“Let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24-25
Dear families and friends of St Edmund’s College,
We enter Week 5 with a great sense of excitement and anticipation, knowing that our Year 12 students are in their final week of classes. A few years ago we commenced an important tradition at St Edmund’s College during this final week for Year 12 – the “Farewell Rites of Passage Week”. This was initiated to give our leaving students a sense of meaning and purpose in their last week, with a series of structured farewell activities. The “Farewell Rites of Passage Week” has always commenced with a breakfast organised by the Old Boys and Friends Association, where Year 12 students are inducted into the Association and are presented with an Old Boys cap. We always have a farewell lunch with Year 12 students from St Clare’s, signalling the end of that particular relationship with the two cohorts. We have a structured affirmation activity towards the end of the week where Year 12 students bring in a school shirt and have it signed by their peers. Importantly this is conducted in a liturgical context, signifying the importance of affirmation and friendship. Also during the week Year 12 students experience their final session with Brent Sanders, who they first met when they were in Year 9. Brent presents his final session with this group, focusing on the many facets of positive relationships. Brent is one of Australia’s most respected communicators in the field of workplace harassment, bullying and discrimination as well as issues to do with personal safety.
Of course the week always culminates in the House Farewells on Friday, where Year 12 students are farewelled in front of their House groups and parents, with their tutor group teacher farewelling them by saying a few words about each student and presenting them with a small gift. This is always a highlight of the week as each student is farewelled in a significant and personal manner.
We have packaged all of these activities under the banner of “Farewell Rites of Passage” as each activity covers a different aspect of development and maturing. Dr Arne Rubenstein is the CEO and Founder of the Rites of Passage Institute. He has over 30 years’ experience as a medical doctor, counsellor, mentor, speaker and workshop facilitator. He states that as a society, we have the ability to create contemporary rites of passage where teenage boys are challenged to think about what sort of men they are going to be and what childish behaviour they need to let go of. He writes that in every Indigenous community around the world, boys have always gone through a coming of age rite of passage ceremony around the time of puberty. These communities did this to acknowledge and celebrate the transition from boy to young man, and recognise and name the unique gifts and talents in each of the young men. We hope that the “Farewell Rites of Passage Week” we have created here at St Edmund’s goes a little way in helping our Year 12 students adjust to the new life upon which they are about to embark, and leave the school in a positive, respectful and meaningful way.
A reminder of important dates for the rest of the year
- Monday 14 November: examinations week for Years 11 & 12
- Friday 18 November: last day for Year 11 students
- Tuesday 22 & Wednesday 23 November: examinations for Year 10 students
- Friday 25 November: last day for Year 10 students
- Friday 25 November: Year 12 Graduation Mass, Assembly and Dinner
- Monday 5 December: Junior School Activity Day
- Tuesday 6 December: 9.15: Junior School Presentation Ceremony; 11.00: Years 7 – 11 Presentation Ceremony
- Tuesday 6 December: last day for Year 4 – 9 students
Prayer for our Year 12 students
Loving God,
We join with heaven as we celebrate and give thanks for every Year 12 student.
Thank you that each one is unique and brimming with potential.
Thank you for leading them in their learning,
for keeping them safe as they studied,
and for watching over them in their final exams.
We pray that they may all feel proud and enjoy sharing their achievements with family and friends.
May this week be a memory that burns bright within them as they look forward to
embarking on life’s great adventure.
Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.
Joe Zavone
Principal
Christus Lux Mea