approach their exams, we continue to have meaningful conversations that help each other to open about life’s challenges and achievements, the ups and downs, however big or small. Our Pastoral Care lesson combined Positive Education Day with R U OK? ideas to start conversations to check in with our peers, offer support, and make asking “Are you OK?” a part of every day. At recess, student leaders sold colourful doughnuts – $420 was raised and will be donated to our Christmas Hamper appeal.


Year 12 2023 Leaders Camp

The College’s incoming Year 12 Student Leaders for 2023 gathered for two days of formation and planning to officially commence their tenure as student leaders. Led by Steve Lacy from Leading Teams, our leaders identified their purpose and trademark, settling on a set of agreed behaviours in order to function as a high performing team.

In a commissioning ceremony, the leaders also considered their calling as Marist leaders to fulfil the mission of St. Marcellin and be ministers to those they serve. Each leader recorded a statement of intent that was enshrined in the Marist Heart.

“The camp was such a valuable experience for all 34 leaders to build relationships and get an insight into what we would like 2023 to consist of. We all participated full-heartedly, made ourselves vulnerable to each other and stepped out of our comfort zones. From this, we as a group felt much more connected to one another and this was evident when all of us were talking, hanging out during the breaks and singing together around the campfire. When we worked closely with Steve Lacy we were asked thought-provoking questions about next year which created excitement and encouraged us to collaborate with our separate leadership team (house leaders, boarding leaders etc). We discussed at breakfast the following day how eager we were to meet up after the camp to prepare us more for 2023.” – Manni Tierney, 2023 College Captain.

We look forward to our 2023 Year 12 Leadership team being the voice of our student body in 2023!


Southern Coastal YELP Forum

On Monday (7 November), representatives from four primary schools: McAuley Community School, Old Noarlunga Primary School, O’Sullivan Beach Primary School and Southern Montessori School visited Champagnat Campus for the Southern Coastal Youth Environment Council (YELP) Forum. 

Year 8 students (Amelie and Piper) presented the outcomes of the 2022 MSol environment project which is beginning to come to fruition. In the coming weeks, students will plant some native herbs in the Indigenous Garden (lemon myrtle, native oregano, bush mint and bush cherry). It is hoped that this herb garden will continue to be added to over the years and that the produce will be used in Food Technology lessons. This will foster a greater understanding of sustainable food production and consumption. 

On the day, students also enjoyed an indigenous painting session which was run by Southern Cultural Immersion. They learnt about the symbols in Aboriginal art and were then able to create their own story which was depicted in their original artwork.


Champagnat host Year 6 Science students

This week some Year 6 students from St Anthony’s Primary School visited Champagnat Campus for a Science experience to complement their current chemistry unit. They have been learning about reversible and irreversible changes and the different states of matter. Students had an opportunity to investigate how a solid can change to a gas by doing some activities with dry ice. 

The excitement of the students was contagious and they loved being in a “real lab” and being able to make “boo bubbles”, explode the lids off film canisters and, of course, the floor of fog at the end. It was great to see some of the students who will be joining our community next year as Year 7s and build our Family Spirit and sense of community.


The wonders of Space at Marcellin

Today each of our Year 10 Science classes experienced SciWorld’s mobile planetarium (Starlab) which allowed us to bring the wonders of space to our students. Images of stars, planets and other celestial bodies were projected onto the interior surface of the large dome which acted as a giant screen. As students looked upwards, our experienced presenter guided us through the universe.

The incursion ran for the entire day with two Science classes attending at a time to enjoy a 40 minute experience in the amazing StarLab. The planetarium used brand new technology to project digital images of almost anything in space. In the StarLab we zoomed past the moon to explore the stars, planets, nebulae and even watched the International Space Station – the sky is not the limit anymore! 

This was an engaging experience for students to provoke interest in our current Science Topic of The Universe.


Champagnat End of Year Arts Exhibitions

Champagnat Arts & Technologies Gallery Exhibition

Tuesday 15 November – Thursday 17 November
3.45pm – 4.45pm
Kavanagh Room, Champagnat Campus

Champagnat Dance & Drama Exhibitions

Tuesday 15 November
5.00pm – 6.00pm
Good Samaritan Centre, Champagnat Campus
Featuring Year 7-9 Dance, Drama Club play (‘So You Wanna Be a Cheerleader’ by M.G. Davidson)

Wednesday 16 November
5.00pm – 6.00pm
Good Samaritan Centre, Champagnat Campus
Featuring Year 8 Dance and Year 9 Drama.

Tickets via TryBooking: https://www.trybooking.com/CDVUP 

Arrive early to check out our talented artists by viewing our Gallery in the Kavanagh Room and sample some catering from our Year 8 Food and Technology students (Tues/Wed only).


Year 12 2023 SHC Embroidered Pullover

Current Year 11 students wishing to have an embroidered pullover (jumper) for next year should consider the following:

  • Student-owned pullovers must be freshly laundered, be the correct uniform colour and in good condition with no holes in the garment.
  • $15.00 is payable when you leave your pullover at the Uniform Shop. Credit Card or EFTPOS only. Cash not accepted.
  • New pullovers can be purchased (the $15.00 is an additional cost).
  • All pullovers MUST BE NAMED.
  • Closing date for all orders is 25 November 2022.
  • Pick up from January 2023 onwards.
  • This crested pullover can not be recycled as it is a current year only garment.

For further enquiries, please visit the College website or contact Lisa Harvey at the Uniform Shop on (08) 8350 2586 or via email at uniformshop@shc.sa.edu.au.


Despite us rapidly approaching the end of the school year, the pace at which the Hearts community moves shows no signs of slowing down – as evidenced by the above list of events and happenings around the College! 

We have had a host of wonderful events and activities with several more to come over the next few weeks. Sunday’s Back to Paringa event was a magnificent tribute to the extraordinary 125 year history of our College and the students who performed and volunteered their time are to be commended; I had several guests approach me to declare them a credit to their school. 

In addition to those events set out in this edition of Hearts News, the Year 10 and 11 Dance students had their end of year performance yesterday evening, and the Years 10 and 11 music students have an equivalent performance tonight. There is a host of sport continuing on and preparations for exams (including several Year 12 exams which have already commenced), end of year assessments and end of year events have begun in earnest. Our focus, then, will be on finishing well; the entrance to the Christmas season signals the beginning of the end of the school year – but the energy and ‘pace’ around the conclusion to the year means that there is a clear message to our students: there is much to be achieved before holidays commence!

Daniel Head
Deputy Principal