On a picturesque Sunday evening, 8 keen birdwatchers assisted with the Rainbow Lorikeet Roost count. They were very successful observing over 50 birds, with a large number of those, roosting on Campus.

The Lorikeets are quite tricky to spot when roosting. As a defence mechanism, they fly around making a lot of noise just before dusk. They then fly into a tree near where they roost and stay quiet until they think it is safe for them to fly into their own roost for the night.

The students watched them and to tried to count how many flew into the roost. Not an easy task as they are small birds that can fly very fast. The students did an excellent job spotting 18 roosting!

Thank you to Sue Harper, a parent volunteer and long time environmentalist/photographer, for sharing these great images with us! The organisers of the Australia wide event loved the pictorial evidence of Lorikeets roosting at Aquinas.

In the coming weeks, we will be counting the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo’s. Please contact paul.rich@aquinas.wa.edu.au if you would like to come along as a parent helper.

Last week, education ministers from around the country unanimously agreed to implement an holistic and age-appropriate consent curriculum that will be mandatory across Australia. This is a huge sign that what our boys learn through their Veritas classes, the Character Education Program of the College, is a curriculum well and truly leading the way in educating about respectful relations and consent. We are always on the look out for new ways to engage our young men in meaningful discussions and discernment around these interrelated matters, news of this Australia wide approach will further fuel our commitment in this regard. In recognition of this, we provide a throwback photo of the delegation of students from Aquinas who represented the College at the WA Department of Communities launch of the ‘Stand Up for White Ribbon Campaign’ in 2019 alongside the Hon Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Child Protection; Women's Interests; Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence; Community Services. We were invited because they had heard about our efforts in educating boys around gender-based violence and going way beyond teaching about consent, to exploring and promoting respectful relationships in our Veritas Program.

Farewell to the Old Aquinians and Friends Reunion Tour Group

After 15 tours to iconic WA locations between 2006 and 2022 (missing 2020 only due to Covid), the end of the line has come for the Old Aquinians and Friends Reunion Tour Group. The original group of travellers was comprised of Aquinas graduates from the 1950’s, with ‘friends’ added along the way as numbers dwindled. Fast forward to 2022 and many of the original group have passed away or now find touring too difficult due to illness or incapacity.

As reported in the December 2021 issue of Fish Magazine, the 15^th tour to Margaret River in November last year was the group’s swansong tour. Since their first tour to New Norcia and Wongan Hills in 2006 - the brainchild of Bill Boekeman (’54) - the group has covered key locations between Kalbarri in the north, Albany in the south and Kalgoorlie to the east, savouring the local attractions at every stop while raising more than $60,000 for Aquinas College Bursaries along the way.

Each tour was arranged and conducted with military precision, thanks mostly to the organisational efforts of Jack (’54) and Ronda Bana. Each year a tour booklet was produced, incorporating the full tour itinerary – dates and times - the names and contact details of all the tour participants, details of all previous tours, details of all previous Foundation contributions and Helpful hints for a happy trip.

Each tour included a special dinner with a live auction of various goods donated by members of the tour group, with the proceeds of the auction - and any leftover tour fees or donations - forming the basis of the annual contribution to the Foundation.

On Thursday 20 January 2022, the College and the Foundation welcomed more than 40 past members of the group for a final, annual Foundation thank you luncheon. The event afforded the group an opportunity to come together for a formal windup that included presentations to key tour group players, speeches and the handing over of their final Foundation cheque for $4,915.

On accepting the cheque - along with a special commemorative plaque - Principal David McFadden thanked the group for their tremendous contributions to Aquinas College Bursaries over many years, contributions that have directly supported the mission of the College to educate boys who would otherwise not be able to attend Aquinas.

Although there was a feeling of great sadness at the closing of an era, there was an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the fun and the camaraderie shared by all who took part in the tours over 15 years, as well as a great sense of pride in helping many young boys to receive an Aquinas education.

From the College, a big thank you to everyone involved. Your generosity has provided many bright and deserving boys with the opportunity to realise their dreams and change their lives for the better. We wish you all good health and look forward to other opportunities to welcome you back to the College.

Louise Symonds
Executive Officer | Aquinas College Foundation

Auspire Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards 2022

At the Australia Day Citizenship and Volunteer Awards ceremony held at Sir James Mitchell Park, the City of South Perth recognised some of the outstanding efforts in several volunteer categories including youth, adult, senior citizen and teams.

It was a thrill to see Kurtis Tanna and Jack Johnston receive their nominations for Youth of the Year.

Jack went on to receive Junior Citizen of the Year for 2021. In his citation, he was recognised for the many hours he has given to the Red Cross Soup Patrol, Aged Care, myFutures Castlereagh Special Needs, Bushcare and Environment and After-School Mentoring. He was the recipient of the John Beekink Award 2021 and has achieved Service Colours and Honours. Kurtis had already received Junior Volunteer of the Year for the City of South Perth in December 2021 for is work with Capes for Kids, Edmund Rice Camps and various other projects. Both of these young men are amazing role models and ambassadors for Aquinas College.

The Aquinas Outreach Program was also nominated for the Teams award. This program involves the monthly Cooking Roster for the Doorways Street Outreach as well as the Weekend Breakfast Patrol. Representing the program was Lisa Kennedy, Hans op den Dries and John Richards. The group was formed in early 2020 in response to a need to feed the homeless that wasn’t being met because of the impact of lockdowns and social distancing. Every weekend, food is prepared and served to an average of thirty people each morning. Every month, three cooks prepare a tray of food to feed clients on Friday-Sunday nights.

On Thursday 2 December, Kurtis Tanna was awarded the Young Volunteer of the Year by the City of South Perth. For many years, Kurtis has been active with Capes for Kids and has made over 50 capes. He is now collaborating with Santa Maria College which will take the production to a whole new level. But Kurtis does much more than this. He has also volunteered his time for Edmund Rice Camps for Kids, After-School Environment, Homework Club, Peer Support, Ocean Heroes, Leeuwin Volunteer Program and let's go Surfing

for the Disabled. His generosity of spirit and commitment is inspiring. Well done Kurtis!

This year’s Christmas Appeal remained focused on the needs of the poor and homeless who arrive at the various ‘Drop-In’ Centres in Perth as well as those who are sleeping rough. These Centres rely on donations of items to assist people with their personal needs as well as non-perishable food. This year our Junior School was extremely generous in providing a large variety of items that included food, toiletries, and toys.

With less short-term accommodation available due to the growing number of abandoned people, there is a need to look after those who suddenly find themselves with nothing. An increase in those with mental illnesses is also adding pressure to housing and emergency services.

All donations have now been collected by Vinnies allowing the season of Advent for distribution.

Thank you very much to families who got into the spirit of giving and generously supported the Christmas Appeal and to the Junior School Leaders who promoted and collected for this event. Thank you also to Mrs Bevan and Mrs Rive for assisting and monitoring the safe storage of items throughout the term.