Edition 42

Student Wellbeing and Community Connection Programs

“The school holiday programs are a great way to learn new skills and meet new people from the community. The staff are nice and helpful. It's a great experience especially with friends”

Elise Pasquier

Each term, our CCCC students enjoy school holiday activities which provide opportunities for our young people to engage and connect community mentors. These programs are run in collaboration with partner organisations who coordinate and arrange some incredible options for holiday entertainment and enrichment. 

Our students participated in a range of extracurricular activities at the end of Term 2 with Huddles, Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, and local youth services forums, including with the Centre for Multicultural Youth.

These programs enhance student leadership and teamwork through active involvement. Below are some of the testimonies and reflections from the students who have benefited from some of the school holiday activities, along with explanations of some of the other programs offered. Thank you to each of our partner organisations for your work, and to our wonderful students for both participating in the programs, and contributing these reflections. 

Western Bulldogs Community Foundation:

Mr Robert Aduer, External Student Support Coordinator, was invited to attend a cultural heritage match in which Western Bulldogs played against West Coast Eagles. Many community groups were invited, and joined Mr Aduer at the Western Bulldogs’ corporate function room to connect and network with community organisations who are also committed to providing support for youth.
We continue to see strong collaboration and partnership engagement with the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, with their school and youth outreach empowerment programs popular at Caroline Chisholm Catholic College.

We also had a number of students who were participants in the Western Bulldogs Social & Student Club, or the Youth Leadership Program, were given the opportunity to attend a game of AFL over the holidays, when the Bulldogs played against the Brisbane Lions. It was a fabulous event, and our students really enjoyed getting watch some of their favourite players live!

Local Government Youth Initiatives - Maribyrnong and Brimbank Council
By Minh Trinh, Year 11, 2025 Brimbank Youth Councillor

On Wednesday 16th August, I represented Brimbank City Council alongside other representative members at the 2025 Western Region Youth Forum - a formal event that brought together six of Melbourne’s western city councils to present and deliberate key issues these communities actively faced. The full-day event bolstered a plethora of icebreaker activities, discussion sessions, learning opportunities with councillor members from other councils, and the presentations from each council that truly represented the voices for young people, by young people. Among the topics from youth crime to financial literacy, we also heard from the MC (Masters of Ceremonies) Albee Damnics - Hobsons Bay's Young Citizen of the Year.

Brimbank City Council presented the topic of youth homelessness, drawing on the municipality's history of being at the top of statistics when it comes to mental health, decreasing socioeconomic status, and crime. Our presentation revolved around our project idea that focuses on advocacy and community engagement to address the issue in the form of organising care packs for those in need and engaging with existing Victorian Government initiatives such as the Houses for Parliament Origami initiative - an awareness campaign representing the quota of 60,000 additional homes required to satisfy Victoria's housing needs. A key part of our project was addressing misconstrued stereotypes that are assumed when thinking about homeless people - ranging from false ideas that all homeless people are not employed, to the idea that somebody who is 'couch-surfing' can still be considered homeless. While the forum has now concluded, the ideas, feedback, and discussions we had at the event still linger as the Brimbank Youth Council will continue to support and drive efforts to bolster communities dealing with youth homelessness.

2025 Maribyrnong Youth Council Advisory Committee
By Arleigh Ruddick, Year 10

The Western Region Youth Forum recently brought together number of youth councils, local councillors, and mayors from across the region at the Substation in Newport. The event offered a platform for young people to present on key topics impacting their communities—Maribyrnong’s council focused on youth crime, showcasing their “RISE UP!” Youth Empowerment Proposal, while Brimbank’s team addressed homelessness.

The Maribyrnong Youth Advisory Committee's presentation introduced a community-driven initiative designed to tackle youth disengagement and violence, particularly among young men in Years 7-10. Their proposed solution emphasizes school-integrated programs that combine sports, arts, financial literacy, mental health support, and more, which focused on early intervention and active youth involvement. The day provided not only a chance to share ideas and learn about the challenges facing different localities but also highlighted the collective power of young people working together for social change. It was a great day for a number of young people to get inspired by the work others are doing in their own communities.

I highly recommend that any students looking to get more involved in their community, to do some research on their local council's website for a youth council opportunities and programs they can apply to join.

Push-Up Challenge

Throughout Term 2 our students particpated in the Push-Up Challenge progoram to increase and raise awareness for mental health. 
Students did push-ups, squats, or sit ups in their LM classes, at recess and at lunchtime on both campuses, with staff jumping in, too!

CTK ended up as our leaders in the Push-Up Challenge, especially in regards to the number of participants. Congratulations to all students and staff involved. Our student leaders have done some amazing work in supporting and promoting the initiative, and we look forward to the 2026 challenge!

Bullying No Way

Last week was the national week of action for the Bullying No Way Campaign, with the message 'Let's Storm Bullying out of CCCC'. Activities were run throughout the week and posters put up to highlight the importance of reducing bullying at all schools across Australia. 

Eco Committee Garden

Our Eco Committee has been hard at work growing some incredible produce in our College gardens. 
We were proud to see a first harvest of significant yield, wi9th lot's leafy greens donated to a local food bank. This initiative both helps our local bees and birds with pollination and improves soil output, but also provides food for those who need it most. We're looking forward to seeing what grows next!

The Push: Music Careers Expo Excursion

In Year 11 VCE VET Music Industry, students are required to demonstrate that they understand the industry and can plan a career.
To help achieve this, our students recently attended The Push, which is a careers expo designed specifically for those looking to pursue a career in music. 

Our students enjoyed interactive workshops, keynote presentations, live performances and informations stalls. It was a wonderful day, and students made a number of helpful connections that we hope will assist them as they go forward.  

Read Your Height Challenge

Our students at CTK have been working hard all Semester 1 to read as many books as possible in our Read Your Height Challenge. 
Congratulations to the following students for all your work:
Teresa Le, Most improved
Abigail Stirling, Most diverse reading stack
Anna Tran, Biggest reading stack (77 books!)
9G, Most read LM (322 books!)

Book Week and author talk

We were excited to welcome successful author James Phelan to the College to present to our Year 8 students as a part of Book Week.

We also saw some incredible dress ups, thank you to everyone who participated!

Mental Health Awareness Session for Families

At the recent learner mentor conferences, our College Psychologist Brooke Evans-Brookes conducted a valuable parent information session focussed on supporting the mental health of young people. The session explored recognising signs and symptoms of common mental health problems in young people, how to talk to your child about mental health issues and where to get additional help.

It was comforting for families that attended to understand the effect mental health has on the daily life of teens and how it influences stress, building relationships, school performance and making decisions.

Brooke’s knowledge assisted families to better understand the risk factors of mental health in adolescence and the important role families play in providing support. She shared valuable support systems and resources families can utilise for additional help.

We are fortunate to have the expertise and experience of Brooke working directly with our students and providing sessions such as this for families. Keep an eye out for future sessions!