It has been a great Summer of Middle School Sport, below are some student’s perspectives of their experiences this season.

The 7 As Basketball Team started the season with a couple of losses, but since then we have gelled, and we are working well as a team. Some highlights in A’s are: Basil getting a big block a couple of weeks back, Lachlan and Zack taking a lot of strong rebounds, Jack hitting a step-back three against Trinity, Harper with his amazing defence, Aaron scoring some 3’s, Sammy with great passes, Rocky with strong gameplay and Austin directing some really good plays.

Some goals that we have set as a team include, make sure we have a tight defence at all times, don’t complain to the referees, always encourage your teammates and always play with good sportsmanship. It has been a really enjoyable season and we’re looking forward to Term 4.

• Marcus Motton

7B Basketball

The 7B team have had an amazing season with 0 losses 0 and 9 wins so far.

In practice, we have been brushing up on basics such as moving without the ball and leading away from your defender, and new things like behind the back passing, switching and doing weaves in gameplay.

I think it is safe to say that the team has a chance of again being successful in Term four. This group has amazing teamwork, and all of the players do the best they can on every training and every game.

• Tytan Milne

7C Basketball

This season we have done very well only losing one game to Hale. During training, our coach took us through drills that helped us to get better and play better on the day. We went through drills that improved our shooting and our passing; we learnt a specific play where we could also guarantee points if we pulled it off correctly. A highlight for me was when we played our first game against Scotch. During this game, we got off to a good start leading at half time, but the other team fought back and made it a small margin. Our team held on and won the game.

Another of my highlights for this season was when we played the 8C basketball team in a scratch match environment. At the start of the match the year 8s made four 3-pointers giving them a strong lead at half time. But our team came back and at 3 quarter-time we were up by just a few points. We retained our lead until the last minute when the year 8s scored an easy shot and then hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer. Overall, I think our team has improved so much on the court and we have made friends. I had a personal goal to do my best in whatever division I was in and I think I did my best to achieve my goal. I am sure my teammates would have achieved their goals for this season since they all did an amazing job with teamwork and trying their best.

• Dominic Lomen

7D Basketball

It’s been a very quick term, and I’ve been proud of what we’ve achieved. Sure, we haven’t won every single game, but we’ve given it our very best. We won a few of our games, but we lost the majority, but what we did best was we gave it our all, and that’s all we can ask for as a team. Our highlights were great, winning a game 36-6 against Guildford College, hitting bird mid-air and losing by 30 points against Hale. We had many tough challenges, and I’m certain, we’ll come out even stronger next semester, as we’ve improved so much since the first week. We’re only getting better. And next semester? We’re going to win every game and I’m sure of it.

We didn’t have any specific person that made our team play as well as we did, we all participated cheered on our teammates and had fun. Our coach had intentions for us to meet. But the main one was to forget that it was competitive, and just to play for fun and the sake of basketball. And we met those intentions by a mile, while still keeping those competitive, fun spirits.

• Shivan Barzanji

8A Basketball

So far, this first term has been rough. Everyone had to adjust to the early morning training, which meant waking up as early as 5:30 depending on where you live, this also meant that when we start there is no messing around and we get straight into drills and games.

We got off to a rocky start to the season, losing the first two games but then winning the next three. We have had to implement new offence and defences which has taken a while for everyone to understand how it works. Our aim for each game is for us to score 15 points each quarter and hold the other team to 10 points per quarter. We can’t wait for Term Four to see what we can do.

• Harry Fry

8B Basketball

Basketball this season has been fun and exciting this year, from the early morning training to the games on Friday. Our coaches David Morley and Tyson Machado have taught all of us new tricks for basketball which have greatly improved our game. The B’s coach Tyson was such a good coach leading us to only lose 1 game against Hale. In a team that had mainly borders and a few day boys, it was great to be playing with so many of my mates.

A big thank you to Mr Morley, Tyson and all the team for a great season, the boys all had a blast. I am really keen to come back in Term 4 for another great season.

• Myles Borgward

8C Basketball

The 8C basketball team is coached by Matt Flowers this year and we are improving game by game. Our first game of the season was played at Benadat stadium and we faced a few challenges because we had to wear face masks due to COVID-19 rules, it was really hot and difficult to hear each other on the court. It was our first loss, but the highlight of the game was that everyone made a shot. Benjamin Drage, Luka Wallace and Noah Bergman’s were all standouts in that game.

We have really gelled as a team over the season and lots of friendly banter has made the bus trips to games really enjoyable. We have become not only teammates but also good friends and because of this, we had our first win against Hale last week. I can’t wait to see how well we do next season, 8C has an exciting future.

• Ben Drage

8D Basketball

The 8Ds were almost undefeated in Term 1, only having been beaten once by Scotch college. The highlight of the season was probably the game against Hale on February 19th, when after trailing at three-quarter time, we came back and won by a point. Another highlight was the game against Guildford which we also won by a nail-biting 3 points. Overall, the D’s had a great season

• Luke Bettini

9A Basketball

The 9A’s have had a very good season in term 1 as we have won 4 games and only lost 1. Since term 4 last year, we have all, as a group improved individually and worked as a team. To start our season, we matched up against Scotch where we had a win beating them 43-29. After winning the first game of the season, we faced up against Hale who is one of the top basketball schools in our year. Unfortunately, we lost to them 17-56.

The next week, we came up against Trinity and beat them in a close one 44-38. We then made a trip to Guildford to play them however didn’t end up playing their A’s, instead of playing the Aquinas 9Bs. Facing up against Christchurch in one of the last games of the season, we won in a good comeback 41-38. To finish off the season, we face up against Wesley where we are hoping to end the season with a win.

Getting up early in the morning to train isn’t always the easiest thing for a lot of us however everyone makes a great effort to get there in the morning. One of our goals for this season was to play better as a team. After winning most of our games this season, we really feel like we have done that with the scoring being fairly even throughout each game. In each game, there is always one or two players who really step up for the team and I don’t think there is one person on the team who hasn’t or couldn’t do that. To finish off, a real highlight for this season was how we won a lot more games than the last term. This really was because of the effort everyone including the coach put in and how the spirit of the team has lifted a lot.

• Luca Di Camillo

9B Basketball

This season has been a challenging but fun season with some skilled opponents and close games, but when the siren sounds, win or lose, we walk off with our heads up thanking our opponents for a great game. Throughout this season our skills have been improving with the help of our coaches and teammates encouraging each and every one of us to do our best. Overall, playing in the Aquinas 9B’s basketball team has been a great experience.

• Judd Logan

9C Basketball

This year I was part of the 9C Basketball team for Term 1 who performed very well throughout the season. The team was built with good character, a great atmosphere and a lot of early hour practice. The 9C basketball team was nearly undefeated with a close loss to Hale ruining the teams winning streak. The team was very committed to waking up early and getting to school to attend training so we could build the best team possible. The boys and the coach always enjoyed training and playing games because of the great atmosphere the supporters created.

We had some great moments in our games which will be remembered by boys and coaches for years to come. Just recently, we thrashed Christ Church Grammar School with an amazing 3rd and 4th quarter. I will always remember the 1st quarters ending. Jack Rosa who usually played B’s basketball played for the C team for the first time due to an issue with numbers. At the end of the 1st quarter, Jack hit a shot that beat the buzzer. Everyone cheered and sprinted onto the court to get around him. It was a great atmosphere and a moment I will remember for a while. Overall a great start to the year and I really enjoyed the experience.

• Zane Vlahov

9CDE Basketball

Basketball throughout this season was great fun. Every team I had played for either the Cs Dss and e’s was great fun. Coached by Lachlan Sheppard or ‘Shepp’, Mitch Russell and Jonah Finlay, every game we played was just non-stop intense and absolutely memorable. From Mitch always coming into the boarding house saying what I can work on and what I can do to improve, and also Jonah’s chats about who’s better out of Portland and the Timberwolves, and 2021 NBA season championship contenders, these coaches weren’t just great people, but great coaches as well. Working us hard at training, making us do suicides every time I missed a lay-up; let’s just say I stayed fit THAT season! Switching to the early morning training was painful but a good routine to have, and proudly coached by Jonah Finlay, Mitch Russell and Lachlan ‘Shepp’ Sheppard these 3 coaches had made one of my already favourite sports become one of the most memorable moments in my time at Aquinas!!

• Lucas Andrews

For 7As cricket team, there had been both ups and downs, some good games, some bad. We started our training off with some fielding drills, getting to know everyone in our team, letting the coaches put us in either As, Bs or Cs. then we got into our first net session. When the coaches picked their teams, they seemed pretty satisfied. We went into our first game against Scotch and we were all feeling pretty confident, we ended up losing by ten runs. We knew this was a learning point in what we could improve on, so we were ready to bounce back for the second game.

Things didn’t get any better from then onwards, losing to Hale, then Trinity, but then we had a breakthrough bowling Guildford Grammar out for 20, before going on and making 1/120. Then we lost to Christ Church, we aren’t able to chase down an easy score after bowling them out for 77 runs. We weren’t too happy about the way we went with this year, but by the strong coaching of Eddie Swan, we are sure to come back in Term 4.

• Liam Waldock

7B Cricket

It has been really fun playing for the mighty 7B Cricket team. We have won nearly every game we’ve played due to the dedication and commitment that Ryan Fox and Declan Jeffreys (our coaches) and all the players have shown. So, on behalf of the mighty year 7B cricket team we would like to thank Foxy and Declan. Go Aquinas 7B team!

• Clinton Librizzi

7C Cricket

My name is Jonathan Beckett-Cooper and I want to tell you about life in the 7C cricket team for Term One of 2021. Over the term, we played cricket against Scotch College, Hale School, Guildford Grammar, Trinity College, Christ Church Grammar and Wesley College. While we lost some games, the highlight was a win against Trinity College. We played really well as a team and everyone had a lot of fun.

During the term, our coach, Declan Jeffreys, taught us a lot of things at training using drills that helped us in games. The training drills included continuous cricket, catching practise, fielding practise and batting practice in the nets. We had a lot of fun at training, we learned a lot and we made some good friends. I really enjoyed playing in the team and having Declan as my coach. I look forward to playing cricket again for Aquinas College in term 4.

• Jonathan Beckett-Cooper

8A Cricket

This season for the 8A team went really well only losing two games against Wesley and Hale. We have trained really hard with our coaches Peter Spencer and James Holt especially focusing on fielding and fitness. Some highlights of the season were when Ben Davies made 52 not out against Christ Church, also Reggie Mils taking 3 wickets against hale. But I think the best thing is Jack Kirby making multiple fifties throughout year 7 and 8, including a 66 not out against Wesley in term four last year. In Term 4 we need two work on hitting the right line and length, five out of the six balls in the over, because if we do not do this, teams like Wesley will beat us, also making run out opportunities count because we left a few to many runouts go begging. Overall, the season was great but in Term 4 it would be good if we could go undefeated like in Year 7.

• Zach Courboules

8B Cricket

This year has been a good one for the 8B cricket team. We may have only won 1 game, but We all had a great time with the boys. We always put maximum effort into every single game and training. We learnt lots of great things from this year with the help of our coach Michael Hardie. Our coach was also willing to give all of us a go whether that was batting up the order or opening the bowling, he has helped us grow our character and performance. Michael always managed to find a positive out of every game even if it was our worst, all the boys are very thankful for his outstanding coaching skills.

There have been many highlights, Jack Hughes scoring a massive 40 not out or Alexander Richardson and Lachlan Tippet’s 130 run partnership. These are just a few amazing things we have experienced this year, thank you again Aquinas 8B Cricket.

• Lachlan Tippet

8C Cricket

This season for the 8C’s was one of the best. We played against Hale, Scotch, Trinity and the Aquinas 9B’s. In most of the games, we had a good chance of winning, but at all times we learnt that good teamwork was the best. The coaches of Liam Hindle and Luke Wimbridge have made us a better and stronger team through our games and training sessions.

Through this season, we have had a lot of fun playing games of continuous cricket and learning how to play the game better in the nets. We always celebrated when boys got their best figures, and parents were proud of our efforts this season and I hope a lot of boys come back in Term 4.

• Michael Scott

9A Cricket

During this term, I was a part of the Aquinas College 9A cricket squad. Our start to this season was nothing that we had experienced beforehand. Many of the boys in Aquinas cricket have been together since Term 1, year 7 and our team has not had much luck against the other PSA sides. However, this term our team has passed many milestones that we wouldn’t have dreamed of last year. Our team this year has been built upon the improvement of our overall game, whether it’s our running between the wicket or our intensity in the field, we as a team have been pushing ourselves to better our performance. Our coach, Kristian, has emphasised to us the values of commitment (if we don’t act like a team, then we can’t play like one) and resilience which allows us to learn from our mistakes and correct them for the future.

As I captained this side, I was thrilled to witness the dramatic changes in both our team’s culture, passion and results through the games we played. Our start to term 1, saw our batting performance scoring under 100 and taking under 3 wickets a game. However, with the determination shown in training and game days, we have been able to turn this season around with consistent totals over 120 and taking over 5 wickets per game. In my opinion, I believe the new positive mindset this term has contributed to the vast improvements in our teams standard. Although we have been unlucky executing our victories, we have been able to take Christ Church (year 8 top team) and Trinity (year 7 top team) to the last over of the match. To finish off I would like to leave you with my favourite moment this term in cricket; after winning our Guildford fixture, the boys got around in the change room to sing the AC sports chant. The feeling of unity and excitement in that moment has been the pinnacle of most of those boy’s time from this term at Aquinas cricket and we wish to celebrate like that in the near future.

• Nishok Nimalan

9B Cricket

The 9B season did not go quite as planned. We had a drought of wins spanning 5 weeks. There were thrilling games and close finishes, but we just could not get over the line. We were feeling pretty down going into our week 5 fixture against Christchurch. We only made 92 in our batting innings. Nothing was looking good but after being revved up by Mr Spiteri, we gave it our best shot. The last over was a dead heat. Christchurch needed 5 runs to win, 4 to draw whilst we needed three wickets. The first ball, a clean bowled wicket. Coming down to the last ball, they needed one run to win whilst we needed one wicket. The ball came in and rocketed to a fielder. The batsmen sprinted, dived and got run out. We had won our first game of the year, and since then have been on a 3-match winning streak. It has been a great season, as all of us have developed as players. Mr Spiteri has guided and taught us to be good cricketers and sportsmen. It has been an amazing season for learning and for character.

• Finn Murray

I have enjoyed every minute of the Year 7A’s Tennis season. From the awesome win against Guildford in week 6 to the dreadful loss against Trinity in week 5. Every week has been a blast. Win or lose at training or matches, this team is my team and I thoroughly enjoy playing with them every week. I can’t wait until Term 4 to play tennis with them again and to hopefully win a few more games. Every opposition we faced was fierce, strong and competitive but most importantly, everyone showed great sportsmanship towards the other player.

• Harrison Agnihotri

7B Tennis

My team for year 7 PSA summer sport was year 7 tennis in B division. For most of us, it was our first-time playing tennis, and it was pretty overwhelming in our first match since we were very new to the school. Our coach Bennet was an excellent role model for us and made us always try our best no matter the score. Our goal was simply just to have fun and to represent the college with pride. Although we did work hard, and we played very well we lost quite a lot of games and we only won 1 against Trinity. This might sound like a bad effort, but it wasn’t, because even though we lost, we all were fair and tried our hardest.

We had a lot of key moments that happened during the season and it really made it so much more fun. One of them was versus Christ Church where Sam (our B1) was in the last point wins moment. Sadly, he did lose but it was a very tight game. Overall tennis was a lot of fun and although it was new and very confusing at the start, we all made a lot of progress and the coach really helped with that. I hope that we can have another great season in Term 4.

• Diego Bouzada

8A Tennis

Tennis this year so far has been exciting. It’s a big change from Year 7, with a lot more drills, exercises and activities. Our A’s coach this year is Mr Bolitho, and our B’s coach is Patrick who is an old boy from Aquinas. Aquinas hasn’t won a game in A’s but has been going to a win against Guildford. Mr Bolitho has been a great coach and leader for giving up his spare time for us to help us improve our tennis. The main A’s highlight was probably against Guildford where most of our games were close. Tennis this year would not be what it is without Mr Bolitho and I strongly encourage you to try it.

• Archie Wedge

8B Tennis

The focus of years 8Bs tennis team in Term 1 was improving our serves and volleys. The team with Mr Weston’s help were able to improve these aspects of our game. Throughout term 1 the team came close to winning a few of our games and in 1 game we were unfortunate to lose by only 2 to Trinity.

The highlights of our season were the unlucky loss to Trinity and having great training sessions with Mr Weston. Despite not getting a win in Term 1 we all had fun competing against other schools and representing Aquinas college.

• Xavier Lomma

9A Tennis

It’s been a tough Term One of Tennis this year for the Year 9A team having lost experienced tennis players towards the end of last year to other PSA Sports something that will take time to rebuild from especially in the light of ever-improving and established and experienced competition. Tennis is one of the most technical of all sports, and although our determination and competitive drive have not wavered, many players have been forced to play positions and opponents higher than they have experienced before. This is all part of a quick learning curve for us.

Results this term have been varied; with Hale, Scotch and Christ Church dominating us – and Guildford, Wesley and Trinity closer rivals. Thank you to Mr Ben Wright for the great help he has given us through Term One. The Year 9A Team in Term One has been: Tim Kania, Cooper Allen, Sho Aarons, Jacob Nevin, Houston Faulkner, Stefan Elhaj, Troy Roncio, and Michael Elhaj.

• Tim Kania

The experience in the 7A volleyball team was absolutely terrific. All the fun we had was awesome. Sometimes we might muck around a little bit when we go on the court to start a game, we are completely different people. We concentrate and try our hardest to win, sometimes we lose which is alright because we can improve on it in training, but most of the time we would win the game which we are proud of. The training on Wednesday afternoon is terrific because we can improve on the things that we lacked in the volleyball games. One of the key things that Georgia (our coach) wanted us to work on was communication, this is because we didn’t talk on the court, so we missed some balls that we should’ve gotten but we didn’t. That was the thing we worked on the most in training to perfect it.

Some of the key moments that we had were winning most of our games because that meant that we have worked hard to get to that level. We recently competed in the Beach volleyball cup and the Rossmoyne Challenge. The beach cup was a completely different experience for us Year 7s because we haven’t played on the sand for a competition before, so it was challenging. We didn’t get to the finals, but we did try our hardest to win all our games. The Rossmoyne challenge was also a challenging experience because they were much taller than us, they do it as a school subject, and to our surprise, the nets were higher than we're used to. We didn’t win but we put up a good fight and tried our hardest. The only thing we could ask ourselves, is did we play our best that night? In my opinion, the team absolutely did. All those things happened in the 7A volleyball team and it might seem like a lot, but it was terrific playing with my friends and giving it our all to win.

• Thomas O’Neill

7 Volleyball

All of the new year 7 volleyball players gathered for the first training session of the year at the Brother Paull Centre during week 2. For a few team members, it was their first volleyball experience. In the initial training, the first things that we covered were the basics: setting, digging and serving. The coaches showed us a few different techniques that were easy to perform. The coaches wanted us to all be able to do overarm serves by the end of the term. Slowly, everyone became good at the drills we were doing. Then we moved on to a more complicated aspect: spiking. Some people managed to get this easily while others took a bit of time. Nonetheless, they still performed well and tried hard.

When our first game came, everyone was excited but also slightly nervous about representing Aquinas. In the game, we performed well as a team and were successful. I think that in the game, we learnt more about each other and also ourselves. I think that not only me but everyone made more friends in that game. Volleyball is very fun in the training and the games and I think that the fact that we enjoyed ourselves is a win.

• Blake Topham

8 Volleyball

We started this season with the introduction of new team members. These new members expanded the team as a whole, introduced more skill, new moves and positions. With this expansion, we were able to beat every team in the PSA, and defeat Rossmoyne. We couldn’t have achieved these achievements without our fantastic coach, Logan Vanderweide. We thank him for our training and for helping us grow to become great volleyball players. He is more than a coach to us; he helped us fix our mistakes and become great Aquinians. Logan also taught us something very important, communication is key. It is very easy to communicate with each other, but it is very difficult to implement communication in games, and in very stressful moments in our everyday lives.

There are many occasions where our team lets the lack of communication get ahead of us. This resulted in our devastating losses in the High School’s Beach Cup and the losses of many sets in games. Our team believes that we have exceeded Logan’s expectations for volleyball. We can improve in the future and reach many goals. As Mr Dempsey has said many times, “great men first, great volleyballers second”.

• Perth Otero

9 Volleyball

The season was an absolute roller coaster with many ups and downs. After following the lead of Mr Dempsey and our coaches, we were able to align ourselves both skilfully and with the College Values to strive for the best on and off the court. After suffering our first loss early in the term we had to change our ways to persevere throughout the season and climb our way to the top of the ladder. After many vigorous training sessions and lots of sweat, we were able to develop as a team to work immaculately and in perfect harmony to achieve great results against the other PSA schools. This season, all the boys have learnt many new skills that have helped the team excel in their games, and as the year 9 team moves forward, we hope that our future placing reflects what we do in training and who we are off the court. I would like to thank the coaches and those who helped us in our development. All in all, our season was exquisite and an absolute blast.

• Mitchell Bacon

Middle School Water Polo

This year the Aquinas As Middle School Water polo team has seen zero competition across every single PSA team, with an outstanding undefeated season. The A’s team includes a mix of Year 7, 8, and 9 students consisting of the following players: Luke Urquhart, Zac McDonald, Jesse Barr, Charlie Backhouse, Max Backhouse, Barton Mincham, Kale Arena, Jacob Della Bona, Thomas Dreverman, Thomas Grierson and Lachlan Patching along with eight-time Australian Olympic water polo player and coach Tom Hoad as the team’s coach. The team have proven themselves a formidable force in the Friday afternoon PSA competitions, with their closest game being won by 5 points against Hale School.

The team’s Monday afternoon training sessions often consist of multiple complex and taxing attack and defence formations alongside many man-on-man overpowering techniques led by Tom Hoad with the ideology of always being a step ahead of the opposition team. These formations and techniques are put into use during Wednesday training sessions, when the team is split evenly in half and made to play against one another, with Tom Hoad offering very precise constructive criticism to any player in need of such advice. This constructive criticism allows the team to work effectively with each other and learn how to play the game better as a whole.

The team mentality that coach Tom Hoad instils in the boy’s heads is made obvious when watching the team play. No man is left behind and everyone gets a go with the ball. Week 7’s game against Christ Church Grammar School is a true testimony to this, with the boys playing an almost unrivalled game. The team put to use their ability to share the ball, with 7 out of the 8 boys scoring a goal or more. Everyone gave their all and the proof was in the pudding with the end result being a 2-22 win over Christ Church. It’s this exact team mentality that is the exact reason why the Aquinas As Middle School Water polo team has seen such success amongst all of their games in the PSA competition.

• Max Backhouse

Water Polo

Middle School B’s Water Polo team has been a great opportunity for the whole team to improve and have fun. The difference from water polo to any other sport at Aquinas is that there is a middle school team. This means that the team includes year 9’s, year 8’s and year 7’s, because of this the older boys can help mentor the younger boys which is something that can’t be done with other sports. As a member of this team, I have been given a great opportunity to improve on all aspects of my game which leads to having more fun in the games.

The coach of the team, Flynn Mais, has been a great help to us throughout the season. From the first game that we played to the last, we have had great improvement. We could not have gotten this improvement without Flynn coaching us. When we face our opponents, we always try our hardest whether we are winning by 10 goals or losing by 10 goals. This is why this team is so different from the others, as no matter the circumstances, I know that every single one of us will try our hardest. Because of our efforts, we have had some great wins like the game against Guildford. During this game, we all had so much fun and scored lots of goals. I know that whatever happens in the future for this team, we will get through it together.

• David Whyte

Playing in the Water Polo C and D teams this year have been lots of fun. We have had many new Year 7s and some new year 8’s as well. Mr Osborn and Sam Grattidge make training enjoyable and are great coaches. In training, we have been working on shooting in the corners, and while defending, staying on a player. Recently, the C and D teams had a good win against Trinity. Everyone played really well, and it was a great day. I like water polo as it is a competitive game that I can enjoy with my mates.

• Ethan Hickman

On Monday the 29th of March, eight Year 9 and eight Year 10 students participated in the 2021 Da Vinci Decathlon at the University of Western Australia.

It was an early start for the students with everyone gathering at 7.30 for the day's event. The Da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition held annually in different countries and is run in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon. Students compete in teams of eight across ten disciplines including engineering, maths, code-breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers and general knowledge.

Once we arrived at UWA it was time to strategise and allocate who would complete each paper. Together with teamwork, collaboration and a lot of writing, both Year 9 and 10 teams managed to achieve Aquinas’ highest results yet with the Year 9s coming 3rd in maths and 2nd in both creative producers and science. The Year 10’s were placed first in maths and came 2nd in science. This was a great improvement from what we were able to achieve at the last event 2 years ago. Overall, it was a great day for all who participated and I can strongly recommend it to those wanting to compete in future years.

An Aquinas College team has secured a place in the Synergy Schools Solar Challenge state final next month.

The Year 8 team won the South Metro Regional Semi Final at Rossmoyne Senior High School, winning the knockout, best of three races competition over four rounds.

The team’s car only tallied one loss across the competition.

Aquinas College had 10 teams in the semi final, which involved students building solar cars using Synergy-supplied kits and racing them over a 20m distance. The Aquinas team heading to the state finals put its success down to the aerodynamic shape of the winning car.

“We think the reason our car was so fast was due to its lightness and flat aerodynamic shape.”

“While other schools angled their panels to capture more sunlight, our testing showed this only had a minor effect in a short 20m race – instead, we focused on streamlining the shape and using a smaller gear to maximise the speed in the last section of the race.”

This was Aquinas College’s first attempt at the Synergy Solar Challenge, however, the College’s experience in the field of solar energy goes back more than 20 years, with success in the Australian Model Solar Car Championships.

The team will compete for the Champion Schools trophy at Optus Stadium on 9^th April.

The magnitude of the need for schools to have a Character Education curriculum was highlighted by the impact of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Daily, the media reported situations where people’s character was called into play.

Perseverance and courage were seen in the many people that became unemployed, demonstrations of generosity and kindness in supporting people who were suffering most, such as the elderly, were frequent, scientists exhibited problem-solving skills to develop a vaccine and people became creative to ensure life continued as close to normal as possible with the restrictions in place.

Fortunately, our students were in a good position to deal with the world turmoil last year because Aquinas College has had a specific Character Education program in place since 2018, with it advancing across the school over the last three years. 2020 was the third year of implementation and saw each Veritas class in Year 7 and 8 gain a second lesson a week which allowed students to delve deeper into understanding what character is, how it is built, how it is tarnished and why it is important people have good character. The Junior school also introduced specific character education lessons for all year groups.

In 2021 the College will continue the promotion of Character Education by introducing a second lesson to each Year 9 Veritas class, thus providing greater opportunity for boys to engage in more Rites of Passage activities for the Odyssey Program. Visually stimulating signage that articulates the importance of people having good character has been arranged to be placed throughout the school and will provide students and visitors with a daily reminder that Aquinas is a school for building character in boys.

Middle School Program T1 2021

Year 7

Year 7 boys have been busy learning about the history of Aquinas and what it means to be an Aquinian. They have also learnt about the legacy of an Aquinas education through researching a selection of successful alumni - businessman Michael Chaney, Olympian and Kookaburras captain Aran Zalewski, politician and former state treasurer Ben Wyatt and Paralympian Brad Ness for example.

For the task, boys had to research the personal and career information, analyse this and justify five character traits these individuals have in order to become successful people. The boys were surprised when they saw the list of names, not realising these men were Aquinians.

Year 8

With a year of Middle School under their belt, the Year 8 boys started the term by reflecting on their time in Year 7 and setting goals for this year. With almost every boy setting an academic goal, it was an opportune time to have a good solid block of Study Skills. The boys looked at what made up a good home study environment and self-assessed their current situation. They learnt about the need to become better organised and improve their time management with the ever-increasing workload that occurs as they move up through school.

After looking at the organisational aspects of study skills, the boys moved onto the scholastic aspects of becoming better students. Boys learnt how to improve their retention of information by using schema - such as mind maps, brainstorming and KWL charts to assist them in making links between past knowledge and present content being taught. They also looked at active reading skills with the SQ3R method - how to take effective notes whilst in class and reading.

Year 9

The Year 9 boys commenced the term with an introduction to the concept of the Odyssey Program being a Rite of Passage for boys transitioning into young men. The beginning of a rite of passage requires candidates to understand and realise where they are currently in their life, so the first few lessons revolved around boys investigating their self-identity, family and personal culture.

Man Box

Halfway through the term disturbing media reports emerged highlighting the sexual assault of teenage girls and women by students and alumni of single-sex boys’ schools. This was timely as the boys commenced lessons around the concept of the ‘Man Box’. The ‘Man Box’ is the set of beliefs within and across society, that stereotype masculinity and place pressure on men to act and behave a certain way, for example: to be tough, not to show any emotions, be the breadwinner, always be in control, use violence to solve problems and have many sexual partners.

By using the research from the Men’s Project, the boys explored how society has placed young men into the ‘Man Box’ and learnt about the impact and harm the pressure to conform to society’s stereotypical ideals of masculinity has on males and their relationships.

Research has found that if we can educate boys to recognise and understand the implications of the ‘Man Box’ we can go a long way in improving their physical and mental health, plus their ability to build healthy relationships with women. Sadly, evidence shows that it is men whose behaviour mirrors the principles of the ‘Man Box’ who are at higher risk of poor health and harmful behaviours such as violence and sexual harassment. During the lessons, teachers promoted positive strategies boys can adopt to step outside the ‘Man Box’. They also encouraged boys to model the character traits of courage, empathy and kindness to allow them to truly be themselves with increased self-confidence and self-esteem.

By looking at the ‘Man Box’ first, it easily allowed the boys to grasp the lessons around respectful relationships with females looking at - “What constitutes sexual harassment?” and “The impact objectification of women has on both males and females.” These lessons will lead into the Term 2 unit – “Human Sexuality within a Catholic Ethos”, which covers topics such as sexual intimacy and the risks associated with it, the context of healthy relationships, and consent and pregnancy.

Mr Dempsey invited Constable Care’s Youth Choices to come to my school on Monday and present a play to a number of groups of students that talked about the topic of bullying.

The play was performed at the McCappian theatre by a group of four Youth Choices’ performers aged in their 20’s.

Youth Choices is a group of performers that encourage young people to speak up about problems in their life that affect their mental health and wellbeing. They help kids by putting on different plays that show how to deal with different situations that could harm a young person’s wellbeing.

The play we saw was called 'Isolation'. In my opinion, the Youth Choices performers did an excellent job of presenting this play. In the play, they show the audience situations where the characters are in distress and ask the audience how to help the character work through their problems. They made me think more about how my actions or inactions can hurt people.

I had the opportunity to go on stage and display some supportive strategies that I knew about. I learnt that these were good strategies as the audience and presenters clapped and cheered at the end of my performance. Something new I learnt from the play was the important skill of how to suggest to someone who needs it the process of contacting a helpline.

This presentation was important as it highlighted the problem of bullying and its effects. Everyone who attended the performance should have gained knowledge and strategies about how to deal with bullying. My hope would be that our school will see a reduction in bullying and an increase of students supporting each other.

A goal of 2020 was to expand the after-school options for Middle School Students.

Recognising that not every student is a passionate sportsman, the College wanted to offer more art and design activities while still providing sport to those inclined. Term 3 saw the test of Monday afternoon co-curricular activities. The success of this trial will see the project rolled out in full in 2021.

Sprint Technique Training

Knowing I wanted to improve my speed when the athletic development options were released, I knew I needed to pick Sprint Technique Training. This type of training works on your sprinting technique and improves your speed through lots of different drills so that you can become a faster competitor.

Sprint Technique sessions usually start off by doing multiple sprint technique drills and skills to improve a range of things like your knee drive and balance. After this, we got into some short run-throughs where we can put all of our practice into work. I found these pieces of training really fun and beneficial for my running and will definitely help me in the future.

Sprint training is also very beneficial for any sports you are currently or going to be playing later on in your life. If you are deciding whether you should give this activity a try or not, I strongly recommend doing Sprint Technique Training, because it is an activity that anyone is capable of doing and will only offer positive impacts on yourself.

• Brayden Atwell

Gyotaku Fish

This term the school gave us an option to try a co-curricular subject instead of sport, and I thought I would give the Japanese fish printing (Gyotaku) a go.

Now, l know that it sounds weird and disgusting but this form of art is fascinating and can create beautiful artworks. Each lesson Ms Hughes brought a dead fish (the types ranged from Snapper, Barramundi and Red Emperor) and we paint them with ink. We used different colours of ink from black, pink to blue and used them to create prints on paper which are then hung on the wall. We also free drew coral and other ocean scenes on paper.

I was surprised how fun this co-curricular subject was and I love all the bright colours of the inks, they make the room so bright. I enjoyed the fish printing because it gives us an insight into a different form of Japanese art that we have never heard of before, let alone seen. Some of the challenges we faced are getting a good print and getting the perfect amount of ink. I would highly suggest that you come down and give this co-curricular subject a go.

• Fred Johnson
  

Drumline

The range of fantastic options for co-curricular activities Aquinas has offered this term was endless, but in the end, I chose to do the drumline.

The Middle School drumline is a programme that teaches students of all drumming abilities to enhance their snare drum skills and experience a variety of different drums, such as the bass or tenor. Students in the drumline got to perform with an ensemble in a way that is completely different and unique from everything they have learnt before. The reason I picked the course is because I was intrigued by videos I had seen online and because I wanted to be a part of a drum only ensemble so I could learn from the drummers around me.

I enjoyed the drumline for a countless number of reasons but some of them include the experience playing on different kinds of drums, learning new techniques to play the snare drum, coming up with creative beats and bars for songs, and playing with and learning from the teachers and students. The drumline was a very new experience for me as, before this, I was predominantly a kit drummer and hadn’t properly mastered playing in a group. At the start, I perhaps tried too hard to listen to those around me and therefore becoming out of sync with the other drummers. But as I continued to learn in this group, I can hopefully improve my skills slowly to a point where I can successfully stay in sync with others, while not forgetting that I still have to play the drums as well!

All in all, the drumline allows me to experience a unique musical ensemble, with group members of all skills that encourage and help, along with talented and engaging teachers to guide us. The Middle School drumline is looking forward to their performance next week and has greatly appreciated this opportunity provided by the College.

• Gabe Maund
  

The journey from seeing the world through a child’s eyes to understanding your place in the world as a young adult with responsibilities is a complex and meaningful transition.

At Aquinas College, we acknowledge this life-changing ‘rite of passage’ is too important to leave to chance, hence the creation and introduction of the Year 9 Odyssey Program in 2019. This is a structured curriculum designed for self-development and personal transformation for an innocent and dependent child into a mature responsible adult.

Throughout Year 9, boys undertake a variety of lessons, are provided with a range of challenges and partake in public rituals that are a symbolic outward display of the inner transformation boys go through. The first public ritual was earlier this term on the Monday of Exeat weekend when parents and sons came into the College to celebrate the commencement ceremony, a liturgy that acknowledged the personal Odyssey journey each Year 9 boy will undertake.

There are four main focuses the Odyssey Program has in educating a boy to transition into a good man:

1. Who am I? – Aristotle said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” So, it is vitally important that boys moving into manhood, need to know themselves intimately. To assist learning more about themselves the Odyssey Program is structured with a variety of in-class activities providing opportunities for boys to reflect on their life, family, culture, personal strengths and weaknesses.
2. What is the ‘Man Box’ and How Does it Affect me? – The ‘Man Box’ is the set of beliefs within and across society, that stereotype masculinity and place pressure on men to act and behave a certain way. The Odyssey Program promotes positive strategies boys can adopt to step outside the ‘Man Box’. Boys are encouraged to model the character traits of courage, empathy and kindness to allow them to truly be themselves with increased self-confidence and self-esteem.
3. How to Relate Respectfully to Females? – With the recent shocking media reports highlighting the sexual assault of teenage girls and women by students and alumni of single-sex boys’ schools, it is reassuring to know that we have been on the front foot in providing boys with the skills and knowledge to foster respectful relationships. Since the Odyssey Programs inception in 2019, boys are taught:
   • What constitutes sexual harassment?
   • The impact objectification of women has on both males and females.
   • Human Sexuality, sexual intimacy and the risks associated with it, consent and pregnancy.
   • A key aspect of the Odyssey Program is its purpose of heightening the awareness of boys in understanding their responsibilities in respecting themselves and displaying dignity and respect for women at all times.
4. Building Character by Overcoming Challenges. – Throughout the year boys will be placed into situations and environments that will be uncomfortable for anyone let alone an adolescent boy. In Term 2 boys undertake an intense 5 weeks of dance rehearsals to learn a routine to be performed in front of family, friends and other members of the Aquinas community. In Term 4 boys will face the majority of the challenges when, during their two-week Odyssey Adventure, they will need to draw upon all their strength, willpower and courage to sail on the Leeuwin for a 3-day voyage, hike 23km without adult assistance and sleep alone in a tent overnight in bushland 150kms out of Perth.

As a key component of Character Education at the College, the Odyssey Program aims to develop in boys the positive character traits of courage, perseverance, gratitude, service, fortitude, respectfulness, self-discipline, and responsibility. The Odyssey Program is overt and crystal clear in identifying what is acceptable behaviour for boys transitioning into young men and graduates from Aquinans.

Have Sum Fun Maths is a competition in which teams of 6 face 4 rounds of mathematical problems and challenges.

With 20 minutes per round, it is a very exciting and fast-paced competition. In our heat, there were 32 teams. Aquinas had two teams in the Year 9-10 competition, both of which placed very high. One team, consisting of Jonathan Vinci, Matthew Vinci, Samuel Yeow, Nishok Nimalan, David Csontos and David Stopforth, placed 3^rd overall. The other team also had a strong performance in the Year 9-10 division, placing 16^th. Aquinas also put forward teams in the Year 7-8 and 11-12 competitions, who did very well.

Personally, I really enjoyed this competition, as it allowed me to bond with my friends and meet new people. It allowed me to expand my mathematical knowledge in a fun yet challenging way, through difficult questions with limited time. Overall, the Have Sum Fun Maths competition was an enjoyable and challenging experience, allowing us to learn new things in a fun environment.