What a great year 2018 has proven to be for St John’s. Sitting here after the students have departed it dawned on me that processing all that has happened is only really possible once it has ended. Being continually swept up in the cyclone of activities and events that take place mean it is almost impossible to appreciate what happens in the moment. It requires an end point to occur, a deep breath to be taken and some solitude to be enjoyed before truly comprehending all that has transpired. Colleges by their very nature are busy places but St John’s seems to take this to another level. The genuine passion and love St John’s students have for this College is unparalleled and this is repeatedly evident through their participation and support for everything that takes place throughout the year.
There will no doubt be extensive reference over time to securing The Holy Grail of all five ICC trophies – a feat only achieved once before in ICC history. However, rather than dwelling on the tangible spoils of victory, I think it is equally worthwhile to focus on the process that allowed such an outcome to be achieved. Yes, winning is nice, but the manner in which you compete and support each other can often provide an even better insight into a community than the results themselves. Whether it was dancing, singing, acting, performing, playing sport on land or playing sport in water, everywhere you looked in 2018 St John’s seemed to have the most players, the loudest supporters, the most committed leaders and the most infectious spirit. Such an outcome requires a lot of things, not the least of which is good people, and we have a lot of those here at St John’s. The reputation St John’s holds among all the other colleges is without peer and there is genuine envy of the spirit and camaraderie that exists here. Following is a brief summary of a number of areas pertaining to the College that provides a snapshot of what has happened this year and how next year is beginning to take shape.
Student Matters
St John’s secured all five ICC trophies for 2018. This is only the second time in ICC history that this been achieved (the other was St John’s in 2000). Below is a summary of the final results for St John’s teams in ICC competition for 2018:
Occupancy and Admissions (2018)
Semester 2 student numbers were down slightly from Semester 1 going from 300 to 296. With current capacity at 304 this was still a strong outcome. Encouragingly, all undergraduate rooms were filled with the ongoing challenge being to source enough postgraduate students to fill the remaining vacancies. A general breakdown is as follows:
Occupancy and Admissions (2019)
The procurement of new enrolments has been the key focus in recent months. Over 200 students submitted applications with around 180 subsequently being interviewed from early September. Approximately 110 have already accepted offers and paid their deposits and it is anticipated we should be close to our target figure of 120 by January. Projected student numbers for 2019 are as follows:
Valedictory Dinner
The Valedictory Dinner was held in the Dining Hall. Around 160 people attended (56 third years, 90 parents, 14 invited guests). The Hon Tim Nicholls (Member for Clayfield) was the guest speaker and his reflections were well received by all in attendance. It was a highly successful evening and has set a high standard for future Valedictory Dinners. Particular note should be made of the great attendance at the Chapel Service prior to the dinner. There was standing room only in the Chapel as around 130 students and parents celebrated the end of their journey at St John’s.
ARGO
The revitalisation of the ARGO proved a huge success in 2018. A hard working committee of first and second year students did a great job producing a professional record of the year that will appropriately represent 2018 as a historical document. Importantly, for the first time in recent memory, it was published and available for purchase prior to the students departing.
Grounds
The College continues to execute an ongoing building program to bring facilities up to a higher standard. Unfortunately, the planned refurbishment of Annexe and Goodbury over the summer break has had to be postponed until next year. However, major works will be carried out in Vatican, the kitchen flats and Dining Hall. Additionally, upgrading of ensuites and shower blocks in Sharwood, Foundation and Twickenham is also being undertaken.
Student Club, Resident Assistants, O Week Committee 2019
Election of the 2019 Student Club Executive and appointment of Resident Assistants and O Week Committee has been completed. The list of students filling these roles is included below:
2019 STUDENT EXECUTIVE
- Julien Sennane – President
- Grace Forbes – Vice-President
- Redvers Morgan – Vice-President
- Matthew Guilding – Secretary
- Jake Dight – Treasurer
- Renee Williams – Community Service Convenor
- Charlotte Wright – Cultural Convenor
- Xanthe Cerutti – Female Social Convenor
- Jan Bakker – Male Social Convenor
- Ali Westmore – Female Sports Convenor
- Tristan Page – Male Sports Convenor
- Hamish Martens – ICC Representative (Social)
2019 RESIDENT ASSISTANTS
- Jaimie Fraser – Edale
- Luke Kratzmann – Edale
- Summer Palmer – Patmos
- Lachlan Miller – Patmos
- Angus McRae – Jubilee/Vatican
- Jarrod Bourke – Annexe
- Lucy Morris – Twickenham
- Daniel Ochayi – Twickenham
- Lauren Atkinson – Goodbury
- Frederique Bloomfield – Foundation
2019 O WEEK COMMITTEE
- Dylan McKenna – Co-convenor
- Hannah Walsh – Co-convenor
- Georgina Chan – Committee Member
- Justine Martlew – Committee Member
- Lara Page – Committee Member
- Nicholas Schultz – Committee Member
- Ben Williams – Committee Member
- Mason Henderson – Committee Member
- Christine Murr – General Assistant
- Julia Boets – General Assistant
- Dylan Vella – General Assistant
- Lachlan Grigg – General Assistant
- Ally Reeve – General Assistant
- Mitchell Terz – Photographer
- Natalia Adair – Photographer
by Glen Cronan, Acting Warden
