Principal

PRINCIPAL

As we come to the end of a school term like no other, I feel that many of us are feeling saddened and disturbed by the second ‘pandemic’ of racism, division and chaos that seems to have spread even more rapidly than the health contagion. I also sense a tide of mental health and wellbeing issues rising to the surface across society, and within our school community, in the wake of the impact of COVID-19.

Consequently, it was timely for me, both personally and professionally, to be uplifted by a clip that was sent to me earlier in the week. It restored in me a sense of hope that is largely absent when listening to and reading the media reporting of this historic time that we are all living through. As Christians we are constantly challenged to be hope-filled people in the face of adversity and uncertainty. This sense of hope is more than just being optimistic. As Ronald Rolheiser OMI reflects:

“Hope is grounded in belief in God and in the nature and power of God. A person has hope because God is infinitely gracious and powerful and, because of that, ultimately, everything will turn out for the good.”

So what restored in me a sense of hope? It is a song called The Blessing that has begun to circulate around the world. Social media and technology to connect us not divide us. Social media and technology to uplift us as people with shared humanity. One source described it in this way:

“The Blessing may have been a song written in spontaneous worship, but since it was penned it has taken on a life of its own that has circled the globe and been a declaration of hope during the uncertainty of our times. Originally written by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes and the team at Elevation Church in North Carolina, The Blessing has now been viewed over 15 million times on YouTube – and that’s just their recording of it.

Based on the priestly blessing in the book Numbers in the Bible, the song has been recorded numerous times now in the form of collaborative videos in countries including Sweden, Canada, Singapore, the UK and, recently, Australia, with each singer declaring the song’s uplifting words of life and faith over their nation.”

Last Sunday, The Blessing Australia video was released featuring the voices and instruments of musicians in over 300 churches from multiple denominations – from Anglican to Catholic to Pentecostal, and many of Australia’s Indigenous churches.

I trust that you find it a brief reprieve from the pandemics that beset us all and a source of hope in darkened times.

Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal

Barrett

Well done to all the boys and families who coped with online learning. It certainly was an interesting moment in time, and from what I can gather the majority of boys adapted well. A highlight for me was seeing the boys’ smiling faces each lesson, however, nothing beats having them back in person.

Thanks to Barrett House Prefects Jamie Dickman, Kehan Sully and Will Cartwright for using their initiative to organise different PC challenges to keep the House connected. The mother and son photo presentation for Mother’s Day was my favourite.

Well done to our Year 12s who have endured a lot of disruption to their final year – assessment, Kairos, Mother and Son Luncheon, boarding, sport and activities. They have remained positive throughout and accepting that there is nothing they can do but get on with it.

Our Barrett Inter-house Chess team came fifth in an online version of this annual competition. Well done to all the boys who were involved – James Hong, Jamie Dickman, Hayden Kele, Tevita Chan, Noah Matthews, Shahdad Namvar and Kehan Sully. Well done to James, Jamie, Hayden and Tevita for representing Barrett House in the second round.

We welcomed Ms Ellen Cunningham to BA3 who replaced Ms Maureen Toohey while she is on long service leave.

Congratulations to the following boys who received a Best Team Man Award for Term 1 sports:

Cricket: Bailey Thomas, Lachlan Russell and Paddy Moloney
Volleyball: Oliver Smeaton, Harry Blackmore and Nick Harley
Rowing: Angus Williams, Max Webber and Hugo Albert

Well done to the following boys who entered this year’s College Oratory competition: William Conway, Paddy Williams and Nicholas Conway. Congratulations to Paddy for winning the Year 7 Oratory competition.

Thanks to all the families who donated goods for Ed’s Pantry. There has been a steady trickle of food items coming in every day, which will be a great help to those in need over the winter months.

Looking forward to a bit more normality returning next term.

Mr David Kelly
Barrett House Dean

Duggan

It is with an immense feeling of satisfaction and pride that I think of the Duggan House community and the resilience we have all shown throughout the first half of the school year. The challenges and uncertainties we have faced together as a community due to the COVID-19 pandemic has given us the opportunity to show what we are made of. We have adapted, improvised and overcome the challenge of learning@home with great success.

I am so proud to serve a House where so many not only succeeded in their studies at home, but actually thrived. Many moments of success and praise were shared to me by parents outlining how well Duggan men were stepping up and being supportive at home. Rather than allowing the situation to create a negative atmosphere, Duggan men were challenged to step up to be ‘Vikings’ at home. From mowing lawns to cooking dinner, washing the dishes and folding the laundry, our Duggan men demonstrated that when needed to, they can step up and lead in the right way.

The shining light of our Term 2 Inter-house efforts was the magnificent Duggan Chess team. Thasindu, Nathan, Charlie and Yago, thank you for your efforts!

On the last day of the competition it was a shootout with McKenna for first place or third place. We came up short, but our second third in a row in the Br Vic Larkin Shield competition sees us well placed overall. With two very young players in the team, the future of Duggan House Chess certainly looks bright. I would encourage all Duggan men to learn to play the game so that we can have the best possible team for next year's competition.

Congratulations to our Term 1 DugganVikings@home winners who were all rewarded with Brownies.

I would like to finish by thanking two groups of people for their tireless work in service of the Duggan community.

To the outstanding team of Duggan PC tutors, thank you for keeping your enthusiasm and your spirits so high against the backdrop of so much additional work and preparation. You have been inspirational and the Duggan men are lucky to have you. I hope you enjoy a well-deserved break when the time comes.

To the Duggan Year 12 men, and in particular the Prefects and Big Brothers, you have been outstanding role models to our community through the continued service you have provided your fellow Year 12s, as well as your younger Duggan brothers. Keep working hard, value every minute, appreciate your amazing teachers and keep looking after your friends. Your time here will soon be over, faster than you will believe!

See you all in Term 3 for the premiership quarter!

Mr Karim Sedour
Duggan House Dean

Fogarty

Semester 1 looked and felt very different to the normal ebb and flow of Term 1 and 2. Hard work and accolades took a different form, however there is still much to celebrate from this unique time at school whilst our country and planet have endured the COVID-19 pandemic. Distance learning was a double edged sword with students enjoying sleeping in until the last moment, parents managing the stress of motivating adolescents to work and stay on task, teachers attempting to master an online learning space (when many are used to turning to their students for this assistance), boarding families having to be flexible to deal with less than ideal travel, lodging and access arrangements, and much more. It has been a trying time for all involved, and like Australia's efforts, a unified, patient, flexible, understanding and positive approach has resulted in our micro-community pulling through this time relatively successfully. Congratulations and thank you to all.

Muffin Morning

A true highlight of every term, the usual Week 8 Muffin Mornings were a victim of COVID-19, with the Term 1 event being cancelled. However, thanks to the wonderful work of our House parents, led by Ms Marisia Woolf, we were still able to celebrate this morning together, in a different format, in Term 2. Marisia put the call out to our smaller group of regular parent attendees and the response was overwhelming. Hundreds of individually wrapped chocolates and lollies were donated. Marisia and her team spent hours mixing these up into 190 individual ‘party bags’, taking our range of dietary requirements into consideration. She personally delivered these to the Student Centre. Our boys eagerly devoured their spoils on Thursday morning of Week 8 (11 June). Please accept our sincere appreciation for going above and beyond to ensure our boys were generously spoilt, when the easy option was to cancel the event. Our boys are truly blessed.

Whilst Semester 1 Nudgee College life has not been ‘normal’, there is still much to celebrate from the efforts of our community members:

Cricket 1st XI

Rupert McDonald

Cricket Best Team Man

3rd XI – Henry Kidd
8D – Gus Croucamp
8C – Liam McBride
7B – Ryan French
5E – Harrison Cahill

Volleyball Best Team Man

7B – Frank Gilbert
Year 9 Coxswain Award – Harman Read (Year 7)
Gold: Avneesh Sidhu, Hugo Wendt, Hayden Malone, Wade Lucas, Daniel Neal, Jack Vivers, Elliot Browne, Darcy Hardwick, Nate Scott, Declan Henry
Silver: Roman Jones, Henry Potter, Eddie Power, Finlay Hansen, Lachlan Bancroft, Josh Ford, Patrick Kelly, Benjamin Neal, Dominic Gillies, Lachlan Gilbert
Bronze: Patrick Cook, Ryan French, Mitchell Vivers, Jeremy Deakin, Benji Bowker, George Pola, Sethum Goonewarde, Ben McGinty, Joshua Price

Rowing

Inter-house Swimming

It feels like an eternity ago that we were celebrating our success at Inter-house Swimming at the commencement of the school year. I vividly recall celebrating at our well supported House Breakfast with many parents and families. What a way to start the highly competitive Inter-house tournaments in 2020. The boys’ success was due to the high volume of student participation, as well as some outstanding individual swims. The ‘Fogarty team’ carried themselves exceptionally well by supporting their peers from other age groups and challenging themselves to give their best efforts, especially given the diverse range of swimming ability across the House. This was a very proud day to be a young Fogarty man – well done!

Inter-house Chess

Thank you to the following boys who volunteered to compete for Fogarty in Inter-house Chess: Jeremy Deakin, Will Reid, Joshua Price, Kade Lamont, Henry Kidd, Tito Hamala, Ibrahim Hassen, Harrison Cahill, Hugh Thomson, Ethan Ostwald, Nathan Frederikson, Jadyn Iswariah, Frank Gilbert, Benjamin Didonna, Hugo Timbs, Lucas Jabreen, Angus Twist and Dominic Gillies.

Whilst not achieving the same excellence as our Term 1 Swimming victory, it was pleasing to see so many give up their Friday afternoon to compete in an online version of the competition.

Year 7 Camp

This was a wonderful adventure to kick-start high school life for our Year 7s back in Week 3 of Term 1. Ms Kimberley Bell joined us for this experience that included the ‘leap of faith’, mountain biking, raft building and an evening liturgy that was very capably led by Year 11 volunteers Jed Richardson, Nicholas Georges, Ben Wyatt, Ben McGinty, Zac McGinty, Aiden Woolf, Franz Wentzel and Nicholas Graham.

World’s Greatest Shave

It is my pleasure to share the amazing work that our 2020 shave team did in raising funds for our House charity, the Leukaemia Foundation. This initiative continues to grow each year, with the 2020 team raising an astonishing $20,600. It was devastating that we had to cancel the much anticipated shave event the night before, due to the justified growing concern of COVID-19. This total raised almost doubled last year's efforts and all participants (from Year 5 to 12 students, staff and even volunteer hairdressers from Toombul Barber) are to be highly commended on this inspirational effort. Thank you to Kade Lamont (as well as other Fogarty Senior leaders), who raised awareness and energy throughout the school in the preceding weeks, spoke at Assembly, covered the school in promotional material and personally participated in fundraising.

We had a total of 29 students and 13 staff register to raise funds online, and commit to shaving their heads to stand in solidarity with people suffering from blood cancer. These students encapsulated all areas of our diverse student body.

The significant money raised makes a difference by giving families facing blood cancer the emotional and practical support they need. The money also funds vital research that will help more people survive blood cancers like lymphoma, leukaemia and myeloma, while improving their quality of life.

Academic Award Winners

We congratulate the many students who have excelled and achieved across all subject areas. Congratulations to these students who were awarded for their success in their academic life for Semester 2, 2019:

Ed’s Pantry

You may have seen a clip on Sunday’s Nine News regarding Nudgee College’s contribution to the Emmanuel City Mission, and how this has kept the mission going during the pandemic. Fogarty families have been extraordinarily generous in donating items to Ed’s Pantry, some of is sent to the mission. Your response has been outstanding and very much appreciated by the Identity team and, most importantly, by those who need the assistance.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Fogarty House community for ensuring our young men had such a positive start to their unique 2020 school year. Thanks you in particular to our Fogarty House PC tutors for all they have done this semester: Mr Brent Mitchell, Ms Allana Herrod, Mr Declan Markey-Towler, Ms Nicole Simpson, Mr Gerard McKeown, Mr Nick Lee, Ms Elizabeth Todd, Mr Trent Palmer, Ms Andrea Kewley and Ms Maria Egan. I look forward to seeing you all again during Term 3. May God bless you and your families and may you all have a happy and safe holiday break.

Mr Ken Adams
Fogarty House Dean

Magee

Usually, end of term newsletter articles begin with something about the busyness of life at the College. However, not this term. It was most unnerving to be at Nudgee College without the bustle of boys and the hive of activity. It has certainly been a testing time for all stakeholders but, like all difficult times, this one is coming to an end and things are returning to normal.

Despite the necessary isolation, the College forged ahead with some activities and we recognise achievement from Term 1:

Cricket First XI: Nick Glass, Zac Smullen
Volleyball First VI: Heath Lillicrap, Ethan Petcos
Rowing First VIII: Noah Nelson, Jonah Nelson
Cricket Best Team Men: Jack Smith (9B), Edward Gerry (6C), Flynn Twomey (6B), Sam Tallon (6A)
Most Improved Open Rower: Jonah Nelson
Rowing Ergo Shield Year 10: Jonah Nelson (6:34.7)
Rowing Shed Sculling Champion: Noah Nelson

Oratory

Aidan Easton, Isaac Lofaro, Blake Keir, Injarra Harbour and Tom Walsh all brought their oratory skills into the public forum with their participation in the Oratory competition – Nudgee College’s longest running competition. Congratulations to Aidan Easton who won his age group’s competition. The following is an extract from his speech:

What makes something newsworthy? There are technically five criteria that make something newsworthy. Timing, significance, proximity, prominence and human interest. But these days, I would argue that we have a sixth criteria – value. And my question to you is what do we value as a society when creating and consuming the news?

Moral values have been overtaken by what sells papers, clicks on the internet, ad space and merchandise. Most of us don’t know current events in Africa – but I bet you could tell me all about what Katy Perry ate on MasterChef the other night. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the entertainment from the news, I don’t think we’ve got the balance quite right.

So, I ask you, how can young Nudgee College men be inspired to be Signum Fidei in a foreign country and provide aid to those less fortunate in other places if he never gets to hear about their conditions?

We can choose with our wallets, our clicks, our eyes and our time. Invest yourself in seeking out the stories that you deem to be newsworthy and that align with what you value… I dug deeper into the world news and discovered on 10 March this year, the second person ever had been cured of HIV, something truly valuable. So I ask you, what newsworthy events will you discover?

Well done to Injarra Harbour for taking out the prestigious Year 12 prize with his speech titled ‘stoicism – the art of not caring’. The following is an extract from his speech:

When we are born into this reality, we exist only as confused, naive entities, engulfed by the complex interplay of living life. Our life hinges upon a persisting ambition to control these variables so the void of vulnerability and confusion is filled. This illusion of control may seem possible, however, in reality, it keeps us hostage to our own problems. But what if we simply didn’t care? Is this even possible?

In a word ‘yes’. To sate this hunger for control, and further understand the plight of human desire, I look to the ancient school of philosophy – stoicism… What is stoicism? It is the ability to view ourselves, the world, and its people objectively and accept their nature as it is.

With society’s current level of chaos and disorder – pandemics racing across the globe, protesters setting fire to America and people stockpiling in preparation for the apocalypse – stoicism may be more important than ever. We cannot control and remove all the tragedies throughout history and prevent those to come... But stoicism suggests that we are not powerless victims of society. We can learn the art of not caring – in the best possible way – to enable life to be fully lived no matter what is happening in the world.

In the stoic view, the things we find ourselves pursuing in contemporary society are meaningless. We have basically no control of what happens to us, how people perceive us nor what happens as a result of what we do. But this really doesn’t matter. We are the architects of our happiness, not for what we have or what we have achieved and certainly not by how others see us.

Stoicism tells us that we can prevail. The world may be chaotic and armageddon may be looming but individuals can bunker down and ride the wild storms of life, not by caring about the maelstrom or trying to control it, but rather by honing the art of not caring – digging deep and nurturing our inner storm chaser in order to survive.

Chess

Thanks to the following boys for flying the Magee flag in Inter-house Chess: Noah Nelson, Blake Keir, Tom Duffy, Alec Watson, Joseph Wesche, Tom Walsh, Lachlan Barrett, Hamish McLaughlin and Christian Mills. Whilst not achieving dizzy heights of success, I applaud the number of boys who joined in the online version of the competition.

Ed’s Pantry

You may have seen a clip on Sunday’s Nine News regarding Nudgee College’s contribution to the Emmanuel City Mission and how this has kept the mission going during the pandemic. Magee families have been extraordinarily generous in donating items to Ed’s Pantry, some of which will be destined for the mission. Your response has been outstanding and very much appreciated by the Identity team and, most importantly, by those who need the assistance.

It has been a pleasure to have the majority of boys back and we look forward to the time when all boys, particularly boarders, can return to the College.

I hope the coming break is safe and restorative.

Ms Julianne Daunt
Magee House Dean

McKenna

As Term 2 comes to a close, I wanted to thank the McKenna men for all of their hard work in what was a very challenging and interrupted term. COVID-19 has very much pushed a number of us way out of our comfort zones. The boys have had to adjust and adapt to a completely different learning environment. A lot of responsibility was placed on the Nudgee College students. One learning I had from the whole experience has been not to underestimate the intelligence, resilience and maturity of our Nudgee College students. The boys have more than exceeded expectations and created a lot of positives from a difficult time.

The online experience certainly allowed me as House Dean to engage with the McKenna students in a different way through video meetings. It was interesting to note that all students I spoke to in the video meetings expressed a strong desire to get back to school as soon as possible. This says a lot about the strong community that is Nudgee College. A number of students showed significant courage and emotional maturity, reaching out to myself through email or the online pulse wellbeing survey asking for help. This allowed me to contact these students, put a plan in place with them and communicate with parents. Please encourage your son to reach out to me if they are going through any challenges or need support.

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Best Team Man Award for Term 1 sport:

Cricket

8A – Patrick Burchard
8B – Michael Malone
7C – Robert Gavin

Volleyball

11B – Mitchell Doyle
9A – Callum Turner
9C – Harrison Palethorpe

Rowing

Ergo Shield Open – Angus Rhodes
Spirit Award Open 1st VIII – Adam Wilkie
Spirit Award Year 11 1st VIII – Toby Quy-Verlander
Spirit Award Year 10 6th Quad – Hudson Stein-Smith
Spirit Award Year 9 8th Quad – Shane Weerappuli-Arachchige

Well done to all of those who engaged in the activities that our Prefects arranged during online learning. Some of these activities included: The Sprinter (computer game) challenge – students with the top three sprint times had a live online sprint off to determine a sprinter champion; McKenna Kahoot challenge; and a trick shot challenge. Another initiative which kept our students connected and supported was some of our Year 11 and 12 students identifying various buddies across the House to unofficially check in with and offer support.

Since returning to school students have shown maturity in social distancing where possible, monitoring their own hygiene through washing hands and sanitising and staying home when they have been unwell. Over the past few weeks we have tried to get things back to a new normal and re-calibrate our routines. McKenna House competed in the annual Inter-house Chess competition. I was very pleased to see McKenna win the championship for the first time in a few years. Congratulations to the following students who participated and were part of the overall team: Riley Granger, Caleb Giorgas, Rafael Chase, Caleb Reiher, Jack Duane, Tristan Duane, Baxter Giorgas, Rohen Ferreira, Atticus Johnston and Morgan Chippendale. Also, congratulations to Logan Azzopardi who won the 2020 Year 11 Oratory competition.

As government restrictions slowly ease, we are all very much looking forward to GPS activities re-commencing next term. I am very much looking forward to what Term 3 will bring and working with all of the McKenna community. I wish your son a very safe and relaxing school holiday period. They certainly deserve it.

Mr Paul Kehoe
McKenna House Dean

Riley

To say that Term 2 has been an interesting term would be the biggest understatement. Term 2, 2020 has been like no other and will be something we will talk about for many years. Our Seniors will definitely never forget their last year at Nudgee College and, while there have been some disappointments along the way, I truly hope they can look back and appreciate the amazing spirit and mateship that came out of such a weird time for us all. I am immensely proud of how our Seniors have handled the last few months – what a wonderful group of young men.

Term 2 started online and what an experience that was! I must admit that online learning wasn’t really my thing – I don’t think my usually really funny jokes were translating well via Google Meets. I was very happy to have my Year 11 and 12 classes back after three weeks online. I’m sure they were happy to finally be laughing at my jokes again too. In all seriousness, the way that the Riley men took to this new way of learning was truly amazing. I know that some struggled and I know that some enjoyed it far more than being in school, but what I also know is that we all survived and the boys worked as hard as they possibly could to make the best of a different (and sometimes difficult) situation. I loved the Riley@home competitions that we ran during the online period – it was great to see us connecting despite the distance. Shout out to our winners:

Make us laugh: 1st - Xavier Roati (Ri3); 2nd - Harry Stoneman (Ri2); 3rd - Daniel Seaton (Ri6)
‘how us your rubbish: 1st - Harry Stoneman (Ri2); 2nd - Harper Evangelista (Ri5); 3rd - John (Ri6) and Robert (Ri3) Fitzgerald
Insta-worthy meal: 1st - Harper Evangelista (Ri5); 2nd - Mitchell Dudurovic (Ri6); 3rd - Kiaan Higgins (Ri4).

The overall winners of the Riley@home competition were Ri2, who enjoyed a classic pizza party as their chosen prize. Congratulations gents!

Term 2 also saw us participate in the second Inter-house competition of 2020 – Chess. It was great to see this competition commence online during Week 5 and finish in the traditional way; face to face at school in Week 6. The Riley Chess team dedicated a lot of their time in the opening rounds of the competition (three hours on a Friday afternoon is dedication) and they did not disappoint. The team of Dominic Stein, Daniel Kuskie, Ben Ditchburn, Declan Ford, Cooper Corless and James Armitage got us through to the third round, allowing the dream team of Declan, Ben, Dominic and Daniel to take us to a respectable fourth place overall. Well done to all that participated – a great effort!

This term is also a big term for our Riley House charity, the Salvation Army. We would normally be spending a Sunday morning door knocking the local neighbourhood collecting money for the Red Shield Appeal – a charity that Riley House has supported for 24 years. For our 25th year, the Red Shield Appeal went digital and the Riley men have been creating their own fundraising pages and collecting many donations. We are currently on $2,857! This is a record-breaking amount and I think we have the potential to far exceed this. You can find the Riley fundraising page here. Any donation you are able to make would be gratefully received.

Well done to the following boys for their participation in the Oratory competition this year: Harry Stoneman, Oscar Roati, Kyle Brady, Oliver Bryans and Leo De Clara. A big congratulations to Oliver Bryans for winning the Year 10 competition – a fantastic achievement. We are all very proud of Oliver.

Congratulations to the Riley recipients of Best Team Man Awards for Term 1 sport:

Cricket: Cooper Corless (2nd XI), Carter Corless (9A), Gus Lyons (7A), Mason Perkins (5F)
Volleyball: Jack Haines (11C), Ethan McNamara (9B), Oscar Roati (8B)
Rowing: Roman De Clara (Ergo Shield Year 9), Sam Power (Spirit Award Year 10, 7th Quad), Oliver Thornton (Spirit Award Year 10, 4th Quad).

As I draw this newsletter to a close, it is with great sadness I announce that our Term 3 Riley function will not be taking place. Unfortunately, all House functions have been cancelled this year, but we will be back bigger and better in 2021.

A big thank you to the amazing Riley PC tutors. Without you I would not be able to do my job! Also, a massive thank you to my beautiful Riley Prefects Cooper, Dan and James – you definitely keep me on my toes and make me laugh (even if I am the butt of the joke most of the time).

Finally a thank you to the Riley community for another fantastic (and unique) term. I truly love working with your sons. They keep me very busy and very entertained. Blessings to all of you for the holiday break. I hope the boys will return with renewed energy, clear goals and a willingness to participate in all things Nudgee College and Riley.

Ms Lynsey Hale
Riley House Dean

Ross

It certainly has been a school term like no other and I am immensely proud of the young men of Ross House for the way in which they navigated the challenges of learning@home and the inevitable disruptions to the usual routines of College life. Despite the unusual term, Ross House students continued to achieve great things across different areas of the school.

Oratory

Well done to the following students who participated in the 2020 Nudgee College Oratory competition: Elfie Piper (Ross 9), Dusty Piper (Ross 1), Ben Gunter (Ross 1), Ewen Lalor (Ross 6), Chad Oehlman (Ross 2) and Ben Weber (Ross Prefect).

Sport

Congratulations to the following Ross House students who received a Best Team Man Award in either Cricket or Volleyball from Term 1:

Cricket: 11A Hunter Lim (Ross 2), 11B Oliver Taylor (Ross 7), 10B Hassan Raza (Ross 4), 7D Dean Keys (Ross 4), 5C Ali Raza (Ross 8)
Volleyball: 2nd VI Morgan O’Dwyer (Ross 8), 11A Caine Day (Ross 1), 7A Riley Jensen (Ross 1)

Rowing Awards:

Best Clubman Award: Mattias Dahlstedt (Ross Prefect)
Senior Coxswain Award: Darcy Carmody (Ross 3)
Most Improved Year 10 Rower: Luke O’Sullivan (Ross 7)
Spirit Award Year 11 4th VIII: Cooper Corcoran (Ross 1)
Spirit Award Year 10 5th Quad: Dominic Weber (Ross 5)
Spirit Award Year 9 7th Quad: Finlay King (Ross 1)
Spirit Award Year 9 6th Quad: Anton Pazynitch (Ross 3)
Spirit Award Year 9 4th Quad: Will Robinson (Ross 6)

Pastoral Care

Learning@home and social distancing prevented Ross House from gathering together and building House spirit in the usual manner. The Ross House student leadership team of Prefects and Big Brothers are to be commended for their initiative in engaging our students in unique ways. Congratulations to the winners of the following competitions:

Best Joke: Oliver Patterson (Ross 6)
Master Chef: Max Uhlmann (Ross 9)
Scissors, Paper, Rock: Spencer Green (Ross 9)
Trick Shot: Ross 2 PC Group
Table Tennis: TBA

I would like to acknowledge the wonderful Ross House PC tutors who did an amazing job of staying connected to our students during learning@home and continue to provide a high level of pastoral care each morning. Everyone is looking forward to a well-deserved break before returning to what will be a hectic Term 3, with so many things being rescheduled into what is already a busy term. Stay safe and healthy.

Mr Michael Byrne
Ross House Dean

Shaw

Semester 1 has certainly been a very different experience for all, and one that will never be forgotten. The impact COVD-19 had on our community has been staggering, yet also rewarding; new friendships formed, new learning opportunities, family time that we have not experienced for many years, and a slower lifestyle. While for many of us this time has been an opportunity to build relationships and take time to slow down, it has also been a time of anxiety and stress for some families; the loss of employment, loved ones, learning in a different way, boarding students unable to return. The support network the College and the community has offered to the students and their families academically, pastorally and spiritually has been outstanding. I hope you have felt supported during Semester 1.

Term 1 began with the induction of our new students and families to Shaw House; we welcomed 37 new students to our community. The Shaw Seniors were presented with their Senior student badge from our wonderful House Patron, Ms Maggie Shaw. We also welcomed our Vice Captain Oliver Horwood, and Prefects Xavier Nicolaidis, Oahu Davey-Phillips and Max Grant to their leadership duties. The Junior School welcomed their Big Brothers Christian Setefano, Henry Wallis, Howard Yanda and Manraj Birk. During Term 1 and 2, our Shaw House leaders were instrumental in supporting the students and checking in online to build and maintain our strong community connections. Thankfully, we celebrated the start of the year with our House Breakfast where we raised $400 for our House charity, the Queensland Epilepsy Foundation. Thank you to our amazing parent helpers for assisting on this day with raffles, setting up and selling tickets. Our House Mums Ms Jules Born and Ms Anne Gray hosted a wonderful House Breakfast, with Maggie also attending. In our first and only Inter-house event of the term, Shaw House came an amazing second place in Inter-house Swimming – go the mighty Shaw Sharks! We also managed to squeeze in the Year 7 camp to Mary Valley and I thank the following Year 11s for visiting us: Sam Rogers, Rodin Martin, Lachlan Doherty, Elijah Tiso and Finlay Schuster. I also thank Ms Kate Fraikin and Mr Mark Rieken for attending the Year 7 camp.

Term 2 began in a whole new way for everyone. I must say I did enjoy the experience as we all were in this together; working through new learning opportunities, meeting family members and family pets online. Seeing the life of my students from the other side of the screen gave me a new perspective on how I teach and how I could help my students learn. It was wonderful to see the students in person halfway through the term – schools are very quiet without the boys! Online learning and Google Hangout are terms that will be forever in our vocabulary. However, even from our homes we still managed to celebrate all things Shaw: PC isolation playlists, PC Bake Days, PC best joke challenges, rock paper scissors competitions, birthdays online – building relations and having fun connecting is only as limited as your imagination!

Once back at school we celebrated the following achievements:

Shaw House Chess Team: Jacob Martin, Eric Yang, Aaron Tran, Ash Tayler, Jazz Born, Sebastian Mattiussi, Jovan Singh, Manraj Birk, Harveer Birk
Queensland da Vinci Decathlon Participants: Thomas Kewley, Ash Tayler, Alex Patti, George Gillam, Jacob Gillam, Archie Wallis
1st VIII Rowing: Harry McKeown
1st XI Cricket: Jackson Mills
GPS Swimming Team: Finlay Schuster, Oliver Schuster, Tyler O’Keefe, Cameron Reppel, Blair McKitrick, Alex Patti, Poitoa Wells, Tom Kewley, Dashiel Withnall, Aiden Luke (special mention to Jazz Born for all of his years dedicated to GPS Swimming.
Oratory Participants: Oliver Mattiussi, Tom Kewley, Billy Grace, Hayden Hamilton, Eric Fitzgerald, Jovan Singh, Sam Kewley, Jacob Gilliam, Poitoa Wells
Year 5 Oratory Winner: Oliver Mattiussi
Year 8 Oratory Winner: Sam Kewley
Volleyball Best Team Man Awards: 10B Cooper Groves, 8C William Adams, 7E Ash Tayler
Most Improved Year 11 Rower: Matthew Van Weerdenburg
Spirit Award Year 9 5th Quad: Jacob Gillam
Spirit Award Year 9 2nd Quad: Thomas Hitchen
Spirit Award Year 9 1st Quad: Jack McKeown
Best Year 11 Oarsman: Harry McKeown.

It has been a long yet rewarding term and I commend the Shaw students for their hard work, dedication, respectful attitude and vision for new possibilities in learning during the past two terms – well done. I would also like to express my gratitude to your son’s PC tutor for their dedication and passion while learning@home. Next term is the last term for our Senior Shaw students and a term of dedication and persistence to learn in preparation for their external exams. It has been a year of many firsts for the cohort of 2020. To end Term 2, a group of Shaw Seniors visited Maggie to wish her a very happy AWE-SHAW-SOME birthday. Happy birthday Maggie! Thank you to the many families and students who regularly emailed Maggie and kept her entertained during our online isolation period, she loved every email.

I wish everyone a restful and well deserved holiday and I look forward to a renewed and refreshed Term 3

Ms Robyn Mann
Shaw House Dean

Tierney

For me one of the most appealing facets of working in education is that even with experience and familiarity in a setting, no two days are ever the same. 2020 has certainly delivered on that aspect of appeal! When I joined our Year 7 Tierney students for camp early in Term 1 we found ourselves in the middle of a heavy storm on the first night we camped out. It was like no other storm I’d ever experienced and I remember thinking (among many things) that it would be easily one of the most memorable moments of the 2020 school year. Additionally, I was impressed with the way the boys were able to stick together, ride it out and later check on each other and discuss the positives of what had happened. What was an overnight moment of challenge turned out to be a minor event in comparison to what lay ahead. Never have I been more grateful to be employed, have good health and work in such a collegial environment with genuine support from staff, students, parents and the wider community. It gives me great pleasure to share in some of the many highlights from Tierney House this semester.

Pastoral Care

As always our Tierney students have been well supported by our fantastic team of staff. We have had a few changes this semester and I’d like to thank Mr Neil Poppleton, Ms Kelly Vowles, Mr Corey Braithwaite, Mr Paul Raven, Ms Louise Nardi, Ms Lesley Gardner and Ms Candice Green for their continued service to our House. Additionally we welcomed Ms Tahnee Brahim to Tierney. Ms Brahim initially supported Ti7, but has now established herself with Ti9 and we thank Ms Elizabeth Worthington who joined Ti5 for this semester. Ms Worthington will be moving on next term and we thank her for her commitment to Ti5 and wish her all the best for the future.

Inter house Swimming and Chess

Congratulations to all students who participated in the Inter-house Swimming carnival in Term 1. A consistent effort throughout the day was rewarded with a fourth place overall. This term the Inter-house Chess competition took on a new online format for the initial rounds of the competition, before playing the final rounds in person during lunch breaks. Congratulations to the following students who represented Tierney: Jack Weaver, Patrick Kennedy, William Kewley, Mitchell Kewley, Ethan Hunter, Cooper Hunter, Bill Ingham-Myers, Declan Cabot and Leo Fairly. Tierney ended up an impressive second overall. A special mention also to Jack Weaver and Patrick Kennedy who demonstrated fantastic leadership and organisation throughout the competition. There were several boys unable to play this year who I know are keen to play in the future in what is one of the younger (on average) teams in this open competition.

Congratulations to all involved in what sport and activities were on offer this semester. tierney House was represented in Debating, Cricket, Volleyball and Rowing in addition, to the Nudgee College Music Program and the annual Nudgee College Oratory competition. A special mention to the following students for their individual achievements and recognition:

Music Captain: Sam Schimming
Cricket Best Team Man: Jack Weaver, Baxter Witteveen, Ben Somers
Volleyball Best Team Man: Genjirou Sato, Leroy Fairhurst
Rowing Year 10 Coxswain Award: Tom Shaw
Rowing Spirit Award: Bill Ingham-Myers, Lewis Shaw, Kobi Roberts, Angus Casey, Tom Shaw
Rowing Year 9 Best Oarsman: Hamish Leddie
Oratory Competition Speakers: Fletcher Dunn, Shannen Gerard Solker
Oratory Year 6 Winner: Billy Connellan

Social Justice and Community

Prior to the end of Term 1 a free dress day was held to support Year 11 student Aidan Roost who has been dealing with serious illness since April 2019. To demonstrate the continued support of Aidan the entire community joined Tierney House in raising funds with a purple themed ‘Day for Aidan’ (Aidan’s colour of choice). Celebrating his 16th birthday and making it in person (or in robot style) to some classes have been highlights for all of us in Tierney in 2020. We continue to stand in solidarity with Aidan and his family and we hope he knows just how much Tierney House is inspired by his incredible resilience, work ethic and fashion sense.

As the term draws to an end I’d also like to acknowledge the support Tierney has given the Ed’s Pantry initiative. In such challenging times the extra effort to donate to this has been outstanding. Well done also Tierney PC tutors and students for supporting Fogarty’s House charity the Leukaemia Foundation through the World’s Greatest Shave at the end of Term 1. I recommend you take a sneak peek at the Fogarty newsletter article to spot Ms Louise Nardi’s efforts with this – simply outstanding!

From our most remote boarding families to our city based day students, this semester has been a challenging one both academically and personally for all our students. I’d like to thank and acknowledge the parents and caregivers for their continued support, particularly during the learning@home phase this semester. I wish all members of the Tierney community a safe and happy mid-year break. As always, it’s been a privilege to work with you all.

Ms Joanne Barrett
Tierney House Dean

Cotter

What a strange term it has been in the world of boarding, as we have navigated through COVID-19 restrictions. From a slow start with only eight returning boarders, to a boarding house of 50 per cent capacity, we have been making steps in the right direction. However, admittedly there is still a certain busyness missing from Cotter House. We cannot wait to get back to the Cotter House we know and love!

This term, we were faced with challenges but in many ways, our community thrived. We saw new initiatives blossom, including our boarding@home platform and we became used to the Google Meet platform for pastoral catch-ups and House meetings. I think our time away from the boarding community actually reminded us of how good things usually are. Joni’ Mitchell’s 1970 hit song Big Yellow Taxi has never been more accurate – “you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone”.

What became apparent was how much our boys missed their Nudgee College mates, nay brothers. I received the below text message early this term from one of our Cotter parents following an online how meeting. I think it perfectly summarises the positive relationships that are formed in boarding. It also speaks clearly to the huge influence that these relationships have on our boys’ sense of wellbeing.

“Hi Casey,

I hope all is going well. Just thought I would let you know that the Cotter Hook-up this afternoon had an amazing effect on our son. He has a real spring in his step after speaking to you guys and connecting with his mates. He was literally whistling, singing and bouncing around the house! Thank you so much for all you and all of your team do.”

Whilst much of this term was spent in isolation and a number of our boys could not return to boarding, it is important to note what has been happening in the dorms over the last six weeks. We have seen great camaraderie amongst the returning boarders and witnessed new friendships flourish with the reduced numbers. With additional restrictions in place, the boys have had to demonstrate their resilience. Impressively, they have usually done so with a smile on their face and spring in their step. It has been great to see the boys getting involved in activities and taking the initiative to seek out their own fun. We have enjoyed campfires together, had some heated games of ultimate frisbee, enjoyed the reopening of the gym, shared one of Tracey’s famous dorm breakfasts, had a Year 12 barbecue and played the staff versus student soccer match.

Once again, this term has reminded me of how important and ever-present our Cotter House motto is: “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you”.

The next few weeks will see a further easing of restrictions and we pray that we can welcome all of our Cotter men back in the near future.

Mr Casey Brealy
Head of Cotter Boarding House

Hodda

It is often said that boarders are the heart of Nudgee College. It is also true that our origins as a Catholic school are at the centre of what we do here as teachers and boarding staff. To that end, we are indeed blessed to have such a beautiful Chapel as we do at Nudgee College. The boys are encouraged to get involved in social justice activities and be aware of the sacrifices that others have made for them, and then to think about how they could sacrifice something to give to others. I often reflect where else do nearly 300 teenage boys gather together to celebrate Mass and reflect on their own spirituality. We do it here every Sunday night and it is always a highlight to share that experience with them. This term obviously has been a little different – fortunately, we have been able to celebrate Masses for our Year 12 boys in the last two weeks. It has also been a pleasure to lead a liturgy in the common room for our Year 10 and 11 boys. It has been a valuable time for us to take some time to reflect, pray and re-energise for the week ahead. I really congratulate the boys for the way they have entered into both spiritual opportunities.

Hodda Leaders

We are also blessed to have so many leaders among this group of Year 12s. The best type of leadership is where everyone considers themselves to be a leader. I think we have that situation here in Hodda, and by the way they have conducted themselves so far, I can’t wait to see how they perform for the rest of the year. Your guidance, patience and teaching as parents has obviously had a huge impact on your sons, as I can genuinely say, they are a pleasure to care for here in Hodda – thank you for doing such a good job so far and more thanks for trusting us to work in partnership with you to continue their development. In particular, our Hodda leaders for 2020 are Howard Yanda and Cooper Green. I always feel blessed to have Injarra Habour and Lastus Auakai who are College Captain and Vice Captain, respectively, as members of the Hodda Boarding House. Their contributions are valued and respected.

I am also really positive about the future of Hodda and the boys we have in Year 11 coming through who will be future leaders. In addition to them, it has been a pleasure to work with my Assistant Head of Boarding House, Mr Joel Crighton. His energy and enthusiasm, great ability to build relationships with the boys and the partnership he has been able to develop with Mr Corey Braithwaite and myself, have been so valuable in our care for the boys here in Hodda. Of course I’d also like to acknowledge all the other staff here, and particularly to our new House Mum Ms Cassandra Smith. Cassandra has been able to build relationships with the boys so quickly and effortlessly – she is making us all look bad! The boys love her cooking on a Friday afternoon and have really taken to her since she started earlier this term. Special thanks to Dr Lorraine Slaven who also works in boarding and has built some excellent relationships with the boys. She is one of our psychologists and has helped us so much already. I am lucky to lead such a wonderful and caring team.

Returning

Can I please ask that you ensure your son comes back to boarding with an appropriate haircut, proper uniforms (winter again next term), labelled clothing, a blue drawstring laundry bag and all his equipment to start school like calculator, books etc. It is difficult for us to start the term by having to chase boys up who have had all holidays to get these things right. We’d rather simply be welcoming them back as opposed to talking to them about haircuts and the like. Your cooperation is very much appreciated.

Hodda Formal Dinners

In Week 4 of Term 3, we will be having our usual Hodda Christmas in July Formal Dinner. We are all looking forward to taking some time out of the usual routine to enjoy each other’s company. We use these Formal Dinners to educate and train the boys so they know what the difference is between a casual or relaxed dinner and a more formal setting, including the differences in the way they should act and carry themselves. They are to be congratulated for the way they always turn up looking fantastic and the way they engage in the proceedings of the night. Thanks also to all the staff and parents who will be in attendance.

Hodda Boarding Site

At the start of the term, we used our new boarding@home website to connect and share information. I am intending to keep using it and encourage the boys to keep connecting with it, even while they are back at school. I look forward to hearing some good news from Queensland Health regarding numbers and capacity in regards to next term and hope to see everyone back as usual. I hope you all have a restful and relaxing break with families and I look forward to seeing all the boys back safe and well next term.

Mr Ken Mitchell
Head of Hodda Boarding House

Murphy

This will be the last newsletter I write for the year, as I head off on my long service leave for

Term 3 and 4. Murphy will be in the capable hands of Mr Alex O’Regan as Head of Murphy Boarding House. I will leave his contact details at the bottom of this article.

Needless to say Term 2, 2020 will definitely be a term to remember. It was a term that, due to COVID-19, boarding was unable to return to full capacity, and instead went online with NC@home.

Suffice to say there were many challenges, but I hope the boys and staff of Murphy still felt as connected as possible during this time. We have all learned a lot from these times, and I think there will be plenty of positives we can take from this time moving forward as the restrictions hopefully continue to ease.

Boarding@home was a big part of being able to stay connected, and this online platform allowed staff and students to upload content in the hope of creating a virtual boarding house. Photos from home, trick shot challenges, and a wellbeing wall were some ways that we tried to achieve this. For me the highlight of the site was the ‘Q&A with Tooovaay’, where Mr Sean Toovey interviewed several boys from the Boarding House, asking a variety of questions for listeners to get to know individuals better. It gave great insight into where boys were from, their interests, family structures, major influences the boys have in their lives, and the ‘Murphy Minute’. Each episode I personally learnt something new about the boys that were interviewed and it is something we will look to continue once boarding returns to full capacity.

To continue with our push to promote mental health awareness and the wellbeing message in Murphy, the Seniors came up with a plan to complete the Beyond Blue Push-Up Challenge. This challenge was completing 3,046 push-ups over 21 days, representing the number of lives lost in Australia due to mental health issues in 2018. Each day a target number was set based on a mental health related fact that boys, staff and some parents aimed to complete by the end of the day. This not only was a hard challenge and created great camaraderie amongst boys in the Boarding House and boarding@home, but started great conversations about some of the confronting statistics around mental health.

I hope all our boys and their parents have a safe and happy break. Alex and the Murphy team look forward to seeing the boys all back here in Term 3.

Alex O’Regan: aor@nudgee.qld.edu.au and 0438 997 438.

Mr Ben Ralston
Head of Murphy Boarding House

O'Brien

Wow, what a massive term it has been. While the past few months have presented us all with many challenges, I feel the conditions around this term have enabled O’Brien staff and boarders, in some aspects, to come together and form tighter bonds than we may have if we were here on campus. Although difficult, I must say how proud I was to see the boys doing their best during these unprecedented times.

The boarding@home platform provided an excellent opportunity for staff and students to stay connected, but also to find out more about each other. Boarders were invited into each other’s homes through various activities such as virtual house tours and ‘room of the week’ competitions. This for me was one of the highlights, as due to physical distance, boarders often do not have the opportunity to share their home/property and family with other boys. I was so proud to see the way some boarders embraced this opportunity. Other activities such as lip sync battles and ‘O’B Goat’ challenges were really popular, and I congratulate the young men below who were winners in these activities throughout the first few weeks of term.

Lip Sync Battles Winners: Thomas Hansson, Lawson Swain, George Coorey, Phoenix Gibson
Who is the O’B Goat: Roman DeClara (30 second push up challenge), Hunter Warby (juggling)
Room of the Week Winners: Hunter Warby, Bill Deeran, Eamon Mahoney, Thomas Deeran

It was also great to see many whole dorm activities, such as the O’Brien Fur Family and Light Up the Dawn on Anzac Day. This platform also enabled many boys to demonstrate leadership skills through the creation of activities and through their involvement. I would personally like to thank Roman De Clara (Year 9) for the energy he put into the boarding site during his time at home.

As always, our success as a boarding family rests upon the amazing leadership demonstrated by our outstanding senior staff, and I would greatly like to thank Ms Megan Brealy, Mr John Cross, Mr Brent Mitchell and Mr Chris Dods for all they have done this term. While learning how to teach online was new, continuing to run a virtual boarding house required some out of the box thinking and creativity, and our success is a result of their efforts.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable mid-year break, and look forward to the time when our whole O’Brien family is allowed to return to the Boarding House.

Mr Jeff Campbell
Head of O’Brien Boarding House

Week 9 Term 2 2020

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