It feels like we were just beginning the term, and here we are, nine weeks later, preparing for term break.

We have had a very successful term three, with many highlights that include our successes of many sporting teams at State level, the Outdoor Education camps that give our students such incredible opportunities, the exhibitions and performances led by The Arts team that have been of an exceptional standard and our Year 10 Ball – we witnessed joy and achievement on many faces on Friday night.

We have finalised the College Captains and House Captains for 2026. Congratulations to these students, and all the students who put themselves forward for these positions. It’s always an honour to work through the process of determining the student leaders and to hear how proud they are to be a student at Notre Dame College.

With the weather warming up, we are transitioning back into summer uniform. Please keep in mind that in 2026, all Year 7, 8, 10, 11 students are required to be in the new uniform styles, so if you need to replace items now, it may be worth replacing them with the new styles. All students are to be in full summer uniform by Monday, 13 October.

Our VCE students have practice exams in the second week of the term break. We wish them the very best with their preparations and revision. Keep doing the practice questions – there was a great article in The Age this week about the effectiveness of past exam questions, and as a VCE teacher for many years, I have always encouraged my students to take this approach. You can read the article HERE.

A reminder that Father Joe will celebrate his Farewell Mass at 11am on Sunday, 28 September, in St Brendan’s Church. He will begin his retirement the next day. Father Joe has made a lasting impact on the College during his time as Canonical Administrator and Parish Priest and we will be forever grateful for his leadership.

There has been another spike in colds and flus in our College community recently, and I hope that the term break gives all our students and staff the opportunity to rest and recover from these if they have been affected. I would like to thank all our families for their continued support of the College this term.

Enjoy the break.

Emma Reynoldson

Acting Principal