Dear parents and guardians,

Semester two has been a very productive one. Classroom teachers and Instrumental tutors have been very busy preparing our students for the many concerts, assemblies, plays, recitals and soirees. External music exams have also been a goal for many students and we wish them all well in the coming examinations.

Feast Day – Talent Quest

Early in Term 3 we celebrated our College Feast Day.

The Performing Arts Department was so proud of the many students who performed during the day. Congratulations especially to Sienna Davidson, our Arts Captain, Mrs Tania Grant & Mr Wilding who prepared the students for the College Mass and Mr Matt Jennings for being such a help for the talent quest.

The talent quest was very entertaining and we were delighted to have former music and Italian teacher, Mr Max Rudd, and former Deputy Principal, Mr Paul Lewis, as Judges.

Congratulations to the following students:

Junior 1st prize: Matilda Ward

Junior 2nd prize: Stella Nicol

Senior 1st prize: Heidi Bush, Blayke Mifsud, Grace Taylor and Chloe Van

Den Bosch.

Senior 2nd prize: Ella Dowling

Choral Collective

On Thursday September 11th, our College Choir joined students from other colleges in the Choral Collective which was held at Iona College. It was a wonderful evening of song which ended with the Combined Colleges Choir singing “Here comes the sun “and “I Can’t Help Falling in love with you”.

Congratulations to our Head of Voice, Mrs Tania Grant, who has worked so well with the choir and who has enthralled us with very challenging pieces.

Instrumental and Vocal Showcase

Parents and friends were treated to a feast of talent early in Term 3.

One parent commented “They get better every year!”

A big thankyou to our students for their hard work & also for their dedication and for making our work so much easier and so enjoyable. Thank you to the parents and guardians of our students for your encouragement, for being “chauffeurs” to many events, for supporting the teachers and our college and for coming to our events.

Thank you to our Bands Coordinator, Mr Michael Wilding for his direction and help with setting up of all the equipment for the concert. I also thank our Junior bands director, Mrs Janice Wilding, Strings Director, Mrs Rebecca Cowled, Stage Band Director, Mr Tim Neal, Co- curricular Bands Director, Mr Matt Jennings and our Choir Director, Mrs Tania Grant . Our staff were extremely proud of their students. I thank the music staff for their dedication and for constantly striving for excellence in our students.

Many thanks to Mr Paul James for his assistance with the sound and lighting.

Les Misérables

Spectacular! What a show!

The 2025 College musical, “Les Miserables”, was an outstanding success. Audiences were given a wonderful, first class professional level performance by our very talented students. They were backed by a production team of extraordinary dedication and skill and not to forget-a five star orchestra.

Congratulations to everyone who contributed to yet another unforgettable production by Saint Ignatius College.

Vocal Night

Term 3 ended on a high with our annual Vocal Night.

Congratulations to our vocal teachers, Tania Grant and Tara Nyuenhaus, who prepared the students so well.

Battle of the bands

A huge congratulations to our year 10 band -Agency Black for recently winning the Battle of the Bands.

A special thank you to Mr Matt Jennings for his expert direction with this band. What an achievement for such a young band. We are so proud of them all!

Bass_ Chloe Van Den Bosch

Drums- Grace Taylor

Guitar_ Blayke Mifsud

Guitar- Troy Stibbard

Keyboard- Luke McTaggert

Vocalist- Heidi Bush

Well done to Heidi, Blake, Chloe, Troy, Luke, and Grace!

VCE Soiree -Terindah Estate

In the first week of term 4, the VCE Music students wowed the crowd at Terindah Estate.

I cannot believe the standard of the acts that we all witnessed. I was so proud of all the students who performed and I sincerely wish to thank Mr Matt Jennings for all the incredible work he has put into these students' performances. He and the students should be so proud. I also congratulate all the instrumental teachers who have been involved in the musical life of these students. I also thank the many staff who came along to support our very talented students. We were delighted to see our former deputy principal, Mr Paul Lewis, who has always been a great supporter of the performing Arts and it was wonderful to see Mrs Bernadette Donnelly who has been on sick leave.

Thank you to Terindah Estate for serving a lovely meal and ensuring our night went so smoothly.

Once again, Congratulations to Mr Matthew Jennings for a wonderful night of entertainment!

Farewell to Year 12

In week 3 of this Term, we said farewell to our year 12 students. The day was filled by three important events. The Assembly, Mass and finally the Graduation.

The day was also filled with mixed emotions. Saying farewell to our wonderful Year 12 students was extremely sad but also a time to be excited for their new ventures to come. We especially thank Oliver Watson, Ethan Cromwell, Zachary Jackson, Jackson Sparke, Declan Parisi, Katherine Sotomayor McInerney and Logan Pitts for their time and talents that they have given to our college. We wish them all the best in their coming exams and hopefully their love of music and the Performing Arts will continue. We shall miss them all very much.

Year 12 Assembly

Zachary Jackson is not only a bass guitarist and vocalist, he is also an outstanding trombonist. Zach played one of his unit 4 works, “Saint James Infirmary “ by Irving Mills to the staff and students.

Many thanks to Mr Tim Neal, Oliver Watson and Ethan Cromwell for their expert accompaniment.

The Year 12 Band also wowed the staff and students with “Canned Heat “by Jamiroquai. Special thanks to Year 11 student, Flynn Higgins, for stepping in to play drums for the band. An amazing effort.

Year 12 Valete Mass

Under the direction of Mrs Tania Grant, the College choir sang for the Graduation Mass. The choir was accompanied by Mr Matthew Jennings on guitar, Oliver Watson on drums and myself on keyboard.

Many parents complimented the choir and I also thank the choir for giving of their time to say farewell to the year 12 students.

Year 12 Graduation

Many thanks to our Arts Captain, Sienna Davidson, who played keyboard throughout the award ceremony, creating a beautiful ambience.

Thanks also to one of our very talented Year 12 students, Jackson Sparke, who played one of his Unit 4 works entitled “Room 335” by Larry Carlton. It was a special moment to see Jackson playing solo. I was so proud of him as I taught him in year 10 music. Jackson was not sure if he was good enough to do VCE music but with much discussion and believing in himself, he excelled!

It was a very fitting finale when the year 12 Band again entertained the many parents and guardians with their rendition of “Goodbye” from “Catch me if you can” by Mark Selbert.

Unit 2 VCE Theatre Studies- “Man the Balloon”

Last week, our Unit 2 VCE Theatre Studies students performed Matt Cameron’s Man the Balloon - a quirky and thought-provoking exploration of identity, connection and the absurdity of everyday life. Performed in the Potato Shed, the production showcased a vibrant mix of Absurdist and Contemporary Australian Theatre styles, combining illogical humour with poignant social commentary. Students took on all aspects of production, from acting and direction to set, lighting, sound, props and costume design - collaborating to bring Cameron’s surreal world to life. The result was an explosive performance of quirky characters, inviting audiences to laugh, question and feel. Congratulations to all students involved for their creativity, professionalism and teamwork.

Andrea Broadbear
Teacher - Theatre Studies / Business Management

Public Speaking Presentation

Last evening, family and friends experienced a selection of iconic speeches, spoken by the public speaking students of Saint Ignatius College Geelong.

This presentation was entiltled “Words That Shaped Our World”: From Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century to Steve Jobs in the 21st century, our world has been shaped by courageous leaders and innovative thinkers.

It was a great opportunity for all public students to showcase the skills that they’ve been working on throughout the year.

I was so impressed once again with the quality and the confidence in which these speeches were delivered. A huge thank you to Mrs Tara Mrs Nieuwenhuys who brought out the best in each student.

Events coming up.

Junior Ensemble Concert

Monday November 10thth

7pm- 8pm

MacKillop Theatre

Piano/ Strings concert

Wednesday November 12th

MacKillop Theatre

7- 8.00pm

Years 9 and 10 Music Concert

Thursday, November 13th,

7pm -9pm.

MacKillop Theatre

Mosaic

Thursday, Nov 20

Costa Hall, Deakin University.7pm-9.15pm (6pm -Foyer display)

Year 7 Showcase

Monday November 24th

MacKillop Theatre

Contemporary Bands Night

Wednesday November 26th

MacKillop Theatre

7-8.30pm

This final term of the year is always an extremely busy one but also very rewarding as we see the culmination of the students’ efforts. We look forward to seeing you at the remaining concerts. Not long until we are singing Christmas Carols!

Regards,

Mrs Linda Pape

Head of Performance.

“Music is food for the soul”