130 YEAR ALONG, 10,000 STRONG

It is undeniable that St Joseph’s Nudgee College has a rich sense of tradition across all aspects of life. How is it that the leaders of this community have strived to achieve such a standard in a school community?

It is the Senior cohort’s responsibility to guide the College through the year and leave a lasting legacy beyond Valedictory.

In every new year, the Senior class is tasked with providing their own interpretation of our school motto, Signum Fidei - a ‘Sign of Faith’. This theme, the Senior motto, provides students with a vision of our goals and morals to strive towards – being a source of reflection that the entire College cohort can look back and reflect on at the end of the year. Of course, we were driven by the vision Br Ambrose Treacy had for Nudgee College since its foundation: to be an educational institution of excellence founded on faith, formation and opportunity for young men.

Throughout our journey at Nudgee College, we have often reflected upon the meaning behind these concepts and would look up to how the generations that preceded us have lived out these mottos and statements. Every time, we have found that these mottos are not lived out through words and awards but are actually lived out through actions and the endeavours of ambitious young men – the quiet achievers.

At first glance, the mottos that line the Wilkes Fence (pictured above) seem simple and straightforward; yet it is clear to see that these mottos have underlying messages that ring so true for our College. A Senior motto isn’t about cheering from the Grandstand or being in front of a crowd, it’s about standing up for what you believe, trying new things and getting out of your comfort zone. The three undisclosed aspects of these mottos preach the values that boys are taught to live out from Years 5 to 12 and in their everyday life.

When faced with the task of coming up with a Senior theme, all aspects of Nudgee College life must be considered in order to forge a motto that really resonates with every student. A key aspect for us when coming up with our theme was respecting our history while embracing the new. In our 130th year of the College, we had to reposition how we viewed the motto and strip back to our core Nudgee College values. With this in mind, we crafted the Senior motto of 2021 to be 130 ALONG, 10,000 STRONG.

We felt this motto tells the story of the past, present and the future. While 130 years of tradition is an important celebration of what we have done, it is actually the people – the 10,000 brothers – who have forged our proud legacy. Whether it is through our numerous social justice activities, our sporting success or our community events, the College leaders will always strive to make Nudgee College a home where all boys are fostered into becoming great young men. Throughout the year, we have strived to create this new-age Nudgee College community, and we look forward to seeing how future Nudgee College men continue to build from the 10,000 brothers.

WRITTEN BY CAPTAIN LEO DE CLARA, AND VICE CAPTAINS MORGAN CHIPPENDALE, DOUG GEMMELL, BASIL NOLAN, CHAD OEHLMAN AND XAVIER ROATI