JOHN OWENS

Chair, College Advisory Council

Firstly, I would like to express what an honour and privilege it is for me to be the Chair of the College Advisory Council. As a former Christian Brothers boy (from Tamworth), the son of a Christian Brothers boy (my father went to Nudgee), and the father and step-father of Eddies boys, I feel greatly honoured to be able to continue a threegeneration association with the Blessed Edmund Rice-inspired education charism, now in the form of Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA), here at St Edmund’s College Canberra.

EREA is undergoing important changes to its structure and governance arrangements, bringing it into line with community expectations and modern governance requirements. This process is still unfolding for St Edmund’s, but I think it important to note that these changes to governance will occur in the background, and have little day-today impact in the quality of care, attention, and educational excellence received by our boys at Eddies.

2022 was a big year for the College. Our recovery from the pressures and challenges imposed on the College by COVID 19 (and the Government’s response to it) continued, and the pattern of College life completed its return to business as normal. I am very conscious that the initial COVID 19 response period imposed great pressure on our boys and their families, with many of the normal rituals – and milestone events – of College life being disrupted for the classes of 2020 and 2021. So it was great to see 2022 regain something of a ‘normal’ pattern.

With the easing of COVID 19 restrictions, we enjoyed a number of community events that had been missing from our calendar in the previous two years, including a great Blue and White Ball, Edmums events, and a very successful Heritage Day.

2022 was also marked by a number of new partnerships for St Edmund’s. An exciting new sports partnership with the University of Canberra (in the form of the Canberra Sports Academy

Program) was launched in June 2022, and we are already seeing its benefits in terms of our boys going on to study at UC and new boys coming to Eddies to be part of the program. In addition, we also saw new or expanded partnerships with the Canberra Raiders, the Hyatt Hotel Canberra, and Accelerate Physio. These partnerships reflect and enhance our deep links with the Canberra community, and provide new and exciting educational pathways and opportunities for our students.

In 2022 the SAC has seen a number of new members joining the Council, increasing the size, diversity, and array of professional experience available to the Council. Joe Zavone and I were delighted to welcome new members Wendy Brookman, Deb Clayton-Baker, Chris Collett, Julie Fitzgerald, Jamie Haynes, Sarah Kelly, and Craig Wagstaff to the Advisory Council in 2022. I would also like to record my thanks and appreciation to Nichole Overall, former Chair and now Member for Monaro in the NSW Parliament, and Lara Kirk, who both finished on the Council in 2022 after several years of service to Eddies and our community.

In September 2022 the Advisory Council participated in a thought provoking and very successful strategic planning day with the College Leadership team and senior staff, where we considered the current situation of the College and its future directions. This activity has resulted in the development of a new Strategic Directions document which will be launched in 2023.

2022 was a successful year for St Edmund’s, and on behalf of the entire College community I would like to express our gratitude and admiration for the College staff, led by Joe Zavone. I feel very fortunate that our boys receive such care and encouragement from our dedicated staff, who reflect in their care and dedication the example of Blessed Edmund Rice.