The Eagle 4 August 2023
Principal's Report
Dear Members of the Marcellin College Community,
Last week I attended the 2023 Volleyball Victoria Schools Cup with our 1sts Team. Ms Tessa Jacobs has worked hard with our students over the last two years and has lifted the profile of the sport at Marcellin College. It was a privilege to spend three days with this fine group of Marcellin College representatives as they worked their way into the finals of the School Cup – even better, their hard work paid off as they earned a well-deserved silver medal.
In the same week, I watched our 1sts Soccer Team win to become the 2023 AGSV Premiers, while our Cross-Country Team were also victorious as the 2023 AGSV Premiers. At the same time, our Marcellin College String Orchestra and Champagnat Choir won Gold at the Victorian Schools Music Festival for the first time in the event's history. I was also privileged to attend the Premier's VCE Awards where three of our students were acknowledged for their outstanding study scores. Overall, it was a great week of celebrations and my thanks to staff who work hard to ensure that we continue to offer the very best to our students – both in and out of the classroom.
This week we welcomed prospective families to the College for a final information night before finalising enrolments for Year 7 2025. There is always a mixture of emotions on these nights as parents work towards finalising their decisions for their sons’ future years. I am sure some of us remember those feelings only too well – will my son fit in…will he be known…will he get lost…how will he remember his combination locker code…and on it goes. I enjoy hearing from our incoming parents and it allows our College to address these and other concerns, while allowing us time to reflect on what we offer at Marcellin College. Our motto, strive for the highest, is central to what we want for each of the young men in our care and I believe our College prayer encapsulates our aspirations for our young men:
Teach Me, O Lord to aim high
and not be content with mediocrity;
to set my sights on noble goals;
to have a brave heart, a clear vision;
to prize the things that are worthwhile;
to always have the courage
to choose what is right
to despise what is petty,
to shun all selfishness,
to have a heart that is strong and brave;
pure and happy,
docile yet courageous,
so that under your guidance and
with your grace
I may always and in all things
have as my motto - Virtute Ad Altissima
Striving for the highest with virtue and courage
Thank you all for your continued support and commitment to the Marcellin College community. Together, we will continue to strive for the highest as we shape a brighter future for our young men.
Marco Di Cesare
Principal
Faith & Mission
Year 8 Reflection Day
This year’s Year 8 Reflection Day focussed on the importance of Faith-in-Action. Facilitated by the Youth Mission Team, the program has centred on the fact that responding to injustice in the world begins with appreciating the dignity and uniqueness of every human person regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or social status. Our call to social justice is not just about feeding the hungry in remote places around the world. Rather, it starts with respect for people around us and respect for ourselves.
Through a series of interactive activities, video clips and discussion groups, students were encouraged to reflect on how the needs of our community and the global world can appear overwhelming. Through attention to the ways in which speak to and treat people, how prepared we are to forgive and reconcile difference, we can build up or tear down those with whom we are in relationship. This message is congruent with our Respectful Relationships program being offered throughout the College.
In the final session of the day, students were then able to reflect on our faith-in-action opportunities is reflected in the unconditional love that God has for us. Despite our shortcomings, God loves and accepts us for who we are. We can love and serve others most powerfully when we mirror the love that God has for us.
This message was profoundly shared by Pope Francis in his first message to young pilgrims attending World Youth Day event in Portugal this week. He told the young people in the crowd that their presence was no accident and that God has called each one by name.
Dear friends, there is a happiness that Jesus has prepared for you, for each of you: It does not come from accumulating things but from putting your life on the line. The Lord says also to each of you: ‘Go, for there is a world that needs what you, and you alone, can give it.'
Geralyn McCarthy
Deputy Principal Faith & Mission
Vinnies Winter Sleepout
A reminder to anyone who wishes to support our Game Changer students and staff who are participating in the 2024 Vinnies Winter Sleepout: this year, we are aiming for $5000.
How to Support this Initiative, click the Link to fundraising page.
Student Wellbeing
Respectful Relationships Days
Last Friday 28 July, Year 7 students participated in a workshop facilitated by presenters from Project Rockit on the topic of bullying and cyberbullying. Project Rockit runs a range of highly successful anti-bullying workshops across Australia that a adopt a strengths-based, future-focused approach to support psychological safety while working with groups of students. Their workshops provide a vehicle for cultivating peer connection and utilising a 'power in numbers' to establish cultural norms that emphasise kindness. The workshop facilitators challenged students to think about what bullying behaviour can look like and reflect on some of the reasons why people might become the targets of bullying and why some people perpetrate bullying. A significant focus of the workshop involved students considering a range of effective strategies that they can use when they or their friends experience or witness bullying behaviour. Following the Project Rockit workshop, a sausage sizzle lunch was provided on the Functions Room balcony which was a great opportunity for the boys to catch-up with their mates and strengthen existing connections and build new ones, which is an important element of the Year 7 transition into secondary school. After lunch, the students spent time in House groups with their House Leaders unpacking ideas from the workshop and reflecting on their own and others’ responses in a circle time activity.
Upcoming Respectful Relationships Days
- 14 August – Year 8
- 18 August – Year 9
- 25 August – Year 10
- 8 September – Year 11
Marcellin College Grounds
We are blessed to have such wonderful grounds for our students to utilise both for co-curricular sport as well as lunch and recess recreation time. It is disappointing to see the amount of litter that is strewn around the ovals after lunch and recess breaks. We are continually sending a message to students to be more respectful in caring for their surroundings. We ask parents to support us by having a conversation with your son at home to reinforce this message and remind them of the importance of respecting our amazing grounds and facilities.
College Expectations
As our teenage boys’ journey through adolescence, they will continually try to step over the line in their need for autonomy and independence. It is our role as parents, carers and educators to provide them with very clear expectations and boundaries so that they are aware of what their responsibilities as a Marcellin College student. As our students manage physical, emotional and hormonal changes through their time at the College, it is important for us, the adults in their lives, to work together and have regular conversations with them about ensuring that their behaviour, organisation, presentation and approach to their studies are reflective of College expectations.
We therefore ask for the continues support of all parents and carers on these matters as we work together to support our students and sons to develop to their full potential.
Wellbeing Support
A reminder to all families that we have a number of supports available to our students here at school when and if they require them. This includes their Pastoral and House Leaders as well as our two College Counsellors, Ms Rosemary Chapple and Mr Chris Lang.
Rocky Gentile
Deputy Principal Student Wellbeing
From our Learning Areas
Super Skateboards
Year 11 Visual Communication Design students worked hard to complete their skateboard deck designs following a given theme. Each student produced creative pieces representing urban styles, the Melbourne lifestyle, mental health awareness and much more. It was great to see students working together in class to develop their drawings and then refine them digitally on Illustrator. Well done, gentlemen!
Art Club Begins!
Art Club runs during Term 3 every Monday lunchtime in F03. All students are invited to create artworks, explore materials and be creative in their own way. Art Club also offers students additional time to complete classwork and art homework, encouraging high level skill development. Students can come along to do their own individual projects working on their interests, have fun exploring a variety of mediums and subject matter or come in to have access to resources to complete class work. Hope to see you there!
Marina Sipos, Arts Learning Leader
National Science Week
The National Science Week will be celebrated at Marcellin College from 14 - 18 of August. During this week, the Science learning area will plan immersive programs for the students at various years levels and attractive prizes will be awarded to winners of various science competitions. The theme for the 2023 National Science Week is Innovation: Powering Future Industries and the student activities during the week will be aligned to this theme. Students in all year levels will have a chance to participate in daily Pastoral activities and will be provided an opportunity to submit a short video on their scientific innovations or pursuit to enter the draw to win attractive prizes.
Please reach out to your science teachers or Cayleb Wilson (Science Captain) for more information.
Rajnesh Ram, Science Learning Leader
Sustainability | National Tree Day
On Friday we celebrated National Tree Day by planting a selection of native trees on the banks of the Bray Oval. Our Green Team with the help of our Grounds Department were getting their hands dirty and improving the College grounds while working to increase biodiversity levels in the College grounds.
We have a number of sustainability-related projects happening at school so if you are interested contact Mr Holliday or our Sustainability Captain Noah Hall.
Hugh Holliday, Sustainability Liaison
Marcellin College String Orchestra & Champagnat Choir win Gold at VSMF
A HUGE congratulations to Mrs Danielle Tratt and the Marcellin String Orchestra who have just won a Gold award at the Victorian Schools Music Festival! What a fantastic achievement. We congratulate all students involved.
Some words from Mrs Tratt:
Marcellin’s string orchestra proudly represented our College at the Victorian Schools Music Festival, held at Hawthorn Town Hall. With students from each year level coming together to perform, they smashed it out of the park and were elated to come home with a Gold award! It was so special to see their hard work pay off and to witness the camaraderie between the boys and how well they supported each other in what can be a very nerve-wracking experience. Aside from receiving excellent marks from the adjudicators in different aspects of their musicianship, the students ranked the highest in ‘Presentation’; demonstrating outstanding posture, appearance and discipline in the way they conducted themselves. Well done, gentlemen.
A special mention must go to Mrs Tratt whom has worked tirelessly over the past two years to re-build our strings department from the ground up. Thank you for your dedication, passion for excellence, and your care for each student.
Champagnat Choir also performed at the Victorian Schools Music Festival for the first time in the event's history. And they smashed it! As Head of Music, I reckon watching the boys sing yesterday was one of my proudest moments. They were so good!
A huge congratulations to all the boys, please join me in thanking them for their dedication and hard work, and for the way in which they so proudly represented Marcellin College.
As I sat there listening and watching, I kept remembering when our numbers were as low as 5 or 6 following the interrupted years of COVID. What we witnessed yesterday is testament not only to each student involved but to the vision and leadership of Mrs Natalie Carger. Thank you for your passion and dedication, and congratulations on an incredible achievement.
Mark your calendars for our annual Spring Music Concert. See the save the date flyer below.
Andrew Short - Head of Music
Student Leadership
Year 7 Respectful Relationships Day
On Friday, 28 July, Year 7 students attended their respectful relationships morning. We took part in an interactive presentation by project Rockit about bullying. In the presentation they talked about creating a safe environment in which all students can come to school feeling safe, comfortable, and respected regardless of who they are or where they come from. This was an important presentation as it highlighted the impacts of bullying on young people in the school community. After the presentation, the students enjoyed a sausage sizzle lunch in the Functions Room. Following lunch, we gathered in House Groups and discussed the presentation. These group discussions also provided us with an opportunity to reflect on the learnings of the presentation and talk about any questions or comments that we had.
Overall, the respectful relationships morning was very interesting, practical, and relevant to us and I am sure that all the Year 7 students benefited from the presentation and group discussion.
Xavier, Year 7, Champagnat House
Globalisation Week
This week was the College’s annual Globalisation Week. Over the course of the week, the languages department held multiple events, enabling all students immerse themselves within different cultures. On Monday in the Quadrangle, a sweets stall was opened where mini cannoli, coconut pancakes, rose flavoured pancakes and many more assorted snacks were on sale highlighting the languages on offer at the College.
Throughout the week in Pastoral, daily quizzes were held with the intention of bringing about cultural awareness to countries like Mexico, China, Italy, Indonesia and South Africa. The canteen also offered specials for this week such as nasi goreng, spring rolls and miniature pizzas just to name a few.
Today, students were offered the chance to engage in a "languages corner." Upon entering the room, they were encouraged to communicate exclusively in a diverse selection of languages, including Italian, Mandarin, Indonesian, Spanish, and Greek. There was variety of challenges, games, and exciting opportunities to win prizes.
Thomas Hotton, Year 12, Languages Captain
Community News
Year 7 2025 Parent Information Evening
On Tuesday night, we welcomed prospective families to our Year 7 2025 Parent Information Evening. It was a packed house and families discovered all the things that make us a great place of learning. The evening was emceed by 2023 Junior Captain, Benjamin Bodycoat.
Enrolments for Year 7 2025 close on 18 August this year. If you know any families looking to enrol their son, please visit marcellin.vic.edu.au to learn more about the enrolment process.
Father’s Day Breakfast – Tickets on sale Monday!
The annual Father’s Day Breakfast will be held on Wednesday, 30 August in the Functions Room. Tickets will go on sale 9am Monday, 7 August. Please keep an eye on Compass and our socials for a booking link.
2023 Marcellin Mums Mass & Luncheon
Haven’t booked yet? Don’t miss out in joining us on Friday, 11 August for the annual Marcellin Mums Mass & Luncheon. The event is open to past and present mums. So, grab a group table and come along. Be among old and new friends as we celebrate the wonderful mums of this great College.
For more information and to book tickets visit: https://events.humanitix.com/marcellin-college-mums-mass-and-lunch
Follow us on Facebook!
The College’s new Facebook page is where families can visit to view all things about College life including news, photos and upcoming events. Be sure to like and follow us to stay in the know with all the latest happenings.
Click here to access and follow our page.
College Counsellors
On Wednesday, 6 September at 7pm, inconjunction with Our Lady of Mercy (OLMC), the College with host a special presentation It's Time We Talked with guest speaker Maree Crabbe in the Functions Room.
This presentation will explore:
- What parents need to understand about pornography and its influence on young people’s sexual understandings and expectations
- How parents can support their children’s healthy social and sexual development in an age of pornography.
For further details and to register please click on the below flyer.
Rosemary Chapple & Chris Lang, College Student Counsellors
In the below article from Learning Strategies edition of the Generation Next Newsletter, Andrew Fuller discusses neurodiversity and learning strengths for gifted students.
Click on the link below to access an informatative read.
Staff Profile
Hello, my name is Mali Robinson. Pronounced Maylee, for all of those who are still wondering.... Feels good to get that out on a public forum !
I have been a member of the Marcellin College community for two years. My role is visual arts and design teacher, Year 7 and 8 Game Changers mentor and working on the F.I.R.E Carrier Reconciliation Program. What I enjoy most about the College is the friendly and supportive collegiality, the vast array of opportunities to participate in, and learning a lot of Gen Z speak.
When I’m not at the College I love heading down the surf coast, cooking, gardening, painting, learning Indonesian, travelling and spending time with friends, family, and my kelpie Honey.
Mali Robinson, Arts Teacher
Student Profile
Hi, my name is Harry, I'm in Year 10 and I'm from Redden House. What I love most about Marcellin College is the amount of opportunities in subject choices and co-curricular activities.
When I’m not studying, I enjoy playing sports such as rugby for the College, basketball and footy for my local clubs. In the future I hope to become someone who can take care of the people in need and to support my family. I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.
Harry, Year 10 Redden House
Careers & Pathways News
As mentioned in the most recent Eagle Newsletter, Term 3 is focused on subject selection, university studies, apprenticeships/traineeships, and full-time/part time work.
Over the last two weeks we have been working closely with students and their parents from Years 9-11 to try and assist them to make informed subject selection choices. Hopefully, this assistance has provided some clarity around forms, further subject information, links to pathways and future opportunities.
Year 12 students interested in pursuing further education next year, we will be running a VTAC assembly explaining how to apply to university/tafe. This session will also cover the Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS) applications and scholarship information and will be preented during Period 2 on Tuesday, 8 August.
Our parent information night regarding VTAC will be running Wednesday, 9 August at 7pm. Please arrive by 6.45pm
Helpful links:
More information about current events and opportunities can be found on the Marcellin College Careers website.
For specific advice and one-on-one career planning, meetings can be booked here with Lara Ingram or Andrew Belli. You can also just pop in for a chat if there is something on your mind that you wanted to discuss.
Lara Ingram & Andrew Belli, Career Counsellors
Sport Report
Winter Season ends with Premiership Success
Congratulations to our Cross Country team and our 1st XI Soccer team who both won AGSV Premierships last weekend.
Cross Country
Another fantastic performance across all seven AGSV rounds saw our team crowned premiers for 2023 and extend their winning streak to 23 premierships in a row. The depth across all divisions continues to be envied by all schools and is due to the fantastic leadership of our senior students and the time and effort that John Meagher and Trent Carlson put into the program to ensure all our students strive for their highest. Thank you to all the boys and their families for all that they have given the program this year and I encourage all students in our community to think about taking up an opportunity in cross country in 2024.
Special mention to Lockhart Brownlie in his role as Captain and also to the following boys who won individual medals.
Year 7 - Angus Buchan – Silver Medal
Year 8 - Liam Davies – Silver Medal
Year 9 - Ben Bodycoat – Bronze Medal
Year 10 - James Martino – Silver Medal
Year 11 - Will Waters – Bronze Medal
1st XI Soccer
A huge crowd attended the Gartner Fields last Friday to watch the AGSV final against Trinity Grammar. Going into the final on top of the ladder meant that a draw was all that was needed to be 2023 premiers. However, Zach Cianci was having none of that and slotted a fantastic goal in just the third minute to put Marcellin up. An absorbing 80 minutes of soccer followed with both teams having great opportunities to score but none eventuated. The game ended with Marcellin up 1-0 and allowed Captain Giacomo Luna to accept the premiership cup on behalf of his team.
Thank you to all the boys and families who contributed to the program over the season who now have the premiers cup to look forward to in late August. I would also like to thank Jeremy Doolan and Daniel Polazzon on all their efforts over the season.
Rugby teams have one round to go but I would like to thank all the teams who represented the College this winter season. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves.
Grand Finals
