Our ACC Senior Tennis team has taken out the premiership for the second year in a row! When they took to the courts on Wednesday, it was wonderful to see the excellent tennis etiquette our students maintained throughout the competition. They remained composed even when it was clear we had won and showed respect to the opposing team. Their respectful behaviour while spectating other matches between their own games and demonstrating true humility in victory was commendable.

Our students truly embodied the values of St Bernard’s College, serving as role models both on and off the court. We are incredibly proud of their sportsmanship and dedication.

Congratulations to coach Mr Pagano and the team on this outstanding achievement. We look forward to seeing what next year holds for our talented players. Well done, team!

Thursday, 20 March marked the first St Bernard’s College business lunch of the year, celebrating our partnership with the Essendon FC Academy. The event was masterfully hosted by old collegian and ex-Essendon champion Simon Madden, who was joined by an impressive panel of speakers including ex-Essendon captain Dyson Heppell, former Bomber premiership players Scott Lucas and Steve Alessio, as well as Essendon FC Strategy and Growth Lead Kristen Bull and Player Development and Welfare Manager Chris Byrne.

Kristen Bull provided valuable insights into the various courses available to St Bernard’s students through the Essendon Education Academy in partnership with RMIT, located at the Hangar at Essendon FC headquarters. The Academy offers a Football Development Program and encourages students to explore the parallels between sport, business, and leadership.

Dyson Heppell shared his passion for raising awareness and funds for Scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease affecting young Bomber fan Harrison. Dyson and Harrison have launched a new clothing label called "Haych," featuring Harrison's artwork and designs. All proceeds go towards fulfilling Harrison's dream bucket list and supporting Scleroderma research.

Simon Madden entertained the audience with anecdotes from his playing days at Essendon, while Scott Lucas discussed his role in player management, helping players transition into AFL football and navigate the often challenging shift into retirement and new careers.

Chris Byrne provided an in-depth look at the many obstacles young draftees face as they enter the world of AFL, including intense training loads, diet, and club commitments with fan and sponsor engagement.

The event concluded on a humorous note when Simon Madden asked Steve Alessio to recount a funny story about coach Kevin Sheedy giving him a 'huge spray' in a review after a poor performance. Steve humorously revealed that Sheedy had made a mistake, as he wasn't even in the side that day! Steve's genial nature had everyone laughing.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to our special guests for their time and insights, to the community for their unwavering support, and to everyone involved in organising the lunch. Your contributions made this event a resounding success, highlighting the strong partnership between St Bernard's College and the Essendon FC Academy and the exciting opportunities it offers our students.

Every year, our Year 9 students participate in three interdisciplinary days with Year 9 students from Ave Maria, engaging in a variety of activities that foster creativity, collaboration, and learning. One of the highlights of these days is the creation of individual art pieces that are later combined into a stunning mosaic.

We are thrilled to showcase the mosaic from 2024, which beautifully captures the collective effort and artistic talent of our students. This mosaic is a testament to the positive collaboration between the boys from St Bernard’s and the girls from Ave Maria, who worked together to bring this masterpiece to life.

We are incredibly proud of their hard work and look forward to seeing what our students will create this year!

This week, our Year 10 students embarked on a transformative journey during their retreat, embracing the theme "Believe: Building healthy relationships across all domains of our life." Guided by The Man Cave, they engaged in meaningful activities, discussions, and reflections, focusing on preventative mental health and emotional intelligence.

The retreat nurtured their ability to self-reflect, think critically, and communicate authentically, while deepening their understanding of Gospel Spirituality, Liberating Education, Inclusive Community, and Justice and Solidarity.

In the spirit of our year's theme, "Be Bold," we celebrate our students' courage and commitment to personal growth. Thank you to The Man Cave and everyone who contributed to this inspiring experience.

HAPPY WORLD HOME ECONOMICS DAY (21 March) 

International Federation of Home Economics’ 2025 theme – Tackling over consumption

This week to celebrate World Home Economics Day, students and staff enjoyed Gorgeous Green, Oaty Berry smoothies and plant-based snacks during lunch to spark conversations about healthy eating, where our food comes from, how it is packaged and the advantages of including more plant-based foods to reduce emissions and improve health.

During homeroom, students and staff reflected on the theme of ‘tackling overconsumption’ and unsustainable ways of living and consuming. Students were challenged to consider ways to reduce waste, rethink growth and change their habits.

“Remember tackling consumption isn't about sacrifice – it's about creating a better life for all of us and for future generations”. IFHE

Let’s work together to create a better life for all of us and future generations. It's time for a change! What can you do to live more sustainably?

IFHE’s Key Areas for Change:

1. Food: Shifting to a more plant-based diet can reduce emissions and improve health.

2. Housing: Consider how much space we really need, use sustainable energy, and adopt eco-friendly technologies.

3. Travel: Support and use more sustainable transportation options.

For more information visit:

https://www.ifhe.org/fileadmin/WHED_2025_Social_Media_Promo_Video.mp4 

A highlight of the VCE VM calendar is the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Here, students were tasked with a number of activities designed to engage their thinking across all subjects, with assessment tasks attached. Students collaborated with peers from other schools for PDS, conducted safety hazard research for WRS, completed an opinion piece for Literacy, and delved into F1 statistics, comparing data for Numeracy.

Students embraced the opportunities presented to them, taking the time to explore various interactive exhibitions including racing simulators, Karting Australia activations, rides, the TAC lemonade stand, and they were able to watch time trials and check out cars as far as the eye could see.

Year 11 student Jesse Panuccio was kind enough to share his experience of the day: "On Thursday 13 March, the VCE VM boys attended the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. We met at Essendon station and made our way to Albert Park Cricut. When we got there we split off into our groups and did activities from our booklet. After that we had a bit of free time and explored Albert Park. The catering options were really good, though I missed out on seeing Johnny Vince and Sam's pasta stand - spewing. We got stuck before one of our meeting points, but it was okay because we got to see the Porche Carrera Cup cars come off the track. After this we saw the Supercars tile trial in the grandstand with Mr McKerrell. We then made our way to Gate 5, caught the tram to Southern Cross and then went home. Overall the day was really fun, I enjoyed it and would love to be able to go back next year."

We look forward to continuing this engaging experience with VCE VM students in 2026.

We are excited to announce the return of our SBC Sustainability Challenge for 2025, and this year, we're embracing the theme "Be Bold"! Our Container & Can Collection initiative is back, and we are thrilled to see both staff and students stepping up to make a significant impact on our environment.

This year, our staff are joining the challenge with their own tally, competing alongside our dedicated students. Together, we are promoting recycling and sustainability, demonstrating our commitment to a greener future.

Since the beginning of the year, each House team and our staff have been diligently collecting containers and cans. We are proud to share our first collection tally, showcasing the impressive efforts of our community. This initiative not only fosters a sense of teamwork and healthy competition but also highlights the importance of environmental responsibility.

As we move forward, we will continue to provide updates on our progress. Stay tuned for more exciting news and achievements as we boldly work together to create a sustainable future. Let's continue to be bold, take action, and make a difference!

Australian Red Cross Lifeblood urgently needs an additional 6000 people to donate blood this week to replenish supplies depleted by ex-Cyclone Alfred.

An unprecedented number of donor centre closures and a surge in hospital orders preceding the Queensland emergency has drastically reduced the organisation’s blood stocks.

A major boost in donations is urgently needed now to ensure blood continues to be available for patients in need.

Urgent call for people to donate blood after steep drop in supplies in wake of ex-Cyclone Alfred | Lifeblood

Current team stats:

Donations: 61

Lives saved: 183

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about support provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019). 

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• Year of schooling
• Category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• Level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• Formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• Consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• Develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

Please see below an information sheet about the NCCD process.

Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact Ms Jeanette Shine (Learning Enhancement and Diversity Leader) via email at JShine@sbc.vic.edu.au