I am pleased to welcome families back to another promising school year at Loyola College. I trust that you have had a restful and enjoyable break. As we begin this new academic year, I am filled with enthusiasm and optimism for the opportunities and experiences that await our students. I look forward to collaborating with our families once again in 2025 and to fostering the continued trust and respectful partnership we share with our parents.

VCE & VCE VM Results 2024

We were delighted with the collective achievements of the graduating class of 2024. Our students demonstrated remarkable dedication and resilience, some achieving exceptional results across various subjects. The College maintained its Median Study Score of 30. I once again congratulate our Dux, Reinard Halim (98.5) and Proxime Accessit, Madelaine Dupes (97.9) on their achievements. I would also like to acknowledge a perfect study score of 50 as achieved by Madelaine in Product Design & Technology: Textiles. Our high achievers will be celebrated at our Opening College Assembly on Thursday, 6 February.

Click Here to Read More About our VCE Results in 2024

New Staff

Several new staff members have been appointed for 2025.

We welcome the following new teachers to our school community

In addition, we welcome the following members of Support staff:

Each year, the College appoints three members of our previous graduating cohort to work as with us as part of the AFL Traineeship Program. The students work at the school for 12 months, while concurrently studying for a Certificate III in Workplace Skills or Business.

In 2025, our AFL Trainees are:

Throughout Semester One, the College has engaged two Language Assistants to support our students in the Language development.

We welcome the following two Language Assistants:

There are three new Instrumental Tutors at the College for 2025:

Finally, Mr Victor Dalla Vecchia is on Long Service Leave for the first semester of 2025. Slade Squire from Centorrino Technologies will replace Victor as the College ICT Manager during this time.

Our dedicated staff have been working diligently to prepare for the return of our students, ensuring that our school remains a safe, supportive, and stimulating environment for learning and growth. We are committed to fostering a community where every student feels valued and empowered to achieve their full potential.

College Bulletin

Each term, the College distributes a bulletin to families via email. This bulletin provides an overview of important dates and relevant information for the term. We encourage parents to save this document for future reference. The purpose of this initiative is to minimize the number of emails sent to parents and to reduce paper usage within our community.

Loyola College is dedicated to the Jesuit Apostolic Preferences, which includes a commitment to caring for our common home. We are strongly focused on reducing the use of paper and other recyclables in our community.

Indonesian Visitors

Loyola College is pleased to reaffirm its commitment to intercultural perspectives by welcoming guests from our sister school in Indonesia. A group of twenty students and three staff members will visit from February 14 to February 21. We extend our gratitude to the parents who have volunteered to host a student for this homestay experience. We are still in need of additional hosts. Parents interested in hosting a student are encouraged to reach out to our Community Liaison Assistant, Monica Agius (agiusm@loyola.vic.edu.au).

Hosting a homestay offers the invaluable opportunity to experience another culture first-hand by sharing your home and daily life with an international guest. This arrangement fosters cultural exchange, language practice, potential lifelong friendships, and a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives. It is a wonderful opportunity for all involved.

Mentor Conversations

This is a reminder to parents that Mentor Conversations are scheduled for Thursday, 20 February. These discussions provide valuable opportunities for open communication, allowing parents to share insights regarding their child's home life and learning needs, while also enabling teachers to convey important information about the student's school experiences. Ultimately, we hope these conversations will foster a collaborative approach to enhance the overall development of our students, both academically and personally.

Parents are encouraged to place this date in their diary. Further information regarding bookings will be forwarded shortly.

We are looking forward to a fantastic term, filled with learning, growth, and memorable experiences.

Keeping our Community Safe

In our ongoing commitment to student safety, we kindly remind parents not to use the Bungay Street entrance for dropping off or picking up students. Instead, please use the drop-off zone accessible via Grimshaw Street. When utilising the Grimshaw Street entrance, we ask that you drive as far down the driveway as possible to accommodate all vehicles entering the College. Additionally, we request that parents refrain from turning right upon exiting the campus.

As we continue to experience increasing enrolments, we have more students arriving simultaneously. To help alleviate traffic congestion, we would greatly appreciate it if parents could consider dropping students off a few blocks away, allowing them to walk into the College. This not only helps reduce traffic but also fosters the health and well-being of our students.

Thank you for your continued support in this matter.

As we embark on the new academic year, I am delighted to introduce our 2025 College theme: Companions of Hope. This theme invites us to journey together, inspired by the light of hope, as we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The Banner: Saint Ignatius and the Lantern

Our theme is beautifully encapsulated in the banner featuring Saint Ignatius holding a lantern. This image is rich in symbolism. The lantern represents the light of hope and guidance that Ignatius offers us through his teachings and example. Just as a lantern illuminates the path in darkness, Ignatius’ wisdom and spirituality light our way, helping us to see beyond our immediate struggles and to find hope in our journey.

Connection to the Jubilee Year Theme: Pilgrims of Hope

The Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year theme, Pilgrims of Hope, resonates deeply with our own theme. As Pilgrims of Hope, we are called to embark on a spiritual journey, seeking renewal and transformation. Similarly, as Companions of Hope, we walk this path together, supporting and uplifting one another. Our shared journey is not solitary; it is a communal experience where we draw strength and inspiration from each other.

Ignatian Spirituality: Companions on the Journey

The concept of companionship is central to Ignatian spirituality. Ignatius emphasised the importance of community and mutual support in our spiritual lives. As Companions of Hope, we are reminded of the Ignatian call to be people for and with others. This means being present for one another, offering encouragement, and fostering a sense of belonging and solidarity.

In practical terms, this theme challenges us to be attentive to the needs of those around us, to offer a listening ear, and to be a source of hope and light in our community. It encourages us to engage in acts of kindness, to build inclusive and supportive relationships, and to nurture a spirit of optimism and resilience.

Moving Forward Together

As we move forward into 2025, let us embrace the theme of Companions of Hope with open hearts and minds. Let us be inspired by Ignatius’ lantern, guiding us to be beacons of hope in our community. Together, as companions on this journey, we can create a culture of hope, compassion, and faith at Loyola.

May this year be filled with moments of grace and opportunities for growth as we walk together as Companions of Hope.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge our banner designers, Isabelle Brennan (12/AJWP) and Mrs Julia O'Brien for their work and commitment in creating the beautiful banner.

Welcome back to all our returning students, and to those students who are new to the school this year. We are all looking forward to working with parents/guardians and your children in 2025. We have many new positive and exciting initiatives.

Companion Learning (the Loyola College Learning Management System)

This year Parents and Students will continue to have online access to resources, class pages, assessment calendars and to their teachers for every class. They will also be able to access their timetable and the College calendar. Please ask your child to show you their ‘Companion Learning’ page.

2025 Heads of Learning

This year we will continue to keep our community fully informed of the learning that occurs at Loyola College. There will also be important information for you to digest concerning the different activities affecting each year level. I would like to introduce you to our Heads of Learning, important curriculum leaders who can assist you throughout the year:

Please do not hesitate to contact any of the Heads of Learning with any curriculum questions.

New Positions 2025

We are excited to introduce three key additions to the Teaching & Learning Team for 2025:

Their expertise and leadership will undoubtedly enrich our team and make a lasting positive impact on our learning community. We look forward to the contributions they will bring and the positive impact they will have on our learning community. 

Loyola College Homework Guidelines

We encourage our students to set goals and work towards achieving them. They should always aim high and not be prepared to accept mediocrity. Homework is an important element of supporting the learning that occurs at the College. The College expectation for the first two weeks of 2025 academic year is that Year 7 students do not receive homework. However, students in Years 8 – 12 will receive homework from Wednesday 13 February.

We ask that parents and guardians fully support their children and assist them in completing all set homework. The Loyola College recommended guidelines for homework are as follows:

2024 VCE Results

All our Year 12 students last year are to be congratulated on completing their VCE/VCE VM Certificate in 2024. Their results were outstanding and reflected all their dedication and the hard work they had put in during the year. Our Dux, Reinard Halim achieved an ATAR of 98.5 and Madeline Dupes was our Proxime with an ATAR score of 97.9.

We are also extremely proud of our Year 11 students, three of whom scored 45+

Year 12 Destinations 2024/2025

The following chart provides an overview of our Year 12 post Loyola destinations. We wish everyone great success in their future endeavours. 

2024 Semester Two Merit Certificates

Congratulations to all students who received Semester Two Merit certificates. Merit awards are given to students who perform at a high level. Awards are based on the student’s overall result for each subject. A student will receive a Gold merit award if they have achieved an overall subject result of A or A+. A student will receive a Silver merit award if they have achieved an overall subject result of B or B+.
Attached is a list of Year 7 – 11 students who received a total of four or more Gold Merits in Semester Two 2024. 

Click Here to View our Semester 2, 2024 Academic Merit Recipients

Year Seven Digital Devices

During the summer break, our Year Seven students received their Surface Laptops. It was wonderful to see that most had completed their summer tasks which helped prepare them for the year ahead. This work was consolidated on the first morning, where all were engaged in a program showing them how to access the College Learning Management System and our other learning platforms: email etiquette and how to get the best out of their device.

NAPLAN 2025

Dates for NAPLAN this year are from Wednesday 12 March to Tuesday 18 March.

We wanted to also take this opportunity to thank those families who took the time to complete VCAA’s 2024 NAPLAN Survey. The Australian Parents Council have emailed all schools the national feedback. In short, the highlights were:

• Nearly half of parents indicated they felt ‘neutral’ to the NAPLAN testing, followed by a 50% drop to ‘very positively’. This then trends down to ‘somewhat negatively’ and ‘very negatively’, with less than a handful feeling ‘somewhat positively’ about the impact of NAPLAN testing on a child’s education.
  
• Concerns about additional stress and pressure on the children, as well as the test not benefiting them, were the main reasons why some children did not participate in NAPLAN testing this year.

• 77% of respondents had a lot to say in the survey, contributing significantly with written feedback. Whilst Australian Parents Council are unable to list all the comments, they can confirm, in summary, the feedback on NAPLAN highlights a range of perspectives:
  
  • Some suggest more detailed communication from VCAA with parents and quicker result turnover to better support students, including providing online resources and summer programs for those who struggle.
  • Others argue for its abolition, citing it as a resource drain that negatively impacts students' wellbeing and engagement.
  • Positive experiences include schools effectively reducing student anxiety and integrating the test smoothly into the school day.
  • There are calls for NAPLAN to be used as a diagnostic tool rather than a competitive measure, and for greater honesty about its purpose.
  • Suggestions have also included focusing on relevant teaching, incorporating handwriting, and emphasising social and emotional skills.

Welcome

A warm welcome to all Loyola families, particularly to the 270 new students and their families, both new and existing, joining our community in 2025. We look forward to sharing many exciting events and initiatives throughout the year to connect our community with the College.

Throughout Term 1 there will be various events to welcome our new students including the College Assembly where Year 7 students along with new students Years 8-12 will be received into the student community and presented with their College Pin.

Year 7 Picnic

Year 7 students and their families had the lovely experience of sharing a picnic lunch with their families on the first day of school, January 30. It was lovely to see parents, carers, grandparents and siblings enjoy the beautiful weather in our wonderful Old Loyola gardens and to watch the sharing of “first day” experiences, the reuniting of existing primary school connections and the formation of new friendships. Thank you to the PWP and LPFA members who joined us to welcome our families to the school year.

2024 House Masses

We invite students and families to their House Masses in Term One, celebrating the Eucharist and fostering faith and connection within our Catholic community. Parish Priests will bless our new Year 7 students and their senior Mentor buddies as they embark on their academic journeys at Loyola in 2025. It is therefore compulsory that Year 7 students and their Senior Buddies are present at these Masses, however students and families from all year levels are welcome.

Each Mass concludes with a shared morning tea, and we encourage families to bring a plate to share. Join us for this meaningful community celebration!

Host Families Required – Short Term Cultural Experience

We are currently looking for volunteer Host Families to welcome one of the twenty visiting students, aged 15-18 years from Santa Laurensia School in Indonesia, into their homes from 14-21 February 2025; and to give these students the opportunity to experience Australian family and school life by providing a home and buddy experience.

Whilst the short-term cultural experiences are a rewarding learning experience for the visiting students, we have also seen how host students and their families benefit from these programs. Hosting offers opportunities to learn about and experience another culture and improve language skills at the family level through the visiting student, as well as assisting guests with their English speaking skills. Forming lifelong friendships is an added benefit to hosting. There have been many past host students and their families who have remained in contact with the visiting students and, in some cases, have even visited their host brother or sister during their own travels.

Interested families can contact Monica Agius at community@loyola.vic.edu.au or 9433 0228 for more information.

Working Bee – Friday, 14 March

Join us for our Twilight Working Bee on Friday, 14 March, from 4:00pm to 6:30pm. We warmly welcome and greatly appreciate the assistance of our parent community to help with various tasks around the College.

This is a fantastic opportunity to get involved, meet other parents, and contribute meaningfully to the College by helping to beautify our grounds.

To ensure the safety of all, we kindly ask that only parents attend the Working Bee.

As a token of our gratitude for your hard work, dinner will be provided at approximately 6:00pm.

To help us with planning and catering, please let us know if you can attend by emailing Monica at community@loyola.vic.edu.au at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your support—we look forward to seeing you there!

Donation of Loyola Uniform

Thank you to all the families who generously donate second-hand uniforms throughout the year to support our Good As New Uniform Sales. As we prepare for 2025, we are accepting donations of washed uniforms. If you have any items that you no longer need and which are in excellent condition, please leave them with Reception. Your contributions help support families in need and are greatly appreciated.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE OLD STYLE SPORT UNIFORM CAN NO LONGER BE WORN BY STUDENTS AND MUST NOT BE SENT TO RECEPTION. Parent co-operation in this matter is kindly appreciated.

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

Parent Involvement at Loyola

There are many opportunities for parents to be involved in various aspects of College life. Studies indicate that parental involvement in a child’s education is one of the most important factors in raising a student’s self-esteem and academic achievement by nurturing an environment of partnership between home and school. A number of volunteer opportunities are available to Loyola parents including various committees such as Loyola Parents & Friends Association (LPFA), Partnership with Parents (PWP), Loyola College Alumni Association (LCAA), Friends of Performing Arts (FOPA), Co-curriculum Reference Group (CRG), Development of Welfare at Loyola (DOWAL), Development of Curriculum at Loyola (DOCAL) and PACUR (Principal’s Advisory Committee for Uniform Regulations (PACUR).

Other vital areas in which we encourage parent involvement are working bees, hospitality assistance, canteen duty, general administration support and donations for fundraising activities. Parents interested in learning more about any of the opportunities mentioned can contact me on 9433 0228 or at community@loyola.vic.edu.au

I look forward to meeting with parents and working together throughout this year.

Partnership With Parents

The Partnership With Parents (PWP) group supports Loyola College in developing a strong sense of community amongst our six Houses with a special focus on parent engagement. The group meets on four Monday evenings throughout the year to discuss, organise and assist with various events including: Year 7 Family Picnic, Annual House Masses, Parent Dinner, House Eisteddfod, Year 7 Orientation Evening.

The first meeting for 2025 will be held in the Tony Chirico Staff Centre in the Old Loyola building this Monday, 3^rd February at 7.30pm. All parents are welcome to attend.

Any parent interested in joining the PWP in 2025 is asked to kindly email Monica Agius at community@loyola.vic.edu.au or call 9433 0228

Loyola Parents and Friends Association

The Loyola Parents & Friends Association (LPFA) are a group of likeminded parents, guardians and friends of Loyola College working in collaboration to support the community development of our school. Monthly meetings are held on Wednesdays to discuss, organise and assist with various events and activities including Year 7 Get Together, Working Bees, Open Day BBQ, St Ignatius Day Celebrations, Community Christmas Events and other fundraising activities.

The first meeting for 2025 will be held in the Tony Chirico Staff Centre in the Old Loyola building this Wednesday, 5^th February at 7.30pm. All parents are welcome to attend.

Any parent interested in joining the LPFA in 2025 is asked to kindly email Monica Agius at lpfa@loyola.vic.edu.au or call 9433 0228

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

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