From the Senior Years
On Monday 20 October, the College community celebrated the achievement of the Year 12 ‘Class of 2025’ cohort at the annual Year 12 Final Assembly. This is an important milestone and culmination of not only their Year 12 final year, but of their near completion of their formal schooling. I say near, given the upcoming VCAA external examinations that students pursuing their scored ATAR will be busy preparing for during their off-campus learning prior to and during the examination period until the end of November.
Speaking on behalf of the Year 12 cohort on their time at St Aloysius College, the College Co-Captains, Olivia Mosticone and Sedora Tadele, reflected on the many diverse experiences across their time at the College: Year 7 surf camp at Torquay, the experiences of online learning, various St Aloysius and Mercy Days, the final Athletics carnival where they wore an array of costumes, and, finally, the various social events at the College in their time especially the Year 10 and Year 12 Formals. As their year drew to a close, Olivia and Sedora described their feeling as “bittersweet” having been shaped by the Mercy values and traditions and the importance that their time at the College has had on their formation and character.
A number of were glowing in their commendations for all Year 12 students at the Assembly. I note in particular the way in which the College co-captains spoke to the College student community. Student leadership is highly impactful in fostering and modelling the learning and personal character. It is the actions and behaviours of Year 12 students that exemplify what ‘striving for higher things’ looks like in the day-to-day of high school. This includes the positive working relationships between students and teachers, that of all factors, is noted as the most impactful factor bar none in fostering students’ experience school connectedness (Allen et al, 2018). These relationships are crucial in sustaining students academic buoyance and confidence in their approach to learning.
On Tuesday 21 October, many Year 12 students returned to attend revision seminars and two ‘Meet the Examiners’ session for Unit 3-4 English (including EAL) and the suite of Unit 3-4 Mathematics subjects. During this period, a morning ‘Breakfast Club’ will be offered to Year 12 students between 8:10 – 8:50am for students to come together before Period 1 and set their intentions for the day, whether that be individual preparation in the DTIC.
Yesterday, 23 October saw the Year 12 Valedictory Mass at St Brendan's, followed by the Valedictory Dinner and induction into the Old Aloysians' Association at the San Remo Ballroom. We thank all involved, particularly our 2025 Valedictorian and College Co-Captain, Sedora Tadele for the reflective, heartfelt and uplifting speech she delivered.
For Year 11 students, in their final week and a half of Unit 2 learning prior to the school-based examinations, it is important to liaise with their teachers and use Academic Consolidation for Everyone (ACE) as a voluntary session to seek assistance and targeted support with exam revision. This is something that they will have seen the Year 12 students doing throughout the year as a high impact strategy.
Tom Crowle
Senior Years Leader