2017 May Procession
From Head of College, Graham Leddie
‘Raising Boys’ Parent Association Forum with Andrew Fuller
All parents and carers are invited to attend an evening with renowned psychologist Andrew Fuller on ‘Raising Boys’. The event is sponsored by our Parents’ Association and I highly recommend your attendance. Andrew is much sought after across the country and will be working with students and staff throughout the day prior to the parent evening. It will be a great opportunity for parents and carers to hear the same information, first hand. The evening is on 22 May at 6:30pm – 8:00pm in the Cosgrove Centre. Please RSVP via the events page of the college website.
May Procession & Feast of Edmund Rice
Thank you to all members of the Waverley College Community who attended the 107th May Procession and Feast of Edmund Rice on Sunday 7 May. The audience was inspired by our guest speaker Professor David Hall fms who spoke about coping with change in the context of today’s environment. He notably commented that, “what our chaotic, turbulent, and uncertain world needs is hope.” He quoted author Andrew Hamilton, who said, “Cursing the darkness is easy but what is required is hope and hope is a divine activity.” David spoke of the possibility of turning to the example of Mary to understand and to realise hope through the “interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others,” which Mary demonstrated. His final message was what a wonderful world it would be, in all its chaos and its turmoil, if each of made it our task to unlock in others ‘the image of God that each of us are.’
My warmest thanks are extended to David for his apt and inspiring May Procession speech. The full text of the speech can be found in this Nurrunga newsletter in the story from our Director of Mission, Phil Davis.
Old Boys’ AGM
I would like to thank and acknowledge the work of the past year’s Waverley College Old Boy Committee: Vice President – Mr Col Blake; Treasurer – Mr Peter Foley; Secretary – Mr Chris O’Sullivan; and particularly the outgoing President – Mr Michael Jaeger for their time and energy over the last year in supporting the College and building links across our community.
I would also like to congratulate the new committee who were elected at the AGM which was held last Sunday after the May Procession: President – Mr Salvatore Riolo; Vice President – Mr Col Blake; Treasurer – Mr Peter Foley; Secretary – Mr Chris O’Sullivan.
Council Members: Mr Warren Boyd, Mr Tony Coates, Mr Ivan Curotta, Mr Michael Dignam, Mr Terry Farley, Mr Brian Foster, Mr Peter Hannigan, Mr John Hilton, Mr Richard Jackson, Mr John Karas, Mr Craig Markham, Mr Brandon Perry, Mr Cooper Silk and Mr Bruce Whittet.
Courage, sense of justice and brilliance of our students
I am often made aware of the courage, sense of justice and brilliance of our students in terms of what they deal with and through the decisions they make.
One particular example comes to mind is the recent actions of Year 12 student, Peter Pelligrini. Peter was assaulted by an opposing player in a rugby game earlier in the season and received a single punch to his face unexpectedly. The punch caused a fractured cheek bone and eye socket and required two major operations with pins and plates being required to be inserted in order to support the fracture. As a result of the injuries, Peter will not be able to play contact sport for at least 12 months and has missed significant time off school. Peter recently wrote to the student who caused these injuries… ‘I hold no ill will towards you, I understand that mistakes and poor choices can happen, thank you for your apology, I appreciate your remorseful words – I hope you are sincere about your attempts to seek a greater understanding of the consequences of your actions and I hope that this sort of behaviour stops at me.” Peter has taught us all through his actions, the lesson of complete forgiveness that Jesus taught us. Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. On behalf of the College I congratulate Peter for his courage, sense of justice and the brilliance he has shown throughout this adversity.
Catholic School Funding Changes
The College was informed this week by the Minister for Education and Training, Simon Birmingham, that Waverley College is set to experience a reduction in funding.
Attached below is the 10 year profile for the estimated annual per student and total funding for Waverley College. These estimates are based on current enrolments and will change with any changes in enrolments and student characteristics.
I am currently working with our leadership team and the College Board to assess the impact of these changes on our future budgets. An important concern is to maintain a focus on affordability in the fees that you are being asked to pay for your son’s education. We will strive to use all allocated funds in the most effective and efficient ways, to ensure families continue to have the choice of Catholic schooling in the Edmund Rice tradition.
Waverley College Estimated Commonwealth funding over 2017 to 2027 ($)
| Per student funding | Total funding | |
| 2017 | 6,966 | 9,578,000 |
| 2018 | 6,942 | 9,545,700 |
| 2019 | 6,908 | 9,498,300 |
| 2020 | 6,862 | 9,435,700 |
| 2021 | 6,788 | 9,333,300 |
| 2022 | 6,701 | 9,213,800 |
| 2023 | 6,601 | 9,075,800 |
| 2024 | 6,487 | 8,919,100 |
| 2025 | 6,358 | 8,741,800 |
| 2026 | 6,213 | 8,543,400 |
| 2027 | 6,053 | 8,322,200 |
Please note that:
All figures are based on latest enrolment data reported to the Department of Education and Training, and assume the same student population applies from 2017 to 2027 to allow meaningful comparison however payments for schools will vary based on final enrolments. If the number of enrolled students in a school changes, this will be reflected in the final Commonwealth payment for the school for each year. All figures are rounded and are an estimate only. More information on the new funding and transition arrangements is available online HERE.
Waverley College Sporting Greats Q & A
Last Friday night I had the pleasure of attending our inaugural Sporting Greats Q & A which was well hosted by Mr Stephen O’Donnell. I would like to thank our panel which included Mr Owen Finegan (1989), Mr John Boyd (1977), Mr Jeremy Roff (2001) and Mr Stephen Hoiles (1999) for their time, experiences, laughs and wisdom, which they generously shared with the audience.
I would also like to thank the following staff for assisting with the evening, Mr Steve O’Donnell, Ms Jennifer Divall, Ms Robyn Moore, Mr John Kara, Ms Suzi Wright, Mr Alex Nedanov and Ms Rebecca Curran who coordinated the evening.
Mother’s Day Wishes
On behalf of the College, I would like to wish all our Mums, Step-Mums, Carers and Grandmothers a very happy day on Sunday. It is no surprise that at the highest point at Waverley is Mary, a Mother looking down on all of us, providing care and comfort to all. I hope you are acknowledged on Sunday for these attributes you deliver over the entire year.
All the best for the weekend and week ahead.
