28 May 2021
Over the last fortnight we have celebrated National Boarding Week and commemorated National Reconciliation Week with special assemblies and musters.
Our Boarding House is the beating heart of our School and it was immensely inspiring to hear from three boarders about how they have overcome adversity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I particularly acknowledge and thank Darryl Chu (Year 12) and Sebastian Rogers (Year 11) for sharing their experiences with such candour. It is difficult for most of us to comprehend the experience and toll these boys and their families have endured having been separated for so long (in Darryl’s case, 16 plus months). And to hear both Darryl and Seb speak with such gratitude for the support they have received from the School and the Boarding House was both emotive and inspiring.
All our boarders bring invaluable diversity and richness to our School and boarding really is a true reflection of how community works in its entirety. The boys are accountable to each other and their real advantage is their daily routine set up for them. By attaching themselves to this liberating routine there is so much they can achieve. We can all learn a lot from the principles of community embraced in our Boarding House.
Our Junior School came together for a special Assembly to commemorate National Reconciliation Week with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony performed by Uncle John. With this year’s theme ‘More than a word’. That is, reconciliation takes action. The special Assembly concluded with the singing of our national anthem, paying particular attention to the significance of the word ‘young’ being changed to ‘one’.
I commend our Senior School Student Reconciliation Committee led by School Prefect, Chirath Lekamge, on their initiative in creating a reconciliation pledge featuring over 500 fingerprints of students from Years 7 to 12. Their pledge symbolises the student body meeting to represent the School’s commitment to Indigenous Reconciliation and to initiate future action as part of this important journey for our community.
It was wonderful to celebrate Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day this week. The boys delighted in welcoming our special guests into their classrooms where they shared their work and introduced their friends and teachers. We were fortunate for the opportunity to honour and give thanks to our grandparents and special friends for their support of our community.
After months of rehearsals, we are eagerly awaiting the opening night of our combined musical with Walford this coming Wednesday. We have been told the cast, crew and staff have been “sweating like sweatsters” to bring this GREASE musical to life. So, if you have yet to buy tickets to one of the four performances, click here and support the students and staff who have worked so hard to put this show together.
On Thursday 17 June, St Peter’s College will hold its first ever Giving Day to establish a 175-Year Anniversary Scholarship. Scholarships add depth and value to our community while providing students with access to exceptional academic, co-curricular and service learning opportunities. Many past scholarship recipients have gone on to achieve great success, while positively and actively contributing to the wider community. Having personally benefited from a scholarship during my own schooling, I know how life changing such a gift can be. I hope you can join me, within your means, and make a gift that, for one day only will be matched by our generous lead donors. Click here to learn more.
Congratulations to Thomas Gaertner (DAC 2020) who was awarded the Christina Nöstlinger Prize for achieving the top result in the state for Standard Level IB German. In his thank you speech, delivered entirely in German, Thomas thanked his teachers and shared his appreciation of learning a second language on both a personal and academic level. Congratulations also to our 1st XI Soccer team who secured a convincing win over Scotch College in their intercollegiate match that has been played annually for the past 42 years.
Tim Browning
Headmaster