Dear Parents and Carers;

It was great to see all boys arrive back on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning and plenty of stories were traded of  experiences during the Christmas Holidays. The boys have settled into Year 12 exceptionally well and have impressed many people with their classwork and their diligence in study at night. We have been stressing the importance of developing a definite routine and being consistent with it for the duration of the term so far they have been very good in doing this.

YEAR 12 BOARDING STAFF

It is important you know the people who are taking care of your sons and you should feel very comfortable with the staff who will be carrying out this important role this year.

Darren Frost – Academic Coordinator: Darren looked after the Academic endeavors of the Graduating Class of 2010 and 2012, and he was very instrumental in the outstanding results achieved by the boys. We are all very fortunate to have him fulfilling this role for the boys. Darren is the Coordinator of Legal studies and also teaches Business Studies and Geography to our senior boys. He is the 1st X1 Football coach as well as Convenor of Swimming.

A.J Whalley – Assistant Boarding Coordinator: Adam Whalley is at St Josephs’ for his third year having come to us as a member of the PDHPE staff and he has worked in Year 11 and 12 Boarding for the past two years. Prior to this Adam played 4 seasons for the Western Force Super 14 side before spending 2 seasons in France furthering his Rugby career.

Greg Thompson: Greg is the Mathematics Coordinator of the College; he was an Old Boy who has been back teaching here for the past 9 years. He has worked in various year groups in Boarding and has been Acting Boarding Coordinator as well as Assistant Boarding Coordinator of Year 11 for 3 years. Greg has coached the 2^nd XV for the past 3 seasons and has worked closely with many of the boys in the Year group in and out of the classroom.

Craig Sharpley: Craig is the College PDHPE Coordinator and has worked in Boarding in Years 9 and 12 for 11 years. Craig has coached the 1^st X1 Football side for 6 seasons and he has worked closely with many of our boys both in and out of the classroom.

Pat O’Shea: Pat is the College Director of Performing Arts who is responsible for coordinating the College’s outstanding musical and drama productions over the past two years. Pat also is the College Convenor of Rugby.

Mark Hegerty: Mark is a College Old Boy who has been involved in Boarding supervision for 14 years. Mark has had 3 sons graduate from the College and we were all cheering for one of them, Francis, who rowed in the Olympic Eight at last year’s London Games. Mark is always around the Year 12 Rooms during the day and the boys will greatly appreciate his presence and efforts.

David Drain: also teaches Business and Legal studies to our Senior Students. David is an old boy who is heavily involved in Rugby and Convenes Athletics at the College. He brings much passion and energy to the position.

Paul Hallam:  Paul is on the Mathematics staff where he has worked for 3 years and he has been involved previously in Year 9 Boarding. He is the current Olympic Track coach and coached the men’s 4 x 100m Relay side which made the final at last year’s London Games.

Anna Nasr: Anna teaches Senior Religious Studies to our boys and although this is her first year in Boarding at St. Joseph’s, she has filled this role for 5 years at St Gregory’s College Campbelltown previously before this. Anna has been a member of our staff for the past six years.

Luke Rawle: Luke has been involved in Year 12 Boarding for the past 2 years, and he is presently teaching at St Augustines College, Brookvale. Luke teaches senior English and Modern History.

Michael Murphy: Michael is a 2007 graduate from Riverview and has been working in Boarding in Wagga Wagga, as well as studying Radiography. Michael is an accomplished organist, who will be playing at our Sunday evening Masses.

We are fortunate to have a group of experienced teachers who are heavily involved with your boys both in and out of the classroom working in Year 12 Boarding this year and you should feel very comfortable and secure in the knowledge of the people looking after your sons this year.

ACADEMIC PRIZEGIVING:

The boys were exemplary at last night’s Academic Prizegiving, where Professor Gordan Parker was the special guest. Professor Parker was the honorary Executive Director of the Black Dog Institute, 2002-2011. He was Head, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales for 20 years; Director of Mental Health, Prince of Wales Hospital for 15 years and Clinical Director of the Eastern Sydney Mental Health Clinical Program Directorate for three years.

FAMILY MASS:

Tomorrow we are back again for the Family Mass of Dedication. All boys are to be seated in the Hall in Blues by 9.50am and the Mass should conclude by 11.00am, approximately.

Take care

Regards

Jermy.

QUOTE: NEVER TREAD LIGHTLY. LEAVE A DEEP IMPRESSION WHEREVER YOU GO.”

Dear Yr 11 Parents and Carers;

The year has come to a close, in what has been a huge year of great growth. We all wanted  our boys to finish well to cap off a successful year and this they certainly did. You all should be very proud of the work and effort our boys have produced. English, Physics, Maths, Economics, Ancient History, Modern History, Legal Studies, Studies of Religion, Catholic Studies, Drama Assessments, just to name a few, have dominated the last seven days as our boys have shown great efforts in their Studies. Our boys have now met the next level of challenge as they step up into the quality and pace that is demanded of them in the HSC. They are all genuinely pleased with the extra time and effort they are applying to their work. Sometimes though, their best efforts do lack the fine tuning in the quality of their work and some boys have become disappointed with their results. Others are thinking things are just going to fall into place and need to challenge themselves to work consistently over extended periods of time. One great tip that many of our boys are taking up is to check with their teachers, their peers, check with their parents, let alone older brothers and sisters. It is amazing what a neutral eye such as yours can help in clarifying the answer that is exactly needed for the specific question being asked. This is the fine tuning and skill our boys are now developing. Their great efforts see them all working long and hard but the next step is the fine tuning skill of answering exactly what is being asked.

Our last week of the year maintained our very hectic pace right until the absolute end. Darren and  I,  plus all of the teaching Staff have been most impressed with the quality of our boys’ work that have made a great start in the HSC Assessments. The overwhelming comments from Staff have been about the volume of work and care our boys have taken in this process. The great thing about Joeys is that you do not waste any time as you work right to the end and then go home. It was a very tired but totally satisfied group of boys who we farewelled on Wednesday afternoon, knowing they commence a holiday break that they thoroughly deserve.

In CRICKET, a wonderful outright victory was achieved over Shore after some fine batting performances from James Williams and Jackson Watts, both scoring half centuries, before Hamish Bartlett and Ben Rodgers led the bowling attack to wrap up a convincing victory. In 2nds Cricket, the team also recorded a strong victory over Shore. Both teams are well placed to give their respective Competitions a shake next year needing to overcome strong teams from St Ignatius and Kings to take the gold. Our First XI are presently in Bunburry, West Australia competing in the Marist Carnival, where they are in equal first place. We wish them well for a most successful tour.

In Basketball, our Firsts overcame nerves in the first quarter to gradually take charge and finish clear winners with some dominating play in the last quarter against Riverview. The final score being 74-68. In Seconds, Basketball we recorded a convincing 71-53 win.

Tennis, with Harrison Gould captain, Matt Hall vice-captain and Maurice De Costa, and Geoff Choy and Nick Wood in the 2nds the boys went down to Riverview, yet fought hard right throughout the day. We trust their Camp in Melbourne in January will see them firing in their first Competition match back next year.

Congratulations go to Tom Murphy and Alex Rainnie who have been elected as Captain and Vice Captain of Boats respectively for the 2012 ROWING season. Both boys show great leadership and determination in all they do at the College and we wish them well in these important leadership roles. Our Rowers have the first of their three training Camps in preparation for the Head of the River.

Congratulations to our Surf Lifesavers, who all qualified for their Bronze Medallion on Saturday.  Our GPS Swimmers continue to slog it out in training while our Water Polo boys, had a bye in their last weekend, with special mention to Harrison Holgate who was selected in the CIS team to trial for the State Schoolboys Water polo team. 

We truly have a rich diversity of many talented young men who are thriving in the competition and not shirking on their efforts as they maintain the rage right to the end in their sporting commitments and studies as well.

The final Headmaster’s Assembly commenced with our Christmas Liturgy marking the beginning of Advent. Ross Tarlinton reminded the boys that Advent was a time of waiting, expectation and commitment and he asked the boys to ensure they observed and attended a Christmas Liturgy this Christmas hopefully as part of a family gathering.

To cap off the year, the following forty three Year 11 boys: Lachlan Aston, Nick Berney, ricky Buchanan, Lachlan Cairns, Joe Callaughan, Ben Carolan, Joe Coorey, Oliver Coorey, Luke Donlon, Hamish Elliot, Callum Flitcroft, Brendon Follington, James Goldie, Harrison Gould, Cameron Haddad, Matthew Hall, Max Hall, Magnus Heywood, Max Honner, Joshua Kay, Charlie Landers, Michael Lawler, Tim Litherland, Harry Maher, William McManus, Matthew Mullen, Tom Murphy, Laurence Nelmes, Conor O’Gorman, Andrew O’Neill, Tim Palmer, Tiger Parker, Clancy Pattinson, Daniel Picone, James Quinn, Andrew Raumer, David Ryan, Morgan Thomas, Jackson Whiting, Josh Wilde, Charlton Wilson and Terence Wong yesterday completed  the Marist Children Camp held over the last four days at Joeys. The training over the last month certainly came in handy as our boys were really pushed in their care and patience in dealing with the special children of the Camp. A huge thank you to our boys, all the Staff, parents, the girls and old boys who volunteered their time for this truly wonderful endeavour.

Our boys would have brought home with them a most impressive and comprehensive 2011 College Magazine. It is wonderful record of the College Year with huge praise to Johanna Parsons for producing this outstanding publication. All boys should have by now also received their copy of the impressive publication of  Kids of Dreams. Congratulations to Miss Emma Fielding and Miss Michelle Tinta who have compiled a tremendous collection of prose, poetry and artwork from boys representing every year group. Special mention to Max Hall who took out the Senior Division award for Prose, while Ethan Chin was commended for his Poetry and Henry Birtwistle was also commended for his Artwork, both in the Senior Division. It is truly wonderful for our boys to have this keep sake of their works published in their time at school. You should also receive an Interim Report commenting on your son’s first nine weeks of his HSC Studies and the End of Year Boarding Report.

A number of our boys, 45 in all have volunteered their time for the important role of showing New Parents and students around the College on Sunday 29^th January. You will receive a letter from me outlining the procedure for the day. You will also receive a letter from me mid-way through January, which I would ask you to sit down, read and discuss with your son’s so my expectations of them next year is clear and understood by all our boys and this ensures they return and start well next year.

As I conclude my final Newsletter for the year, I must sincerely thank the great Year 11 Boarding Staff who have cared and looked after your sons this year. To Darren Frost, our Assistant Boarding Co-ordinator, Matt Rollo and to the rest of the Staff: A.J Whalley, Bruce Carr, John Summers, Mark Conlon, Mark Halsted, Paul Graziani, Michael Mccormack, Damian Chase, Darren Fitzpatrick and David Drain for their tireless efforts, support, patience and care of our boys.

May I also thank all of you for your constant support and help in so many ways, as well as your many kind words and gifts as we conclude this year. My last thanks go to our young men who have grown and matured so much this year. For their wonderful efforts, sense of humour, friendship and drive to lead their College, allowing me the pleasure, the pride and privilege of caring and nurturing them this year as they journey forward.

Finally, may I wish you a happy and enjoyable Holiday, for those who are lucky enough to get a break and the joy of having your family together in celebrating a safe, happy and holy festive season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Regards

Jeremy

Dear Year 11 Parents & Carers,

Our Year 11 Dorms have never smelt so good as they did last Friday afternoon. Volumes of after shave were generously applied as our boys prepared themselves for their big night. It was great to see so many of them organizing a corsage for their partner, which was made available to them by Vanessa Gliddon and her very artistic group of Joeys Mums making over 135 beautiful corsages and each boy being very proud of his selection.

The Brother Emilian Hall was totally transformed into a truly magnificent Ballroom (“fitting of an Opera House Spectacular” to quote one e-mail). Our boys and their partners were awe struck on entry, (let alone the many parents and friends who had a peek as well), which was exactly the effect we wanted to achieve. The success of the night belongs to many people including, Decorative Events, Tony Porter Light & Sound Show, Balloon Inflation and Alliance Catering along with the forty-five parents who helped over some part of the day right through to Midnight.  A wonderful night was had by all of our boys at the Year 11 Semi-Formal. A big thanks must go to all the parents for all their help in ensuring such a spectacular evening.

https://picasaweb.google.com/115925971635211824176/Yr11SemiFormal?authkey=Gv1sRgCMam65Cc9JqJAQ#

Finally to the stars of the evening, our boys. They were simply magnificent! They had a wonderful time and looked fantastic. It was great to see them so superbly dressed and each and every one of them conducted themselves with class. They were so proud of themselves as they paraded on the front lawn and in the foyer of the Hall with their mocktails in hand for photos along with the incredibly attractive young ladies, who our young men had invited, completing a perfect evening. Tuesday afternoon was also a buzz in the Dorms as the boys grabbed their photos, courtesy of the great photographic work from Mim Canturi and Sue Sidaway ensuring a perfect memento for the boys of a great night. The photos of the Year 11 Semi-Formal can now be viewed on the following website –

Last week the Blood Donor Mobile visited Joeys due to the generosity of our Year 11 boys’ willingness to donate blood. Miss Helen Smith spoke with our boys earlier this term about the opportunity with 65 of our boys volunteering to donate. The Bloodbank were most grateful as the boys’ donations really could not have come at a better time as the current state of Australia’s blood supply is extremely low. The Nurse Unit Manager was full of praise saying that our boys were very cooperative, patient and extremely polite.

Our boys in their Sport this term has seen some eye catching performances. Our Cricketers, Basketballers and Tennis players have produced some great results, while the Rowers continue to work hard in preparation for their Regatta season.  Amongst many good performances, special mention must to go to the consistent run scoring from Declan O’Donahue in the 1^st XI as his team has played exceptional cricket to score convincing victories over a Strong Scots College outfit and then followed this up with an impressive 1^st Innings victory over Newington.  Harrison Goodrick and his 1^st V Basketball team have been playing magnificent basketball with outstanding victories over Newington and Kings. Maurice DeCosta, Matt Hall and Harrison Gould have representing us in the 1^st Tennis team and have accounted for their Sydney High and Grammar opponents and fought out a tough draw against the Scots College. Big games for all boys this weekend against the Shore School.

Our service to the Matthew Talbot Hostel for Homeless Men has continued this term. James Keenan, Clancy Pattinson, Max Honner and Tim Palmer served the guests on Friday, 11th November, while tonight Max Hall, Tim Litherland, Will Glenn and Callum Flitcroft will continue this great service.

Tonight will see the launch of the 2011 Kids of Dreams.  Year 11 has twenty-three contributors to this year’s publication. Congratulations to  James Allan, Henry Birtwistle, Ethan Chin, Tomas Cleary, Oliver Coorey, Aaron Curtis, Jesse Fenech, Harrison Goodrick, Harrison Gould, Maxwell Hall , Jack Hamilton, Max Honner Daniel Hughes, Harry Maher, Tim Palmer, Tiger Parker, Julian Paul, Riley Powell, James Quinn, Clinton Slater, Morgan Thomas, Lewis Wigington who all have the honour of having their writings or artwork published.

Numerous boys have been recognized for their hard work over the past few weeks. Tom Murphy was awarded the Australian Defence Force Long Tan Leadership Award which saw him receive $500.00. The awards are an important initiative by the Australian Government with the Australian Defence Forces to encourage senior students – tomorrow’s leaders – to actively participate in the life of their schools and local communities It is also a fitting tribute to the Long Tan veterans, as the very traits they demonstrated such as determination, mateship, teamwork, compassion and leadership, are the same attributes this Award hopes to encourage and recognise in students. Well done Tom.

Nicholas Henry was awarded the 2011 Les Burgett Prize for Music 1 and Music 2 Courses. Nicholas also received $500.00 to be put towards furthering his musical interests and talents.

Tim Palmer recently competed in the Athletes with Disability Junior National Athletics championships where competing up an age group in the U/20’s he came second in the 400m, breaking the deaf records in the U/20 and U/18 age groups. Tim did this despite injuring his hamstring at the 300m mark. A great effort. He now holds the deaf records for 100m (U18) and 200m,400m and 800m (U18 and U20) all of which he has set in the past 2 months.

James Rix recently finished 3^rd place in the NSW Men’s Road Racing Championships and he was then picked up by National Road Series Team, “Torque” which is a just result for the many hours of consistent work James puts in, on top of playing sport for the College.

At our Division Meeting on Wednesday I spoke to the boys about how last weekend sounded some warning bells very loudly to us all, and if we were smart we would learn from it. After a wonderful Friday night and excellent Saturday of sport, a large number of our boys went out to an arranged party on the Saturday night. Despite supervision, many chose to turn up with alcohol and the resultant combination of already tired teenagers and drinking, 2 of our boys ended up in a fight with one being knocked to the ground, thankfully without any permanent consequences. Productivity in and out of the classrooms was poor in the ensuing days as well as resultant tensions in the dorms due to what had happened on the Saturday night. Any outside activity which does impact on the boys here at the College, we will become involved. However I firmly believe that we need to work together to ensure our boys weekend activites are appropriate and minimise the chances of these episodes happening to them. I spoke with a number of the boys and greatly appreciated their honesty. By far the most common reasons brought forward for drinking was that it was the “end of the year”, they “were a bit tired” and “wanted to let their hair down”. I pointed out to them one of the Fathers of the boys recently sent home, was putting in 20 hour days on the harvester, he was tired, got a bit emotional too about his son’s behaviour, but he kept going. Ex test cricketer Matthew Hayden at a recent Assembly gave a speech which all the boys thoroughly enjoyed and were inspired by, in which he pointed out his fondest memories weren’t sending balls out of stadiums with big shots, but the times where he had to overcome self-doubt, his spot being questioned and the ensuing hard work he put in to produce innings which saw him come through these challenging times and the ensuing feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment which went with these times. This is what we want our boys to work for, to achieve their goals and be proud of what they do here, rather than look back at what might have been. As we pointed out on Wednesday, alcohol should not be part of their travels for them to achieve what really matters to each and every one of them, but it will be an ongoing process where families and the College need to work together, with the same understanding and emphasis for the boys benefit.

With just under two weeks remaining there is still much to be done. At Joeys we never wind down but go right to the very end. It is actually one of the traditions of the place, we don’t waste time and the time our boys are here, they are fully maximized. Though there is not an exam block for our Year 11 boys, they have a numerous HSC assessments and tests planned that will certainly keep them busy. Now certainly is the time to finish strong. Our boys traveling home on Countrylink will depart first thing on Thursday morning, 8th December. Take care and enjoy the weekend with your families.

Regards

Jeremy

Dear Year 11 Parents,

The reality of work has well and truly taken hold of our boys as they approach the half way mark of the Term. Assessments are now underway with varying levels of participation. We have extremes of all cases as the boys learn to balance their work loads of study, sport, music plus other commitments as well as their leadership duties. Some have become very concerned and worried about coping with it all, as new found stress grips them; while for just a rare few others, I wouldn’t mind if they became a little stressed. The greatest thing about our boys is their keen sense of competition and genuine desire to do well.

Last Monday and Wednesday Henry Brindle, Ethan Chin, Geoff Choy, Oliver Coorey, Ted Dwyer, Hamish Elliot, Harrison Gould, James Harrison, Michael Lawler, Nathan Le, Derek Lo, Harry Maher, Tom Murphy, Alex Newsome, Daniel Picone, Oliver Roberts and Seth Turnbull completed their  HSC Mathematics paper having been accelerated in this subject over the last two years. Comments were generally very positive, particularly about the 2 unit paper while Wednesday’s Extension 1 presented some challenges for all. Congratulations to these boys and their teacher, Mr Greg Thompson, on their great efforts in this Maths Acceleration course. Let’s hope the marks they receive this year will help free them up in other subjects in 2012.

 At last week’s Headmaster’s Assembly, Ross Tarlinton delivered an excellent message for all our boys, imploring them to seriously and regularly think about the decisions they make, but even more so, the consequences of these decisions. There are times, he said, when we think that what we chose to do will not impact on me and these are the times when our decisions do come back to bite us and, there are consequences which impact greatly on our family and at other times our friends. Ross urged all boys to develop the habit that before they make a decision, to stop, take a breath and think about the consequences before acting. Wise words for all our young men. The presentation of the Term Three Study Effort Awards then took place. Congratulations for the excellence in the efforts of the following gentlemen: James Allan, Anthony Baker, Duncan Baxter, Alex Beasley, Henry Birtwistle, Ricky Buchanan, Ian Chan, Oliver Coorey, Ross Davey, Maurice DeCosta, Jesse Fenech, Brendon Follington, Sam Gliddon, Cameron Haddad, Matthew Hall, Max Hall, Magnus Heywood, Dom Huggett, James Keenan, Charlie Landers, Michael Lawler, Derek Lo, Henry Maher, Hugh McLean, Tom Murphy, Alex Newsome, Clancy Pattinson, Daniel Picone, James Quinn, Alex Rainnie, Josh Schwager, Morgan Thomas and Charlton Wilson.

Some significant Sports awards then took place and among them Declan O’Donahue received the Award for Best Batsman in the 1^st X1 for Term One as well as scoring 2 centuries against Riverview and Barker in the recent holiday period. Ben Rodgers received the Award for Best Bowler in the 1^st X1 for Term One. Harrison Goodrick was Awarded Best Defensive Player in the 1^st V Basketball for Term One. Alex Newsome was awarded Best Back in the 2^nd XV and Best Fieldsman in the 2^nd X1. Seth Turnbull was awarded Best Bowler in the 2^nd X1. Matt Hall received the award for Best Player in the 2nds Tennis, Term One, Harrison Gould Best Team Player in the 2nds Tennis. Harry Maher was awarded the Public Speaking Award for 2011. Well done to all these boys.

Lachlan Aston, Nick Henry, Zac Guilfoyle and Michael Thompson continued our service of the guests at Matthew Talbot last Friday. Their stories never cease to amaze me about this wonderful experience let alone the great service, care and friendliness they themselves provide the men of Matthew Talbot. Today, Josh Kay, James Goldie, Tom Murphy and Jon Bolster will continue this most valuable service.

On Wednesday, Tom Cleary and Hugh McLean spoke up very well at the College Food Committee Meeting. Their input was valuable as well as learning the reasons behind the balanced diet that the boys receive.

There have been some wonderful examples of our boys’ active leadership roles already this term. At the respective Year Group Meeting this week thirty–six of our Swimming Leaders passed their first test, by holding the House Swimming Carnival Meetings with their individual Year Groups to organize the Carnival which was held last night at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre at Homebush.  It was a night of full involvement with our boys being directly responsible for the organisation of their peers and junior years, a task they carried out very well. Our Swimming House Leaders were:

Last Monday our Sport, Lifestyle and Recreation boys were taken down to God’s Country,  Manly Beach, where they participated in a Surf Education Awareness Program, conducted by Mr Craig Sharpley, PD/H/PE Coordinator. Craig provides the following details of the day:

 All boys completed a unit of work in Sport Lifestyle and Recreation on Aquatics – specifically focused on Water Safety.

 In this module students will

• develop the skills and knowledge necessary to participate safely in aquatic environments.
• investigate reasons for participation in aquatic activities and develop the skills associated with water safety.
• learn to plan and implement their own aquatic activities and will then develop an appreciation for the benefits offered by a variety of popular activities.

To facilitate their learning all students participated in an excursion at Manly beach run by SEA Australia. The excursion involved students being sub divided into groups and having at least one (1) Instructor accompanying them.  All SEA Instructors and Water Safety Officers were qualified to teach students Surf Awareness and Surf Skills. Students did not need any prior experience or swimming qualifications and the course catered for all fitness levels. The boys gained invaluable knowledge and skills on how many aspects of Surf Education and they thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Thank you to all whom have volunteered your assistance at the upcoming Semi Formal, this is greatly appreciated. I will put a final list out this week and as I said in the last Newsletter, without your help, this night does not take place.

As you can see our boys are busy and well and truly back into it with three weeks already gone in our boys first term of the HSC. Take care and enjoy the weekend with your families.

 Regards

Jeremy

QUOTE: Successful people learn to weed out the constructive criticism from the kind that is negative and damaging. They believe in themselves, work hard and stay away from negative influences!”

Dear Year 11 Parents and Carers, The new Term sees 179 Year 11 boys commence their HSC. We welcome Abram Dunworth from Dubbo, Oliver Pocock from Naremburn and Jesse Slok from Lilyfield. A very warm welcome to the boys and their families and do hope they enjoy being part of the Joeys Family.

 The boys have begun brilliantly returning in most positive spirits and earnest to really work hard, aiming to improve and build upon on their Year 11 results, with a genuine desire and commitment to do their best. It has been fantastic to hear the boys speak with such conviction. They have certainly matured over this year and are ready to take on the HSC.

Darren Frost has been very busy this week talking with our boys and organizing their new timetables as they commence their Year 12 classes. The boys’ timetables have remained the same as last term for the first week. This has allowed time for the important decision of what subject to drop, what extension class to pick up and so on to take place. This will ensure that correct decisions and not hasty ones are made for the best interest of all our boys. Darren issued the boys with their new timetables today. Darren then spoke with our boys this week about his expectations and explained to them about the basic requirements and guidelines required of them. Nothing really new but needed to re-stated with them.

 The holidays that now seem a distant past, with so much going on in our busy lives at Joeys, also saw busy holidays for some of our boys. Quite a few boys were involved in trips to Japan or now being Senior Rowers, Cricketers and Basketballers and were in Camp in preparation for their respective seasons.

On Wednesday I spoke at length with our boys about, what makes a good Leader. I shared with them recent definitions, highlighting characteristics and traits associated with better leaders. Our boys have certainly embraced already the responsibilities that come with being the Seniors and Leaders of their College. Record numbers of nominations for the varying positions has been outstanding and is a credit to our boys’ commitment. Already, 153 of our boys are a part of the Peer Support Program with Year 7; 14 boys will soon commence as Dorm Seniors; thirty-five are Acolytes; 46 are involved in preparing for the Marist Holiday Children Camp: our cheer leaders who led their College to send off Year 12 and soon Darren and I will be organizing thirty-six of our boys to be the Swimming Captains and Year Group Leaders for our coming Swimming Carnival. On top of this are the roles in leadership our boys have already begun in their Summer Sports. It is a truly great aspect of Joeys that all of our Seniors embrace the responsibility of leadership. Their support for each other in identifying and embracing the ethos of their College and the example they set for their junior forms are true attributes of better leaders.

Today at our Headmaster’s Assembly the 1st V Basketball side were presented with their singlets and congratulations go to the following boys selected Harrison Goodrick (Captain), Eddie Browne, Max Chippendale, Joshua Commins, Andrew Hookey, Joshua Kay, Hugh McLean and Charlton Wilson. Congratulations also to Chris Belsey who was selected in the 2nd V. We wish both teams good luck in their first competition match against Riverview this Saturday.

This weekend we go on Retreat and the boys are to be at SJC by 12.30pm on Sunday for a 1.00pm departure. The Senior Retreat provides an opportunity for all students to take time out from our ‘normal’ school routine to reflect on their relationships with others, their personal spiritual journey and their goals for 2012. This is an excellent opportunity to do some serious thinking about what is important in life as the HSC year commences.

Attached below are the venues and contacts should you need them for the respective Retreat venues. I trust your son has told you by now where he is heading too.

Church Missionary Society Conference Centre   Katoomba

2 Violet Street Katoomba  NSW  2780

Site Managers:Stephen Holland & Paul Nettelbeck

(02) 4782 1167

katoomba@cms.com

www.staycms.com

Benedict XVI Retreat Centre  Grose Vale

347 Grose Wold Road Grose Vale  NSW  2753

 Site Managers: Mel Legasbi:0415 976 009      

Rey Legasbi: 0401 254 913

John Sweeting (Manager– not on site)

Tel:  9390 5316 (direct)

Mobile:  0408 610 023

www.bxvicentre.org.au

Edmund Rice Retreat and Conference Centre  Mulgoa

‘Winbourne’ 1315 Mulgoa Road Mulgoa  NSW  2745

 Contact:         

Jeanette Borg (Secretary)

Br Gary Ferguson (Manager)

(02) 4773 5555

manager@winbourne.efc.edu.au

www.winbourne.cfc.edu.au

The Tops Conference Centre Stanwell Tops

Bendena Garden Road Stanwell Tops NSW  2508

Reception:

Heather Drew, Karen or Jan

(02) 4294 1430

1800 816 496

enquiries@thetops.com.au

www.thetops.com.au

 I hope you all have a great weekend with your families.

Take care;

Jeremy.

QUOTE: “IT IS GOOD TO HAVE AN END TO A JOURNEY FORWARD, BUT IT IS THE JOURNEY THAT MATTERS IN THE END!”

Dear Year 11 Parents,

The dorms sit quietly and dusty after the high energy of a long ten week term. Our boys go home tired but satisfied in rounding off this last week, where they received back exams and assignment marks, with much instruction concerning the process behind dropping a subject or picking up a one unit course to organizing their text books, all in readiness for the commencement of their HSC studies next term.

Last weekend was the GPS Track and Field Championships and our boys were magnificent in all their performances, the vast majority of them recording personal best efforts on the day and this resulted in an outstanding second place finish behind the Kings School. After a long winter sport season our boys worked intensely for three weeks before the championships and many of them scared the life out of competitors with State and National rankings, whom had the luxury of a winter’s preparation due to not playing Rugby or Football. I would like to congratulate Zac Guilfoyle, Tim Palmer, Joe Callaughan, Hugh McLean, Sam Barclay, James Harrison, James Goldie, Alex Beasley, Ben Rodgers, Tom Martin, Josh Wilde, Laurence Nelmes, Tom Cleary, Magnus Heywood, Andrew Hookey and Josh Schwager for their outstanding performances on the day. It was impossible for me to see all the boys compete so I cannot comment on them all, but I found the efforts of Ben Rodgers and Tom Martin to be absolutely inspiring and  Alex Beasley’s efforts across the day were sustained and exceptional. 

Our Division Meeting on Wednesday was dominated by the details concerning the boys’ patterns of study and Year 12 text books, which Darren outlined to the boys very comprehensively. Wednesday was also the day we announced our Year 11 Cheer Leaders, Callum Flitcroft, Max Hall, Charlie Landers, Eddie Browne, Tiger Parker, Brendon Follington, David Ryan, Dom Mullane, Kian Heffernan, Oliver Roberts and Michael Thompson revved up our Years 7 to 11 boys with a cheering practice in preparation to take on the mantle of leading the school for the first time on Thursday to send off our Class of 2011 at their Final College Assembly. The Farewell Assembly went extremely well and to quote many a Year 12 boy commenting about the cheering after the event, “Year 11 was awesome!”  Fitting praise from their senior peers and a great start for our new Leading Year of the College.

Further to the wonderful examples our boys are setting in undertaking their leadership role in the school seriously, is that forty-three boys also nominated to take on the role of Dorm Seniors for 2011/12. Unfortunately only fourteen boys are chosen for the positions that leave the majority disappointed, but the generosity and commitment from all of the boys who did volunteer for this role, is greatly valued and appreciated. In a very difficult process to select the fourteen amongst so many worthy candidates, the following boys have been selected to commence as Dormitory Seniors next term.

In Year 7: Seth Turnbull, Jade Tubnor.

Year 8: James Quinn, Tom Murphy, Alex Newsome.

Year 9: Joe Callaughan, Ben Carolan, Alec Rainnie, Connor O’Gorman and Charlie Landers.

Year 10: Max Hall, Josh Kay, Josh Wilde and Anthony Baker.

One for the diary, the Semi-Formal will be held at the College on November 18^th and I have been finalising details for the evening. We will need to have about 40 parents helping out on the night, so if you could keep that night free and volunteer some time it would help with the smooth running of the evening and make it a really special occasion for our boys.  Once the semi-formal is underway, you can sit back and relax and enjoy an informal get-together with pizza and a glass of wine.

You will receive by early next week the very comprehensive Year 11 Academic Reports for the completion of the Year 11 Preliminary Course and an Interim Boarding (Pastoral) Report. There finally ends a busy term in the lives of our boys. In Term 4, Full Boarders and all Weekly Boarders return at 8pm on Monday evening, 10th October; Day Boys – 8am on Tuesday morning, 11^th October our boys commence the first term of the HSC.  Be rest assured your son is ready for it. They all have worked hard over this term and I do hope your son’s Report rewards his efforts this year.

I do hope all the boys have an enjoyable break as these holidays will be their last where they can feel totally free of any need to do school work as they return refreshed ready to take on the mantle of leadership in the many facets of College life at Joeys.

QUOTE: “TAKE YOUR LIFE IN YOUR OWN HANDS AND WHAT HAPPENS? A TERRIBLE THING: NO ONE TO BLAME!”

Dear Year 11 Parents and Guardians;

A huge sigh of relief was heard as our boys finished their last exam, Mathematics, this afternoon. Our boys have been totally immersed in their Final Year 11 Preliminary Exams that have dominated these last two weeks. Darren Frost and I have been very impressed as to how the boys have applied themselves to their Studies. Mind you, Study has been tough for some as they drag their brain exhausted bodies back to the classroom to continue their vigil. It is not easy to sit day and night studying when your next exam may be two or three days away. It was just simply hard work and our boys have certainly put in. We have changed their program that sees a Morning exam; Lunch at Midday followed by a good hour and a half break with the afternoon session beginning at 1.33pm. The boys have enjoyed playing Touch, kicking the footy around or shooting a few baskets as a way to keep things in balance and burn off some energy. Actually it has been very pleasing to see the way many of them have routined themselves, with early morning training sessions being popular to kick start their days. Night Study also saw optional sessions introduced as we moved later into the second week, with a choice of movie/World Cup Rugby that the boys really enjoyed.

 The views from the exams have varied with some comments being: Geography – “Okay”; PD/H/PE – “Looong”, “Frantic”, “All okay but a lot of it”; while one of the Economics students declared, “I think I’ll be dropping that subject next term!” English received thumbs up but most were flat out in completing the 2 hour exam. Our Extension Maths students walked out of the exams with mixed responses of quiet joy and some loud declarations of “definitely only doing 2 unit next term”. I don’t know whether it was the last exam but the 2unit Maths Paper was well received by the boys with many claiming it was “Very Fair” I love their ratings or maybe their relief! Anyway, it is always hard to know how you went in exams but one thing for certain; our boys are really putting in an effort.

At yesterday’s Headmaster’s Assembly Ross challenged the boys to be young men who not only take responsibility for their actions, but also take responsibility for their decisions and their decision making. For our boys who have just finished their exams, they need to reflect, at some stage and honestly ask themselves whether they are presently doing all they can to make the most of the education you are supplying them; and they will need to take responsibility for these actions. Ross said he found it a sad situation when boys make a decision based on the premise that they will probably get away with their actions. As Wayne Bennett told the boys a few weeks ago, true character is what you do, and who you are when no-one is watching you. Ross went onto wish the Year 12 students all the best in their final week of the term as well as the GPS athletes all the best for this coming Saturday.

Our Senior athletes were then given their competition singlets for this weekend. The following Year 11 boys will be competing on Saturday – Zac Guilfoyle, Tim Palmer, Joe Callaughan, Hugh McLean, Sam Barclay, James Harrison, James Goldie, Alex Beasley, Ben Rodgers, Tom Martin, Josh Wilde, Laurence Nelmes, Tom Cleary, Magnus Heywood, Andrew Hookey and Josh Schwager. I wish them all the best in their events for Saturday. Whilst on Saturday just to remind you that all boys are to be in attendance, in their Full Blues and they leave Mark St gates at 8.30am. We will be back at the College be approximately 4,30pm, when the boys will have dinner and then relax until the Rally at 6.15pm. The Rally should conclude by 7.15pm when all dayboys and students with overnights may check off with me. It should be a good day, but it will be a long and looks like hot one for the troops.

Mr Greg Thompson, Mathematics Coordinator, then handed out the awards from the Australian Mathematics Competition, which has been running since 1976 and was held on the 4^th August with 600,000 students from the Pacific and S.E Asia region sitting for the Competition. The following boys were awarded a Distinction due to their efforts: – Nathan Salmon, Geoff Choy, Michael Lawler, Andrew O’Neill, Daniel Picone, Rob Sidaway, Jon Canturi, Tom Murphy and James Harrison. Congratulations to all these boys.

Our commitment to the Matthew Talbot Hostel continues with James Quinn, Conor O’Gorman, Callum Flitcroft and Alec Duffy attending on Friday, 9^th September and this evening, Jesse Fenech, Morgan Thomas, Max Hall and Hamish Elliot.

ONE FOR THE DIARY: “A message from year 11 parent reps: Our next parent social function will be held on Friday 2^nd December at Bayview Tavern in Gladesville. Please put the date in your diary. Details will follow next term.”

Next term the boys go on the annual Yr 11 Retreat, from Sunday 16^th October. As you know, Helen Smith has asked you to write a letter for your son, I have re-attached the guidelines of this letter as a result of numerous requests. Please keep it confidential from your boys

Jeremy

QUOTE: “SUCCESS IS DEPENDENT UPON THE GLANDS; SWEAT GLANDS!”

 Dear Parents/Carers;

The week has been one with some good life messages and experiences for the boys as they head into their exams which commence next Tuesday. On Wednesday Yr. 11 attended the funeral for Joe Fazio (’61). Now the boys had heard of Joe’s story earlier this year when he was asked to give the 1^st V111 their rowing skins before the Head of the River. As Joe was ill, with dementia, his wife, Di, who is on the College staff fulfilled this role on his behalf. Just to fill you in, Joe came to SJC from Taree in 1955; his father had died when he was 9. In 1959, when in Year 10, whilst on cadet camp in Singleton Joe and close mate, Michael Farrell came across a live ammunition shell which exploded, killing Michael and critically injuring Joe.  Despite this harrowing tragedy, Joe, showing tremendous resilience, finished his time at SJC strongly and along the way was in the 1^st V111 and 1^st XV in 1960 and 1961. After following his passion for rowing, Joe was selected in the 1968 Olympic Games in the men’s V111, which won a silver medal. Tragedy again revisited when a spinal injury, requiring extensive surgery cut short his rowing career. Despite this Joe lived out his life forging a successful business career with the Hilton Group and returning to coach our boys rowing in 1995. 13 years ago, Joe was diagnosed with dementia and the illness gradually ate away at him, making him dependant and a shell of his former self. Di explained to the boys that these setbacks had taught Joe resilience, perseverance and the need to follow his dreams and goals rather than wallow in self-pity and sadness. Di works with our boys in the Support Education Centre and she supervises Yr. 11 Office/dorms on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. We were sadly informed last Tuesday that Joe had died on Monday night. Whilst looking for someone to fulfil Di’s role in the dorms on Wednesday afternoon, I was quite amazed to find Di at the College and to see her coming down to our dorms after school had finished and, in her words, she simply said she could not think of anywhere else she would rather be at this time than around the boys.  I told the boys this and said the way they could best support Di, was by the way they presented themselves and participated in the Memorial Service. They did not disappoint. What they also saw, was what a wonderful woman in Di Fazio they have working with them. Despite the crippling illness which was slowly eating her husband away, she would always turn up here and go about her duties cheerfully and with a great sense of service and dedication. Life lessons I am sure did not go unnoticed by the boys.

A quick twenty minute break to have a can of coke and muffin and the troops were called upon to welcome a group of students from St Edmund’s School, Wahroonga which is a Year 7-12 co-educational special high school for teenagers with a wide range of disabilities including sensory impairment, intellectual disability and autism. Over the past four years, they have been coming to perform for our Year 11 students and then join them for lunch. The “Eddies Entertainers” were a most excitable group and danced two numbers, the Time Warp and Eye of the Tiger. Our boys were a wonderful audience showing great appreciation and acclaim for our visitors’ efforts. James Christie, Ross Davey and Nick Henry then played a piece of music which their guests thoroughly enjoyed and then Laurence Nelmes, Chris Spooner, Lewis Mullins and Andrew O’Neill played two pieces, the second a truly memorable version of “Stand by Me” with special back-up vocals by Brendon Follington, Andrew O’Neill and Ben Chaplin, which brought the house down! Our guests then joined us for lunch in our refectory. The boys were great in their care of our special guests right down to cutting up their meal for some of them. It was a wonderful experience with our boys’ hospitality to these special children and three Staff from St Edmund’s, lead by Margriet Shaw-Taylor, capping off a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

At yesterday’s Headmaster’s Assembly, Ross Tarlinton acknowledged the extraordinary efforts of plenty of our boys, which was exemplified in the recent Students Visual Arts Exhibition. Such efforts were examples of good choices made by boys. He then brought to their attention some examples of not so good choices which some make, abuse of drugs and alcohol, misuse of Facebook, turning it into “Facelessbook” and saying gutless things to bring down others and their character. Ross also highlighted the behaviour of some of our old boys on a five year reunion at the recent Newington rugby match and how they displayed behaviour totally against our principles when the Newington kicker was lining up a conversion and how this behaviour drew a favourable response from some of our boys in the crowd. He asked them not to be sucked into wrong choices and to think about what they stand for especially in relation to Facebook, Drug/alcohol use or abuse and making others feel safe.

Whilst on the Students Visual arts Exhibition Michelle Markuse, Acting Visual Arts Coordinator gives the following account –

“Last week was the opening of our annual student art exhibition. Each Year 11 student had their artwork on display. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all Year 11 students who participated in this occasion. At the opening, I was struck by the sense of pride from the students and their parents. The exhibition was opened by our 2011 Artist in Residence Craig Waddell who commented on the high quality of the Year 11 artwork. It is a great honour for one of our year 11 artists each year to have their artwork selected for the Year 11 Art Prize. This year the honour went to Jesse Fenech and Harrison Gould. Congratulations to Jesse and Harrison on their hard efforts”.

Michelle Markuse

At our previous Assembly, two of our boys Matthew Hall and Max Hall presented to the College a wonderful initiative of recycling the food which is not consumed in our Dining Halls so that it does not go to waste. This project was initiated by Matt and Max and they are to be commended on their energy and thoughts and proactive behaviour in helping others less fortunate. Following is an account of Matthew’s address to the College:

Today I have been asked to introduce an initiative to you that we as a school have decided to undertake. Over the past few months Max Hall and I have investigated the possibility of minimizing the wastage that Joeys as a school produces and putting it to good use in the community. As everyone is well aware, after each meal there is often a lot of wasted food. Especially at dinner times, the wastage can be monumental with dozens of leftover trays of perfectly good hot food left from all of the 6 year groups. This food could be utilised in many different ways, but is instead often disposed of, serving little purpose. With this obvious problem in mind we were introduced to an initiative that could possibly provide a solution, called OzHarvest. Basically OzHarvest is a not for profit charity that collects leftover food from authorised caters such as Alliance who are responsible for the food at Joeys. This leftover food is then taken and distributed to those in need at centres such as Matt Talbot, youth off the streets and many other charities and centres across Sydney and the surrounding areas. By distributing our leftover food through this channel we can always assure that our food never goes to waste and is always put to good use. Here at Joeys, every morning where left over hot food is available from either the day before or those mornings OzHarvest will pick up the left over’s and distribute it out.  It is something simple, thoughtful and an innovative that our school community can participate in order to benefit the wider community.

A few people need to be thanked for their help and dedication, without which I am sure the project would never have become a reality. Also to Br Anthony Boyd and the college leadership team whose support has been invaluable to us in the implementation of this initiative, providing the framework for the project to quickly become a reality. Thank you must also be given to Mr Daniel Curran who introduced me to the idea last year.

We will now watch a short video on OzHarvest’s work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smH7jPPOrrE&feature=related

Whilst on boys achievements I would like to congratulate Tim Palmer who won the NSW AWD Cross Country Championships and came 2^nd in the National Championships which were subsequently held in Canberra. A terrific effort by Tim who also played in the successful 2^nd X1 Football whilst achieving this.

TWO ISSUES TO CONSIDER

I would like to bring a couple of issues to your attention and if we both deal with these issues together it will be for the benefit of our boys.

1.      DORM SENIORS / MARIST CHILDREN’S CAMP:

At the moment, some of our boys have applied for positions as Dorm Senior or the Marist Children’s Camp. There are 14 dorm Seniors who will be chosen and 35 Carers for the Camp. At the moment the number of boys who have applied far exceeds the number who will be chosen. I spoke to the boys last night about going for things, a part of life we all want them to do. I also said that when they do this, they need to be prepared to be acknowledged or chosen for the job, and they need to be prepared to miss out. If they are successful, be thankful, humble and take it in your stride, and carry out the role to the best of your ability, which you offered to do. It does not mean you are better than others around you or you are more important than others. Conversely, if you miss out, don’t take it personally, don’t withdraw into a shell, think you are not as good/important as others and begin to stop trying for positions. As we all know, knock backs are part of life, simply reload and refire. If we can do this from both ends, it will certainly assist the boys.

2.      FRIDAY NIGHT OVERNIGHTS:

With the culmination of the winter sport season a steep rise in the requests for Friday overnights has arrived. I would like to simply say, the strengths of the boarding model at St Joseph’s is that the boys have 5 nights of supervised study and at this time in their education they need these nights. I would be confident in saying not much work would happen on Saturdays, and, Sunday nights we have the boys do at the most, one hour of study after Sunday night Mass. To go from Thursday nights to basically Monday’s I think a boy would be in danger of falling behind academically and to give your son the best chance, I would like to ask that Friday nights be seen as another important night of study and any requests be kept to important family occasions such as birthdays etc. Requests to go out to see a mate play in a band, or to attend an ex-girlfriends birthday I will find quite difficult to support for the above mentioned reasons. Our boys do not always see this, but they need our guidance and I trust in your support and understanding in this matter.

Finally, to all the Dads, Happy Father’s Day for Sunday and have a great day (and weekend) with your sons and families. I will leave you with a quote I like regarding fathers:

“Small boys become big men through the influence of big men who care about small boys”.

Regards

Jeremy

QUOTE: Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat!”

Dear Year 11 Parents/Guardians;

Assessment tasks and English speeches have been the order of the day of late around the dorms. Plenty of requests to eat meals and leave the dining hall early to finish assignments, or attend 8.10am Maths classes have been very common of late. Plenty on, as just about all of our boys continue to work well to the deadlines. Nothing is going wrong but little bouts of stress are appearing with boys worrying about will I cope with the fast approaching exams and what subject will I drop? Please be assured, all very normal, but for some of our boys, the end of the world. They need reassurance and to be listened to, repeating back to them their own logical conclusion. This helps keep our boys looking at the positives and helping them to re-focus, maintain or re-kindle the work ethic that has sustained them in the past and certainly in the future.

The Opening of the Students Art Show is being held tonight. Our Art Staff are very excited with the quality of work this year that was equally praised by our Guest Judge, Craig Waddell who was our Artist in residence earlier this year. The display will be open from 9.00am – 1.00pm tomorrow, Saturday and 9.00am – 3.00pm on Monday.  Congratulations to all our boys for their outstanding efforts and wonderful talent they have, along with the confidence and freedom to express themselves in this very public domain.

Over the last two Fridays, on the 19^th August James Christie, Oliver Hartnell, Louis Jenkins and Jack Hamilton and today Gus Rae, Hugh McGinness, Nick Berney and Eddie Browne, maintained our service at Matt Talbot, thoroughly enjoying their experience.

Last week Father Andrew invited the following thirty boys to commence their training as Acolytes for 20011/12. The selection process was a difficult one with 58 boys applying for this role. Congratulations to the following boys on their selection Alex Bellato, Lachlan Aston, Joe Callaughan, Jonathon Canturi, Ben Carolan, Sam Clarke, Joe Coorey, Oliver Coorey, James Dressler-Smith, Hamish Elliot, Jesse Fenech, Callum Flitcroft, Matt Hall, Max hall, James Harrison, Tom Laban, Tim Litherland, Harry Maher, Will McManus, Tom Murphy, Alex Newsome, Conor O’Gorman, Andrew O’Neill, Tiger Parker, Daniel Picone, James Quinn, Alec Rainnie, Andrew Raumer, Josh Schwager and Ethan Shaw.  

On Wednesday we spoke to the boys about the process of the important role in the College of Dormitory Seniors. This group of 12 boys helps assist the Boarding Staff in the supervision of the Years 7 – 10 Dorms, providing them with wonderful leadership opportunities.  The boys are invited to nominate firstly and I must tell you, I have been pleased with the number of boys who have already nominated. This is a truly outstanding sign of the commitment our boys have to their College. Unfortunately, most of them will miss out but their generosity and commitment from the very outset deserves high praise. The selection process will commence throughout the next couple of weeks.

On Tuesday evening of this week, the Old Boys Union along with our Careers Counsellor, Mrs Lorna Charters, held Career Talks for our boys. Our boys nominated a series of careers they were interested in and over the night had the opportunity of sitting with people from a range of professions in the career fields of: Primary and Rural Industries; Graphic Design; Transport & Defence; Construction (various trades); Finance; Engineering, Science & IT; Entertainment & Arts; Health; Hospitality & Tourism; Media; Legal, Security & Government and Sports. Our boys really enjoyed the opportunity to sit down over two sessions, to listen and talk with people in specific profession. The boys commented how much they enjoyed listening to the various old boys talk about themselves, highlighting the paths they took to get to the stage of their career, sharing with our boys their life experiences along the way. A wonderful initiative and greatly appreciated by all.

Wednesday of last week our Engineering Studies students witnessed the practical application on the manufacturing processes behind braking systems and engine operations, with an enjoyable day at Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway.

Last weekend marked the end of the Winter Season. It is hard to believe it is over, but certainly the efforts all boys and coaches have made indicated that there is nothing much left to give. There were two big weekends for the boys to finish on, and we were all very impressed with the manner in which our boys conducted themselves both on and off the field at Riverview and last weekend for the final home match against Newington. Although with no silverware to be put on display from any of our senior teams, the valuable experience our boys have been exposed to definitely places them in a position to play a very significant role in next year’s competitions, providing they put in the hard work over term four and in the Christmas break. On both weekends we were blessed with great weather and great footy on the rugby and football fields to conclude our winter season and this was finished off with our Winter Sports Rally in the evening.

Our Year 11 Senior Cross Country representatives, Matt Hall, Gus Rae and Sam Clarke completed a very solid 2011 GPS Competition. Over the season, injury plagued our boys and it wasn’t until the last round that the fully fit team all competed, taking out 2^nd place in the last Carnival to secure their 4^th placing over the season. Congratulations to our boys who gained many honours and to their coaches, Mr. Craig Attwater and Mr. James Gray.

Six Year 11 boys were part of the Firsts & Seconds Football Teams. Congratulations to our First XI representatives: Ed Dudley, Magnus Heywood, Matt Alessi and tom Booth along with their coaches, Mr. Craig Sharpley and Mr. Darren Frost on a very sound season, where they finished off with an excellent 3 – 1 victory over  a strong Newington side, who were playing for the Premiership. As a result of this, Scots won the GPS Football competition.  Also Harry Maher and Tim Palmer, members of the Second XI who finished second to Newington, a team they beat 1 – 0 in their final match. Congratulations to coaches Mr. Lee McMaster and Mr. Miguel Nunes, who produced a fine season with their team. A big thanks to Football Convenor, Mrs. Sue Tracey, who helps in producing the continual development of Football at Joeys.

The Rugby Season for the College saw Joeys win two-thirds of the 248 competition games played this Season. What also must be taken into account was that over a third of the fixtures this season saw our teams play against a team of a higher grade. Congratulations to our 10 Yr 11 boys who were selected to play in the 2^nd XV – Kian Heffernan, Ben Carolan, Oliver Bartlett, Alex Newsome, James Harrison, Jack Watts, Andrew Hookey, Ben Rodgers, Tom Cleary and Hugh McLean. Seven of these boys at some stage of the season were also selected to play for the 1^st XV. The 1^st XV consisted of 7 Yr.11 boys and Tom Robinson, Josh Schwager, James Goldie, Tom Murphy, Josh Kay, Sam Barclay and Josh Wilde gave the College and it’s supporters many memorable moments this year, none more so than a stirring effort to scare the life out of the eventual Champions, Riverview, two weeks ago. And, as mentioned before they and many other boys have had some valuable experience for them to do something very significant next year, providing they are willing to put their heads down and work hard.

WAYNE BENNETT

We were all extremely lucky have the opportunity to listen to an address by Wayne Bennett last Monday. All sport was called off and the college went to the hall to listen to Wayne’s address. Many pearls of wisdom for the boys and I have included for your reference as well some of what I believe would be very beneficial for our young men:

There is more to life than yourself, learn to care about relationships with other people. Treat everyone with equality, no-one is better than you, but teach yourself, you are not better than anyone else.

The most important thing is not about your career, but the type of man you want to be. What do you want to stand for?

He spoke to the boys about chasing their dreams. He left school at 14 and he had 3 dreams which lead to three crucial decisions:  1) Join the Police Force: here he thought he could make a small difference and it would challenge him. 2) Play Rugby League for Australia – his father had left home when he was 9 and his mother had never seen him play. 3) Not to drink alcohol – he had seen too many drunks and he did not know what type he would be; the violent one or one who regrets what he says the next day. He also had seen the way alcohol affected his father and he did not want to let his mother down after all she had been through.

Don’t dream you will never be the person you could be.

True ability is not being better than the other person, it’s being better than your previous self.

Don’t lie to yourself. Do you say you’ve done your best when you know you haven’t?

Teach yourself. You are your best teacher. Teach yourself to stop looking at what you don’t have. Teach yourself to start looking at what you do have.

I am not going to take any notice of criticism from someone I don’t respect. But, if someone I do respect criticises me and it is justified, I will make the change. If not I will get on with my life.

VALUES: 4 values which are non-negotiables:

1. TRUST: Do you trust yourself in all situations and circumstances that you will do what’s right?
2. RESPONSIBILITY: Do you take responsibility for yourself or do you blame others?
3. CHARACTER: What do you do/who are you when no one is watching you? How hard do you work when the boss/coach/teacher is not looking over your shoulder?
4. EXCUSES: the ability not to make excuses.

SELF DISCIPLINE: The ability to make yourself do the things you don’t want to. Best example he has known – Darren Lockyer.

I hate doing “sad”; it’s the highway to no-where.

My goal- is to get out of bed every day happy. I will be happy if I’ve done my best the day before, and acted with self-discipline and character.

Value your own opinions. Other people’s opinions are important but you must value your own.

You will never be confident young men if you are happy to live in a comfort zone. You must do things that challenge you.

Stand for something. Stand for you!

Overall it was a great experience for the boys and plenty of pearls of wisdom which if we feed them with from home and school, will certainly benefit them.

DEBATING REPORT: The following is a report from our 1^st Debating Rep. Harry Maher:

The senior debating teams this year has had a strong Year 11 representation, with seven of the ten spots being filled by our year; Oliver Coorey, Hamish Elliot, Max Hall, Daniel Harrington, Tim Litherland, Harry Maher and Tim Palmer respectively. The GPS competition finally began in week one of term three after two terms of preparation and a holiday debating camp, and the practice showed as all three teams pushed Sydney Grammar, last year’s champions, right to the wire and were unlucky to come away with defeats. As the season has progressed all speakers have expanded in confidence and skill, and despite setbacks and the constant battle against pre-conceived adjudicator prejudice towards Joeys, the firsts managed a memorable victory against Sydney Boys High, while seconds and third have both recorded two victories out of five over Riverview and Newington respectively.

A variety of topics have been debated, including Facebook, Chinese miners, Afghanistan, female judges… just about anything, from apples and oranges to revolutions, with teams consistently reversing from staunch fascist to radical left-wing loony’s within the space of one week- but then again, that is part of the skill. And through these topics, we have gradually gathered momentum and are now looking to end the season on a high. This must be accredited to the coaches, Mr Pietriche, Mr Bentley and Mrs Bradridge for their commitment and guidance through-out the season, to the boys themselves for their effort in training and on Friday nights, and also to the growing crowds who have turned up to watch us debate; it is a great advantage and privilege for us to debate to a full theatre of Joeboys. With promising potential for the next season of debating, we can hope and dream of finally bringing the coveted Shield back to joeys, and breaking the 33 year drought against Riverview in the next year.

As we tell ourselves after each debate, when we come so close to winning but are just denied, anyone can give up; it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.

Even with Spring in the air, we certainly haven’t escaped the usual bugs and sickness amongst our boys. We have been hit reasonably well so much as to keep the Health Centre very busy. Probably information mainly for new parents, the doctor visits the College daily to check on our sick or injured boys. I do give timely reminders to our boys about the importance to wash their hands before eating and covering up coughing and sneezing with a handkerchief or tissues. Little but equally important things.

I have attached the weekend’s sporting fixtures for your assistance, take care and enjoy your weekend with your families.

Regards

Jeremy

QUOTE: “Did is a word of achievement, Won’t is a word of retreat, Might is a word of bereavement, Can’t is a word of defeat, Ought is a word of duty, Try is a word of each hour, Will is a word of beauty, Can is a word of power!”

Dear Yr. 11 Parents and Carers;

Week 4 has come around after a busy weekend for many of our boys who made the trip to Armidale, where they acquitted themselves on and off the field very well. There has been a cold/cough doing the rounds which has laid quite a few of the boys low, and basic hygiene, as well as ventilating the dorms has been stressed to them to help minimise their chances of being affected. I spoke with our boys at our Division Meeting on Wednesday complimenting them on their consistency and ability to slog away at their work. At the moment assignments are becoming due with a huge amount work going into Senior Geography Projects; Business Studies Plans, Biology, English, Ancient History assignments, let alone our seventeen Accelerated Maths students who have just completed their HSC Maths Trials. All we can see around us is hard work that is something many of our boys are very familiar with but still the demands and time commitment being asked of our boys is new territory for some. I stressed to them to make the most of and enjoy their journey and at all times ensure they give their best to each day and, if they are feeling too swamped, talk and we will do all we can to help them out. The following is a reflection which we took time to consider as it has a valuable message for them all: –

¨  How strange it is, our little procession of life! The child says, “When I am a big boy”. The big boy says, “When I grow up”. And, grown-up, he says, “When I get married”. Then, when retirement comes, he looks back over the landscape traversed; a cold wind seems to sweep over it; somehow he has missed it all, and it is gone. Life, we learn too late, is in the living, in the tissue of every day and hour.

Yesterday, our seventeen Year 11 Accelerated Maths boys completed their HSC Mathematics Trial Papers. These boys are doing the Accelerated Maths course that they commenced at the beginning of Year 10. After testing at the beginning of last year, the class was selected and began their tuition under Mr Thompson. The boys basically complete their three years Maths Program from Years 10 –12 in two years. The major benefit is in their final HSC year, allowing for more time dedicated to their other subjects. Though many of the boys may re-sit for the exams in 2012, the experience they gain is also of huge benefit. We wish Henry Brindle, Ethan Chin, Geoff Choy, Oliver Coorey, Ed Dwyer, Hamish Elliot, Harrison Gould, James Harrison, Michael Lawler, Nathan Le, Derek Lo, Harry Maher, Tom Murphy, Alex Newsome, Daniel Picone, Oliver Roberts and Seth Turnbull all the best of luck in their HSC Mathematics studies.

Last Friday saw our 1^st Debating side, which Harry Maher is a member of; score a terrific victory over Sydney Boys High, the first one in seven years. Our boys in the Seconds and Thirds were not so lucky but acquitted themselves very well. Last Friday also saw our wonderful service to the Matthew Talbot Hostel for Homeless Men continue with Vincent Salinos, Julian Paul, Magnus Heywood and Oliver Coorey, going along to serve the evening meal to the guests of the Hostel. Tonight, Mackenzie Broom, Ben Pedley, Max Honner and Cameron Haddad will travel out with Miss Stambouliah for this wonderful experience.

I would also like to commend Matthew Alessi for his recent selection in the Combined GPS 1^st Football side who were victorious in their match against CAS, 2-1. Well done Matthew.

During the past week two of our Indigenous students, heath Green and Anthony Baker were fortunate enough to travel to Uluru and Gove respectively. Heath relays the following:

“On Thursday July 28^th I went to Uluru, for an Aboriginal youth leadership program (IYLP). Me and another student were chosen to go to represent St Joseph’s College and because I was given a scholarship from the Smith Family last year. The highlights of the experience wasn’t only to see Ayres Rock but to meet people from every state in Australia. And also listening to inspirational stories from many aboriginal people who have struggled through their lives but managed to get back on track and keep moving forward. On the trip we did many activities to help build our leadership and character such as putting up a tent blind folded, also to get to know the people that were on the trip and their backgrounds. We also went to see another place. Kata Tjuta which is not far from Uluru and I walk through the Valley of the Wind. On Saturday night we watched a very inspiring documentary which Uncle Bob Randell made about the Aboriginal people and a story about his life. Then on the last day we had to wake up at 4:00 in the morning to go and catch the sun rise at Uluru and walk around the base and see artwork that have been there for over hundreds of years and many sacred sites. The highlights of my experience were learning how to be a leader and learning from other people on how to do so. And meeting people that you had never seen before in your life and getting to know them. And also seeing Uluru”.

Anthony attended The Garma Festival, this is located in Gove (Nhulunbuy) Northern territory.  Anthony was asked as by the Australian Defence Force to represent the Army and St Joseph’s College as a key speaker at the Defence Indigenous Development Program (DIDP) Forum. On the 7^th of August he was asked to give a speech about his life before joining the DIDP in 2009 and coming to Joeys in 2010. In Anthony’s words : “From this trip I have gained pride of being an Indigenous Australian and being part of Joey’s history, culture and heritage. Also Academic Excellence & Cultural Integrity, which was the key theme of the whole weekend”.

This weekend will be another great test for our boys with a full list of fixtures in Round 6 of the GPS Competition against Riverview, which by now you all would have received. There will be plenty of exciting matches commencing with the debating on Friday night followed by the sports fixtures on Saturday. Just a reminder for those of you whose sons are going on overnights or gatherings to other friends places, please make contact with the parents of where your son is going, and if you are unsure of contact details I am more than willing to assist. I would also like to thank those parents who have had gatherings, for letting me know the details of the night, so that I can communicate this to parents of our country boys. If we all work together to look after, direct and ensure our boys are safe at weekends, it will be for everyone’s benefit.

This Sunday is the Family Mass that will be held in the Brother Emilian Hall where boys are to be seated by 9.50am. All boys are to be present in their full Blues. This will be followed by Jazz on the Lawn which you can use the following link to find out more of what is a great way to fill in your Sunday morning if you can:

                                http://www.joeys.org/newspublicationsevents/news/JazzontheLawn.cfm

The boys will be free then to leave after marking off with me at 11am and then Full Boarders and Weekly Boarders, returning Sunday night, are back by 8pm for this weekend. I would also like to draw to your attention the copy of the Welcome Newsletter, which has been attached, that Ross Tarlinton sent to all families at the beginning of the year. I would like to bring to your attention the section ‘Holiday Plans During the Year’ and ask any of you, considering taking your son out of school during the term to adhere to the listed requirements.

Take care and enjoy the weekend with your families.

Regards

Jeremy