Vice Principal's Report
The 2020 SAC calendar has now been distributed to all students, and parents can access this via the Learning and Teaching link on the College website. This should be used to create formal structure around the balance of study, part-time employment and social activities. The Careers team, led by Mrs Shannon Maher, have begun the process of interviewing all 351 Year 12 students. Over the next few weeks, additional optional tutorials will be in place to support all students and this will be conveyed in the upcoming weeks to both parents and students.
The Senior School Council is now being finalised with the upcoming election of House Vice Captains for our Year 10 students. This wonderful opportunity exists for students who look beyond their own studies within the College and seek to continue the process of improvement at Padua. Such grounding in formal leadership has seen many Year 11 leaders fill the position of School Captain the following year. Ms Samantha Powell will lead this team in driving student activities and voice on the campus.
Our VCAL students have made a strong start to the year, with record numbers having finalised a work placement before the year commenced. The range of work placements amongst our VCAL students reflects the diversity of their career goals, with students aspiring to work not only in traditional trades, but also beauty, early childhood education, hairdressing, health, horticulture, hospitality and landscaping.
As the term progresses, our Year 10 Applied Learning students will also be visiting a range of workplaces as they seek to establish their own career goals. If you know of a business that would be interested in taking on a student for work placement or work experience, or providing a workplace tour to our Applied Learning students, please email Marcus Butler, Director of Applied Learning, mabutler@padua.vic.edu.au
The standard of the College uniform at the start of the year was excellent. However, we have started to notice that some students are relaxing their standards. In particular areas such as jewellery, wearing hair out, multiple piercings, facial hair, dress length and black socks require attention. As mentioned last week, the ‘culture of high expectation’ permeates all aspects of College life. Your support in these areas allow for staff to spend time focussing on supporting the students both academically and pastorally.
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 subject teachers as needed.
Curtis Stone
Vice Principal
Head of 10-12 Campus, Mornington
MacKillop Year 12 Retreat
On Wednesday 29 January, the collective group of MacKillop Year 12s made the short journey to Forest Edge to begin our Year 12 Retreat. The Retreat served as a means of establishing deeper, more meaningful connections between the staff and students. We participated in numerous team building activities offered by both Forest Edge and Padua College staff. These included the water slide, river sledding and many group discussions. We were given the opportunity to put together birthing kits for people who don’t have ready access to medical supplies. We were able to make 100 kits allowing us to contribute to the fight against poverty and disease in third world countries, which was by far the most rewarding activity. Overall, the Retreat brought us closer together as we enter our final year at Padua College.
Kirra Struthers & Pierce McSweeney-Tait
MacKillop House Captains
International Safer Internet Day
On Wednesday 11 February, we celebrated Safer Internet Day 2020, a worldwide event that raises awareness about critical online safety skills and encourages everyone to help create a better Internet. Our smart students shared their top e-safety tips and the finalists below went into the running for the inaugural College Cyber Safety Champion Award.
#Show respect to family and friends @Bailey, Year 8 Clare
#Only befriend people you know @Sienna, Year 10 MacKillop
#Be Positive! Don’t use social media as an anger or stress reliever @Ruby, Year 10 MacKillop
#If someone is making you feel unsafe, block them and report them @Jarrod, Year 12 Djeembana
#Don’t gossip online, think before you post and remember that what you post will be on the Internet forever @Harriet, Year 9 Kolbe
#Beware of Internet scams! @Charles, Year 11 MacKillop
#Don’t share sensitive information about others or inappropriate gossip! @Ben, Year 12 MacKillop
#Always think twice about what you are posting online! @Sian, Year 9 Clare
School Photo Orders – Update!
The Padua College annual school photos have been taken and are now ready to order.
Arthur Reed Photos uses an online ordering system where you can view your photos prior to ordering.
All students should have received a flyer from their homeroom teacher, which includes a code unique to them. You will require this 2020 code to register online and view your photos.
If you have already registered, you will receive an email or SMS from Arthur Reed Photos with a link to view your photos. If you have not yet registered, please go to order.arphotos.com.au and enter your code to complete your order.
If you have misplaced your registration code, please contact the Arthur Reed Photos customer service team directly on 5243 4390.
Please note that you will need to register online with your 2020 photo code to gain access to this year’s images.
All photo packages are being sent home in 2020, so please ensure that you enter the correct details and nominated shipping address upon checkout.
If you require any assistance ordering your photos, please contact Arthur Reed Photos directly on 5243 4390 or email customerservice@arphotos.com.au
