Term 1, Week 9 - 2018, 29 March

Written on the 29 March 2018 by Rostrevor College

From the Principal

Brian Schumacher
Principal

Principal's Ball
After spending the past eight weeks getting to know the College and our boys, it was my great pleasure to host the 2018 Principal's Ball for our Year 12 lads and their partners last Saturday evening.  With our young men impeccably dressed for the occasion, I was delighted with the way they took time to introduce themselves and their guests as they arrived at the Town Hall.  Over a few hours we enjoyed a meal together, some dancing and light-hearted banter with the boys being attentive hosts for their partners.  Upon departure, many of the boys also took the opportunity to say thank you and wish staff well.  On behalf of the College community, I congratulate them on making the 2018 Principal's Ball such a memorable occasion.

Field Days
In recent weeks I have been able to attend the Lucindale and Mt Barker Field Days, along with members of our Enrolment and Boarding staff.  When visiting Lucindale we were very fortunate to enjoy a dinner with local families whose sons board at Rostrevor.  In a similar way to our local Parents & Friends Meetings, such gatherings help me to better understand the aspirations and needs of the Rostrevor community, not to mention how much I have enjoyed the company of parents and Old Collegians.

Easter
Driving to work last week, the following words on the radio caught my attention. "Easter time is more than eggs.  Don't forget the hot cross buns."  Obviously, one of our local bakeries was trying to draw attention to their product.  As I drove along I began to wonder, "What if there was nothing more to Easter than a holiday and some food?"  How much poorer would we be not having something as significant as Easter in our lives?

As you know, Easter Sunday is the high point of our liturgical year as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  It is a profound mystery; something beyond our everyday understanding.  It is also an event that has continued to shape the world for the past two-thousand years.  This weekend there is an open invitation to join our extended Christian family in celebrating Easter.

This week we held our own Easter Liturgy here at the College.  We do so each year because it provides us with the forum to pray and reflect together on the central mysteries of our faith.  In a school context, we also use the occasion as a teaching opportunity to help students deepen their understanding of the Christian tradition and our belief that we are each created in the image of a loving God.  Far from replacing the liturgies that will occur in our Parishes over the Easter long weekend, ours serves as an entrée - a taste of what is on offer.

Wherever you are this weekend, I wish you a blessed Easter surrounded by those you love.

Brian Schumacher
Principal


From the Deputy Principal

Frank Ranaldo
Deputy Principal

 

EREA Deputy Principals' Gatherings
As an EREA school, Rostrevor belongs to a global network of schools and entities which offer Catholic Education in the tradition of Blessed Edmund Rice. At a National level, we form part of the Western Region which consists of the following schools:

  • Aquinas College, Salter Point
  • Edmund Rice College, Bindoon
  • Christian Brothers College, Adelaide
  • Christian Brothers College, Fremantle
  • St Paul's College, Gilles Plains
  • Trinity College, East Perth

Additionally, there are several flexible learning centres for young people disenfranchised from the schooling system and from many aspects of society. In South Australia we have FAME (Christie Downs), in Western Australia, Youth Plus (Geraldton) and in the Northern Territory, St Joseph's Catholic Flexible Learning Centre (Alice Springs).

Western Region Deputy Principals meet on an annual basis and these gatherings provide us with a wonderful opportunity to build and maintain relationships with our Western Australian colleagues. Deputies in SA also meet each term to discuss a range of issues. Last week I travelled to Perth for our regional gathering.

The regional meetings provide us with the opportunity to share key developments in our schools and more importantly how these have been implemented. Hearing the ideas and implementation strategies of those who have been successful is a wonderful opportunity to learn and I have found this very beneficial. After two days together, we all return to our schools with new ideas, inspiration and a sense of motivation.

End of Term and Student Reports
The last two weeks of term are always a busy time for teachers. Assessments are finalised to determine student achievement for the term and our staff work with others including their Head of Faculty to confirm assessment standards through moderation activities and prepare student reports.
Written reports serve several purposes:

  • They can help to build relationships between parents and school and serve as a focus for discussion.
  • They can help parents to chart their son's progress.
  • They should provide useful and accurate information that helps teachers to direct and encourage each student's educational progress.
  • They help parents and teachers alike to make decisions about what each child needs.

Reports allow parents to judge not only how their child is going, but how well teachers and schools are meeting the needs of their son. 
We hope that parents will make some time to discuss their son's progress regarding both the strengths and weaknesses. While it is important to acknowledge and celebrate your son's strengths, it is just as important, if not more, to not only identify the weaknesses but together to articulate specific areas for improvement.

It is also important that students remain focussed during the last two weeks of term as much of what is covered will be introducing topics which will be expanded upon next term and any assessment will be included in the Semester 1 reporting cycle.

The Easter Break
Holy Week is a very sacred time of the year where we commemorate and remember the last week of Jesus' life on this earth. These are the days leading up to the great Easter Feast. The greatest focus of the week is the Passion (suffering) and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the events that led to it. Remembering the resurrection of Jesus is a way to renew daily hope that we have victory over sin.

Whether or not one celebrates Easter in a religious sense, the time away from work and school creates an opportunity to participate in family rituals and traditions. As Easter fast approaches I am looking forward to putting in place the much-loved traditions of my family's Easter, both the ones my own parents put in place for me and the ones I have cultivated with my own children.

On Good Friday my mother would spend most of the morning cooking traditional cakes/pies both sweet and savoury which would be eaten on Easter Sunday. We continue this tradition as a reminder of our cultural heritage and in memory of my parents. Easter Sunday is a family day where we spend time enjoying each other's company and plenty of wonderful food.

For me Easter is the time to rejoice and be thankful for the gift of life, love and joy. I would like to take this opportunity to wish every family at Rostrevor a very Blessed Easter!

Frank Ranaldo
Deputy Principal


Junior Years

Mr Geoff Aufderheide
Director - Junior Campus

I've had the privilege of coaching a Cricket team this term. Whilst it can be a struggle to get out of a warm bed early on a Saturday morning, the volume, energy and enthusiasm of the boys in my Primary B side upon our arrival to the game venue very quickly rubs off. It is a delight to watch the boys as they prepare to bat or encourage each other in the field, with many adopting the mannerisms of their idols.

Within the context of the last few days we've been awash in Australia with news of some poor choices made by some of our boys' idols in South Africa. I'm sure this has provoked many conversations amongst the boys and, most likely, at home too. Whilst I'm sure there are many of you who have an opinion about what happened or why it happened, what has been an interesting sideline has been the amount of hysteria attached to the incident. We now know that three young men have made a mistake that has played out in front of the world and whilst the 'keyboard warriors' have become judge, jury and executioner it is important to remember that it is just a game! I often wonder what we might achieve in the world if the same hysteria and judgement was aimed at the real injustices of the world for people who have no access to clean water or those who are homeless. Perhaps it is in times like these that we can take a step back and put things into perspective. Mistakes happen, and the world will keep turning!

On all things sporting I wish to acknowledge the work of all our coaches, players and parents as our Term One Co-curricular sports come to an end. Mr Tim Baccanello has done an exceptional job of ensuring that all teams are prepared to represent the College with pride and respect. Our Primary A cricketers have performed very well against varied opposition this term and have progressed through to Round Three of the SAPSASA competition after defeating Prospect and Burnside Primary Schools. We will watch on keenly as these boys hopefully progress through to the final stage. Well done to the players and the coach (and Old Scholar), Mr Lochlan Roberts.

Throughout the term we have also seen some exceptional results in the pool at competitions and carnivals. Our Junior boys finished fifth in Division Two of the Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival and, because of some wonderful performances, six boys were selected in the Torrens River SAPSASA Swimming Team to compete at the SAPSASA Metro Swimming Championships: Tom Braunack, Thomas Fotheringham, Jack Dundon, Elliot Melino, Alex Pertl and Damon Tatarelli. Tom Braunack progressed through his heats and made the final in the 50 metre Freestyle, Breaststroke and Backstroke no wonder we call him the 'super fish'! Thomas Fotheringham also performed well in making the final of the 50 metre Backstroke. Well done to all swimmers.

As we take a well-earned 4-day break for Easter, I trust that this will provide some time for our boys and their families to rest and recharge as we prepare for the final weeks of Term 1. Where did that go?

Mr Geoff Aufderheide
Director - Junior Campus

 


Senior Years Co-Curricular News

Mr Jeff Fischer
Head of Co-Curricular

Last weekend was the final round of summer co-curricular sport for Term 1 and the competition will resume in Term 4.  Training and trials for Terms 2 and 3 winter sport have commenced this week and it is always pleasing to see the boys utilising the soccer and AFL goals in their play time during the day.

Winter Co-Curricular
I have sent information to Pastoral Vare teachers to share with students regarding selections for Winter co-curricular sport and based on numbers of boys who nominated, I have entered Rostrevor teams into SAAS Basketball, Football, Rugby, Soccer and Table Tennis competitions.

Uniforms
Some player uniforms can take up to 6-8 weeks to be delivered and therefore it is important that boys place an order for their uniform as soon as possible to avoid not having the correct playing gear for Term 2.

2nd XVIII Football Coach Required
Rostrevor is currently seeking an enthusiastic and appropriately qualified football coach to take the 2nd XVIII football side in 2018. This position comes with remuneration for time spent training the boys and for weekend games.
I would be very keen to hear from potential coaches who would like to get involved with coaching Rostrevor football in 2018.

SAAS Swimming

The number of competitive swimmer in the school at the moment has meant that Rostrevor has had to compete with a small squad of swimmers each week, however they have been well led by captain Jack Myers. Many competitors have volunteered to swim out of their age group to ensure events would be filled and the team was ably assisted by some younger swimmers such as Year 6 Tom Braunack and Thomas Fotheringham as well as Year 7's Zac Aufderheide, Elliott Melino and Nathan Ferres.

The best performance of the season was on the 14th March where Rostrevor scored a total of 339 points, narrowly edging out Pulteney on 337 and defeating Westminster on 140.  Credit needs to go to the boys who competed on the night, most notably the Open Medley team of Jack Myers, Tom Carson, Clinton Nitschke and Tyson Lorenz who consistently achieved success throughout the season.

In other Co-Curricular News:

  • Year 10 cricketer Ned Carey is credited with establishing a Year 10 T20 cricket match that was played last Friday. After proudly singing the National Anthem the team, composed of mostly 10A cricketers, were sent into bat and scored a solid 148 with captain Jack Thoday scoring an unbeaten 50. In reply the team of mostly 10B's made light work of the total as Captain, Ned Carey 63 and 10A ring-in, Jake Slivak 56 smashed the 10A bowlers all over the ground.
  • The 2nd XI Cricket side scored a great win over Immanuel on Saturday morning chasing down Immanuel's total of 116 off the back of great bowling from Hank Burton and Mackenzie Heath who both took 2 wickets.  Sam Snowball got the team off to a terrific start by scoring 25 runs off just 8 balls, leaving the remaining batters a far reduced total to chase and Ryan Lymn 37 no batted with poise to help the Rostrevor team claim victory.

Jeff Fischer
Head of Co-curricular Activities


View Co-Curricular Results 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Author:Rostrevor College

A CATHOLIC BOYS' DAY AND BOARDING COLLEGE IN THE EDMUND RICE TRADITION RECEPTION TO YEAR 12

Glen Stuart Rd Woodforde Sa 5072 Australia