Newsletter

We were given the opportunity to go to the Holocaust Museum in Elsternwick, were we got to expand our learning on what happened during the time. We got toured around the place, learning stories and facts through letters that were found, seeing objects and pieces of clothing such as the clothes they were given when they had to stay in the camp and items that belonged to people that lived through the events as well as the life Jewish people lived for example having to create fake identities and constantly having a fear of being discovered, as well as being lied to or betrayed by people. The reward in certain places for ratting someone out was a bottle of alcohol and a kilogram of sugar, that was the worth of a human life. Towards the end of the excursion we were able to meet a holocaust survivor named Henry Ekert who spoke to us about what life was like and how he used his experience as an encouragement to then help raise the survival rate of Leukemia greatly, therefore contributing to many saved lives. Overall the day was very informational and fun getting to learn so many new things.
Alyssa Ferguson

The Holocaust Museum was an incredible experience and we learnt so much. We started with a short tour of the museum itself with a guide explaining the images we were seeing. The museum is filled with all kinds of primary sources and real artifacts the were very incredible to see. Some areas had mini replications of places built by Holocaust survivors based on there memories like synagogues and camps in Poland. Then we were given the chance to analyse some primary sources artefacts understand were they came from and how they related to the Holocaust as a whole. We also were given the chance to hear from a Holocaust survivor who told us what it was like as a child living in such a horrible time in history. His main speech told us that our choices define who we are and emphasised the importance of making the right choices in life. Overall, the day was an incredible experience to learn from real experience and facts about a time in history that is so important.
Matilda O'Mahoney

On Wednesday the 22nd April, we had our school athletics carnival. Students got to participate in a wide range of activities throughout both track and field, and the school was bursting with house pride! We were especially proud of the year 10's who won the St Aloysius gift race, with all the fastest people in the school. Overall, it was such a fun day, and such a great opportunity to get competitive while having fun! We are so grateful to all the teachers, especially Declan and Mr Madden. Go Scully and Verdon!
Annamai Wells and Audrey Tinkler

In the Easter break myself and 23 other students years 10-12 had a amazing opportunity to go to Italy for a school study tour where we didn't just get to go on a holiday we had the chance to immerse ourselves in the Italian culture through seeing Italian art work, cooking and eating Italian foods and talking in Italian while ordering our food and other things. We started in Rome where we saw the Colosseum and other awesome art and culture. Then we went down to Sorrento and Capri where highlight was going to a Gelato Making class and the beauty of Capri. After that we headed to Gubbio where we stayed at a farm which was definitely a massive highlight. We got to cook both tiramisu and Tortellini which we can now cook at home for our families. We also got a tour around the farm! Then we headed to Florence where we were able to see many different museums and art and got to cook Gnocchi at the Italian il Mercato Centrale. Then when we got on the bus again we stopped at the Leaning tour of Pisa and then headed to Venice which was so nice! getting on a boat to get to our hotel and then being able to go on a Gondola was a massive highlight. And last but not least we went to Milan and was able to do some shopping at different spots and went for a guided tour in the Duomo! Awesome trip and thanks to all the teachers for their time and hard work!!
Harrison Brink

So far this term I have really enjoyed our out of the classroom opportunities, especially the holocaust museum. I found our visit very fascinating, learning about people’s personal stories growing up during the holocaust. It was also very interesting to see all of the uniforms and posters from WWII. It brought something physical from the time that allowed me to understand the nature of WWII more than I ever could from a classroom.
Dulcie Beaumont

The Melbourne Holocaust Museum was an informative experience for us Year 10s. We started the day by having an overview of the Holocaust by one of the staff members. They were super informative and helped us understand the gravity of antisemitism in Western culture. We then moved on to a workshop where we explored the steps towards genocides and explored how the Nazis persecuted Jewish people. This helped to understand not only their suffering but helped me understand the suffering of other minorities when they scapegoated. We later moved on to a tour of the museum looking at various artefacts from the Jewish community. These really helped him understand and put into perspective the event of the Holocaust highlighting the magnitude of the events and really allowing me to understand the suffering of Jewish people in western Europe. Finally we heard the story of Henry Ekert, a remarkable man who was able to survive the Holocaust moving from place to place everyday to the Nazis as a young boy. His story was powerful and reminded me of how fortunate I am to not experience persecution of that force in my day-to-day life. His message of would we protect a Jewish family like the ones that protect Henry really stuck out to me and made me question my own morals. Overall this experience helped me get a better understanding of the Holocaust and how the Jewish people face persecutions.
Micah Accaputo