Principal’s Report The College enrolment for 2015 was 1630 students. Our VCE results for the year were as follows 10.4% of students achieved an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank in excess of 90 and the joint Duxes of the College were Samuel Fatone and Brad McMaster each with an ATAR score of 97.90. This year we celebrated 80 years of providing Catholic Education for boys in Geelong. This event coincided with the Centenary of the ANZAC Landing. Our Music Department toured New Zealand and one of the songs performed by the vocal ensemble was “Here you lie side by side”, a song inspired by the words of Mustafa Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Each student and staff member was presented with a medallion which on one side acknowledged Australia in the Great War and on the other the 80th Year of St Joseph’s College Geelong. One of our students attended the celebrations in Gallipoli as a consequence of being a Spirit of ANZAC prize winner. ANZAC Day, as always, was commemorated at both Westcourt and Edmund Rice Campus. Westcourt Campus was the 2015 State Winner of the National ANZAC Schools’ Award competition. This award acknowledges initiative and creativity in the ways schools commemorate this occasion. Other significant events which involved the 80th Year celebrations included a whole school photograph and in November the Opening of the latest College building. The Board of Edmund Rice Education Australia in conjunction with the St Paul Tobias Joseph’s College Geelong Board named the new Centre Opening student services centre, The Paul Tobias Centre. The main campus at Newtown was renamed the Edmund Rice Campus and a refurbished student exhibition space will be named the Mrs Pat Bourke Gallery. I am deeply honoured and somewhat embarrassed to have the new Centre carry my name. The building was opened by Bishop Vincent Long, the Chair of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria. I take this opportunity to thank College Business Manager, Terry Fowler who worked tirelessly to ensure the building project went smoothly and his organisational skills and attention to detail across all areas of the build has been exceptional. I must also mention our Architects, McGlashan Everist and Builders, Lyons for their vision and expertise in producing such an outstanding building for our community. Throughout the year students had opportunities to travel overseas as a consequence of a number of special programs and immersions. The Band travelled to New Zealand, Westcourt ANZAC Day
some Year 12 students to Uganda in East Africa as part of an outreach immersion, while others walked the Kokoda Track. We were fortunate to once again be part of the Victorian Young Leaders to China Program, with sixteen Year 9 students being selected to be part of the six week language immersion program. The Student Leaders were a great source of inspiration in the way they conducted themselves across the various sports carnivals and Edmund Rice Day. This year students raised $46,000 for those less fortunate, as part of the Edmund Rice Day celebrations. The day concluded with a narrow victory to the students in the Staff vs Students Gaelic Football game. I made reference in last year’s report to the efforts being undertaken in the area of sustainability. Due to ongoing efforts by our Sustainability Coordinator, Kelly Jenkins and our staff and student committee members in this area, I’m pleased to report that St Joseph’s College was the winner of the Resource Smart Waste Secondary School of the Year Award. A ceremony was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and was a highlight for our sustainability representative leaders. Sport and the Performing and Creative Arts continue to be areas where many students achieved excellence. Our Band was placed second in the South Street Eisteddfod in Ballarat, while many students were involved in the successful musical production “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” put on by Clonard College. As a consequence of the two Catholic girls’ Colleges working with us, our boys now have the opportunity to be part of a major theatre production every year. Several of our students exhibited works in the Associated Catholic Colleges Art and Technology Exhibition, which this year was held at the Abbotsford Convent. Our surfers were able to score first place in the Victorian Independent Schools State Championships.This year the first St Joseph’s College Short Film Festival was conducted in the Peter Cannon Centre. The guest judge was Trop Fest Winner, Julian Lucas. The quality of the short films on display was exceptional. Our First XVIII football team managed to win the Associated Catholic Colleges grand final in a very tightly contested game against Whitefriar’s College Donvale. Our second placing in the Associated Catholic Colleges’ Cross Country competition was another fine result. For the first time our Year 10 cricketers were successful in winning the Associated Catholic Colleges Premiership. Community Service has continued to be a central feature of our College for staff, students and parents. All students are involved in service programs irrespective of their year level. This is consistent with our core values of Compassion, Innovation and Integrity. It also Victorian Young Leaders to China
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New Zealand Music Tour
