The Pandemic and the Early in 2020, I had the opportunity to travel to Adelaide and meet with all the other Edmund Rice schools’ Captains from across Australia. It was a real privilege to spend time with this group of young leaders and we’ve stayed in contact throughout the year to bounce ideas off each other and talk about how we can effect change. During this year of lockdowns and restrictions, one thing everyone in the group wondered was how to make the year about more -to talk about more than just coronavirus and get the attention away from that great big elephant in the room. This wasn’t as much of a challenge to our Prefects. The elephant was and is still there, however, we as a school and as a community weren’t stopped by this. The subject of the pandemic throughout the year has been inescapable; in the news, quiet shopping centres or toiletry shortages. Aquinas, however, always had something better to show. From the master chef competition to NAIDOC week basketball matches, Greenbatch 12 / the fish
recycles to the staggering number of supporters lining the stands of our sports teams, and, finally, the presentation and graduation evenings. Throughout the whole year, the Aquinas community as a whole came together and got busy. There were no mistakes to be made; 2020 to us was never about the pandemic. In fact, I’ve only officially mentioned it less than a handful of times. 2020 was about coming together; that unity between junior, middle, senior schools, and the communities we are a part of. 2020 was about all the big and small things we accomplished - something that not I nor any one person can take credit for. Our very accomplished year is a success which we endeavoured toward, and enjoyed, together. Something I think really embodies this has been the supporting crowds at some of this year’s 1st team fixtures. Coming from over East, trying to understand the nuances of footy wasn’t quite my forte, but what’s great about the red and black is that it doesn’t matter. Those clouds of red shirts
dominated the sidelines and there’s this spark of energy - maybe it's another record one of our players just smashed or the entire Brother’s House which comes down to watch - but it invites you in. It’s ironic, even, that the biggest crowds and tightest community I’ve felt a part of here at Aquinas has been during the
