“Legacy is not what we do for ourselves; legacy is what we do for future generations.” This was a quote I’d shared at my initial induction speech and has continued to be an underlying motive that drives both myself and the Senior School leadership team for this year. While Vice-Captain Isaac Klomp will go into more detail about what our council team has managed to achieve in the semester of schooling so far, I’d like to share our other pursuits as the senior school student leadership team of 2021.


Firstly, networking. A big aspect of the leadership process is networking and discussing with other student leaders to learn of their challenges and own unique initiatives, ideas that could potentially be implemented within our own school system. Furthermore networking opened the possibility of collaborative projects with other schools. After the student leaders meet up between Santa Maria and Aquinas leaders late last year, I also had the opportunity to engage in an online forum with other Edmund Rice school leaders across Australia to discuss addressing the issues of the environment and mental health, among other themes, to bring back to our own Colleges. Recently Isaac and myself were invited to the first meeting of the UWA Young Leaders Council, which bought together over 30 leaders, each with their own leadership style, challenges and perspectives, which proved invaluable in exploring aspects of the College that we as students had the potential to have further impact in.


Beyond the council organised and run events and activities, the student leadership team has also worked on a few projects that lie beyond the confines of a single council and address a problem or a demand in the school that we had identified. The first of these projects was the Esports competition held in late Term 4 last year, and more recently on the 25th of June, the student leaders of both Aquinas College and Perth College hosted a primarily student-run Trivia night social for our Year 10 students. Despite the monumental task that was organising the many intricacies of a social event, we leaders realised the importance that an extra opportunity for our younger boys to socialise would be, and to provide them an enjoyable night was a heartwarming result. And that’s without mentioning the $1500 we’d raised for the Class of 2021 Bursary Scholarship Fund!

The new leadership council system has enabled Senior School Leaders to choose their area of expertise which has brought about numerous fresh initiatives due to their high levels of enthusiasm. So far, we have seen a tremendous effort from the Service Council as hosts of Edmund Rice Day, raising over ten thousand dollars for various charities, and firing up the barbecues to provide hundreds of burgers and snags to fuel the day. The Student Wellbeing Council is fresh off a successful week targeted towards raising awareness for mental health, which featured meditations, yoga sessions and an assembly run by emerging members of the council. Awesome.


Of course, who could forget the House Councils, who were responsible for running multiple house competitions to generate esprit de corps and develop the famous AC Culture? Most recently, the Cullity House Council executed a flawless chess tournament, run during break times, with Caleb Verbruggen and the Prendiville chess team named King of the Chess Board. He is yet to claim his prize as he can only move one square at a time… The Chaney House Council led by Mr Simon Montgomery held the House Debating Tournament, and at this stage, we are still arguing over the winner…


It has been amazing to see the product of lots of behind the scenes planning from the Captains and their Councils to make Aquinas College the coolest school around. It is exciting to see everyone working hard, regardless if they have a stripy blazer or not, to make the AC Spirit thrive, and I can’t wait to see the emerging leaders take up the reigns as the Year 12 Captains are waved off on their voyage to the adult world.