To the family and friends of St Edmund’s College,
Farewell Ed Mickleburgh
The end of this term marks the end of Mr Ed Mickleburgh’s time at the College. Mr Mickleburgh has been at St Edmund’s College for 20 years, and has admirably served this community in a number of roles, including classroom teacher, Assistant Head of House, Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning and of course Head of Mathematics. Most importantly, Ed will be remembered for the strong relational qualities he developed with his students and for instilling in his students a passion for Mathematics. We wish Ed well as he moves on from St Edmund’s and thank him for all he has done for our community.
Also leaving us this term is Mr Kenneth Beaton from the Religious Education department. In his time at St Edmund’s as a temporary teacher, Kenneth has made significant contributions to the life of the College and we thank him sincerely for this. We welcome back Ms Anna Blore who will return to the College from the commencement of Term 3 following her maternity leave.
Traffic Safety Issues
On Tuesday afternoon of last week I met with the Director of the School Safety Program from the Development Coordination Branch, Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate to discuss the traffic safety issue around the College, particularly the safety of students who need to cross Canberra Avenue and the proposal to have Canberra Avenue as a school zone (i.e. 40kph). I explained to the Director that absolutely no thought has been given by the Government to the safety of the students needing to cross Canberra Avenue, and no solutions have been offered. The meeting was productive, with the outcome being that consultants will be organised to observe the traffic and safety conditions around the school, conduct research and collect data for a proposal to be made to the ACT Government. I will keep you informed of the progress of this issue.
Meeting with the Governor-General
Last Thursday some of our defence family students had a Zoom meeting with His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and Mrs Hurley. Topics of discussion included the nature of leadership, superheroes, being Australian and the values of kindness and service. The session finished with Mrs Hurley leading the boys in singing “You Are My Sunshine”. The boys participated in a very positive manner and did themselves proud in the way they interacted with the Governor-General and his wife. We have had some very positive feedback from the Governor-General’s office, who stated that Mr and Mrs Hurley thoroughly enjoyed the session and thought the boys were an absolute delight.
I would like to thank our Defence Transition Mentor Danielle Ridgway for organising this very important and memorable event as well as all the students who participated with good spirit and fine character.
New Students
All of our new students in Years 8 – 12 were invited to a special morning tea last Wednesday with the Heads of House and College leadership Team. This morning tea was originally scheduled for the end of Term 1 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 situation. Our new students seem to be well settled and have feel a good sense of belonging within our community.
Examinations
Our Year 11 and Year 12 students have had a good start to their examination period. As we near the end of term, students in Years 7 – 10 will also commence examinations in some of their subjects. We place a very high value on encouraging our boys to perform to the very best of their ability, and we hope this this examination session clearly demonstrates the strong range of skills and knowledge that the boys have developed from the beginning of the year.
End of Term
A reminder that the final day of Term 2 for Years 4 – 10 is Friday 26 June. Students in Years 11 & 12 will finish the term upon their final examination. Term 3 commences on Monday 20 July.
Uniform
I would ask all of our parents to support us in our efforts to have our students wear their uniform with pride. It is often disappointing to be standing at the front of the school in the mornings and see boys come out of their parents’ car without a blazer, shirt out and tie undone. All students are expected to travel to and from school with their shirt tucked in, their tie done up and, for students in Years 7 – 12, wearing their blazer. Without wanting to sound too “old school”, I have also noticed the very poor condition of many of our boys’ shoes, so I would ask parents if you could talk to your sons about polishing shoes and perhaps give them a demonstration. I would like to thank most of our boys for demonstrating their pride in the College by wearing their uniform so well, but unfortunately we do have a small group of boys who are reluctant to follow College expectations in this area.
Enrolments
Our next Experience Eddies Day is scheduled for Monday 22 June (next week). If you are aware of any prospective parents in the community who are thinking of sending their son to St Edmund’s, please let them know of this event and direct them to the College Facebook page to register their interest. Our enrolment interviews for 2020 have commenced – applications for 2020 are arriving at a great rate, so again if you are aware of anyone thinking of having their son at St Edmund’s next year, please inform them to submit their application as soon as possible. Please also direct them to the College Facebook page for our Virtual Tour.
Refugee Week
“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)
This week is Refugee Week, a time where we celebrate positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. Refugee Week provides a platform where positive images of refugees can be promoted in order to create a culture of welcome throughout the country. The ultimate aim of the celebration is to create better understanding between different communities and to encourage successful integration enabling refugees to live in safety and to continue making a valuable contribution to Australia. This year’s theme is celebrating the year of welcome. Whilst COVID-19 has limited the scope of Refugee Week activities, I would encourage you to visit www.refugeeweek.org.au/ to read some fascinating stories, be informed of what you can do online to support Refugee Week and to be aware of the refugee experience and the issues affecting refugees.
Prayer for Refugee Week
Merciful God,
whose Son became a refugee and had no place to call his own;
look with mercy on those who today are fleeing from danger –
homeless and hungry.
Bless those who work to bring them relief;
inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts;
and guide the nations of the world towards that day
when all will rejoice in your commonwealth of justice and of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.
Joe Zavone
Principal
Christus Lux Mea