24 November 2022
Some 175 years ago, 11 years after South Australia was established, a group of interested parents, our founders, gathered for the first time to discuss the educational pathways of their sons. They resolved to start a school, the Church of England Collegiate School of Saint Peter, with doors opening for the first time on 15 July 1847. An Act of Parliament from 1849 defined the chief purpose of the School should be to teach the principles of Christian religion and mathematics, classics, language, any branch of science and literature that the leaders of the School would deem appropriate from time to time, in the framework of a modern, broad, liberal education.
Fast forward 175 years, and what constitutes a modern, broad, liberal education may look a little different, but what remains consistent is the investment and motivation of parents to understand the trajectory of their son’s education. On Monday evening it was a privilege to present on our senior academic pathways and where they are heading now and into the future. These academic pathways are complemented by our programs in outdoor education, service learning, sport, music and the arts as we strive to fulfil our founders’ vision of providing a broad education. Thank you to those who attended in person or tuned in online. Please know my office is always available to you should you wish to follow up any matters regarding the programs provided at St Peter’s College.
We have been treated to an array of exceptional creative arts displays and musical performances over the past fortnight. Our Years 7 to 12 Art, Design and Technology Exhibition held on Tuesday evening showcased the creative diversity and skill of our students across a range of materials, techniques, designs and products. Artwork created through our Artist in Residence program, now in its 25th year, was unveiled and long serving staff members Mr Scott Russell and Mr Con Sinanis were acknowledged for a combined 60 years of dedicated service to the School’s Art and Technology faculties. Thank you, Con and Scott, your contribution to SPSC has been exceptional.
An enthusiastic group of Years 8 and 9 students formed a quirky assortment of characters in our Middle Years Drama Production, Shut Up. Congratulations to all students and staff involved in producing this entertaining production that ran across two evenings.
Friday night’s Cabaret Concert was terrific. The incredible talents of our musicians across the School were once again on show as guests were treated to an eclectic array of genres and sounds. From the distortion of our rock bands to the elegance of our strings, the Cabaret Concert had something for everyone.
Congratulations to our Years 4 and 7 students on their outstanding end of year concerts. A key focus of our Band Program across both year groups is to nurture a lifelong love and enjoyment of music in our students and these concerts were wonderful celebrations of our young musicians’ learning. Thank you to our Junior School and Senior School Music staff on these outstanding performances.
The annual Celebration of Giving event, hosted by our Foundation, drew to a conclusion our 175 Years of Giving appeal. It is wonderful to witness the culture of philanthropy continue to flourish at the School with over 325 members of our community making gifts of a cumulative $585k. These gifts will benefit future generations through scholarship opportunities and the ongoing renewal of the School facilities.
Congratulations to the following students who performed exceptionally across a range of Australian Science competitions: ICAS High Distinction (top 1% of nation) Casper Cai (Year 10), William Carrigan (Year 9), Ross Psaromatis (Year 8), Caleb Scott (Year 7) and Alan Lu (Year 10); Junior Science Olympiad High Distinction (top 10% of Australia) Matthew Liu (Year 8), Maulik Singhal (Year 10), Alex Koh, Seb Birdseye (Year 10), David Taylor, Casper Cai (Year 10); Biology Olympiad High Distinction (top 10% nationally) Casper Cai and Alex Koh, Chemistry Olympiad High Distinction (top 10% nationally) Casper Cai, Darren Nguyen (Year 11), Gunin Singhal (Year 11) and Steward Anderson (Year 11); Physics Olympiad High Distinction (top 10% nationally) Darren Nguyen, Gunin Singhal and Alex Koh.
I also congratulate Thomas Pyke (Year 6) who represented South Australia at the Jack Newton Junior Golf Under 12 National Schools Golf Championship in Canberra earlier this month. Thomas placed individually in 8th position.
I look forward to celebrating and reflecting on the achievements of our students at events ranging from the Early Years Christmas Concert to the Years 7 to 11 Speech Day over the final two weeks of the academic year. I hope you can join me for these occasions as we celebrate all that has been accomplished in the past 12 months.
Tim Browning
Headmaster