It was a delight to begin Term 1 by welcoming mothers into the School for our annual Mother Son Breakfast. Held in Da Costa Dining Hall, it was wonderful to see so many mothers enjoying breakfast with their sons and starting the day on such an affectionate and caring note. This Sunday is Mother’s Day and a good opportunity to thank mothers for all that they do to support, nurture and champion our sons.
We have warmly welcomed our new Head of Junior School, Mrs Jasmine Taylor to St Peter’s College this term and enjoyed a wonderful commissioning service this week. Mrs Taylor brings a wealth of experience and a perspective on education beyond the shores of South Australia. Parent morning teas have been arranged for 8.30am on Friday 17 May and Friday 24 May; please rsvp to attend by emailing LMichelon@stpeters.sa.edu.au.
Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the Generations in Jazz music festival in Mount Gambier. More than 5,000 students from across Australia competed in the highly professional competition. The St Peter’s College contingent did exceptionally well and the full results are available online. Well done to every student who participated; you have made the School proud. I’d like to particularly mention Charlie Wells, Year 9, who won most promising jazz vocalist. This is the most prestigious award at the event and a wonderful achievement given the depth of competition.
The week ahead sees our Senior School Co-curricular Drama Production being performed in the Drama Theatre. The play is called the ‘Caucasian Chalk Circle’ and promises to be an enthralling production. Saints students have collaborated with girls from our local partner schools to produce the play and great effort has gone into the development of the set. It is sure to be a wonderful performance so please join me by booking your tickets.
The commencement of Term 2 also saw St Peter’s College strengthen our collaboration with Dr Tessa Opie, an expert in sexuality education. Tessa has been working with our staff and students in strengthening our relationships and sexual health curricula and returned to speak with all staff about homophobia and transphobia. It was terrific to see staff from every area of the School working together to ensure our inclusive culture is embraced and reinforced. A session led by Tessa and aimed at parents will be held at Walford School on Tuesday 4 June and further details will be available shortly.
Finally, I would like to highlight the exceptional performance of three of our boys in the senior pedal prix team. Sam Golding (Year 10), Will Golding (Year 12) and Angus Miller (Year 11) represented the School in the 2nd round of the Australian HPV (Human Powered Vehicle) series held in Loxton. This is a six-hour endurance race and despite a rear puncture 15 minutes from the end, the Saints team came first. Congratulations to Alan Lu (Year 7) and Derek Yang (Year 9) who won first place for the Programming Award at the World Festival First Lego League held in Detroit, USA. Congratulations to Angus Ritossa (Year 12) who has been selected to compete in the International Olympiad in Informatics which will be held in Azerbaijan later this year. Angus completed in the Olympiad in Japan last year and we wish him the best of luck for this year’s competition.
Tim Browning
Headmaster