From the Principal

In 2015, Pope Francis issued the encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, which serves as a heartfelt plea for environmental stewardship and ethical responsibility as a response to the global threat of climate change.  It is important to note that the issue of climate change has not escaped our own students’ keen sense of societal critique.  As adults, we can often underestimate the depth and breadth of this critique, failing to recognise the old saying that ‘still waters run deep’.  This is particularly the case in a College like ours where our students’ keen sense of justice is so real and where our students are also so attuned to situations of injustice.

‘Let Justice and Peace Flow’ is the theme of the 2023 Season of Creation, the ecumenical celebration of creation and focus on awareness raising initiatives to protect our natural environment.  Our College has a long tradition of ‘acting locally and thinking globally’ in relation to environmental sustainability.  In 2004, the College partnered with the Western Australian Sports Centre Trust to install a geothermal water heating system at (the then) Challenge Stadium.  The heating system at that time was projected to save Challenge Stadium approximately $200,000 per annum in energy costs over conventional gas fired boiler heating for the two outdoor and two indoor pools. The cooled water is then pumped to the College and either stored in the onsite lake for irrigation or returned via two reinjection bores to the aquifer. Some key benefits that still exist almost over 20 years on are reduced consumption of fossil-based fuel and significant cost savings.   

In addition to the innovative water heating system, over the last two years, students, staff and parents at the College have worked together to plant over 300 native plants on the western side of the College.  Most of the plants have been chosen specifically to provide food sources for the endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo.

There are always more opportunities to explore of course, and with this in mind, I met this week with our Sustainability Captain, Airlie Barry, Sustainability Coordinator, Adrian Sims and Business Manager, John Cumming to discuss the opportunities of solar energy for our College site. I am pleased to report that extensive research has already been undertaken about suitable solar solutions including potential locations and costings of solar panels and batteries and I look forward to reporting more specifically about this development in coming months. 

By adopting sustainable practices in our College community we reduce our ecological footprint, promote responsible consumption and help to safeguard our precious environment for future generations.  Every effort counts and I commend the following video to you which highlights the College’s sustainability focus. 

Finally, I extend my thanks to Eric Maroni for his leadership of the Men of John XXIII event this week and to Jon Haines (also a current parent) who spoke to the theme Rock Solid Character – A practical, modern and validated approach to help parents build resilience, identity and purpose in adolescents and young adults.  Thank you also to those able to attend this morning’s Fathers’ Day Mass and we also look forward to our Spring Soiree tonight, featuring the last official musical ensemble performances from our Year 12 students.

Daniel Mahon

Principal