Awards Assembly

Formal celebrations began with the whole school assembly on Monday 17 October in which the entire College acknowledged the graduating Class of 2022 with special recognition to all top students in each subject and with perpetual awards. Such an event provides not only recognition to those who received awards but provides the students in Years 7-11 with the inspiration to be on stage when their time comes. With the power of technology, this assembly was also able to be viewed by all parents and guardians, bringing the wider community into the gates of Padua.

Graduation Mass

The Graduation Mass on the evening of Tuesday 18 October was a special time when all families of the graduating Class of 2022 gathered for the final time in prayer to live the spirit of Padua College. The Mass was driven by many of the Year 12 students and once again the Music Department and associated students provided exceptional support in making the Mass a memorable occasion for all. The Valedictory function that followed the Mass, with over 900 in attendance, provided the students and parents that final opportunity to connect and reminisce over the many years shared together, with some beginning their connections in local kindergarten and primary schools. To look over the room and witness families and friends celebrating their child’s graduation, brings home that whilst Padua provides an education to all, for many the Padua community develops into a Padua family. The words spoken by Sarah and David Hansen as the parent representative were genuine, heart-warming and echoed the words of all parents. Sarah and David formally leave the College after their long association as parents with the College with their youngest of four children graduating this year. I can’t thank enough the families that were able to be part of this perfect celebration for the Year 12 Class of 2022.

Exams

Now the time has come for the VCE students to gear up for the final VCAA exams. The work that has been completed over this year and the years prior have them in the position of preparedness for this time. With the English exam on Wednesday 26 October beginning the larger written exams, many students have now completed several exams and some students are just beginning this journey. We wish all students completing their VCAA final exams nothing but the best and continue to stay focussed until their final exam has been completed. I also wish to acknowledge and congratulate the outstanding staff who continue to provide every opportunity for all students to achieve to the best of their ability.

The week following the long weekend will see all Year 10 and 11 students enter their exam period as they look to consolidate their learning from semester two and use the exam period as practice for their final exams in 2023. Whilst this time may seem a long way away, the learnings from the exams are crucial in providing a clear pathway for success in future years.

The Final Weeks of Term

The week beginning Monday 14 November will see all current Year 10 and Year 11 students commence their 2023 academic program for two full weeks. Students will be in their new classes and associated subjects as teachers begin the coursework. These are scheduled classes and all students are expected to be in class as per their new timetable. Subjects will be confirmed as soon as possible as we are now making the final changes to class lists as we work towards students being in the subjects they selected earlier this year.

During this same week we will hold our final Campus Mass and Awards Assembly for 2022 and this will again be live-streamed to all parents and guardians.

As always I encourage all parents to continue to be active members of the Padua community, engaging in conversation about what topics are being studied in class, keeping abreast of upcoming events and making contact with a subject teacher as needed.

VCE Visual Arts & Technology Exhibition

Congratulations to our VCE Visual Arts and Technology students on a successful exhibition, held Tuesday 11 October.

Congratulations to Our Year 12 VCAL Students

VCAL Presentation night

Our students did an amazing job presenting their pathways to grandparents, parents, and friends on Thursday 13 October. Led by event manager, Eloise Bartrop-Brayhop, VCAL students spent the last two weeks preparing the catering and displays so that guests could celebrate their success. Fergus MacGregor led the cooking group, catering for 120, while Emma Hutton led the display and promotion group, and Georgia Beight the coffee cart. The teams did an excellent job with little food left over, and guests enjoying the slide show, atmosphere, and delicious coffee.

FMPLLEN Awards

We congratulate Year 12 students Liam West and Eloise Bartrop-Braybon, both of whom received awards at last night’s Frankston Mornington Peninsula Local Learning and Employment Network (FMPLLEN) Awards evening at the Mornington Racecourse.

Eloise was presented with the FMPLLEN Excellence Award for maintaining a professional standard throughout 2022, and producing high quality outcomes in all her subject areas. Her outstanding capabilities were demonstrated leading up to and during the Padua Year 12 VCAL Presentation Night, where 120 invited guests enjoyed live music, catering by students, and oral presentations by each of our 39 Year 12 VCAL students on their VCAL and pathway journey.

Eloise autonomously project managed this event, co-ordinating groups of students to cater, promote and organise the evening, as well as arranging the 39 student presentations and ten teachers to assess presentations.

Liam received the Encouragement Award for his endeavours to improve on his employability skills including communication, leadership, and technology throughout 2022. Although he faced numerous obstacles and challenges, his persistence and incredible resilience enabled him to successfully complete all outcomes as well as gain full time employment upon finishing Year 12. Well done Eloise and Liam!

Deborah Arrowsmith
Acting Applied Learning Co-ordinator

Year 12 Themed Dress Day

Our Year 12s celebrated their final week of classes with a Themed Dress Day on Thursday 13 October with Harry Potter, Scooby Doo and crew, Tinkerbell, and other film characters and celebrities wandering through the Whyte Senior Learning Centre.

Preserving our Wetlands

Ms Stipic’s Year 11 VCAL Personal Development class are currently working on sustainability projects. Our group chose to focus on Padua College's wetlands and the invasive plant species in them. The invasive plants damage the environment by taking up room where native plants could grow. This means there are less food sources for the animals that live in the wetlands. Our group went on a scouting mission to discover what invasive plants are growing in the wetlands and we then briefed our class about the plants that need removing. Our class removed the invasive green ash and blackberry plants from the wetlands.

Tim Kesik and Josh De Bruyn

Padua Christmas Hamper Competition

Each year our students collect pantry food items or monetary donations that are used towards making hampers for any families in our Padua community who may have experienced difficulties throughout the year. This year, each Padua College homeroom has been challenged to enter the ‘Best Dressed’ Christmas hamper. Families are asked to support this initiative by providing their students with a pantry item to donate to the class hamper. The winning homeroom can look forward to a visit from Luna, our Padua dog, and all winning homeroom students will receive a Luna limited edition photo/paw print. Thank you in advance for your support of this appeal.