Dean of Students | Mr Damien Fall

After a stint as Acting College Dean, I have this week returned to familiar territory as Dean of Students. It has been my privilege this week to be part of our Year 11 Leadership Camp, held at Runaway Bay. The fact that we invest heavily in the time and staff required to run such an activity is an indication of the importance we place on student leadership. The camp is a wonderful exploration of what it means to be a leader within the House, the wider College community and the world beyond Terrace. The Seniors of 2018 were fortunate to have Br Damien Price facilitate a large portion of the camp. As a former member of the College CLT and an outstanding source of wisdom, Br Price is a great gift to our young men. Opportunities for students to experience formation opportunities delivered by people so close to the Edmund Rice story are rare. Our young men are privileged to have such an opportunity and we were proud of the way they engaged in the experience. The camp was also a chance for the boys to hear from next year’s College Captain, Jacob Montaner and Vice Captains, Zachary Boland, Thomas Dearlove, Tom Pappalardo and Will Roach. I complement each of them on the outstanding start to their journey of leadership. We look forward to a memorable year from the Senior class of 2018.

The GPS senior Track and Field Championships will be held next Friday 27 October and a change of venue means we will unfortunately have a reduced number of seats available to spectators. I have already written to families of Year 11 students to indicate that these young men are expected to attend as supporters. Due to seating restrictions, they will be only the one year level able to come along this year. We will acknowledge the team at next Tuesday’s College Spirit Assembly.

At eight weeks in length, Term 4 is the briefest of the year. Almost three of these weeks have already disappeared and the end of the year is fast approaching. In the last week, I have spoken with students about the need to live in the moment. At this time of year, it is understandable that there will be excitement about the approaching holidays, but there is much to be done before then. There is a need for every student to ensure that he continues to meet our standards and expectations in order to finish as well as possible. It is particularly important for Year 12 students who are understandably excited about the impending end of school, but who have so much at stake in the coming weeks. I encourage all students to remain disciplined and to work hard until the very end of term. Not much in life comes easily and we look forward to our students using the remainder of the term to challenge themselves to be the best that they can be.