College Captain’s Report 2017 was a year of beginnings and endings. The Year 7s began their journey at St Joseph’s College and did a great job transitioning into their new school. The St Joseph’s College Community also started a new chapter as we welcomed Mr Tony Paatsch as the new Principal of St Joseph’s College. He has lead the school in what looks to be an exciting direction for the future as education is shaped by the demands of the 21st century. The Year 12 Cohort completed the last phase of their secondary education and worked hard to prepare themselves for their end of year exams and life beyond. In reflecting on my time as a St Joey’s boy, I have come to admire and appreciate the culture and the people that make up the College. As a younger student, I looked up to the people who had helped make the school great and when the opportunity came for me to give back through involvement in school leadership, I accepted it without hesitation. The role of School Captain definitely opened my eyes to what it means to be a leader through service. It was incredible to see the impact that a group of compassionate young men could have, whether it be through manning the St Vinnie’s soup van, volunteering for refugee tutoring or by donating blood. It was in these moments that I felt we endorsed the values and actions we promote at St Joseph’s College. Over the course of the year I was involved and helped in the organising and running of some significant student lead events: The Year 12 Winter Formal was organised in collaboration with College Captains from the four Catholic College’s in Geelong. It was a great night at the Geelong West Town Hall with over $4500 being raised with proceeds going to our two chosen charities - Parish Pantry, an organisation that provides food for the homeless and Wombats Wish, an organisation that provides support and counselling for children and families who have lost a parent. The largest event on the school calendar was the fourth and most successful edition of the TriUMPH Music Festival with a remarkable $73,579 being raised as funds for the Caritas’ Womens’ Protection program. It was incredibly satisfying to see over 12 months’ worth of hard work and dedication from the TriUMPH Committee, pay off in the way it did to produce such a fantastic result. It was truly an awesome event to be a part of. I feel my most meaningful service to the school has been highlighting the importance of Men’s Mental Health in our community.
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This is a growing concern in our world today, and of particular importance to me as a student in an all-male environment. We began ‘Thirsty Thursdays’ and ‘Fizzy Fridays’ to encourage conversation – to get the boys together and around each other to talk about mental health. The purpose was to recognise that it’s ‘ok’ to open up and relate to each other on tough days and to have developed the support network for the days that the answer to ‘R U OK?’ might be ‘no.’ We need to be there for each other through those times. I would love to see this continue on through the new Student Leadership team in 2018. On behalf of the 2017 Student Leaders I would like to thank both Mr Lynch and Mrs Drever for their hard work and support in leading the team to achieve our vision as leaders who strive to make a positive impact on the College and greater community. To Michael Bongiorno and Liam Jelley, the Deputy College Captains, it has been fantastic working with such fine men who epitomise the school’s values. Their ability to continually strive for the highest in all areas of schooling was a great demonstration of leading by example. I would also like to thank the Year 12 Coordinator Mr Dan Hale, who was a pillar of support and guidance for the Year 12s to enable students to continually do their best. He was a vital link for the Class of 2017 and on behalf of the Year level I would like to thank Mr Hale for his incredible time and effort over the course of the year. Finally, I would like to say that it has been an honour to be able to attend St Joseph’s College. The connections and relationships I have made with students, staff and everyone in the SJC community are ones I will cherish and remember forever. It has been through the everyday conversations and interactions with the community of the school that I have come to realise how brilliant it is to be a part of St Joseph’s College Geelong. My advice to any boy wondering how they can get the most from their time at St Joseph’s would be to live the values, immerse yourself in school life and take every opportunity to lead and to serve our community. Once a Joey’s boy always a Joey’s boy. Ad Alta Virtute. - Andrew McNeel, College Captain 2017
