From the College Captains

SCOTT MEAGHER COLLEGE CAPTAIN

Although this term has not been what anybody had planned or hoped for, I would like to congratulate all boys on the way they have conducted themselves this term. The ability for boys to adapt to the trying circumstances has been outstanding, continuing to put their best foot forward and do the best work they can over Google Meet. Thank you also to the staff, who have provided boys with all the help and support they need during this difficult time, providing lessons with effort and enthusiasm, despite the lack of face-to-face interactions. And finally, to the families, thank you for your continued support of your sons during this time. I think I speak for many when I say that we have enjoyed the extra time we have been able to spend with our family while at home, and the care and assistance that our families provide is essential in ensuring that boys are able to manage all the challenges that 2020 has provided. I can say that, although we are apart, the strength of the St Kevin’s community may not have been greater. I don’t think this is highlighted better than our performance in the APS Move for Mental Health Challenge, where, at the time of writing, we have had over 300 boys and staff from Year 7–12 chipping in and getting involved, running over 2,000km for mental health awareness. Thank you all for your support during this time, and we hope to see you back at school very soon.

JUSTIN MITCHELL

We live as a collective. It’s in our nature, each individual a wolf in the pack, a plot of land on a great continent, a bird of a feather. There is safety in numbers. Comfort in numbers. Support in numbers. Even worry, when the numbers are in the hundreds in Melbourne. Yet what happens when we are separated from the group? When tectonic shifts force us apart, tearing fault lines through our land, when the earth quakes, and volcanoes erupt, changing our world forever.

What happens when the pack must split up, and go its separate ways to find food, to survive through the long cold winter?

What happens when we are swept away from our flock. When winds howl, and thunderclouds block sight of our ever chirpy feathery friends. When we must fly on our own, still tweeting our hearts out?

We turn inward. We fight to survive the winter. We wait until the world shifts back, no matter how many millions of years it may feel have passed. Even when there is no sight of the end, we just keep flapping our wings, keep zooming along. Until finally, we can come together once again.

SAM KERR

2020 will certainly be a year to remember. After all, a global pandemic is no common occurrence. In late March of this year, all boys at St Kevin’s had to adapt to a “new normal”, a life oriented around a screen rather than the familiar sounds and sights of the school campus. I believe that this year will be the only time a student can say they spent more time at home than at school. The last time St Kevin’s students went through anything like this was 100 years ago in the School’s foundation year during the Spanish Flu outbreak.

Spending more time at home has certainly been challenging, with conflicting opinions and personalities getting in the way of each other within the family environment. However, although these past few months have been undeniably isolating, they have perhaps been the most digitally connected. Never will life be the same again, even after the virus, changing the way we interact, attend school and conduct business.

From a student perspective, the ability for all boys, Prep to Year 12, to face these distractions has been impressive. Showing true resilience, students have continued to study hard and hand in work. While our student body has been disjointed, having not been on campus together since April, we are actively finding ways to promote a connection with each other and the “outside world”. From letters to Aged Care Facilities, fitness challenges and trick shot competitions, creative measures have been taken this year to keep us all internally connected as a school community and in reaching out to others in need.

SAM ROACH

The Longest Mile

Last week, my Nana sent me a poem by Robert Browning entitled, I walked a mile. I found some solace in it, and thought you may enjoy it too.

“I walked a mile with Pleasure;

She chatted all the way;

But left me none the wiser

For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow;

And ne’er a word said she;

But, oh! The things I learned from her,

When Sorrow walked with me.”

- Robert Browning

2020 is the longest mile I, like many, have ever walked. The Loneliness offered by this undiscovered country makes me miss the days where Pleasure and Sorrow were my only two choices of companion. Thankfully, however, I have an army of family, friends and teachers to remind me that I do not walk alone.

And while it is a challenge balancing this existential education with the one offered by the VCAA, I’ve found that an unrelenting commitment to self compassion makes quarantine life just a little bit more graceful. To that end, I would also like to recommend the 2019 remix of the classic Beatles album, Abbey Road, and a recipe for banana muffins found at this very address: https://sallysbakingaddiction. com/banana-muffins/

While the recipe does claim that the cup of chocolate chips is "optional", I have found that the result is much more pleasing when one allows all of the ingredients to "Come Together". (Apologies.)

For further information regarding albums, muffins and my Nana please feel free to contact me at 32768@student.stkevins.vic. edu.au.