College News – 16 May 2025

This week we marked two important events – Catholic Education Week and National Boarding Week. Catholic Education Week is especially significant this year as it commemorates 180 years of Catholic Education in South Australia, providing an opportunity to reflect on the role of Catholic Education in delivering a faith-based learning environment to young people across our state.   

At Rostrevor we continue to work in close partnership with Catholic Education South Australia as we provide a Catholic education in the Edmund Rice tradition. With the words from the 2024 EREA Charter to guide us, we remain committed to providing a liberating education, based on a Gospel spirituality, within an inclusive community, committed to justice and solidarity, we co-create a better world for all.  

Shana Bennett

In Week 3 of Term 2 each year, schools across Australia celebrate National Boarding Week. This week, we took time as a College community to recognise the wonderful contributions, unique perspectives and vibrant culture our boarding students and staff bring to our community. Rostrevor’s Boarding House, Duggan House, is home to students from all over Australia, from local, rural and remote areas. 

This week, boarding students were treated to a special dinner on Monday night, where they were encouraged to dress with ‘a touch of country’. It was a fun evening, with boarding staff and their families sharing in a meal (picked out by the students) of chicken schnitzels and a build-your-own ice-cream sundae bar before taking part in a game of Kahoot and distributing various boarding awards.  

Day students shared in the festivities this week also, participating in a boarders v day students Volleyball match (won by the day students), enjoying a BBQ run by the boarders to raise funds for the Vinnies Winter Appeal and hearing presentations in House groups about what life as a boarder is like. Year 11 boarders also treated Year 6 students to a tour of Duggan House yesterday. 

Happy National Boarding Week! 

Today we welcomed Rostrevor’s newest students to our community – the Little Rossi Learners! Four boys came to the College this morning to participate in their first taste of being a student, spending time with future teacher A’ishah Adamo and getting to know their new leaning environment before they join the 2025 Reception class in Term 3. 

Rostrevor’s Junior Years students have been honing their creative skills over the past two weeks, participating in art incursions with artist Ruth Tuck. Some year levels used the opportunity to create beautiful and meaningful art pieces of the first time their mothers held them as babies to gift to their mums on Mother’s Day. Others ignited their imagination to create fantastical robots or brought Dreamtime stories to life with rainbow serpents.

Yesterday, the Reception and Year 1 classes participated in a captivating presentation led by First Nations man Tjimari, who shared a collection of traditional Aboriginal artefacts. The session offered students a hands-on opportunity to explore culturally significant items such as clapping sticks, boomerangs, fire sticks, shields and kangaroo skins. They learned about the purpose and meaning behind each artefact, as well as the traditional methods used to create them. 

This week, Rostrevor’s Agriculture Farm welcomed two Holstein dairy calves who will call our College home for the next four weeks. The calves will be reared by the Year 10 Agriculture students, complementing their ‘Cows Create Careers’ unit of learning. Over the next few weeks, students will be learning about the calves’ nutritional and housing requirements, technology use in the dairy industry and health benefits of dairy amongst other things. Thank you to the Seeliger family who run a dairy in Flaxman Valley for loaning Charles and Michelle to the College to support the students’ learning.   

This week we also bought in the remainder of our goat flock in preparation for the Schools Wether competition at the Royal Adelaide Show later in the year. Students will start working with them next week in preparation for the show. 

As winter approaches and everyday expenses continue to climb, many people in our community are finding it harder to get by. This is a time when our support can really make a difference. All students, families and staff are invited to contribute to the Vinnie’s Winter Appeal by bringing in goods to help those doing it tough. For more information including what goods to bring and collection locations, please see the letter sent to families. 

There are only a few tables left at the 2025 Foundation Quiz Night!

When: Saturday 24 May, 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start  
Where: Callan Hall, Rostrevor College (Enter via Kintrye Road)  

Organised by the Rostrevor College Friends of Foundation, the evening is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with other Rostrevor parents and test your general knowledge in a fun and friendly environment!  

Purchase Tables of 10 or Individual Tickets and pre-order grazing boxes via the link below. There will be raffles and gold coin games throughout the evening. Guests are able to BYO drinks (alcohol permitted) and food, as none will be available to purchase on the night.  

Please note that this event is adults only - no children are permitted to attend.  

Tickets are limited due to capacity, book now! 

When: Wednesday 21 May, 6.30pm-7.30pm 
Cost: Free 

As a parent, it can be frustrating knowing that your child should be preparing for their upcoming exams, but not knowing where to start, what effective preparation looks like or how you can help without sounding like the enemy. To help, Elevate Education are running a parent webinar to give you the skills to help your child prepare for exams, at the right time, in the right way.   

In this webinar, Elevate Education will be discussing how you can 

• prioritise your child’s high-impact work to maximise marks; 
• improve your child’s time management to avoid last-minute preparation; 
• help your child study effectively using past papers. 

Register for this webinar

Our community is advised that the Rostrevor College Foundation Annual General Meeting will take place on Tuesday 3 June. For more information, please contact Foundation at foundation@rostrevor.sa.edu.au. 

The 2024/25 Cricket Presentation Night was a resounding success, celebrating a season of growth, grit, and outstanding individual performances. With a full house of players, families, coaches and supporters, the evening was a fitting tribute to the dedication and spirit that defined the season. Congratulations to all students who were acknowledged on the night, and all those who contributed to another stellar season. 

The First XVIII Football team faced a strong St Michael's College side in Round two at Campbelltown Memorial Oval on Saturday. After a convincing win in Round 1, Rostrevor knew that St Michael's College would be a big test. The game was an arm-wrestle in the first quarter with both teams kicking five goals and going into the first break separated by only one point. St Michael's gained ascendancy through the middle of the ground in the second quarter and opened up a four-goal lead by half-time. Ned McCarthy imposed himself on the contest in the second half and helped Rostrevor regain control, however, inaccurate goal-kicking and missed opportunities proved costly. Hugo Jaeschke and Noah Daw continued their strong form in defence whilst Archie Simpson, Lewis Grainger and Fergus Myall all provided strong contributions. Rostrevor conceded victory to St Michael’s College 10.9. 69 to 14.11. 95.  

Last week, a team of Years 3 to 6 students took part in the first race of the season in the SAAS Cross Country competition at St Peter’s College. Congratulations to Year 5 student Zak Carberry who finished in 8th position overall, and classmate Alex Kwan who finished 15th. Well done to all boys who raced on the day and contributed points towards the team's final score. 

Junior Years winter sports are well underway, with students trying their hand at a range of co-curricular offerings. A favourite amongst the younger students continues to be basketball, with many teams across Years 2 to 5 coached by Senior Years students. Well done to the Year 2/3 teams who all played on Tuesday this week, with the Red team winning 28 to 15, the Black team winning 21 to 16, and the Blue team being bested 12 to 20.