Imagine if you will, a young man’s room. The bed lies in disarray, sheets, blankets and covers all twisted together to create an almost artistic mess. On the carpet, tiles or lino there is the “floordrobe”, a repository for all things wearable — and admittedly, some worn before, not so wearable. Hanging forlornly open, the wardrobe doors sit waiting for someone, anyone, to hang clothes, clean clothes, inside. The desk that hugs a wall is weighed down with textbooks (really!), a laptop, a charging phone, various bits and pieces, more clothes and some randomly strewn Lego blocks abandoned. Imagine if suddenly, these plastic bricks were to come together. Piece by piece linking, clicking and attaching by themselves, to finally form the toy or model they once were - a car, a boat, a life-sized model of the Millennium Falcon (apparently something from Star Wars).
Amazing you might rightly say. This process, of components coming together by themselves to form a whole, is called self-assembly. It occurs in nature every second of every day. Snowflakes self-assemble, fluffy intricate patterns crystallised from frozen water. Topically, viruses — sadly, like COVID — self-assemble. They infect, multiply, change, and affect our lives intimately, non-reversibly. The proteins in our bodies self-assemble, coming together from smaller molecules to make muscles and skin and all the organs that make us human.
I’m so proud to say that our young men, Eddies Men, like a force of nature, also self-assemble. On Wednesday at the Inter-house Swimming Carnival, as the points were tallied, our staff and young men dressed in their intense multi-coloured finery, nervously awaited the announcement of the winning House.
During this pause, a moment initiated the self-assembly of a school. One House stepped up to the pool edge. Sensing the call, another House stepped up, then another and another and ultimately a blue, waterfilled space was surrounded by a multi-coloured living wall. Eddies had self-assembled and the College song rose into the air. “Place of faith and glory…” Like a waterspout rising from a tiny chlorine filled ocean the words lifted, booming into the air above the Bundamba pool. “Brothers must we be…” Moments like this, the experience of community, are special. They bring our young men together. “How shall we extoll thee…” These times of belonging are so much a part of our way. They represent the essence of who we are at Eddies. The forces that bring us together, our faith, our traditions and our culture make us who we are. Who is that? St Edmund’s College…"Ipswich CBC".
Year 10 Junior House Leaders Induction
Congratulations to our Year 10 Junior House Leaders who were inducted today.
Ambrose
Don Palatty Davis
Ryan Pickering
Callan
Jack Thomas
Ethan McQueen
Elliott
Jovany Jirima
Marcus White
Finn
Phoenix Clarke
Lochlan Davis
Ignatius
Ben Naish
Tafito Falaniko Ah-Ki
Morgan
Isaac McCarthy
Jack Treagle
Rice
Alexander McDonnell
Finlay Rose
Treacy
Rex Quince
Ethan Suthers
The assembly was live streamed from Ambrose Place with the Hall out of commission, during the replacement of the floor. After a year of restrictions in 2020 it was wonderful to see some of our parents attend and take part in the ceremony.
Well done to these young men and I wish them all the best in their leadership roles this year.
We will celebrate the commissioning of the 2021 Year 12 cohort, in a few weeks’ time on 25 February. All going well, the Commissioning Mass will be celebrated in the Hall on a brand-new floor.
