The 87^th Beverley Dinner was celebrated at the Beverley Golf Club after an absence of 3 years due to the pandemic. The Beverley Dinner is an opportunity for alumni of the seven PSA schools to come together to renew friendships forged through a shared experience of attending one of the schools.

The Beverley Dinner is a long-held tradition of PSA schools, which commenced as a networking event for rural alumni to engage and connect as a community.

On a rotational basis, each of the schools undertakes to assist the association with the organizing of the event and in 2023 Aquinas College undertook that role. Working closely with Brendan McLean (Class of '87) who was the designated President of the Association, Nichole Rowson from the Development Office managed to re-establish the event with over 60 guests attending. Aquinas was well represented including Robert Henderson attending his first Beverley dinner in his role as Principal of Aquinas College and alumni from the Class of 1979.

One of the significant highlights of the night was the address provided by Paul Duffield who spoke of his journey from Darken to the AFL and back to the farm. Paul was College Captain in 2002 and went on to play 171 games for the Fremantle Football Club. The guests had a wonderful opportunity to seek an insight into his journey and the level of interest generated was reflected in the number of questions from the floor covering not only football but the agricultural sector. He was a wonderful ambassador for the College and it was great to hear his story.

The Journey of a Boarder

There's a space in time where we stop helping get the sheep in or climb down from the cattle yards, we get off a tractor or lean the fishing rod up, maybe we put a horse in the stable or a motorbike away and have a last kick of the footy with a sibling left behind, tidy our rooms? Nah... whatever, we always stop and have a good look around.

It's time to get back to school.

Bags are packed, plans are made and goodbyes are said.

The family pets get a squeezing hug or an absent minded pat on the head.

There's always a lecture or two.

Cars pull out and often stop to quickly swing back past the clothesline for a forgotten pair of socks or a dash inside for an 'it was on the bench'.

More often it doesn't and 'a halfway there' realisation is revealed.

Tree lined driveways, winding gravel roads, long bitumen straights, 'planes, trains and automobiles' take us back to our home away from home.

The day between is an anxious one. Stuck in the middle of leaving one home and returning to another.

We always feel better after a day or so with our brothers, comforted by our boarding family.

Learning, experiencing and cared for, this is our other place.

And then we go back.

Come with us on a journey to the places we call home...

Aquinas College Boarding Community

We celebrated International Women's Day on Wednesday 8 March 2023 at Aquinas College. We had a special morning tea for all of the female staff. Our student leaders across the College served for us and did an amazing job.

Women play a unique role in an all boys setting and an important role for our young men at Aquinas College. We can assist boys to be aware of the contribution that women have made and continue to make in society.

It is worth noting the importance of female roles models is especially crucial for young boys in primary school. At this stage of their development young boys are still forming their beliefs and attitudes about gender roles and may be more influenced by the adults in their lives.

Having female educators and mentors can help boys to see females as competent and capable leaders, breaking down any gender stereotypes they may have. Learning from women will assist our students to develop empathy and understanding for people from different backgrounds and have tolerance for different perspectives.

In a world where gender inequality still exists it is important for our students to understand the importance of inclusivity and equality. Seeing women as successful role models can help our students to be more inclusive and supportive of women in all aspects of life.

More specifically when we consider the curriculum here are some of the ways we may show our support for women.

History- Teach boys about the contribution women have made throughout history. Highlight notable female role models such as; Mary Seacole, Rosa Parks, Mahala Yousafzai and Miriam- Rose Ungenmerr- Baumann

Literature- Expose boys to literature written by women that feature female protagonists. Hermoine Granger- Harry Potter and Princess Pearl- Zog

Science- The curriculum can showcase the achievements of female scientists throughout history from Marie Curie to Rosalind Franklin.

Politics and Society- Teach about the suffragette movement and the ongoing issues with equal pay for women.

We also celebrated this week by asking each student to wear a colourful tie in recognition and support of the amazing women in their lives. Programs that we introduce in the Junior School such as Making New Friends where we engage with girls schools in meaningful and authentic ways as well as our Character Education programs and great respect we have for our Mother of the Church Mary as a part of our Catholic Faith, are just some of the ways we embed an admiration and respect for women in our daily lives.

Nicole Monzu
Head of Junior School

Saturday 25 March was the last session with the Disabled Surfers Association at Leighton Beach. Many Aquinas students volunteered for this program during the summer which occurs once a month from November to March. The Disabled Surfers Association prepares a fantastic morning for clients who have a wide range of disabilities and helps them get on a surfboard and catch some waves under the guiding hands of a team of volunteers. The March event can get chilly and overcast and last weekend was no exception. But by mid-morning, the sun was up and the wind died down and it was all worth it. Thank you to Dante Aldegheri, Matthew Drake-Brockman and Bryan Prinsloo who attended this month’s event, and to the many others who helped over the summer. The program will start again in November.

John Richards
Director of Christian Service-Learning

At a special event on Tuesday afternoon, the College and the Foundation proudly welcomed Terence (Terry) Bourke (’43) into the Veritas Society, established to thank and celebrate members of the community who leave a gift to the College in their will. Terry’s three children - Jenny, Libby and Michael - were present at the ceremony, along with past and current recipients of the Terry Bourke Family Bursary, several parents and Foundation and College representatives. In his keynote address, Veritas Society Patron, Justice Eric Heenan (’62), spoke about a humble and extremely successful Aquinian who lived a life of incredible service. Principal Robert Henderson and the Aquinas College Foundation thank the Bourke family for their continuing loyalty and support of Aquinas College.

Aquinas College is an official Containers for Change drop off point. A green cage is located by the Hockey Pavilion, where parents and students alike can drop off eligible containers as a donation to the school’s Sustainability Council and school run projects. The Containers for Change program can also be accessed through purple bins across the school at key points.

Donating containers goes a long way to helping the school and more importantly, helping out the environment around us. So far donating through Aquinas has collectively achieved 1.06 tonnes of carbon dioxide taken out of the atmosphere! That’s 7134 bottles donated, almost 3 whole SUVs worth, and 7274 kilometres worth of carbon emissions created from driving.

This week’s Principal Commissioning Ceremony was a special occasion for my family. Hopefully, it was also significant to the College given it marked the first appointment of an Old Aquinian to the role of Principal.

During the assembly, I provided the following message:
“It is wonderful to have students from the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools present here today.

The three biggest influences on my life have been my family, my friends and Aquinas College. It is particularly special for me to have my wife, Robyn in attendance and to have my brother Sean involved in the ceremony. We are a close family. Our childhood home is just across from the McMahon Oval and Aquinas has played a huge role in my family for the past 50 years. I am proud to be an Aquinian.

When I first walked into the grounds of Aquinas College as a Junior School student, I was filled with wonder and awe. As a much older Aquinian, I still have those feelings as I wander around our campus.

I was here when the Christian Brothers ran the College. Here in our Chapel is where I really learned to pray and got married; I was here when the first concrete was poured for our Swimming Pool; I was here when the Redmond Library was built. I was here when students used to run around the bottom ovals, which we knew as ‘the Desert’.

All that is history. Hopefully, today is much more about our Aquinas than it is about me.

As well as my family and EREA being present, we also have guests representing Catholic Education Western. We are part of a wider network of Catholic schools, and I am delighted that the Principals of Santa Maria College, John XXIII College, St Norbert College, Corpus Christi and Mazenod College are in attendance. They are my friends as well as my colleagues.

Mrs. Oaten’s presence is particularly important as we are both keen to further harness the relationship between Aquinas and Santa Maria. Mrs. Oaten is a former student of Santa Maria so we are both in quite a unique position.

Thank you to Dr O’Connell from Scotch College for joining us today. We are a PSA school and it is great to have that network represented.

I am absolutely delighted that my former colleagues from John XXIII College are in attendance. I love that school. I have always been very loyal to JTC, and I know that loyalty has been reciprocated. I learnt the value of loyalty as an Aquinian.

Thank you also to representatives of our College Advisory Council, Foundation and Parent Groups for their attendance. Most importantly, thank you to the young Aquinians and our staff, in front of me. You are the reason I am at Aquinas.

I am incredibly impressed with the young men I have met to date and our staff are wonderful. As Aquinians, I am determined that we will win with grace and lose with dignity in everything that we do. I am excited to be part of Aquinas College with all of you in the years to come.”

Robert Henderson
Principal

On the 26th of January there is a triathlon held each year at Point Walter. This year it was great to see a number of staff, current students and old boys racing. Congratulations to everyone who competed!

Photographed: Lucas Brown (Class of 2018 and current Boarding Supervisor in Brothers House), Barton Mincham (Yr 11), James McPherson (Junior School Assistant Principal), Nathan Eaton (Assistant Director of Sport), Nelson Aranda (Class of 2018) and James O’Neill (Director of Nunan House). Absent from the photo but also competed were William Kilshaw (Class of 2021) and Xavier Mitchell (Class of 2016).