Principal
While it is somewhat belated, I offer a very warm welcome to new families and welcome back to those families who were part of the community in 2020. It is good to be back at the school and feeling healthy again. Thank you to all those individuals who have expressed concern and extended well wishes to me. I suffered an acute infection which necessitated a hospital stay for some days. After some convalescence, I have returned fully this week. I thank David Johnston for his dedicated leadership over the last two weeks and also Anne Nugent for her support during this time.
With the hosting of Wednesday night’s Year 9 and 10 Parent Information Evening, it feels as though we have reached the ‘end of the beginning’ phase of the 2021 school year. By now, all boys should be settled into their timetabled class and have established some rhythm and routine to their daily and weekly school life. Similarly, our boarders should be settled back into the flow of boarding life. This is essential to a successful term, semester or even school year.
This beginning period of time has been punctuated by various events and gatherings to mark the start of the year. Some of these have been smaller House social gatherings or the various year level information nights as well as large events such as last Friday’s Commencement Mass. For those who gathered to pray and celebrate this moment, either by being physically present or online, it was a very special morning. A feature was the fine homily and speeches of Fr Peter Dillon, College Captain Leo De Clara and Br Damien Price. In particular, Br Damien’s moving story of two Nudgee College old boys and his challenge to the Year 12s to be good men and to be a Sign of Faith received many favourable comments.
Another large event to mark this beginning phase of school life was the Academic Assembly on Tuesday. This assembly is held twice a year and recognises those students who achieved Gold, Silver and Bronze awards in the previous semester, that is Semester 2, 2020. In total, we recognised 310 students with 126 gold, 95 silver and 85 bronze awards. Congratulations to all those boys from current year 6 to year 12 who were recognised.
In addition to these awards, we also awarded the Subject Duces from Year 12 2020. Under the system of Senior Assessment, the College has decided to wait until final scores are generated by the QCAA in each subject before making these awards. This meant that we were able to invite back and honour those students from last year’s Senior cohort who were either subject Duces (33) or/ and our top ATAR students (15). It was pleasing to be able to inform them that based on our internal data of Year 12 results over the past 20 years, the 2020 cohort achieved the second best ever overall result. One feature of the Academic Assembly was the opportunity to award publicly the Dux of the College for 2020. This is the pinnacle of achievement within the College and we were pleased to honour Declan Cabot for his outstanding result. Declan is a talented student, no doubt, but one who worked harder than any other student to achieve his success. Like the speeches of last Friday, Declan delivered a motivational speech that resonated with many boys.
Amongst the co-curricular calendar this week two occasions stand out. Today, we have a number of students involved in preparation for and participation in the GPS Music Showcase at the Queensland Conservatorium. We wish them all well - those students performing on stage, as well as those involved backstage. Friday afternoon and evening at the College is the annual Cricket season launch with a T20 game between our 1st XI and the All Stars team on Ross Oval. This is a terrific community event and I would encourage you to attend. It is always fun.
To temper all this good news, the Nudgee College has been saddened by the passing of two members of the community. Reginald (Reg to all) Swain was the Director of Property & Services at the College from 1981 to 2004. Reg passed away on Tuesday night after a long battle with cancer. His wife Vicki also worked at the College Health Centre for many years until 2012. Also on Tuesday evening Paul Malone passed away after a courageous fight with cancer. Paul was a very well known journalist within Queensland and across Australia. We are very mindful of his wife Sharon and his son Tom who is in Year 9 Riley. Please remember Reg, Paul and their families in your prayers during this very difficult time.
Finally, a clear marker of the ‘end of the beginning’ is the fact that Year 12 students will be commencing their Internal Assessment 1 (IA1) pieces late next week and into the following week. The new system has changed how and when assessments are held or are due. It means that Year 12s need not only to settle into rhythm and routine but they must lift their study commitments very quickly to prepare for this challenge. We wish them well.
Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal
