This term we have welcomed two new students into Year 9. One of our students is an exchange student who has come to us from Belgium and is spending the term in the Boarding House. She has settled quickly into boarding and into the routines of our School, made a lovely group of friends and in the five weeks of being at St Catherine’s has experienced much of what Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula has to offer.  

As we progress through the term, the students have been working through activities from The Resilience Project, focusing on the importance of gratitude, as well as writing personal reflections and preparing for the upcoming examinations.  

Recently the Year 9 students attended a presentation from Dr Maja Divjak, a multi award-winning Biomedical Animator at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Dr Divjak explained what biomedical animation is and why it is so vital for communicating science in the digital age. Dr Divjak shared some of her amazing animations and explained how these are used at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. 

In addition to this she described her academic pathway to becoming a biomedical animator, explaining how it took 10 years of study to achieve her dream job. She highlighted to the students the intersection between science and art, and how she brought her two passions together to become a world renown biomedical animator. Dr Divjak will be working with the students in small workshops in 2023.  

House Building Games 

After much time allocated to the completion of Semester 2 House Tutor reflections, the Year 9 students participated in some fun team building games. A lot of laughs and a strong sense of competition was experienced! 

Wellbeing Day 22 November 

On Tuesday 22 November all Year 9 students will participate in a range of activities and experiences which will prepare them for their life ahead. They will also design and create a garment out of newspapers. We would like as many newspaper donations as possible to make the activity successful. Please bring newspaper donations to the Year 9 area. Examples of previous designs are provided below! 

Community Service 

Year 9 students are about to embark on a Year level community service activity. Those students who wish to work collaboratively on the project will have their time included in the Community Service component of the Leadership Diploma. This community service is for the Sacred Heart Mission, Homefront, and our aim is to collect enough items to create 35 Christmas gift boxes. 

Homefront is a state-wide crisis accommodation service for women (cis and trans) aged 25 years and over, without accompanying children. Homefront provides a safe and supportive environment for women who are experiencing homelessness because of a crisis. 

These crisis situations may include family violence, poverty, sexual violence, physical and mental illness, problematic drug and alcohol use, and trauma. Women who access Homefront may be experiencing homelessness for the first time; or may have experienced chronic homelessness for many years. 

New and unused items for collection include:  

• Nail filing kits 
• Nail polish 
• Face masks 
• Deodorant 
• Lip gloss/lipstick 
• Shower gel 
• Hand, or body moisturiser 
• Exfoliating gloves/mesh loofahs 
• Small tissue packs 
• Dental floss 
• Hair ties/clips 
• Hairbrush/comb 
• Chocolate 

All donated items can be left in the Year 9 area in a box near my office door. We encourage as much support as possible for this very worthy community service cause for the Sacred Heart Mission. Our aim is to collect enough items to create 35 Christmas Gift Boxes.  

Final Weeks Ahead 

We have a lot to achieve in the final weeks of Year 9, as the students prepare for examinations, move into Head Start activities, finalise subject selections, prepare for House Swimming and House Arts.