Veni Vive Vitam Totam Issue 2

VENI VIVE VITAM TOTAM Semester 2 Dec 2018, Issue 2, Volume 1

A P U B L I CAT I O N O F T H E CAT H E D R A L C O L L EG E PA S T S T U D E N T S ’ A S S O C I AT I O N

VENI VIVE VITAM TOTAM Semester 2 Dec 2018, Issue 2, Volume 1

IN THIS EDITION Flying the TCC Flag............................................. 01

Dear Past Students of The Cathedral College,

Big Ideas Forum ................................................ 01

It has happened again! Another group of Seniors have left us. Many of them have spent five years of their lives connected on a daily basis, to this fine College. In the case of the Seniors of 2018, one hundred and eighty-six students have been farewelled.

State Championships......................................... 01 Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy...... 01 Vale Thomas John Fletcher................................ 01 Introducing the Centre of Teaching and Learning Excellence...........................................02 The Cathedral College Academic Awards Evening 2018......................................................04

No doubt, you can remember the feeling of finishing school. It is different for each of us. Most have mixed feelings – excited to be moving onto the next phase of their lives, happy that the daily pressures of schooling and all that goes with it is behind them; the contrasting feeling is tinged with sadness that something that has been a part of us for so long is ended. Most of us, given time, look back on our schooldays as “the best days of our lives”.

Raising the Roof.................................................08

Thank you again for choosing to stay in touch with TCC through your membership of the Past Students’ Association. Please encourage others to join or send the link to this magazine to all in your networks.

On the Grapevine...............................................09

May God Bless You and Your Family.

Well Planned......................................................06

Happy 10th Anniversary Sony Camp................. 11 Christmas Message........................................... 12 Lights of Christmas............................................ 12 Invitation to College Events in 2019................... 12

VENI VIVE VITAM TOTAM Created twice yearly by the The Cathedral College for the Past Students’ Association this magazine is emailed to registered Past Students and the TCC Community.

Stories: Pauline Crow & Meg Halberstater Photo editor: Pauline Crow Design: MadeKnown Email: Past.Students@tccr.com.au Telephone: (07) 4999 1300 Cover: New skyline for the College with the Centre of Teaching and Learning Excellence opened.

The Cathedral College is a Catholic Coeducational Boarding College in the Diocese of Rockhampton. The Cathedral College Community will strive by word and action to respond to Christ’s call to “Come, live life in all its fullness” (John 10:10).

Rob Alexander Principal (2010 - )

VALE THOMAS JOHN FLETCHER

FLYING THE TCC FLAG SEPTEMBER 2018, SUNSHINE COAST: The TCC 15 Years Girls Touch Team are the National Schools Cup Champions after defeating home favourite and Touch powerhouse, Helensvale State High, 6-5 in a nail biting Grand Final with Ruby Frost putting down a pass from Emma Paki on the line in the very last second of the match! Coached by Tracy Upton and with two Queensland rep players, Emma Paki and Olivia Jenkins this is a dream team and one to watch in the future.

3.3.1999 – 5.7.2018

QUEENSLAND MINERALS AND ENERGY ACADEMY Year 11 student Liezel Viljoen was chosen as one of 20 Student Ambassadors state wide for the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy for 2019 after participating in the program. Liezel will attend workshops and research programs and mentor younger students.

Thomas Fletcher commenced at the College as a Year 8 student in 2012 and graduated in 2016. Tom was a member of McAuley House and was well liked and respected within the College community.

In 2016 Tom brought honour to the College representing Australia at the World Karate Championships.

Tom was enjoying his second year of his diesel fitting apprenticeship when tragically he was involved in a car accident.

BIG IDEAS FORUM NOVEMBER 2018, SYDNEY: Two of our students took their Big Idea “Developing a cure to Muscular Dystrophy” to ANSTO, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation in Sydney to research, after it was selected from entries from across Australia. Shae Pedersen and Peter Alexander joined with other students on a quest to understand and solve some of humanity’s big challenges and worked with Australian scientists and researchers on the forefront of discovery.

On the 5th July 2018, surrounded by his loving family Tom peacefully passed away.

15 Years TCC Touch Team National Schools Cup Champions

Eternal rest grant to him, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon him. May Tom rest in peace. Amen.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS Our Year 12 Chess team were the Rockhampton Regional Chess Champions and represented at the State Championships in October this year. Congratulations to Angus McKay, Ewan Beattie, Ryan Harding and Declan Bull.

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INTRODUCING THE CENTRE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING EXCELLENCE

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he Centre of Teaching and Learning Excellence opened to students in September. Built by Griffin Builders and designed by Madden Architects this stunning architecture incorporates the new library, a tiered learning area and general learning spaces and has spectacular views of the sports oval. It complements the school wide goal of improving reading of students through our membership with the University of Melbourne Network of Schools.

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THE CATHEDRAL COLLEGE ACADEMIC AWARDS EVENING 2018 SPECI AL GU EST SPE AK ER: Travis Du f f (Class of 2010) Travis works as an I nvestment A nalyst in the Global Eq uity team at Ellerston Capital.

Ellerston Capital is an Australia based hedge f u nd specialising in eq uity and alternative strategies, w ith over $6 billion in f u nds u nder management.

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n thinking about what I could share tonight that may be of some value, and whilst my memory is not great, I do remember a few characteristics of some of these addresses when I was sitting where you are as students tonight. I distinctly remember the former students speaking with much confidence as they talked through what they’d done and their achievements. I was always thoroughly impressed and in many ways looked forward to growing up, aspiring to have the same level of conviction in the path I had taken. I had this naive view that as I grew up I would gain more certainty into what the future held for me. How wrong I was.

There’s a great line from the late Steve Jobs that you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. And it’s actually a well discovered fact, that as we think about the past, our brains naturally align the series of events into what appears to be, to any outside person at least, a well-choreographed story. But the future is by definition uncertain. It is unknown and unknowable. The future is simply made up of a series of events and decisions, some of which we have complete control over, which we can call skill and some we have zero control over which is luck.

Whilst simplistic, we can think about the events and decisions that shape our lives as varying combinations of skill and luck. There is an issue though, we as humans are notoriously bad at deciphering between how much skill and how much luck contributed to a certain outcome. We tend to overestimate the contribution of skill when things go well and overestimate the impact of luck, or in such a case, bad luck, when things go not so well. In psychology, this is effectively known as hindsight bias. I didn’t study psychology, but in my job today as an investor it’s this sort of knowledge that has helped me a great deal in improving the way I think and make decisions. So as I thought about what may provide the best value for you all tonight, I want to share with you a few of these concepts or mental models, that nowadays I spend a lot of time thinking about, learning and developing. These are concepts that I’ve learnt a lot from, and have helped me a great deal in thinking about how I about approach problems and my life more generally, I only wish I had stumbled across them at an earlier age.

I don’t think it’s all that exciting nor do I think it adds much value, so I will keep the comments on my own background or better, my series of life events thus far, brief. I grew up on a small farm 30 minutes

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north west of Rockhampton and attended TCC for the entirety of my secondary schooling. I did okay at school and was afforded the opportunity to move to Brisbane to study statistics, mathematics and economics at The University of Queensland, from there, I’ve since moved to Melbourne where I live and work today.

Outside of the great foundations I received from my 5 years at TCC, I can essentially distil where I am now in my life, down to three key events. Again these events were a varying combination of skill and luck, but to be brutally honest, I’ve had a lot of luck. The first and most important event in my life was the purest form of luck, I was fortunate enough at birth to be gifted the ultimate set of parents a young boy could ask for. Second was that I stumbled upon my passion for investing at a relatively young age, and third involved sending a job application with a highly embellished level of experience to a well-established hedge fund and convinced the people there to give me a job.

Now what I do today, I could never have imagined doing when I was at TCC, mainly because I didn’t know the job existed.

As an investor, I am spending my days looking at companies and businesses, all over the world but predominately in the US and Europe, trying to understand how they work and then make the best investment decisions possible. We spend a lot of time reading, speaking with the relevant stakeholders and travelling to gain better insights into the companies, in an attempt to maximise the skill input into any decision we make. But ultimately, as long term investors, our results are driven by a small number of critical decisions. To be successful in this type of environment, in my opinion, requires a certain type of mindset, one which focuses on the long term. It’s a job where the real benefits of a good investment or a good decision

making process are not often seen until many years later.

In a similar vein but in a different field, I want to touch on the results of a tennis player quickly. This is a guy who turned pro in 1998, and by 2000 was almost the very definition of average, literally he won almost exactly 50% of the points he played that year. By 2003, he had improved his winning percentage a little, but not by much, to 55%. And year in, year out in the time since he’s consistently won about 55% of points he plays, not getting any better and only a small amount better than average, and still losing 45% of points. If you watched a small number of points, with each point being close enough to 50/50 chance still, you could quickly declare that this guy is not much better than the average professional tennis player.

But you see the benefit in tennis is that there are a lot of points played in any one match, and this is where we begin to see the power of compounding and how results stack up over long periods of time.

That tennis player winning only 55% of points is none other than the greatest athlete of all time in my opinion, Roger Federer.

The concept of compounding was once termed by Albert Einstein as the most powerful force in the world. The ability to be disciplined and consistently work at something is the undefeated recipe for generating the absolute best results.

Focussing your mind, on the underlying process over long periods of time and ignoring short term results, whether positive or negative, is hard because we all want to see results today, right now, and gain that immediate feeling of satisfaction.

And we struggle because like watching only a few points of a tennis match, it is very difficult for our brains to see the

benefits of such an approach in the short term, again it is only when looking back can we connect the dots.

The concept of compounding is a central tenant of investing but its effects are pervasive and can be extrapolated to many things in life and leads me to the final point I want to make, which is about opportunity. In this case it is the effects of compounding human knowledge that are at play. There has literally never been a better time in human history to be alive. Humans today are smarter, stronger, healthier and more productive than ever before. The world is evolving at a rapid rate, it’s amazing to think given its pervasiveness that the internet only really became a thing in 2000. In 2007 when Steve Jobs unveiled the first Apple iPhone, some who were adamant that the concept of a smartphone would never catch on laughed him off stage. Today, I have in my hand the ability to retrieve almost all of the knowledge the world has ever produced, it’s a phenomenal feat, but I can assure with the pace of technological change that is occurring in the world today, we are only just getting started. The opportunities this world has to offer are far more wondrous than you can possibility conceive.

And again due to those same benefits of compounding of human knowledge, I believe it’s very likely that the smartest people in this room tonight, have likely already walked across this stage. Now undoubtedly, you’re all smart, resourceful and hardworking students. And they are wonderful characteristics, but the reality is every one of you is a unique collection of amazing qualities and strengths, and you’re going to take one path out of an infinite number of possibilities.

Finally, I want share the best piece of advice I’ve ever received, when I was 19, a mentor of mine said to me, ‘young

smart people are not ambitious enough’.

So I implore each of you to be ambitious, take risks, and follow your curiosity, your instincts, your intuition and your passion.

But be respectful, be disciplined and be consistent, let the most powerful force in the world of compounding take you to where you want to be.

I hope some of the concepts I touched on tonight can help you in some way hone the way you think and approach problems and decisions as you embark on your individual journeys. And whilst I think it’s important to run your own race, don’t ever be afraid to ask for help, I can assure you that there are likely more people cheering for your success than you may well know. So I invite you all to be ambitious in whatever your pursuits may be, the world is an exciting place to go and live life in all its fullness.

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WELL PLANNED S

ince graduating in 2011 The Cathedral College past student Caitlin Ellrott, has pursued her dreams first put down on paper, in the pages of her 2011 Student Planner.

Possibly ‘pie in the sky’, it was the bold planning for an exciting career as a Pastry Chef that has taken Caitlin around the world to land home again on the banks of the Fitzroy at Rockhampton’s newest culinary establishment, Riverston Tearooms, positioned on Quay Street in one of Rockhampton’s oldest buildings.

Once the Queensland National Bank, built in 1880 the stately sentinel of Rockhampton’s past is now the home of the family businesses: Riverston Tearooms - the genius of Caitlin’s father Jim which Hannah

(Class of 2009) manages assisted by Luke (Class of 2016) and House of Treasures - the antique store run by Caitlin’s Mum, Maria.

“The family just loved it and so I continued to bake as I enjoyed their reaction,”

“I’ve progressed (well past the packet mixes) to baking wedding cakes for The original colonial architecture friends and nothing gives me more combined with luxurious furnishings pleasure to give such a special gift,” and antiques creates a perfect setting she said. for Caitlin’s newly installed cake cabinet, delicately oozing class and charm delighting Rockhampton diners. “My favourite subject at school was Home Economics. I loved the classes, I loved the lunches Where it all began - the raw we enjoyed after class, I loved the ingredients Melbourne Hospitality trip, but my Caitlin discovered a love for baking favourite was when we held the in her early years. This generous gift coffee shop after school, that was the leavened with family encouragement best” she said. and gently folded with education has now risen to world class standards.

How it happened - the method A past student of Australian Starting with a packet mix from her renowned Regency International mother’s panty her first cake was a Centre, TAFE South Australia, Caitlin huge success. learnt from Australia’s notables, Maggie Beer, George Calombaris and Matt Moran from an opportunity that arose in her Year 12 Home Economics class.

“My teacher Mrs Copping arranged for a special guest speaker from the International College of Hotel Management to speak with us. I had a vague interest in becoming a pastry chef and after the presentation I spoke with the presenter, a brave step for a shy person, and she recommended the highly regarded Regency TAFE in Adelaide,” “I applied and sat the test in Miss McDevitt’s office and was offered a place in the Advanced Diploma in

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Hospitality, specialising in Patisserie, before Christmas. I was on my way,” she said.

Impressive dot points decorating Caitlin’s resume are 5 star hotels: Adelaide’s luxurious The Playford, where Caitlin worked for two years and England’s Ellensborough Park in Cheltenham.

“In between I headed to Canada, as that too was in the plan and taught baking to 7 – 15 year olds on their 6 week Summer Camps. I enjoyed two summers in Canada and was appointed Head of Cooking. I skipped over to London as I had made so many friends abroad and found work in Cheltenham,” she said.

“Later I opened my first cake cabinet in a little café in York in the north of England named Brew and Brownie and that was thrilling! My cakes were on show for the very first time” she said.

Baked to perfection Returning home to Rockhampton Caitlin has come full circle, baking once again amongst family and friends at Riverston Tearooms.

Caitlin’s cabinet features Double Choc Brownies, Custard Slice, Mixed Berry Cheesecake, Lemon and Blueberry Friand, Salted Caramel Cheesecake, Macadamia Christmas Tree Brownie and an elaborate Gingerbread House.

“The sweet tooth is similar the world over, however Rocky people love their Carrot cake and scones,” she said.

Sweet contentment The quiet, reserved unassuming Caitlin has surprised even herself with her measure against the plans laid down in 2011.

“For someone who is very shy, I managed to take baby steps outside my comfort zone to chase my dreams.

My favourite teacher was Mrs Stitt who encouraged in gentle ways.

“The opportunities at The Cathedral College are plentiful, if you really want to get somewhere there is someone at TCC who will help you. It has the type of environment where everyone is down to earth and they want to see you progress. There is genuinely nice people who are passionate about what they do,” she said.

“I’m very blessed to have such amazing parents who encouraged me and saw possibilities beyond my vision and to have an education from The Cathedral College,” “After speaking with peers from around the globe I realised I was very fortunate to be raised in a regional centre,” Semester 2 Dec 2 018, Issue 2, Volu me 1 | 7

RAISING THE ROOF I

t’s TCC Day 2017 and the Lunch Time Concert featuring Year 12 student Jakob Acutt and teachers Cameron Wust and Paddy O’Shaughnessy is raising the roof in the newly created covered area.

Also in on the act but unbeknown to most is Past Student and owner of BT Builders, Boyd Hall.

Instead of a guitar, Boyd rocks a ‘Masters in Construction Management,’ his ticket to winning an industry construction award.

The Cathedral College Covered area was BT

Builders’ first significant commercial project and won an Award from Masters Builders Queensland in Central Queensland.

Designed by Madden Architects, the impressive $1.1M structure joins John Miles and Murlay Buildings providing a new space with limitless opportunities, however it was not without its challenges.

“It was a 16 week contract and the logistics were tight. Working within the confinement of the school we needed to crane the steel beams over the top of the buildings out of school hours, as safety is paramount,” Boyd said.

BT Builders continues to ascend, building the new Mt Archer Skywalk, St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School Prep Classrooms and undercover area and are now working on the new General Learning Areas of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Wandal.

Brick by brick Boyd built his career, first answering the phone for a busy building company to now ‘calling the shots’.

“After graduating I headed to London and landed a job at LendLease, an international construction firm, answering the phones.

I moved into Contract Administration and

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was able to work on Europe’s largest shopping centre worth $1.2B,” “In 2007 I returned to Rockhampton and Robert Bell employed me as Project Manager for Bell Thomasson Builders, well known in Rockhampton for house relocations and renovations.

“In 2015 the opportunity arose to acquire Bell Thomasson and BT Builders was established, growing from 5 to 8 fulltime staff and 2 apprentices” he said.

Boyd, who once learnt in the John Miles and Murlay classrooms (1996-1998) was taught by College ‘legend’, the Don, Dr Reiman and long timers Miss Quinn and Mrs Fellowes.

“I represented Queensland swimming so early morning training sometimes caused me to nod off occasionally in class. Mr Reiman’s patience and understanding during this time is remembered well,” he said.

“Miss Jeffcoat was an admired Principal and I remember Miss Quinn and Mrs Fellowes as great teachers, pastoral and passionate about their subject areas, drama and sport,” he said.

ON THE GRAPEVINE Top Marks for these past students whose achievements have been noted on social media and in the pages of T he Morning Bu lletin.

NQ COWBOYS

Former ‘res kid’ Daniel Russell (2011 – 2013) has recently signed an NRL contract with the North Queensland Cowboys. Dan has played with Brisbane Broncos U20s and Souths Logan Magpies before making the move to the tropics for preseason training.

Congratulations and best of luck in 2019 Dan!

INTERNATIONAL STANDING

Making waves across the Pacific is 2015 TCC Graduate Makaela Fehlhaber awarded a New Colombo Plan Scholarship funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Makaela, a Bond University student will finish her Law and International Relations degrees in Malaysia and intern in the Indo-Pacific region across 2019 and 2020. Makaela is pictured with former Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop at the Awards ceremony.

Magnificent news Makaela!

CLASS ACT

2013 Senior Oratory Award winner Sarah Reiman addressed the CQUniversity Bachelor of Education Graduation Ceremony as Graduate Representative.

Congratulations Miss Reiman and we wish you well in your new classroom.

BEST IN THE BUSINESS

2009 College Captain Robert Rooney now solicitor at Swanwick Murray Roche Lawyers was awarded Rockhampton’s 2018 Young Business Leader at the Best in Business Awards, presented by The Morning Bulletin and Advance Rockhampton.

FLYING HIGH

Former ‘res kid’ Jackson Baldwin (2013-2015) is flying high in England after being selected to train as a commercial pilot at England’s elite pilot school, L3 Airline Academy.

Jackson was one of 17 selected from 5000 applicants and is the only Australian in his class. Well done Jackson.

LOCAL LEGENDS

Past students, Anna Daniels (published author of “Girl In Between”) and Tom Busby (from musical duo Busby Marou) were presented the “Local Legends” awards at the recent Capricorn Enterprise 2018 Industry Celebration Night.

Congratulations Anna and Tom.

WIMBLEDON

TCC’s 2014 Senior Sportsperson of the Year, Douglas Buckley is heading to England to play for the Wimbledon Hockey Club, in the European league, the toughest competition in the world following a successful year, captaining the University of Queensland team in the Australian University Games, playing for the Qld Blades squad in the Australian Hockey League and as an international import for the New Zealand Hockey League. Doug was also honoured with a prestigious full Blue Award from the University of Queensland, whilst finding time to study and graduate with a Bachelor of Journalism.

Congratulations and best of luck Doug!

CONGRATULATIONS

We have noticed many past students graduating from University at this time of year. Congratulations! We pray for your continuing success. We always have our ear to the ground for these great little news stories.

Please email your good news stories to PastStudentsAssociation@tccr.com.au

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HAPPY 10 ANNIVERSARY TH

TCC SON Y FOUN DAT ION CH IL DR EN ’S HOL IDAY CA MP

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he seeds of kindness planted at the first TCC Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp is bearing fruit with early companion and TCC Past student Maddie Harney (nee Derepas) now coordinating the camp in her role as the College’s Youth Ministry coordinator. Maddie reflects on the history of Sony Camp at TCC. How long has Sony Camp been going for?

The Camp was introduced to the College in 2008 under the guidance of Sr Margaret Dixon, Assistant Principal:

Mission at the time and was first coordinated by Karen McCall (Callow) and Katrina Caton (Catholic Education Office).

The College has run 10 successful camps since.

What is Sony Camp?

The Camp provides the opportunity for Year 11 and 12 students to care for children who live with difficult challenges through special needs or circumstances to create a fun, memorable, holiday experience, whilst also offering respite for families.

What are the activities?

We keep it fun – trips to the zoo, beach, movies, ten pin bowling, laser tag, Heritage Village, Coolwaters, plus discos, swimming, bubble soccer, arts and crafts keeps us all entertained. We first operated out of the old Boys’ Boarding on Upper Dawson Rd. A number of our Past Students and past families return each year and provide resources such as jumping castles, balloon activities and face painting.

How many lives have been touched?

Averaging 20 campers each year, the hands of kindness may have touched the lives of approximately 200 families and an estimated 300 students have volunteered their time opening their hearts to the joy of being a carer, creating life time memories for both campers and companions alike to cherish.

The Sony Camp Legacy

Some of our campers enrol here at TCC and become companions themselves.

By being involved young people discover new horizons for spreading joy not just today but in their future lives and careers.

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MAY THE JOY AND PEACE OF THE SEASON FILL YOUR HEARTS AND HOMES THIS CHRISTMAS *2011 Rockhampton Combined Churches Christmas ser vices brochures featured Jye O’Grady (2012) and Jessica Lawrie (2011)

LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS

You’re invited to join us this year for the Lights of Christmas, illuminated on the façade of St Joseph’s Cathedral, to celebrate the festive season. With a brand new animation featuring The Night before Christmas, the show is sure to delight and entertain the whole family. Refreshments are on sale.

We look forward to seeing you at this special time of year. Congratulations to the Cathedral Parish of Joseph’s, 2017 Lights of Christmas, Australian Events Award winner!

PAST STUDENTS YOU’RE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LIFE OF THE COLLEGE IN 2019

11 MAY Saturday 11 May – TCC Race Day “Party in the Park” Callaghan Park (Contact the College office to purchase tickets)

1-2 JUN

Friday 1 June/Saturday 2 June: College Musical “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying”, Pilbeam Theatre, directed by Past Student Celeste Hack (2012)

To Register for The Cathedral College Past Students please visit our website www.tccr.com.au/news-events

VENI VIVE VITAM TOTAM

Stories, Contributions for June 2019, Issue 3 Magazine please email Past.Students@tccr.com.au

27 JUL

Saturday 27 July – TCC Rowing Fundraising Event – a degustation delight hosted by Nathan Ramm and the TCC Rowing Supporters’ Committee