College News – 20 June 2025

This term, students across Years 7-12 competed in the Rostrevor College Purton Oratory competition. The annual competition sees selected students deliver a persuasive speech to an audience of their peers with adjudicators assessing the performance.  

It is a tradition that was started by our first headmaster in 1923, Brother David Gabriel Purton. A lecturer in Psychology and Logic, Br Purton was often sought after by literary and debating societies for his skills in public speaking and adjudicating. He recognized the importance of the skill and sought to pass it on to students at Rostrevor College. All students who spoke at this year’s Purton Oratory are commended for their efforts, courage and participation. 

Congratulations to the 2025 winners:   

• Year 7 – Logan Bainger "Visiting Japan"  
• Year 8 – David Tharakan "Artificial Intelligence is Eradicating the Human Race" 
• Year 9 – Onitha Wickramasinghe "The Illusion of Connection: How Social Media is Stealing Our Reality” 
• Year 10 – Max Semmler "Multinationals Create their Own Culture at the Cost of Others" 
• Year 11 – Arjun Malhotra "The Illusion of Free Speech (If It Was Ever Real)” 
• Year 12 – Luke Wielgosz "Rehabilitation Over Retribution: An Idea of True Justice" 

The Year 11 Outdoor Education class undertook a challenging three-day bushwalking expedition through the Mount Remarkable National Park at Mambray Creek this week, returning to Adelaide today. Accompanied by teachers Mark Roberts and Ben Clohesy, the group put their planning and knowledge of the outdoors to use, cooking their own food, pitching tents and navigating the route as they traversed over 30 kilometres of some of the most picturesque country South Australia has to offer.  

On Friday last week, Year 10 students from Rostrevor College and Mary MacKillop College came together for "The Collage of Migration" — an annual event honouring the resilience and journeys of migrants through powerful visual storytelling. This moving photographic exhibition captured real stories of hardship, sacrifice, and hope, as we reflected on the diverse cultural threads that shape our shared community. Thank you to Rostrevor’s Small Jazz Band who treated attendees to a lively performance to top off what was a wonderful day of connection and community.  

On Tuesday, the Year 6 students participated in an engaging excursion that connected their HASS studies with real-world experiences. After learning about Business and Economics, specifically how businesses operate and what is needed to make a profit, students visited the Adelaide Central Market to observe firsthand how local businesses run efficiently, manage resources, and attract customers. They also took part in a water-focused activity, exploring water filtration processes to understand the importance of clean water and sustainability. This excursion provided valuable insight into both environmental responsibility and economic decision-making in everyday life. 

The Year 9s are currently undertaking a unit of Biology that looks at body systems, and this week were investigating the circulatory and respiratory systems and how they work together. To complement their learning, they dissected lamb hearts which are a similar size to a human heart and have the same anatomy. 

They had to find and identify the four chambers of the heart, the valves and the major blood vessels leading to and from the lungs and the body, and observe some of the features of the different parts of the heart that are specific for their functions. 

The Reception and Year 1 classes were treated to a visit from First Nations storyteller, educator and guide Trent Hill on Tuesday, who spoke to them about the plants and animals that can be found on our College campus and what they mean to the local Kaurna people. He also showed them objects of importance to Indigenous people, like boomerangs and a kangaroo skin, and explained how they were used. 

Students in the ‘Show Team’ leading Rostrevor’s young Boer goats at the 2025 Royal Adelaide Show have begun practicing, meeting at the Agriculture Farm twice a week in the leadup. They are working on training the (somewhat stubborn) goats to walk on leads so they can be shown in the judging ring. Last year, the team performed exceptionally well, placing second, fourth and fifth in their classes in their first year competing. We wish the team luck as they aim to build on last year’s success with a significantly larger number of students participating.  

Vacation care delivered by the YMCA is available for Rostrevor families on-site over the upcoming school holidays. For activity schedules, fees and to book, view the July holidays flyer or visit the YMCA website.

The Middle Years Interhouse Futsal Competition has ignited House pride and camaraderie across lunchtimes this week, with students embracing the chance to represent their Houses in a spirited display of teamwork, tenacity, and fun. Guided by dedicated House Captains, Prefects and supported by an enthusiastic student crowd, the competition has exemplified Rostrevor’s values of community, respect, and active participation.

Each match brought moments of brilliance and fierce determination, but just as important has been laughter, encouragement, and an unmistakable sense of unity. The energy and sportsmanship on display have been a credit to our Middle Years students and a testament to the positive culture fostered across the College.

Congratulations to Webb House who are this year’s winners!

We will now look forward to the Interhouse Basketball Competition set to take place in Term Three!

The race on the weekend was the third event (our second) of the Australian Human Powered Vehicle Super Series, held at Victoria Park Racecourse in Adelaide. The event is one of the favourites of the season amongst the students and parents, with a short track great for spectators. This event sees categories split over three days with 120 Middle and Senior School teams competing on Sunday. The 20 Rostrevor students who competed all showed great team spirit and looked after the vehicles to get them through to the end of the six-hour event. We were lucky with the weather, with the track drying out after a light shower in the morning, allow for safe racing. Both teams performed well, with Eddy (Middle Years) completing 120 laps and Rossi (Senior Years) completing 145 laps, putting them both around the middle of the board. 

Thanks to all the team members and parents for a successful day. Our final race of the season will be Saturday 2 August, back at the Tailem Bend Shell Motorsport Park.  

Will Hunt

The Rostrevor Squash team has seen an explosion in numbers recently with massive improvements over the past term. The team has been consistently attending 7.00 am training sessions every Wednesday, with dedicated support from coaches Andrew Pawelski, Glen Malkin and Jack Rye. Managers Sarah Catterwell and Lachlan Tripodi have also played key roles in helping the teams progress in their skills and revisiting the fundamentals of the game. Training provides students the opportunity to play other students each week, building up to the big Friday evening matches.  

This season has already featured some thrilling clashes. One standout moment saw a player bounce back from a 12–4 deficit to win the set 16–18—matches like this truly define the spirit of the game. In recent competition, the Middle B team defeated St Peter’s College with a score of 170-10-3 to 107-2-1, while the Middle A team narrowly lost to Pembroke by just six points: 152-6-2 to 158-6-2.  

The Senior team unfortunately didn’t get the result we were hoping for, going down 115-3-1 to 158-9-3. Despite the loss, team manager Lachlan Tripodi said, “The boys fought extremely hard today. Despite the loss, they have continually improved over the term and I'm excited to see the feats we can achieve throughout this season.” With Pembroke being a frequent rival, the team is hoping to turn the tables by the end of the season.  

Players to watch this season include Middle B: Cristian Aghiana and Jack Delloso, Middle A: Felix Botha and Aidan Agius, and Senior Team: Josh Holt and Ahbi Khandelwal. This season, every player on the team has been stepping up and Rostrevor is becoming a team not to be underestimated. 

Zane Kidd (Year 11)