This year Aquinas took on the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for mental health and wellbeing. In total we completed 248,189 push ups and raised nearly $5000! Congratulations to Year 7 Bryan West who managed a total of just over 36,000 push-ups on their own. Many Aquinians learned about mental health and wellbeing through the app, through daily facts in tutor and in mental-health based assemblies run by the wellbeing council.We had a lot of fun and we can’t wait to beat this target next year! If you or a loved one need help, you might consider some of the support services listed on https://menshealthwa.org.au/directory-2/

At Aquinas we are focused on building a boy’s character through not only our Character Education Curriculum but also the various opportunities we can provide boys to grow their character, especially through service to others. At the start of this year we were gifted the opportunity to work with Special Olympics Australia, an international organisation which provides sporting opportunities for people with an intellectual disability or autism. In discussions with Tara Schwarze the State Manager for Special Olympics Western Australia, Aquinas agreed to support and hold three events this year and plan to continue our partnership into the future. Three events were decided up, swimming was held on 14^th May, Basketball held last Sunday 28^th May and a soccer tournament will be held on Saturday 17^th June. These events are part of the pathway for athletes aiming to representing Western Australia and Australia in future Special Olympics events.

In partnering with the Special Olympics we have provided Aquinas students an authentic and very powerful opportunity to serve others by helping run the competitions as well as competing side by side with the Special Olympics athletes during the events. The following boys should be congratulated for giving up their time to volunteer at these events. Tara and the other organisers were very complimentry of the swimming and basketball volunteers and I know they will be just as complimentray and impressed with the boys assisting at the upcoming soccer tournament.

On Friday April 28^th and Saturday April 29^th, the Schola Cantorum had the honour of performing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra at the Perth Concert Hall. Whilst the Schola had done this twice last year, this 2023 performance was particularly special – the choir were involved in the world premiere of a piece of music called The Tides of Longing, written by Perth composer and rising star of the Classical Music world, Lachlan Skipworth.

The Tides of Longing tells the story of a refugee who travels to Australia by boat, and is performed by orchestra, adult chorus, boys chorus and a single actor. At about 35 minutes in length, the music takes the audience on both a physical and emotional journey, as the protagonist survives storms and relives the horrors that he has fled on his journey to Australia.

The Schola were featured prominently at four different sections of the piece – as well as beginning and ending the whole piece, they also sang two different solo sections. One of these, called Ayee Bird was so well received that it will now be recorded as a stand-alone piece to be heard on ABC Classic FM. The fact that these sections were composed specifically for the Schola makes them even more special.

These two performances, which were to a combined audience of about 3,000 people, prepared the boys in the Schola well for their upcoming tour to England and Ireland, where they will perform seven times inside two weeks.

Hugh Lydon
Director of College Schola Cantorum

Photo credit Linda Dunjey

The 87^th Beverley Dinner was celebrated at the Beverley Golf Club after an absence of 3 years due to the pandemic. The Beverley Dinner is an opportunity for alumni of the seven PSA schools to come together to renew friendships forged through a shared experience of attending one of the schools.

The Beverley Dinner is a long-held tradition of PSA schools, which commenced as a networking event for rural alumni to engage and connect as a community.

On a rotational basis, each of the schools undertakes to assist the association with the organizing of the event and in 2023 Aquinas College undertook that role. Working closely with Brendan McLean (Class of '87) who was the designated President of the Association, Nichole Rowson from the Development Office managed to re-establish the event with over 60 guests attending. Aquinas was well represented including Robert Henderson attending his first Beverley dinner in his role as Principal of Aquinas College and alumni from the Class of 1979.

One of the significant highlights of the night was the address provided by Paul Duffield who spoke of his journey from Darken to the AFL and back to the farm. Paul was College Captain in 2002 and went on to play 171 games for the Fremantle Football Club. The guests had a wonderful opportunity to seek an insight into his journey and the level of interest generated was reflected in the number of questions from the floor covering not only football but the agricultural sector. He was a wonderful ambassador for the College and it was great to hear his story.

The Journey of a Boarder

There's a space in time where we stop helping get the sheep in or climb down from the cattle yards, we get off a tractor or lean the fishing rod up, maybe we put a horse in the stable or a motorbike away and have a last kick of the footy with a sibling left behind, tidy our rooms? Nah... whatever, we always stop and have a good look around.

It's time to get back to school.

Bags are packed, plans are made and goodbyes are said.

The family pets get a squeezing hug or an absent minded pat on the head.

There's always a lecture or two.

Cars pull out and often stop to quickly swing back past the clothesline for a forgotten pair of socks or a dash inside for an 'it was on the bench'.

More often it doesn't and 'a halfway there' realisation is revealed.

Tree lined driveways, winding gravel roads, long bitumen straights, 'planes, trains and automobiles' take us back to our home away from home.

The day between is an anxious one. Stuck in the middle of leaving one home and returning to another.

We always feel better after a day or so with our brothers, comforted by our boarding family.

Learning, experiencing and cared for, this is our other place.

And then we go back.

Come with us on a journey to the places we call home...

Aquinas College Boarding Community

We celebrated International Women's Day on Wednesday 8 March 2023 at Aquinas College. We had a special morning tea for all of the female staff. Our student leaders across the College served for us and did an amazing job.

Women play a unique role in an all boys setting and an important role for our young men at Aquinas College. We can assist boys to be aware of the contribution that women have made and continue to make in society.

It is worth noting the importance of female roles models is especially crucial for young boys in primary school. At this stage of their development young boys are still forming their beliefs and attitudes about gender roles and may be more influenced by the adults in their lives.

Having female educators and mentors can help boys to see females as competent and capable leaders, breaking down any gender stereotypes they may have. Learning from women will assist our students to develop empathy and understanding for people from different backgrounds and have tolerance for different perspectives.

In a world where gender inequality still exists it is important for our students to understand the importance of inclusivity and equality. Seeing women as successful role models can help our students to be more inclusive and supportive of women in all aspects of life.

More specifically when we consider the curriculum here are some of the ways we may show our support for women.

History- Teach boys about the contribution women have made throughout history. Highlight notable female role models such as; Mary Seacole, Rosa Parks, Mahala Yousafzai and Miriam- Rose Ungenmerr- Baumann

Literature- Expose boys to literature written by women that feature female protagonists. Hermoine Granger- Harry Potter and Princess Pearl- Zog

Science- The curriculum can showcase the achievements of female scientists throughout history from Marie Curie to Rosalind Franklin.

Politics and Society- Teach about the suffragette movement and the ongoing issues with equal pay for women.

We also celebrated this week by asking each student to wear a colourful tie in recognition and support of the amazing women in their lives. Programs that we introduce in the Junior School such as Making New Friends where we engage with girls schools in meaningful and authentic ways as well as our Character Education programs and great respect we have for our Mother of the Church Mary as a part of our Catholic Faith, are just some of the ways we embed an admiration and respect for women in our daily lives.

Nicole Monzu
Head of Junior School