St Aloysius Newsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

From the Principal - Issue #2, 2026

After a very hot start to the school year, the cooler weather brought welcome relief this week. Thanks to the many Reception to Year 7 parents and carers who braved the heat last Thursday to come and meet their children’s teachers, and to the Year 12 parents and carers who joined us on Monday. When opening up the theme “Animated by Love” in my Year 12 Religious Education class, it was evident that families are the source of unconditional love that animates the lives of our students, and we appreciate the clear and strong communication between home and school that underpins each student’s success.

The Beginning of Year Mass at the Cathedral on Wednesday was a joyful and energising celebration. The music always lifts the occasion to another level and the student leaders for 2026 were presented with their badges and a blessing. We are grateful to Father James McEvoy and the staff at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral for making us feel so welcome in this sacred space. Thanks also to Genevieve Pelekani and the Liturgy Committee, who always strive to seek new ways to engage young people in the Mass. We look forward to marking important moments in the life of our College at the Cathedral throughout the year.

This term, we welcome 13 students from four schools in Tokyo – Mita International, Mejiro Gakuen, Tokyo Joshi and Yokohama Futaba. The students have been placed in Years 9 and 10 and have been enthusiastically embracing all the possibilities of SAC life. Lifelong friendships are often formed during these visits, and we know that many of our students and their families have caught up with their study tour buddies when visiting Japan. We celebrate the first of many opportunities for intercultural learning that will be happening at SAC in 2026.

Speaking of embracing life’s possibilities, I would like to encourage all students, and especially those new to our community, to participate in some of the diverse Curriculum Extension Activities at the College. Sport and music clearly have an enormous array on offer, and there are many more things happening at lunchtimes and after school each week. These “extras” often create some of the most memorable moments and bring kids together with like-minded peers. There is something for everyone!

Ms Paddy McEvoy
Principal

From the Deputy Principal

(Pastoral Care)

2026 Year 7 to Year 11 Students Representative Council (SRC)

At St Aloysius, we are proud of our strong tradition of nurturing student leadership across all areas of school life. One key avenue for this is our Student Representative Council (SRC), a formal group of students elected by their peers to represent their voices and perspectives.

As members of the SRC, students play an important role in leadership and decision-making by raising issues that matter to the school community, organising whole-school events, and taking on additional responsibilities.

We warmly congratulate our 2026 SRC members, a dynamic group of passionate and energetic young leaders, and look forward to seeing them thrive in their new roles within the Secondary School.

We also extend our congratulations to every student who nominated themselves. Your willingness to contribute to the leadership of our school community is commendable. We look forward to seeing many of these nominees take up other informal leadership opportunities throughout the year, including lunchtime clubs, JAM, tour guiding, and other activities.

Congratulations to the following students:

From the Deputy Principal (Teaching and Learning)

NAPLAN ONLINE 2026

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) takes place each year for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The tests will be scheduled between Wednesday 13 March and Friday 20 March. Please note that this timeframe allows for catch-up days for students who may miss a test. All tests will be conducted online, with the exception of the Year 3 Writing test. Students will participate in 4 tests in total in the following domains:

• Writing
• Reading
• Conventions of Language
• Numeracy

In preparation for NAPLAN tests, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will sit a 45-minute National Practice Test on Tuesday 24 February at the following times:

The test is for practice only and will not produce student test results for schools.

Students in all year levels will need to provide wired headphones for use in the practice test in February and the NAPLAN testing window in March. If your daughter has received a new device this year, please note that headphones will need to be USB C type.

Participation in the National Practice Test will provide students with an opportunity to become familiar with the types of questions they will experience in NAPLAN Online 2026.  Students, teachers and parents can also use the public demonstration site at any time to become familiar with the NAPLAN Online platform and the types of questions asked in the test domains:

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact me at the College.

Ms Jacqui Jury                             
Deputy Principal (Teaching & Learning)    

From the Year 7 Coordinator

Curiosity 💜 Courage 💜 Connections 💜 

Our Year 7 students have begun their high school journey with a sense of curiosity and courage. Welcome Week has focused on helping students settle in, get to know their teachers and one another, and become familiar with the routines and expectations of secondary school. Across the week, students have navigated new timetables, explored learning spaces, and started forming connections across the year level. We look forward to supporting them as they continue to build confidence, belonging, and independence throughout the year.

Ms Tenielle Nuske
Year 7 Coordinator

St Aloysius College is Animated by Love

“The proof of love is deed.” These words of Catherine McAuley, Founder of the Sisters of Mercy, call us beyond sentiment and into action. At St Aloysius College, the 2026 liturgical theme, Animated by Love, invites the community to consider love not as an abstract ideal, but as a spirituality lived daily through presence and small, yet significant, acts of service.

In the Mercy tradition, love is never passive. It is attentive to human dignity, responsive to injustice, and empowers us to make choices to care for one another. Love moves outward. It transforms relationships. It nurtures communities. During the College’s first Whole School Mass for the year, St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians reminded all that love is patient and kind, that it rejoices in truth, and that it endures all things. These words speak to a faith that is not measured by declaration alone, but by how it is embodied in the ordinary moments of daily life.

As we step into 2026, this theme, Animated by Love, calls the SAC community to live with intention, striving to make visible the Mercy values and spreading a message of hope through actions, relationships, and choices.

Mercy spirituality is not a theory, but a practice, and it is often best understood through the witness of lives lived generously. Across our College’s history, we have known individuals who have exemplified what it means to lead with courage, serve with humility, and place relationships at the centre of learning and leadership.

In the life of the St Aloysius College community, few embodied this truth more fully than Sister Deirdre Jordan.

An Old Scholar of St Aloysius College, Sister of Mercy, and former College Principal, Sister Deirdre’s connection to the College spanned decades and influenced generations of learners. Her leadership was marked by a profoundly relational and service-oriented approach that placed students firmly at the heart of decision-making.

Sister Deirdre led with a steadfast commitment to Mercy values, holding firmly to the College’s mission while remaining open, responsive, and deeply human in her leadership. She believed that education was not simply about academic achievement, but about forming young people who understood their responsibility to the world around them.

Central to Sr Deirdre’s leadership was her unwavering belief that love must be made visible through action. She fostered a culture where compassion and service were woven into the fabric of College life, and understood that authentic Mercy leadership requires both strength and tenderness. Her example reminds us that leadership animated by love creates communities where people feel valued and encouraged to grow.

The passing of Sr Deirdre marks a significant loss for our College community. Her influence is etched into our history, our values, and the countless individuals she guided and inspired. Yet her legacy is not one that rests in memory alone. Rather, it deepens our shared purpose, reminding us that the Mercy mission continues through each generation called to live it.

When Sr Deirdre attended last year's Uniform Launch at the College, she wrote a card saying she was, "overwhelmed by the obvious impact of the Mercy spirit on staff and students today."

Yenuli P and Liliana B, College Captains for 2026, are proud to walk in the footsteps of Mercy women who’ve gone before them, explaining how, “as College Captains, it is really important to us that we lead with our heart. Like Catherine McAuley we hope to put the needs of the community before our own. As a Year 12 cohort, we sponsor a scholarship for Angel, a student from The School of St Jude in Tanzania. Our constant efforts towards raising funds through various fundraisers throughout the year convey our compassion and care, putting Angel’s needs before our own, allowing her to get the education she deserves. This emphasises that love has no limits or boundaries, when we act out of love, we can help people even if they live on the other side of the world.”

As we move through 2026, Animated by Love becomes both tribute and invitation. It calls us to honour the legacy of those who have walked before us by choosing, each day, to live Mercy in practical and meaningful ways. For students, this may be seen in acts of inclusion, advocacy, and kindness. For staff, it may be reflected in relationships built on respect, encouragement, and care. For families, it is lived through partnership, trust, and shared commitment to the flourishing of every young person entrusted to our College.

The story of St Aloysius College has always been expressed by individuals who understand that love is not proven through words alone. It is revealed in choices made and actions taken.  At SAC, Mercy is brought to life through daily acts of courage, compassion, justice, hospitality, respect and service, ensuring that love, as Catherine McAuley envisioned, is always made visible through what we do.

Ms Maddie Kelly
JAM Coordinator | SACOSA Coordinator

From the Languages Coordinator

Vive la France!

During our six-week trip to France, we experienced new friendships, and the many differences between French and Australian culture. We soon realised that the winter was much colder in France than it is in Australia and it left us shivering until we arrived at our hotel. Our time in Paris was filled with fun, laughter, tours and a lot of walking,  but we found it interesting to learn about the history of France through exploring these landmarks in person. Places like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Versailles and Notre Dame were exciting to see in person, and it left us astonished at the ingenuity of those who created them. Watching the sunset over the city from Montmartre, cheering on a crazy runner trying to beat us up the hill as we rode in the funicular, seeing the artists in Place du Tertre, and then having dinner at the classic Parisian bistro Bouillon were highlights of our last busy day in Paris.

Our second stop of the trip was in Tours, where we discovered many castles of the Loire Valley and enjoyed new foods. The Christmas markets were bright and expensive but allowed for us to splurge on gifts for our host families and our families back in Australia. We visited the final home of Leonardo Da Vinci and a castle belonging to Catherine de’ Medici, two famous Italians that lived out their days in France.

Then, the group went their separate ways, beginning our month-long stays with our host families based either in Paris or Lyon. This meant very long school days, getting up and going home in the dark, being fully immersed in French, and trying to decipher the handwritten notes in cursive on the whiteboards in class.

As Naisha Raj explains,

"My time with my host family was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I became so much closer with my host sister and learnt so much about French culture and school life. French school is extremely different from Australian school. Not only in the hours of school students have in a day but also the way the students are taught and the way they are assessed. It was also interesting to see how different their social lives are and how they spend their weekends, whether that was catching up with their friends for an afternoon snack or going into countryside France just for the weekend – or into another country just for the day!"

After spending Christmas with their host families, with some trying their hands at skiing and snow boarding, and many indulging in different foods like foie gras and escargots, the group reconvened in Lyon before we headed north to Strasbourg. Here we celebrated the New Year watching the random fireworks going off around the city, as well as walking the little streets. After a mild few weeks, we also experienced real winter weather with temperatures going down to –5°C but this was forgotten each time snow began to fall.

While we visited many beautiful, historic and interesting places during our six weeks in France, as les Parisiennes noted, as breathtaking as seeing the Eiffel Tower every day as they went to school was, it is the people they met and the friendships that they have made that they will remember and value forever.

Ms Jane Mahar
Languages Coordinator

Primary Sport Coordinator

Ms Zoe Duffy
Primary Sport Coordinator

Welcome back to Primary Sport for Term 1! I am excited to return to the College in the Primary Sport Coordinator role for 2026, where I look forward to continuing to support student participation and enjoyment in sport through inclusive and engaging programs. We are off to a busy start, with lots of sporting opportunities on offer for our Primary students.

Please see the below information for students who have nominated for Term 1 Sport:

• Years 5/6 Volleyball training starts on Monday lunch in Week 3 and games on Friday afternoons in Week 3
• Year 4-6 Basketball training starts on Tuesday afternoons in Week 3, while games begin in Week 4
• Year 5/6 AFL training and games commence in Week 5 (dependent on nomination numbers)
• Interschool Swimming trials are occurring on Tuesday Week 3, good luck to all students trialing
• Come and Try programs for Receptions to Year 3 commence in Week 4 on their allocated day

If you have any queries about Primary Sport, please contact me via email, zduffy@sac.sa.edu.au or on the Sport phone, 0447512480.

Ms Zoe Duffy
Primary Sport Coordinator

From the Music Department

Unlock Your Musical Potential!

Are you passionate about music? Do you dream of playing an instrument, singing in a choir, or rocking out with a band? Look no further! SAC offers a vibrant co-curricular music program that caters to all musical interests. Whether you’re a budding musician or an experienced performer, there’s something for everyone.

1. Private Instrumental Lessons

Our private instrumental lessons provide a unique opportunity for students to explore their musical talents.

When: Lessons will be offered for 30 minutes per week during school time.  Times are generally negotiated with the individual instrumental teacher so that lessons are on either fixed or rotating timetables, as appropriate.

Instrument Options: Choose from a wide range of instruments, including piano, guitar, violin, cello, flute, trumpet, trombone, voice, clarinet, saxophone, harp, oboe and more.

How to sign up: Registration for all vocal and instrumental tuition is now via Clipboard.

2. Ensembles

Ensemble playing gives students the opportunity to learn a vast array of repertoire while experiencing the fun and satisfaction of rehearsing and performing while connecting with others. Students also use the opportunity to expand upon the techniques learned in private lessons. We encourage all students learning an instrument to participate in at least one ensemble at the school.     

Whether you play an instrument or love to sing, there’s an ensemble for you. To see the list of ensembles and rehearsal times available to you, please go to Clipboard and view the Activity Selection page.

Why Participate?

• Social Connection: Co-curricular music activities foster friendships and a sense of community.
• Emotional Well-Being: Music is a powerful outlet for emotions and stress relief.
• Skill Development: Improve your musical abilities and gain confidence.
• Performance Opportunities: Showcase your talent at school assemblies, concerts, and special occasions.

For more information about the Instrumental or Music Curriculum Extension Program, please don’t hesitate to contact the Music Department at music@sac.sa.edu.au.  We’re looking forward to a great year of music making!

Ms Fiona Turner
Music Coordinator

*** Clipboard Information ***

Once you have received an invite email to the St Aloysius College Clipboard Portal, you will be prompted to start by logging in for the first time and setting a password.

1. After you have set up your password, you can log into the School portal using your email address and password. This portal link can also be accessed on your SEQTA Engage welcome page.
2. After you have successfully logged in, you will now be able to view the Portal and navigate to ‘Activity Selection’ to nominate your daughter for the co-curricular activities available to her depending on her year level.
3. Once nominated, your child will be placed in a group and relevant details regarding scheduling will be available on the Clipboard calendar.
4. It is highly recommended that parents add the Clipboard Portal to their mobile phone home screen and enable push notifications, information about how to go about this will be distributed via email.
5. Clipboard allows parents to notify if their child is unable to attend a particular rehearsal or a tutor lesson which helps with organisation for all.

NOTE: Clipboard access was granted to parents at the start of term. Invitations were sent to parents who had not previously activated their link.

From the Faith and Mission Coordinator

In the Catholic Church, growth as a Christian builds on the foundation established in Baptism, with the subsequent Sacraments of Initiation -  Confirmation and First Holy Communion. Every year, St Aloysius College supports families in the preparation of their daughter(s) for these sacraments - beginning with Reconciliation, and then Confirmation and First Holy Communion. If  required, we can also support to connect you with parishes for Baptism or to celebrate other Sacraments. Please click on the link below to access a letter with more details about the process, requirements and dates.

Ms Genevieve Pelekani
Faith and Mission Coordinator

Brown School Shoes for Outgoing Uniform

We know that some families are still needing to source brown school shoes for students continuing to wear the outgoing uniform. Although many retailers have reduced their stock, there are still several reliable options available.

To make things easier, we’ve gathered a list of stores that currently stock brown shoes, and you can access these links below. We hope this helps support you through the transition period.

Harrison Indiana II Senior School Shoes | MYER

or

Buy Indiana II T-Bar Youth | Harrison Shoes Australia

Clarks Infinity School Shoes | MYER

Daytona Youth Injection Brown – Clarks

Brown School Shoes For Girls | Formal School Shoes | The Athlete's Foot

*** Update – Delay in New Stock

We would like to let families know that the next shipment of school shirts and jumpers has been unexpectedly delayed by our supplier. We had originally been advised that stock would arrive in mid‑February; however, the updated delivery timeframe is now early March.

We understand that many families are waiting on these items and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this delay may cause. The Uniform Shop will notify the community as soon as the new stock arrives.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

College Leadership Team

Outgoing Uniform donations