Laureate Presentations Celebrate Excellence and Inspire Achievement

We celebrated a very special Laureate Assembly last Friday in the Cathedral immediately following our Opening Mass. The Laureate Assembly is an opportunity for the school to acknowledge and showcase the efforts of the graduating class from the previous academic year. We believe there is great power in our younger students looking to their older peers, aspiring them to achieve as our graduates have in a wide range of disciplines. It also provides the opportunity to recognise the diversity of talents across the cohort. Subject Dux awards were presented in recognition of outstanding achievements in Units 3 and 4 Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) classes to those who achieved a study score of 35 and above, and who received the highest score in their course. Subject Dux awards were also presented to students who achieved outstanding results in their Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) classes. Thank you to Mr Paul Desmond, Director of Catholic Education Sandhurst, who joined Mr Brian Turner in presenting the 2019 Laureate Awards.

All in attendance were challenged and inspired by the speech of our 2019 College Dux, Samuel Angove. Sam spoke about the importance of learning how to learn, and that one of the keys to success is to identify things that are interesting in different areas and to use that as motivation to learn more. He gave examples from his experiences at Catherine McAuley College; of getting involved in a variety of extra-curricular activities (including music, chess and debating) and using these activities as an exercise in honing his own learning strategies. Sam was humble in his success but offered this advice to our students: that success comes from paying attention to what you can improve, rather than stressing over the number of hours work you spend outside school on any piece of work. This message was well received by our students, and the significance of these words coming from their peers was not lost. Read Samuel Angove’s speech.

Another highlight of the assembly was Emily Brown (CMC 2019) being awarded the $30,000 YouThrive Victoria scholarship to support her tertiary studies and in recognition of her community involvement and leadership potential. Thank you to Mr Brett Dunlop of YouThrive Victoria who attended the Laureate Presentation to congratulate Emily in person and speak about the aims of the scholarship. Read more about the YouThrive Scholarship.

The students also heard from College Alumna Ellen Francis, who spoke about the journey beyond school, and that passion and determination can open a variety of opportunities that you may not have realised existed as a student.

Our students are commended for their attendance at both the Laureate Assembly and Opening Mass Their participation and conduct throughout the day was outstanding. Well done to all.

Mr Matthew Angove, Director of Learning and Teaching – St Mary’s