Meet the New Director of Campus

It is with great joy and a deep sense of purpose that I introduce myself to the Padua College community as the Director of Tyabb Campus. My name is Christine Ward, and I bring to this role a lifelong passion for learning, wellbeing, and the transformative power of education.

With extensive experience in education spanning both Australia and the UK, I have had the privilege of serving in diverse roles across academic leadership, student welfare, and curriculum development. My journey has been shaped by a commitment to holistic education, where every student is seen, heard, and supported to flourish. In addition to my educational background in applied science and physical education, I hold postgraduate qualifications in Educational Leadership, Student Welfare, and Religious Education.

My leadership is guided by the values of compassion, integrity, and inclusion. As a teenager, my secondary school journey began in a Mercy school, where the values of compassion, service, and justice were not just taught, they were lived. It was there that I first encountered the spirit of Catherine McAuley, whose words continue to guide my vocation: “Compassion should be our animating principle when undertaking instruction with children and adults, since they are made in God’s image.”
This quote resonates deeply with me and has shaped my approach to leadership and learning ever since.

Throughout my career, I have led with a collaborative spirit, whether mentoring emerging educators, leading wellbeing teams, or developing innovative curriculum frameworks. I believe in the power of data-informed decision-making, but equally in the importance of human connection. My leadership style is grounded in building trusting partnerships, fostering safe and inclusive environments, and inspiring teams to embrace challenge and celebrate growth.

At Padua College, I am excited to continue my educational journey with a community that shares a deep commitment to faith, learning, and service. Over the past few weeks, it has been truly wonderful to develop connections with our partner primary schools, and I look forward to immersing myself in our social justice outreach programs. These opportunities have deepened my appreciation for the vibrant, values-driven culture that defines Padua College. My aspiration for the Tyabb Campus is to nurture a culture where every student feels empowered to thrive. Not just academically, but emotionally, socially, and spiritually. I am passionate about student voice, and I look forward to working alongside our young people as they grow into confident, compassionate leaders of tomorrow.

Beyond the school gates, I enjoy being involved in community initiatives and spending time with my family. I remain actively involved in the St Thomas More Parish, where I find great joy in contributing to the life of the community by coaching club netball. I also volunteer with the Frankston District Netball Association, currently coaching the U13 representative squad. These experiences continually remind me of the importance of connection, resilience, and joy, values I hope to bring into every corner of the Tyabb Campus.

I am honoured to serve the Padua College community and look forward to the journey ahead with you all.

Warm regards,
Christine Ward
Director, Tyabb Campus

Book in a Day Competition

On Thursday morning, the Padua Tyabb book-in-a-day team visited St Paul's College library with an exciting lineup for the day. Wendy Orr (the author of NIM's Island) gave us a look into the world of being a children's book author and and Damian Perry shared his world-building exercise. We all learned a lot and had so much fun.

The second day, we were at our school, and we started to write our book. Our book was called The Ballad of Fangs and Bones, and it was about a spy and a vampire, and the spy had to go undercover among the vampires because of a war between humans and vampires. The human spy spied on the vampires to see what they are going to do to attack the humans.

The other schools arrived, and we all started on our books. Everyone in the team contributed to it. After we wrote the chapters, we printed out the pages and the cover and back cover.

We finished the book at 5:00 pm, and that's when we had to finish the book.

The day was so much fun, we enjoyed all of it. A special shoutout to Ms Congiusta for the lollies!

The final day was our presentation day. We arrived at Cornish College eager for the day. The day started with a browse of all the incredible books, then we moved on to the presentation with The Ballad of Fangs and Bones receiving an honourable mention for the illustrations, after we had morning tea kindly provided to us and finished the day off with a suspenseful game of trivia.

We would like to extend a special thanks to all the teachers who made this possible: Mrs Brown and Mr Voss.

Written by Matilda Boswell and Riley Docherty, Year 8 Geoghegan

Hands on Learning

Crafted by the students of the Hands on Learning program at Padua College, Tyabb Campus, this striking sculpture of Poseidon was designed and built specifically for the Somers Art Fair. More than just a piece of art, it stands as a testament to creativity, collaboration, and community pride. What began as a classroom project has become a powerful presence on our coastline — a reminder of the remarkable things young people can achieve when given the tools, trust, and opportunity to create. Special thanks to Maddie, Jemma, Milo, and Callum for bringing this vision to life. Their Poseidon sculpture was proudly sold for over $600 at the Somers Art Fair, a true reflection of its impact and craftsmanship.

Tim Walker, Hands on Learning Teacher

Seniors High Tea

On 23 October, five students and I went out to Crib Point Community House for the Seniors High Tea event. Alongside students from St Joseph’s primary school, we served tea, coffee, and a range of different foods and desserts to the guests. This event was a great opportunity to strengthen our communication, social and customer service skills. Towards the end of the afternoon, a raffle was held, with multiple guests taking home prizes. Overall, this experience was an enjoyable and valuable one that helped us develop important skills and participate in a community service event that celebrated the senior citizens of our community.

Written by Evie Green, Year 8 Geoghegan

Our Care of Feathered Friends

For the past couple of weeks, we have had chickens at Tyabb and for this week and I've been able to take care of them and teach the Year 7s how to look after them because the Year 9s are at camp. They have been an absolute delight to deal with! To take care of them we have to clean their cage, give them food and water and make sure the chickens are handled properly and held properly, and might I say, the Year 7s aren't perfect at that yet. This has been a wonderful learning experience for us and I hope I can do it again!

Written by Rosie Chalk, Year 8 Doyle

Academic Challenge

On Wednesday 15 October, a team of ten Year 7 students represented Padua Tyabb in the annual academic challenge. We sat on a table together as a big group and separated into smaller groups based on our skills. We competed against the other Padua Campuses and local Primary Schools. Together we solved complex maths equations, cracked codes, completed a Humanities challenge, and competed in a range of complex problems. Padua Tyabb came second in the Humanities and English challenges where we made comics and convinced people to move to the moon. In conclusion, the academic challenge was a fun and challenging day for everyone.

Written by Esme Steidle, Year 7 Geoghegan

Student Photo Permissions

At times, photographs or videos of our students will be published in newsletters, on the school intranet or website, or in our social media. Copies of our Standard Collection Notice and Privacy Policy are available on the College website in the Enrolments section of our Policies page. Please note that consent to use these images in this way, if provided at enrolment, may be withdrawn at any time by contacting our marketing team via email: marketing@padua.vic.edu.au .