Emmanuel College staff initiated the enthusiasm around the Games this term by collectively dressing in green and gold. College Librarian and alumni, Margaret Sinnott (nee Flynn) of the Class of 1977 coordinated a display in the library highlighting to students the impressive list of alumni who can also proudly call themselves Olympians.
The display recognises:
And now, Jaylen Brown (Class of 2023) for Wheelchair Basketball
Adding to the display, we were delighted to have alumni, Emily Lloyd (Ryan) of the Class of 1996 bring in the commemorative Silver Medal her brother Christian won at the Sydney 2000 Games, and staff member, Mark Janz, a 2000 Sydney Olympics relay torch for students to take their photo with.
Continuing with the sporting theme, I am pleased to report that our Senior boys’ football team have had a remarkable season, first winning the SSV State Championship, then finishing as runners-up in the Herald Sun Shield competition. The SSV competition saw our Emmanuel team dominate through the early rounds, then in a tight, back-and-forth contest, Emmanuel secured victory in over time against Catherine McAuley College in the grand final. Their SSV win qualified them for the Herald Sun Shield, which saw them up against an entirely different calibre of teams. They defeated Ballarat Grammar in a close semi-final, and despite a valiant effort in the final against Parade College, Emmanuel finished as runners-up.
This term we have also welcomed students from our sister school in Tokyo, Obirin High, for a two-week experience of learning in an Australian setting. The College has a long-standing relationship with Obirin which has seen annual visits between the two schools for around two decades. The global pandemic halted overseas travel for schools making this the first visit by Obirin since 2019. Emmanuel students and staff will travel to Tokyo in September and be reunited with the young people they are currently hosting. On a similar theme the College hosted the Mayor of Miura Prefecture, Warrnambool’s Sister City, for morning tea. The mayor was leading a delegation of visitors from Miura to recognise and celebrate the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship.
Among all these outstanding achievements it is heartwarming to see the recent development of student involvement in social justice initiatives. Emmanuel has always had a history of Social Justice programs, as many of you would already have experienced during your own school days. Some of the good work students have been engaged in this year focuses on: connecting to community, food drives and raising awareness.
Our community meals program continues to grow, with staff and senior students volunteering their time to serve and share a meal and a conversation with anyone who comes along. In providing the service it soon became apparent that people needed additional food items to take-away with them. A solution has been found by partnering with local charity, Foodshare, which now enables us to offer bags filled with much appreciated pantry items, baked goods and fresh fruit.
As part of this partnership, students and staff are encouraged to be involved under the campaign banner - Humanity Starts with Charity. The message behind this is that in the doing of small things, we can have a big impact on others. That even a simple conversation can help others become aware of an issue and begin to enact change. So in Term 2, Humanity Starts with Charity invited staff and students to contribute cans of tuna to Foodshare. Contributions were made on a House basis with each donation earning a point for the student’s House. 332 tins of tuna were donated, with Rice House (Red) donating the most (118 tins), and earning 100 bonus points towards the House Cup. This term the Humanity Starts with Charity food drive has continued, this time calling for tins of soup, with donations already exceeding the efforts of Term 2.
For those who regularly drive past the College you will notice a change to the facade before the end of the year. For around two years we have been monitoring the condition of the hedge along Botanic Road and have accessed arborist’s reports on the dieback that’s become very evident. The hedge has the disease Cypress Canker which is the same disease that has decimated many local farm wind breaks and the avenue of cypress trees leading into Mortlake. The disease is untreatable. We assessed an option to partially remove those sections of the hedge that are obviously dead. However, the arborists have advised that the canker will have spread well beyond these sections already. The recommendation has been made to remove the entire hedge which will have to be burnt to destroy the canker spores. Whilst we know the hedge has been part of the school landscape for several generations, we have a responsibility to ensure that it doesn’t spread to neighbouring properties including the nearby Botanic Gardens. A date hasn’t been set for its removal, but it will need to occur this year.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed to our Edmund Rice Centre Appeal. An update on the appeal’s progress can be found by linking here. I’m delighted to see the College community come together to bring the Edmund Rice Centre into being. Your support is meaningful to the students of today and tomorrow.
Warmest regards,
Peter Morgan | Principal
