Edmund Rice Education Australia Touchstones

Liberating Education

 We open hearts and minds, through quality teaching and learning experiences, so that through critical reflection and engagement each person is hope-filled and free to build a better world for all.

Farewell Year 12

On the evening of Friday December 3, we gathered to farewell our Year 12 graduating class. The celebration included a Graduating Liturgy and Award Ceremony. It was so pleasing after the difficult year that our Year 12 students have experienced that we could farewell them in an appropriate way marking the end of their six years with us.

We are very proud of their achievements in the classroom, proud of their contribution to the College over the last six years, but also very proud of the resilience they have shown throughout the difficulties of the last two years.

I reflect back to the young boys who turned up at St Edward’s six years ago. They were probably anxious, maybe even a little scared but hopefully excited about the opportunities that lay ahead. I now fast forward to the present and as we say goodbye, I would like to share with you some thoughts on what we hope for each of our boys as they continue their life journey beyond St Edward’s.

We hope that they find great inspiration and guidance from their experiences of love and life and that they are aspirational regarding their future, continually striving to achieve their personal best. We encourage them to be free to react, choose and engage with the world on their own terms; free to love, to choose truth, to do good, to create a better world for all.

We challenge them to be free to reject the ugly, the false and the mean spirited and become co-creators of a world which is free of prejudice, a world which celebrates our culture and is accepting of our emerging culture.

We encourage them to continue to develop their capacity to question and make meaning of their life, to contribute and live reflectively and compassionately, to be strong in their convictions, resilient and willing to learn from their mistakes and grow from their failures. We do not expect them to be perfect, but to be authentic and true to their own values.

We hope they continue to develop their own sense of spirituality and are contemplative about their place in this world and in their relationship with God and that they continue on in life to become good partners, fathers and members of society who are committed to the Gospel values which underpin our vision for the young men of St Edward’s.

Most importantly we want them to be happy and to know that lasting happiness and inner peace arise from living with purpose and from living every minute with love, grace and gratitude; a life of decency, kindness, service and authenticity consistent with their inner values.

If we at St Edward’s have contributed in some way to the development of young people who maintain this inner strength and values, then we have succeeded in meeting our aspirations.

Year 12 Award Winners

A number of awards were presented to students in the graduating class as part of this celebration. We congratulate the many students receiving awards for first and second place in courses and a range of community awards and congratulate them on their outstanding achievements. The following students were the recipients of the major awards.

Kai Wheelock

Byron Bird

Tyler Moriarty

Principal’s Award for Leadership:  Kai Wheelock

Br MJ Shanahan Award for Meritorious Effort:  Byron Bird

Sportsman of the Year:  Tyler Moriarty

2021 College Dux: For the first time in the history of the College the Dux was awarded to two students:  Samuel Schweinheim and Lennox Taylor

Samuel Schweinheim and Lennox Taylor

A full list of award winners is available via the link below:

End of Year

As the year ends, I would like to thank families for their continued support of St Edward’s. The pandemic has challenged our community in many ways, and we look forward to a new year which is hopefully free from the disruption that we have faced over the last two years. I would like to thank and acknowledge the wonderfully committed teaching and support staff at St Edward’s. We can never underestimate the vital role that they play in supporting and caring for our students. Their dedication, passion for teaching and commitment to supporting students, especially throughout a year where they have constantly adapted to the changing learning environment, is something that we must be very grateful for. I thank them for everything they do.

I wish all members of our community a safe and holy Christmas and a happy New Year.

God Bless