麻豆国产AV

Valedictory Dinner

Our graduating class gathers for the final time next week at their Valedictory dinner - their formal farewell from the College. There will be 134 families at the Valedictory Dinner whose youngest or only child is graduating and I want to acknowledge these families and thank them for choosing 麻豆国产AV. Thank you to Mrs Liz Grierson who has coordinated this event with support from the Year 12 Leaders and the team at the Pullman Albert Park.

Year 11 Formal

Year 11 students will get an opportunity to gather to celebrate the end of the year with a Formal on Monday 20th November. This event will be held at Leonda By The Yarra. Thank you to the Year 11 Leaders and Mrs Grierson for their coordination of this event.

Aquinas School Advisory Council Meeting

The last meeting of the School Advisory Council for the year will be held on Tuesday next week. We will take this opportunity to thank our Chairperson, Mr Chris Leahy and all members for their contribution and commitment throughout the year. We will give specific thanks to Mr Dean Scott for his service as he concludes his time with the SAC and also to our Student Representative, Rhys Cameron for his work over the year as a member of the SAC.

Middle School Swimming Carnival

The Annual Middle School Swimming Carnival was held at Aquanation on Wednesday 8th of November. This is an important event for the community and students participated in the available activities. Congratulations to Rice House for winning the carnival. Thanks to all staff who assisted on the day, the Team Leaders for each House, sports staff and Mr Bernie Brummel for his organisation and leadership on the day.

Commencement Dates for 2024

• Monday, January 22- Main Admin Office opens - reception phone will be answered
• Monday January 29 - Reception opens, Senior and Middle Years Office opens, Teaching Staff commence.
• Tuesday, January 30- Year 7 New Families. Information Evening
• Wednesday, January 31- Year 7 and Year 12 commence
• Thursday, February 1- All Students Return.

Term Dates 2024 - Students

• Term 1: Thursday, February 1 (Jan 30 Year 12 & 7) to Thursday, March 28.
• Term 2: Tuesday, April 16 to Friday, June 28.
• Term 3: Tuesday, July 16 to Friday, September 20.
• Term 4: Monday, October 7 to Friday December 6.

Nap Rodezno & Michael Box

Deputy Principals

I am conducting a review of the Cafe 9 activity and seeking feedback on the programme. I want to know how important the Cafe experience was for your family and what skills you believed were developed in the program. I also want to know if there is anything else you want to say about the programme. There are only four questions including the option of you writing some comments so it won't take long. I will close this survey next Friday November 17th.

 Michael Box

Deputy Principal Learning

Exam season for the VCAA VCE 3-4 students is coming to an end. Now it is the turn of the Year 11s followed by the Year 10s later in the month to complete subject exams. Below is a prayer for your/their success in the examination season. May all students involved in these challenges find solace through their prayer life.

God of Knowledge and Wisdom,

As I take this exam, I thank you, that your value of me, is not based on my performance,
But on your great love of me.
Be present to my heart so that we walk through this time together.
Help me, not only with this exam, but the many challenges of life that are sure to come my way.
As I take this exam, bring back to mind everything I have studied,
And be gracious with what I have overlooked.
Help me to remain focused and calm, confident in the facts and in my ability,
And firm in the knowledge that no matter what happens today, you are there with me.
Amen

Following are some notices and events involving the Catholic Life Team:

10 Retreats Friday 10 November

Three retreats were held at: Coldstream, Millgrove and Lower Yarra. The focus of the day was Spirituality and Justice that offers God鈥檚 love. Thank you to all the retreat facilitators Gabrielle Mercer, Alysia Silvagnia, Jeffrey Harington, Aiman Aiashi, and Enrique Aragones for planning and leading the three retreats, and all staff who supported our students in this faith formation event. We hope the students gained some personal insights into their faith life and were able to set themselves some personal challenges for the next two years when they will receive back their 鈥楲etter to Self鈥� on the Year 12 Retreat. Students who were not able to attend can contact me to arrange a letter writing opportunity at lunchtime on Wednesday 15 November.

Remembrance Day Service 11 & 13 November

Student college leaders Isobel Mugamu and Connor Haugher will represent the Aquinas community at the Ringwood Remembrance Day Service at Saturday 11 00 am. Please join them at the ceremony located at the Memorial Clocktower on Maroondah Highway.

The Middle School will participate in a Remembrance Day Service commencing at 9 00am. Staff and students will reflect and pray for those fellow citizens who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation or who have served and suffered due to conflict. College Community members also have the opportunity to write memory messages of thanks and support on paper poppies placed on the YFC wall during the week.

Bernard Green

Acting Assistant Principal Mission

Senior Years Report

As the school year draws closer to the end of term, students are at a pivotal moment in their academic journey. The end of the year signifies not only the completion of one chapter but also the exciting commencement of the next.

Year 12 students are on the verge of stepping into the unknown, be it University, traineeships, or the workforce. Final Year 12 exams conclude Wednesday, 15th November. Next Friday, we will celebrate the conclusion of their formal schooling at their Valedictory dinner. The final time we will join with the students and their families to celebrate, reminisce and farewell them from the College.
As the Year 12鈥檚 are concluding exams, Year 11 students will begin on Monday. Focused on managing study routines combined with eating and sleeping well. Over the past week Year 11鈥檚 have balanced their revision classes with access to health and wellbeing sessions to prepare for exam week. Looking beyond exam week, Year 11 students will then celebrate the end of Year 11 at their Formal, held at Leonda by the Yarra. The Year 11 formal is a special occasion for several reasons. One is that it marks the beginning of their transition to Year 12.
Today, the Year 10鈥檚 are attending their Retreat Day. Divided across three locations: Amberley Retreat, Lower Plenty; Pallotti College, Millgrove; and Coldstream Community Centre. Involvement in the Retreat is an essential element for our community; it is an opportunity to pause and connect with ourselves, one another and God. Joined by the Catholic Life team, their mentors, Mr Watkins and myself.
As students continue working diligently to complete their final assessments, we look forward to the celebrations that follow.

Rachel Crawley

Head Senior Years

Middle Years Report

A fair few Lighthouses ago, I wrote the caption "Kids these days鈥�." and then showed photos of the amazing attributes and characteristics that our year 8 students were showing on their mid year camp. Often "kids these days鈥�" or "this generation鈥�" is followed by negativity towards our youth or commentary on the poor behaviour (of the overwhelming minority, mind you.) It is commentary the media likes to make, commentary that Gen X can readily make ("Good one Boomer," as I've been told by some Gen Z's in my house) and it can be commentary that seasoned teachers can fall into the trap of making and believing too. Not only does it not have validity (kids these days are absolutely incredible. We see 1000 examples of it every day) it can also be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's natural for humans to live up to the tag they are given. 

You keep telling young people or anyone for that matter that they are disrespectful, rude, and lazy, or that they are creative, thoughtful, and resilient they can live out that label. I don't think that means as educators we tell our students that they are creative, thoughtful, and resilient if they are not demonstrating those values. However, our students and children (and work colleagues!) demonstrate their own wonderful unique qualities consistently and we should seek them out rather than focus on the ones that give us grief. The more we focus on those, the more those people in our care will live up to that description, and hopefully, others will endeavour to fit that mould too.

Phil Box

Head Middle Years

Can you complete a quick 3 question survey??

If you can, it will help us provide relevant wellbeing information to our families.

Parents, families, and carers are a child's first and most important teachers. When families and schools work together, young people鈥檚 learning is enhanced. Aquinas values this partnership and as such we seek to offer resources and information to support their health and wellbeing, as well as their academics.

Research has shown that when schools and families work together, young people:

- achieve better

- stay in school longer

- are more engaged with their schoolwork

- go to school more regularly

- behave better

- have better social skills

To establish the needs and interests of families and to direct our future planning, please complete this short . Thank you to those that tried the survey after viewing The Lighthouse last week. We hope that we have repaired the technical issues we had on the weekend. Beyond this survey, any suggestions or discussion is welcomed and families are invited to email daleysl@aquinas.vic.edu.au

Kind Regards,

Sharon Daley

Director Student Services

Environmental and Sustainability News

Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) Vic provides a 10 cent refund for every eligible drink container returned at refund points across Victoria. This will help reduce landfills and earn you money. Plenty of containers can be returned; most aluminium, glass, plastic and liquid paperboard (carton) drinks between 150mL and 3L are suitable. Simply look for the 10c mark on the container label.

 to learn more.

Many students in the college are excited about the opportunity to take action to reduce landfills:
We have been collecting cans for a long time, and putting our household cans together to help the environment dispose of cans in a better way. All of our households will be coming together at the end of this month to take our cans to the depot together! 鈥� Tia, Catherine and Joaquin 9 Rice.

Karyn Myers

Environment & Sustainability Coordinator

On Wednesday this week, the annual Aquinas swimming carnival was held at Aquanation. Rice, having won last year, were very keen to continue their dominance in the pool. It was an awesome day for the students who got involved in many events throughout the carnival.

Having the ability for the pool to be 25m in length provided more opportunities for students to swim in both 25m and 50m events.

It was a tight battle all day between the 3 houses with lots of exciting finishes in the races.

Congratulations to Rice who the carnival with Mackillop 2nd and Dominic 3rd

Thank you to all the staff who assisted at the carnival, ensuring the event ran smoothly and provided plenty of opportunities for students to be involved

Congratulations to the following students who finished top 3 in their age group

UNDER 13 GIRLS 1ST MADDY BROWN, 2ND RHIANNON WILLIAMS, 3RD AMELIA WATSON

UNDER 13 BOYS 1ST RONAN DELEA 2ND JOSEPH HARVEY, 3RD PATRICK CONBOY

UNDER 14 GIRLS 1ST ZOE FABRE 2ND SOPHIA CLINTON, 3RD LYLA VAN MARLE

UNDER 14 BOYS 1ST RYAN MARTIN 2ND HARRY WASSENBERG, 3RD BLADE PLATT

UNDER 15 GIRLS 1ST GABBY HOOPER 2ND ABIGAIL WATSON, 3RD HOLLY McGILL

UNDER 15 BOYS 1ST THARWIN PRAROM, 2ND TRISTAN HEW, 3RD JORDAN BRUTON

Early next year, the EISM swim carnival will be held at MSAC. Our best swimmers from he Aquinas carnival, will be invited to come to training which is held in the morning before school at Aquanation

Class of 2023 leaving a legacy: The Graduation edition

A toast to our Year 12s! They marked the end of their High School days with their Graduation Ceremony followed by a beautiful mass the following day and then a whole school assembly, marking the end of one chapter and the start of a new one. 

A wonderful evening celebrating the impressively dressed Year 10 cohort! 

All the dance practice paid off over the two evenings the gala ball was held and the event was a great success enjoyed by all who attended! 

Recently our Year 9 Planet Earth and Mars science students went to complete a geological survey of the Mars surface at the Victorian Space Science Education Centre.

Wearing spacesuits specially designed for the Mars atmosphere, they worked as astronauts, mission controllers and research scientists to simulate life and conduct research on the planet Mars.

Year 9 EISM Season 3

Round 4 VS Mount Scopus

Round 5 VS Luther College

Wishing Tree And Christmas Appeal

鈥淟et us not grow weary in doing what is right...whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all..鈥� (Galatians 6:9-10)

It is hard to believe we are talking about Christmas already!

It has been a tradition at Aquinas that we have our own 鈥榃ishing Tree鈥� and support the local St Vincent de Paul Conferences by collecting donations or goods for Christmas gifts. It鈥檚 always heartwarming, and a wonderful end to the year to see the outpouring of generosity to ensure that those who are doing it tough are still able to have gifts under the tree for their families.

We hope you can join us in continuing this tradition, and each contribute something small and meaningful to help us end the year with a focus on service and generosity.

How can you get involved?

Buy A Gift

If you鈥檙e out shopping over the weekend, perhaps you could pick up a small gift to leave under the Wishing Tree in the ARC?

Gifts will be for young children and families and only need to be between $15-$20.

No need to wrap the gifts, as Vinnies will collect it all and wrap up small parcels to give to families.

Cash Donations or Gift Vouchers

Envelopes for cash donations can be found hanging on the Christmas Trees in the ARC foyer, the Senior Years building (upstairs) and the Middle Years building (downstairs).

Simply place your donation into the envelope and hand it into the Catholic Life Office (located in the Year 9 Quad, next door to IT Support).

Gift Vouchers are also a great option, especially for teenagers and adults. Please keep these to a maximum of $20 for easier distribution by Vinnies. These can also be handed into the Catholic Life Office.

Please ensure all gifts and donations are delivered to the school by Friday, November 24th (or your last day onsite).

HOYTS Movie Fundraiser

This year we鈥檝e launched an extra avenue for giving. Our is a great way for the Aquinas community to not only give generously but also receive something enjoyable in return.

For each movie pack sold, we will raise between $10-$15 for our Christmas Appeal (depending on which pack you purchase). This money will be added to our overall tally of donations, gifts and Christmas Hamper goodies for Vinnies.

So why not grab yourself a pack, or purchase some as gifts鈥�and let鈥檚 spread the joy of generous giving this Christmas.

Please note that movie pack orders will close on Sunday, 12 November to ensure that they are ready for collection before the end of the term. Students will be able to collect orders from either the Middle Years or Senior Years offices from Wednesday, 22 November until Tuesday, 5 December.

Thank you in advance for your participation in our 2023 Christmas Appeal. If you are after any further information, please contact me at mugamumn@aquinas.vic.edu.au


Martha Mugamu
Justice & Outreach Coordinator

麻豆国产AV has hosted the OETTA (Outer Eastern Hospitality Trade Training Alliance) Interschool Culinary Challenge again this year.

The competition is open to students undertaking Units 1 & 2 in VET Certificate II in Cookery at Eastern region schools. Students work in teams and must design, prepare and cook three plates of a main dish and three plates of a dessert dish within a specific time frame. Students must use the feature ingredients of Chicken Maryland, and the native Australian ingredient somewhere in their dishes.

The Interschool Cooking Challenge aims:

• Community of excelling students to showcase their talents and expose them to the demands of the industry that they will encounter after the course.
• To test students' organisation, teamwork, and ability to work under pressure. To assist them to benchmark themselves against other students.

This year 麻豆国产AV, Ranges TEC and Belgrave Heights Christian schools were involved. The judges were blown away by the professional level of the dishes the students were producing.

The Competition was filmed by a professional film crew in 2022 - See the video

Owen Scott
Director, Wurundjeri Trade Training Centre

For the first time, Aquinas students were entered in a Mountain Bike Competition at the Haunted Hills Bike Park in the Latrobe Valley. We had 15 students enter on the day who had previous racing experience. The format of the day was that each student would complete five timed runs over three different courses, with the fastest time on each being combined to decide the winner in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Categories.

The students we all enthusiastic and excited throughout the day competing against their friends and pushing themselves to improve their times each run throughout the day. Perfect weather meant for fast and close racing. At the conclusion of the day Aquinas was awarded the Champion school of the competition; a fitting end after a solid day of racing.

Notable Performances on the day included:

• Tom Vardy 1st Senior Men
• Heath Fleming 3rd Senior Men

This event shows how much talent we have and I look forward to competing again next year.

Travis Davidson
Teacher

Thank you for your continuous support toward the Cafe N9ne program and the Year 9 students. 

Our last week of cafe for the year is always a busy week but last week was a record sales week, with only 11 students working incredibly hard to provide high-quality breakfast items, coffee, customer service, initiative and creativity. 

Not only did we make a record-breaking $3503 we also sold an incredible amount of food, for the first time ever we sold:

• 104 caramel slices & 52 other sweet slices
• 22 vanilla slices
• 74 Cafe 9 brekkies
• 53 toasties
• 74 cafe n9ne breakfasts
• 25 croissants
• 27 BLT's
• 30 smashed avos
• 21 eggs benedict 
• Plus 188 coffees and 32 hot chocolates

🌐 Exploring Melbourne's Liveability

Set against the iconic backdrop of the CBD and the lush landscapes of the Royal Botanical Gardens, our students are poised to explore and answer the question: "Why is Melbourne the world's most liveable city?"

🌿 Botanical Wonders: Venturing into the serene haven of the Royal Botanical Gardens, our students appreciated the city's green spaces. Surrounded by flora, they explored the intricate balance between urban development and environmental preservation.

📸 Capturing Moments: Armed with cameras and notebooks, our budding explorers documented their findings.

During the early part of the week, our 2024 VCE-VM Year 12 students attended a camp at Phillip Island. The camp was designed to immerse the students in an environment that built on their learning about sustainable communities as well as develop their skills in teamwork, collaboration and organisation. We know this is a group of learners that learn best by doing or in some cases the consequence of 'not doing'. I am fairly certain that one student learned the value of  reading the packing list and will never forget to pack a sleeping bag again when they head out on a camp trip after sleeping in blizzard type conditions! 

The students were very well behaved and made the most of the time away in the camp. We had typical Melbourne weather with four seasons in one day. On Monday morning the staff were worried that the students were going to get heat stroke after they hiked 9kms along the Kilcunda Coastal Trail in hot and humid conditions. Yet, by the time they arrived at the SUP lesson in the afternoon, the temperature had dropped to 10 degrees, pelting rain and howling wind, our concerns quickly shifted from the risk of heat stroke to possible hypothermia!  After convincing them all this what adventuring was all about and where resilience was built most students braved a torturous SUP! 

The students all pitched in to help out cooking their meals in the camp kitchen. However the students were quickly distracted by their new acquaintances, the Grey Nomads, who were enjoying their cheese and bikkies. The Grey nomads loved the opportunity to pass on their worldly advice to our young people, telling them to dress warmly and how to keep the BBQ hot! ! (one was a grandparent of another year 11 student of the College, and yes, child safety precautions were always a priority). Undoubtedly, the students were a highlight of the Grey Nomads 鈥渉appy hour鈥� (non-alcohol association at all), and they all commented on how lovely our students were. 

We were lucky to get a clearing in the weather for the Penguin Parade and it was very endearing to see the often referred to 鈥渢ough too kool for school鈥� kids be besotted by the little penguins waddling up the shore. After they were eventually quiet in their tents the staff zipped themselves into their tents for the night, I would be lying if I was saying I hadn't considered the risk of them causing a bit of mayhem through the night. But the weather got so bad with strong howling wind and heavy rain that I was comforted that none of them would be brave enough to sneak out, so in a way the terrible weather was a child safety blessing!

Overall, it was a really great end to the year and the staff felt very proud to witness how far they have all come since they walked into that room in February this year and better still, when they walked into the school to face the dilemmas and setbacks of COVID-19. These are students who are often misunderstood when asked to conform to the expectations and confinements of a school environment. In teaching, it can be very easy to focus on the shortcomings of students, however, after taking the time to get to know them as individuals and leading them on these types of experiences out of the classroom throughout the year, it is clear to me that our Aquinas Values have absolutely been imparted on these young people. For the most part they are kind, funny, compassionate and accepting of difference and once in an environment that they see as being purposeful and valuable they thrive.

Leadership in Bloom!

Year 7 and 8 girls are taking the lead, shaping their futures with the guidance of the Leadership Program at 麻豆国产AV.

Eco-Education through Fun: Year 10 Environmental Science Board Games! 🌍

As part of the assessment of Year 10 Environmental Science students, these young environmental enthusiasts have crafted board games that are as educational as they are entertaining.

The best part? They shared these creations with our Year 7 students! A fantastic opportunity for cross-generational learning. Not only did the Year 7s play and enjoy the games, but they also provided valuable feedback to the Year 10 creators.

Due to roadworks in the week of 13-17 November, the 3412 and 3413 buses will be detouring briefly onto Norton Road and will therefore be unable to pick up passengers at the #13505 Mount Dandenong Road and the #14817 Dorset Lodge Residential Care bus stops. The #8953 Gordon Street and the #14825 Parry Street bus stops will remain open.

Just to update you all  that from 13-18 November there is a change of pick up stop for Route 2592. It will be relocated to the PTV stop near Wilana Street as there is a Great Ryrie Street Southbound Closure.