On Tuesday 2 March, the Year 11 cohort were visited by Chadwick Models for an afternoon of social etiquette.

Designed to make people comfortable and at ease, we learned that etiquette shows that we value and respect others and gives us the confidence to deal with different situations in life. We were instructed about the customs and rules governing behaviour that is regarded as correct or acceptable in social or official life.

That evening we were given the opportunity to put what we had learned into practice by accompanying our mothers to dinner at the South of Perth Yacht Club. The weather gave us an opportunity to not only open the car door but shelter our mothers with an umbrella as we entered the venue. There we gallantly took her arm and escorted her to the table. We demonstrated our newly acquired table etiquette with everyone duly tearing their bread roll and filling glasses for our companions. We enjoyed a three-course meal - using the correct cutlery of course - and had the opportunity to catch up with our friends outside of school.

It’s not often that we are in a formal social situation with our mums where we actually spend time directly with them. A wedding is probably the closest we come. Looking around the room you could see all the mums were delighted with our attempts at gentlemanly behaviour. Admittedly, it does not take much to make your own mum proud, but it is a good feeling. On the whole, we learned that courtesy, small acts of kindness and confidence can make all the difference in social situations.

From my mum: At a time where private schoolboys are often portrayed in the news for the wrong reasons it was a pleasure to see a room full of young men eager to display their manners and caring side. I think every mother in that room was proud.

From the extreme disappointment of last years cancellation of South Pacific, Senior students set out in October determined to have an awesome production for 2021. For most of the cast, this was their first-ever Senior School production and, for many of the Year 12s, their first proper production since Disco Inferno in 2019.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat has been a pleasure to be apart of. Being able to do a massive art project at school with a lot of my closest mates and many like-minded individuals from Years 10 to 12 has really made this production a memorable one.

At times, the rehearsal process was a bit rocky, especially during the first two weeks of term one with the second lockdown. But undeterred by this second attack from the pandemic, the cast was set on making sure we have a show this year - many hours of rehearsal and personal practice has gone into preparing for this great event.

The cast was led by a brilliant group of Year 12s: Naveen Nimilan College Captain, Tristan Nel Culture Captain, Daniel Nolan Captain of Boats, myself Captain of Percussion, Nick Burvil, Ethan Dal Molan and Zebiah Peaker, a humble member of the Culture Council. Mr Sivewright, Mr McMillan, Stella and Kate have all put many countless hours of their time into making this show a success and we all (the cast) can’t thank them enough for all the work and passion they put into the Senior School productions every year.

This year the production will be outside the Chapel, this was such a relief to many of us because we have a chance of good acoustics, unlike in the College Hall. For the audience, they will feel like they’re at an outdoor music festival with food trucks and live music before the show starts and the cast will be able to interact with the audience easily, enhancing the viewing experience of the show.

Joseph and the Technicolour Dream Coat is a high energy, funny and engaging musical which, for many of the parents, will be nostalgic of their days in Junior School!

Were your PE classes this cool? Because ours are. 😎

PE and Outdoor Ed classes are more than just playing a sport, they seek to improve performance and fitness while teaching students survival and life skills. Students learn about the skeletal, muscular, cardio-respiratory and energy systems, investigate the various methods of training, and are involved in fitness activities and skills for physical activity.

In Senior School, classes can add towards ATAR or be used to gain certifications.

The Harry Perkins Biology excursion was an incredibly insightful experience.

We got the opportunity to visit Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and learn about Polymerase Chain Reactions and Gel Electrophoresis and the application of PCR and gel electrophoresis to understand and figure out real-life situations about topics like cancer cells (specifically skin cancer) and COVID-19.

We did some experiments and got experience in working in a real scientific laboratory. We were able to use very expensive technology and learn about the opportunities for doing medical research after school at various universities. Science is largely unexplored and it was interesting to see various people completing their PhD and researching incredibly interesting real-life issues that affect every single person such as cancer and blindness.

On Tuesday, 16^th February, Yr 10 HASS students headed off-campus for an exciting excursion into West Australian politics.

“We first went to The West Australian Electoral Commission and learnt about preferential voting through doing our own vote on our favourite fast food. We then went to Parliament House and got a tour from Michael and learnt about the structure and history of parliament and met John McGrath. This excursion helped me understand more about parliament by helping me visualise it.”

• William Farrell

“On Tuesday 16th February, my class went to the West Australian Electoral Commission at Parliament House. We learnt about preferential voting and why it important for us to vote. At Parliament House, we learnt about the structure and history of Western Australian Parliament. Two important people we met were Michael, who was an old Aquinian, and John McGrath who is the Member for South Perth.”

• Luc Dewar

“On Tuesday 16^th of February my class went to State Parliament to assist our learning of politics. The first location we visited was the Western Australian Electoral Commission where I learnt how preferential worked throughout Australia. After that great experience my class went to Parliament house and explored the upper and lower house. From this experience, it improved my learning of politics because seeing the Parliament in person gives you more of an understanding of the topic.”

• Nicholas Naso

“The first place we went to was the Western Australian Electoral Commission and we looked at how preferential voting works. The second place we went to for the day was the Parliament house. At the parliament house, we learnt a lot of interesting stuff. We learnt about the structure and history of parliament. Our tour guide, Michael, was an old Aquinian and very knowledgeable. We also met John McGrath who is a member of South Perth.”

• Joel Ukich

“The day was very hot, the sky was very blue, and the birds were chirping. We started the day by meeting Mr Brown and Mrs Swingler at the front of the castle. We headed to the Western Australia electoral commission where we had morning tea and a kick of the football. We continued our excursion to go inside the Western Australia electoral commission, there we were greeted by Jenny to learn about the voting system in Australia. Our day then continued with us going to King's Park for a quick lunch. Then we headed to the Parliament house where we were greeted by Michael who is an old Aquinian, we learnt about the structure and history of the parliament house and why the lower house had blue carpet instead of green. We also met John McGrath who is a member of South Perth.”

• Taj Lockyer

“On Tuesday, my class went to the Western Australian Electoral Commission and Parliament House. We learnt about the history of Western Australia's government and past leaders. We also got to look at the upper house which was pretty cool. My favourite part of the day was getting lunch at King's Park, because I got a really good sandwich there, and getting to look at an old painting of my hometown from the 1960s in Parliament House.”

• Shea Dall

“We started off meeting Mr Brown and Mrs Swingler at the front of the castle. We then went on the bus to West Perth and met a lady who showed us a video about how voting works. We then went to the Parliament House and an Old Aquinian told us a bit about the parliament. We went to the front of the parliament house and got some minties and juice. then we went back to the bus and went back to school and spent the last two periods at school.”

• Lachy Jonsen

“We got up early and waited at the front of the school with Mr Brown And Mrs Swingler who came and picked us up with the school bus, then we all hopped in the bus and started heading to the Parliament House in West Perth. We met an instructor named Michael who was an Old Aquinian. My favourite part was seeing all the Indigenous art on the walls in the parliament house and buying lunch at a cafe.”

• Iziahia Patrick

“First, we went to the Western Australian Electoral Commission Parliament and watched a video about voting and then we did an activity where we completed a preferential vote. We then had some morning tea. After morning tea, we went to Parliament House and met Michael, who is an Old Aquinian, and talked to us about Parliament. My favourite part of the day was when we had a look at the Indigenous Room and talked to John McGrath.”

• Matthew Gilkison

During the recent school holidays, I did some volunteer cricket umpiring for the WACA (Western Australia Cricket Association), for their JCL competition (Junior Cricket League).

The JCL was a bunch of teams around Perth, with kids aged 9-12, who come to play games of cricket organised by the WACA. There were 2 JCL’s, one before and after Christmas, each of them was played over 2 days.

This volunteer work allowed me to umpire 11 games on the WACA Ground and a further 4 on Mann Oval at Trinity College. I volunteered to umpire because of the experience, and to help younger kids playing in the competition to enjoy their cricket, as well as to give back to the game I enjoy. I got a lot out of the experience, helping the young players enjoy their cricket was the biggest thing I took out of the experience. Because it makes you, as an umpire, step back to appreciate what you do has an effect on others in a positive way. I also got to improve my skills over the 4 days, this includes on-field skills as well as off-field (communicating with coaches and scorers), that I can take forward into my umpiring career as well as my everyday life as a young Aquinian.

Early in 2020, I had the opportunity to travel to Adelaide and meet with all the other Edmund Rice schools’ Captains from across Australia. It was a real privilege to spend time with this group of young leaders and we’ve stayed in contact throughout the year to bounce ideas off each other and talk about how we can effect change. During this year of lockdowns and restrictions, one thing everyone in the group wondered was how to make the year about more -to talk about more than just coronavirus and get the attention away from that great big elephant in the room.

This wasn’t as much of a challenge to our Prefects. The elephant was and is still there, however, we as a school and as a community weren’t stopped by this. The subject of the pandemic throughout the year has been inescapable; in the news, quiet centres or toiletry shortages. Aquinas, however, always had something better to show. From the master chef competition to NAIDOC week basketball matches, Greenbatch recycles to the staggering number of supporters lining the stands of our 1st sports teams, and, finally, the presentation and graduation evenings. Throughout the whole year, the Aquinas community as a whole came together and got busy. There were no mistakes to be made; 2020 to us was never about the pandemic. In fact, I’ve only officially mentioned it less than a handful of times. 2020 was about coming together; that unity between junior, middle, senior schools, and the communities we are a part of. 2020 was about all the big and small things we accomplished - something that not I nor any one person can take credit for.

Our very accomplished year is a success which we endeavoured toward, and enjoyed, together. Something I think really embodies this has been the supporting crowds at some of this year’s 1st team fixtures. Coming from over East, trying to understand the nuances of 1st footy wasn’t quite my forte, but what’s great about the red and black is that it doesn’t matter. Those clouds of red shirts dominated the sidelines and there’s this spark of energy - maybe it's another record one of our players just smashed or the entire Brother’s House which comes down to watch - but it invites you in. It’s ironic, even, that the biggest crowds and tightest community I’ve felt a part of here at Aquinas has been during the year of lockdowns and social distancing, but that’s us. That’s how we responded to Covid.

We’ve been so well supported by each other, the staff, and the numerous organizations within the college and community who’ve given us the footing to not only complete the year but do it well. Conversely, to speak of our successes is not to forget the real hardships many of us faced throughout the year. On top of the pressures the year already dolloped onto us, it’s been tragic to see anticipated events such as the Head of the River regatta or Senior School Production being delayed or put off. In all of this, the boys’ resilience really came to show, and with the backing of our amazing support network, we’ve been able to recoup much of the year that was: productions, school ball, and with the new rowing shed, it’s hard to miss the swathes of boats back on the water, ready for the next season.

In finishing my own journey as a student I’m met with a sense of bittersweet proudness. When my Instagram feed is splashed with the familiar colours of the Aquinas page, showing off all the many new and exciting things our councils are up to, I feel excited and proud to have been a part of this student community and I know it’s something I’ll definitely miss. At the same time, I feel the support of the broader Aquinas community embracing around our year 12 group and have come to realize that while we have left the school as students, we’re always welcomed back as part of that community.

I’d like to challenge the senior school of 2021 to keep at it; keep my Instagram feed interesting like you have been and hold onto that red and black spark and spirit. Our legacy is in keeping that fire alive. You’re what makes Aquinas special to me. From myself and the year 12’s especially, it’s been an honour to come here all these years. I’ve had a blast, but now it's your turn. For that, I’m thoroughly excited.

“Legacy is not what we do for ourselves; legacy is what we do for future generations.”

But what value is there in a school’s legacy, a legacy enriched in sport, music, culture, service and so much more, if the students don’t harness the many opportunities that are provided for us?

Good morning Mr McFadden, official party, staff, parents and my fellow peers. It is an honour to represent you today as the College Captain for the coming year.

For the 2021 leadership team behind me, in our brief moment in leadership, our legacy will be determined by what we do in the next twelve months to serve all of you, and how well we succeed, even if in some small way, in leaving a positive impact on the culture of Aquinas for future generations. With this in mind, we have established three goals that we hope will contribute to present and future students. These goals embody the realisation that the heart of a College like our own is a culture sustained by students who have a go at the opportunities our school provides.

So firstly, GOAL 1: Grounding the Senior School Council System.

As some of you may know, we’ve established a new Senior School leadership system in 2020, a system of 14 councils that each focus on promoting and developing different aspects of our College, whether it be academics, service, sport, sustainability or boarding, just to name a few. Unlike some other schools where a small leadership team is stretched thin to try and make changes within their College, we now have a full system of 51 prefects and 16 captains thinking, brainstorming and initiating new projects for our school community. The 2021 leadership team acknowledges the foundation of the new council system that the previous year has established for us, and for this coming year we aim to maintain and improve this. Ultimately, we strive to make the College Community more inclusive and expand the opportunities of the Aquinas College Life.

GOAL 2: Listening to the Aquinas community.

That’s listening to the students, the staff, the parents, the Old Boys, the entire community, for their valuable input, opinions and concerns and allowing those voices to shape how our school evolves. In Term 3 you might have noticed boxes around the school asking for the opinions of both students and teachers. We asked you ‘what do you want in our school’? From this initiative, many students were interested in a student garden, so the Sustainability Council have been looking to get one running. Other students called for an Interhouse Esports Competition, so a competition for Senior School students will be held in Week 6 this term! I feel like schools should listen to the many different wonderful ideas that both students and staff have, as so many exciting possibilities can be found.

And finally GOAL 3: Inclusivity and Buying In.

The culture of a school is dependent on the participation of its students. Aquinas College provides a lot of opportunity for each and every student that walks these College grounds; the student leadership team aims to expand these opportunities to involve as many students as we can into the Aquinas life. But while Aquinas provides us these opportunities, it’s up to each and every one of us to decide whether we want to make the most of them. Aquinas has a whole breadth of life-experience on offer, whether it be in service, debating, academic competitions, production, mock trials, or, of course, sport. Aquinas participates in arguably the strongest school sporting competition in Western Australia, so, as Aquinians, we should try to always serve the Red and Black at the best level we can.

The Aquinas culture is also defined by supporting your fellow Aquinians in the aspects of the College they involve themselves in; whether it be cheering from the sidelines at our PSA games on the weekend, by coming to watch the Senior School Production early next year, or by supporting the mighty sportsmen in the Interhouse esports competition in a couple of weeks... This all links to the value of mateship in our school community, especially in an all-boys community, and buying into the College life, the College life of serving others and participating in as much as the school offers.

I began this speech by underlining the legacy that the 2021 leadership team aims to achieve: bettering the Aquinas Life in whatever way we can, for all of us here, and for future generations to come. But while the staff and student leaders strive to provide as many opportunities for life-experience as we can for our community, it’s up to us students to buy-in to the Aquinas life, starting from now and this year to come. To conclude this speech, I’d like to part with a few words that I believe we should all keep in our hearts, as we face the year ahead of us, a strong ideology already present within the Aquinas Community. As our Captain of Boats Daniel Nolan says to his crew, “this is our year boys.”

Thank you for your time.