Term Three is a critical period of the academic year, during which students begin their preparations for end-of-year assessments and examinations, select their subjects for the upcoming year, and participate in the appointment of student leaders for 2025.

Subject Selection Evening

It was so pleasing to see the large number of students with their parents at the recent Subject Selection evening. The MPAC theatre was full of people keen to hear about the subject selection process and the various options available. For the first time, the College invited various tertiary institutions to set up a stand in the theatre foyer. The foyer was abuzz with conversation as students engaged with the institutions, keen to hear about the courses they offer and the conditions of entry.

Following the subject selection session, Mrs Bosco facilitated a VTAC session outlining how students make their tertiary selections through the VTAC portal.

Understanding the requirements and future opportunities associated with different subjects allows parents to help their children make informed decisions. We were therefore thrilled to have so many parents in attendance.

I would like to thank Ms Kathryn Wilson (Deputy Principal Teaching & Learning), Ms Lisa Bosco (Head of Learning Pathways) and Ms Katie Freeman (Teaching & Learning Assistant) for their organisation of the evening.

Parent Teacher Interviews

This year, we have adopted a hybrid model for parent teacher interviews. Parents can engage face to face or online. The Semester One interviews were arranged slightly differently to the Semester Two interviews. Shortly, we will forward a survey to parents asking about their preferences. The results of the survey will inform our organisation of parent teacher nights 2025.

I thank the parents who supported these evenings, and I trust that you came away from the interviews with a greater understanding of how your child/children are performing in each subject and what you might be able to do to support them in their learning journey.

It was disappointing to see fewer appointments scheduled in Semester Two (in comparison to Semester One), particularly with Year 12 students and their parents. When parents and teachers work together, students tend to perform better academically. Teachers can gain valuable insights into a child’s needs and preferences through regular communication with parents. This allows for more personalized and effective teaching strategies. Parents are also better informed and understand how to support students in their learning.

I urge parents to prioritise this evening so that we can continue to build respectful working partnerships between parents and teachers.

Thank you once again to Ms Kathryn Wilson and Ms Katie Freeman for their organisation of this evening.

Student Leadership 2025

It is encouraging to see a significant number of Year 11 students submitting nominations for student leadership positions for 2025. The appointment process is currently in progress and is designed to be thorough, involving written applications, interviews and speeches, as well as voting by both students and staff. I wish all participants the best of luck throughout this process and eagerly anticipate the announcement of the College Committee later this term.

Cross Country

On Friday, August 16, a number of students participated in the ACS Cross Country event. I would like to extend my congratulations to the entire cross-country squad for their remarkable teamwork and support for one another. However, it is disappointing that several senior students did not participate on that day and did not communicate their absence to the College, which affected the entire team.

Thank you to Mrs Jacqueline Wade (Director of Sport) to her organisation of this event.

Applications for 2026

Applications for Year 7 for the 2026 academic year closed on Friday, August 16. I am pleased to report that our enrolment figures are robust. This is a testament to our exceptional facilities, highly qualified educators, customized curriculum, diverse co-curricular offerings, and, most importantly, our engaged community.

Right to Disconnect

A further reminder that on 26 August, Right to Disconnect legislation is being enacted. Under this legislation, Loyola College employees, teachers and support staff have a right to disconnect from communication devices outside working hours. This means that our employees are not obligated to monitor, read, or respond to emails outside of work hours. This means that you will not always get an immediate response.

Additionally, our policy requires that staff respond to parent communication within 48 hours.

We are committed to engaging in a respectful education partnership with parents, and I thank you for your understanding and support in complying with our legal obligations.

Catherine McAuley: A Legacy of Mercy and Compassion

This week at Loyola, we celebrate McAuley House and the life and legacy of their patron, Catherine McAuley.

McAuley, the founder of the Sisters of Mercy, dedicated her life to serving the poor, sick, and uneducated, with a special focus on empowering women and children. Her unwavering commitment to mercy, compassion, and justice continues to inspire many, including the community at McAuley House.

Catherine's legacy is honoured through a strong commitment to service and the care of others. Students are encouraged to embody her values by engaging in acts of kindness, promoting social justice, and fostering a spirit of inclusivity. The House's ethos reflects Catherine’s belief that education and compassion can transform lives and communities. By following in her footsteps, the students and staff in McAuley House strive to create a nurturing environment where every individual is valued and supported, continuing Catherine McAuley’s mission of mercy in today’s world.

Curriculum:

As mentioned in our previous Ignatian Newsletter, Term Three is an extremely busy - but exciting - time in our academic year! Items that have and will occur this term include:

• 2025 Subject Selection

• Parent Teacher Interviews

• The release of Mid-Semester Reports

The information below will help families prepare for the weeks ahead:

Parent-Teacher Interviews (PTIs):  

Thank you to all parents/carers for attending our recent Parent Teacher Interviews. We hope they were meaningful and worthwhile, and provided feedback on your child’s learning and wellbeing, together with strategies to support future progress.  As parents are aware, we have now tried two different models in our hybrid approach to delivering these interviews. We will be asking parents to complete a survey over the coming weeks to ascertain which model served our community most effectively.

Subject Selection 2025

Thank you to all those parents and students who attended our recent VCE VM and VCE Subject Selection and Careers Expo Evenings. They were a huge success, and the feedback was extremely positive. If parents do have any specific feedback that they would like to share, please email boscol@loyola.vic.edu.au or wilsonk@loyola.vic.edu.au

A reminder that our online subject selection web preferences close on Tuesday, 27 August at 5:00pm

Assessment & Reporting Codes:

Thank you for your support as we aim to uphold consistency and fairness for all our students with the recent changes made to the requirements when your child is absent from an assessment. We value your input and recognise that obtaining medical certificates can be challenging. In light of this, we have introduced the acceptance of Pharmacy Certificates and Statutory Declarations in circumstances where a medical certificate was not able to be obtained.

We ask that documentation of medical absence is provided to the class teacher at your earliest convenience, either via email or hard copy.

Sayembara Lisan - an Indonesian language competition - is an annual event held by VILTA (Victorian Indonesian Language Teacher Association) in which Year 1-11 students from all over Victoria can meet and compete.

This year, the first round of the competition was held in May and hosted by eight different schools across Victoria. If students passed the this round, they were granted entry to the final round held on July 27 at Melbourne High School.

Loyola College sent 35 students varying from Year 7 to Year 11. So far, this is the highest number of students participating in this competition in our school's history. Out of the 35 students, 25 students moved into the final round - once again, this was the highest number of students from Loyola College to ever progress to this stage of the competition!

This semester, Year 7 Humanities is centered around the study of geography, with students actively engaging in hands-on learning through National Tree Planting Day and the Liveability unit.

On July 26, students participated in planting new trees around the school grounds. These trees will grow alongside the students, symbolising their shared journey at Loyola College. As part of the activity, students explored the significance of sustainability and were guided by our knowledgeable head gardener, Dave Kelly. They learned to appreciate the native trees and plants that make our school grounds so special. Mr. Kelly shared his passion for environmental care, answering students' many questions about how they too can contribute to protecting our environment. Together, they brainstormed initiatives to improve sustainability at school, including ideas like banning plastic wrappers and introducing more recycling bins.

The Liveability unit also provided opportunities for experiential learning. As part of their fieldwork task, students took a walk to Watsonia's main shopping road to observe the commercial, public, and residential facilities, as well as gather data on traffic patterns. The observations and data collected were compiled into reports assessing the liveability of our local neighbourhood. It was truly inspiring to witness these young people’s dedication to both environmental stewardship and community awareness.

On Friday, 9 August, Loyola students took part in the 2024 ACS Cross Country Championship. It was truly inspiring to witness the enthusiasm and determination of our students, many of whom gave their best effort not only on race day but also throughout the weeks of training leading up to the event. This year, students had the unique opportunity to train at Bundoora Park during the early mornings, braving chilly weather, rain, and plenty of mud. Their grit and perseverance were a testament to the spirit of dedicated runners.

A special shout-out goes to the many young athletes who achieved outstanding results at the 2024 ACS Cross Country Championship:

Our Year 7 Boys & Girls finished in 4th place, our Year 8 and Year 9 Boys managed to score a podium finish in 3rd place and our Year 10 Girls finished in 4th place with only five runners from our team competing! Congratulations to Team Loyola who went on achieve a very well-deserved 4^th place overall. 

A big thank you to Tyler Cumming for delivering the Acknowledgement of Country and to Kai Simpson for his beautiful rendition of the Australian Anthem to kick off the day. A heartfelt special mention also goes to our two ACS Cross Country Captains Justin Lin and Brydie Hutchinson, who consistently encouraged and supported their fellow students throughout the event.

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”

Cybersafety Part 8: Cybersecurity – “How do you Protect Yourself Against Online Scammers?”

When engaging in social networking, people post pictures, make catch-up plans with friends, and generally chat about what has been going on in life.

But, sadly, particularly now in this hyper-online connected world, social networking also offers a plethora of unscrupulous individuals and organised cyber crime syndicates an irresistible opportunity to gain access to people (e.g. via Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, online gaming or via email) in an attempt to exploit and defraud them of their money.

Scamming is where one person, a cyber thief, pretends to have a legitimate financial need and exploits the generosity and naivety of another in order to obtain that person’s bank account or credit card details, with the ultimate aim of ripping money off that person.

How effective is home antivirus at stopping electronic scum and villainy such as viruses, worms and trojans from infecting and spying on the home computer and passing personal information back to cyber criminals? The truth is that there is no antivirus software or firewall in the world that can secure personal bank account details on a computer if these details are unknowingly and freely offered to phishing scammers! How? Read on…

Ever gone fishing? Throw out a line and wait for a bite. Hopefully the hook does its job and, hey presto, you have caught a fish! On the Internet this is called ‘phishing’ – same sound, different spelling; one is legal and the other is not, at least in most developed nations. It is what cyber criminals do – they try to trick children (and adults) into freely handing over their parent’s or their own credit card details. No firewall needed here!

What is interesting about this type of scam is that it does not ask you for money; rather, it asks permission to put money into your bank account – to then strip the account empty before anyone realises. But don’t be fooled; if the person is a stranger, then the person is most likely not a ‘friend’, but a ‘fiend’. These scams usually originate from organised crime syndicates operating in countries such as Nigeria and Russia, where there are no laws forbidding such practices, meaning there is no way for a person to get his/her money back!

If you receive such an email, add the sender to the email ‘blocked senders list’, then delete the email.

There is no substitute for parental involvement in a child’s online activities. Parents/guardians should establish an ongoing conversation with their children about their various online experiences, providing guidance whenever necessary. Importantly, parents/guardians might consider going online themselves and joining a social networking site or getting involved with friends in a chat room. Parents/guardians should be familiar with the space their children are playing in. You would not leave your child alone in the park, would you?

To learn more about banking scams, go to https://www.esafety.gov.au/women/life-admin/banking. Complaints about general content on the Internet can be made to the new Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner at https://www.esafety.gov.au/report.

Bogan Bingo (Loyola Parents and Friends Association Major Fundraiser)

A reminder that tickets are still available for the Loyola Parents and Friends Association's major fundraiser - Bogan Bingo - to be held on Saturday, 7 September.

Bring your friends together to enjoy a night of bingo calls to '80s and '90s tunes, comedy, tributes, best dressed competition and a spontaneous air guitar competition. It's the interactive, fun game show that gets everyone rocking! Tables of 12 are available, BYO food only with all drinks at bar prices. Please CLICK HERE for tickets

Please Note: This is an ADULTS ONLY event.

We also take this opportunity to thank the following businesses who have generously sponsored prizes for raffles and entertainment to be enjoyed by all at this event:

Working Bee – Saturday, 7 September

Our next Working Bee will be held on Saturday, 7 September from 9:00am to 12:00pm. Parent assistance will be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to attend at any time during the morning to lend a hand with various tasks around the College. 

Please Note: In the interest of child safety, we ask that only parents attend working bees.

Lunch will be provided at around 11:30am to thank parents for their hard work. For planning and catering purposes, could you please notify us your attendance by emailing lpfa@loyola.vic.edu.au at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to seeing you there.

2024 Entertainment Guide

Support LPFA fundraising efforts and enjoy hundreds of everyday savings!

Entertainment Guide is the easy to use App packed with incredible savings of up to 50% off and 2-fr-1 offers, so you can save on takeaway, dining, shopping, groceries, gift cards, activities and more! And what’s more, 20% of every membership purchased via the following link goes towards supporting the College through the Loyola Parents and Friends Association (LPFA)

Digital memberships can be purchased HERE

For Your Calendar:

For more information about the above dates, please contact Monica Agius at community@loyola.vic.edu.au or 9433 0228