St Joseph's College Echuca

In an exciting development, we are thrilled to announce AFL Victoria has approved a contribution of $200,000 towards the installation of 100 lux lighting, at our new MCG-sized oval at Kildare Campus. The Echuca Football Netball Club will also generously contribute towards the remainder of lighting costs and potentially other infrastructure around the oval, as part of our ongoing partnership with the club. St Joseph’s College, along with Wanganui Oval in Shepparton, are the first projects in Victoria to be announced through the AFL’s ‘Breaking New Ground’ program. This program provides funding for the planning, design and development of AFL facilities, to help keep up with the growth of community football and the need to provide great facilities for grassroots footy. Our Principal Anne Marie Cairns said our partnership with the AFL – Breaking New Ground Project and Echuca Junior Football Club (EJFC), has enabled us to accelerate the development of our master plan, which will ultimately benefit the entire Echuca Moama community. "Football, with its unique ability to unite people, will play a key role in fostering community connections. By providing a high-quality oval, we aim to strengthen these bonds," Ms Cairns said. "The school community takes great pride in the accomplishments of our AFL players, both past and present, as well as the rising stars of the AFL and AFLW. "We are excited about the future of this project and the opportunities it will bring, ensuring the continued growth and success of the game in Echuca Moama and surrounding district, for generations to come." To read the full story please visit: https://lnkd.in/gDvFBQfW

| Multipurpose Learning Centre || We’re excited to share a first look at our Stage 3 architectural designs for our state of the art Multipurpose Learning Centre at Kildare Campus. The State Government announced $6 million in funding for our Stage 3 capital works in August this year. Our Multipurpose Learning Centre will include an indoor stadium with two full size basketball/netball courts and retractable seating, a 246 seat theatrette, performance stage, foyer, kiosk, and full amenities including change rooms and toilets. The centre provides spaces for performing arts, sport and physical education, science, community use and teacher planning. Our Stage 3 works will also include an extension to the Stage 2 Learning Building to provide more classroom space for students. Works are expected to commence in early 2025 and will allow us to continue providing the very best educational opportunities and facilities that our students deserve. Thanks to ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects for capturing our vision so beautifully in these design images. We can’t wait to see this project come to life in 2025!

St Joseph’s College Echuca has formed a ground-breaking collaboration with elite international sporting club Liverpool Football Club International Academy, which will expand our school’s commitment to high performance sport and strong academic pathways. The Liverpool Football Club International Academy is a world-renowned institution that is known not only for producing world-class footballers, but for shaping future leaders and responsible global citizens. The partnership will see a co-curricular high-performance soccer school program start at our school in 2025, providing incredible opportunities for our students, staff and the wider community. Check out the full story at our website.

We celebrated the official opening and blessing of our new Kildare Campus yesterday, marking a transformative milestone in our school’s 138-year history. This event was a wonderful opportunity to honour our school’s enduring legacy and commitment to excellence and growth, while embracing the possibilities of the future. Read all about it here.

Our plans to commence works on an MCG-sized football oval at our Kildare Campus later this term have taken an exciting turn. We are thrilled to announce that we will commence work on a brand new soccer pitch at the same time, which will be located adjacent to the football oval. Works on both ovals will get under way in the coming weeks, and be fully operational by the end of Term 1, 2025. Each oval will have a premium turf surface, drainage system, and be cared for by a professional maintenance team. We have a huge contingent of AFL and soccer loving students in our College community, both male and female, and we know this development will be very warmly received by our students, staff and families. Full press release available at our website:

We are delighted to share that our College has entered a three year partnership with The Resilience Project to support students, staff and families with evidence-based wellbeing strategies to help build resilience. The Resilience Project (TRP) was founded in Melbourne in 2008 by Hugh van Cuylenburg - a highly regarded leader in the mental health space and co-host of the wildly popular podcast - The Imperfects. TRP aims to build resilience in school communities by implementing easy but effective strategies that are proven to increase mental wellbeing. The program is developed by educators across Australia and tailored to each year level to provide proven impact. TRP’s School Wellbeing Program will be rolled out at St Joseph’s College from the beginning of 2025, teaching positive mental health in the classroom, staffroom and wider community. The three year partnership has been made possible through a Federal, State and Local Government flood recovery grant, in conjunction with generous funding from Campaspe Shire Council, Anglicare Victoria and Bendigo Bank Community Banks in Elmore, Lockington and Rochester. The funding is being auspiced by Rochester Community House Victoria and will subsidise access to the program, not only for St Joseph’s College, but also local cluster schools and the wider community. Other cluster schools participating in the school wellbeing program include Rochester Secondary College, St Joseph’s Primary School Rochester, Lockington Consolidated Primary School, Rochester Primary School, Goornong Primary School and Nanneella Estate Primary School. St Joseph’s College has been named host school for the program, and will hold a number of student presentations by The Resilience Project onsite this year to launch the program partnership. Full details available at our website:

St Joseph's College has received $6 million in State Government funding to progress to Stage 3 of our capital works plan. The funding is part of the Victorian Government's $450 million package announced in the 2023-24 Budget to build and upgrade low-fee Catholic and independent schools across the state. Stage 3 of our Master Plan includes a Multipurpose Learning Centre at Kildare Campus which will provide spaces for performing arts, sport and physical education, science, community use and teacher planning. This centre will include an indoor stadium with two full size basketball/netball courts and retractable seating, a 246 seat theatrette, performance stage, foyer, kiosk, and full amenities including change rooms and toilets. There will also be an extension to the Stage 2 Learning Building to provide more classroom space for students. We are thrilled with the news, and can't wait for these works to commence in 2025! Full press release on our website: https://lnkd.in/ghsf9Q5k

We are excited to announce that we are partnering with Echuca Junior Football Club to secure access for youth in the wider community to a new MCG-sized football oval at Kildare Campus! The collaboration means our new oval will not only service students of St Joseph’s College, but also be the new home of the Echuca Junior Football Club (EJFC). The tender for construction of the oval is expected to be released by the end of the month, with a contractor to be appointed by the end of July 2024. It is anticipated that the oval will be fully operational by the end of Term 1, 2025. The MCG-sized fully dedicated football oval, with premium turf surface, drainage and professional maintenance team will be the top echelon of any junior sports facility in the region. We are also working with stakeholders from Echuca Football Netball Club, Goulburn Murray Football League, and AFL Victoria Future Funds in a bid to secure funding for the installation of AFL specified game day-approved lighting at the oval. To read the full story please visit our website. https://lnkd.in/gDq4GUYc

St Joseph’s College Echuca has always been a haven for high academic achievement, personal growth, sporting success, talented creatives and exceptional teaching staff. And today we are thrilled to announce that we have taken steps to ensure we remain a place of deep learning, endeavour and enrichment with the launch of our flagship School of Excellence program. Our new School of Excellence program is not a replacement for our core curriculum, rather an addition to it, which will provide students with greater opportunities to pursue their passions, fulfill their potential, and achieve overall excellence. The program consists of six pillars of excellence aimed to challenge our students academically and physically in the promotion of whole person growth. The first to launch in 2025 will be our Arts and Sports Academies. Check out the video to learn all about it! An information night for students and families will be held on Tuesday 23 July at our Brigidine Campus from 5.30pm - 6.30pm. For more information visit https://lnkd.in/gDNkjQjc

Big thanks to our Stage 2 construction company Fairbrother for these professional images of our new specialist and learning buildings which opened to students and staff at the beginning of this week. Captured among the images are our new technology building, science classrooms, food classrooms, art spaces, performance areas, canteen, new general learning space and additional learning enhancement provision. Exciting times for our St Joseph's College community!