O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E S T R I TA ' S C O L L E G E A L U M N A E

Virtute I S SUE TWENTYJUNE 2018

Reconnect with Rita'sVirtute is your biannual alumnae magazine. If you have an idea for an article, past student profile or photo you think should be considered please email your suggestion to alumnae@stritas.qld.edu.au.Ensure you stay up to date with Alumnae news and events by contacting us with your updated details.

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Inside this Issue of Virtute ...Principal's Report 1,3

Patron's report 2

Reunion 4

Cross Country 5

Musical 5

Cascian House 6

Debating Finals 6

Mother's Day Walk 7

Vale Sr Assumpta O'Flynn 8

P R I N C I P A L ' S R E P O R T

Mrs Dale MorrowPrincipal

I write this article

feeling very refreshed and revitalised having just spent three of the past five weeks on Sabbatical leave. Now, while

I thoroughly enjoy my role as Principal of this wonderful College, I was very grateful to be given the opportunity just to slow down for a bit and take some time for reflection and some much needed spiritual renewal. To help in this I participated in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a group of Catholic school principals over a three-week period leading into the Term One holidays. The trip was very well organised and provided a rich experience in developing a deeper sense of the life and times of Jesus.

It was quite something to be in places where Jesus was all that time ago and to read accounts of gospel stories that one has heard myriad times before but now be connected with them in very different ways. I will draw much strength from it in both my own spiritual journey and role as Principal into the future.

Our academic year for 2018 is well and truly under way as we head into Week Three of Term Two. Our theme for this year is “Leading with Courage”, a theme which challenges us all to look at the ways we approach life in the everyday. In addressing this theme with the students, we do not speak of the courage one associates with incredible feats of action and heroism but the everyday courage one needs to be true to ourselves, to take risks, to front up to everyday routine and duty, and to strive to live a good life based on the life and

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As I write this article, let me share with you my thoughts

from yesterday, May 1. It was my 80th birthday and was a day like no other.

It seemed that wherever I went there was cake and “many happy returns!” The cake reminded me of the time when we celebrated the College’s 80th birthday. For me, there were 8 large cakes, one for each House and extra time out as the cakes

were eaten. It was a similar celebration for the 80th birthday of the College.

I have been associated with the College for about 72 years; the College has been here for 92 years. Needless to say, there have been many changes.

Way back then, the teachers were all nuns, dressed in black with not much of their body visible. In fact, some of the students thought that the nuns did not have legs as they were hidden by the long habits.

The day began at 8.30am when we recited the rosary together. The girls actually knelt for this recitation. A prayer was said before each lesson. For some classes the day concluded at 3.30pm and for others that sat for the public exams it concluded at 4.30pm.

Our results in the public exams were important as it seemed to be how the school marketed itself. Consequently, for Scholarship, Junior and Senior classes when we sat for the public exams, we also attended school on a Saturday morning.

As a little boarder, we thought that we owned the school and we just tolerated the day girls. There were only two Houses, Green and Gold. Our population, in my time at SRC, reached about 220, with about 80 of these being boarders.

We played some sort of sport from 5.00pm to 5.30pm. After the sport, we lined up for the evening meal which was fairly spartan.

This was followed by a study period each evening with the older girls being able to study for longer periods than the little primary pupils. The little ones, in fact, were able to go next door and talk, provided they did this quietly.

Later, the little ones went downstairs where they could dance as one of the older girls played the piano. It was a fun time.

There was a little Kindergarten in the Kennedy block with little tables and chairs and small divans for an afternoon nap for the Kindies. On a Saturday this was converted into a miniature restaurant. Sr Anita looked after the Kindy for all her years at St Rita’s.

We played interschool tennis and after the game we would go to this room where we had set up an elaborate afternoon tea. As my parents had a restaurant in Queen Street, there was a ready supply of refreshments.

The cleaning of the dormitories and the class rooms was done by the Sisters and the boarders. We all had our charges (jobs to do). There was one handy man who looked after the grounds to a certain extent.

The tennis courts were all ant bed courts. This meant that they had to be swept, watered and then rolled before they could be marked for the weekend matches. Again, this fell to the Sister in charge of tennis and the tennis girls to look after.

Classes finished early on a Wednesday afternoon. After lunch, it was sport time with the Greens competing with the Golds. The captain of each House was the one who worked out the teams for the Wednesday sport.

There was a close relationship between many of the Sisters and the boarders. The boarders went to morning Mass with the sisters.

The older ones would say their special prayers or follow the Mass in their Missals. The younger ones, were busy looking at the holy cards that they had or would exchange them with others in their neighbours’ missals.

80 years on, how has this changed? Now, there are only day girls; even the Sisters do not live in Stanley Hall as it is now devoted to the administration of the College. In fact, there is only one Sister left – I often feel like the last of my tribe.

The College has a population of over 1000 and is filled to capacity. The grounds are well maintained, but not by the students but by the grounds men. Cleaning staff clean the College each evening. The boarders have gone, and a quiet stillness permeates the College in the evenings.

However, the determination of the students to do their best, whether in sport or academically remains the same. There is still the same pride in their school. We are still very much a Catholic school.

I wonder what we will look like in another 72 years?

Sr Elvera SestaPatron

Sr Elvera SestaPatron

PATRON’S REPORT

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PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Mrs Dale MorrowPrincipal

messages of Jesus. As we can with all our themes, we are able to look to the examples of two outstanding women, Nano Nagle and St Rita, as persons who lived courageous lives of service in response to Jesus’ call to love one another and to love our God. It seems such a simple message but such a difficult one to live out in an authentic way.

We continue to be challenged as a community to think of others, to be kind and to strive for a world where justice is achieved.

In this report I am also excited to be able to let you know about the upcoming major building project the College will be involved in over the next 18 months. As many of you would appreciate, an institution such as ours cannot afford to be static. There are always challenges ahead making sure the facilities we provide to help us educate young people for the future are suitable to our needs. To aid in this, the College has a twenty-five Year Master Plan drawn up to guide the development of building work over these years. Beginning in the June/July holidays of this year, Stages I and II of this plan will start. This involves the demolition of part of Kennedy, Trinity Hall and the Pantry. I know there will be many memories that were made in these buildings for many of you but unfortunately, the College does need to update facilities and provide spaces that will fit with 21st Century learning.

The project will achieve a new five storey Learning Precinct which will include ten large classrooms, over two levels, with what are described as “break-out areas” that will be significant in size. In addition to this, a new three hundred plus seat Auditorium will be built as well as new Drama Rooms, a FTV area and toilet facilities. Level five will be devoted to Music, with a large Band Room, Choir and Strings Room, a number of Tutorial Rooms and a Music Classroom. This part of the project will provide the much needed space for the Music Program to continue its expansion and make it possible for any girl in the College to choose to study

Music. The bottom floor of Kennedy will be converted to the new Pantry and will also house a Café. There will also be a large amount of landscape work involved in the project to ensure that we are able to create “social spaces” which can be used during lunchtime, before school and after school. We are very keen to consult with the girls about the type of furniture they would like in these spaces as well as establish and seek input from a Staff Committee that will help advise on how best to outfit the classrooms in order to meet modern day pedagogical practice.

I have provided below some artist’s impressions of these areas hoping you will enjoy viewing the concepts of what is envisioned for this project and would also like to encourage you to visit the website if you would like to see more interactive plans of the project.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish one of your members, Sister Elvera, a very happy 80th birthday and thank her for the continuing contribution she makes to St Rita’s. I am sure, like me, you are wondering where she gets her energy from, as she continues to arrange the work experience for over 70 girls of the College as well as teach Religious Education to a number of classes and very generously takes tours around Stanley Hall for our newest members of the community.

In conclusion, I wish to express my sincere thanks to you, the alumnae, for all your support of what we do here at the College as well as your role in financially supporting two students at the College who otherwise may not have had the opportunity of attending without your generosity. It pleases me to know that our alumnae numbers will continue to grow into the future as we hold more events to provide opportunities for our past pupils to connect.

Dale MorrowPrincipal

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Junior Class of 1958 - 60 Year ReunionGoing back for more…….

On 3rd March 2018, 36 former classmates attended a reunion lunch to celebrate the memories and bonds of friendship where it all began in those happy and uncomplicated days at St Rita’s College.

We were delighted to have the company of Sr Concepta and Sr Marguerite with us and, in spirit, were co-teachers – Sr Jacinta, Sr Loyola and Sr Consilia. We were blessed beneficiaries of their tremendous self-sacrifice, passion for teaching, and fervent faith.

This was an incredibly joyous event and a huge success! Very rarely is there an occasion where everyone in the room is the same age, give or take a few months, and where there is a shared experience – childhood to maturity. Several alumnae have been friends since kindergarten (at St Agatha’s) and now they are taking their own grandchildren to kindergarten. On the day, Peggy Smith had the singular honour of being a first-time great grandmother and Patricia Murray is a gold medallist mother having nurtured and home-schooled all 9 of her children. Well done, girls!

Distance did not keep away – Geraldine Blaikie, Edna Roberts and Vicki Parry (Tasmania) who finally managed to attend her first class reunion. Courageously, one of our interstate class mates expressed disappointment at her absence in her words, “My way of handling my illness has been to try to stay in the present moment. If I look too far ahead it is overwhelming. But, if I just say, ‘It’s ok. Right now I am in the garden listening to a magpie and that is all I need to know’. I can get by. I do believe we are extraordinarily lucky to be old at this time.”

Sr Rosemary Grundy led prayers for the dearly departed in remembrance of friends. MC, Patsy Brown, did us proud keeping us entertained with her recollection of life as a boarder followed by Maree Scott whose observations on what it means to be 75 drew unanimous laughter and applause.

With God’s blessings, let’s always stay connected !

Mayling Lui

The Cross Country season is now completed after months of training and the Inter-house

cross country completed. It was amazing to see the amount of spirit and encouragement from all the girls at Inter-House Cross Country, especially considering the conditions were not ideal. All of the girls participated to the best of their abilities and not only pushed themselves, but also their friends to achieve the best possible result. After Inter-House, it was great to see the growing number of girls attending training. With Team spirit becoming more prominent as we approached CASSSA it was wonderful to see all the girls work together and push each other along, allowing all of the girls to reach their full potential. The Cross Country Camp in May was a great experience for the whole team as it is a good opportunity for the girls to bond with each other while having fun at the beach.

Musical Cross Country

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After over 100 hours of cast and orchestra rehearsals, months of hair and makeup,

costume, and crew preparations and a year of planning by the staff involved, on the 26th of April, ‘Seussical’ came alive. From makeup to props, from the page to the stage, it was truly incredible to see the effort everyone had put in come together over four smashing performances. Whether it was jamming out to ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ back stage or bonding over the many, many rehearsals, this was one of the most exciting, enjoyable, and rewarding experiences for all the students involved. A big thank you to the staff who dedicated so much time and effort into this show, in particular, the creative team, Mrs Mansfield, Ms Bradbury, Mr Kennedy and Mr Scanlan.

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Cascian houseCalling Alumnae Members...

We want you!!The Cascian house charity for 2018 is Share the

Dignity. Their aim is to ensure that Australian women are afforded the dignity that so many of us take for granted. This is a local charity which donates sanitary products to homeless women and fights for domestic violence victims. Share the Dignity collects thousands of pads, tampons and personal hygiene products every year for women experiencing homelessness and poverty. The Cascian house came up with an exciting initiative, ‘Crazy Hair Day’ to support their cause. The box for donations had never been completely filled. Challenge accepted. With the support of all the girls at St Rita’s we overfilled the box. 

There were 12 big bags containing the sanitary items with at least 250 packets of pads or tampons for disadvantaged women. That’s approximately 3000 packets donated. Share the Dignity have collected them and took them straight to a women’s shelter in Red Hill who are in desperate need of such products. We will be doing it again in August where we plan to beat this total.

Three vacanies currently exist on the St Rita’s College Alumnae committee and we are

inviting members to fill these positions and join us. Commitment wise you would be required to attend six (6) meetings per year; help organise alumnae events and assist where possible with organising reunions.

If you are interested and or would like to find out more information, please email us at alumnae@stritas.qld.edu.au.

Each year, students compete in the BGDA competition. This year, 3 teams participated

with 2 teams qualifying for the finals. The purpose of the competition is to give young female debaters the opportunity to improve and gain skills in public speaking, leadership, critical analysis and team work in an inclusive and supportive environment.  BGDA acknowledge the structural difficulties that many females face, particularly in debating, and hope to assist their development both within the activity and in their lives more broadly. Over five rounds on topics released one hour before presentation, students’ knowledge of

Health, Gender, International Relations, Economy and Environment issues were debated.

Against Brisbane State High School, year 10 argued for the motion “that we should televise criminal trials”. Against Stuartholme, year 12 argued against the motion “That salaries of employees should be made public”. Both teams only had one hour to prepare their case. Fiercely, both teams debated; however, both teams unfortunately lost. To reach finals is a proud achievement; it comes after five rounds of debating unknown topics. Congratulations to students and coaches on a wonderful achievement.

BGDA finals

OPEN DAYSUNDAY 29 JULY 2018

10:00AM- 12:30PMRegister at:

www.stritas.qld.edu.au/openday

Looking to enrol yourdaughter at St Rita’s?

41 Enderley Road, Clayfield enrol@stritas.qld.edu.au

St Rita’s College

40 YearSchool Reunionfor senior 1978 and junior 1976Saturday 27th October

All enquiries to Sue Tuite [ne: Conry]Stuite@stritas.qld.edu.au

To keep in touch, there is a closed facebook pagewhich Sue can help with.

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As part of Hogan house’s wellbeing ministry, we support women’s health which we celebrate close

to Mother’s Day. As part of this initiative, Hogan girls and their families are invited to participate in the annual Mother’s Day Classic fundraising walk. This is a charitable event, raising awareness and much needed funds for breast cancer research, a disease that directly affects more than 18, 000 women Australia wide. This year, the event took place on Mother’s Day, the 13th of

May. Since the initiation of Hogan house in 2014, our Hogan team has been participating in the 4.5km walk, winning the largest school group for three consecutive years. The day after this event, girls were invited to wear pink accessories for a gold coin donation to raise money for organisations surrounding women’s health such as the Breast Cancer Foundation. In Hogan House we believe these organisations support important causes and we are extremely proud to be supporting them.

Mother's Day Walk

OPEN DAYSUNDAY 29 JULY 2018

10:00AM- 12:30PMRegister at:

www.stritas.qld.edu.au/openday

Looking to enrol yourdaughter at St Rita’s?

41 Enderley Road, Clayfield enrol@stritas.qld.edu.au

St Rita’s College

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The relationship between St Rita’s College and Sr Assumpta O’Flynn was solid, heartfelt and

longstanding. The naming of the Sr Assumpta O’Flynn Pavilion (2011) is an ever-present reminder of Sister’s love and dedication.

 Sheila O’Flynn entered St Rita’s College on 4 February 1935. There had already had been a life-long connection as Sumptie, as she was affectionately known, had been a student at St Agatha’s School and a parishioner of the church. As the third child on the Baptism register of St Agatha’s, Sheila Kathleen was christened on the 5 September 1920. Living locally at Ascot, the O’Flynn family’s spiritual and social activities revolved around Fr Frank O’Connell’s church. Lending an ever ready hand via Stalls, dances, fetes and tennis parties, the entire family helped raise money for the church and both Presentation schools.

 After completing her school studies in 1937, Sheila O’Flynn entered the business world and worked in the office of an accountant, a solicitor and the Queensland National Bank before joining the Presentation Sisters. She made her Novitiate in Longreach in 1942. 

 In 1973, having taught in Presentation primary schools in Yeppoon, Murgon, Buranda, Cannon Hill and Wavell Heights, Sister returned to St Rita’s where she taught Commercial subjects and was appointed Tennis coordinator. Wearing her dainty, white Dunlop

Volley sandshoes, Sr Assumpta cheerfully joined her team members on the court. Names and details were effortlessly recalled and imbued with a sense of fair play and kindness. Sister was truly loved by all.

 Without Sr Assumpta’s commitment to record keeping and organisation of Alumnae events there would be little visible evidence available today. Across the Miles in two volumes is a chronological memory of St Rita’s and ‘old girls’ doings from inception until the mid-2000s. Before the College Archives existed, newspaper cuttings, Roneoed duplicated sheets, and often photocopies of photocopies, told the story.

 Archival images record the life of Sr Assumpta as student, Sister, teacher and into retirement. A daily retirement activity for Sister until 2009 was shelving books in the College Library.  Brittle chronological rolls, not in condition for general use, nameless original photographs and endless photocopies, were turned into a searchable alphabetical database with the blessing of Sister Assumpta’s retentive memory turning initials into names of the early students. Sister revelled in these activities as she relived her precious early days by recalling her bonds with school and parish.

Without the help of Sr Assumpta O’Flynn the Alumnae archives narrative would not be as coherent as it is.

May she rest in eternal peace.

Vale Sr Assumpta O’Flynn, pbvm16 August 1920 – 14 December 2017

41 Enderley Road, Clayfield

sunday 29 july, 2018

10AM-4PM

st rita’s college

carnival 20141 Enderley Road, Clayfield

sunday 29 july, 2018

10AM-4PM

st rita’s college

carnival 20141 Enderley Road, Clayfield

sunday 29 july, 2018

10AM-4PM

st rita’s college

carnival 201