Congratulations to Durack House! Back-to-Back Senior School Athletics Champions. And Congratulations to Glowery House, the Middle School House Athletics Champions for 2021

Durack and Glowery Houses took out the 2021 House Athletics Carnivals on a perfect day at Memorial Oval. Coming off the back of an inspirational Australian Olympic campaign in Tokyo where former Aquinas students, such as Zac Incerti and Aran Zalewski, showed the Australian Olympic spirit, our Senior and Middle school students turned up in large numbers, proudly wearing their House colours in a terrific display of Aquinas College House spirit.

The competition was hard fought all day with excellent participation rates from all Years in all Houses. There were many standout performers on the day which gave Acting Head of Sport Kristian Leeson some optimism going into the PSA Athletics season.

What makes this day so great for me is seeing the enormous number of boys across the Year groups all out on Memorial Oval enjoying being a part of a spirit and culture that is centred around participation and giving it your best effort. So many boys step up into events to have a go and to compete in a friendly manner against mates, all while being supported and encouraged by peers and staff. It’s more than a day of activities for me, it’s a day where boys get to showcase their talent, skill, determination, and commitment.

These events don’t just happen, they take great work in the lead-up and during the carnival, I would firstly like to thank the students for getting involved in the day and behaving in a way that is respectful and highly competitive. I’d also like to thank all the staff for their determined help during the day, each event has at least 8 staff helping so thanks to those who raked sandpits, measured throws or timed races, your support is invaluable. Lastly thank you to the Heads of House and tutors for organising the students into their races and for fostering a House Spirit that encourages boys to participate and engage in the day.

Our sincere thanks are also extended to Trin Suckling for coordinating Farmers’ Food Festival along with the extended boarding communities support, this event was held on the same day as the House Athletics Carnival. In total $9,000 was raised on the day with some great food options for the students available along with some great raffles and prizes to be won. It proved to be an extremely successful occasion, it’s great to have the extra engagement of the Aquinas community to enhance the spectacle of the day.

The She's Someone campaign is run by the Justice, Peace and Advocacy council to specifically target the disrespect towards women carelessly shown by too many young men – this can be shown through words, actions and thoughts. This campaign is about being clear on the ideal world in which we want to live and also about pointing out the types of behaviours we want to stamp out as a college. We aim to build up literacy surrounding the issue and empowering us, as young men, to be the ones to stand up when we see it happen at school, and in the community. The campaign is all about a conversation from young men to young men – about things that we can change.

Members of our Council have decided they will no longer be silent around such nonsense and they will invite their peers to speak out also. This is intended to be young men having what can be a tough or awkward conversation with other young men. Known as our “She's Someone” campaign, it looks at shifting the mindset of young men from accepting casual disrespect and objectification to being deliberately respectful and inclusive. The title “She's Someone” takes inspiration from the idea that you shouldn’t respect a woman just because “she is someone's daughter” or that “she is someone's mum”, but rather because she is her own person entitled to and worthy of respect in her own right.

Working together with all the Senior School Tutors, we offered all Senior Students the chance to participate in this campaign if they wish. They had a chance to take a stand, make a public commitment against disrespectful thoughts, comments and jokes about women. Or put more positively – they can stand up for a world where there is healthy respect and support between young men and women. Any young man that has participated, was permitted to swap their school tie for an alternative tie for the day on Wed 18^th August. The young men were encouraged to wear their different ties with a mixture of pride and resolve. Pride that they are part of the campaign and willing to be part of a better future. Resolve, because for some it will not be easy to achieve and they will need to work at it.

This is just one of the things happening at Aquinas College to create a regular dialogue about things that matter. We are all striving to create a culture of regular, open and honest discourse about the attitudes and actions between people – especially between young men and young women. In this instance, we are speaking directly to the young men because it is young men that have the capacity to make the changes we are seeking – for the benefit of all.

Our Year 12 boys are living up to the Aquinas tradition of giving back to the community. As part of their fundraising efforts for the Class of 2021 Peer Scholarship Gift, the Year 12 Leadership Team jointly hosted a trivia night ‘social’ in June with the girls from Perth College for the benefit of our Year 10 boys, raising $1500 for their leaving gift to the College, while providing their younger peers with a positive social experience.

My name is Jesse Motlop, and I’m a proud Larrakia man from the Darwin region in the Northern Territory.

Joining me is fellow Year 12 Student and 1st XVIII Footballer, Xavier Bradshaw-Pini.

Over the past 18 months, we have been sketching out a number of ideas. We have drafted many different jumper designs, using different colours, symbols, and styles. It wasn’t until late last term that we settled on a design that we were happy with, and we’re excited to present it.

On the front of the jumper, we see four white shields, these same shields can be seen as you enter the college at the roundabout. They each have a touchstone to represent the Edmund Rice Education Australia symbols but have been converted into Indigenous designs. The touchstones stand for:

• Liberating Education
• Gospel Spirituality
• Inclusive Community
• Justice and Solidarity

Across the front of the jumper and wrapped around the sides we see the Waugal, otherwise known as the snake. It was the Waugal that made the Noongar people custodians of the land so as a way to pay respect to the Wadjuk Noongar tribe, we have used the Waugal as a way to represent the group on this jumper, as this is their country that we play our sport on.

Some of you may have heard of a man by the name of Yagan, he was a Noongar leader and resistance fighter in the early 1800s and was feared by Europeans as a patriot fighting for his land. It is said that Yagan used to protect the point of Aquinas way before the College’s time, so to represent him we have included the four Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo feathers on the jumper, the feathers of which Yagan use to wear on the top of his bandanna.

On the back of the jumper, you will see a river, this represents the Djarlgarra, also known as the Canning River. In the middle you will see a symbol to represent a meeting place, that is Aquinas College.

Designing the jumper has been an exciting project. Xav and I have put a lot of effort and time into this, and to be able to see the end product turn out this good is very rewarding.

Lastly, thank you to Aquinas for allowing Xav and I to embrace Aboriginal culture and history into the College’s 1st XVIII Footy jumpers. It's an awesome idea and a great way to celebrate NAICOC week.

The jumpers will be made available to purchase in the uniform shop in the upcoming weeks.

While young men and boys can and do excel in many types of educational institutions, schools for boys focus with intention on learning that addresses not only how to excel in academics but also how to grow into a young man of integrity and empathy.

In engaging and supportive single-sex environments, students explore their values and establish a foundation for making responsible decisions; they explore their own definitions of self, who they are and who they want to become; they learn to forge healthy relationships; they step out of their comfort zone to explore their full potential.

They are preparing for their roles in a globally connected world.

Here’s how that happens.

Thank you to the following Old Aquinians who have chosen to sponsor subject prizes for students who have demonstrated academic excellence in Year 12 in the Class of 2021.

Quentin Lau (Class of 1992)

Quentin attended Aquinas College from 1985 to 1992. In 1997, he graduated with a degree in architecture and returned to Hong Kong to commence his career. He now specialises in and provides consultancy advice on residential property development at the Summit Homes Group. Quentin is known to be one of the most experienced development architects within Perth. Married with children, Quentin's eldest daughter attends Santa Maria College while his son attends Aquinas College. Quentin has kindly sponsored a monetary prize for the Year 12 Subject Dux for Economics ATAR as well as Human Biology ATAR.

Hilary Lau (Class of 1993)

Hilary studied at Aquinas from Year 5 until his graduation in Year 12. He went on to study for a double degree in Law and Commerce at the University of Western Australia. Currently, Hilary is a partner at leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. Hilary’s practice is focused on the energy and resource sector and he has earned the position of Head of the Energy Practice, Asia within his firm. Ranked as one of the best energy lawyers in Asia, Hilary is married with a son. Hilary has kindly sponsored a monetary prize for the Year 12 Subject Dux for Politics & Law ATAR as well as Marine & Maritime Science General.

Kickstart has been a great success this term with students gaining introductions to bricklaying, tiling, wall and ceiling, plumbing, painting, plastering and stonemasonry.

In bricklaying, students learned the basic skills of mixing cement, safe handling, trowel, laying bricks and the 3-4-5 rule to measure off house plans and layout a work area. The professionalism of our students allowed them to go one step further and they were given a task to build a mini house from plans. They have to measure out, level and build to specifications, including adding windows and a door. A fantastic experience and, my advice, don't underestimate the skills of bricklaying, it has a lot of practical math applications!

Stonemasonry is a niche profession and was brought back into popular demand by engineered stone and kitchen benchtops. Stonemasonry is unique and precise and requires excellent hand skills. Students used basic hand tools to carve out their names on marble. Students gained an understanding of the different types of stone, precious rocks from Western Australia and where this profession is in popular demand.

Students tested their skills with tiling, completing the famous rocket ship task. They did exceptionally well, with many completing the task and adding their own finishing touches. The following week students were given a very challenging measuring task where they had to cut tiles to a map of Australia. A task that is used in the Australian World Skills competitions. The tiling experience taught students to measure and cut tile, apply grout/cement to the tiles, levelling and how to correctly lay to job specifications.

Boys were treated to one of our best try-a-trade experiences to date at the Master Plumbers Association in Jandakot. Students completed a range of welding tasks and joined copper using a range of various pipe fittings. Students completed the famous cricket-wicket task and were treated to a drainage activity for the ages. Levelling, trenching, digging and connecting various pipes to job specifications within a given timeframe gave the boys a real day in the life experience, showing how important communication skills are to completing jobs and meeting deadlines.

For wall and ceiling, students learned how to bevel gyprock and create bulkheads. A bulkhead is a typical addition in bedrooms, laundries and custom applications to lift the interior of a house. Unfortunately, COVID -19 locked us down for the final project this term - to sheet gyprock to walls and ceiling on a timber frame.

Kickstart provides a fantastic opportunity for Year 10 students to participate in a practical hands-on program weekly. A creative outlet for students looking at vocational pathways, and apprenticeships provides an opportunity for students to excel and develop work-ready skills far beyond the classroom.

For further information please contact Peter.Gellin@aquinas.wa.edu.au