Dear St Edmund’s College Family and Friends

Sometimes I hear things that leave me awe struck. I had one of those moments upon hearing about the plight of a homeless mother and her children who were helped by two unknown Eddies’ students. The story was told to me by Uncle Joe Kirk who recounted it with great pride and appreciation. The young Aboriginal mother was literally living out of her car with her infant children in Queen’s Park, Ipswich. She was forced into a state of homelessness by circumstances beyond her control and recalled to Uncle Joe that for about a week while she was living out of her car two boys dressed in Eddies uniforms offered her and her children food as they were walking through the Park. The two boys came back each day on their way to school and brought with them food to give to the mother and her children. She never knew their names but knew they were Eddies boys by their uniform. They treated her and her family with dignity and respect as each day they checked in on them with their daily gift of food. Eventually with the help of Uncle Joe she was given assistance and provided temporary respite accommodation. The two boys remain unknown till this day but not to this woman who now associates anyone wearing an Eddies uniform as Angels from Heaven.

2020 College Captain Interviews

Congratulations to the eighteen Year 11 young men who have nominated for College Captaincy for 2020. On Monday myself, Ms Marysia Rice and Mr Shannon Lee interviewed all eighteen candidates as part of the nomination process. The interviews were an opportunity for each candidate to expand on how they would express their captaincy against the six criteria which asks them to demonstrate:

1. A willingness to uphold the Touchstones of Edmund Rice Education and embrace the Vision and Mission of the College
2. A desire to gain the best out of the academic opportunities provided by the College
3. An openness to develop self-awareness, gain a deeper understanding of the College through involvement in co-curricular activities, and respect for the College’s policies and traditions
4. A commitment to nurturing and maintaining right relationships with students and staff, and demonstrating the ability to lead their peers in actively promoting the attributes and characteristics of an Eddies gentleman
5. A preparedness to represent the College, both individually and as a member of a team, in a variety of contexts
6. An eagerness to bring to the captaincy role personal qualities of initiative and humility

All candidates were endorsed and will be peer assessed by their fellow Year 11 students according to the three leadership traits of Character, Word and Action. The peer assessment will occur on Thursday September 19 with collated results contributing to an overall rating which will determine the four College Captains for 2020. I wish all the candidates the very best and thank them for taking the courageous first step in this process.

Shanghai Visit

Next Thursday I will be travelling to China for ten days and will meet up with our staff and students who are over there on the annual St Edmund’s College Shanghai Immersion. We are very proud of our 20-year association with South-West Weiyu Middle School and grateful for the opportunity for both our students and staff to engage in these exchange experiences. At last week’s assembly we acknowledged the thirteen Year 10 students and staff who will be departing tomorrow and wished them well on their overseas adventure to China. The students will be chaperoned by Ms Angela Fergus and Mr David Gagen for the four weeks that they will be away.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK - 2019 Shanghai Exchange Group

Prayers

We keep in our prayers the Woods’ family on the passing of John Woods who was a pioneering identity in the St Edmund’s community. John was an Old Boy of the College who held a prominent role in promoting school camps in Queensland. He and his wife Julie were responsible for reinvigorating Edmund Park in the mid-90’s. They managed Edmund Park for almost two decades which became the location for many College camps over these years. May John rest in peace in God’s loving embrace.

Live Jesus in Our Hearts - Forever

Diarmuid O’Riordan, Principal

EREA Learning and Teaching Conference

What do you imagine education will look like in 2040?

What will the disruptors be that change the direction of education into the future?

How do we best prepare our students for the future in a changing world?

When confronted with the effects of the climate crisis and voice of those on the margins, how will we respond as a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice Tradition?

Over the last three days, Deputies, Learning and Identity Leaders from the Schools and Flexi Learning Centres across the Edmund Rice Education Australia network, came together to reflect on the reality of a truly Liberating Education. At the forefront of the gathering was our facilitator Professor Sohail Inayatullah, a world leading futurist, political scientist and UNESCO Chair of Future Studies. Opening the conference with a challenging and insightful presentation, Professor Sohail set the path. He ensured that all present, opened their hearts and minds to what could be and presented a vision for the future that was hope-filled. This was further enhanced by the voices of the students who were present.

Throughout the conference we have taken the opportunity to consider and reflect on an alternate future for students, curriculum, pedagogy, teaching spaces and mission.

Along the way we have heard the voices of Australia’s First People, challenging the old understanding of an ‘intellectual nullius’. We have been disrupted by the perspective of those leading the way and creating change in their communities and taken the time to hear the hopes and desires of students.

As myself, Mr Ray Celegato and Mrs Carmel James return to Eddies and consider how we can enrich the College community and the education of our students through the insight we have gained from this experience, a key take-away has been that we need to remember, as Nelson Mandela once said “it always seems impossible until it is done”. We need to be active in creating the alternate future. We need to be prophets of a future that is not our own.

To close I would like to pose a question to the wider community, and maybe you could share your thoughts with me as we envisage a shared future together:

If you had the opportunity to redefine education, what would you change and what would you ensure was at its core?

R U OK? Day

Thursday was ‘R U OK?’ Day. It is a day that encourages us to have a responsible public discussion about social isolation and its negative consequences. Sometimes seeing who is struggling is not always obvious. Therefore it is our responsibility as a community to promote social connectedness and a positive place for seeking help.

On Thursday, our Social Justice group encouraged our staff and students to have conversation with people around them and to support those who may be struggling with life. This week and every day, do not hesitate to say ‘thanks for being a great mate’ or take the time to ask ‘Are you OK?’ A conversation could save a life.

R U OK? Day Prayer

Loving God,
We pray today for those who are confronted by the sadness, ambiguity and confusion of mental illness, and for those upon whom they depend for attention and compassionate care.

Look with mercy on all whose afflictions bring them weakness, distress, confusion or isolation. Provide for them homes of dignity and peace; give to them understanding helpers and the willingness to accept help.
Remind us to rethink the stigma associated with mental illness.

May you guide us as we open our eyes and hearts to those around us and strive to be a truly inclusive community.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Upcoming Events

Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 September: Year 10 Rite of Passage Challenge Camp
The culmination of a term of reflection, activity and development where Year 10 students will participate in activity, challenge and reflection.

The Year 10 Rite of Passage program will conclude with an evening ceremony on Wednesday 16 October (Term 4) to which Year 10 parents/caregivers are invited. Further information will be forthcoming.

Go gently this week.

Live Jesus in Our Hearts - Forever

Marysia Rice, Assistant Principal Identity

Our College celebrated Defence Week during Week 7. All students were able to experience different aspects of the Australian Defence Force.

We welcomed Private Aaron Dunning and Private Jayce Partridge from 1st Field Regiment RAA. A Bushmaster vehicle was available for the students to explore and Private Dunning gave a presentation on his overseas deployment.

LACW Meg Ward and CPL Darcy Main from 23 SQN – Fire Section guided students through the wearing of breathing masks and exploring the fire truck.

FLGOFF Zac Blomfield represented RAAF Base Amberley Air Traffic Control. FLGOFF Blomfield gave a presentation to the students on his roles and responsibilities in the Air Force.

The Air Force Puppies were popular and we were lucky to have them visit twice during Defence Week. Thank you to CPL Sarah Merrill, Mr Gerry Diffey, CPL Kyle Ketchell and Mr Kobi Zamora-Pullen from the Puppy Carers at Defence Amberley for showing off Midge, Nicky, Marlee and Narky. The 16-week-old Malinois puppies are in training to be future Defence working dogs.

To finish off Defence Week SGT Simon Baldry, CPL Foster, LAC Kao and LAC Sciberras from 6 SQN gave a presentation on their roles in the Airforce.

St Edmund’s College thanks all Defence personnel who attended our Defence Week and made it a special occasion for our students.

Ms Kylie Biddle, Defence School Mentor

On Wednesday the Year 12 students were introduced to the Safe Drive Training program to be held on Thursday 14 November (Week 6 Term 4).

The course covers a wide range of practical situations to maintain safety related to motor vehicle control and awareness of fellow road users.

The program is a practical day of driver training which is invaluable for all who attend. Numbers are limited to a maximum of 60 participants. All who attend must have the ability to drive a car and possess, at least, a Learner’s Permit. It is not a learn-to-drive course but a course designed to instruct participants in how to control a motor vehicle more effectively.

The College Parents and Friends’ Association has kindly offered to subsidise the cost of the Safe Drive student course. An information brochure and Enrolment Form are available from the Deans’ Room. If students wish to participate they should complete the Enrolment Form and make a payment of $90 to the College Reception as per the information on the Enrolment Form. Enrolments will close Friday 18 October (Week 2 Term 4).

The following links provide a good insight into the Safe Drive Training program, the company providing the training and the course brochure:

http://www.sdt.com.au/docs/SDT...

Further details are available from Mr Mills on 3810 4400 during College office hours.

Mr David Mills, Morgan House Dean

I would like to thank, once again, all students and staff who were involved in the Junior Concert that was held last Thursday in the Performing Arts Centre. The night was a wonderful chance for our junior students to perform to a receptive audience. Thank you to the tutors in preparing the students for this event.

Performing Arts Event - Primary Schools’ Tour

The next Performing Arts Event will be our Primary Schools Tour taking place on Wednesday 9 October. Ensembles performing on this tour include the College and Combined Colleges’ Choirs, the Junior and Senior Contemporary Ensembles and the College Jazz Band. Students involved in these ensembles will be departing the College at 8:30am and returning at 2:45pm. This tour is a chance for a number of our College ensembles to showcase their talents to three local district primary schools. All students will be representing the College and are required to wear full formal uniform.

Instrumental Lessons Concluded

Instrumental lessons finished this week for the term. Students should be aware of any make-up lessons taking place next week.

Thank You

It has been a very busy although extremely successful term for the College’s Performing Arts Department. I thank all students and staff who have worked tirelessly throughout the term to produce performances of high quality. I hope everyone has a very restful and enjoyable holiday and returns refreshed for the final term of 2019.

Mr Tim Kirkwood, Director of Music

St Edmund’s College competed at the Track and Field Nitro Schools’ Challenge State Finals recently. Our Junior team finished in 4th place, our Intermediate team finished 8th, whilst our Senior team finished in 2nd place, winning the Silver Medal. Congratulations to the students who competed on the day.

Special mention to the Senior team who will represent Queensland schools at the National Finals in Perth being held later this year: Benjamin Thomas, Alex Davies, Jude Thomas, Callum Gilchrist, Jayden James, Samuel Janison, Oliver Schmidt, Kerryn Ryan and Jordan Hudspith.

First XIII – Loss 6 – 40. A disappointing first half with crucial one-on-one missed tackles proving costly, resulting in a 30-0 halftime score line. The break was beneficial, as a determined second half effort was produced. Movement off the line was a key improvement in defence, and good back-up play through the middle of the field produced good attacking raids. The halves in Justice Kennedy and Jett Young continue to show improvement in organisation. Ryan Holden, Ethan Bauer and Logan Spark were tireless again. Patrick Towne produced one of his best performances for a Man of the Match award.

Year 10 – No game.

Year 9 – Loss 8 – 24. A valiant effort saw the Year 9s lose their first game of the year. A typical arm wrestle saw the match see-saw with Iona taking home the win. Logan Costello, Larry Siala and Blake Saggus all had great games.

Year 8 – Loss 6 – 70. Eddies remained positive and united against a very strong Iona team who has enjoyed an undefeated year across Rugby Union and League. Eddies enjoyed some success, being only the second team all season to break their line for a try. Another big clash this week for a potential second or third finish for SEC.

Year 7 – Loss 6 – 40. A lack of line speed and willingness to tackle low with the shoulders allowed Iona to run in four first half tries. The second half started much the same way; however, SEC dominated the final fifteen minutes of play and kept Iona in their own half. This pressure resulted in better ball movement and allowed Eddies to score a late try.

Year 6 – Win 14 – 0. A slow start allowed Iona some momentum. With simple errors removed from the game, our attack brought rewards. Defensively - fantastic again; the team has set up a Grand Final finish Vs Padua. We prepare as usual, and let our skills do the talking.

First V – Win 66 – 54. They say that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that counts. However in this case ‘dog’ was replaced by ‘wolf’ and ‘fight’ was replaced by ‘baskeball game’. Iona brought their big guns to the high-noon shootout in Lindum on Saturday, raining threes in a topsy-turvy affair. Merrick Small had a very productive game at both ends collecting a cool 20 and 10; however, it was diminutive guard Jimmy Ketelhohn whose defensive energy off the bench turned the game. Feeding from James’ lead, the Wolf Pack was able to muster a huge fourth quarter to run out twelve-point winners.

Second V – Win 51 – 26. A clinical win against an Iona side who are doing well in the competition. Connor Asquith drained bucket after bucket and created the early lead. Jacob McGuigan started dominating both ends of the floor as he scored, rebounding and grabbing every available loose ball. In the end, a comfortable win.

Third V – Loss 29 – 45. Great defense again saw the team stick with Iona for most of the first half. Ultimately, poor shooting combined with score board pressure saw us fall further behind.

Fourth V – Loss 16 – 36. A poor shooting performance meant that we were not rewarded on the offensive end. We are still looking for the elusive win – hopefully next week.

11A – Loss 30 – 33. An unfortunate end to the match after playing well to be ahead with three seconds remaining. We missed crucial lay ups and free throws that would have sealed the match and allowed Iona to force overtime with a late 3-point shot. Joseph McKew and Kane Sherman played well.

11B – Loss 8 – 37. The team is to be congratulated for fronting up week in, week out, confident in their ability to meet the challenge. Zehan Gerber played four consistent quarters.

10A – Loss 48 – 61. We allowed Iona to run for almost four straight quarters. During the second and third periods, we executed our offense which made the game interesting; however, Iona continued to run and we were unable to catch up. Byron Williams battled hard.

10B – Loss 41 – 47. A good effort from the team in a close fought game. Fantastic efforts from James Gillis and Bailey Lyon kept us in the hunt. A flurry of 3-point shots from the opposition saw the lead diminish and the game slowly slip away.

10C – Loss 16 – 20. The team played their best game to date, being ahead for the majority of the game by playing great defense and moving the ball swiftly on offense. However we let the game slip at the end due to a lack of conversion on offense. The players should be proud of their efforts. Special mention to Byron Ruhl for his high intensity through the game.

9A – Win 48 – 29. Keeping our premierships hopes alive was always going to be tough against a hungry Iona side with numbers being down and team members battling illness. Kai Brown was courageous, fighting through his illness to chip in valuable minutes. Nathaniel Grace was impressive all game, with Samuel Caprioli, Lucas Jackson and Daniel Mavunda keeping the scoring healthy late in the game.

9B – Win 46 – 21. It was great to see the players back-up a good win last week, with a great win this week. An all-round domination with all players contributing well. Oliver Cruice had a great game as did Clancy Reberger. Jacob Wright was on fire until he rolled his ankle in the second quarter and did not return to the court. Lincoln Bentley and Sebastian Wallace-Bennett competed well with defensive flare. One more to go, team.

9C – Loss 26 – 28. An unlucky defeat due to a game-winning shot in the last five seconds. We were leading for the first three quarters until we allowed Iona back into the game with a few silly mistakes in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. However, the players should be proud of themselves as they are drastically improving, week in week out, and never gave up during the game. Travis Lake, Jack Stewart and Isaac Donald had great games.

8A – Win 60 – 33. Sometimes everything clicks, and the game just seems easy. Ethan Ketelhohn shot an incredible ten from eleven and assisted on a high number of easy transition buckets. Our interior defence and rebounding were elite. Great work team!

8B – Loss 37 – 48. On paper we had more possession and more shot attempts; however, this was not reflected in the match result. Iona played a good mental game and we waivered in the third quarter with some poor shot choices and too many turnovers. To their credit our players did not give up and continued to play hard until the final hooter. Iona wanted the win more and were the victors; but our players did themselves proud as they continue to improve as a team.

8C – Loss 7 – 44. A tough day at the office with a under-manned team whilst playing on the Acacia Ridge Ice Rink. The players did well to keep pace with Iona; however, they eventually succumbed to a much taller and bigger opposition. Good games Jack Treagle and Jay Combs.

8D – Loss 13 – 50. The team played well and showed improvement against a very skilful team. Declan Able displayed determination in scoring good baskets. We look forward to returning to the winning list next game.

7A – Win 38 – 36. The game was close all the way through with scores level at half time and at three quarter time St Eddies were down by three points. The team toughed it out and never gave up, while missing two players and playing with just seven players. Lewis Guinea and Broddick Buttenshaw-Holmes both played while sick and injured, causing Ethan Battensby, Joshua Affleck, Jules Cruice, Brodie Bettiens and Phillip Deng to have more court time than usual. With a minute to go, we were down by one point and advanced the ball to give us the chance to win the game. We missed a couple of free throws; however, with eleven seconds remaining, we advanced the ball and the team kept on working, with Ethan Battensby having the courage to shoot a 3-pointer on the buzzer to seal the win. It was a great effort by the players. The team has really improved since the beginning of the season and deserved the win. Player of the Match is Ethan Battensby with 18 points in a dominant performance.

7B – Loss 19 – 33. A slow beginning led to a strong Iona lead in the first half. However, the players were able to fight back consistently in the second half through good defence and strong rebounds. Special mention to Akol Akol for his ruthlessness on the defensive end.

7C – Loss 28 – 33. Well done team - we nearly had it! Another team effort where a few turnovers and missed shots were the difference. Strong games from Lachlan Cuskelly and Lachlan Ash.

7D – Loss 12 – 46. It was a tough turnout against a strong Iona side. Our players worked hard running the floor; however, our shots were just not falling. Great games from Phoenix Ungermann, Rhys Cash and Eli Hastie. Get some 2K20 in and bring your best to the last game of the season, team.

First IV – Loss 0 – 8. The SEC First Tennis team had a loss 8-0 to Iona College. The weather was very windy and played havoc with the ball. The team played well. The final scores did not represent how the play went on the day with many points repeatedly going to deuce. The team is looking forward to their final round at home.

Second IV –Win 5 – 3. The SEC Second Tennis team had their second win of the season 5-3. Connor Kennedy and Connor Cash made a formidable doubles pairing, winning both their sets of doubles, in addition to their singles matches. Lachlan Dutney won his singles match 6-3. A great effort from the entire team.

Third IV – Win 7 – 1. The SEC Third Tennis team won again defeating Iona 7-1. Scott Morrice and Nathan Smith were a strong doubles pairing, with Nicholas Just and Lucas Sampson the second doubles pair. All doubles matches were won. It was a great result; a reward for the work the team is doing at training.

10A – Loss 0 – 8. All players showed improvement despite being defeated.

10B – Loss 2 – 6. The consistent effort at training is paying off. Shaun Costello and Samuel Callaghan played excellent tennis to win both their doubles matches.

9A and 9B – Loss 0 – 8.

8A – Loss 3 – 5. A very close morning of tennis against a strong Iona team. The players battled it out and were able to prove very competitive against their opposition and secure match wins. Special mention to Clay Baker for his singles win for the third week in a row. Our team has shown great improvement over the season and are looking forward to the final matches this weekend.

8B – Win 6 – 2. A fabulous win against Iona. Our players went out strongly and secured a very convincing win, all gaining wins in their singles matches and a majority of doubles matches. Congratulations to the 8Bs.

7A – Loss 0 – 8. Tough matches all round with only one doubles win overall. We played much smarter this week trying to take advantage of our opposition’s weakness.

7B – Loss 1 – 7. There were very good points and long games with one going to eight deuces. We looked more confident as a team and it was great to see positivity on the court.

Bus Information

Bus 1 for Years 6, 7 and 8 teams leaves the College at 7:30am and returns to SEC at approximately 5:00pm Bus 2 for Years 9, 10 and Firsts teams leaves the College at 10:00am and returns to SEC at approximately 5:00pm

BUS INFORMATION

Bus I for Basketball – 9A, 9B, 9C, 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 7A, 7B, 7C & 7D leaves the College at 7:00am and returns to SEC at approximately 2:00pm

BUS INFORMATION

Bus I for Tennis – 8A, 8B, 7A and 7B leaves the College at 7:00am and returns to SEC at approximately 1:00pm.

Mon 16 Sep: M Glen, L Ash, J Just
Tue 17 Sep: K McKew, A Harding, S Vince
Wed 18 Sep: C Sammut, D Schmidt
Thu 19 Sep: D Sanders
Fri 20 Sep: Student Free

A considerable amount of unnamed property has accumulated in the Student Office throughout this term including jumpers, shirts, shoes, lunch boxes and entire bags.

Please remind your son to check the items on display in the Student Office as soon as possible for missing property.

All unclaimed items are donated to Vinnies at the end of next week.