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Welcome Back
A warm welcome to the St Edmund’s College Community for 2025. It is exciting to see the College grow even bigger this year, as we welcome many new students and staff.
This year, I could not be more excited to be your College Captain and I look forward to fully embracing the opportunity. It is an honour to be leading alongside James, Isaac, Sean and the House Captains, all of whom I look forward to sharing this important role with.
As the new school year has begun and we are already back into full swing, I encourage you all to apply our new spiritual theme to everyday life – ‘Whatever you do, do it with all your heart as if working for the Lord.’ This year is a Jubilee year in the Catholic Church and the theme for this year is ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ Pope Francis has invited everyone to renew our hope, which fits perfectly with our new spiritual theme. A new year means that new opportunities and new beginnings await us.
During the break, I was lucky enough to attend an EREA Leadership Gathering at St Joseph’s College Nudgee in Queensland. During the gathering, we learnt a lot about the foundation of Edmund Rice Education. Edmund Rice was the founder of the ‘Christian Brothers’ who have followed the values of Edmund Rice for decades throughout Australia and the World. St Edmund’s College Canberra has grown in many ways over the past 70 years, but the core beliefs of Edmund Rice are still at the forefront of everything we do. As we head into 2025, it is important that we nurture these values, fostering positive relationships and growing skillsets that will stay with us long after our time at St Edmunds has come to an end.
During my conference, I was introduced to the concept of Ubuntu. Ubuntu originates from South Africa, in the Nguni and Bantu languages of Africa. Ubuntu is a deeply ingrained philosophy that shapes communities, cultures and individual lives across Africa. ‘I am because we are.’ This is something that I hope to introduce you to throughout the year as a philosophy we could adopt in our everyday lives at St Edmunds.
To my fellow Year 12 peers, let’s make this year memorable and the best yet as we embark on our final year at St Edmunds. We are headed for great things, and we are stronger together … let’s do this!
This year we hit the ground running with the Opening Mass, The Swimming Carnival, The athletics carnival, and the Year 12 retreat. I encourage everyone to embrace every opportunity this year with enthusiasm and pride, making 2025 a year to remember for all.
See you around!
Jackson Hasler
College Captain