Saint Ignatius College Geelong
Staff members at our College are in the privileged position of supporting parents with the education of their daughters and sons. We need to ensure community members are safe. Also, we work to positively and constructively influence societal culture through the education we offer to our students. Our Catholic ethos and teachings and the State Government’s Child Safety Reforms provide a solid basis from which we work to ensure we have a culture of respectful and appropriate relationships where community members, and in particular, our students are safe from abusive behaviour.
I affirm the efforts our staff members have made to implement the Child Safe Standards. They have all signed the College’s Child Safety Code of Conduct and have been reminded of the College’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment for all. I also affirm our staff members’ work to educate our young people about respectful and appropriate relations. Through their day to day guidance of and intervention in, when needed, student interactions and ensuring compliance with our Acceptable Behaviour and Student Wellbeing Policies, our staff members support our young people. Proactively, our Student Wellbeing Team run many and varied sessions where students are taught about appropriate and respectful relationships. I am encouraged by this team’s enthusiasm to seek better ways of doing this continually. And as a prayerful and reflective Catholic community, we need to pray for those in the wider community who have suffered abuse. We also need to reflect on past practices and whether our current practices are leading us in the way of promoting wellbeing for all students.
We have a Child Safety Committee which is convened by Deputy Principal Mr Michael Timms. Mr Timms is our designated Child Safety Officer. He is the contact person for any matters related to concerns about student safety.
We need to continuously review our practices to ensure we have a culture that promotes appropriate and respectful relationships. In schools, we can help shape the future by our influence on our students. We are forming our students' consciences and sense of compassion in the hope they will be compelled to use their competence to be men and women for others. We want them to value the dignity of every human person, and this is reflected in appropriate and respectful relationships and interactions with others.
College Production – tickets now available and selling fast!
It is hard to believe that the College’s Production – “School of Rock” will be performed in just over two weeks’ time. After many months of planning, preparation and rehearsals the cast of well over 100 students together with the student, staff and parent support crew are ready to entertain us and reap the many benefits of being involved in such an undertaking. The students will develop valuable knowledge, skills, talents and confidence in many different areas.
The performances will be held at the Geelong Performing Arts Centre’s (GPAC) Playhouse Theatre at the following times:
Evening show tickets are available from GPAC:
During box office opening hours
Phone: (03) 5225 1200
In Person: 50 Little Malop St, Geelong or
Or online: https://www.gpac.org.au/event/1229/school-of-rock
I encourage all members of the school community to support this event by coming along to one of the performances.
Subject selection
During term three attention is given to considering subject choices for the following year. The process has already started with Year 11 students being asked to indicate their preferences and now we are asking students in Years 8, 9 & 10 to consider subjects for 2020. (Year 7 students do not choose their Year 8 subjects.)
If you need help with questions about subject selections please feel free to contact your daughter / son’s Homeroom Teacher or one of the following staff members: Mr Michael Brown (VCE Coordinator), Ms Kirsty Allan (VCAL Coordinator), Mr. Bruce Connor (Work and Further Education Coordinator), Ms Elise Meehan (Acting DP, Teaching and Learning) or your student’s Year Level Coordinator.
School Community Surveys
Over the last nine years the college has used the Catholic Education Melbourne’s (CEM) “School Improvement Framework” so we meet government and our sector expectations about accountability for the outcomes of schooling and to assist us to improve student-learning outcomes. This year, our school is participating in the new Catholic Education Melbourne School Improvement Surveys (CEMSIS.)
CEMSIS will inform the College’s school improvement process which requires the College Executive to monitor the school’s progress each year towards attaining the goals set out in the School Improvement Plan. To do this we need to gather data from a range of sources. Three surveys (parent, student and staff) will again be conducted during September this year.
The surveys will be organised as follows:
“Orima Research” is conducting the surveys on behalf of Saint Ignatius College Geelong and CEM.
The survey is available online, can be accessed from Monday 2 September and needs to be completed by Friday 20 September. This survey may only be completed once.
For families where there may be more than one child attending our school, we ask that families focus on the eldest child attending the school. The school has invited all families to respond via this survey and participation is completely voluntary. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers – all responses are completely anonymous and at no point are any of the responses from students, families or staff identifiable by the school.
I ask all parents to please take the time to complete the survey. We need as many parents as possible to respond so we have the best possible sample of opinion. You can provide valuable feedback that will help us to plan for improvements. Please note that your answers will go anonymously into a database and your responses will remain confidential. Thank you in anticipation of your support with this matter.
Drysdale Bypass update - Andersons Road closure
Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) will permanently close Andersons Road at the Princess Street intersection from Monday September 9, 2019.
This is to enable MRPV to continue construction on the bypass and build the new Princess Street roundabout.
All traffic looking to access Andersons Road will now take the Reserve Road and Gilles Road route. See the article in this newsletter for more details.
Visit by new local Federal MP.
Recently, the new Federal Member of Parliament for the local seat of Corangamite, Ms Libby Coker visited the College. Ms Coker met with a group of our Student Leaders and me. This visit was a valuable opportunity for the students to learn about Ms Coker’s career and the story of her pathway to being elected as our local representative. It was also an opportunity for Ms Coker to learn about our College. Some of the things I pointed out were as follows: Saint Ignatius College is the largest secondary school in the Corangamite Electorate, the many tremendous programs our students are involved in, the need for more sports and arts facilities in the local area and that we have applied for a Federal Government Capital Grant to help fund our building program. I am sure that Ms Coker was very impressed by the Student Leaders; she has a teaching background and would be familiar with secondary school students. I am grateful for Ms Coker’s interest in our College. A photo of our College Student leaders with Ms Libby Coker can be seen in the photo gallery of this article.
Best wishes,
Michael Exton Principal
Privacy and information collection - Saint Ignatius College Geelong is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1998. In relation to health records, the School is also bound by the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic.). A copies of the College’s Privacy Policy and ‘Collection Notice’ that take into account these laws, technology and changes to the School’s operations and practices is available on our website. You can find the link at the bottom of the College’s web page.
As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend it’s important that we as a community pause to consider the essence of this celebration and consider what we may draw from it at a deeper level. Historically the day seems to have developed in the United States around 1910 to celebrate the contribution of fathers within families. Over time the celebration has been adopted by most countries and although there is not an internationally agreed each country places the day on their calendar. In Australia, Father’s Day falls on the first weekend of spring; this year it actually falls on the first day of spring!
Father’s Day is a celebration of all that is good about fatherhood. When we celebrate the day we focus upon the self-sacrifice, virtuous behaviour and dependability shown by good fathers. Sadly, the day for some is jarring as the father figure in their life was or is anything but good, loving or dependable. There are also a small but vocal groups that tarnish the celebration by heralding the day as van guard that may reclaim the primacy of men and a patriarchal model of society. For most however the day is a wonderful acknowledgement of the important contribution fathers and father figures have in sharing the responsibilities of parenting with their spouse or mother of the children.
Father’s Day is in fact a celebration of the complimentary roles of both parents and the need to acknowledge and celebrate the mutual effort of both parents in the upbringing of children. Although stereotypes still prevail each father is unique and responds to the needs of his family in way particular to his strengths and the corresponding strengths and weaknesses of his wife or partner. Father’s Day is a celebration of the complimentary nature of parenting and the special ways in which a father supports and loves his family.
On a personal note my wife and I have always loved the day and in particular the gifts our children make me for Father’s Day and the cup of tea and vegemite toast they make that constitutes breakfast in bed. The gifts they give are often quite terrible but the love that they were made with make them priceless to me. Father’s Day gifts do not get thrown out, they are cherished.
The gifts my children make for me each Father’s Day show me how much they adore me. And it’s that verb that moves my heart more than anything they could say or do; they adore me! Adoration is more than love. Adoration is an expression of deep love and respect. They respect me because of who I am to them, not because they fear me or because I have authority over them. On Father’s Day they show me that they are aware of what I have done for them and what I have been able to model or teach them.
Everything my children give to me of Father’s Day has already been given to them by me. The wallet my son made me at Scouts was purchased by me when I paid his fees. Importantly thought the wallet was bought for me through his love and the effort required to make it so that on Sunday he can show me that he adores me. What is beautiful is that on Father’s Day children desire to show their fathers how much they adore them. This is more than showing how much they love their parent. Through their gifts or attempts at offering breakfast in bed they are trying to express something that words cannot.
In considering these themes, I contemplate what Jesus might have done in his life to show Joseph that he adored him. As a young boy did Jesus make small things in the workshop for Joseph? What did he do to go out of his way and do something to show Joseph that he had learnt what it is to be a good man and that he was thankful?
Later in his life Jesus gave us a new way of living. To Jesus the Father was and is “Abba” (Daddy). He revealed Abba to humankind and taught us what we are to do in our lives to bring about His kingdom. Unlike his early life and his relationship with Joseph we do know what Jesus did as an adult to show his adoration for Abba. On the cross he gave God and humanity all that he could; his precious life. On the Sunday he then gave ‘us’ a final gift. The gift of eternal life, the promise that he would always be with us and that God would send his Spirit. Jesus was a faithful son and offered all this in adoration of the Father.
How did God ‘feel’ when all that was given was already given to Jesus. In union the Trinity had from the beginning determined what gifts would be given and the fearful cost of these signs of love for Abba and humankind. As a father I hope that God ‘felt’ in this giving what I do each Father’s Day. When my children come in early on Sunday morning with breakfast and their gifts I will again be overwhelmed. I hope God ‘felt’ this deep emotion.
The joy I see in my children’s faces and what I feel in their presence makes that moment eternal. Nothing they can give me is worth the love and adoration I receive in being with them in that moment. Nothing makes me want to do better for them and my wife than that moment.
That is the essence of Father’s Day.
Yours in Christ,
Brendan Nicholls Liturgy Coordinator
On Tuesday the Year 10 Italian students enjoyed an excursion to Melbourne. We walked up Russell Street to Carlton and learned about many of the Italian institutions established in the fifties.
We then turned onto Faraday Street to have a look around the Italian immigration museum where we found out about the hardships Italian people faced and about all the contributions they made to early Australia.
Authentic Italian pizza and gelato at Brunetti went down very well followed by a stroll through Melbourne University.
Arrivederci!
Christian Berti Languages (Italian)
Interim reports for students in Years 7 to 12 will be accessible via the parent portal from 4pm on Friday September 13th.
At this time, parents and guardians will be able to book end of term parent/student/teacher conferences to discuss student performance and progress.
Bookings will close at 9am on Thursday September 19th to enable teachers to prepare for these requested interviews.
These conferences will be held in the Xavier Centre on Thursday September 19th from 4pm to 6pm and 7pm to 8.30pm. They will resume on Friday September 20th from 9am to 12noon.
Please note that Friday September 20th is a student free day except for Unit 3 & 4 English students who will be completing their October test English exam at that time.
Ms Elise Meehan Acting Deputy Principal [Learning and Teaching]
Saint Ignatius College is delighted to present the musical production of ‘School of Rock’, to be performed at GPAC’s Playhouse Theatre in September 2019.
Based on the hilarious hit movie, this new musical follows dropout Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a bit of cash by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. But Dewey isn’t going to teach them algebra or arithmetic, oh no. These kids are going to learn what it takes to become the most awesome rock ‘n’ roll band of all time! But can his new group win the Battle of the Bands without being schooled by their parents and headmistresses, or will Dewey have to face the music?
Purchase tickets to this wonderful production via the GPAC website.
Click here to make a booking: https://www.gpac.org.au/event/1229/school-of-rock
Show times are as follows:
Thursday 12th September 7:00pm
Friday 13th September 7:00pm
Saturday 14th September 12:00pm
Saturday 14th September 5:00pm
Ticket pricing:
Adult $36
Concession/Student: $26
Child $20
On Tuesday 13th August, eleven SICG Students from Year 7 to 12 went to Western Heights Secondary College to participate in the Geelong Chess Competition against several other Government, Independent and Catholic schools such as Clonard, Western Heights, Kardinia, North Geelong High School and Sacred Heart.
They competed in timed fifteen minute games that at times went to the wire, but in one instance Alexandros Mavromoustakos (Alex) won in two moves.
The competition was played well by all the participating students, playing five games in the available time. Unfortunately, the team had to leave before the awards ceremony, with Louis Walter doing very well in winning four of their games and Toby Mew achieving 3.5 wins. Harley Corless (Year 9), Will Dertien (Year 12) and Darcy Nichols (Year 12) and Alex won more than they lost, at times losing in the last minute in games that could have gone either way. Joshua Galbraith (Year 9) managed to win as much as he lost.
Two girls from Year 8, Summer de Vries and Jasmine Perilli, competed for the first time winning 2 games each and learnt a lot in their losses. The two Year 7 boys (Finlay Rolfs and Max Craven) likewise won two of their games. These four new members of the team had gained valuable experience and learnt a lot about the competition. Hopefully the team can continue to develop and return next year and do better.
Overall the team came fourth, earning the right to send five competitors to Melbourne to compete in the Secondary Open Final at Brighton Grammar on Monday 14 October 2019.
It starts and ends late so the five best students able to meet this requirement. Overall a great effort from a group of Students
Peter Grull
Tournament of Minds (TOM) is an international program designed to give participants the opportunity to participate in creative activities involving stimulating, open ended challenges which demand experimentation and reward divergent thinking.
Saint Ignatius College had 2 teams go to Deakin university to perform in the regional challenge on Sunday 25th August. After 6 weeks preparation they presented their energising and entertaining performances to a panel of 3 judges and an audience. They also completed a spontaneous challenge.
Congratulations to all of the participants and special thanks to Ms Colleen Boland for her support.
Karen Perkins
The Unit 4 Outdoor & Environmental Studies recently spent 5 days in the Victorian Alps at Falls Creek, skiing and snowboarding.
The 2 classes are currently studying Sustainable outdoor relationships and the High Country provides and excellent study site for this.
The students were able to witness examples of sustainable development, make observations of healthy environments and gather first hand knowledge of a recent environmental conflict, being the Cattle Grazing in the Alpine National Park.
Byron Mitchell
At lunchtime on Tuesday 27th August, 22 Year 7 and 8 students participated in the SICG Junior House Debating Competition. The topic for the Elimination Round was: That school uniforms should be compulsory.
Students were only given the topic the day before, so everyone did really well creating and presenting strong arguments without referring to lots of notes. It was fantastic to see so many passionate junior debaters!
Congratulations to the best speakers across the four debates: Laura McMahon, Bisto Benny, Jaymi Woodfine, Brianna Brew, Charlotte Gray, Ross de Lange and Thomas Emery.
Well done to all students involved – we hope to see you in future debates! The finals will be held this Friday lunchtime in the Xavier Centre – so come along and support your peers!
Year 7 Finalists: Bradman Vs Elliot
Year 8 Finalists: Fraser Vs Bradman
We would like to thank Ms Hodge, Ms O’Brien and Ms Dart for helping organise this initiative, and the adjudicators for the debates: Mr Tod, Ms Etherington, Ms Clark and Year 11 student William Bothe. We also enjoyed putting our experience at DAV debating to good use by adjudicating one of the debates and were amazed by what our Year 7 and 8 students can do!
Article by:
Ruby Mangelsdorf (Academic Captain) and Madeleine Crothers (College Captain)
Photos in the Gallery:
1. Year 7 Cuthbert vs Bradman debaters, 2. Year 7 Fraser vs Elliot Debaters, 3. Year 8 Bradman vs Cuthbert Debaters, 4. Year 8 Fraser vs Elliot Debaters and 5. William Bothe with Ms Clark.
The Geelong Mums are a very important local organisation that provides the essentials to families with kids that can’t afford basic items or families in crisis care. Geelong Mums are run by volunteers in South Geelong.
You can donate all sorts of baby and young child items of clothing, toys, cribs, prams and many more. You can also donate money which will help amazingly too. The original was St Kilda mums and then they started Geelong mums to give much-needed help to Geelong families.
What we are doing in Year 7 and 8, is raising donations for the Geelong Mums. The whole school is invited to send items to the Xavier Centre.
You can help by donating goods to your homeroom that will be collected at the end of the term. At the start of next term, the Year 7 and 8 Homeroom teachers will take the goods to Geelong and spend some time volunteering by sorting and organising our donations for distribution to families in need.
We would love to see everyone donating something to help out these amazing people and these amazing families!
You can donate small items such as bibs, baby pants, small toys, and many more to your homeroom teacher and bigger items you can donate to Geelong mums directly at 110 Balliang Street, South Geelong or go on their website and donate too.
For a list of items they will accept, look on the Geelong Mums website.
https://www.geelongmums.org/pages/donate-things
Thank you
Zoe Walter and Bridget Keating Year 7 and 8 SRC Representatives
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Canvas Parent Observer mode is Coming to Saint Ignatius College in 2020.
Canvas is the Learning Management System and has been implemented with students during 2019 and observer mode will be coming for parents 2020. A learning management system, (or LMS), is a software-based platform that provides a framework and tools to facilitate online learning both inside and outside of the school building.
Canvas bundles assessments, grading, standards, teacher feedback, learning data, and more—while keeping everything simple, easy, and in one place. Canvas was chosen as the Saint Ignatius College Learning Management System for its wide range of easy to use tools for teachers, students and parents. Canvas will allow our teachers and students to use our 1:1 technology more efficiently and more effectively.
Information for parents about how to log on to Canvas will be sent to parents over the summer and will be available during registration for the 2020 school year.
To learn more about how Canvas is used K-12 click here.
Please let me know if there is any other information you require.
Kind Regards
Roddy Nash E-Learning Coordinator
Last term Year 12 Healy students volunteered to work at the Food Bank on Jetty Road in Drysdale. We held a car wash at school as part of our fundraising effort and we raised over $200. With this money we bought food and other essential items and dropped these off on behalf of Year 12 Healy.
This semester we have continued to support them and have also started to work with Drysdale Second Chance Op Shop. We have collected old and new clothing from the Year 12 students and also received boxes of Cotton On clothing that we donated to The Second Chance Op Shop.
Our focus for our theme was looking at marginalisation and youth homelessness. Thanks to Sarah Bensted and Chloe Broadhurst (Ignatian leaders for their support ).
For the remainder of our Year 12 year we will continue to have a partnership with these not for profit organisations who aim to assist the less fortunate in our community.
Lucy Moate and Murphy O’Meara Year 12 Healy
Have you ever woken up one morning and thought "I would love to run/walk around Australia"? Or after hearing about St Ignatius' pilgrimage did you think "I would like to do that too"? Or have you ever thought "I really should do a bit more physical activity"?
If you answered yes to any of the above I would like to invite you to get active and join the Camino de Australia. Saint Igantius College is going to (in a virtual way) walk/run around Australia! You can help by registering and logging your kilometres every week/fortnight/month. Our combined tally will see us travel around Australia (18,452km). Along the way we will visit our friends at every Ignatian/Jesuit College around the continent, stop in at Seven Hill for some fine wine and peace, we will also complete a circuit of Tasmania just for the fun of it.
As we move toward and achieve milestones motivation and information will be offered to the community. Every fortnight a leader board will be published and the points earned will go towards your house.
As a personal challenge each participant also enters the Camino de Ignacio [620km]. Those who achieve this from the 31st July to 31st July will be acknowledged at our Feast Day assembly and will receive a personal memento of this pilgrimage.
I encourage you to help us achieve this feat and hope that you will in turn encourage your colleagues, family members and students to also participate. We begin this journey on the 1st of September - join us!
To register all you have to do is reply to the email sent last week (or contact the College), then start login your kilometres and watch out for updates as we stroll around our nation.
Further details can be found at http://sicgwolfpack.weebly.com/camino-de-australia.html
Regards,
Brendan Nicholls
If you were part of the 'Class of 2014' cohort please join us for the 'Class of 2014' 5 Year reunion which will be held on Friday September 6th.
Venue: Geelong Hotel Rooftop, 69 Yarra Street, Geelong
Time: 7.00pm until late
Ticket cost: $20 (includies finger food and DJ). Drinks at bar prices
Tickets can be booked: www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=528202
Dear resident, students or business operator,
We’re building the 6km Drysdale Bypass between Jetty Road and Whitcombes Road to improve safety and ease congestion on the Bellarine Peninsula.
The next stage of works involves building the new Princess Street roundabout which will connect local traffic to the Bypass.
Key dates and information
To build the new Princess Street roundabout, we need to permanently close Andersons Road at the Princess Street intersection point. The closure will take place on Monday, September 9, 2019.
Andersons Road residents will access their properties via Gillies Road.
How the works may affect you
To ensure a safe transition to the new traffic arrangement, we will provide:
Have a question?
If you have any questions or want to register for project updates, email contact@roadprojects.vic.gov.au. You can also call us on 1800 105 105, or visit our project office at 230-242 Colac Road, Highton.
For more information on the Drysdale Bypass, please visit https://roadprojects.vic.gov.a... you for your support and patience while we complete this important project.
Kind regards,
Drysdale Bypass Project Team
A PDF of our Canteen Price List can be downloaded here
Starting September 2nd
Monday 2nd
B. Brinfield, Needed, Needed, Needed
Tuesday 3rd
M. Jackson, S. Easton, Needed, Needed
Wednesday 4th
D. Worrall, L. Vella, Needed, Needed
Thursday 5th
M. White, Needed, Needed, Needed
Friday 6th
S. Jenkins, C. Ford, Needed, Needed
Starting September 9th
Monday 9th
E. Musella, T. McMurray, Needed, Needed
Tuesday 10th
M. Dunstan, S. Crawley, C. Duncan, Needed
Wednesday 11th
L. Vella, Needed, Needed, Needed
Thursday 12th
M. White, N. Lowther, L. Eastwood, C. Swinton
Friday 13th
T. Dowd-Hamilton, S. Hammond, Needed, Needed
If unable to attend, please make sure you get a replacement.
Sandra Woodall Tel: 0417 050 258
Open Days a really good opportunity to explore the campus and get a feel for the university or tertiary institution. There are lectures held for the courses of interest and explainations of what you might be studying and how to apply for the course. It is also an opportunity to meet staff and current students and get a feel for the institution you would like to attend.
A list of the VTAC Open days for 2019 can be viewed here:
Big Night Out (Guys & Gals)
Parents and Friends' Fashion Show Fundraiser
Spread the News – Tell Your Friends
Friday October 18 – 6.30pm arrival (glass of sparkly or beer on arrival); 7.00pm start.
Venue: Pioneer Room - St Mary’s Parish Centre - 150 Yarra St, Geelong
Book Your Tickets Now!!
We are once again organizing our fun fashion night, but this time for for guys and gals, to make it double the fun. Once again we have teamed up with Montana’s Fashion and Accessories – Portarlington – who is introducing a men's range to our fashion show.
Tickets will be $12 each, and ticket price can be redeemed with any purchase (*one per transaction)
Tickets can be purchased online using this link: www.trybooking.com/beqji
They can also be purchased directly from the Office or a PFA member.
Please Note: Important!
Your trybooking receipt will need to be redeemed for a numbered ticket (as the ticket itself is a $12 voucher). This can be done by bringing your receipt to the Office to redeem, or bringing it on the night to redeem upon entry to the venue.
Become part of the Parents and Friends’ Association
We invite you to join the Saint Ignatius College Parents and Friends' Association - whether it be attending our monthly meetings, helping out at fundraising events , you can receive some up to date information on events coming up at and around the College by emailing your details to sicgpandf@ignatius.vic.edu.au
Yes ! We are selling the Entertainment Book – (2019/2020)
Please help support Saint Ignatius College by purchasing an Entertainment.
Books are for sale at the College Office or you can email Sandi Clark sicgpandf@ignatius.vic.edu.au
Parents and Friends’ Meeting for October 2019
Please come and join us on Tuesday September 10th at 7.00pm in the Food Tech Rooms.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Email your details to us at: sicgpandf@ignatius.vic.edu.au
Even if you can’t make it to the monthly meetings, but think you might be able to be on call to help at the different things we are involved in, please get in touch with us.
The Uniform Shop
Please note that Uniform shop will be open every second Wednesday from 2pm to 4 pm.
Opening dates for this term are:
Term 3 Dates are: Wednesday September 4 and September 18
Extra Uniform Shop Open Time
Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Thursday September 19.
The Uniform Shop will be open during this time for your convenience, from 4.00pm until 8.30pm.
The Uniform Shop Needs Your Help!
If you are available and can assist us on this day (September 19th), or can volunteer for the regular Uniform Shop open times, we would love to hear from you!
Please email Samantha (Sam) Wells sicgpandf@ignatius.vic.edu.au Training is provided.
Join Saver Plus and we'll match your savings, dollar for dollar, up to $500 for school costs.
To join Saver Plus, you must be at least 18 years or over, have a child at school or attend vocational education yourself, have regular income from paid employment (you or your partner), have a current Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card and be in receipt of an eligible Commonwealth social security benefit, allowance or payment.
Contact: Your local Saver Plus Coordinator
Phone: 03 5278 8122 Email: GeelongSP@bethany.org.au Web: www.saverplus.org.au
See PDF flyer for details:
Currently, there’s a strong tendency to view successful fathering through the lens of skills and knowledge acquisition. That is, to raise kids today effective fathers, like mothers, need to keep building their skill sets (What’s the most appropriate way to manage kids today?) and their knowledge (What’s the latest research about the impact of digital technology on children?). Staying one step ahead can be exhausting and make a man feel inadequate if he can’t keep up.
Another way to look at fathering is through the generative parenting lens. That is, fathering is an activity that’s rooted in a man’s biology in much the same way that mothering is an instinctive activity. If the mothering instinct is to nurture and protect children, a father’s instinct is to teach and develop his children’s skills and knowledge so they can thrive long after the time he’s left this world.
The generative fathering notion developed by researchers Dollahite, Hawkens and Brotherson explains why many men will turn a simple game they have with their children into a lesson into how to hold a ball; defeat that opponent or stand firm in the face of fear. Father-son relationships can be scuppered by this well-intentioned, but oft mistimed ‘you can always get better’ attitude.
Generative fathers tend to look long term when they raise their kids. Quintessentially, generative fathers work hard to be good men and good citizens. Love, availability and character become their fathering stock in trade.
Generative fathers keep pace with their children’s development adjusting their role at different stages. For instance, during a child’s latency (primary school years) they focus on recreational work and so they help develop children’s interests and competencies through sport, hobbies and leisure activities. The task for generative fathers of early adolescents is to help their children develop strong values and inner beliefs. This spiritual work (not necessarily in a religious sense) helps young people develop the moral compasses they need to act safely and be good citizens when fathers aren’t around.
For generative parents, fathering becomes a lifelong task, and doesn’t stop when children become adults, leave home and start families of their own. It is in this stage that men take on mentoring work, passing on the wisdom gained from their experiences to the next generation so that they don’t repeat the same mistakes that they have made. Fathering never stops. It changes with the development of your children.
This Father’s Day, while enjoying the accolades and attention that will come your way consider the generational impact you are having on your kids.
Your lasting fathering legacy will be determined by the character you display; the way you live your life and how you relate to your family. Those are attributes that you can continue to work on over the coming twelve months.
Michael Grose
Michael Grose, founder of Parenting Ideas, is one of Australia’s leading parenting educators. He’s the author of 10 books for parents including Thriving! and the bestselling Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It, and his latest release Spoonfed Generation: How to raise independent children.
Local Community and Sporting groups you may be interested in.
Lifeboat Geelong 'Twilight Event' with guest speaker Dr Perter Larkins
On Tuesday 10th September Lifeboat Geelong is holding their annual Twilight Event at the Yatch Club from 5.30pm - 7.30pm. This is a fundraising event for victims of church-related institutional abuse.
Dr Peter Larkins will be the guest and tickets are $60.
Nazareth Catholic School 40th Anniversary
The Nazareth Catholic School in Grovedale is celebration its 40th Anniversay with an Art Show launch on Saturday September 7th, a Community Mass and an Open School on Sunday September 8th.
Come along.....remember....celebrate....laugh
Bellarine Training & Community Hub Open Day
Come for a walk through, try some or our classes for free! Tai Chi, Ukulele, Painting and Drawing, Exercise, Patchwork Quilts and more! We are also having a clean out so come check out our garage sale and grab a bargain!
A sausage sizzle and jumping castle for the kids too! From 10 am to 12 noon on Saturday September 21st. Please call 52554294 to book a free class!
What's On in August at the Potato Shed!
The Potato Shed have a variety of performances to suit people of all ages. Please find attached the What’s On poster for events coming up in August. You are advised to book early as many events sell out.
Did your Year 7 students miss their vaccines at school?
See the list below of Immunisation Centres and Hours:
Belmont Community Health Centre
Barwon Health 1-17 Reynolds Road, Belmont, 3216.
(Please note that this is the Barwon Health building, not the Maternal Child Health building)
Wednesday morning (Appointment only) 9 am - 12.30pm
Open sessions (No appointment required) Wed and Friday afternoons 1.30pm - 4.45pm
Saturday morning (Appointment only) 08.30am – 12.15pm
Corio Community Health Centre
Barwon Health 2 Gellibrand St, Corio, 3214.
Every Wednesday 9.30am - 11.45am (No appointment required)
Newtown “Ariston”
245 Pakington St, Newtown, 3220.
1st Friday of each month 9.30am -11.45am (No appointment required)
Ocean Grove - Boorai Centre (behind Aquatic Centre)
4-50 Shell Rd, Ocean Grove, 3226.
2nd and 4th Friday of each month 9.30am -11.45am (No appointment required)
Newcomb Library meeting room (upstairs)
Corner Wilsons Rd & Bellarine Highway, Newcomb, 3219.
1st and 3rd Friday of each month 9.30 – 11.45am (No appointment required)
Bell Park Parish
Holy Family 147 Separation St, Bell Park, VIC 3215
Sunday: 8.00am, 9.30am, 11.00am Croatian, 12.15pm Slovenian 2nd Sunday Only
Ss Peter & Paul’s Cnr Mercer & Malone St, Geelong West, VIC 3218
Saturday: 5.00pm Vigil
Holy Spirit Cnr Bostock Ave & Nambool St, Manifold Heights, VIC 3218
Sunday: 11.00am
Belmont Parish
St Bernard’s 74 Fryers Rd, Belmont, VIC 3216
Sunday: 9.00am, 10.30am
Saturday: 6.30pm Vigil
Corio and Lara Parish
St Francis Xavier 143 Bacchus Marsh Rd, Corio, VIC 3214
Sunday: 10.30am
Saturday: 7.00pm Vigil
St Anthony’s Kees Road, Lara, VIC 3212
Sunday: 9.00am
Drysdale Parish
St Thomas Peninsula Drive, Drysdale, VIC 3222
Sunday: 9.00am
St Patrick’s 10 - 14 Harding St, Portarlington, VIC 3223
Sunday: 9.00am
St Phillip & St James 1345 Murraduc Rd, St Leonards, VIC 3223
Saturday: 6.00pm Vigil
Lumen Christi 66 Kensington Road, Leopold, VIC 3224
Sunday: 10.30am
Geelong Parish
St Mary of the Angels Basilica 150 Yarra St, Geelong, VIC 3220
Sunday: 7.30am, 9.30am, 11.00am, 12.15pm Polish, 5.30pm
Saturday: 6.00pm Vigil
Grovedale, Anglesea and Torquay Parish
Nazareth 10 Griffith St, Grovedale, VIC 3216
Sunday: 10.30am
St Therese’s 43a Surfcoast Highway, Torquay, VIC 3228
Sunday: 8.45am
St Christopher’s 72 Bingley Parade, Anglesea, VIC 3230
Saturday: 6.00pm Vigil
Meredith Parish
St Joseph’s 28 Lawler St, Meredith, VIC 3333
Sunday: 11.00am Alternate Sunday
Sacred Heart 70 Hamilton Highway, Inverleigh, VIC3321
Sunday: 9.00am except last Sunday of the month when it will be at Bannockburn gymnasium
St Brigid’s 2439 Ballan Road, Anakie, VIC 3221
Sunday: 11.00am Alternate Sunday
St John the Baptist 4 Harding St, Winchelsea, VIC 3230
Saturday: 6.00pm Vigil
St John the Evangelist 24 High Street, Bannockburn, VIC 3331
Sunday: 9.00am Mass in the Stadium last Sunday of the month
Queenscliff Parish
Holy Family 101 Hitchcock Avenue, Barwon Heads 3227
Saturday: 6.00 pm
Our Lady Star of the Sea 68 John Dory Drive, Ocean Grove 3226
Sunday: 9.00 am
Holy Trinity 34 Stevens Street, Queenscliff 3225
Sunday: 11:00 am