Cardijn Connect - a source of news and information for the Cardijn community. The blog will be published every Thursday during the school term with past editions always accessible from the menu.

Celebrating 40 Years of Cardijn College
- Sunday 27 October

Join us on 27 October as we commemorate four decades of Cardijn College. The day will begin with a celebratory Mass, honouring the rich history and values of our College. Hosted at Cardijn's original home in Noarlunga Downs, Back to Cardijn promises to be a memorable event for families, alumni, staff, and friends. Current families are warmly invited to attend and be part of this special occasion.

Tickets are free and include a commemorative Cardijn tumbler, with the option to pre-purchase a Specialty Grazing Box ready to be enjoyed at the event. Guests will also be able to purchase a variety of food and drinks from food trucks and a charity fundraising bar on the day.

Please register your attendance here: bit.ly/BackToCardijn

Reconnect and reminisce with old friends and enjoy a day filled with nostalgia, games, delicious food, and live music as we pay tribute to the past, celebrate the present, and embrace the future of Cardijn College.

We look forward to welcoming you to our 40th anniversary celebration!

Get event-ready and show your Cardijn spirit by shopping our exclusive merchandise! From scarves to jumpers, browse the full collection here: Cardijn Online Store.

How little Eli's already scored a big life goal!

Keep an eye out for Year 3 Galilee student Eli, who will be the Port Adelaide junior mascot tonight, running onto the field with club captain Connor Rozee for the first match of the AFL finals season against Geelong!

Eli’s mum, Kelly, shared the exciting news with him at school pick-up. Eli admitted he’s "excited but also nervous" about his big moment. Let’s all cheer him on as he makes his debut!

For more details, check out The Advertiser!

Congratulations to CJ, Jaxon, and Sam who have recently started exciting apprenticeships!

⭐ CJ has joined Diesel Tune Adelaide as an apprentice, where he will work towards earning a Certificate III in Light Vehicle Technology.

⭐ Jaxon has begun his apprenticeship with Complete Custom Fabrication, focusing on completing a Certificate III in Engineering - Fabrication.

⭐ Sam has signed on with All About Tiles Australia, where he will pursue a Certificate III in Wall and Floor Tiling.

Well done to all of our students for taking this significant step in their careers! This is a huge accomplishment.

Kolbe House gathered on Friday for our House Mass to celebrate the life of Saint Maximillian Kolbe. Our Kolbe House Captains, Jess and Thomas gave the following tribute to our Kolbe Crocs:

"We have such an amazing Kolbe community, who continually radiate enthusiasm and joy each and every day, making our House captaincy role super easy this year. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Kolbe staff and students for your collective efforts in improving the school community. Your individual contributions are carried out with such love and selflessness, which is a true reflection of our house patron, St Maximilian Kolbe."

A big thank you to Father Tom Gleeson for making our Mass such a special celebration. We would also like to thank some of our wonderful Kolbe students who graciously volunteered to bake our delicious cupcakes that staff and students enjoyed at the end of the Mass.

On the back of a great maiden performance by Cardijn Wind Symphony at the South Australian Band and Orchestral Festival, Cardijn’s Big Bands were back at Westminster to compete in the Big Band divisions. Our musicians had the opportunity to sit in the audience and enjoy performances by other schools from around Adelaide who all demonstrated a variety of strengths and allowed our students to reflect on different stylistic interpretations.

Cardijn Big Band 2 performed well and secured a Silver Award in the Novice division with our musicians benefiting tremendously from the opportunity to perform outside of the Cardijn environment and receive feedback from the adjudicators.

Big Band 1 last year secured their first Silver Award and were hoping to match that this year. Performing the set piece by local composer, Thomas Voss our musicians showed their ability to capture the stylistic nuances of big band music and play with maturity beyond their years. With our chosen piece, Funky Cha Cha our musicians let it rip and showed the joy and passion with which they can play. The audience was very appreciative of the energetic performance and in the awards ceremony one of the adjudicators made particular mention of the emotional impact Lauren Morgan’s trumpet solo had upon him. For the first time Cardijn Big Band 1 secured a Gold Award in the Intermediate Big Band category and our musicians are riding high leading into tonight’s Cabaret and Canapes event.

Last Friday, a group of Year 9 and 10 students took part in a Certificate I in Hospitality immersion, where they learned the essentials of safe and hygienic food preparation. Their efforts resulted in creating tasty club sandwiches!

Attention MARIAN Year 9, 10, and 11 students

If you're interested in joining a VET course in 2025, please complete the 'VET Expression of Interest Form'. 

For any questions or additional information about VET programs, feel free to contact Mr. Kempson, VET Coordinator.

Athon Day is a much-anticipated event at Marian campus, celebrated with enthusiasm and dedication.

This year, the annual Marian event is scheduled for Friday, Week 10 of this term. This tradition highlights our commitment to mission, service, and charity through various engaging activities and fundraisers.

Year 12 students Alice, Hope, Mia, and Shannon prepared a detailed overview of Athon Day’s history, significance, and the exciting events planned.

Last Tuesday, our Galilee Year 5/6 Netball team competed in the finals of the SAPSASA School Knockout Competition, finishing an impressive 3rd place out of over 40 schools!

Mrs. Pengilly is incredibly proud of our students for their perseverance and teamwork. "As the rounds progressed, the girls really came together as a team, led by the ever-enthusiastic coach Tristan Sampson. A big thank you to the parents who cheered us on from the sidelines and to our coach, who dedicated so much of his time to support the girls."

Well done, girls!

The Magic Harvest students harvested produce from the garden and used it to demonstrate to a friend how to make delicious cold rolls.

This hands-on session encourages students to teach their new skill to at least one other person so that this skill is passed on throughout our school community.

The Year 7s recently visited the Hart Road Wetlands at Aldinga to compare the similarities and differences between Galilee’s wetlands.

Students were joined by Jeremy Gramp from Green Adelaide and Galilee volunteer Andy Coleman, participating in macroinvertebrate water bug sampling and a bird-watching walk.

Get ready for an evening of music, dancing, and games at the South Adelaide Football Club!

Join us from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM and make it a night to remember.

Keep an eye out for an email from Consent2Go, where you can respond to confirm your child's attendance.

"After an application process, I was selected to be part the ADF Women in Aviation program at the RAAF Base at Edinburgh. This experience opened my eyes to different careers within Airforce and what it is like to work on a base. This wonderful opportunity allowed me to be able to sit in a PC-21 jet plane, operate bomb robots, replicate aircrew training including life rafts, and allowed me to visit every department to see what equipment they work with and what they do. I highly recommend this experience for any young girls who are looking to join the Airforce."

- Year 12 student, Melody

Congratulations—what an achievement!

We are incredibly proud of our "Gifted and Talented" Year 10 Science students who participated in the State Finals for the Science and Engineering Challenge, held at Flinders University last Friday.

Our Cardijn team achieved 4th place, which is an amazing accomplishment. The dedication, teamwork, resilience, and intuitive nature displayed throughout the day are incredible attributes that will serve them well as they progress through senior secondary schooling.

This year the Marian Art Club combined ideas and skills to create a Fantasy Planet painting for the Show!

Using spray painting techniques and learning the value of collaboration, the students developed an original fantasy planet inspired by the concept of nature taking over a futuristic world.

You can view their work in the Junior Art section which is open until this Sunday!

Congratulations to Year 5 student Olivia and Year 6 student Ethan for their outstanding achievements in representing the Onkaparinga South Soccer SAPSASA team.

Olivia received two awards: the 'Most Improved Player' and the 'Magic Moment' award, recognising her versatility and remarkable contributions on the field.

Ethan shared his thoughts on the experience:

"Our team was incredibly encouraging and skilful, always motivating me to push myself and give my best effort. Even when goals were scored against us, the team remained uplifting and supportive.

Being a goalie was both enjoyable and challenging. It required intense focus and clear communication with my teammates to ensure we stayed organised.

Over three days, we won 5 out of 8 games, and I’m proud to say I kept a clean sheet in three of those matches. I also managed to save three penalties out of three attempts. The whole experience was amazing, and I had so much fun."

Well done Olivia and Ethan!

Last Friday, Marcellin’s Year 10 students spent the day at the McLaren Vale Bocce Club for their annual Reflection Day, where they explored their values, goals, and future aspirations.

These moments of reflection play an important role in helping them shape their futures with purpose and intention, and offered a valuable opportunity for personal growth. 

We are impressed by the maturity, thoughtfulness, and insightful contributions that the students contributed and displayed throughout the day. Well done.

Respectful Interactions between Students – What’s Acceptable and What’s Not!

The Adelaide media has, unfortunately, been covering various disrespectful behaviours by students in a few schools. This is always of concern! It’s time for clarity at Cardijn!

At this week’s assemblies at the Marian Campus, both Mr. Harmer (Deputy Principal) and I will address the Middle and Senior School students on the topic above. It is rare for both the Principal and Deputy to do this, yet speaks to the importance of providing clarity to students, staff, and now families about acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

Any behaviour that demeans, grossly disrespects, dehumanises, ridicules, derides, vilifies, mocks or disregards the dignity of others is fundamentally wrong and is not acceptable in our Cardijn Community – nor beyond! Sexist, racist, misogynist, ableist, harassing and bullying type behaviour is also not acceptable when directed at other young people, staff or their families.

Consequences for such behaviour are severe and are also covered by the individual protections provided by the law in Australia.

So, the very simple message to all members of the Cardijn Community is to be respectful: respect yourself by way of your behaviour and presentation, respect others as you would like to be treated, and respect the environment that surrounds us as it is precious too!

There is plenty to discuss at home on this issue such that our school does not become a feature of the media articles mentioned in the opening sentence!

Steve Byrne
Principal