Friday, February 25 marked an important milestone in the growing collaboration between Aquinas College and the University of Notre Dame. A total of 32 students across Years 11 and 12 engaged in tertiary units such as the culmination of Research Skills and Methods, Introduction to Philosophy, or Ethics. Whilst our Year 12 students seamlessly transitioned into their second unit of study, the highlight for our Year 11s were their oral presentations, delivered in the university’s Santa Maria Lecture Theatre in front of university staff and their peers.

The Research Skills and Methods unit has been designed purposefully for students to augment their organisational, self-management and research skills, whilst developing an increased understanding of research methods, academic integrity and ethical scholarship. The unit required students to evaluate and critique sources, frame research questions, and to write and deliver an evidence based presentation on a topic of their choice linked to the United Nations Sustainable Goals.

Adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, the goals provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership.

Whilst all of the students presentations were particularly engaging and impressive in the design and execution, examples of the students topics include;

• Gender Equality - A humorous yet brutally honest and objectively supported argument by Samuel to support the glaring disparities in gender inequality in terms of power and wealth, and an exploration of the interrelated factors that help to explain this injustice. Using a lens focussed towards the disturbing statistics of violence against women in Asian and Pacific regions, Matteo focussed more on the importance of education of both sexes as a viable solution to end discrimination against girls and women, yet the conundrum that violence against women is an inhibitory factor in the progressive education of women in these regions. Samuel Yeow and Matteo Conte
• The contradiction of SDG3 – Good Health and Wellbeing, and SDG8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth. Jake stressed the importance of how greater technological integration is needed to address this perceived contradiction in light of a more contemporary world effected by issues such as COVID-19. Using the country of Zambia as a case study, Jake skilfully explored the impact of a sugar tax, which will support population health and addressing the growing obesity crisis, whilst acknowledging the adverse impact of such a tax on the livelihood of such a large number of Zambian residents who rely on the country’s well established sugarcane agriculture. Jake Harburn
• Affordable and Renewable Energy – an argument centred on the future of fossil fuels and ever present problem of greenhouse gas emissions. Lachlan explored the viability and considerations of coal conversion technology such as coalification and coal liquefaction to avoid combustion and limit harmful emissions. Lachlan Brennan

Congratulations to Nishok Nimalan and Matteo Conte on being selected for the 2022 State Debating Squad! Well done boys!

The 2022 State Team Squad is as follows:

• Anna Tokarev (Perth Modern School)
• Anya Chen (St Mary's Anglican Girls' School
• Cameron Leggatt (Wesley College Perth)
• Hawk Thomas Hughes (Christ Church Grammar School)
• Huda Zaidi (Perth Modern School)
• Isabella Baldwin (Shenton College)
• Jaime Leivers (St Mary's Anglican Girls' School)
• Matteo Conte (Aquinas College)
• Mena Tabeshfar (Shenton College)
• Nishok Nimalan (Aquinas College)
• Nyah Gray (Perth Modern School)
• Robert Eastman (Scotch College)
• Sashank Thapa (Perth Modern School)
• Wade Pik (Rockingham Senior High School)

Congratulations to those selected!

Learning online actually has a face

The Year 11 ViSN Italian class went on camp to meet their Mandurah Catholic College classmates and teacher Prof Alberto Runco from John Paul College in Kalgoorlie.

The camp was held in Crawley. It incorporated 12 hours of tuition and students also spent many hours socialising with other CEWA ViSN students from around WA.

Learning a language online is difficult, however, it will embed transferrable skills in this digital age.

Congratulations to Praneel, Nishok (Yr 10), Lauchlan and Jake for taking on this challenge and being part of the Language Choice Project.

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!

Another group of Aquinas students are participating in a program providing a rare learning space for young people from different parts of the world to connect and get to know each other. This group of students are in discussions with peers from The Abbey School in Tipperary, Ireland. While this might seem a long way away, it is less than 100kms down the road from Waterford, where Edmund Rice opened the first Edmund Rice School in 1802 – in so doing he sparked a global movement to bring young people an education that liberates, delivered in the context of a formation for life that transforms their capacity to live life to the full.

We are blessed to have two groups of enthusiastic, open-minded young men who are excited to learn about Edmund Rice Education globally, develop their cross-cultural knowledge and communication skills. There are no set expectations about where these connections ‘beyond borders’ will lead us, instead, we are open to what may arise. Stay tuned for more updates in the future.

(The Global Classroom Partners Program is an initiative of Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders and coordinated through Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) and Edmund Rice England.)

The last two years have seen the world change dramatically, with a worldwide pandemic that has altered the way we interact and move around the globe. Travel as we know it has changed in many ways, with the steps a traveller must take to be able to move between countries is no longer as simple as packing your bags, grabbing your passport and off you go!

As part of the year 12 ATAR Design course, the students have been tasked with providing an architectural solution to replace the current hotel quarantine situation. They have been provided with a brief that outlines what the state government has provided in terms of their requirements for the project, along with a location for the facility. The buildings are also hoped to be of multiple-use, based on the current global environment. When not in use for pandemic relief, they are required to be easily transported to other locations, for such purposes as temporary housing for towns that have been destroyed by fire, accommodation for immigrants escaping war-torn countries or even utilised for large scale entertainment events, where staff and acts can stay nearby the location.

Students will be using the complete design process to ensure they are able to design and prototype an appropriate solution to their design problem.

Whilst still in the early stages of the project, the students have been compiling initial research from both local and global concepts ranging from Olympic athlete villages to facilities such as Howard Springs in Darwin. They have been collating data, based on surveys that have included feedback from past quarantine travellers and those with a desire to head abroad, once more.

Over the next 12 months, the year 12 design students will continue to build a 15-page design portfolio, as part of their practical examination. Which showcases their journey through the design process, from the initial problem right through to a computer-generated set of renderings and drawings, using commercial grade architectural software, that delivers their solution to the quarantine situation, currently present in Western Australia, as well as presenting it as an option for alternative uses beyond the current pandemic.