Hearts News (Week 4 Term 1, Thursday 22 February 2024)

Last week we marked the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday liturgies at each campus. The application of ashes in the sign of a cross on our foreheads serves as a public expression of our faith.

To our Sacred Heart College community

You may have seen that our College theme (and that of 50-plus Marist schools around Australia) for this year is “FIRST LIGHT: Reval the Spirit”. The theme FIRST LIGHT invites us to recognise the world as the place in which we discover God. God’s Spirit is in Creation. The first words of God were “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3), and with that our world dawned into existence. We can recognise and experience God’s Spirit through the beauty and goodness of everything that the world holds and reveals; the spring buds on a tree, the warmth of the sun on your face, in the eyes of a stranger. Everything reveals the presence of God (1 Cor 10:26). This theme also draws on Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus says, “You are the light of the world… let your light shine.” (Mt 5:14-16).

This theme will carry on throughout the year, but has been a focus of our daily prayers this week. It is a very fitting focus for the start of the year, as we encounter “the Spirit” in everything and everyone at our school. The notion of FIRST LIGHT as both the dawn, fitting at the beginning of the school year, as well as the opportunity for our students and staff to reveal their gifts and talents is something very powerful. I am excited to see what revelations we will enjoy this year. Indeed, whilst this theme is acknowledged around the country, it has a special significance in our context where one quadrant of our crest is dedicated to the lamp, symbolising (in part) the light that each of our students has within them. Our mission is to help them reveal it.

Daniel Head
Deputy Principal

Beginning of Lent – Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Marking the commencement of the Church’s season of Lent, each campus took part in a liturgy on Ash Wednesday (14 February). Traditionally, the application of ashes on our foreheads on this day serves as a public expression of our faith. Lent is a period dedicated to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

The liturgy also provided us with the opportunity to launch Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion campaign for 2024. This year’s theme is “For all future generations”, challenging all of us to live with compassion, knowing that our impact today will benefit future generations. Led by MSol, Shrove Tuesday provided our first opportunity for some fundraising, through the annual Shrove Tuesday pancake sale.

Sacred Heart College’s Marist Solidarity (MSol) and Game Changers groups were also launched. MSol is a social justice group, engaging in advocacy, fundraising, community outreach, and sustainability activities. Game Changers is a Catholic youth ministry program led by mentors (old scholars), which focuses on faith formation, Christian leadership, and service.

During this Lenten season, we are encouraged to make simple lifestyle changes and act for social and environmental justice, whilst responding with love and hope, now and for all future generations.

Stations of the Cross

The Lenten season culminates on Good Friday, with the Stations of the Cross. In conjunction with the Brighton Catholic Parish, the annual re-enactment of the Passion and Death of Jesus will be performed at Marcellin Campus at Midday (29 March). A tradition that dates back nearly 30 years, we are very pleased to see this return for the first time in five years. Full details are available here.

Laureate Assembly – Celebrating the Class of 2023

The recent Laureate Assembly held at Marcellin Campus last week celebrated the outstanding academic achievements by the class of 2023. Of the 252 students eligible for an ATAR, 46 students (18.3%), achieved an ATAR of 90 and above – which places them in the top 10% of students in the nation. Four students secured scores in excess of 99.0, placing them in the top 1% – an outstanding effort!

These students, along with those who received subject awards, and the 27 students who received 31 Merit Awards, were presented to the community at this assembly. Additionally, Sacred Heart College congratulated Tigerlily Santry and Adrian Niculescu, two graduates who received the Governor’s Commendation Excellence Award for their all round attitude, involvement in the community and academic achievement in 2023.

Special mention must go to the Proxime Accessit, Ben Hyde (with two Merits, four A+ grades and an ATAR of 99.7) and the 2023 College Dux, Mohsin Iqbal (with two Merits, four A+ grades and an ATAR of 99.85). Mohsin delivered a thoughtful speech reflecting on his positive choices and the role they played in aiding him to achieve his goals. 

We also congratulate the 2023 Year 10 Dux, Shubham Bhatt and Year 11 Dux, Piper Ackland, both who displayed outstanding achievement across the 2023 school year.

The Laureate Assembly concluded with 2003 graduate, Kathryn Mason, delivering an impassioned speech reflecting on her journey and her time as a part of the Hearts community. Kat urged students to take control of their own stories and to see hardship as a factor in shaping resilience; not a decisive component in building identity. 

Year 9 Leadership Conference

The Year 9 Student Leaders gathered for the first time as a leadership group on Monday 12 February to begin to unpack what leadership is and how they would lead this year. 

Thank you to David Threadgold, who worked with us to start developing our leadership team with a fun range of activities and a thought provoking session about ‘The 4 Cores of Leadership’. The leaders are excited to continue to work with David to build on their individual and collective leadership capacity across the year. 

Students spent the day working with the Year 12 Student Leaders to develop plans for the year ahead.  There was a wonderful energy in the room as the group of thoughtful students dreamed and planned for an exciting range of initiatives to continue to foster our sense of Family Spirit and how the Student Leaders can support community outreach.

Sandala workshop

Last week, Year 11 students studying Stage 2 Integrated Learning Religion participated in Sandala workshops run by local artist, Sue Norman at Somerton Beach. Sue has created over 600 sandalas, and people can often see her work alongside Brighton Jetty, where she acknowledges and commemorates a variety of milestones for people and the wider community.

The sandala comes from the ancient religious practice of mandalas from the Buddhist monks of Tibet. For our students, this experience forms part of their first unit called ‘Encountering the Sacred’, an opportunity to experience a range of rituals and practices aimed at developing their own spirituality and connecting with the sacred aspects of their lives. Students will also investigate prayer, pilgrimage, yoga and meditation in nature, and will reflect on their personal engagement with these practical activities and how it may deepen their own faith and spirituality into the future.

We are grateful to Sue for facilitating the sessions and the way she encouraged our students to connect with themselves and with nature. I also congratulate the students for the respectful and creative way they participated in the experience. 

Year 9 Girls in STEM

Last Thursday, a small group of Year 9 students travelled to Flinders University to attend a STEM Enrichment day. The day aims to engage young women in the field of STEM and investigates the various pathways into STEM based careers. Students were fortunate to hear from PhD students and researchers, experimented with light to measure the width of their hair, and created biodegradable (and edible!) water bottles using seaweed. For some, the day was an eye-opener into the different fields of science, and for others, it helped confirm their future, post Sacred Heart College. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on experience offered by Flinders and we thank them for allowing us to be part of this wonderful opportunity.

Arts News

It may only be week 4, but students in the Arts are already immersed in their learning. From engaging with artists to auditioning for roles, our students have been collaborating and actively engaging in various artistic endeavors, showcasing their talents and passion for the arts. We look forward to seeing the creative and innovative work they will produce this year.

From the 2024 Marcellin Arts Captains

Greetings everyone, we are Andrew and Grace – your 2024 Year 12 Arts Captains! Ever since we were young, we have both been heavily involved in Drama, Music and the Creative Arts. Our passion in this role stems from our love for performing songs, designing in the digital world and playing a role in a performance! For the Arts Department this year, we hope to host art-based competitions, (photography, songwriting and also digital artwork), hold a showcase night where Visual Arts / Design students can present their passion, and set up a Marcellin ‘Arts Week’ to grow and spread the Arts Community. We are super keen and excited to work with other student leaders to represent our school and grow the Arts further at Sacred Heart College!

– Andrew McKinnon and Grace Plummer, Year 12 Arts Captains

Music News

Our Marcellin CEA Music Ensembles have officially kicked the year off with rehearsals commencing last week. We have a number of ensembles working hard towards our ‘Music in May’ Concert that will take place in Term 2.

There are a number of students who have been excited to join together to make some amazing music. Our ensembles consist of the Senior Drumline, Guitar Ensemble, Metal Band, Studio Band – due to the number of students interested we have split the Studio Band into 3 studio band ensembles, Stage Band, Senior Vocal Ensemble and Liturgy Ensemble.

Each ensemble will have the chance to perform at various events throughout the year and showcase their amazing talents to the Sacred Heart College community.

2024 SACE Art Show

It gives Sacred Heart College great pleasure to announce that three of the 2023 Stage 2 Visual Arts students have had their work selected for inclusion in the 2024 SACE Art Show. This is a high accolade indeed and a testament to the quality of the work produced by Visual Art and Design students at Sacred Heart College. 

Congratulations to Class of 2023 graduates, Emma Ma, Ingrid Tinney and Georgia Warriner for their outstanding work! Special thanks also to their dedicated teachers, Sarah Melhuish and Skye McVicar for the critical role they played in supporting these students to realise their finished works, listed in order of appearance below.

‘Ahhh Ghost’ by Emma Ma
‘In the Hand of Others’ by Ingrid Tinney
‘Animals of the Mind’ by Georgia Warriner.

The SACE Art Show is open to the public and school groups, alongside an online gallery for those who cannot attend in person. It will run from 19 March – 12 April at Light Square Gallery, Adelaide College of the Arts. We encourage the community to view the incredible work of our old scholars.

Stage 2 Drama Slingsby Workshop

On Friday 16 February Sacred Hearts’ Stage 2 Drama students were fortunate to be involved in a critical appraisal session of Slingsby Theatre Company’s latest work in development, ‘Tree of Light’. Inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen tale ‘The Little Match Girl’, ‘Tree of Light’ is the first installment in a triptych of works ‘A Concise Compendium of Wonder,’ which will premiere in 2026. Each work will create a magical tale and explore humanity’s changing relationship to nature.

After watching a sneak preview, Stage 2 Drama students readily engaged in the opportunity to provide their feedback and insights to Slingsby’s creative team. The students’ observations will ensure Slingsby’s project is connected to the concerns and hopes of young people and will inform the refinement of the production in the lead-up to the world premiere at Adelaide Festival 2026. Drama students were also provided with the wonderful opportunity to be voice actors, portraying fictional characters, from within the world of the story. What an amazing opportunity for the Sacred Heart performing arts students involved!

Both Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drama students will be viewing a development performance of ‘Tree of Light’ on 27 February. Hopefully they will get to see the impact of their contributions to Slingsby’s production.

2024 Arts and Music dates and events

Champagnat Campus (Term 1 2024)

Click here to view the full College calendar of events.

Sports News

This week marks a special occasion in the sporting community as we embrace Blue Round – an initiative with a strong emphasis on mental health awareness within our schools and community.

Our teams will come together in a variety of sporting fixtures to play, compete, and do their best. More importantly, students and spectators are encouraged to take the time to check in with teammates, classmates, family, and friends. Blue Round is not about being the best player in a team; it’s about being the best teammate you can be. It’s about encouraging and caring for friends and going that extra mile to make everybody feel included and valued. 

In addition, blue donuts will be sold at Champagnat Campus on Saturday morning with all proceeds being donated to BeyondBlue. 

Please show your support this week by donning some extra blue accessories such as ribbons, zinc or socks and purchasing a donut.

Celtic player development camp

At the end of week 2, we hosted our Open Player Development Camp in partnership with Scottish Premier League’s Celtic Football Club, where coaches Paul Mooney, Scott Sweeney and Shaun Harley delivered a two day camp for boys and girls aged between 6 and 18 of mixed soccer ability. The camp was a huge success, with players learning international standard training techniques and having the chance to implement quick transition soccer, which is very much the ‘Celtic’ way of playing.

The development camp complemented the work the coaches undertook during the week with Sacred Heart’s Stage 1 and Stage 2 Workplace Practices Soccer classes, holding training sessions after school for the Boys and Girls First and Second XI squads as well as a group of highly impressive Champagnat students on Brighton Road Oval. 

We now turn our attention to the Player Academy Experience, in which the College will be sending over a couple of talented young players and coaches to the Celtic Academy in Glasgow.

Cycling Championships

On Tuesday, Alec Hume- Phillips (Year 9) and Jack Sloan (Year 10) participated in the School Sport SA State Cycling Championships at Victoria Park. The boys competed in three cycling disciplines – Time Trial, Points Race and the Criterium. After the time trial, the boys were put into divisions determined by their time. Jack was placed in the A grade division finishing a credible 12th overall and Alec just missed the podium in the D grade division finishing 4th. Well done to both boys!

CEA Knockout Sports (Champagnat and Marcellin)

Results from the last fortnight of Knockout Sports are as follows:

Knockout Baseball – SHC (10) def Brighton (1) , SHC (5) drew Golden Grove (5) progressing to Round 2 on Thursday 7 March. 

Knockout Girls T20 Cricket – SHC (113) def Westminster (112) progressing to Round 2 on Monday 4 March.

Student Sporting Achievements

Please note the images below are in order of names listed in the table above.

2024 Sports dates and events

Champagnat Campus (Term 1 2024)

Marcellin Campus (Term 1 2024)

Click here to view the full College calendar of events.