Deputy Principal

School of Rock

The College Musical is always one of my favourite events in the College Calendar. It highlights the enormous talent we have across the College in Drama, Music, stage crew and design. One of the things that I love about the College is that we allow our young men to ‘let their light shine’ and show off the gifts that God has given them no matter where their talents lie.

This year was no exception with the College production of School of Rock. One of our touchstones is ‘liberating education’. For those of you who were lucky enough to see the production, you will realise that the young men and women in the production all experienced the true meaning of a ‘liberating education’. They were able to combine learning lines and dramatic sequences along with musical talent both in voice and in the band. They expressed themselves by moving sets and following the cast with expertise using lighting displays. Theatre is arguably the co-curricular that our most multi-talented young men can encounter as they must learn numerous skills. 

To cast two young men as the lead was not only liberating but also inclusive. There was something for everyone in these performances. An inclusive community was also displayed by the performers from our neighbouring girls’ schools. Our young men were joined by girls from Santa Sabina College, MLC College, Strathfield Girls High School and The McDonald College. When we talk about teaching respectful relationships, it was evident in the way the cast came together to put on first class performances. I was lucky enough to go backstage and see how our young men and the young women interacted with each other.

These three performances are a culmination of six months of hard work. I congratulate all the cast and crew for allowing us to share this experience. I would also like to thank our staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure our students shone both on and off stage. Thank you to Ms Duff, Dr Taylor, Ms De Francesco, Mrs. Ovijach, Mr Shaw, Mr Fela, Ms Zhong, Mr McCarthy and Mr Henessey. 

If you did not get to see it, you truly missed out. Congratulations to all involved in the School of Rock!

Adrian Byrne

Deputy Principal