Some people collect photos in the gallery of their smart phone, others curate them in social media platforms like Instagram and then there are those who do it “old school” and simply remember images from a past that was lived and enjoyed. Not that I’m casting aspersions on any of these modern forms of memory keeping. There are positives with them all. However, for me, I look back fondly on two very powerful, non-photo gallery, not found on Instagram memories that live vividly in my head.
The first is set against a concrete wall. The expanse of solid grey was once one of the ubiquitous handball courts (when handball was played up against a wall) found in Christian Brothers schools. Two young men sit on a ledge at the bottom of the wall, one, older, obviously in his final year at the school, the other obviously in his first. A lunch box beside each of them. There’s a significant size difference between the lunchbox next to the big kid and the one next to the little kid. Both boys have a sandwich in hand, little guy looking up at the big guy who is looking at and sharing a joke with his little mate.
The other memory is more of a quick video than a photo, but a memory burned in my internal photo gallery nevertheless. It’s the final day of Year 12, the final assembly has just ended and the young men of the senior cohort are tunnelled through the College grounds by the rest of the school. These are their last moments as students, they are now old boys, alumni. In front of a building that bares some and paradoxically none of the traits of our Edmund Rice Building a Year 12, drops to one knee. He takes off his senior tie and leans into a tear-soaked Year 5, his buddy. He ties the tie on the younger disconsolate boy and says, “this is yours now mate”.
For me, looking back, these two photos, these memories have lived for many years as the very best of what our schools can offer. Younger students will always look up to their older peers. As I mentioned recently by the very nature of being Year 12’s our young men serve as an example to others. I wrote that leadership is about looking after the next guy; the person beside you; in your homeroom, in your classrooms, in the tuckshop line. In these two memories I find just that. I paraphrase the words of Matthew 25:40 whatever you do for one of the least of my brothers and sisters you do for me.
St Edmund’s has been in Ipswich since 1892 and when I commenced here in 2015, we had just welcomed Year 7 students to the top of Mary Street. While we’re now a school for boys from Year 7 to Year 12, before 1988, we also had a primary school.
Well…careful consideration, and a two-year process, I am pleased to announce the reintroduction of Years 5 and 6 here at Eddies, commencing in 2025.
Some information you might find relevant:
- There will be a maximum two classes of Year 5 and of Year 6
- Classes will be a maximum of 28 students.
- To assess demand, we will be calling for expressions of interest in late 2023
- Information will be on the College website
- All submissions will be done through the College website
- Enrolments will open once demand is assessed
- Enrolment interviews and offers will occur next year
This will be a change for us, but it will also be an opportunity. I believe St Edmunds offers a distinct and different experience. Here on the Hill, we want to give the opportunity for our own brand of academic, co-curricular, pastoral care and formation programs offered sequentially and seamlessly in a supportive Eddies environment.
I look forward to creating new memories, new mental pictures, perhaps a few in photo galleries or classic Instagram shots. I look forward to creating new memories to look back on and fondly remember. I look forward to 2025 when our Year 5 and 6 boys join the Team adding their richness to our culture and our community. I hope all of us in the Eddies Team look forward to seeing the gifts our young men give to each other; in the time they share, in the lessons they bestow, in the positive relationships they form, as friends, as mentors, as role models and as always, as strong, kind and gentle, Eddies Men.