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Mt Sion

Brophy Report

Brophy picked up from where it left off in 2019 and enjoyed another fruitful year in all facets of College life in 2020. Although there were many challenges throughout the year, the Brophy cohort approached these adversities with the upmost resilience and determination and I could not be more proud of how our students conducted themselves. Led by our brilliant captains, Jack Farrow and Henry Van Til, our students displayed true heart and determination throughout the year and always found a positive amongst the many negatives. Acknowledgement must also go to Brophy’s amazing Homeroom team of Jason O’Connell, Cassandra Coogan, Adam Noble, Joanne Board, Michelle McRae, Belinda Milverton, Kate Gibbs, Tom Cashin and Huon Bertino who supported and guided their students throughout 2020. Although we lost many of our annual College events and traditions were cancelled in 2020, in the time we were in school, the Brophy crew certainly made the most of the opportunities that were presented. Although our Swimming Carnival result (4th place) wasn’t what he had hoped for, our attendance rate and the attitude displayed by all participants was second to none and I was extremely proud of the way we went about it. True to the character, the Brophy boys bounced back in the Athletics Carnival and went back to back, taking out the title with a resounding 300 point victory. It was an exceptional effort by all students involved and one that will build a platform for years to come. Brophy students have always displayed exceptional leadership skills and this was evident during the 2021 student leadership announcements. It was extremely pleasing to have five Brophy students awarded positions from the 11 available. Congratulations goes to the following students, Oscar Morrison (College Captain), William Baum (Deputy College Captain), Jack Doyle (Touchstone Prefect), Alex Con Foo (Touchstone Prefect) and Connor O’Sullivan (Touchstone Prefect). In relation to who will lead the Brophy students, Luke Bartolo and Campbell Burns have been announced as the House Captains for 2021, and Matt Tripodi and Josh Reissinger the Vice-Captains. On behalf of the Brophy cohort we are all proud of your achievements and confident that you’ll all do a fantastic job in your respective roles. Well done boys! After the challenges of 2020, it is hoped 2021 will give us all some normality and the Brophy cohort can keep moving forward in a positive trend. I am extremely excited about what the future holds for our team and I look forward to continuing to work with the Brophy boys next year. #TheHive.

Matt Walsh

Butler Report

What a year 2020 has been! I want to start by acknowledging that this would not have been the year that anyone would have envisaged or hoped for. However, I have been really pleased and proud of the way that the Butler boys have tackled the difficulties we have faced. They have shown tremendous resilience. I particularly want to highlight the way that our Year 12s have managed to get on with the job. This year may not have been as fun as it would otherwise have been, but you can be proud of your efforts and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. I also want to acknowledge the incredible contributions of the Butler Homeroom teachers. There has never been a more difficult year to be a Homeroom teacher. The job went far beyond simple organization and was more about motivating and supporting than ever before. Lukas Capicchiano, Darryl Wedding, Rachel Ivey, Nelson Gnaccarini, Sam Hughes, Leah Irving, Peter Adams, Rebecca Spark, Michelle Cameron, Danny Maltese, Wei Zhang and Michael McMahon were all fully dedicated to the care of their Homeroom students. Their compassion, enthusiasm and dedication shone through, even as the year’s events no doubt took an emotional toll on them as well. I want to thank them all from the bottom of my heart. In the second year of the new vertical system in the senior school, the aim was to build on the positive culture of Butler House. Named after one of St Joseph’s earliest Headmasters and with decades of associated history, we built a strong foundation in 2019. We continued on this year with our motto “Sweep the Sheds”. This is about taking care of the small details so that the bigger picture things take care of themselves. Our House Captains Jesse Sorgiovanni and Quinn Taylor led from the front with this and took every opportunity to support the young men in our house. I want to thank them for their stellar efforts during a very difficult year to be a leader. As a house, we participated in many activities this year, including the Swimming Carnival (which we won) and the Athletics Carnival, plus a variety of house competitions and

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challenges. The Butler boys and their Homeroom teachers competed enthusiastically in all events. Some highlights were Simon Laffy’s “Butler train” costume at the Athletics Carnival and the Butler sausage sizzle and activities day we had in Term 3. Thank you to all of you for a memorable year. I look forward to starting fresh in 2021 and continuing to build on what has already been achieved in Butler House over the last two years. I wish you all a happy and safe New Year with your families and I look forward to seeing everyone back at school after the summer holidays.

Patrick Prendergast, Butler House Leader

Jordan Report

In our second year of the new house structure at Mt Sion, the Houses had the opportunity to further develop house spirit and camaraderie. It goes without saying, that this year has been extremely hard for our students and staff in so many ways. However, we are proud that Jordan House has taken big steps forward in forming strong house spirit and positive relationships amongst both students and staff in the most trying of circumstances. The adversity of the year has shown how amazing Jordan House is and has only made us stronger. Jordan was led steadily through the year by the tremendous work of the House Captains Will Gray and Tom Houlihan. The students were supported and cared for by amazing homeroom teachers of David Shalders, Brad Smith, Aaron Westgarth, Michael McMahon, Natasha Scanlon, Michael Davies, Tom Trupkovic, Kirsten Hood, Jack Jenkins, Chrissie Rowlands, Margot Davies, Quentin Lydall and Neal Arthurson.

Up until COVID restrictions, gatherings were held on Friday mornings where students were acknowledged for their efforts along with general reminders. It was not until these gatherings were not able to happen, that we realised just how much we enjoyed them and needed them. They were an opportunity to hear from the Jordan leaders, share our successes, and each month, award the coveted ‘Jordan Joey’s Boy of the Month’ award. It was a chance for us to be together as a House and we look forward to next year when these can take place again. Although many of the events this year were unable to take place, Jordan House had a successful swimming and athletics carnival. Each of these events saw Jordan House lead with integrity and strength, and we couldn’t be prouder of every boy who participated. Towards the end of the Term 3 leadership positions were advertised for both Jordan and the College. It is with great pleasure to announce the following 2021 Jordan leaders: Oliver LaBonte and Rhys Devlin. 2020 was a year like no other. We have battled through personal loss and a global pandemic. This adversity has shown us what it means to be a part of the Joey’s community, and to be member of the Jordan House. We feel so proud of how each of the students have conducted themselves, and the resilience each of them has shown. We are all looking forward to 2021, but will carry the lessons from this year and be stronger for them.

Lauren Flint, Kate McLaren & Jono Holt - Jordan House Leaders Jordan Captains Reports

What an amazing time we’ve had here at Joey’s after the past six years. We’ve been through six swimming and athletic carnivals, a collection of camps and consumed countless snags at the VCAL barbeques. This year hasn’t turned out exactly the way we had dreamed it to be, but it just means we are able to look back on the past years at Joey’s more fondly. From Year 7 to now we’ve made memories and mates that will stick with us for life, with connections from all the way back in our first year still strong. Here in Jordan we’ve made the strongest connections possible, house spirit at events consistently bought everyone together without failure, as differences between boys were forgotten instantly and bonds were formed.

The Jordan boys have had a tough run this year, coming a close second to Butler and Brophy at each of the carnivals, but this hasn’t meant we’ve created some incredible days that I’m sure none of us will forget. The Swimming Carnival was one to behold, the Redbacks showed up as a force to be reckoned with. It wasn’t our day, but watching the heroic Griffin Wilson almost drowning a struggling Year 7 by throwing a boogie board onto his head, and seeing Jake Charles jump too early in the all-important Mitchell Classic, meant the day out at Kardinia Pool was one to remember. The Athletics day was another incredible event that all the boys got involved in lifting house spirit to an all new level. The highlights for the Jordan boys were Will Gray taking home the win in the final 100m Sprint by a mile, while Tom Hockley-Salmon updated the history books being the first ever Year 12 to win the College Classic.

Tom Houlihan

Mt Sion

The year 2020 will certainly go down as our most memorable at St Joseph’s. Life and the world as we know it has paused. We have faced many challenges whilst learning from home, but with determination and commitment our learning has continued with video conferencing and online lessons. Along with the disruption to our education, the Year 12’s have missed celebrating and memory making. Celebrations such as Renewals, our Graduation Ceremony, sporting events and 18th birthdays are Year 12 ‘rites of passage’, which we will sadly have no memories of. We have also missed socially interacting with our friends, both in and outside the classroom. The kicking of the footy at recess, the basketball matches on the courts and the conversations and laughs whilst sitting around the school yard are just memories. We have made it work however, to stay connected, with the power of social media, texting, zoom calls and class group chats. The upside to remote learning, apart from wearing your ‘trackies’ in class and eating at any time of the day was being given the chance to hit reset on your school life. 2020 has certainly had its challenges, but it has enabled us to become learners that are more independent and allowed us to build on life skills, such as resilience and adaptability.

Will Gray Foley Report

Foley House has had a positive and productive 2020 with many highlights and memorable moments. Throughout the year many Foley lads have stepped up and excelled both within and outside College life. The Foley lads have been led by great work from House Captains Matt Manly and Callum O’Leary, Deputy House Captains Zac Muir, Tom Scott and Lachlan Corrigan. These Foley leaders were supported by the Year 12 College Leaders of Jolyon Simpson (Deputy College Captain), Conor Killury and Lachlan Kelly (Touchstone Prefects), Year 11 College Leaders Anton Ridgway (Touchstone Leader) and Year 10 College Leaders Zak Ekberg and Arden Cunneen (Touchstone Leaders). I personally thank all the above leaders for their fantastic work in leading, motivating and challenging the Foley students. 2020 has been a year like no other. The Foley lads have performed extremely well with their College endeavours and have been very well supported by the Foley Homeroom Team comprised of Simon Jovic, Michelle Anderson, Leanne Adams, Doug Byrt, Anna Fazio, Macaulay Kirsopp, Peter Griffin, Amy Ross, Bryson Milverton, Claire Walker and Tom Arthuson – thank you team for your hard work and dedication. 2021 will be a new and exciting year and I look forward to continuing to work with the Foley lads. Go Foley!

Dan Hale Foley leaders Reports

What a year, I can definitely say one of a kind. It is fair to say that it has been challenging but along with this, opportunities of a lifetime have arose, developing the skills of how to act in difficult times, being able to change with the environment, it has only made not only myself stronger, but everyone as individuals. I am happy to see how far we have come. Go Foley!!!

Matt Manly

This year has been full of many ups and downs, but from these struggles we managed find opportunities to create stronger connections with each other and make our learning environment better for all students.

Callum O’Leary

My experience as a part of the Foley leadership team has still been very enjoyable. The challenges we faced were difficult, but I think it has been a great learning curve in showing me how to adapt. The best moment for me was being a part of the camaraderie that came with athletics day, and just getting around each other and getting behind all the boys by carrying on and chanting was my highlight for the year.

Zac Muir

From a year of difficulty, the positives have grown. From the athletics carnival to online meetings. A year that has brought us closer together and further prepared for challenges in the future. One that has ensured us Foley boys have grown individually and collectively. Go Foley!

Tom Scott

Being a Foley leader was a great experience personally as I was able to do all sorts of roles in it, but the greatest role I had by far was being the Foley Turtle. Also helping out at the sporting carnivals to get the Foley house motivated was an amazing experience as well.

Lachie Corrigan