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Principal’s Message: Week 1, Term 1, 2018

To the community of St Edmund’s College,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome all of the new and continuing families for the 2018 academic year. We thank you for doing us the great honour of selecting St Edmund’s College to educate your son. It is a very sacred and special trust that you have placed in us and we will endeavour to work with you in partnership to ensure that your son develops within an environment that allows the light of Christ to both shine on him and through him.

St Edmund’s College is an authentically Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition – we are part of a strong network of EREA schools (Edmund Rice Education Australia) striving to offer a liberating education, based on a gospel spirituality, within an inclusive community committed to justice and solidarity. For the community here at St Edmund’s, these Touchstones of the Charter of Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) extend from the perspective that we see Christ in all those that we meet and is reflected in the school motto “Christus Lex Mea”  meaning “Christ is my light”.  My challenge to the students and staff (and myself) this year will be to look for the light of Christ in all that we do – in the classroom, on the sporting field, on the stage, in how we care for ourselves, in our dealings with one another and in the way we treat both our built and natural physical environments.  This will work to clearly animate one of the non-negotiable statements we have at the College, “We have respect for self, others and property”.

I welcome all new students and their families to the St Edmund’s community and sincerely hope that your time here is satisfying, fulfilling and filled with joy.  May our new students soon learn to appreciate and know what it is to be an “Eddie’s boy”.  We will have a chance to catch up with new parents at the Welcome Function on Thursday 8 February.

I welcome our new members of staff and hope that they find St Edmund’s a place where they are able to practice their profession by engaging their students in a relevant and meaningful manner and form positive relationships with our young men.  The new members of staff are listed below.

I welcome back all existing members of the St Edmund’s community – staff, students and parents, and thank you all for your work and efforts in working towards building and enriching the Eddie’s spirit.  As we move towards our 65th anniversary next year, I look forward to seeing this spirit animated in as many areas as possible and witnessing firsthand the energy and life that infuses all Eddies events.  When I was introduced to the College community at an assembly in November of last year, I made a promise of shaking the hand of every student in the first few weeks of school.  Hopefully, by the time I write my next Vortex message, I would have met the vast majority of young men who make up this vibrant community.

Congratulations to our Year 12 class of 2017 for their very strong ATAR achievements – 23.34% of our Year 12 students achieved an ATAR above 90 with 47% of our students achieving an ATAR of 80 and above.  Our Dux Jacob Devenish will be acknowledged and presented to the school community at our College Assembly on Wednesday 7 February.  We also extend a very warm congratulations to our staff and students who have been nominated for the CAT (Canberra Area Theatre) Awards for last year’s Eddies On Broadway Cabaret. Congratulations to Bertram O’Brien, Pat Mortlock and Mr Nigel Palfreman for Technical Achievement for the opening video of the show and John Truscott for Best Dance Performance by an Individual or Ensemble for his Singin’ in the Rain dance.  The winners will be announced on Saturday 17 February 2018.

I would also extend a very warm invitation to members of our community to join us for the Opening School Mass on Wednesday 14 February at St Christopher’s Cathedral at 9.30 a.m. This is a very significant time for the College community to gather together formally for the first time this year and celebrate the many great things that makeup St Edmund’s College.  This Mass will also incorporate the Ash Wednesday service, the Principal’s Commissioning and various other student leadership commissionings.

Welcome to our new members of staff for 2018:

Ms Rebecca Jarman, Food Science, Hospitality

Mr Germaine Muller, Community Development & Marketing Manager

Mr Tom Pilkington, Junior School (Semester 1)

Mr David Redfern, Maths (on exchange from Canada)

Mr Martin Smith, RE/SOSE

Mr Sam Stubbs, Youth Ministry

Mr Angus Watson, TAS

Mr Neil Roberts, Junior School

 

Christus Lux Mea

Joe Zavone (Principal)