HCC In-Depth - Friday August 7, 2026

HCC In-Depth (Episode 11)

As Term 3 hits its halfway mark, Priyansh and Jehiele are back in the studio for another packed episode of HCC In-Depth, with a reminder that this Saturday's Heritage College Cultural Night is almost here.

Heritage College Cultural Night
This Saturday, 15th August, is the Heritage College Cultural Night, a fundraising event supporting our students heading to Samoa. It promises to be a wonderful night celebrating the diversity and community spirit of Heritage College.

Getting Hands-On at Cardinia Creek
Last week, Year 7 Humanities students swapped the classroom for the creek bank, spending the day at the flora and fauna reserve in Beaconsfield. Guided by expert ecologists, students rotated through three activities exploring Melbourne's waterways, from the human impact on our water sources to the ecosystems living within them.

The highlight was getting their hands dirty with real fieldwork. Students tested pH levels, salinity, turbidity, soluble oxygen and temperature, then took water samples straight from Cardinia Creek to identify the waterbugs calling it home. Real science, in a real creek, done by real students.

Taking the Leap With Jetty Jumping
Recently, 1N dove into Unit 10: Jetty Jumping by Andrea Rowe, the story of Milla, a girl too scared of the deep water to jump off the jetty with her friends. When her bracelet falls into the sea, she finally takes the plunge, and comes back proud, brave, and ready to jump again.

The class brought the story to life with a craft challenge, building their own jetty, one group out of LEGO, the other out of paddlepop sticks. It tested patience and resilience more than expected, with a few tears and a fair bit of frustration along the way. But every student walked out at the end of the day with a smile, and a jetty to show for it.

Putting Motion to the Test
Recently, Prep N dug into the science of movement, specifically what makes an object slide, roll, or a bit of both. Students grabbed a range of everyday objects from around the classroom and put them to the test, watching closely to see how each one moved depending on the shape of its sides. Every result got recorded, turning a simple classroom experiment into proper scientific observation, one roll and slide at a time.

Turning 100 (Well, Sort Of)
Last week marked a milestone for our youngest students: 100 days of Prep. To celebrate, the Preps came to school dressed as 100 year olds, complete with grey hair, glasses and walking canes. Both campuses celebrated our Preps who have worked hard to reach this milestone, a fun way to mark a big number, and a reminder of just how far they've come since day one.

Beyond Heritage
This week Jasleen takes us outside the walls of Heritage and into the local community. Down in Doveton, a brand new accessible activity trail has opened at Myuna Farm for the Riding for the Disabled Association, with local volunteers from the Endeavour Hills Men's Shed helping build parts of the trail themselves.

Closer to home in Pakenham, local kickboxer Santo Joma, known as "King Cowboy," fled war in Sudan as a young man and is now an Australian K1 Kickboxing Champion. He recently visited a Pakenham taekwondo club to train alongside students and share his story of resilience.

Elsewhere, one of our Adventist colleges raised fourteen thousand dollars for service projects at its annual school concert, a tradition stretching back to 2011. Students from Wahroonga Adventist School have returned from STORM Co, a mission trip serving communities across Tasmania, with their efforts officially recognised by Adventist Mission. And overseas in Turkiye, local fishermen and conservationists have tripled the protected coastline along the Mediterranean coast, with sharks, seals and turtles now returning to once nearly empty waters.

Down to the Siren
Our Lower Primary students are still deep into their Sparta Gymnastics program, building skills, confidence and enthusiasm on the mats each week. Primary Players of the Week were Hannah L (Year 4, NCP) and Leon S (1N, OCP).

In Secondary Volleyball, our 9/10 Girls team had a tougher afternoon, going down 2 sets to 0 to Waverley North-West, with a shout-out to Varshika for her effort and consistency across both sets. In Netball, our 9/10 Girls team were clinical, running out 24 to 4 winners over Waverley Christian College, with Zoe VD (10B) and Isabelle H (9B) instrumental in controlling the game. Varshika was named Player of the Day.

Around the world, Australia closed out the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games as the most successful nation in the Games' history, topping the table with 70 gold medals and 171 medals overall. Meg Harris racked up six golds across individual and relay events, Rose Davies became the first Australian woman to win the Commonwealth 10,000m title while completing the 5000m/10,000m double, and Eleanor Patterson set a Games record in the high jump. Australia's men's and women's 3x3 basketball teams both struck gold, and our Women's Gymnastics Team took out the Team Final, their first title since 2010.

Back home, Fremantle sit clear on top of the AFL ladder, with Sydney and Hawthorn locking in the top three and Adelaide surging into fourth, while Geelong and the Western Bulldogs battle for seventh and eighth. In the NRL, Penrith lead the way, with the Warriors and Sharks fighting for third and South Sydney clinging to eighth by just four points.

That wraps up another episode of HCC In-Depth. Thanks so much for joining us - have a great weekend, Heritage!

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