The Eagle 23 August 2024

Principal's Report

Dear Members of the Marcellin College Community,

It is with great excitement that this week’s Eagle provides us with an opportunity to explore our 2024-2027 Continuous School Improvement Plan (CSIP).

In 2023 our community underwent a period of review to assist us in setting a new strategic plan for our College. We worked to create a document that would guide us for the next four years in working towards achieving a set of goals focused on the idea of, ‘Grow, Learn, Lead: Becoming who you are meant to be’. Our new strategic plan is reflective of our high aspirations as a College and represents all our voices. With feedback drawn from parents, staff, students and external advisors from the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER), we are excited about the journey we are on. Together we will continue to strive for the highest by working towards realising the following commitment statements in our five focus areas:

Living our Catholic Marist Spirituality: With an audacious heart, we seek to celebrate and nurture our Catholic and Marist identity and history as we explore our spirituality through service, prayer and community.

Inspiring our Learners: In cultivating life-long learners we seek to enhance our culture of excellence, inspiring our young people to strive for the highest.

Empowering our Students: We seek to develop self-assured and resilient young people who are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to face the future with hope.

Strengthening our Professional Expertise: recognising the expertise of our staff, we seek to continue enhancing their growth as professionals, working together for the advancement of our community.

Securing our Future: We seek to develop an environment of strong stewardship of our resources through innovation, operational excellence and connection with our local and global community.

Each of the articles in this week’s newsletter will provide a snapshot into the goals we have set and our targets for 2024.

God bless,

Marco Di Cesare
Principal

God of all that is good,
Our hearts are full of gratitude and excitement as we embark on the launch of our College’s Continuous School Improvement Plan. We thank You for the vision, dedication, and hard work that have brought us to this moment.
We ask for Your blessings upon this initiative, that it may be a beacon of knowledge, growth, and positive change. Guide our College community with wisdom and clarity, so that every decision made and every action taken is aligned with Your will.
Grant us the strength and perseverance to overcome any challenges we may face. Help us to work together in unity and harmony, fostering an environment of collaboration and mutual respect.
May this initiative inspire and empower our students, staff, and community to reach new heights of excellence and innovation. Let it be a source of inspiration and a testament to what can be achieved when we come together with a shared purpose.
We dedicate this initiative to You, trusting in Your guidance and provision. May it bring glory to Your name and benefit to all who are involved.
In Your holy name, we pray.
Amen.
St Marcellin Champagnat, Pray for us
Mary, our Good Mother, Pray for us
And let us always remember, To pray for one another

2024 - 2027 Strategic Plan

Our 2024 - 2027 Continuous School Improvement Plan

As the Assistant Principal (Strategy) it is a privilege to oversee the design, implementation and review of our College’s Continuous School Improvement Plan (CSIP). Otherwise known as our Strategic Plan, this was an opportunity for all in our community to have a voice in the priorities of the next four years. 2023 saw us interview 21 parents / carers, 93 students, 95% of staff and 100% of school leaders. Our strategic plan is the vehicle in which we share our goals with the community and set measurable targets to track our progress, so it’s important that everyone in our Marcellin College community understands what we are trying to achieve.

For the past six months, we have been busily working away, collaborating on new initiatives and enhancing processes to ensure that we are continuing to strive for the highest in the goals we have set for ourselves. This week we present four insights into Faith, Learning, Wellbeing and Staffing. We will continue to share information about our new initiatives and ways in which we can all work together to enliven this exciting document.

Melissa Mackellin
Assistant Principal (Strategy)

Faith & Mission

Continuous School Improvement Plan: Living our Catholic Marist Spirituality

A key element of Marcellin College's vision for our Catholic Marist identity, as outlined in the newly launched Continuous School Improvement Plan (CSIP), is the creation of spaces where learning, culture, faith and life intersect; enriching one another in meaningful and authentic ways for our students. In our multicultural, pluralist and secular world, this vision calls us to implement strategies that draw from the rich traditions of our Catholic and Marist faith while also responding to the real lives and experiences of our young men.

To achieve this, we are committed to a range of strategies which include:

• Engaging in Christian Service and Faith-in-Action Opportunities: We are dedicated to offering and expanding opportunities for our community to engage in Christian service. This encourages our students to challenge unjust and oppressive attitudes and to encounter people whose lives are marked by challenges or disadvantage. In 2024, we have revitalised our House Social Justice program across the College; our Game Changers Youth Ministry program has not only grown in numbers but also in the variety of faith-based activities available to students; and, for the first time since the pandemic, we will resume our mission immersion trip to Cambodia.

• Enhancing the Visibility of Marist and Catholic Symbolism: We aim to increase the presence of Marist and Catholic iconography and artifacts within the College, which narrate and celebrate our Catholic and Marist heritage. This year, we have begun renovations to our beautiful Chapel, located at the heart of our College. We look forward to the completion of this project in early 2025.

• Providing Faith Formation Opportunities for Staff: We are committed to offering faith formation opportunities that help staff effectively integrate faith into their teaching. These opportunities enable staff to inspire and guide students on their spiritual journeys. This year, we held College-wide faith formation days focused on Marist spirituality and Catholic theology. These were well-received by staff and will continue to be developed in the coming years.

The vision and strategic intent outlined in our CSIP challenge us to reflect on what it means to be both Catholic and Marist in today's world, to integrate faith and life and to realise God's dream for creation. This vision aims to help our students discern wise life paths and become a "light" for the world. I encourage you to read our CSIP and consider how you can contribute to this shared vision.

Geralyn McCarthy
Deputy Principal Faith & Mission

Student Wellbeing

Continuous School Improvement Plan: Empowering our Students

Our Wellbeing team here at Marcellin College is dedicated to enhancing our school's learning environment and student outcomes through the Continuous School Improvement Plan. One of our primary goals is to increase the average overall student attendance rate to over 90%. This target is crucial in fostering a culture of high expectations, where behavioural and organisational routines are clearly defined and supported, enabling students to strive for and achieve excellence. We also know that students who attend school regularly will experience improved learning outcomes and therefore career opportunities. 

Currently, attendance rates stand at 91%, a positive indicator of our commitment to student engagement and success. To maintain and further improve this, we have established an Attendance Review Committee (ARC) that regularly analyses attendance data. The ARC plays a critical role in identifying students at risk of falling below the desired attendance threshold and implementing targeted interventions to support them. A key aspect of our approach in this area involves transparent communication with parents and carers. Following ARC meetings, we ensure that clear lines of documentation are provided, keeping families informed and engaged in their child’s progress. We have also established robust mechanisms for House Leaders (HL), Pastoral Leaders (PL), and our wider staff to accurately record and follow up on student absences below 90%. These strategies are consistently reviewed and reinforced during our fortnightly House and HL meetings, where we assess student data and adjust our interventions as needed. Additionally, students with attendance below 70% have dedicated meetings with the Director of Students (DOS) and Deputy Principal (DP) to address their specific challenges.

As well as our approach to consistently improving attendance, we are maintaining our focus on having high expectations of our students. To support this and to provide clarity we have developed posters highlighting our community norms and displayed these in every classroom. Our commitment in this area extends to fostering Respectful Relationships, with presentations being delivered to different year levels, ensuring that our students not only achieve academic success but also develop strong personal values. These sessions have also been extended to parents through our Tuning into Teens and Tomorrow Man presentations. We invite all parents and carers to our third and final session on Monday, 26 August at 7pm. Details can be found further below.

Rocky Gentile
Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing

Learning & Teaching

Continuous School Improvement Plan: Inspiring our Students

As you will have already read, the College has launched its Continuous School Improvement Plan. Within this plan, the area of ‘Inspiring our Students’ has been crafted to enhance the educational experience for every student, ensuring that we continue to foster a vibrant, inclusive, and rigorous learning environment.

Centred around our newly endorsed pedagogical framework, we are working towards ensuring that our teachers have a shared vision for learning and implementing a series of teaching practices that are internationally recognised as some of the most reliable for delivering learning outcomes.

Underpinned by a philosophy of personalised learning, where each student’s unique strengths and needs are recognised and supported, we have incorporated a greater focus on collaborative learning, worked examples, formative assessment and metacognitive strategies – these strategies help students better understand their learning, how to organise themselves and how to study.

You may have seen recent discussions in the media about NAPLAN results and the potential positive impact of explicit teaching. You will see this mentioned in our framework. Explicit teaching, as the name suggests, is a method of specifically demonstrating and modelling required concepts. This is not necessarily something new in the world of teaching but, we will be implementing a more targeted approach to explicit teaching to enhance key skill areas and cater to individual learning needs.

Throughout 2024 we have been implementing lesson planning which includes learning intentions and success criteria as part of our pedagogical requirement to set goals for students. I hope you have seen these within the plans posted on Compass – Feel free to ask your child’s teacher about their goals for each lesson or more broadly the topic or unit, and how these can enhance learning.

We are excited to be rolling out our new pedagogical framework over the next few years, and I look forward to updating you on this progress along the way.

Suzanne Farley
Deputy Principal Learning & Teaching

Staffing

Continuous School Improvement Plan: Strengthening our Professional Expertise

There are so many elements to staffing a school. Everyone knows that teachers work in schools. However, there are so many other vital roles. We have staff that oversee and work in the grounds and maintenance area keeping our gardens and ovals looking amazing, along with repairing and improving our buildings. We have staff in the finance area who support families and pay us! We have staff in Student Services, Main Reception, Enrolments and the IT department fixing laptops and ensuring our systems operate to enhance learning. We have technicians in Science, Art, Design Technology and the list goes on.

The 2024 Annual Action Plan (AAP) for the sphere ‘Strengthening our Professional Expertise’ focuses on our staff to ensure we continue to grow and be challenged. This is no different to the opportunities for our students. The two goals of the AAP in this sphere are;

• Initiate a professional development program focused on innovative, boy-centred teaching methodologies
• Embed an annual review and professional development program specifically for Education Support Staff

The first goal relates mostly to our teachers and invites us to reflect on Marcellin College as a ‘Leading School in Boys Education’. If this is to remain the case, then we must invest in professional learning that supports teachers to continue learning, honing their skills with the knowledge that they are encouraged to take risks and make mistakes to become better teachers.

The second goal relates to annual review meetings which are currently conducted with all teaching staff in Term 4. If Marcellin College wants all staff to be their best selves, then we need to broaden this approach and ensure everyone in our community has access and opportunities to reflect, grow and lead.

I am excited to know that this sphere will influence the staff that teach, support, guide, influence and inspire your son to be the best version they can be.

Nicholas Moloney
Deputy Principal Staff

From our Learning Areas

Year 9 Italian Cultural Immersion Excursion
On Tuesday, the two Year 9 Italian classes took a break from the classroom and went to the Immigration Museum in the City where we learned about different people’s stories and how they came to Australia. We participated in an interactive experience where we acted as a border patrol officer and decided whether a European immigrant would be allowed into the country. We then travelled to Lygon Street in Carlton to eat some authentic pizza from Papa Gino’s. We then participated in a scavenger hunt around Lygon Street where we searched around the local shops and businesses for clues that would lead us back to the famous Piazza Italia.

Overall it was a very fun-packed day filled with activities and a lot of great food!

Patrick, Year 9 Italian Studies Student

Last week, me and my fellow peers were given the opportunity to experience the incredible and rich fusion between Italian and Australian culture. Our excursion started with a trip to the Melbourne Immigration Museum, where we learnt about the incredible stories of Australian Immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries; my favourite part of the museum was looking at the family names of immigrants and trying to find my surname. The visit to the museum, although relatively short, definitely strengthened my connection to my culture and background, seeing my family's hardworking and courageous efforts to start a new life in Australia. We then went to Lygon Street, notorious for its dense Italian population, to enjoy authentic Italian pizza and complete fun research activities while roaming the streets in Carlton. This was an incredible and eye-opening experience for me and my peers not just to get out and see Lygon Street, but to have fun learning in doing so.

Dante, Year 9 Italian Studies Student

Year 11 VCE Vocation Major (VM) students attended Sutton Tools as part of their Work-Related Skills (WRS) studies. The boys met engineers who guided them through the factory explaining processes, products and stages of manufacturing.

The boys were fascinated to learn the process and amount of machinery and precision required to create drill bits, etc., that they take for granted when at a structured workplace learning!

Learning facts about the industry, the company itself and its connections to national and international sales and competition was fascinating. For many of the students, this was their first experience of seeing a working factory and gaining an understanding of employment in such an environment.

Sutton Tools was very generous in providing the boys with morning tea which was a total surprise and an excellent way to finish a memorable experience.

Work-Related Skills – Careers Workshop Day
On Monday, 5 August the College hosted a Careers Workshop for Year 12 Vocational Major (VM) students completing Work-Related Skills. Marcellin College VM students were joined by Year 12 VM students from Our Lady of Mercy College, Heidelberg and Catholic Ladies College, Eltham were also invited. The purpose of the workshop was to support students as they prepare their career portfolios which form a major component of their assessment for Work-Related Skills Unit 4. The workshop was facilitated by Career Coach Leah Lambart, the founder of Relaunchme, a business that offers career, interview and job-searching coaching.

Outplacement and career transition services. Leah discussed with students the importance of targeting resumes and cover letters for specific job applications and showed students examples high quality resumes and cover letters. Students were also provided with resume and cover letter templates and given time to update their own resumes. Leah also talked to students about the importance of highlighting their transferable skills to potential employers as these are increasingly sought after in today’s competitive job market. Lastly, Leah worked with the students discussing interview skills and focussed on the types of questions employers will ask and how to answer these in effective ways that better showcase their experience and skills. Student enjoyed the day, particularly the pizza lunch, and appreciated Leah sharing her industry knowledge with students

Fran Davey, Applied Learning and VET Coordinator

Library News
Welcome to Book Week 2024!
This year’s theme is Reading is Magic so we have been having some fun with the Library’s new resident. Placidus the Penguin was gifted to us by Readings Doncaster and he has settled in well. Last week he got into the spirit of Science Week and this week, he has been showing off the magic of reading with some of his friends from 7C. As part of our reading classes, the Year 7 students have been sharing what they are reading with their classmates and giving each other recommendations for what to read next.

We are also running a photo competition. Students have until Monday, 26 August to send in a photo of them or their pet sharing in the magic of reading.

Rebecca Preedy, Information Services Leader

News from the Music Department

Champagnat Choir win Silver at VSMF
Congratulations to Mrs Carger and our Champagnat Choir for their outstanding performance at this year's Victorian Schools Music Festival (VSMF)! After three intensive days of preparation at music camp, the choir performed alongside several other schools last Wednesday at the Box Hill Salvation Army. They also had the valuable opportunity to workshop their songs with the festival's guest adjudicator, Mark Puddy. A special mention goes to Luke Budge, who stepped in on short notice to sing a solo due to illness. We are immensely proud of the choir and the way they continue to represent our college in the broader community.

Andrew Short, Head of Music

My name is Jess Wright and I’m really excited to be joining Marcellin College’s wonderful Music Team! I grew up in Armidale, country NSW, where I played classical violin and went on to study Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. I ventured out to Alice Springs in 2019 to teach students at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic College. One of my favourite experiences from Central Australia, was working under the mentorship of Morris Stuart (leader of the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir), where I worked closely with the choir as part of the Desert Song Festival. Last year I ventured to Nashville, Tennessee to further develop my fiddle playing and was absolutely blown away by the American Music scene. Fun fact about me I love to jam and make music with new friends! I am a passionate singer-songwriter, fiddle player and music educator and feel very privileged to work with young people in the realm of music.

Respectful Relationships

Year 7 Respect Relationships Program– Project Rockit Workshop
On Tuesday, 6 August Year 7 students gathered in the Functions Room for a Project Rockit workshop. The name of the workshop was ‘Connect’ and the theme was about how to use technology positively and how to avoid negative behaviour online. The Project Rockit presenters Lachie and Felix talked with us about problems that can arise while using social media, and how it could impact us and everyone not just now, but later in our lives. They also talked about how quite a lot of teenagers are experiencing some negative behaviour online and gave us some suggestions about where we can get support from when this happens.

Another thing that Lachie and Felix talked to us about was how we can support our mates to use social media respectfully, for example when you see your mate posting something online that might be hurtful or inappropriate, asking them to stop or delete it. A good tip that we learnt was if you want to post a picture of yourself and your friend, ask your friend for permission first before posting. Something that was quite fun was the game of charades we played, each new round was harder and harder! All the Year 7 students took a lot out of this workshop, and many of us are already following Lachie and Felix’s good advice about being respectful and safe online. 

 James, Year 7, Champagnat House

Staff Profile

Hello, my name is Eryn Seach and I have recently joined the Marcellin College community as the College Nurse. What I have enjoyed about the College so far is the friendliness and respect the students have shown towards me.

When I am not at the College, I enjoy spending time with my two young children, catching up with my friends and taking my dog, Neea for a walk. I love to cook and try new recipes and really appreciate a good coffee. I have enjoyed meeting the students who have visited me already in the health centre and look forward to my career here at Marcellin College.

Eryn Seach, College Nurse

Student Profile

Hi, my name is Alex, and I’m currently in Year 9. What I love most about Marcellin College is the vast amount of options for subjects, and beyond the classroom activities, and how everything is always stimulating and never boring.

When I’m not studying, I enjoy going to the theatre and everything fiction. I dream of becoming an actor in the future, but I'd also like to become an engineer, or maybe a lawyer. I find decisions hard to make quickly, so I'm keen to study all the subjects connected to these professions.

Alex, Year 9, Redden House

College Events

The third and final session will be held on Monday, 26 August at 7pm in the Functiosn Room.

The presentation about Tuning Into Teens by Dr Christiane Kehoe was absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, I could not attend the first night and I wish I had. In the second session, we covered the principles of emotion coaching. Trying to understand our teenagers' emotional triggers, bids for attention, and connecting before correcting or redirecting is so important. Parenting is not easy at the best of times. How can I say it… these skills universally benefit us in multiple roles - parents, partners, siblings. If you can make the time for the third session next Monday then you will not be disappointed… other than having missed the first two….

Pamela Frost, President Parents & Friends Group, mother of two boys.

Business & Community Network Breakfast Talk – 19 September
The Marcellin College Business & Community Network invites you to a special breakfast talk featuring guest speaker Dr Monique Ryan on Thursday, 19 September at 7am in the Functions Room.

Monique was elected to the federal seat of Kooyong in May 2022. Formerly Director of the Neurology Department of the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne and a Professor of Medicine at both Melbourne and Monash Universities, Monique is the first woman and the first Independent to hold the seat of Kooyong. Dr Ryan is committed to action on climate change, integrity and transparency in government, evidence-based healthcare, and gender equity. Monique will share her story and hopes for a better future for our children.

Booking is essential and can be made here.

2024 Father’s Day Breakfast – SOLD OUT

Tickets for this year’s Parents & Friends Group Father’s Day Breakfast on Friday, 30 August are sold out.

You can add your name to a waitlist.

Click here to be added.

Community News

Marcellin Mums Mass & Luncheon
Last Friday we held our annual past and present Marcellin Mums Mass & Luncheon. The day was a great opportunity for friends to reconnect and for new friendships to be formed. The day coincides with the Feast of the Assumption, an important day in our liturgical calendar.

Feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive and here are a few responses:

• My favourite event and love the cooked lunch. Have been every year since my son started.
• This was my first and l was very impressed and had a wonderful time. I will definitely come again thank you to the organisers and the school. The choir were wonderful also.
• The mass was particularly wonderful. The boys' choir lifted spirits and certainly set the tone for the gathering.

Year 7 2026 Enrolments
Enrolments for Year 7 2026 closed last Friday, 16 August. However, we are still accepting applications. If you have a son in grade 5, please ensure their application has been received to ensure they don’t miss out on a place. You can apply online here.

Upcoming Road Changes to Marcellin College Access Road
The College has been advised by the North East Link Project (NELP) that the access road to Marcellin College is changing - please read the attached file for further information and a timeline of when these works are set to commence and finish. The College will continue to keep families informed of works as they occur and ensure any interruptions are kept to a minimum.

Health Centre

We have had one confirmed case of whooping cough in the College. Whooping cough can be a life-threatening illness for babies, but it can also affect people of all ages. It is important to ensure that unwell students are excluded from school, and parents are encouraged to get their child reviewed by a GP if they show symptoms.

Whooping cough starts like a cold and progresses to bouts of coughing that can last for many weeks. This coughing spreads the infection to other people, so the infection can spread quickly through schools.

Students are asked to stay home for 5 days after they start antibiotics, or for 21 days from the onset of their cough.

Eryn Seach, College Nurse

Careers News

VTAC- Year 12
On Monday, 12 August, Year 12 students were given time to complete their VTAC sign-up during the seminar. VTAC is the tertiary admissions centre for Victoria and all university applications must be made through VTAC.

Students are reminded that VTAC applications must be paid for before 30 September. VTAC Key dates here.

Drop-in Sessions
Students who require support with navigating the VTAC process are encouraged to attend the following drop-in sessions in the Chirat Learning Centre (CLC).

• Thursday, 22 August - lunchtime
• Thursday, 29 August - lunchtime
• Thursday, 12 September - Period 1

If any parents missed this presentation, it will be sent out to all families shortly. 

Apprenticeship and Resume Session
MEGT will be running a session on resumes and apprenticeships for Year 12 students looking to enter the workforce or obtain an apprenticeship / traineeship in 2025. This session will run in Period 1 on Thursday, 29 August.

Careers in Sport
The Marcellin Sport Department teamed up with the Careers Department to run two sessions on careers and pathways in sport. Students who missed the Carlton College of Sport session might like to attend their online information session here.

Work Experience Opportunity
Expressions of interest to complete a work experience placement at the Parliament of Victoria in terms 1 and 2, 2025 are now open, for current Year 9 students. Interested students to visit our website and lodge an expression of interest via the following link.

Open Days
Students should also be attending a minimum of three open days. A reminder you do not need to wait until Year 12 to do this. Students in Years 9-11 are also encouraged to access open dates. Details are provided here.

As always, appointments for further support are available, click here to book a one-on-one meeting with either Kevin or Lara.

Kevin Kelly and Lara Ingram, Careers and Further Education

Sport Report

Winter Award Winners
Last week saw our 1st XVIII Football, 1st Hockey, 1st XV Rugby and 1st XI Soccer teams all celebrate their seasons at presentation nights. These nights are held for teams playing AGSV and VRSU Premiership sports. For many of the boys and families involved in these nights, it is the culmination of six years of dedication to the sports program.

The pinnacle of these nights is awarding the best and fairest awards. Three awards were given on Monday night and one on Thursday night. The talent within the Marcellin sport program never ceases to amaze me as does the humbleness shown when the young men get up to receive their awards. They are always so thankful for the support of their families, the friendship of their teammates, the time given by coaches and the opportunities given to them by Marcellin. It is a pleasure to listen to such fine young men speak.

Congratulations to the following students.

• Lucas Inchincoli– Best and Fairest 1st XI Soccer
• Daniel Anderson– Best and Fairest 1st Hockey
• Nicholas Canavan- Best and Fairest 1st XVIII Football
• Samuel Scarlett – Best and Fairest 1st XV Rugby

Our Cross-Country team have their awards night later in the term week and we look forward to acknowledging their Best Overall Athlete Cross Country.

AGSV Representatives
Congratulations to the following boys who represented the AGSV last Friday against the APS in the annual winter representative carnival. Students are selected by coaches at all nine AGSV schools following their successful winter season. Click here to view a short video.

Basketball – Ben Bratovic & Hans Mariner
Cross Country – William Waters & Marc Lewis-Akther
Football – Hugh White and Roman Moxan
Soccer – Conor Skaliotis (Captain) and Alex DeBonis

Selection in any representative team is a fantastic achievement and highlights a high level of performance. Full details of the day including results can be found on the AGSV website.

Ben Reynolds, Head of Sport