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An invitation to all Year 11 and 12 students and their families
20.10.25
Acknowledgement of Country
From the Principal - Issue #17, 2025
Ms Paddy McEvoy Principal
Below are my words of farewell to the Class of 2025 from today’s Graduation Assembly:
Welcome to the final assembly for the Class of 2025, to their families and friends, and the whole SAC community gathered here to wish them well. This year, we have been walking together as pilgrims of hope, and today, as we farewell the graduating class, my reflections will centre on the hope that these young people hold for our world and the ways they have already lived that hope in action.
The English primatologist and anthropologist, Dr Jane Goodall, who died earlier this month, said:
“Hope isn’t just sitting back, wishful thinking. Hope depends on our action. Hope for the future depends on each one of us doing our bit.”
And how do we know what “doing our bit” looks like? As a Mercy school, we firmly believe that Catherine McAuley’s vision for a more just world, grounded in the Gospels and brought to life through our Mercy values, guides us towards a good life. If Catherine were here today, she would surely be amazed by the wisdom and maturity of our graduates. At this assembly, we have recognised just some of the ways you have already “done your bit”, and we know Mercy will continue to shape the way you do so beyond school.
Amongst the Class of 2025 are students who have faced profound challenges whilst completing Year 12. Some have experienced grief and loss of unimaginable proportions, yet through it all, they have continued to work hard and accept the love and support of family, friends and the SAC staff. Their courage and determination have been extraordinary, and we know that their families, both those here today and those who are not able to be here, are incredibly proud.
It has also been wonderful to see the relationships between the Reception and Year 12 students grow and strengthen throughout 2025. From spending time together in RE lessons and celebrating the first 100 days of school in July, where Year 12 students returned after exams, in their uniforms, to lead the activities for the little ones, to last week’s picnic in the Jordan courtyard, you have shown genuine care for our youngest students. Thank you for showing us what it means to look out for others.
And at SAC, doing our bit extends beyond our community. It means finding ways to connect with those we may never meet. For many years, our Year 12 cohort has supported the education of a child at the School of St Jude in Tanzania. This year’s class continued that commitment by sponsoring Angel, a Year 2 student, demonstrating their understanding that education transforms lives and their willingness to pay it forward.
This is the first group of students that I have walked alongside from Reception to Year 12 as Principal of SAC. Over those thirteen years, I have watched you grow from curious, spirited children into capable, compassionate young people ready to take your place as young adults in the world. I’m sure, like me, your families are noticing how much has changed in that time, and also how much of that same spark that first walked through our doors remains.
Parents and guardians, thank you for making it possible for us to share this journey with your children. You placed your trust in us, and together we have watched them grow into young people with heart, integrity and purpose. As we farewell the Class of 2025 today, we do so with deep gratitude for all they have given to this community and great hope for all they will continue to do for the world.
Ms Paddy McEvoy Principal
20.10.25
From the Deputy Principal
(Pastoral Care)
Ms Jacqui Mcilroy Deputy Principal (Pastoral Care)
Announcing the 2026 Year 12 Executive Team
We are delighted to introduce the Year 12 Executive Team for 2026, a dynamic group of passionate and energetic young leaders. As part of this team, students play a vital role in shaping the College community by leading initiatives, raising important issues, and coordinating whole-school events. Their commitment to leadership and service is deeply valued.
We congratulate our newly appointed Executive members and look forward to the positive impact they will make in the year ahead.
We also extend our sincere congratulations to all students who applied for the Executive team. Their enthusiasm, dedication, and engagement throughout the selection process are truly commendable.
The selection process for Senior Leaders in Art, Drama, STEM, Music, Languages, and Sport is now underway, with appointments to be announced in the coming weeks.
Ms Jacqui Mcilroy Deputy Principal (Pastoral Care)
20.10.25
Year 12 Psychology Exam Preparation Holiday Session
The 35 students in Year 12 Psychology came into SAC the first Monday of the school holidays to begin preparing for their exams. After finishing all their coursework, they spent all day Monday completing practice questions, going through how to answer different types of questions, and hearing from past scholars who completed the Psychology exam last year. Past students Anjali Becker, Poshika Magesh and Chiara Conci, who received A+s in 2024, described their experiences including how they studied for the exam, revision techniques, how to approach SWOTVAC week, structure on how to complete the exam and tips and tricks. 2025 students commented: "This experience was very valuable to the ways in which I am going to approach my study for the exam" and "I am so glad we spent an entire day reintroducing us into exam preparation and revision, motivating me to get started on my studying." Connecting with the past year 12s was invaluable to creating mercy connections and seeing how our school values gave them strength during the last moments of their high school careers and onto further study and adult life. The students now will begin their final 2 weeks of school and prepare for their final exams.
Ms Chelsey Webb Psychology Teacher
21.10.25
Outstanding Achievement at the SA OZCHIN Quiz Bowl
On Friday, Week 3 of Term 3 (8th August 2025), three Year 7 Chinese students and four Year 8 Chinese students proudly represented our school at the 2025 SA 3rd OZCHIN Quiz Bowl, hosted by the Chinese Language Teachers Association of South Australia (CLTASA) at Seymour College. Our students showcased their outstanding knowledge and enthusiasm for Chinese language and culture as they competed against peers from schools across the state. A special congratulations to Vivian (Year 7), who achieved 1st place in the Chinese Background Language Learners – Middle Years category! We are incredibly proud of all our participants for their effort, teamwork, and passion for learning Chinese.
Ms Xiaomeng Ding Chinese Teacher
21.10.25
Brunch, Business, and Blogging Essential English
Recently, the Essential English students visited the recently opened cafe, Pickle in the City, with the aim of pretending to be paid content creators. They had to collect information and photographs that they will use to create a review or promotional piece for their assessment task.
We enjoyed brunch, a tour of the Festival Tower lobby and an education chat with Luke, owner of Pickle in the City. He shared lots of fascinating insights, like how the store is in a billion-dollar building, serves over 800 coffees a day, and aims to get orders to their mainly office worker customers in under five minutes to keep everyone happy!
Ms Courtney Kerr Essential English Teacher
21.10.25
From the Secondary Sport Coordinator
Ms Meg Henderson Secondary Sport Coordinator
Summer Sport Has Begun
Round 1 of the summer season has kicked off last week! Our Middle Years students (Years 7–9) will compete through to Week 6, while the Senior competition (Years 10–12) wraps up in Week 5.
All fixtures, training schedules, team lists, and absence reporting are managed through Clipboard.
📌 Absences: If your daughter is unable to attend training or a match, please ensure this is logged via Clipboard as soon as possible. This helps with team planning and supports fairness for all involved.
Knockout Sport
Our Year 9/10 Knockout Basketball team will play their second-round match at home against St Johns next Tuesday. After a fantastic first-round performance, the team is aiming to secure a spot in the Division 2 Statewide Finals. Best of luck, girls!
Meanwhile, our Years 7–9 Softball team is training hard ahead of the Statewide Softball Carnival in Week 5. With a couple of players currently out due to injury, we’re on the lookout for one more team member. If your daughter is interested in joining the team, even if she hasn’t played before, please get in touch - we’d love to hear from her!
Sporting Spotlight
Over the holidays, Maddie (Year 9) represented Team Lightning at the U15 National Lacrosse Championships in Perth and they took out the National Title!
Maddie discovered lacrosse through our school sport program and has developed a real passion for the game. We are incredibly proud of her success at the national level. Well done, Maddie!
A number of our students recently took part in the SANFL U15 and U17 Girls Intrastate Carnival, representing their respective SANFL clubs across three days of high-level football. Here are the students, and the state level teams they represented.
Elke – West Adelaide U15
Harper – Woodville West Torrens U15
Bianca – North Adelaide U15
Hanna – North Adelaide U15
This annual event brings together the most promising young female footballers from around the state, giving them the opportunity to compete in front of talent scouts and coaches as part of the SANFL talent development pathway. The carnival plays a key role in future selection for the 2026 State Teams and SANFL Club Academies.
Hanna, who played for North Adelaide had an outstanding carnival, being named best on ground twice and earning a spot in the top three players across the entire event. Her coach commented that she “dominated in the ruck and clearances”, which is a testament to her impact on the field.
Congratulations to all involved - your efforts continue to make us proud and we look forward to seeing where your football journeys lead next!
If you have any questions about your daughter’s team, upcoming fixtures, or need help navigating Clipboard, feel free to reach out.
Ms Meg Henderson Secondary Sport Coordinator
20.10.25
Students' Sport Spotlight
Phoebe’s Taekwondo Achievement
Over the October school holidays (4–6 October), Year 10 student Phoebe represented her team at the SA Netball Stadium in Adelaide for a national Taekwondo competition, the first teams competition format ever held in Australia.
Competing in blue, Phoebe not only led her team as captain but also took on the role of coach for her teammate, showing great leadership, skill, and sportsmanship throughout the event.
This new system brought together athletes from across the country, making it an exciting and historic experience for all participants. Congratulations to Phoebe on her outstanding effort and achievement at the national level! We can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next.
Another Remarkable Achievement in Fencing
Congratulations once again to Year 8 student Sunday! We are celebrating her incredible recent success in the sport of fencing, where she has achieved some outstanding results.
Over the weekend, Sunday competed in the Fencing SA State Championships, where she won gold in both the U15 Girls’ Foil and the Open B Women’s Foil (a category open to all ages!). She also earned silver medals in the U17 and U20 Girls’ Foil, narrowly missing out on first place by just one point.
In addition to her impressive results, Sunday was recently awarded a Youth Achievement Grant from the City of Charles Sturt. This grant will support her travel to interstate competitions, including the next stage of the Australian Youth Circuit in December, where she hopes to reach the national podium.
We are incredibly proud of Sunday’s dedication, determination, and success in this unique and demanding sport. Her achievements serve as a wonderful inspiration to other students, especially those exploring individual sports beyond the traditional team competitions.
Congratulations, Sunday!
21.10.25
Achieving Success in AIF
Semester One, 2025, saw the Year 11 cohort at SAC undertake the new Stage 2 SACE Subject ‘Activating Identities and Futures’. Designed as the senior companion to ‘Exploring Identities and Futures’ (Stage 1 compulsory subject, undertaken at Year 10 here at SAC), AIF, as it is ‘affectionately’ known, gives students the freedom to select Learning Goals that are important to them. It encourages students to explore their topics deeply and strategically, paying attention to methods by which they can extend their learning, perspectives of their topics and stakeholders, and effective and efficient time management. They are required to obtain feedback from those with some expertise and respond to that feedback. Students document their progress in a Portfolio, using the genre that suits them best, and check in with their coaches/teachers regularly. These processes make up the 70% School Assessment, and when they have reached a conclusion or desired level of achievement of skills and understanding, they appraise their learning in a formal way for their 30% External Assessment. The subject must be passed in order to attain the SACE.
Many fascinating projects were undertaken, including developing skills in animation, dance choreography, painting, and writing Khmer language in script, comparing programs for rehabilitation of alcoholics, understanding scoliosis and even overcoming perfectionist procrastination!
What some students enjoyed about AIF:
"That it was very mouldable to my strengths, and it was very personal and self-focused."Rosie
"Having the opportunity to reach out to people (experts and patients) whom I would NEVER normally talk to even though it was scary and took time." Holly
"Doing skill development because I saw noticeable improvements with my drawing skills with each sketch." Jasmine
And some words of advice from Alice…. "Jump right into it. If you end up changing course or doing something wrong that's ok, it's all part of the subject and it just means you can put more stuff in your portfolio. But don't waste time, because leaving everything to the last minute takes all the enjoyment out of the subject."
Almost two thirds of the cohort achieved a result in the A band, with, as the accompanying photos attest, 15 students being assessed at the A+ level. It is a great testament to the hard work of both teachers and students that SAC’s first ever results in this subject were so high. Congratulations to all.
Ms Sandra Eustace AIF Coordinator
Students assessed at A+ level in AIF
Senithi (11FT), Teah (11LN), Alessia (11MH), Adele (11MH), Holly (11LN) Front row L to R: Trisha (11MB), Alice (11MH), Emma (11MH), Olivia (11MB)
Above: The Output of Summer Scardigno’s learning in AIF: A painted portrait of Khmer Rouge survivor, Bou Meng
21.10.25
From the Music Department
Ms Fiona Turner Music Coordinator
Choir Performs at High Tea Fundraiser for Golden Angels and Little Heroes Foundation
The SAC Senior Choir was honoured to perform at the recent High Tea fundraiser in support of the Golden Angels and Little Heroes Foundation. The event brought together members of the wider community to raise funds for two remarkable organisations that provide care and support for children and families facing significant challenges.
The choir’s performance added a special touch to the afternoon, with students singing with warmth, enthusiasm, and a real sense of purpose. It was a valuable opportunity for our young musicians to share their music in service of others and to see firsthand how their talents can make a positive impact.
We commend the choir members for representing the school representing the school so beautifully and thank the organisers for inviting us to be part of such a meaningful community event.
Ms Fiona Turner Music Coordinator
21.10.25
A Memorable Week with Our Thai Visitors!
SAC had a fabulous week with the ECE Study Tour students! Our girls were absolutely delighted as friendships blossomed, cultures were exchanged, Thai games were played in sport, and laughter and energy filled every moment. Our visitors shared the richness of their unique Thai culture, cooked delicious authentic food, told us about their animals back home, and even brought thoughtful gifts to share! It was such a short but memorable experience to have them here, and we’ve loved seeing our students form these wonderful international connections.
22.10.25
SAC PINK DAY in Support of Breast Cancer Network Australia 🩷
Staff and students looked fabulous in pink as we came together to celebrate, show love, and support our community and beyond. Yesterday, we supported Breast Cancer Network Australia through writing messages of hope for our Flower Wall, raising funds through donuts and slushies, and our eagerly awaited annual lunchtime staff vs. students volleyball match.
Together, we spread hope, kindness, awareness and solidarity, showing that small acts can make a big difference 💖
