Acting Assistant Principal - Religious Identity & Mission 

Year 9 Service Week – Week 6 

In week 6, our Year 9 students, in their different learning groups, will be engaging in service around Hobart. 

Engaging in service within our community allows students at St Virgil’s College to live out the College values of justice, kindness, and integrity in a practical and meaningful way. Through serving others, students develop empathy, leadership, and a deeper understanding of social responsibility. Service also strengthens the connection between the College and the wider community, reflecting our commitment to the Gospel call to love and serve our neighbour.

Each learning group is sent to various locations to assist.

Our students will be bused to and from the College to their different locations. This is an amazing opportunity for our young men to give back to our community but also represent our College in the values of Edmund Rice and Jesus Christ. 

Remembrance Day Library Display

This Remembrance Day, our College Library featured a special display dedicated to the St Virgil’s students who bravely served in World War I and World War II. The exhibit includes photographs, archival records, and a memorial book listing the names of those who left the College to serve their country. 

Through this display, we remember their courage, sacrifice, and enduring connection to our school community. It stands as a tribute to their legacy and a reminder of the values of service, loyalty, and compassion that continue to shape St Virgil’s College today.

A big thank you to Bruce Woods and Graeme Rainbow who spent countless hours sifting through our archives to create this fantastic opportunity for us to view the history of our College and the young men who gave their lives. A big thank you to James and Eylul from the Library for their dedication to organising and setting up the display for our young men to read through. 

Remembrance Day Service  

On Tuesday 11 November, the St Virgil’s College Community gathered for a touching Remembrance Day Service. We were able to respectfully show our commitment to those who have served and protected our College, Community, State and Country. It was a beautiful and important moment in the history of our country as well as our College. The focus for our community this year was on our past students who served in World War I and II, but also those who have served since. Thank you and may we always keep those in our College who fought for our freedom close to our hearts and minds. They lived their lives by “Deeds, not words alone”.

A list of a few of our St Virgil’s College students who served: 

• John Erol Benson (SVC: 1912, 12th Battalion Australian Navy, 2nd reinforcement) Founding Student no. 42;

• Charles Cecil Cearns (SVC: 1914, 21 Australian Field Artillery, Army, Gunner);

• William John Dwyer (SVC: 1911 – 1912, 10th Field Artillery Brigade, Divisional Ammunition Column 1. Army);

• William Albert Hammond (SVC: 1911, Lance Corporal, 12 Battalion, Australian Infantry, 13th Reinforcement;

• Montague James Long (SVC: 1911-1913, 3 Field Ambulance – Reinforcement [1-12] (December 1914 – November 1915); and 

• Joseph Fredrick O’Doherty (SVC: 1911 – 1914, Anzac Div Train Australian Army Service, Place of Enlistment: Claremont.

These students faced unimaginable challenges on distant battlefields, some never to return. Others came home forever changed. Their sacrifices remind us of the human cost of war and the courage it takes to stand for something greater than oneself.

 These are some reflections written by Year 7 students during Extended Pastoral Care.