Deputy Principal

“We must be humble in victory and gracious in defeat”

A lot of our attention is drawn to winning and being victorious. Our Australian sporting culture makes particular note of this. What gets less attention is how we deal with and respond to defeat. When I say defeat, I also refer to the daily aspects of school life which sometimes don’t go our way or which we are not on top of. Examples could include not getting the result you are pleased with, arguments or disagreements with friends, not being selected in a certain team, receiving an academic detention for a non-submission or simply not taking some advice on board. Being acceptive of and reflecting on constructive criticism is something which will serve our students well as they approach the demands and expectations of adulthood. What is absolutely imperative within this process is that any feedback, dialogue and reinforcing of expectations comes from a place of support and a keen desire to achieve a successful outcome. I am a strong believer in walking with our students. For this mentality to eventuate we must have a willing and accepting partnership. Whereby we can work through whatever issue presents itself. 

It's More Than a Uniform, It Represents Who We Are

Our uniform is more than shirts, ties and blazers. It represents the some 15 000 Old Virgilians who we once St Virgil’s students. When they see our current student body make their way to or from school or represent our school in the public sphere they are immediately reminded of their time and experience here at SVC. For Old Virgilians in particular they have is a sense of pride and belonging to our school and their time here. This is something in which we aspire our current student body to embrace. Our Year 11 cohort have responded tremendously to their subtle senior school uniform changes for which they should be commended. In the realm of employment uniforms, organisations are associated with brands and have particular expectations on how they want their brand represented, and schools are no different. Encouraging our young men to be organised, punctual and prepared will only support them moving forward in their chosen career pathway. I would like to commend those young men who represent the College with great pride each and every day. As we approach the colder months ahead it is timely to remind students to wear all layers of the uniform in order to keep warm. I will be conducting a uniform review and looking to gain feedback and data from students, parents and staff with regards to uniform developments moving forward.