From the Principal 

Pictured above: Completed Stage 1 of the Callan Centre (Year 11&12 Building)

Dear Parents, Students and Friends of St Virgil’s, 

Callan Centre

It was exciting to see the new Callan Centre come alive after many years of planning when Year 11 and Year 10 students, along with staff, commenced lessons in this new facility on Wednesday. This important new step into Senior Secondary education vividly illustrates a fundamental purpose of a school – enabling the growth of the young to a healthy maturity. The journey at St Virgil’s College from Kindergarten to the final years of school is long and the potential pathways many, but chances are many of our young men commencing in Kindergarten will take up this opportunity to access Senior Secondary education in preparation to enter the world of work and trades. Others will follow tertiary paths to university, or other options altogether – but we have the environment in which growth can take place and choices be made. I thank the College Leadership Team for their assistance in making this transition into senior secondary a smooth one and I look forward to welcoming our Year 11 families on Thursday March 30 when they will have an opportunity to look around this wonderful new facility.

EREA College’s Ltd Meeting 

Recently I attended a gathering of the Edmund Rice Education College’s Ltd Principals which comprises schools from Western Australia, South Australia, Canberra, and Tasmania. The meeting was held in Adelaide at Rostrevor College and was led by Interim Executive Director, Mr Ray Paxton and members of the EREA Leadership Team. This annual meeting (which is undertaken in each region around Australia) helps in the collective understanding of priorities in all the Edmund Rice schools across the country, not only in practical, financial and administrative matters, but more importantly in terms of strategic directions and the key priorities in our collective mission. Other matters touched on included the new governance structure for EREA, updates regarding risk and compliance and child safeguarding as well as an opportunity to hear about what is taking place in other College’s in other states across the country.

Head of the River 

This weekend our rowers will participate in the iconic school rowing event at Lake Barrington. This is the final event on the rowing calendar and is a celebration of the incredible dedication and hard work put in by rowers, coaches and parents. I take this opportunity to thank the team, led by our Director of Rowing, Mr Oliver Wilson-Haffenden together with our Boat House Manager and our many dedicated coaches for their hard work and commitment to our young men and their families this season.

Good luck to all of our young men who will represent the College with pride and honour in the spirit of the Old Virgilian’s who have rowed before them. I wish all involved a very successful day.

Best wishes for the week ahead.

Jon Franzin

PRINCIPAL