Dean of Students | Mr Damien Cuddihy

Thank you for your support this term. I am thrilled to report that it has been very successful from my perspective. I would like to reinforce the importance of creating a positive relationship between students, teachers and parents and the impact it can have on your son's education. The relationship between parents and their son's school is often referred to as a marriage where ongoing support is needed in the good times and bad. This is crucial if the boys are to learn from their mistakes. If independence is a key outcome of the adolescent phase, then responsibility needs to be a priority as well. 

Term 2 is always punctuated with the importance of either consolidating a strong academic start or bringing about change to address issues which limited success in the first term. I encourage you to have a conversation with your son regarding his Term 1 report, paying particular attention to the application and behaviour insights provided by your son’s teachers. There is a strong connection between academic and pastoral progress and we should never view them as being independent of each other. The College strongly encourages students to accompany their parents to the interviews with teaching staff at the commencement of Term 2. It is a significantly more influential conversation when the boys are present at these meetings. 

As we move into next term, I would like to remind all students of the value of pride in their personal appearance and I expect that all students are appropriately attired and return with suitable a haircut for the commencement of classes in Term 2.  As the year progresses, so does the number of boys who are required to shave. I ask that you ensure your son arrives to school on a Monday morning clean-shaven and then shaves again throughout the week as required. A key uniform focus for the pastoral team early next term will be identifying students who are wearing socks that are well past their used by date. It would be appreciated if these socks are put to rest over the holidays and didn’t make a resurrection on Easter Sunday! Take care.