Year 12

Mrs Leanne Wilson Head of Year 12

The Class of 2013 will, for me, always be a special and memorable group of young men. Having followed them from Year 10, I have become very close to both the boys and their families and am very sad to see them leave.

As is usual, we began the year with Orientation Day, but this year we changed the format so that in the morning we did the usual administrative tasks and a few lessons and in the afternoon we had outside presenters work with individual pastoral care groups on study skills and time management. They then presented to the parents in the evening – a very positive way to start the year.

As is the tradition at Trinity College the highlight of Year 12 is the Senior Ball and this year was no exception. The theme of The Great Gatsby was brilliant and the army of parents who put in countless hours to put it together did an amazing job. I do not have enough room to thank everyone by name, but I know that if they had the chance to see the looks on the faces of the boys and their partners as they entered Gibney Hall, they would know how impressed the boys were.

This particular group of boys was the most involved in the College and all of its Four Pillars that I have ever seen. Ably led by William Colreavy (12.3) (Head Prefect) and the entire Prefect group the boys participated with enthusiasm in a wide variety of activities. Whether it was 3rds cricket or Edmund Rice Camps for Kids, the boys gave their all to make sure that they left nothing behind when dedicating their time to an event. This year there were 20 members of Cadre, 36 Senior Ministers and 26 Special Ministers of the Eucharist. An unprecedented number of boys completed their Senior Project with almost 50 completing more than 100 hours. However, what is more impressive is the number of boys who continued to participate well after the time to count hours had finished. This shows how much they genuinely want to make a difference and are not doing it for the embroidery on their blazers.

There was a high participation rate in sport, both as athletes and with spectators. Although in terms of silverware we have had better results in the past, I do not think I have ever seen a group of boys so committed and enthusiastic to compete and support those wearing the Three Crowns on their chest.

In the Arts, the Zenith Trophy for best overall school in the Catholic Performing Arts Festival was won again, along with success in New York on the Music tour. The large number of Year 12s dedicating many hours to rehearsal and performances is another example of the high participation rate of the Class of 2013.

To complete the Four Pillars, academic excellence cannot be forgotten. There is an extremely large list of prize winners in a vast array of academic competitions across many faculties this year; however, the final result is still to come. I am confident that we have a large proportion of students who will do well. This is evidenced by the number of boys who attained pre-selection into The University of Notre Dame, which is more than triple last year.

Year 12 students at the TOBA Graduation Breakfast

Prefects 2013 Back Row: Thomas Coltrona, Blake D’Souza, Zak O’Neil, Matthew Allen, Thomas Hunt, Noah Harris, Andrew Eyres, Liam Pardini, Mrs Lea Wilson (Head of Year 12) Front Row: Jerome Randle-Rai, Charlie Nicolay, Jacob Patroni, Luke Cannell (Deputy Head Prefect), William Colreavy (Head Prefect), Shayne Hille, Benjamin Walsh, Sheldon Russell

On Thursday 24 October the Class of 2013, their families and teachers were together as a group for the last time. The TOBA Breakfast, Final Assembly and Graduation Mass and Dinner were a fitting way to farewell a stellar group of young men. Donning their Old Boys’ tie for the first time, there was a sense that this was a poignant moment in the life of this group.

The boys that I had taken over as Year 10s were now men with their whole lives in front of them. I wish them all good luck for whatever lies ahead, comfortable in the knowledge that they will always remember where they come from and that as multiple people said in the last few days of the year, “You can take the boy out of Trinity, but you cannot take Trinity out of the boy”.

Mrs Leanne Wilson Head of Year 12

Mrs Leanne Wilson is presented with a framed poster of the Great Gatsby at the Year 12 Graduation Dinner