On Thursday 1 August, Ms Sexton and a group of students from Years 7, 8 and 9 volunteered their time to assist Sacred Heart Newport with their annual Athletics Day. It was a busy day where the MSJ students were able to help out at the different events and assist with the running of the day. The day was jam-packed with events such as Discus, Shot Put, Hurdles and even the 800 metres! It was rewarding to see all students from Prep to Year 6 give it their all to try and earn points for their house colours. For many of the MSJ students, it was great to head back and visit our old primary school and catch up with past students and teachers.
Monique Ghosn, Year 9
On 30 July, 17 Year 9 and 10 students formed two volleyball teams for the intermediate division. As we rolled out the bus early that morning to dominate the competition, we were looking forward to the competition playing girls from OLSH, St Columbas, Sacred Heart College Geelong & Oakleigh and well as Ave Maria.
Both the A & B teams started out against some pretty tough competition, but we put up a good fight, and lost some matches by only a few points. As the day went on, through the help of our coach, Adam De Bono, we developed our skill and team work.
Overall the day was a success, with Inter A finishing 5th and B, 4th against some very tough opposition. We were proud that we managed to win some games and improve our team work and overall volleyball ability.
Libby McIntyre, Year 10
This was a story of the underdogs; Senior B, a Year 12 team with no volleyball experience but a team with one dream: To take the title of Division 2 Volleyball. Like all heroes, we began our endeavour to the finals with an unprecedented victory, followed by mild road block to which we experienced a loss and a close draw. By the end of the pool round, we were left unhopeful, sure that we hadn't fought hard enough to scrape our way to the finals. But as always, justice prevails! We made it! Second in our pool, set to rematch our most fierce rival: Ave Maria, the team whom we drew against previously. The battle of the finals was intense, with each member of the team fighting desperately to secure the lead - each point a precious jewel that we didn't want to give up. Despite the great fight that we put up, us heroes did not win this battle. Losing 21-19 in both sets; our efforts will still be remembered as formidable. And thus the legend of Senior B ends here. Fallen heroes with courageous hearts, forever to be remembered.
Gemma Srijan, Year 12
On 25 July it was the annual SCSA AFL tournament held at Royal Park, where MSJ had two teams compete in the tournament. The seniors team arrived pumped and ready for a day of fun competition. In testing conditions, the seniors team drew in their first round against Killester College, and then straight after that went and played an amazing game winning against Sacred Heart. This win solidified our first place in our pool and our spot in the semi-final. After a break to prepare for the game, the seniors then went and played a thrilling semi-final and won, which saw them head straight into the grand final with Avila.
Overall, it was a gutsy effort from the seniors team, finishing first in our pool and second overall, after coming runners up in a courageous grand final. Both teams made MSJ proud as they showed great team work, determination and great sportsmanship throughout the day. Thank you to Sue, Mr Meilak, Mr Piazza and all helpers on the day. We would not have succeeded without you. We Are MSJ!
On 17 July, MSJ was grateful to welcome back Steph Kelly, a past student at the college and was MSJ 2016 Sports Captain. Since leaving MSJ, Steph has been studying overseas at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia on a lacrosse scholarship. Steph shared with us her journey through year 12, her challenges, her many accomplishments and what it was like studying overseas. It gave us students, inspiration to continue our hard work and Steph definitely showed us that hard work pays off! Steph showed us we need to endeavor to do things that make us happy.
On behalf of MSJ, we would like to thank Steph Kelly again for coming to MSJ and Sue Sofarnos for making Steph's visit possible possible.
Emma Walton - Wellbeing Captain
