Students across Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) brought the 2026 National Skills Week theme, “Life Changing”, to life through the 2026 ParraSkills Video Competition, showcasing the skills, experiences and opportunities available through Vocational Education and Training (VET).
Students were challenged to respond to the theme to highlight how VET can change lives through building practical skills, shaping career aspirations, and opening doors to future study, training and employment.
The competition attracted 21 entries from students across a range of VET industry areas, with each video offering a unique perspective on the impact of vocational education.
Judges selected five outstanding submissions, with students from Santa Sophia Catholic College Gables taking first place for their creative Business Services entry.
Using a classroom door as a metaphor for opportunity, Andre C, Vibhuti L and Xavier F demonstrated how VET can open doors to future pathways and student success.
The ParraSkills Video Competition was open to students from across CSPD’s VET in Schools program, with entries received from Santa Sophia Catholic College Gables, Caroline Chisholm College Glenmore Park, CathWest Innovation College, Nagle College Blacktown, St Columba’s Catholic College Springwood, St Pauls Catholic College Greystanes and Xavier College Llandilo. Students from Maronite College of the Holy Family, who undertake VET through the CSPD Registered Training Organisation, secured second place with their impressive Hospitality entry.
Third place went to Catherine McAuley Westmead for their Business Services entry, with Leana El J, Saadhana K, Aayushi G and Martina F using the subject selection process to show how choosing VET can influence future pathways and careers.
Two further Catherine McAuley entries were recognised as Highly Commended: Kleo H and Alessia G for their Business Services video, and Alana S, Lara L, Karina H and Riana A for their Hospitality entry.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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26 Aug 2026
ParraSkills Video Competition showcases ‘Life Changing’ VET
Students across Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) brought the 2026 National Skills Week theme, “Life Changing”, to life through the 2026 ParraSkills Video Competition, showcasing the skills, experiences and opportunities available through Vocational Education and Training (VET).
25 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🧪🌱 Celebrating National Science Week 2026! 🔬✨ Last week, our St Paul’s students celebrated National Science Week, exploring this year’s theme, ‘Seeds of Science – Nurturing Knowledge for All’. Across Years 7–10, students took part in a range of hands-on activities, investigating how scientists use ‘seeds’ to create new materials and develop innovative solutions. 🌱💡 🔬 Years 8 & 9 became crystal scientists, creating their own coloured crystals using Borax and examining their structures under light microscopes. Students also explored how a tiny ‘seed’ can begin the formation of materials in nature — just like the creation of pearls! 🦪✨ 🧬 Year 10 took their learning even further through the world of genetics and biotechnology, investigating how genes can be analysed and used to develop genetically modified foods such as Golden Rice and canola. It was a fantastic week of curiosity, discovery and hands-on learning, encouraging our students to see just how far a small seed of knowledge can grow! 🌱🔬 👏 Well done to our students and Science staff for a fantastic National Science Week! #SPCC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #NationalScienceWeek #ScienceWeek2026
25 Aug 2026
From Facebook
📸✨ A Night to Celebrate at the CAPTIVATE Alchemy Photography Competition! ✨📸 What a fantastic achievement for our talented St Pauls photographers! We were incredibly proud to have three students selected as finalists in this year’s CAPTIVATE Alchemy Photography Competition — Rohan S. (Year 12), Sean T. (Year 11) and Matthew H. (Year 12) — with their work showcased alongside outstanding photography from students across CSPD secondary schools. 🌟 A very special congratulations to Matthew H., who was announced as one of just seven overall award winners for his photograph, ‘Perspective’, in the Close Up category! 🏆📷 With more than 500 entries submitted and 100 finalists selected across 22 CSPD secondary schools, being named a finalist is an incredible achievement — and to have Matthew recognised as one of the overall award winners makes the evening even more special. 👏 Congratulations to Matthew, Rohan and Sean on representing St Pauls with such creativity and talent. We are incredibly proud of all three boys and their achievements! Here are some special moments from a wonderful evening celebrating creativity, photography and the unique perspectives of our students. 💙📸 #SPCC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #CAPTIVATE #Alchemy #Photography
24 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🏆⚽ PDSSSC GRAND FINAL CHAMPIONS! ⚽🏆 What an incredible way to finish the season! 💙 Our Junior PDSSSC Soccer Team are GRAND FINAL CHAMPIONS after an outstanding 4–0 victory over Penola! 🏆👏 The boys were incredible from start to finish, playing with determination, teamwork and pride. After a fantastic season, they saved one of their best performances for the Grand Final and should be extremely proud of this achievement! 💪⚽ A huge congratulations and thank you to Mr Gale for his coaching, leadership and support throughout the season, along with assistant coaches Max and Elias, who have done a fantastic job supporting the boys along the way. 👏💙 And a special thank you to all the staff, parents and families who came out to support the team and celebrate this special moment with our boys. Having the St Pauls community behind them made the victory even more memorable! 🙌💙 Congratulations, boys — PDSSSC Champions! 🏆⚽💙 #SPCC #PDSSSC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #Champions #GrandFinal
20 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Year 10 Cake Decorating! 🎂✨ Our Year 10 Food Technology students put their creativity and skills to the test on Monday as they brought their incredible cake designs to life! From carefully decorating and piping to adding those all-important finishing touches, the students showed fantastic creativity, patience and attention to detail. The final results looked amazing — and almost too good to eat! 😍 Well done to our Year 10 students on their hard work, creativity and some truly impressive creations! #SPCC #FoodTech #ManyGiftsOneCommunity
18 Aug 2026
From Facebook
⚽ FINALS BOUND! 💙🔥 Our Junior PDSSSC Soccer team dominated their semi final with a 5–0 victory over St Andrews, securing their place in the FINALS! 🏆⚽👏 The boys have had an incredible season so far, showing outstanding teamwork, determination and skill every step of the way. 💪🔥 They’ll take on Penola this Thursday, 20 August, with the PDSSSC Championship on the line! 🏆⚽ A huge shoutout to Mr Gale for his coaching, guidance and support throughout the season, and to Max and Elias for their assistant coaching and support. 👏💙 We wish the boys the absolute best of luck for the final! Go get it! 💙⚽🔥 Check out our score sheet, Man of the Match, team photo and some snaps from the semi final 📸⚽ #PDSSSC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #SPCC
17 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🏺✨ At the end of last term, 7.4 ‘mummified’ oranges 🍊 while learning about the beliefs and practices of Ancient Egypt 🇪🇬📜. After 5 weeks of mummification, we unwrapped the oranges to reveal what they looked like! 🏺🍊👀 A fun and hands-on way to bring Ancient Egyptian history to life! 📚✨ #SPCC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity
16 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🚗 Year 10 | B StreetSmart 🛣️ Our Year 10 PDHPE students recently attended the B StreetSmart Road Safety Program at Sydney Olympic Park as part of their learning around Decision Making. Through interactive activities and powerful real-life stories, students explored the impact of peer pressure, distractions, risk-taking and the choices we make on the road. It was a valuable and thought-provoking day that reinforced the importance of making responsible decisions and keeping ourselves and others safe. 💙 It was also great to see Aidan, a St Pauls old boy, now working with the SES, supporting the program. We take great pride in seeing our former students making a difference in the wider community. 👏💙 #BStreetSmart #RoadSafety #PDHPE #Year10 #ManyGiftsOneCommunity SPCC
13 Aug 2026
From Facebook
⚽ SEMI FINAL BOUND!💙🔥 Our Junior PDSSSC Soccer team is ready for today’s SEMI FINAL after an incredible season so far! 👏⚽ The boys booked their place in the semi finals with a dominant 6–1 victory over St Agnes in the quarter finals, putting on an outstanding display of teamwork, determination and skill. 💪🔥 They have played incredibly well all season and should be so proud of everything they have achieved to get to this point. A big shoutout to Mr Gale for his coaching, guidance and support throughout the season, and to Max and Elias for their assistant coaching and support. 👏⚽💙 Thank you for helping the boys reach this exciting stage of the competition! Now it’s time for the semi final! The entire St Pauls community is behind you, boys, and we wish you the very best of luck in today’s match!💙⚽ Give it everything and make us proud!🙌💙 #PDSSSC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #SPCC
12 Aug 2026
From Facebook
⚽ A Season to Be Proud Of 💙 Our Intermediate 9/10 PDSSSC Soccer team had a fantastic season, representing St Pauls with determination, teamwork and pride. Although their season unfortunately came to an end in the quarter finals, the boys should be incredibly proud of how well they played and everything they achieved throughout the competition. A special shoutout to Danijel R. and Ben M., who scored our two goals in the quarter final and both had a great season on the pitch! ⚽👏 A big thank you to Mr Zuza for coaching the team throughout the season, along with Sam and Adrian for their assistance and support. Well done on a great season, boys! 👏💙⚽ #PDSSSC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #SPCC
10 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🎾 Serving Up Success: PDSSSC Tennis Gala Day 🎾 Congratulations to the SPCC tennis team—Aniket, Aarav, Will, Evan, and Raghuveer—for representing our school with pride at Barton Park in Parramatta! 👏 Faced with top talent from across the diocese, the team showed incredible focus and determination, securing a fantastic match victory 🏆 and pushing their opponents to the limit in two nail-biting, closely contested matches! 🎾 It was a fantastic day of skill, teamwork 🤝, and outstanding sportsmanship 🙌. Congratulations on a wonderful effort, boys—we’re incredibly proud of you! 👏 #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #SPCC
07 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🏆 A Big Day of PDSSSC Sport! 🏆 Our SPCC teams gave it their all yesterday, showing great determination, teamwork and school spirit! 💙❤️ ⚽ Junior Soccer were outstanding, claiming a dominant 6–1 victory and securing their place in the PDSSSC Semi-Finals next week! 🔥👏 Best of luck, boys—we’ll be cheering you on! 🙌 ⚽ Intermediate Soccer fought hard but unfortunately went down 4–2, bringing their campaign to an end. A special shout-out to Danijel R. and Ben M. for finding the back of the net! 👏⚽ 🏉 Under 14s Rugby League also gave a strong effort but were defeated. Well done to the team for their commitment and resilience. 💪 Congratulations to all our players for representing SPCC with pride. 💙❤️ #PDSSSC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #SPCC
03 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Today, our Year 12 students begin their HSC Trial Examinations. 🙏📚 On Friday, they gathered in the church to receive a special blessing from Father Sebastian as they prepared for this important milestone. As they commence their trials today, we continue to keep them in our prayers, asking God to bless them with wisdom, peace, strength and confidence throughout every exam. ✝️✨ To our Year 12 students – trust in your preparation, believe in yourselves, and know that your St Pauls community is praying for you and cheering you on every step of the way. 💙❤️ We wish you every success. God bless you all. 🙏 #SPCC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity
01 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🏆 Three from Three! 🏆 A perfect round for our PDSSSC teams today, with all three teams securing impressive victories: ⚽ Intermediate Soccer ⚽ Junior Soccer 🏉 Under 14s Rugby League� Congratulations to all our players on their outstanding effort, teamwork and determination. Check out today’s score sheets and our Man of the Match recipients. 👏 Keep the momentum going, boys! 💪💙 Semifinals next week! Wish our boys luck! #PDSSSC #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #SPCC CD
31 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🔢📚 Learning decimals has never been so much fun! Our Year 7 MATHA students have been exploring the world of decimals through engaging, hands-on learning activities. Using interactive games and practical resources, students worked together to strengthen their understanding while developing their problem-solving and teamwork skills. Learning comes to life when students can collaborate, explore and have fun along the way! 👏💙 #ManyGiftsOneCommunity #SPCC