The Carmel Chop 2025 – Courage, Compassion, Community

On Monday 4 August, the Carmel College community came together for one of the most inspiring and energetic events of the year: The Carmel Chop 2025. 76 brave students and staff volunteered to cut or shave their hair in support of breast cancer awareness and fundraising for the Mater Foundation's Chicks in Pink.

Students donated their ponytails to Sustainable Salons, where they’ll be turned into wigs for people experiencing medically-induced hair loss. Every chop made was a symbol of solidarity, every dollar raised a step closer to better care for women with breast cancer.

As our Year 12 student leader Emee, beautifully reminded us in her opening speech, The Carmel Chop began with a single idea from 2021 College Captain McKayla McNamara. What started as a small act of kindness has since grown into a Carmel tradition of compassion and community impact.

Thanks to weeks of bake sales, pizza days, sausage sizzles and tireless personal fundraising, the 2025 Carmel Chop raised over $44,000! These funds will directly support life-changing research, equipment and treatment initiatives at the Mater Hospital. A special congratulations to our top fundraisers, whose passion and dedication have truly made a difference:

• Perynese A– raising a phenomenal $3,523
• Ella G, Ewan, Chris H, and Cortney K– for their outstanding efforts

No Carmel event is complete without a bit of fun—and this year, the spotlight wasn’t just on the students. The Carmel Staff Band swapped their lesson plans for guitars and absolutely rocked the stage! They opened with “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses, followed up with a nostalgic sing-along to “Wonderwall” and finished strong with a crowd-belting “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi.  Let’s just say… they may teach maths and English by day, but by night? Total rockstars.

A heartfelt thank you to our incredible volunteer hairdressers who generously donated their time and talent to this event. Without your support, the Carmel Chop wouldn’t be possible. Thank you to every student, parent, staff member, and donor who contributed. Also, a big thank you to Georgia from The Mater Foundation for her support in our journey this year.  Your generosity helps us shine a light of hope for those facing cancer—and that’s something truly worth celebrating.

Until next year, keep letting your light shine.

Catholic Education Week Mass

As part of Catholic Education Week, we were delighted to welcome Year 5 and 6 students from four visiting primary schools to join us for our celebration Mass. It was a joy to have these young learners as part of our community for the morning, sharing in a beautiful mass presided over by Fr Krupa. This year’s theme, Communities of Faith, Hope & Love, was brought to life as the students took a quiet moment before Mass to sign their names on a special canvas, symbolising their personal commitment to helping build communities grounded in these values. We concluded the morning with a warm and welcoming shared morning tea, complete with cake, giving everyone the chance to connect, reflect, and celebrate the gift of Catholic education together.

MacKillop House Mass

The MacKillop House Mass was a wonderful celebration marking the feast day of Australia’s first saint, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. St Mary is remembered for her deep faith, her compassion for those in need, and her belief in the power of education to change lives. She dedicated her life to serving the poor and marginalised, living out her famous words, “Never see a need without doing something about it.”

MacKillop House came together in a spirit of unity to mark the occasion, with each PC creating and reading out a pledge to live by Mary MacKillop’s values in a way that was personal and meaningful to them. The celebration concluded with a special House video, a heartfelt reflection from Year 12 students, and, of course, cake to share as a community.

Mrs Erin Hardy

Assistant Principal-Religious Education