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Catholic College Wodonga
Location
Information
Motto	Life in Jesus
Religious affiliation(s)	Catholic
Established	1979
Principal	Lorraine Willis (2022–present)
Years	7–12
Enrollment	1220+
Campuses	Main Campus - Nganala (Religion campus )
Website	https://ccw.vic.edu.au/

Catholic College Wodonga is a co-educational Catholic school in Wodonga, Victoria, Australia, catering for students from Years 7 through to 12.

Founded by the Wodonga Catholic Parish in 1979, the College's aim is to find "Life in Jesus" and to continue the work of the Sisters of Mercy in educating young people for a range of pathways in life. Catholic College Wodonga is part of Catholic Education Wodonga (CEW), a division of Catholic Education Sandhurst.

Because of this association students are often streamed from the three Catholic primary schools which make up the rest of CEW. These feeder schools are St. Monica's Primary School, St. Augustine's Primary School and St Francis of Assisi Primary School.

History

In 1876 a co-educational primary school was built on the corner of High Street and Osburn Street. In 1892, four teachers from the Sisters of Mercy from Albury began the foundation of a new educational institution in Wodonga, which was completed in 1899 and became St. Augustine's Primary school. The school continued until 1982 under the name St Augustine's. In the meanwhile, female students from out-lying areas boarded at the convent.

In the 1970s, Albury-Wodonga was declared a National Growth Centre and by 1979 an increased number of students lead to the St Augustine’s Girls Secondary College being relocated to the Wodonga West location under the new name of "Catholic College Wodonga"

In 2019, the college celebrated its 40th anniversary.

In 2024, the college was subject to numerous scandals.

Controversies

Sexual harassment

In May 2024, Catholic College became involved in a scandal following the emergence of a private Snapchat group created by Year 12 male students. This group contained comments about the physical appearance of their female peers.

The school "conducted an investigation" after learning about the incident. The school's principal, Lorraine Willis, stated that the school "enacted the relevant policies and procedures" and reiterated the expectations of respectful relationships to the Year 12 male students involved. The parent of one of the female students affected by the comments reported that their daughter was "pretty devastated." The parent also said the behaviour was being "swept under the carpet" and described it as "vile". No individual punishment was given to the boys involved, and counselling was not offered to the female students who were targeted.

This incident occurred shortly after a similar event at Yarra Valley Grammar, another school in Melbourne, where Year 12 male students created a spreadsheet assessing female classmates' attractiveness. Two students from Yarra Valley Grammar were expelled due to this incident.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan described the incident at Catholic College Wodonga as "distressing".

Sigma suspension

In May 2024, Catholic College Wodonga faced controversy when a student was suspended for using the term "sigma" in conversation. Despite the term's common usage as internet slang for "lone wolf" or introvert, school authorities deemed it inappropriate. The student's parents expressed astonishment at the severity of the punishment, questioning the rationale behind penalising their son for using what they considered innocuous language. The incident received a lot of negative backlash from students and parents.

CEW theme

Each year the College is given a theme to have the students aim to follow and be alike. From 2014, Catholic Education Wodonga (CEW) decided to use the theme across all four of the Catholic Schools in Wodonga.

Teaching and learning

Catholic College is divided into six Learning Communities or Houses; Hollows (yellow), Malone (green), da Vinci (blue), Chisholm (red), Gandhi (orange) and MacKillop (purple). Each with their own given LCL (Learning Community Leader).

Beginning the day, students start the day in their home bases or better known as Learning Mentor Groups (LMs). LMs contain students from a single community and across a variety of years of approximately 28 students. The objective of LMs is to encourage friendships across year levels and announce relevant school news. Each LM is co-ordinated by two, or in some cases three, teachers who is the primary contact for students in their group regarding school or administrative issues. They also provide the students with academical references.

In October 2018, the new Aquinas Centre (Science) was opened for use by students and staff.

Notable alumni

• Fraser Gehrig – AFL footballer
• Ben McEvoy – AFL footballer
• Ben Paton – AFL footballer
• Nathan Clarke – OMFNL Reserves

References

1. Catholic College Wodonga
2. ^ "Who we are". ccw.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
3. Mascarenhas, Carla. "Regional school embroiled in 'vile' Snapchat scandal". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
4. Howes, Ted. "Regional school embroiled in 'vile' Snapchat scandal". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
5. Howes, Ted. "Boy mentions the 'S' word: What happened next shocked his parents". The Border Mail. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
6. Wodonga, Catholic Education. "Catholic Education Wodonga (CEW)". cew.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
7. ^ "Learning Communities". ccw.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
8. ""School Release"" (PDF). ccw.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 28 December 2018.

• Educational institutions established in 1979
• Wodonga
• Catholic secondary schools in Victoria (state)
• 1979 establishments in Australia