How students can “eXcel” at Padua College

The Wellbeing and Pastoral Care of our students is of the utmost importance to all of us at Padua College. We recognise that when students have a healthy concept of self, can identify and regulate their emotions/thoughts and are resilient, their learning outcomes increase.

A key feature in building student connectedness and resilience is through the eXcel program. These lessons are held in homerooms which occur each Tuesday morning with their homeroom teacher.

“eXcel is a program run to help students’ well-being. On Tuesday mornings we gather as a homeroom and discuss how to better cope with stress, emotions, social wellbeing and so on. eXcel is a great opportunity to form connections with your homeroom teacher, other peers in your homeroom and in your House.

During remote learning eXcel allowed homeroom teachers to catch up with students and their mental health by sending out regular surveys every week.

Overall eXcel is a really good way for teachers to monitor each student’s wellbeing. eXcel benefits students by providing an environment for healthy conversation without judgment, improve students social skills, coping with peer influence and so much more.” Emily, Year 9

Enable, Connect, Engage & Learn

Our eXcel program is central in facilitating the whole school approach to a sense of wellbeing for our students.

eXcel affirms our College’s ongoing commitment to supporting ‘rich, deep and varied learning experiences’ for our students, so that they may develop as optimistic, resilient young people of faith, ready to be effective members of the community, contributing to and enriching the world around them.

Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care is integral within any Catholic School. Padua College is no different and works purposefully to ensure students’ rights and responsibilities; and a holistic educational context for all students is a part of each student’s daily reality. In working across our campuses it is important for Pastoral Care to meet the needs of our students at differing ends of the teenage spectrum. Regardless of age, students require appropriate boundaries linking to College expectations and students’ rights and responsibilities.

Padua College offers a strong Pastoral Care program across Years 7-12 in an environment where young men and women are encouraged to journey in growth together through a wide range of school-based and extra-curricular activities. Students are encouraged to pursue numerous leadership opportunities offered such as Student Leadership; Liturgy Teams, Cross-Age Tutoring; Community Service and Justice Action Groups.

Pastoral Care involves the staff as much as it does the students. Students, staff and parents’ needs are initially supported by a group of 24 dedicated House Co-ordinators who are ably led by the Student Wellbeing & Growth (SWAG) Co-ordinator (Mornington Campus) or Co-Directors of Campus (Rosebud & Tyabb Campuses). The House Co-ordinator Team endeavours to focus their Homeroom Teachers on the House Patron's charism so that social justice is at the forefront of thinking and by doing so a sense of service to others is fostered. The walk and talk of pastoral care is as important (if not more so) than all that goes with it.

Padua College ensures that Child Safety is given the highest priority at all levels of engagement and the College community are fully aware of and conversant with the College’s policies on Child Safety.

House System

In keeping with the College philosophy of developing the whole person in an environment of community and service, the House System operates from Year 7 to Year 12. It is designed to develop and encourage a sense of belonging. The House System promotes the charism of the House Patron as an example for the students to follow and reflect in their own lives.

• Each House has a Co-ordinator who is responsible for the overall development of each individual student's sense of belonging, loyalty and spirit in his/her House.

• Each House is made up of several homeroom groups.

• Siblings are in the same House, but in separate homerooms.

• The homeroom teacher cares for the members of their homeroom and, as much as possible, the same homeroom teacher will remain with the students throughout their enrolment at a particular campus. Each student remains in the same homeroom group from Year 7 to Year 9.

• The Senior 10-12 Campus homerooms consist of approximately 24 students in Years 10-12, who meet together every morning.

• House Feast Days are celebrated throughout the year and House assemblies give students an opportunity to gather together to foster House spirit.

YEAR 7 - 9

In the 7-9 Campuses there are 16 houses, eight at Mornington; four at Rosebud and four at Tyabb.

YEAR 10 - 12

There are eight Houses in the Senior Campus.

Logos and colours for each of the Houses are available in the PDF download below.

Student Counselling at Padua

Student counselling at Padua College is available to assist students to develop appropriate skills and attitudes to manage the sometimes complex challenges of education in these times. Counselling is provided within the whole school pastoral context which involves staff and parents as required.

Who are we?

The Counselling Services Team at Padua College includes Vice-Principal – Students, Sam Wright, Pastoral Associate, Mo Cromar, together with experienced Psychologists, Mental Health Social Workers and a Youth worker.

Parents and students talk to us for many reasons…

• Finding that worrying is taking over, and/or have lost confidence

• Tired of feeling sad and low

• Having trouble sleeping

• Schoolwork may be overwhelming or may be feeling under strain

• Relationships with family or friends are not going well

• Having lost something or someone important

• Life looks OK on the outside; it feels like something’s missing or not quite right on the inside

Young people often have multiple pressures facing them at once, particularly with the ‘instant-ness’ of technology that surrounds them. We know that the most powerful antidote to suicide, violence and drug abuse is the sense of belonging people have in their lives.

Counselling is a chance to strengthen and reinforce a sense of connectedness to the adults in their lives including parents and school staff.

Counselling can promote one’s resilience and well-being and help students refocus their lives and discover what is important to them and move from “surviving” to “thriving.”

Home and school work hard in this journey together. We listen, support, encourage and guide our young people with creativity; a sense of humour; sometimes challenging them and establishing a great connection and trust but always looking for students’ strengths and talents.

More information

If you explore the Padua College website under the Padua Community tab for links to a wide range of parenting information such as information on Cyber Safety; Occupational Health & Safety; Parenting Ideas; School Policies; Homework Help; Bus Information and a Drug and Alcohol Safety Resource Guide.

Staff Members

• Anita Carter
  Counselling Services Team Leader/School Counsellor

• Mo Cromar
  College Pastoral Associate

• Jess Benton
  School Counsellor (Tyabb)

• Rosario Lobo
  School Counsellor (Mornington)

• Amy McDonald
  School Counsellor (Mornington)

• Sandy McGuiness
  School Counsellor (Mornington)

• Nicole Rowe
  School Counsellor (Mornington)

• Jo Slater
  School Counsellor (Rosebud)