Pastoral Program

The Year 9 pastoral program has seen the students involved in art and craft activities and for the first time, for a number of years, a year level Mass at St Patrick’s, Mentone.

Last term, the students were involved in designing and completing a Homeroom canvas. The final products are a mix of originality, creativity and wonderful imaginations. The students had less than one hour to complete the task. This sounds like a considerable amount of time, but they had to wait patiently at times for the paint to dry before they could add the next feature to their canvas. It was a wonderful opportunity to see teamwork in action, collaboration amongst the students in each Homeroom and recognition in each other of the different skill sets that each of us possess.

Each canvas is very different and each canvas tells part of the story of the Homeroom. The themes included the universe with the planets representing the Homerooms and the stars representing each of the members of that Homeroom, the largest planet was K5; the sun with rays being the individual handprints of the students from K6; the “Stars of K4” different to the universe but each member represented; the field of flowers for K2 compared with the baskets of balloons for K7; K1’s ark with the waves, the sealife and the animals on the ark is truly a gift of their imagination and finally K3’s field of sheep who are simply dancing and prancing their way through life! My words do not capture the imagination, creativity and teamwork that was evident on the day, but each canvas is a wonderful testament to each Homeroom.

Random Acts of Kindness

This term we began the pastoral sessions learning how to crochet. The aim is to create a blanket per Homeroom to donate to an organisation to give to a person in need. This is our random act of kindness to another human being. The students were told that they would not create their square in the lesson for they were learning a new skill, that it would take practice and patience and it would test their perseverance and resilience. The buzz in the Kildare Centre that morning was palpable, as was the sense of frustration, However, the greater takeaway was the kindness, patience and willingness to learn; the laughs and the smiles – this is what will be remembered long after the blankets have been made. The blankets are a work in progress, but the students were exemplary in their attitude and willingness to learn a new skill.

Year Level Mass

Last week, the year level celebrated Mass at St Patrick’s in Mentone. It was a wonderful celebration and an opportunity for the students to unite as one in prayer and to express their gratitude for the gifts and talents which they have been given. I sincerely thank the students who assisted with the Mass, Emma, Hannah and Amelie, but most importantly I thank all of the students for their participation in this celebration of the Eucharist.

Student Achievement

On behalf of the year level, I congratulate Ocienne Farquharson for her selection into the Victorian Under 16 Indoor Cricket team. This is an amazing achievement and just reward for all the time and effort Ocienne has put into developing her cricket skills.

Jane Cowan
Level Leader: Year 9