Welcome to term 2, it has been great to see students back on campus and settling into College life quickly. Term 2 is a busy term as Semester 1 will be completed prior to the end of Term 2. Students are urged to use the College planner to assist in staying organised with homework, assessments and school events.

Co Curricular Program
Our students have a wonderful selection of co-curricular activities to participate in including Sci-Fi, languages, e sports, various physical activity and even a magic club. More information can be found in the student bulletin and I urge students to make the most of these great opportunities for their personal development and thank our terrific staff for their skills and expertise.

College Uniform
Sincere thanks to families for their support of the Term 2 uniform requirements and assisting to support students to wear their uniform correctly. If families have any questions about the uniform or are experiencing any difficulties accessing the College uniform please do not hesitate to contact the Year Level Coordinators.

Resources for Families
Below are some helpful resources for families of teenagers about different topics:

Safe Partying
Victoria Police have created a guide for parents choosing to host parties in their homes.

Hume City Council Support for Families
This site provides helpful links to a variety of parenting supports including wellbeing programs.

Welcome to all our Junior families to Term 2. I hope you all had a Happy Easter and were able to spend quality time with your loved ones both family and friends. We ended term one with our annual Welcome BBQ. It was lovely to see so many of our current and new families gathering together to celebrate our Year 7 class captains and to share a meal and participate in some fun activities together. It was a pleasure to spend this time getting to know our new families.

Our Year 7 students have completed their first term of secondary school. They have had lots of opportunities to form new friendships and build lasting relationships with their new teachers. Such opportunities involved their first Year 7 Reflection Day attending the Hope Centre in Glenroy for the day. Students had the opportunity to take part in workshops that involved exploring what it means to be part of a Josephite community. This term we are excited to see our Year 7 students participate in their first Premier League Competition as Penola students. We have teams in AFL, Soccer, Netball, Basketball, and Volleyball participating in the competition for 2025. We wish all teams the best of luck. Go Penola!

Our Year 8 students have also been busy participating in a number of curricular programs including a swim safe program further developing students’ safety skills in and around water. This term the Year 8's will participate in a number of Senior immersion programs for the remainder of 2025. The first visit to the Senior campus was yesterday where the Year 8's spent the afternoon watching the VCE Theatre Students perform in our auditorium. Later in the term the Year 8's will also be involved in spending a day at the Senior campus where they will participate in workshops that expose them to specialist subjects offered from Years 9 – 12. These experiences play a vital role as the beginning of the transition process for Year 8's to the Senior campus in 2026.

On Monday 28 April a number of our Year 8 Student Ambassadors represented our Junior campus alongside our Year 10 students in an Anzac Commemoration Ceremony at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. The following junior students attended the ceremony; Sebastian A 8V, Ava C 8V, Kai H 8I, Lucy M 8B, Luke R 8V, and Grace W 8V. Thank you to Mrs Quiriconi who accompanied our junior students to this special annual event.

I would also like to publicly thank our Year 8 student ambassadors that have assisted with our school tours of the Junior campus so far this year. They have represented the College with pride demonstrating truly what it means to be a member of the Penola community. The students who came to participate in our tour on Tuesday night were professional in their presentation and social interactions with prospective families. The following students are to be commended on their commitment to the leadership program Grace W 8V, Kai H 8I, Laura B 8B, Jaydon G 8B, and Luke R 8V.

As a Catholic community we pray for our beloved Pope St Francis who died on Easter Monday may he rest in peace eternally with our loving God. Our Holy Father has left us with significant achievements including the papal encyclical Laudato si' addressing the climate crisis and promoting unity among different faiths both of these accomplishments aimed at enlightening humanity.

The Easter season is upon us as we rejoice the risen Christ, Cristo Re! The final weeks of Term 1 was steeped in preparation for the Passion, Death and resurrection of Christ. Thanks to a number of student leaders and helpers, the College was presented with a passion play where 7 stations of the Cross were dramatized to the College community. The students narrated and acted key scenes leading to Christ’s death. We left the resurrection out as we ended well in advance of Good Friday. The students presented the performance to the Senior campus and followed up with a performance to the Junior campus. The choir, led wonderfully by Ms Pauline Hong, accompanied each Station of the Cross with music to suit the scene. We were graced with very dedicated and committed team of students and musicians to make the Stations of the Cross more interactive and personable. We could not have done any of this without the support of staff assisting in costumes and AV and maintenance who set up the gym and transported equipment between campuses under a very tight timeline.

Following, the staff at both campuses enjoyed a new rite of passage, commenced last year, where we prayed and ate together in what we call Penola’s agape lunch. The agape lunch, symbolizes fellowship, love, and unity among Christians. It's a communal meal that emphasizes the sharing of food and experiences, representing the spiritual bond and brotherly/sisterly love within the church. The opportunity to pray and break bread together was a time to reflect upon the lead-up to Christ’s sacrificial love, agape, for Christians as we prepared to recall His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Furthermore, the College gathered on 24 April to remember the lost servicemen and women in past wars. We prayed and commemorated the sacrifice of all people who have gone to war to ensure peace and stability in our country, Australia. This love, agape love, has ensured that their memories continue to endure.

Finally, with profound sorrow, we pray for the passing of Pope Francis, our beloved Holy Father, who was called to eternal rest on April 21, 2025. As the Vicar of Christ, he served with great humility, wisdom, and devotion, guiding the Church through times of challenge and grace.

Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis inspired millions with his teachings, kindness, and unwavering commitment to the Gospel. He was a beacon of hope and a dedicated shepherd to the global Catholic community.

We pray for the repose of his soul. May the Lord welcome him into His heavenly embrace, granting him the reward of his faithful service.

In this time of mourning, we also pray for the College of Cardinals as they will soon gather in conclave to discern and elect a new shepherd for the Church, trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

St Francis of Assisi, pray for us

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us

St Joseph, pray for us

And may we always remember, to pray for one another.

A Magical Night with PUFFS: Penola's VCE Students Shine on Stage

Last night, the curtains rose on PUFFS: A One-Act Edition, delighting audiences with laughter, magic, and heart. Presented by the Penola Catholic College VCE Theatre Studies students, this parody of a certain well-known wizarding world celebrated not just the story of the "Puffs"—a house known for loyalty, kindness, and quiet courage—but also the talents and teamwork of a remarkable group of young performers.

Under the guidance of Ms Jane Dalli, the cast and crew brought to life Max Cox’s fast-paced, comedic script with creativity and flair. From puppetry and physical theatre to magical effects and witty storytelling, the students embraced every challenge of staging this parody, while balancing the demands of a busy VCE Term One.

The production was more than a show—it was the culmination of months of collaborative effort. Students took full ownership of every element, from design and set construction to costume, lighting, sound, and marketing. True to the spirit of the Puffs house, the ensemble worked as one, lifting each other up and proving that heroes come in all forms.

We congratulate the cast and crew for their outstanding work and dedication—and for reminding us all that being kind, loyal, and a little bit silly can be just as powerful as waving a wand.

Puffs was a truly magical experience. It was a tiring and stressful experience with emotions running rampant, but we genuinely had such a great time. Our biggest challenge was definitely the time constraints, with the VCE workload bearing over our heads, while trying to put together a full 90-minute show, design and build a set, plan lighting, sound, and gather props. The rehearsal process was tedious, with our class fully blocking/choreographing the entire show and lots of us having to deal with playing multiple contrasting characters. Summed up, the experience was just pure fun, and works to teach us all many life skills, such as negotiation, time management and compromise! A massive thanks to Miss Jane Dalli, Ms Jasinta Savage, Ms Diane Lee, Ms Allie Luecke, the maintenance team, our light and sound team as well as the student backstage team for all your help!
Mason H 12E

After many weeks of preparation that challenged our ability to stay focused, collaborate, and manage time effectively, I am so proud of the final outcome of our show: The Puffs! It was rough and daunting at times, but with boosts of motivation and guidance from peers and teachers, everyone put in an amazing effort. Despite the many limitations we faced with time and resources, our passion and commitment to our work in theatre ensured the show was cohesive, energetic and entertaining. I couldn't be happier with the end result!
Lachy H 12K

My Experience with 'PUFFS' was something I cannot explain. It was a great experience, working with my classmates on such a big project was so much fun, we made the stressful preparation fun such as games during warmups or people cracking jokes making the whole cast laugh. Everything was bought together nicely and even the support of everyone backstage during quick changes was amazing. The effort that everyone put in was amazing and I can't believe it was pulled together so well, even cover ups during mistakes in the show. I don't think I could ever imagine performing this show with any other group of people. A special Thanks to Katia and Petria prioritizing everyone else’s makeup over themselves, Lachlan and Mason preparing set and getting everyone to do warmups, Max and Patrick putting all their effort into preparing sounds, Ruby and Lachy for directing the show and keeping us all in order, Kayla and Chloe for helping me with props when I was heavily overwhelmed, Silas for helping with costumes and Nicole for running everywhere at once. Also, a very special thank you to our backstage, Hayden, Georgia and Michael, we couldn’t of done it without you helping. I can’t wait for the next show.
Leah W 11G

I highly enjoyed my experience of rehearsing and performing Puffs. Building a strong team dynamic, and embodying my character’s comedic tendencies all contributed to an amazing performance.
Max W 12H

On Monday 28 April, staff and students attended Legacy’s 2025 Anzac Memorial Ceremony. On arrival we were given a program and a small Australian flag connected to a sprig of rosemary, a symbol of commemoration, commonly used for Anzac memorials. After witnessing The Veterans March, we observed a Welcome to Country and welcoming speech from the Master of Ceremonies; Justin Smith as well as speeches from the governor of Victoria (Margaret Gardener) and several school captains. We were informed of the thousands of souls who were lost during the war and their undiscovered bodies.

Students, Grace (Year 8) and Kiani (Year 10) had the opportunity to place the school’s wreath at the foot of the eternal flame where they acknowledged all soldiers at war. We observed performances from the Girls High School and Melbourne High School choir and listened to a speech from Shannon M who talked about the importance of ‘mateship’ in Australia, as well as how loneliness affects our lives negatively. After the Ode was played and followed by a minute of silence and a concluding speech from Justin Smith we made our way back through the park, viewing the greenery surrounding the shrine.

We are also very thankful for the teachers that accompanied us to the shrine, especially Mrs. Quiriconi, who not only helped organize our arrival and departure, but also encouraged us to speak with other schools and represent Penola in a professional way.

All in all, the 93rd Anzac Day memorial ceremony celebrated and showed the remembrance of the Anzacs. Penola students and staff felt very honored and proud to be alongside the Australian Community to reflect and look back on the important day.

To ensure efficient movement of vehicles outside the school grounds with minimal congestion and high levels of safety, we wish to remind parents to take note of the following parking restrictions that apply during the hours of 8am - 9am and 3pm - 4pm on school days.

In addition to this, there is no student drop off or pick up within the college grounds (unless aurthorised), this includes the car park located outside the Reception Office.

White Card Training Opportunity – Years 10 to 12
Students in Years 10 to 12 who are interested in a future in the construction industry are encouraged to complete their White Card certification — a mandatory requirement for working in construction.

Penola Catholic College will be offering White Card Training at the end of May. If you would like to take part, please visit the Careers Office to register your interest.

Registrations close on Monday 19 May.

Attwood House Community Centre - Navigating Mortgage Stress

Hume City Council - Free Energy and Water Bill Help Drop-in Sessions