Head of Junior School 

This week has been tinged with great sadness. Mrs Hayley Rose, mother to Ollie (Prep), lost her long and courageous battle with cancer. Hayley, Ben and their respective parents had immersed themselves in our Junior School community since Ollie (and Isla) began attending pre-kinder sessions in 2022. Hayley regularly attended Ollie’s SVC soccer games, poignantly attending what would be her last, on Saturday. It was a thrill that she was able to witness Ollie kick his first goal in his last game of the season. Hayley was also present to see Ollie in his costume for our Book Week parade last week. She will be missed by all in our College Community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ollie, Isla, Ben and the extended Rose family. Rest in peace, Hayley.

Busy Times at the Junior School

What an incredibly busy fortnight we have had. Combined SVC/SMC Year 5/6 Band Day, combined Kindergarten Lantern Lunch, visits by Olympians, Father’s Day Breakfast, Chess Tournament, Gadomski Cup, STCPSSA Football games, JSSATIS basketball games, excursions, the list goes on. All of these experiences provide our students with a rich and broad range of experiences to learn, grow, develop and benefit from.

Father’s Day Breakfast

This week we celebrated the men in our lives who play such a pivotal role in our lives. Our dads, uncles, grandfathers, and other men, who may not be relatives but close family friends, coaches, mentors, role models, who love and teach us, gathered together (on a rather cold and miserable morning) but one which was warm in spirit and friendship. Thank you to our wonderful Parents and Friends Association Committee, the volunteer mums and staff, who helped cook and prepare egg and bacon rolls for our guests. Thank you in particular to Michelle Spotswood, Maria Bond (Pigden), Karina Huntley, Kaylie Bowman and Janine Arnold.

Football Margin Tickets Still for Sale

Thank you to everyone who has supported the P&F fundraising initiative. To date, we have almost sold two boxes. By selling two boxes of tickets, once prize money has been distributed, as a community, we will have raised close to $3000. This is a valuable addition to our P&F Funds and our eventual goal to ‘rejuvenate’ our Junior School playground. We have about 60 tickets available to sell between now and the AFL Grand Final, Saturday 28 September. If you can help out in buying tickets or taking extra tickets to sell, please drop into the Junior School office.

Football Tipping Competition

Congratulations to Olga Leon, aka, Carlton2024! for being the overall leader at the end of the home and away season. We cannot crown her as the overall winner, just yet. Don’t forget that we are still tipping through the finals. Olga has been a very strong tipper for many years in our competitions. Let’s see if she can hold on for a few more weeks.

Below are our top ten tippers at this stage. I'm wondering if there’ll be any changes in the ensuing weeks. Good luck for the finals season everyone. Go Blues! 

Well done to all Round Winners, scoring themselves $20 per round. 

Top 10 Tippers (so far) and their scores:

1. Carlton2024!!  Olga Leon 148 
2. T Grice Tom Grice 145
3. Muffinman32 Angus Murfitt 145 
4. Piesbacktoback Warren Bounds 143 
5. Matthew Pigden Matthew Pigden 142
6. Luke N Luke North-East 142
7. Will Anders Will Anders  142
8. Jamie Holland Jamie Holland 141
9. SEBBYG Sebastian Gillie 141
10. Walkerbruz Leigh Walker 141

Max Giuliani

I'm sure your son came home to tell you all about Max’s visit to the Junior School. What a celebrity he has become. This was a wonderful opportunity for students across the College, both Junior and Senior, to hear firsthand what it takes to be an Olympic medallist. Max was very generous with his time and spoke very well to those students present, hopefully inspiring our students to pursue excellence in their chosen fields. He was also incredibly patient with the number of questions he was asked, ranging from, ‘How many croissants did you eat to what was the most famous person you met?’. 

Book Week

Last week we celebrated Book Week. This year’s theme was ‘Reading is Magic’. What I love about Book Week is the pure enjoyment boys and adults gain from reading books, dressing up either as a character related to the theme or a favourite character from a book, as well as the rich conversations that evolve around these choices. Staff and students alike were a sea of colour as they paraded on the futsal court. I have a fabulous idea for next year which will not only involve staff and students but our parent community as well!

Virgilian Way Values on Display

Over the last week, I have witnessed our students living out our Virgilian Way Values on, and in, different sporting teams, sports and arenas such as JSSATIS Basketball, STCPSSA Football and The Gadomski Cup. 

Dominating a game of basketball against a team of very inexperienced players from Eastside Lutheran, I encouraged our Year 3/4  Basketball Team, Heat, coached by Mr Daniel Cowling, to think about the opposition, to allow the game to be a positive experience for the opposition, rather than one that would potentially leave them not wanting to play another game. The team consisting of Ethan Washington, Charlie Cowling, Gabriel Knaj, Archer Moylan, Harrison Stanton, Panayioti Hiras and Alfred Wojcik, rose to the challenge and impressed me with their thoughtfulness and how they conducted themselves for the duration. True Virgilians right there!

On Friday at STCPSSA Football, in the absence of Mr Tom Beard, I had the honour of coaching the Green team. We played a very undersized and inexperienced John Paul II team. At halftime, it was clear we were the dominant team. To make the game a fairer competition, I asked if six boys would like to play for the opposition and we would take six of their players. Without hesitation, these boys: Angus Newsham West, Atticus Johnson Harrington, Lachlan Northeast, Harry Pestrucci, Lochie Johnstone and Edward Hickey volunteered. After halftime, with the changes made, the game was an even-sided affair, with goals evenly scored for each side. I was incredibly proud of these students for displaying our values so clearly.

Gadomski Cup

Last week our Year 5/6 played in our annual Gadomski Cup Football game against The Hutchins School. Even though the scoreline indicated it may have been a one-sided affair, what I observed from the commentary box was a very different story. I observed a group of students who never gave up and clearly understood the concept of the game. The game is played to honour Virgilian, Alex Gadomski, who lost a long battle with Bone Marrow Failure Disease, at a very young age. Thank you to all the students for their efforts on the day. I thought these players stood out in their determination to win the ball and the way they played the game. These players included Lochie Johnstone, Ned Heddle, Wesley Robinson, Oliver Wagstaff, Oscar Halton, Ethan Dixon and Angus Newsham-West.

I would like to thank Cameron Thurley, our volunteer coach for the day. Cam spoke with the students the week before the Gadomski Cup, instilling in them the honour of representing SVC.

The boys took a lot away from Cam, whose credentials include, playing for the Tassie Devils, winning the Best and Fairest in 2008. Captained Tasmania on 3 occasions.

He also played in the AFL for Geelong and North Melbourne, after being recruited from Clarence, which he captained from 2011 to 2013 and was a part of the 2009 and 2010 Premiership sides.

Doran vs Webb Representatives

Each year, at the culmination of the STCPSSA Football Roster, each school is asked to select one or two players per team to represent their school in the Doran vs Webb game. This year, those selected are Oscar Halton, Jacob Lowe, Oliver Wagstaff and Hunter Rolls. Ethan Dixon was selected but due to an injury is unable to play. The students will train with their new teammates on Wednesday 4 September and play on Wednesday 11 September at Dominic College.

Mary Rice Walk: Junior to Senior Campus

Last Friday some of our Year SRC boys, with Mrs Messer, had the opportunity to participate in the symbolic walk for the Mary Rice Walkathon. Our students walked as far as the New Town Station Nursery.

Thomas Brown (Year 6), George Lennon (Year 6), Edward Hickey (Year 5), Panayioti Hiras (Year 4) and Hugh Johns (Year 3) thoroughly enjoyed the experience as well as the conversations shared with our Year 12 leaders.

Along the way, we carried the ‘baton’ which is the symbol of the connection between the Mary Rice Centre and St Virgil’s College. The creation of the baton itself is a true testament to the real connections in our  SVC community.

When the Junior Campus was tasked with creating the baton, we contacted Mrs Maureen Pangrazzi, whose sons, Nicholas and Julian, attended both campuses and whose husband Mario is a carpenter.

Mario provided us with the baton. Ms Stary created the artwork. The finished product has the Australian gum leaves winding up to the Kenyan colours and shield. Wrapped around the base is a SVC ribbon and the top has a Kenyan beaded wrap.

We are looking forward to this being an annual tradition.

We are still accepting donations through Qkr! until the end of the term if you have not yet had a chance to donate, and we will continue to raise money through events at the College.

Upcoming Events

Friday 6 September: Combined SVC/SMC House Athletics Carnival (all day)