College Feast Day

On Wednesday 26 June, we celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ., the College Feast Day. This Feast Day was a great opportunity to reflect and celebrate the gift of our College through the Eucharist. In the tradition of the College, staff and students gathered at the College Green at 9am holding the flags of the different nations that our students come from. Our captains, Tio Alemu and Emmanuel Soriano led a short reflection alongside an address by Brendan Watson and a blessing of the Corpus Christi Sculpture by Fr Maurie Cooney. We processed out of the school and around the perimeter of the College to the hall. Thanks to many hands, we were transformed to another ‘time setting’ into the ‘Sistine’ chapel. Adorned by many images of the real Sistine chapel, staff and students processed into a darkened hall lit by candles and soft lighting to the sounds of the Labyrinth Chamber Choir. The choir sang a repertoire of renaissance music acapella to reflect the setting of the hall. Fr Maurie celebrated the Mass and spoke with depth about the meaning of Scripture in light of the Feast day and our lives of the 21st century. The College choir presented a repertoire of diverse music across the ages as they sang various parts of the Mass. Following the Mass, some staff were awarded certificates for years of service to CRC Sydenham. One notable recipient was Dr Janet Doolan who celebrates 35 years of service as a teacher of the College.

Upon the conclusion of the Mass, the staff and students embarked upon a variety of activities around the school, before sitting down to share pork rolls and some soup as lunch in cluster groups. The afternoon talent quest was spectacular and reinforces the idea of the school 2019 theme that, ‘We are God’s Masterpiece’. Many hands make light work! Thank you to all staff and students who worked long hours to realise the festivities and the celebration of the Corpus Christi Mass.

Thank you

Vince Iannuzzi

College Feast Day Market Stalls

This year saw at College Feast Day, we saw the tradition of the Mark Stall Festival continue. In what is always one of the highlight events of the day, homegroups were required to create a Market Stall, in which they had to promote and sell their activity to the school community. All home groups are to be commended on the wide variety of fun and exciting stalls that were on offer this year. There was some amazing food and drink stalls including baked goods, popcorn, donuts, and nachos. There were also other various games and amusements such as lucky dips, Mario kart, raffles, photo booths, and the always popular cream pie in the face stall and dunking machine (the perfect opportunity for students to get revenge on their teachers!). Students then had the opportunity to burn all that energy off the zorb ball, basketball shoot out, soccer dartboard and commando obstacle courses.

Congratulations to the Bradman 4 home group who were the winning stall for the day, cooking up some amazing fresh Waffles, the perfect food for a sunny, but chilly, winter’s day. You just had to observe the length of the que to purchase them to see why they were the clear winners.

Thank you to all the students and staff who assisted in setting up and running the amazing stalls, which was another great representation of the spirit that is alive with Catholic Regional College Sydenham community.

Shane Hart

College Feast Day Talent Quest

Talent Quest is always a memorable part of our College year and 2019 was no exception. Students from across the College have spent months auditioning, planning, setting up and rehearsing and it all culminated in a fantastic show to round out Feast Day.

Students entered what had been the Sistine Chapel mere hours before to jostle for the best view, find their friends and set up their signs supporting performers. The show started with a bang as Luka Krajinovic and Isabella Iaccino led a group of students with We Will Rock You. MCs Leroy Goveas and Rowan Portelli did a fantastic job throughout the event as they hyped the crowd, spoke to performers and got special commentary from our judging panel of Leah Elmer, Marcus Miceli, Thomas Cucanic and Shirlee Charles.

Performers danced, sang, played and even DJ’d their way through the show. It was great to see so many students having a go and showcasing their talents to the whole school. From Emmanual’s rendition of The Wizard and I, through to a return of reigning champion Pete Vamvakas and his beat-boxing prowess there was something for everyone. There was also a lovely dedication by performer Junior Tufuga (accompanied by Luka Krajinovic) to student Christian Veneziano. Of the performance judge Thomas Cucanic said “A very touching song that got the hearts of everyone including myself. In memory of Christian. Junior and Luka performed miraculously in memory of him.” As is now tradition, we closed the show with the much anticipated staff act as we celebrated all things British. Danny Jaber impersonating Freddy Mercury is something that will be remembered for many years to come.

As always, the show must end and a winner must be announced. After much deliberation from our judges, Brendan Watson announced DJ Dylan Favorito the winner of Talent Quest 2019.

A massive thank you to Sheridan Paulka and Annika Miesen for all their hard work sorting through auditions, and to Alex Michael and the SydTV crew who filmed this so we can enjoy it for years to come. Thanks also to all the students who volunteered to help make this happen and who worked tirelessly through the middle of the day to bring this event to you. A massive shout out to past students Matthew Martello and Brodie Krslovic who returned and assisted also and who passed on their experience in these events to students.

It was definitely a great show and we can’t wait to do it all again in 2020!

Morgana Jones

Organiser

“Talent Quest 2019 exceeded our expectations in every way and is sure to be one of our biggest highlights from our short time at CRC Sydenham. It was an absolute honour to be surrounded by the outstanding talents at the college and to share the stage with equally amazing people. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to perform and we look forward to 2020!”

Alicia Azzopardi and Janine Agarano, Contestants

“Talent Quest was a great experience, the atmosphere was amazing and the crowd were really receptive to the performers, which was great to see. It was good fun to play in front of a good sized crowd, and being able to close out as the final act was a great way to end the day for me.”

Fraser O’Neill, Member of Appendix - Judge’s choice winner

“As usual, Talent Quest this year was a magnificent show, but of course it can't happen without people working behind the scenes. As one of those people who helped set up and run the show, it did mean long hours and hard work throughout Feast Day and the rehearsals beforehand, but it was always exciting to work with other people and further my own skills as a lighting technician. In the end, it all comes together and I'm proud of our work and its results on the day.”

Jacob Soeradinata, Lighting crew

“I was really lucky to have a front row seat to experience the diverse acts of this years Talent Quest. It was an opportunity for students’ to showcase their talents, and we were not disappointed. The depth of talent and the confidence and professionalism in which the acts performed was amazing. The MC’s did a really great job throughout the day keeping the audience entertained. The staff act is also a memorable moment - the student’s love it and the rest of the staff wait in anticipation to see who’s in it and each year they blow us away.”

Shirlee Charles, Judge

"Walking into the Talent Quest, what was previously a hall filled with basketball lines and hoops was transformed into a concert. There was flashing lights, smoke, and a stage all setting the scene for the talent to come. Everyone who performed was amazing and brought the whole school together to form a community of students laughing, dancing and shouting in support. The Talent Quest was an event that highlighted some of the talented students in our school, and watching from the audience was an exceptional experience."

Alicia Maddock, Audience Member

Talent Quest 2018 Winner: