Villa View: Issue 11/22

Well, what an amazing event the Villa Community Carnival turned out to be! With cancellations and postponements over the last three years, and then a lead in period of wet weather and winds there is no question that our P&F President Peter Roberts, Carnival Convenor Emma Jane Harrison and Coordinator of Logistics Damien Craig would have an excuse for some extra grey hairs that arrived across the back end of last week.

The Villa Community Carnival is but one example of how the College looks to create and support our gateway value of community. This attitude and the commitment of our parents and friends of the College is on display consistently. At sport on Saturday I saw our parents volunteering on barbecues and in canteens before backing up again at the carnival later that night. Our College identity and the attitude and character of our boys is developed in and through community and it was such a wonderful weekend to see so many people coming together in support of our young Villanovans and their College.

Our College identity was once again reinforced across these last few weeks of preparation through the very real example of service, humility, love and connected relationships that makes our community so strong and valuable to our young people and families. I cannot say thank you enough to those who convened stalls, to those who coordinated events and to those who came and supported the carnival. I would encourage all of our parents to find opportunities in volunteering to be a part of our College community and experience the friendship and happiness that those relationships bring.  I can’t wait until next year!

Sporting Presentations and First Round of Trimester 3
It was with much celebration last week that we congratulated our First XIII Rugby League team, First IV Tennis and First V Basketball teams presenting them on assembly to the College. It is no coincidence that it was in conjunction with our focus of the week being on our expected value and practice of respect as part of the Villanova GREATS framework.

There is an expectation that comes with being in a firsts team that you uphold the expectations of the College and grow our reputation through the modelling of respectful relationships, attitudes and actions. It was so pleasing to see at tennis, basketball and rugby league on the weekend this was delivered by every member of every one of our peak teams.

• I observed courageous play that was met with respectful action and language.
• I witnessed contentious, but correct, calls by referees that was met with acceptance and a hardy determination to play in the right spirit and right attitude.
• I experienced an atmosphere of collegial friendship between teams, respectful manner and a spirit of competitiveness that never crossed the boundary of anger or arrogance.

Unsurprisingly by setting these standards I experienced all of this across all our teams that I watched. Let this standard continue as we move forward across the season.

Academic Award Winners Semester 1 2022
On Friday we also acknowledged well over 150 boys in Year 5 – 11 who averaged an “A” GPA across all subjects studied. This is a tremendous effort, and the names of these students  will be acknowledged through the Villa View in coming additions.

At Villanova College we take our academic performance seriously and want to ensure a strong balance between our academic endeavour, physical development, psychological health and the development of strong, resourceful and resilient young men. Any of our boys who did not reach their goal can ask a simple question, “Did I do my best?” if their answer is yes then one should duly celebrate. However, every young man also needs to know not to tell lies to himself . . . did you really do your best?

• Did you create a strong relationship with your teacher?
• Did you ask questions and pose problems to help your learning?
• Did you work in your class to form a learning team?
• Did you prioritise your learning and ensure a balance between sport, social activities, learning and work?

Such questions challenge each boy to be honest about their performance and encourage reflective practice and interiority. For many the answer will be “no,” and that is OK because they are young and maturing. What we need them to do is keep asking the questions so that they continue to grow and learn.

Mr Paul Begg, Principal

In keeping with the spirit of Reconciliation, Villanova College acknowledges the Yuggera and Turrbal peoples, as the Traditional Custodians of this land on which we stand.  We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging.  This has always been, and always will be, a place of teaching and learning connected to country, culture and community. 

Our Focus of the Week in the Junior School this week is “Respect Me, Include Me.”  Why?  Well, in recent days, conversations indicate that some of our Year 6 students appear to be pushing boundaries with manners, respect and courtesy towards staff and other students.  What is quick and easy?  Lecture and give consequences.  What changes attitudes and behaviour long term?  Thought, reflection, research, and proactive measures.  This is taken from the work the Junior School Teachers have done with Developmental Relationships Framework | Search Institute (search-institute.org).  It has been a source of support for staff in the Junior School for some time, and well worth returning to on a regular basis.

The Focus of the Week is based on a Social and Emotional Learning Framework.  Students have a National Curriculum, yet the person, the individual, needs to learn so many things about themselves.  Relationships are crucial to living a best life.  Knowing ourselves and knowing how to work/play with others is integral to happiness.  That happiness helps bring harmony into a class, and consequently into a cohort.  Long gone are the days where assumptions are made that children know “their place.”  Today’s world is more unpredictable than ever, so our relationships must be positive, inclusive, stable and a source of comfort.  Always.

So what is involved this week?  We prioritise.

“Respect Me.”  Students need to hear, see, know and feel that we take them seriously and treat them fairly.  The power is balanced because respect works both ways.  Give a little, take a little.  Build trust.  Prove that turn taking is real.  We do this by:

• Listening and learning from students. We do not know everything despite our age, experience and we must remember that pressures such as time mean that rushing our work can sometimes look to younger people that we are not really present, available or value their input.  We must encourage conversations, knowing that every valuable minute given means students have a genuine sense of belonging.  Choices must be available at some point – making decisions together shows we respect their current situation, head space and this is the prime opportunity to express care.  Being cared for is amazing – any adult knows this is true.

“Include Me.”  Students need to reflect on previous learning before being thrust into today’s tasks.  What went well yesterday?  What could have been better?  In a 24-hour period, boys can be the perfect reality check on just what they remember that they learnt, recall how they felt and can give you the most honest “next time” ideas you have ever heard.  How often do we ask, “how did I do?”  We certainly give feedback in all kinds of ways, all day, every day.  It is time we gave the students uncontested time, without retribution, the chance to reciprocate.  Be brave enough to listen and consider how we can make changes that can impact learning exponentially.  We do this by:

• Planning for feedback from students – in a safe space, with no judgement and with a great sense of humour. Be a real person, acknowledging faults and short comings as an adult, admit that the profession can bring pressure or stresses that sometimes mean reactions are less than ideal.  Flaws can be fabulous for bringing about equilibrium.  Relationships can flourish when people are real, down to earth and humility is in the picture.  Keep the big picture at the forefront – we are managing life together, five days a week for 10 weeks at a time.  Let us do better.  Help me, help you.  Ok that’s Jerry Maguire – I could not help myself!

I will be the first to put up my hand and announce I am far from perfect.  But I love my job.  I breathe in the energy and vitality from these young men.  I am not too proud to go back to the essence of relationships and find strength in regrouping our approach to the most important part of our future – the 10 and 11-year-olds that today might need a helping hand, but tomorrow will help us just as much.

Baby News
It is with great excitement I share that Callum and Chrissie Hackett have welcomed their second child, a sister for Georgia. They have named her Sophie Sarah Hackett.
We congratulate the Hackett family and offer many blessings to them all at this wonderful time of their lives.

­­­Mr Stephen Rouhliadeff, Head of Junior School

Respect. Seven simple letters that individually serve a multitude of possibilities, yet when combined, form a sense of responsibility, a challenge, an affirmation, a moment of accountability, and an opportunity.

This week’s focus on Respect in the Middle School will manifest in the everyday moments and interactions our students have with the community – whether that is picking up a piece of rubbish on the floor, an opportunity to offer a seat on the bus or train, pride in how we wear the Villanova uniform, or a chance to support a friend or colleague. These little moments are the building blocks that help represent an espoused value of respect here in the middle school and have been the topics of conversation amongst staff and students in our morning Pastorals each day. Furthermore, given this is only the beginning of a new semester, we have so many great initiatives and opportunities upcoming that will provide the perfect platform to showcase the outstanding efforts of our students, including:

• Conversations of the Heart – Twilight Session Week 3, Thursday at All Hallows’ School

A special Twilight Retreat with Year 9 students from both Villanova and All Hallows’ School on the theme of “Respect-filled Relationships: Conversations of the Heart”. This is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on and discuss issues relevant to young people regarding the best ways to develop positive relationships through dialogue and conversation.

The retreat will be facilitated by staff from both schools along with Brother Damien Price and will be led by senior students from Villanova and All Hallows.  It is a program that directly responds to our senior students identifying the need for safe spaces where young people can share about the challenges of claiming healthy relationships and have honest and helpful conversations about respect-filled relationships.

• Year 9 Day of Reflection – “The true power of Interiority” by Michael Fitzpatrick
  As the Year 9 Students venture closer to the end of their Middle School Journey, and on to their Senior School Journey, the cohort spends the day at the Queensland Multicultural Centre in Kangaroo Point. The day will be facilitated by Michael Fitzpatrick, who offers and opens the opportunity for students to lower their walls and be honest with themselves and their peers about their identity through interiority. Michael has worked with our Year 9 students in this space for over a decade and marks the beginning of their transition towards becoming the Villanova man.
• Parent-Teacher Interviews
  Given the recent postponement of the PTI from last week, we look forward to another opportunity to meet with parents and students in a formal setting to discuss the things that went well in Semester 1 and what can be improved for Semester 2.
• Villanova GREATS
  For many, a relatively new initiative that aims to build on top of our current pastoral models, the GREATS initiative is a proactive framework that offers a set of guidelines for our community to strive towards – Growth, Respect, Effort, Accountability, Teamwork, and Service. The beginning of this Semester offered an opportunity to celebrate our first focus of Growth in those students whose GPA increased by one point or more, with many of our Middle School students’ efforts being recognised in our Form meetings.

We look forward to celebrating the students who showcase this week’s focus on Respect.

Finally, I would like to share with you a message from someone outside of our community who contacted the school after an interaction they had with one of our students on public transport.

“Today I caught a train into the city, and a lovely and polite young gentleman from Villanova offered me his seat.

As soon as he realised I would be standing, he very quietly, without a fuss, said “excuse me”… and offered me his seat.

I tried to make out his name on his computer case but could not see it. I think he may have been in Grade 8 or 9.  As a teacher myself, I am always impressed when a young person shows courtesy, respect and kindness, and I truly think it is to be commended.

I thanked the young man again as he stepped off the train at Coorparoo station, but I don’t think he heard me.”

I share this comment with you today not because I want to embarrass the student but as I believe this is, in essence, everything we as a community strive to instill into the young men of Villanova College. Even though we embark on a week filled with opportunities to showcase respect, it is genuinely already part of our culture, and we should take a moment to celebrate how lucky we are to be a part of this community.

As always, if there is anything we can do to help support your son, please do not hesitate to get in contact with your relevant Year Level Coordinator:

Year 7 Coordinator – Sheridan Carey – scarey@vnc.qld.edu.au

Year 8 Coordinator – Matthew McGrath – mmcgrath@vnc.qld.edu.au

Year 9 Coordinator – Alex Sullivan – asullivan@vnc.qld.edu.au

Middle School Pastoral Area Leader – Ben Lynam – blynam@vnc.qld.edu.au

Acting Head of Middle School – Sean O’Neill – soneill@vnc.qld.edu.au

Please stay safe during this heightened infectious period.

Mr Alex Sullivan, Year 9 Coordinator

In the latest issue of Men Health’s magazine, there is a thought-provoking article by Mike Kessler and Marty Munson on the pillars of positive mental health. Whilst most are largely familiar with how to train and eat your way towards peak physical fitness, there is often a void of knowledge in how to elevate your mental toughness. According to the authors, mastering these three skills is of paramount importance in this space:

1. Fine-tuning your emotional intelligence
2. Tapping into your vulnerability
3. Revving up your resilience

Over the coming fortnight’s I will unpack the value of building capacity in these three aspects in my column as we continue as a College to illuminate the importance of positive mental health for all within the community and especially in our young adolescent men.

Student Voice
Following a review of the way in which we conduct College assemblies, over the last two weeks we have seen a more overt focus on cultivating student voice, much like the model of our Senior School assemblies. Furthermore, the student leaders have been tasked with addressing pillars/themes within our GREATS framework. College Captain Riley Richards powerfully articulated the importance of a growth mindset in shaping one’s definition of success.
Riley stated:

“Throughout your journey, there will numerous challenges, numerous failures, and numerous mistakes. Plenty of times when you won’t succeed, and it will feel bad. But don’t obsess yourself with success, and let your past failures define you. Focus on growth, become better than you were before, and you’ll find that such a simple switch in your mentality can make the world of difference in your life.”

Last Friday, College Vice Captain Cameron Wallis spoke of the fundamental value of respect as the foundation of positive relationships. He also highlighted the intrinsic power of self-respect when he stated:

“An individual who has self-respect will always treat themselves with dignity and value. And in doing so, set standards for those around them, on how they are to treat not only you but themselves. Lacking our own respect is a matter of discrediting ourselves. When you don’t set a standard for yourself, you are not only holding yourself back but those around you.”

At tomorrow’s College assembly, Academic Captain Lachie McGregor will speak about the correlation of consistency of effort with academic growth. I look forward to sharing with you further excerpts of student speeches throughout the rest of the year as we continue to challenge our student leaders to lead and sustain positive student culture at the College.

Podcast of the Week
One of the great stories in Australian sport over the last few years was the rise of Ash Barty to becoming the World’s Number One Woman’s tennis player and winning three Grand Slam titles. For those, like myself, who did some research into the blueprint for her success, the name of her Life Coach, Ben Crowe, would have emerged. Similarly, in reading the work of The Resilience Project founder and author Hugh Van Cuylenburg, the work that he has done with Ben Crowe is equally poignant. In Hugh’s podcast, The Imperfects, Crowe speaks of the importance of self-compassion, connection and purpose. I cannot recommend enough of listening to this podcast which you can find here:

Podcasts — MojoCrowe

“What we know matters, but who we are matters more.”- Brene Brown

Mr Matt Levander, Head of Senior School

Please note that the Year 11 and 12 Drama excursion to La Boite Theatre tonight to see An Ideal Husband has been cancelled.

Libraries actively work with all members of their community to both promote reading for pleasure and teach information literacy skills. As members of our community, you the parents/carers are central in the education of your sons. Together, we can help your son develop into a lifelong learner.

We would like to invite our Year 5 parents/carers to an Information Literacy and Reading for Enjoyment Information Evening on Monday, August 8 (7:15pm for a 7:30 start – 8.30pm). We would like to give you some insight into how we are supporting your son achieve the goal of becoming a lifelong learner.

We will equip you with strategies you can use at home to assist him in developing information literacy skills – accessing reliable quality information and demonstrating academic integrity. Reading is the gateway to academic success. The Matthew Effect is real – those who read more become better readers. Together, we can support your son see himself as a reader, experiment with different genres, or if he already reads, consider broadening his reading.

Join us for a night of wine, cheese, and information. Please note that this night is designed just for adults – parents/carers. You can expect a Kahoot, trivia, treasure hunt and lucky door prizes. Please adhere to safe practices and attend only if you are well. An invitation was sent on Monday, 25 July, to all Year 5 parents/carers.

The highlight of our week is working with your son in our Year 5 Reading classes. We know we will love working with you too!

Library Matters

Antonietta Neighbour, Director of Library and Information Services

Subject Selection
Last Tuesday evening, students and parents/carers in Year 10 attended the Year 11 Subject Selection Evening as part of their Senior Education and Training (SET) Planning. Interviews with parents/carers and Senior staff have been occurring this week as part of this process and continue across the next two (2) weeks. The conversations so far have been a great opportunity to reinforce the great work of our Year 10 students and to encourage them in the future academic endeavours as they look towards Year 11 and 12, and beyond.

Next Wednesday evening (3 August), Year 9 students and parents/carers are invited to the College at 6.00pm to be involved in the Year 10 Subject Selection Evening. There will be a general presentation in Hanrahan Theatre to commence the evening after which students and parents are invited to visit classrooms in the Veritas Building to view presentations and ask questions of the Senior School Curriculum Area Leaders and other staff. Subject selections are then due the following Friday (12 August) via the online subject selection platform ready for student interviews to commence. Reminders will be sent next week.

Once the Year 10 and 11 subject selection processes are completed, we will turn our focus to the Year 9 Subject Selection evening. Year 8 students and parents/carers will be contacted in the coming weeks with details.

Assessment Calendars
Our students are regularly reminded of the importance of planning and being organised. We are all aware of how busy they can get, with academics, co-curricular activities and other activities outside of school all contributing to a full calendar. To assist with planning, all students in Year 7 to 12 and parents/carers have access to their assessment calendars for the remainder of the year via Student Café and Parent Lounge. Year 5 and Year 6 calendars are available from the students’ classroom teachers.

Examination Timetables
Each term’s examination timetables are released some weeks before the examinations commencing. Student Café and Parent Lounge are again the locations for these. Year 7 to 11 timetables will be updated over the coming weeks. The upcoming Year 12 examination block (commencing on Tuesday 2 August) has been available for some weeks, and we wish our Year 12 students the very best with these last IA3 examinations.

The Year 12 External Examination timetable has been available since earlier in the year and our students should be well aware of their commitments in October and November. The timetable can be found at : 2022 External Examination Timetable.

Semester 1 Academic Awards Assembly
Tomorrow, we hold our Academic Awards Assembly to acknowledge high achieving students across Year 5 to 11. We look forward to celebrating with these students in Hanrahan Theatre, with the assembly commencing at 9.40am. We will be livestreaming the event so those parents/carers who are unable to attend or others that would like to view the assembly can view it. The livestream link is below.

Academic Assembly Link 

Mr John Christie, Dean of Teaching and Learning

Last Friday our Year 5 and Year 6 students commenced Round 1 of the AIC Basketball season against Iona. Unfortunately, the outdoor games had to be cancelled due to the wet weather. Our boys did well, winning all games played.

The results on Saturday for the remaining Year 7 – 12 basketball and the Year 5 – 12 tennis matches were keenly contested with Villanova winning the day overall. However, Iona proved to be too strong in the rugby league games.

Villanova hosted the entire AIC Rugby League Round at Villanova Park. Although, wet under foot, it was a glorious day. It is fair to say that many Villanova boys play club rugby more so than club league. With the introduction of AIC Rugby League our union boys (and others in the College) have had the opportunity to try another code. Over the past couple of AIC seasons our players have progressed in their development of the game. In the inaugural AIC Rugby League season held back in 2019, you could tell many of our boys were coming to grips with the game. As we head into the fourth AIC rugby league season our boys at least have the experience of the previous years under their belts. In fact, we are finding many of our boys are joining club league teams which no doubt assists with Villanova performance at an AIC level.

To that end, I was really pleased with how our teams played over the weekend. In almost all games we were in the fight and probably had the opportunity to win a couple more games than what we did. With the calibre of our coaching staff, the rugby league program is heading in the right direction. Well done to all rugby league players and coaches.

It would not be uncommon for teams to change slightly after last weekend in readiness for Round 2 v St Peters. In fact, we encourage our coaches to constantly monitor players from all teams and change teams weekly based on player performance, attendance and attitude at training and on game day. Rewarding players for consistent effort is an important part of our sports program.

The AIC Track and Field training program will commence the week beginning Monday 15 August, that is, the week after Ekka week. The College is committed to ensure that we offer a quality-training program for those students who are interested in joining the Track & Field program from Year 5 – 12. Please find below further details regarding the up-coming Track and Field pre-season program.

I would like to remind students again, strongly about following through when a commitment is given. Villanova is a place where many opportunities are on offer across many different areas. The College is very mindful not to overburden students. I have mentioned on more than one occasion recently that the Sports Office is committed and has the flexibility to negotiate training schedules where a student has made other co-curricular commitments.

The College endeavours to provide the best possible coaching across the sports program. In fact, we have many very well qualified coaches in place so that our students and the program continue to improve. It would be disappointing to source quality coaches and not have students attend the sessions without apology. Please urge your son to follow through with the commitment given or have him come to the Sports Office to talk through any issues. We are here to help.

I must also remind all students of the College’s expectations when it comes to uniform standards. We have advertised the uniform requirements in the newsletter for several weeks now. The current uniform requirements are also listed in the respective AIC Basketball, Rugby League and Tennis sections on the website within the ‘Season Schedule’ documents. Parental support in this matter is essential and will be much appreciated.

This weekend Villanova will face St Peter’s Lutheran College. As usual, we will expect a high level of competition from our rivals. Please note that all Year 6 – 12 rugby league teams (excluding Year 5) have a BYE round this weekend. I urge all boys to stay and support the first games. As always, we would expect our boys to give 100% on the court/playing field. A reminder too that we must conduct ourselves in the correct manner whether it be during the game or as a spectator.

I wish everybody involved with basketball, Year 5 rugby league and tennis all the best this weekend. Please enjoy!

AIC Tennis, Rugby League (BYE excluding Year 5) and Basketball Round 2 v St Peter’s Lutheran College
Friday 29 and Saturday 30 July August – Times and Venues
All Year 5 and Year 6 basketball games are played on Friday afternoons. Note some Year 5 and Year 6 teams will play Ashgrove. All Year 7 – 12 basketball and Year 5 – 12 tennis and rugby league games are played on Saturday.  Please refer to the College’s website to view all times and venues for this weekend’s fixtures against St Peter’s Lutheran College.

AIC Track & Field Training
AIC Track and Field (T&F) training will commence the week after Ekka week. A full season schedule will be posted on the Villanova College website by the end of next week. At the conclusion of the Inter-house Carnival, the coaches will invite students from Year 5 – 12 to be a part of their squad. All Track and Field coaches will monitor student attendance at all training sessions. Students will be contacted by either their coach or a member of the Sports Office to explain any absenteeism. We encourage all students to contact their coach if they are unable to make training. Rolls will be taken each week to ensure that those who have been identified as our best athletes attend the sessions and follow through with their commitment as this not only builds character but also the College’s Track & Field program. Parental support on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Villanova Track & Field Carnival Year 5 – 12 is COMPULSORY!
All students from Year 5 – 12 are required to attend Villanova’s annual Track and Field Carnival held at Villanova Park Thursday 11 August. All students are to attend school as per normal times wearing their PE uniform to and from school. Buses will then transport the boys to and from Villanova Park. Boys with before school training for either Basketball (Clem Jones Centre) or Tennis (Morningside Tennis Centre) will be bussed directly to Villanova Park at the conclusion of their training. We hope all parents support the College to ensure that all boys attend. Canteen facilities will be available at the Park with cash and EFTPOS options available. We ask students to bring a small bag on the day for their belongings including a hat, sunscreen and water bottles (food etc.). The first events are due to start a 9.45am with the last event concluding at 2.00pm followed by presentations. All students will be rotated around 100m, hurdles (championship event only), bin ball, 200m, Javelin, 800m, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump (a select few in each age group only) and Tug-o-war events. Our aim is to have fun, promote Track & Field, give everybody a go, highlight our best athletes and identify those boys who should be in our AIC T&F squad.

Our Track and Field coaches will be placed on all Championship events in order for them to identify our best athletes and invite them into our T&F program, which will commence in Week 6. We would expect all members of our rugby and football development programs as well as all ‘A’ team members of each of the sports we have on offer to excel and be at the forefront of the T&F program.

Villanova Inter-House Track & Field Carnival Canteen – Your assistance is required
The canteen will be in operation at the Villanova Track & Field Day. If you are available to help out for an hour or so (in between your son’s event) please contact Sarah Patterson by email spatterson@vnc.qld.edu.au . We are particularly keen on parents attending around 8am to assist with the preparation.

Track and Field – Championship Events and ‘Fast and Furious’
Students will have the option of competing in each or all individual championship events rather than selecting a relatively small group of boys to do them all. Boys can nominate for these events via the sign-on forms around the college, these locations will be advertised via morning notices. The championship events include the 100m, 200m, hurdles, 800m, long jump, shot put, javelin (Year 7 – 12 only) and high jump. Sign-ons for these events will open this Friday.

Students who do not wish to participate in the championship events will compete in the non-championship program.

Boys will be given the opportunity to compete in a ‘fast and furious’ race. We are looking for our 10 best runners in each age group to nominate themselves for this event. The finalists will then compete in the first event at the Villanova Inter-House Track and Field Carnival in front of the entire school for the ‘fast and furious’ final.

At the end of the day, we want Villanova’s best athletes to compete against each other for the College to identify our best athletes to join our AIC Track and Field Program. It would be reasonable to expect that all ‘A’ team members in all sports, nominate for at least one Championship event. Ben Mowen, Andrew Slack, Junior Football Development Squad and 1st  Football candidates for next year’s season must nominate or they will not be considered for these squads.

AIC Basketball – Mr Sean O’Neill, AIC Basketball Coordinator
The opening round of the 2022 season did not disappoint with high quality games across the weekend. Special mention to the Junior School with a clean sweep of results. The only shame was the 6C’s & D’s missing their games due to the weather. Equally as impressive was the Open teams with all four also getting a win. The weekend ended up with 23 wins and five losses.

The 1st V had a hard-fought win against Iona and showed just how close the competition will be this year. A good crowd helped cheer the team on and despite an equal first quarter, the boys, led by Captain Joe Wilson, started to stretch the lead to a comfortable 10+ lead which they maintained throughout the game.

This weekend sees us play the much-improved St Peter’s and will take another big effort from all teams.

AIC Basketball Results v Iona College

Goold Hall Canteen – AIC Basketball
We are asking parents to once again help by volunteering their time to assist in the canteen. It is usual that we need the most help within the first hour with food preparation and coffee sales.

Although at times the canteen may look like they have enough helpers, please come and offer your time as some of those volunteers may need to get to their son’s games. So please come along and help, meet some new friends and catch-up on what is going on around the school. Please see the roster below.

AIC Rugby League – Mr Blake McLauchlan, AIC Rugby League Coordinator
Iona proved to be a tough opponent for the opening round of the AIC Rugby League Competition. Overall, Villanova had one win and six losses. Whilst we may not have won the day, there is no doubt that we challenged Iona across most year levels. At times, our boys were on top but simple errors coupled with fatigue in the final minutes allowed Iona to capitalise and get the win. Well done to our Year 5 team for their outstanding start to the season. Our Year 5’s proved that they will be an extremely competitive team this year.

Unfortunately, the 1st XIII had their first taste of defeat for the AIC season. Iona were able to take their chances early and opened up the scoring through some rattled defenders around the ruck. Our boys proved that they could score points after applying pressure to Iona’s defence through repeat sets late in the second half. At the end of the game, it was clear that they believed in themselves and their abilities as a rugby league side. I urge the first XIII to build on this belief as we look towards Round 3 versus Ashgrove at Iona College.

I would like to remind all players of the importance of training to the best of their ability to ensure that what is practised at training filters through to the game. Please ensure that if you are absent from training that you contact your coach prior to training so that the coaches can plan effectively and get the most out of the training sessions.

This week all teams will have a bye for Round 2 except for our Year 5 team who will take on Ashgrove at St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe. I wish all teams the best of luck next Saturday 6 August for Round 3 versus Ashgrove at Iona College. Train hard, be aggressive, play within the spirit of the game and as always, chase the win.

AIC Rugby League Results v Iona College

 AIC Tennis – Mr Todd Kropp, AIC Tennis Coordinator
Villanova enjoyed a great first round of AIC Tennis this past weekend against Iona. Our teams took to the court early last week in preparation for a tough season opener. Our results showed the benefit of the team’s hard work and preparation. Whilst Villanova lost the day in the overall, I am pleased to mention how competitive our teams were, even with three teams going down to games countback to determine the winner. Unfortunately, our First IV team went down in some hard-fought matches. First IV Tennis Captain, Sam Simmons, had this to say about the match:

The 1^st IV Tennis team had a competitive and challenging start to our season versing Iona. This school won the premiership and aggregate last year and to go down 5-3 against them is an extremely good result. The boys played well on Saturday, with our doubles being the strong point and a special mention to Ollie who dominated his singles match, winning 6-1, 6-2, kicking off his campaign in the team. This great result against Iona shows that this team has the potential and capability to flourish this season.

Round 2 offers no rest for our tennis teams with another tough round against St Peters, arguably one of the measuring sticks of AIC tennis. I know our players and coaches will be busy on court preparing this week and I look forward to seeing how our teams fare against another tough opposition.

Another friendly reminder that the weekly fixture and team lists is now accessed via the College app through Parent Lounge.  All players are to arrive at least  30 minutes before their game each week. Best wishes to all involved!

AIC Tennis Results v IONA College

 AIC Track and Field- Training
AIC T&F training officially commences the week beginning Monday 15 August, which is the week after Ekka week. This year all students from Year  5 – 12 will train on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at Villanova Park using our new T&F facility. A bus will transport all athletes to and from each training session. We hope to commence training at 3.45pm and conclude by 5.15pm. The bus should return to the College around 5.40pm. The coaches will cover all track and field disciplines across all age groups at these sessions (excluding middle distance, these boys will train at different times). Training as a Year 5-12 squad will increase team spirit and ensure our athletes are able to attend the various sessions we have on offer.

A full season schedule will be posted on the Villanova College website by early next week. At the conclusion of the Inter-house Carnival, the coaches will invite students from Year 5-12 to be a part of our T&F squad.

All Track and Field coaches will monitor student attendance at all training sessions. Students will be contacted by either their coach or a member of the Sports Office to explain any absenteeism. We encourage all students to contact their coach if they are unable to make training. Rolls will be taken each week to ensure that those who have been identified as our best athletes attend the sessions and follow through with their commitment as this not only builds character but also the College’s Track & Field program. Parental support on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Please be on the lookout for the full T&F program and the T&F squad early next week.

Term 4 Zone Cricket
This year Villanova will again run an internal cricket competition for Year 4 students who will be entering the College in 2023. All Year 4 matches will be played in the afternoon at Kianawah Park, to keep the boys together and to free up cricket fields in the morning and this also allows keen cricketers to continue to play club cricket in the morning if they wish. The current Year 5 students, who are interested, will be invited to play for Villanova in the Eastern Districts pre-Christmas Competition during Term 4 in the U11 divisions. Year 6 students wishing to play will be placed in either EDJCA or BEARS competitions.

All Year 7 – 12 students wishing to play will be placed in a divisional team and will play in the BEARS competition. Forms inviting your son to sign on will be available on the Villanova Cricket webpage from Monday morning. The format will be an online registration and all parents will be given the steps to follow to sign on successfully. Teams will only be nominated if we have enough parent volunteers to coach and manage on Saturdays. The organisation of the season is set up here at the College and the weekly coaching is also taken care of by Nathan Dufty and a crew of coaches, but the running of matches on Saturday, is the responsibility of Villanova parents. Please indicate if you can be a match day coach/manager on the form. Students are free to play for other clubs and this decision will have NO bearing on AIC selections in 2023.

Please note that depending on numbers, there could be some students playing with boys in other year levels. We will try and place boys in the same age group, but we do not want to be short on numbers or have too many in a team, when sides are graded for BEARS divisional teams.

Representative Sport

Good luck to Hugh Stanbury, Flynn Spooner, Harry Rizio, Leo Afa-Hutchinson and Brock Howard who will be in Rockhampton contesting the State titles with the Met East Team. Hugh and Flynn have been given the honours of Co-Captaining the team.

Good Luck to Harry Vig (2020), who will be swimming at the Commonwealth Games this Friday. The telecast starts at 7pm and Harry’s heat will be the fourth event on the night. Tune in and support Harry as he represents Australia in the S9 100m backstroke.

A reminder to all parents to please notify Mr Craig Stariha – Director of Sport, via email cstariha@vnc.qld.edu.au if your son has made any representative team. It has been the case that some boys have been left off our representative lists which appears in this section each week simply because the College has not been notified by parents. Once students make a Met East, Qld State or National representative team, all information is often given directly to the parents not the College. As soon as the College receives the official ‘Principal Consent Form’ to complete for the various sport, this becomes our official notification. It seems some are competing without having this form complete which should not be allowed.

The College will publish all Met East, Qld State and National representatives (Composite District and Lytton District representatives will not be published). The College will publish limited non-school/club representative teams – only state teams and higher.

Mr Craig Stariha, Director of Sport

QCMF 2022
With a return to the first in-person festival in three years, we are welcoming 90 schools participating, bringing 344 ensembles, sharing almost 10,300 student performances.  Although we have limited the number of sections and venues in our return festival, this festival will be approx. 70% of the size of our 2019 event – the last physical festival hosted by the College.

QCMF is a great celebration of music and youth achievement in Catholic Education.  We encourage you all to come and share in this community building event.  More information regarding how you can engage with QCMF through volunteering will be distributed very shortly.

Here is a link to a short video, sharing the important role QCMF plays in Catholic Education:  Bringing Joy – Celebrating Music Education. – YouTube

We look forward to seeing you ‘on the hill’ in August!

Volunteer at QCMF 2022
Villanova College becomes the epicentre for music in Catholic Education over four days in August.  We need your help in realising our charism of community as we play host to teachers, students, and supporters from across Queensland and Australia.  You do not need to be musical or have production experience to volunteer – we have roles that fit any and all levels of experience and expertise!  Come and join the celebration and meet our QCMF family – you will not regret it!

Further information can be found on our QCMF website – www.qcmf.com.au – or to access our volunteering portal directly, please go to https://qcmfvolunteering.com.au.  If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact our music office on 3394 5691.

We look forward to you joining us next month!

Villanova College Performance Times at QCMF
We are pleased to be able to share our Villanova College performance times for all ensembles participating in this year’s QCMF.  Please make sure the arrival times are noted in your diaries.  Students are required on level 1 of the Augustine Centre by the arrival time to prepare for their performance in the festival.  We hope this allows you to plan your volunteering shifts around your son’s performance at QCMF 2022.

Please note:  Friday 12 August is a pupil-free day for Villanova College.  Performers will only be provided supervision from their scheduled arrival time through until the conclusion of their section.  Students will require support arriving and departing school around these times on this day.

Key Dates Term 3
As we look ahead across the term, please ensure we pencil the following dates into your diary:

Villanova Camp Chairs and Wildcat Coolers
Our fantastic Music Support Group have organised an innovative fundraiser for Villanova College.  You may have heard the buzz about our Villanova Camp Chairs and Wildcat Coolers…  the MUST HAVE items for the beach/cricket/park/fishing/barbecue etc.

Villanova Branded Camp Chairs – $35; Wildcat Coolers – $30
All items can be purchased via Trybooking through the following link:  https://www.trybooking.com/BMEML
Purchases can be collected from the Music Office and all profits will go to the Music Support Group.

Entertainment Publications Memberships
Entertainment memberships are one of the Music Support Groups main fund-raisers.  Just click on the link to purchase a membership and obtain ongoing special deals throughout the year.

Thank you all for your ongoing support of Music at Villanova College.

Mr Michael Jones, Director of Music

Ongoing Conversion through Respectful relationships

This week Catholic Schools across Queensland celebrate their community spirit with Catholic Education Week.

Villanova College will join with 313 Catholic schools and 29 kindergartens in Queensland to celebrate and promote our unique communities and our common heritage.

The theme for this year’s celebration is Communities of Faith, Hope and Love. Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.  Surely our world needs young people supported to do this!

At Villanova College, as an Augustinian school, we are inspired and encouraged by the life of St Augustine and all those who have followed him in his tradition. Our College is 74 years old, and we humbly seek to offer the following distinctive windows or lenses through which our students, staff and families can continue to find value and renewal in their life journey:

• Humility
• Interiority
• Community
• The restless search for truth
• Ongoing conversion

We have set an intentional process in place to support developing Villanova as a community of faith, hope and love.  This term our assemblies have taken a new format so that we can explore these Augustinian values in a more intentional way.  These are not easy values for our students to understand, indeed some are counter-cultural to what society values and emphasises.

As a staff we have been committed to assisting the boys to unpack them further using a model of GREATS – Growth, Respect, Effort, Accountability, Teamwork and Service.  Each time we gather for an assembly we are focusing on different virtues within GREATS that unpack what builds Villanovan character.  In this Catholic Education Week, it has been Respect.  Our prayer on assembly focused on all the different ways we give and show respect and to whom.

In the words of St Augustine respect is translated into a loving encounter with others.

He said,

“In loving others, and caring for them, you are on a journey. Where is journey’s end if not the Lord our God, the One we should love with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind?

We have not yet reached him,

but our neighbour is here at our side.

Look after this companion of your pilgrimage

if you would reach the One

whom you desire to be with forever.”

Date Claimer – Mission Week 22 – 26 August 2022
Only four weeks until our Mission Week for 2022.  This is a day when we celebrate our Villanova College community and reach out through this to support others.  It is a week where we celebrate the ongoing relationship that as a community has spanned 29 years with communities in the Philippines.  Over all these years there has been a continual flow of friendship between students and staff at Villanova and those in schools and community projects we have connected with in the Philippines.

It has still not been possible to physically visit this year, however we have launched our Global VILLAge using Microsoft TEAMS to bring us together with the students from Divino Amore Academy.  Students here are in their third year of remote learning so there has been great excitement about being together and sharing experiences.  This is happening again this Friday so we will have more to report in time to come.

Mission Week 2022 has the following events planned:

Monday 22 August     Launch of Red Candle week with extended Pastoral and then the opportunity for families to gather and share stories and reflect with the resources each family will receive.

Tuesday 23 August     Mass of St Augustine
Fun activities to build community and raise money across breaks throughout the week run by our Ministry groups.  Including Filipino World run by our Senior students.

Friday 26 August        Free dress day – gold coin donation
Dare to Donate Day – fun dares issued by students to our teachers to raise funds
Sausage sizzle lunch – $5
Dare to Donate Concert

This week the Student Council have invited students to submit dares for teachers to complete on our Dare to Donate Day.  Producing fun and creative dares will make for a fantastic day!

Ignite Conference 2022 – ’The Moment’.
Your life can change in a moment. Moments can impact us, change us, shape us and define us. Our whole lives are made up of moments. The moment we were born, the moment we started school, or that moment we encountered Jesus in that friend, event or sitting alone in our room. Our Catholic faith is made up of moments that altered history forever – the moment Jesus breathed his last, the moment the Spirit entered his lifeless body, the moment he spoke hope to the woman at the well and shot dazzling sight into the body of a blind man, the moment he broke bread in his hands and flames of fire burst into an upper room. Fast forward 2000 years.

Now it is time for THIS MOMENT. Ignite Conference 2022 is one of those moments you will not want to miss!

For more information and tickets please use the following links.  We would love to have a group from Villanova attend.  Please email me if you are interested to attend kgarrone@vnc.qld.edu.au

Ignite Conference 22

tickets.org.au – Australia’s Premier Ticketing System For Organisations

Mrs Kate Garrone, Dean of Mission and Identity

QCMF is back and needing volunteers! The Queensland Catholic Schools and Colleges Music Festival is the premier event on Queensland’s Catholic Schools and Colleges annual music calendar and is proudly hosted Villanova College. QCMF showcases the very best in music education, covering a diverse range of genres within the classical and contemporary styles. We have over 1,000 volunteer positions to be filled. For information and to sign up visit: www.qcmfvolunteering.com.au

ALINTA UNIFORM SHOP
For notices and the latest information on Alinta Uniform Shop stock levels visit the Alinta website: Homepage | Alinta Apparel

TUCKSHOP
View the 2022 Tuckshop menu and price list here: Menu-and-Prices2022-1.pdf (vnc.qld.edu.au)

New Tuckshop Volunteers – We Need You
We are putting a call out to all parents who have ever considered volunteering at the Villanova College Tuckshop – NOW IS THE TIME!
The Tuckshop is a modern, commercial area of the College that provides an affordable and nourishing breakfast, morning tea and lunch service for the boys. Breakfast preparations begin from 7.00am and morning tea and lunch preparations beginning at 8.30am with the day concluding at 1.30pm.

We run a self-service system, with a diverse menu consisting of both freshly prepared and pre-packaged items.
The Tuckshop is managed by a paid convenor but could not exist without its dedicated volunteer helpers. We welcome help from Mums, Dads, grandparents, other caregivers, friends, etc.

You would be rostered on one day every four weeks generally from 8.30am to 1.30 pm but for those of you who can accommodate or prefer an earlier start and/or finish, you can be rostered on the breakfast shift from 7.00am.

Even if you can only give just an hour or two – we can make use of any time you are able to give us. Our helpers are provided with a cuppa and cake for morning tea, a delicious lunch, lots of laughs and an opportunity to see their sons in their school environment.

If you are a little nervous about volunteering alone, why not join with a friend! Current volunteers have mentioned the following reasons as to why they enjoy working at the Tuckshop:

• it helps our boys and the College community
• it is great opportunity to meet other parents and chat to others with similar interests
• boys enjoy seeing their parents at school (even though they will not always admit it)
• it is a chance to get to meet your son’s friends and their teachers
• it is a great way to seek advice from parents who have “been there, done that”
• it is a lot of funPlease consider volunteering. WE NEED YOU!
  Please refer to the College website – https://www.vnc.qld.edu.au/our-college/volunteer/
  or email Dot Blair – tuckshop@vnc.qld.edu.au for further details.

Dot Blair, Tuckshop Convenor

2022 CENSUS PRIVACY NOTICE
For more information on the Commonwealth School Data Collection please click on link (INSERT LINK)

VILLANOVA COLLEGE BUSINESS DIRECTORY 
Calling current parents, Old Boys and past parents — promote your business or service to members of the Villa community for free with the Villanova College Business Directory. List your business today for free via the link: https://www.vnc.qld.edu.au/our-college/villanova-business-directory/

Questions can be directed to foundation@vnc.qld.edu.au