KURTIS TANNA – RECIPIENT OF GOLD DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD

My Duke of Edinburgh journey was far from predictable with the twists and turns of the Covid-19 pandemic, the added pressure of Year 11, as well as fracturing my femur. I was continually challenged to be resourceful, adaptable and persistent. Quite often we fear things we haven’t tried before and choose not to take the opportunities we are given. The Award challenges you to step outside your comfort zone and encourages you to surpass your limits to find the unknown strengths within. It took a great deal of organisation and forward thinking to be able to complete the various components of the award in these trying times. It has connected me with amazing organisations such as Edmund Rice Camps for Kids WA, and these experiences have inspired me to continue to work with them in the future. For my Adventurous Journey of the Gold Award, I undertook a seven-day voyage on the Leeuwin II with 39 complete strangers. During this, we had the opportunity to climb the 33-metre mast. In the past, I would’ve shied away from this as I am not great with heights. However, I decided I would try to conquer this fear. With my heart racing, I began my ascent. After reaching the half-way point, my shunt failed. I was instructed to carefully climb down because nothing would catch me if I fell. I was quite shaken once I got back to the deck but decided that this wouldn’t stop me. After my shunt was replaced, I began my climb for a second time, making it all the way to the top of the mast. It was a surreal experience reading the secret message at the top and gazing out over the expanse of ocean. Often, we are faced with tough times in our lives, and we look for the perfect time to do things. You shouldn’t wait for this, as it never comes around. Take that step, reach for that goal, strive to achieve the things you were putting off by saying “not yet” or “I’ll do it tomorrow,” because challenge is just an opportunity for change.

RORY WATSON – RECIPIENT OF SILVER DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD

When I decided to do the Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award, I thought the 26 hours in Skills, Physical Recreation and Service, as well as an Adventurous Journey would be challenging. I looked at my existing interests and worked out how to tailor these to suit the Award components. In the end I chose:

SKILL: Orchestral Trumpet playing as part of the Perth College/Aquinas College (PCAC) Combined Orchestra.

PHYSICAL RECREATION: PSA Hockey

SERVICE: Surf Lifesaving Patrols

ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY: Aquinas Rowing Camp.

Despite my comfort with many of these areas, challenges still presented themselves. For my Skill Component, the main challenge that I encountered was learning to work together with new people, in a new environment – one that I had never been in before (A Symphony Orchestra!) – and overcoming how alien the environment and procedures were to me. For my Physical Recreation Component, my team (4ths) consistently lost, and this became demoralising as I enjoyed playing for that team and wanted us to do well. For my Service Component, the main challenge I encountered was that Patrols could be quiet and boring, this is a good thing in terms of public safety, but can result in a lack of attention and motivation, especially on rainy days, as I felt that I was making no real impact or difference. I decided to do extra certifications in First Aid, to counter this. For my Adventurous Journey Component, the main challenge that I faced was the mental exhaustion that came from the camp. Even though, as a coxswain the physical toll was very minimal, the mental toll was great. Towards the end of the camp, I was certainly very temperamental.

If I was asked to give two pieces of advice to teenagers considering the Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards, they would be:

1. When considering what to do for the Duke of Edinburgh Award, you do not need to start a new activity. If you want to use a pre-existing activity/hobby/interest – go for it.
2. Ensure that you do challenge yourself – especially, if possible, in the service area. I suggest this because even if you have never done a large amount of service (26 hours is a lot) if you find something that speaks to you, and that you enjoy, these hours will fly by.

Why should you do the Duke of Edinburgh Award at all?

1. Personal Growth. Even though I did not at first believe this when I was told by my teachers, it is correct. I found this out especially on those Surf Patrols when nothing was happening, so I learnt to ask questions and to improve my knowledge, and this was just one example.
2. It is an asset on your CV. The DoE Awards prove you are dedicated, willing to put in time and effort into your interests and can work in a team.
3. It is an internationally recognised award, meaning that the above benefits apply to most of the world, if you want to go to university in America, the Duke of Edinburgh will help with that.

I would whole heartily encourage anyone in their teen years to take on the Duke of Edinburgh Award, as it has been one of the highlights of my extracurricular activities.

On Friday the 18^th of March, 90+ students from both Middle School and Senior School donned hats, gloves and masks to help clean-up Australia.

After a delicious cinnamon scroll and a fruit drink, the students were keen to make a difference in their own back yard. They set off in small groups, led by either a staff member or a senior student group. Fourteen different groups cleaned up the river foreshore, basketball courts, the College entrance, the ovals and around school buildings.

The great news is that not a lot of rubbish was collected as the College was already quite clean! We usually fill a school ute at least twice and this time we only filled barely half a ute.

The sustainability group did an amazing job collecting the 10c containers that had been thrown away in a variety of bins. They managed to collect far for recyclable material than everyone else did actual rubbish. This is a great sign that the sustainability group is really getting their message across and students are using the bins provided for recycling.

A big thank you must go to Mrs Monks, Mr Speechley and the entire Design and Technology Department for volunteering to help out on the day. Mr Speechley was especially welcomed, as his presence meant the senior students could utilise the school dinghy’s to get access to the area under the Mt Henry Bridge. This area is notorious for collecting rubbish both from the river and the freeway.

The Senior School Service committee also did a great job organising and assisting on the day.

We hope everyone is enjoying the cleaner College grounds!

On Friday 18 March 2022, a group of 40 boys’ years 9 -11 took part in a Model United Nations (MUN) workshop. MUN is an interactive forum where pairs of students take on the persona, beliefs and values of specific countries that are either presently or have been part of the UN security council. In the current climate this is even more challenging than it has been in the past!

The students took part in debating and voting on two resolutions relating to: the questions of lethal autonomous weapon and the question of child labour.

The spirit of debate was high and some of the suggestions were very creative and at times a little unconventional. All the boys involved learnt a lot and a great deal of thanks is given to the members of UN Youth who came in and conducted the workshop and dealt with all the restrictions COVID through at them.

Enjoy these photos of our Year 12 boys completing their experiment on whether exercise increases their body temperature. We can't wait to see what other experiments the boys conduct this year!

Last week, education ministers from around the country unanimously agreed to implement an holistic and age-appropriate consent curriculum that will be mandatory across Australia. This is a huge sign that what our boys learn through their Veritas classes, the Character Education Program of the College, is a curriculum well and truly leading the way in educating about respectful relations and consent. We are always on the look out for new ways to engage our young men in meaningful discussions and discernment around these interrelated matters, news of this Australia wide approach will further fuel our commitment in this regard. In recognition of this, we provide a throwback photo of the delegation of students from Aquinas who represented the College at the WA Department of Communities launch of the ‘Stand Up for White Ribbon Campaign’ in 2019 alongside the Hon Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Child Protection; Women's Interests; Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence; Community Services. We were invited because they had heard about our efforts in educating boys around gender-based violence and going way beyond teaching about consent, to exploring and promoting respectful relationships in our Veritas Program.

Friday, February 25 marked an important milestone in the growing collaboration between Aquinas College and the University of Notre Dame. A total of 32 students across Years 11 and 12 engaged in tertiary units such as the culmination of Research Skills and Methods, Introduction to Philosophy, or Ethics. Whilst our Year 12 students seamlessly transitioned into their second unit of study, the highlight for our Year 11s were their oral presentations, delivered in the university’s Santa Maria Lecture Theatre in front of university staff and their peers.

The Research Skills and Methods unit has been designed purposefully for students to augment their organisational, self-management and research skills, whilst developing an increased understanding of research methods, academic integrity and ethical scholarship. The unit required students to evaluate and critique sources, frame research questions, and to write and deliver an evidence based presentation on a topic of their choice linked to the United Nations Sustainable Goals.

Adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, the goals provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership.

Whilst all of the students presentations were particularly engaging and impressive in the design and execution, examples of the students topics include;

• Gender Equality - A humorous yet brutally honest and objectively supported argument by Samuel to support the glaring disparities in gender inequality in terms of power and wealth, and an exploration of the interrelated factors that help to explain this injustice. Using a lens focussed towards the disturbing statistics of violence against women in Asian and Pacific regions, Matteo focussed more on the importance of education of both sexes as a viable solution to end discrimination against girls and women, yet the conundrum that violence against women is an inhibitory factor in the progressive education of women in these regions. Samuel Yeow and Matteo Conte
• The contradiction of SDG3 – Good Health and Wellbeing, and SDG8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth. Jake stressed the importance of how greater technological integration is needed to address this perceived contradiction in light of a more contemporary world effected by issues such as COVID-19. Using the country of Zambia as a case study, Jake skilfully explored the impact of a sugar tax, which will support population health and addressing the growing obesity crisis, whilst acknowledging the adverse impact of such a tax on the livelihood of such a large number of Zambian residents who rely on the country’s well established sugarcane agriculture. Jake Harburn
• Affordable and Renewable Energy – an argument centred on the future of fossil fuels and ever present problem of greenhouse gas emissions. Lachlan explored the viability and considerations of coal conversion technology such as coalification and coal liquefaction to avoid combustion and limit harmful emissions. Lachlan Brennan

Congratulations to Nishok Nimalan and Matteo Conte on being selected for the 2022 State Debating Squad! Well done boys!

The 2022 State Team Squad is as follows:

• Anna Tokarev (Perth Modern School)
• Anya Chen (St Mary's Anglican Girls' School
• Cameron Leggatt (Wesley College Perth)
• Hawk Thomas Hughes (Christ Church Grammar School)
• Huda Zaidi (Perth Modern School)
• Isabella Baldwin (Shenton College)
• Jaime Leivers (St Mary's Anglican Girls' School)
• Matteo Conte (Aquinas College)
• Mena Tabeshfar (Shenton College)
• Nishok Nimalan (Aquinas College)
• Nyah Gray (Perth Modern School)
• Robert Eastman (Scotch College)
• Sashank Thapa (Perth Modern School)
• Wade Pik (Rockingham Senior High School)

Congratulations to those selected!

Learning online actually has a face

The Year 11 ViSN Italian class went on camp to meet their Mandurah Catholic College classmates and teacher Prof Alberto Runco from John Paul College in Kalgoorlie.

The camp was held in Crawley. It incorporated 12 hours of tuition and students also spent many hours socialising with other CEWA ViSN students from around WA.

Learning a language online is difficult, however, it will embed transferrable skills in this digital age.

Congratulations to Praneel, Nishok (Yr 10), Lauchlan and Jake for taking on this challenge and being part of the Language Choice Project.