Cross-Country

The CBSA Cross Country was held last Wednesday. It was a very successful day for the College, as we came away with all three divisional shields and were the aggregate winner of the day. We also had 14 runners selected to represent the CBSA at the CCC Cross Country. Congratulations to the following students: Matthew Kannan, Jake Jovanovski, Ben Menzie, Nathan Bini, John Papagelis, Ryan Beetson, Riley Lucas, Alex Durrant-Whyte, John Anagnostopolous, Mitchell Harding, Sean Stokoe, Haris Strangas, Edwin Henrich, Daniel Brickwood. 

An extra special mention to Nathan Bini in the U13s and Ryan Beetson in the U14s for winning their races. Thankyou to coaches Mr Bottrill and Mr Wallington for all their efforts in helping make this years team so successful.

You can see photos from the day here. 

Mr Shaw
Sports Coordinator 

Trip to Italy

 

During the April holidays students of Italian and Art embarked on an excursion to Italy. They were accompanied by Ms Briglia, Mr Latham, Ms Cook and a few parents.

We visited many beautiful and world famous sites like the 'Duomo di Milano', magical Como, Juliet's balcony in Verona and of course enchanting Venice.

The visit to the Ferrari museum in Modena was an exciting one as we had a chance to be a passenger in a Ferrari.

The region of Tuscany proved to be a highlight with its quaint and historical towns such as Florence, Lucca, Siena, Pisa and Assisi. We threw our coins in the Trevi Fountain and stood in awe amongst the ruins of Pompeii. We were struck by the beauty of The Blue Grotto and the coastline of Sorrento. The students not only gained so much knowledge about the historical and cultural side of Italy but were able to communicate with confidence in Italian.

It was indeed a fantastic experience had by all, one of which we hope we will be able to repeat in a couple of years' time.

Ms Maria Briglia
Head of LOTE 

 

ANZAC Day Commemoration

 

On Wednesday 10th of April a group of students represented the college at the ‘RSL & Schools Remember ANZAC Commemoration Service’. This service honours the men and women who died in conflict defending the values and traditions of all Australians. The service has been conducted at the ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park every year since 1953. Many other schools from the Sydney area were represented and students from each school were able to participate by laying a floral tribute. 

Six students from  the College attended the commemoration: Jayden El-Jalkh, John Taglini and Connor Wherret (Year 10), and Ryley Davar, Patrick Benfield and Joseph Volza (Year 7). 

Mr Stuart Hughes

 

CBSA Cricket

After four years of near-misses, the Cathedral Senior Opens Cricket team secured the CBSA Champion's title on Thursday 21st March in a commanding performance against De La Salle, Revesby.

After losing the toss and being sent in, the Cathedral side managed a very impressive 6/161 off their allotted 25 overs, with Michael Greene striking a chanceless 68*. In response Revesby were all-out for 107, with James Green picking up four valuable wickets and Tom Kennedy (2 caught-and-bowled) and Tom Kannan (three catches) distinguishing themselves in the field. 

The students paid tribute to their coach, Mr Cook, and thanked the many students who attended the match to lend their support. You can images from the match here. 

CBSA Swimming

This year, the Cathedral Swimming Squad competed in the annual CBSA Swimming Championships. Unfortunately it was our only night of competition, as our Combined Christian Brothers Swimming carnival was cancelled due to wet weather. 

The night was a huge success, with all boys achieving excellent results.  We were highly competitive in the 50m Freestyle event, with place gainers in the U13s (Cameron Bridge and Angus Little), U16s (Salvatore Panto and Joseph Bridge), U17s (Kevin Lee and Christopher To) and Opens (Haris Strangas and Cameron Johansen).   Salvatore Panto swam an impressive 27.41, the fasted time recorded for the school at the meet.

We had some significant first placings, including Cameron Bridge in the U13s Breaststroke and Lachlan Davis in the U15s Backstroke. Haris Strangas impressed, securing first place in the Opens Backstroke and 100m Freestyle.  Haris was awarded the joint Opens Champion Award of the 2013 competition.

Both our Medley relay and Freestyle relays were highly competitive.  The under 13s, 16s and 17s all came in second place for both relays.  The Opens were champions of the pool, coming in first in both the relays.

The College was awarded second place in the overall points for the night, just behind De La Salle College, Revesby. Thank you to all the parents and family members who came out to support the team.  A huge thank you to the staff from school who attended, including Mr Botrill, Mr Wallington, Mr Shaw, Ms Niven and Br Peel, without whom we would not have had such a successful and competitive evening.

Most of all, congratulations to all the competitors!

Miss Natalie O’Connor
Swim Teach Coach

 

Acacdemic Assembly

The first academic assembly of every year has the special function of honouring those students from the previous graduating year who achieved particularly meritorious results in the HSC. The College Dux (in 2012, Marcus Khoudair) is presented with his trophy and a cheque by the Parents & Friends Assocation. These successful Old Boys then present awards to current students who performed admirably in the 2012 academic year. You can see photos from the assembly and the later morning tea here.

The Green Machine Does It Again!

The College Swimming Carnival was held on Friday 15th February at Canterbury Aquatic and Leisure Centre. Not even the rain could dampen the House spirit, with the grandstand roaring with support for the competitors throughout the day.

Congratulations to Moran House for their overall win, led by House Captain George Zacharopoulos and supported by his Vice Captain, Haris Strangas. You can see pictures from the day here.

Congratulations to the following students who finished the day as Age Champions.

U12 Adrian Hunyh (Moran)

U13 Cameron Bridge (Kelly)

U14 Tom Quigley (Moran)

U15 Lachlan Davis (Moran)

U16 Salvatore Panto (Kelly)

U17 Kevin Lee (Polding)

Opens Haris Strangas (Moran)

Final house points were:

Moran	644
Kelly	530
Vaughan	447
Polding	437

Mr Simon Shaw

Sports Coordinator 

 

Open Day 2013

The College will be open to all prospective parents and students on Friday, 22nd March between 9.00 am and 1.00 pm. The College will be running as normal during this time, affording a glimpse of the everyday life of the school. No appointment is necessary.

HSC Results 2012

For the fourth successive year St Mary’s Cathedral College’s graduating class achieved HSC results which placed the College among the state’s top 100 schools, based on number of Band 6 results earned.  This result placed Cathedral College second among all archdiocesan schools and first among all-boys schools in the archdiocese.

The Class of 2012 scored a total of 110 Band 6 results, the second-greatest number in the College’s history. Particularly pleasing was the fact that these Band 6 results were spread across all KLAs: Mathematics, English, Science, Human Society and Its Environment, Creative Arts, Physical Development, Health and Physical Education and Technical and Applied Studies.  A total of thirty students secured an ATAR above 90.

Results in Mathematics and HSIE were particularly strong, with 27 Band 6 results in various Mathematics courses and 26 in HSIE. Also notable was the success of students studying Drama, with 4 of the 6 students securing Band 6s (66.6% as opposed to the State mean of 12%) and the other two students scoring Band 5 results.

Among a host of outstanding individual results, Marcus Khoudair, the College Dux, was placed seventh in NSW in Visual Arts. Marcus (ATAR 99.10) and Andrew Tantri were both included on the Premier’s Merit List, which honours students who have scored Band 6 results in ten units. Anthony Sanderson, Brodie Millington, James Tien, Mitchell Ryan and Stefano Cammarano also achieved ATARs in excess of 97. Identical twins Mannie and Kris Kambas achieved a first for the College, both scoring Band 6 results in Standard English. This is very rare with only 166 Band 6 results achieved statewide in this course. 

The overwhelming majority of students achieved results better than the state mean, even if they were not lucky enough to be ranked among the school’s elite performers. The strength of the College’s HSC results over the last five years, and their spread over all the learning areas, is indicative of the academic culture that has been nurtured at the College through the efforts of the teaching staff, the application and enterprise of our students, and the support that parents provide.

 

Australian Catholics Young Journalist Award 

The Australian Catholics Young Journalist competition is open to all students in Catholic schools Australia-wide. There are a number of divisions. Encouraged each year by one of our staff, Mrs Lisa Towson, a group of Year 8 students entered the Intermediate Division for students in Years 7 to 9. St Mary’s Cathedral College has done well in past years, but excelled this year.

Six Year 8 students were awarded Highly Commended certificates. These boys were Alex Durrant-Whyte, Nicholas De Bres, Patrick Finch, Luke Hankinson, Damian Lawrence and Oscar McCue. However, special recognition must go to Nicholas McCallum (Year 8) who won the Intermediate Division this year. To be the winning student in Australia is a tremendous achievement. His winning piece, ‘The Cartwheeling Cleric’, will appear in print in the Spring Issue of Australian Catholics magazine and on their website. Nicholas has also received a generous prize (through ACU sponsorship) to go with his winning entry, as well as the College receiving a prize for his achievement. The prize and the trophy were presented to Nicholas by Ms Fides Lawton from the Australian Catholic University at assembly on Monday 3rd September.

The success of the College's students is another example of the effort that goes into improving the literacy of our young men by providing them with opportunities to exercise the skills they have learned. 

 

College Concert

On Friday 22^nd June a packed house at Sydney Town Hall stood as one to acclaim St Mary’s Cathedral College’s Massed Choir, whose performance of Patrick Doyle’s ‘Non Nobis Domine’ had given rise to goosebumps and hairs on the backs of necks. The piece, which gradually combined the voices of the entire student body, the College’s brass players, and the Town Hall Organ, had been the subject of much discussion among the members of the College community in the weeks leading up to the concert, but none of the rehearsals had prepared anyone for the electricity created by the official performance.

The item was a fitting capstone for another Concert showcasing the multifarious abilities of the students at St Mary’s Cathedral College. Brought together under the theme ‘If Music Be the Food of Love...’ were outstanding performances by the College’s well-drilled music ensembles (Orchestra, Senior Band, Intermediate Band, Junior Band, Chamber Strings, and the Jazz Band), a number of rock bands, items from both Primary and Year 7 students, the by now legendary Hip-Hop Dancers, and pieces from individual instrumentalists.

The polish all of these productions displayed was the result of months of work behind the scenes. Countless band practices, sessions with tutors, and intense rehearsal fed into each piece. All the students involved are to be heartily commended not just on their talent but on their application. Without the work of the College staff, however, no item in the concert would have been presentable. In particular the Music staff, Ms Lee-Ann Harrison (Musical Director) and Ms Natalie O’Connor; Mr Michael Wyborn; and the Choirmaster, Mr Thomas Wilson, deserve thanks for the countless hours they spent in ensuring that the night was another triumph for the students at Cathedral College.

You can see photos from the night here.