Prefect Portfolios

Culture, Publicity and Social Events Chris Millar

Waiting for families at Open Day

Live broadcast at Open Day The Prefect Portfolio was limited this year in what events they were able to organise but continued to try and develop the culture of the College through their interaction in various College activities.

The key event of their involvement was the College Open Day which was held in March. The event really showcased the College with a number of students and teachers highlighting the academic options and the facilities that the College offers to students and their families. The portfolio group helped not only on the day with guiding families around the College but also supporting the other students who also conducted personal tours. The Prefects were real role models especially to the new Year 7 students who also did an exceptional job as tour leaders. Further to their help on the day, they offered key suggestions with the planning and operation of the day.

Prefect Members Joel Cross, Will Drennan, Jordan Mercado, Joshua Zaia

Environment, Sport, Wellbeing Michael Gentle

This year has seen the portfolio grow in numbers and we now have members in nearly all year groups! The students and staff that make up the portfolio are very passionate about supporting both the environment and wellbeing within the St Edward’s community and beyond.

The 2021 Prefects were the first year group to participate in the Youth Summit at Taronga Zoo where different schools from across the state came together to discuss issues affecting the environment and to listen to guest presenters who were leaders in their fields.

This year students from the portfolio participated in a series of online webinars run by Take 3 for the Sea. The webinars inspired students to think about plastic pollution in different ways

and brainstorm ideas that could be implemented at school. The students generated the idea to do a waste audit for the school assisted by representatives from Oz Harvest. Unfortunately lockdown meant that we could not do it this year however the event is booked in for next year. A big thanks to Kristen Mantellato for supporting the students in both the Youth Summit and Take 3 Webinars!

We have continued our Trash Free Tuesday initiative

Prefects on the Mufti Day

and held the Trash Free mufti. There is a real awareness in the school that has been created by this initiative and it is great to hear the students using the ‘trash free’ vocabulary in the playground. The push will be to move this to another day in the week and then trash free every day! The money that was raised from the Trash Free Mufti has helped with the installation of a new filtered water station that was donated to the College after winning a grant by Thirsty Choose Water: An initiative to get students thinking about water instead of soft drinks. Not only is this good for the students but also for the planet by diverting single use plastic bottles from landfill!

We have had a big push in the Earn and Return scheme led by our grounds keeper Matthew Archer. We have had several collections this year and to this point we have diverted 6864 bottles from landfill.

All students and staff in the portfolio got behind Movember and it was great to once again get full support from the College Executive. Kylie Beynon was instrumental in supporting this initiative and she once again helped the boys promote this issue.

The Environment Portfolio has continued to participate in the Clean4shore program and will continue to do this into 2022. The initiative has been in place for several years now and enables the students to be involved in cleaning up our local foreshores. This year EREA approached the school Environment Portfolio to create a video of all the initiatives it has created to support the environment as a way of sharing the success we have had here at St Edward’s.

On a personal level I see how passionate the students and staff are in supporting the Environment and I can only imagine what some of these students will do into the future. I have been stopped in the community by several previous portfolio members who have spoken passionately about their tertiary study in environmental protection. This inspires me to continue what we do at school in the portfolio as I see the initiatives we implement here are only stepping stones in inspiring the students onto bigger and better things when they leave school

Prefect Members Sam Beatson, Byron Bird, Jack Hanna, Kai Wheelock

Prefect Portfolios

Literacy and Academia

2021 has been a successful year for the Academic Portfolio. Term 1 was a buzz with celebrating Maths Week and in Term 2, the Portfolio led a series of commemorative activities in honour of ANZAC Day.

Maths Week was celebrated during Week 8, Term 1, where students were encouraged to take part in a variety of Maths based activities. Students had the opportunity to partake in different games, puzzles and riddles at lunch, solve mathematical conundrums in homeroom and extend their knowledge of the digits of Pi. One of the activities Year 7 participated in was to graph the number Pi and develop this into an artwork of the city skyline. This task required the students to identify the various digits of Pi and transfer this to a graph to design a city skyline.

In Term 2, the Portfolio held a series of commemorative activities and seminars in honour of ANZAC Day. On Monday 26 April, staff and students commemorated ANZAC Day with a whole school assembly to begin the day. ANZAC Day commemorates the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops on the shores of Gallipoli at ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915.

Calling out to our wider St Edward’s community, we asked for families to share photos or information of family members that were, or are, Australian servicemen or women. These stories were placed around the Theatre where Years 7-10 spent a period being immersed into the history of local legends. This learning session focussed on the theme: Remembering Our Local Heroes. The Academic Portfolio and student leaders led these information sessions, teaching staff and students about the Central Coast’s local legends and their various experiences. Additionally, Mrs McDonald and the Year 12 Food Technology students made ANZAC biscuits, following a traditional recipe. ANZAC biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps establishing in WWI. Lastly, students from Year 7-10 were provided with an opportunity to sign up to complete a military-style bootcamp for Friday sport. Mr McCafferty ran the 30 students, Mr Rozario and Mrs Abbott-Atchison through a series of military drills, explaining the purpose of such drills and asking students to reflect and empathise with how these experiences may have made soldiers feel.

Prefect Members Charlie Crimmings, Otis Farrugia, Harry Hoban, Harrison Martin

ANZAC Day

Spirituality, Liturgy and Social Justice

A huge thank you to this group of boys who met almost weekly, to engage the College community in awareness, advocacy and action for the disadvantaged groups in our world. Often this was achieved in using creative ways.

In 2021, the students chose to focus on these issues, through assemblies and SECTV:

• Anti-violence against women • Mental Health/Wellbeing • Reconciliation with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

We especially thank and acknowledge the leadership of our Year 12 group of Prefect Leaders, led by Joshua Partier, for their wonderful and considered leadership of the Portfolio

Prefect Members Cooper Boyce, Harry Ellwood, Joshua Gower, Joshua Partier