At our annual Top Achievers’ Assembly, held on Thursday 6 February, we gathered as a community to celebrate the stellar academic achievements of the Class of 2019. The assembly was preceded by the first full College Mass of the year, celebrated by Fr Dean Bradbury.
It was with great pride that we welcomed back 2019 Dux Ethan Cornish and 2019 Catherine McAuley Award winner Willow Thomas, along with our top 10 VCE achievers and the three students who completed the VCE-Baccalaureate in 2019, Lara Griffin-Krenn, Alana McGurgan and Jayden Santiago. Christelle Cartledge was the top VCAL student for 2019 — unfortunately she was unable to join us on the day.
Principal Mr Philip Morison congratulated each of the students on their success while pointing out the significant role their families and their teachers had in achieving their success. He referenced the famous 2008 “Yes we can!” speech of former US President Barak Obama to highlight how each of the Top Achievers had set goals for themselves and dreamed of success. The words “you just have to want it and work towards it. You have to dream it, plan it and work hard,” resonated strongly with our Mercy values. The graduates are to be commended for their efforts. Each of them has modelled for us their personal best. Each person has modelled the characteristics of the vision for learning that our students can aspire to.
Ethan, whose accomplishments include being the 2019 Mathematics Prefect, spoke about how developing the right attitude to learning had helped him through school and how “something is to be learned even in your least favourite subject”.
Ethan said it was the Dux speech of former student Matthew Farrugia-Roberts from the class of 2013, when Ethan was in Year 7, that had set him on the path to developing the right attitude to school. Matthew had said ‘school is not work, it is an opportunity to learn’. While Ethan admitted he had finished school without knowing how to lodge a tax return, cook for himself or change a tyre, he had learned persistence, problem solving skills and how to better discern fact from fiction so that he can make up his own mind. Ethan will soon begin a Science degree at Monash University, alongside fellow Top Achievers and friends Harrison Stolzenhain and Lara Griffin-Krenn. You can read Ethan's speech in the attached document.
Willow, the 2019 Faith and Ministry Prefect, spoke of how she had felt a bit “lost and confused” early in her faith journey before she gained help from family, teachers and life mentors. “You have to have the courage to challenge herself… it builds character, confidence and resilience and helps to build friendships too.”
Willow said Catherine McAuley’s story was “truly inspirational for me and I am humbled to have received an award in Catherine’s name”.
Congratulations to the Top Achievers of 2019
College Dux Ethan Cornish
Catherine McAuley Student of the Year Willow Thomas
Top Achiever – VCAL Christelle Cartledge
Mark Prest Award Mr Michael Dale 2019
VCE Top Achievers and their tertiary offers
Ethan Cornish — Monash University Applied Data Science Advanced (Honours)
Lara Griffin-Krenn — Monash University Science Advanced-Research (Honours)
Alana McGurgan – RMIT University Pharmacy (Honours)
Tristan Mifsud – Monash University Engineering (Honours)/Science
Michael Platten – Monash University Business/Banking and Finance and Accounting; Deakin University Commerce
Jason Rice — Monash University Science
Jayden Santiago — University of Melbourne Science and Biomedical Science
Grace Staindl-Dymond — Monash University Science/Arts and Science Advanced-Global Challenges (Honours)
Harrison Stolzenhain — Monash University Science/Computer Science
Keilani Trewavis — Monash University Science/Arts
