Volume 11 2025

Recently, I had the pleasure to attend four soccer games, two Junior girls finals and two Junior boys finals. What I watched inspired me to think about the benefits that come from sport, from being part of a team, being willing to compete, play for a win but also risk a loss and having the mindset to be prepared for both.

Some of this thinking was triggered by a documentary I watched recently called "American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden". Osama Bin Laden as you know, was the mastermind of the September 11 atrocity killing 2,977 civilians. For ten years he had dodged and frustrated the CIA and in that time wreaked havoc on major cities, with over 30 bombings across the world, including Madrid, London and Bali where 88 Australians were killed.

The part that most captured my attention was the reflection by Navy Seal Robert O’Neil. To be a Navy Seal demands the highest, most strenuous mental and physical fitness. This mission in particular required an incredible mindset. The US Navy Seals had to fly low for 90 minutes in two helicopters out of Afghanistan air territory and over Pakistan. Because of the secrecy required, they were breaching Pakistani territory. They had not sought, nor been granted permission to be there.

Despite weeks of training, the operation did not go to plan. The first helicopter crashed beside the targeted compound. The second landed outside rather than inside the compound so that the Seals were faced with civilians, neighbours, mums and dads investigating the noise and posting on social media. Their mental capacity and strength was tested and demanded that they cope, adjust and keep going. 

But this, according to Robert O Neil, was not the most challenging part of the mission. It was in fact the 90 minute helicopter journey, because this is where they had to wait, not knowing the outcome, not being completely sure that Osama Bin Laden was even in the compound, not knowing if they would survive. This was the most challenging time because this is where the mind could overtake… this is where doubts could surface, this is where the battle of the mind took place. 

How has mental strength surfaced here? The Rosebank Junior boys team was three goals down at half time in the Conference Final and then scored five goals to win the game.  What I saw was resilience, composure and purpose. It was one of the finest displays of team spirit I have ever seen. 

At the same time the Rosebank Junior girls were playing to make the Conference Final. This was a different game, they led from the beginning, controlled the game and won it decisively.

Imagine the high and excitement that day brought, to have two teams in the Grand Final. That is huge. That means both teams were in the top two of the Sydney Catholic Schools competition.

And then, as it does, Sport teaches us bitter disappointment, because we lost both Grand Finals. 

But there is a lesson in this too. It applies to mental strength. How to take a defeat and deal with the disappointment. It shows the calibre of who we are in both victory and loss.  After all, we risk loss every time we run onto the field. Only those with heart can do this.

I celebrate both teams not only for their wins but also for their spirit. They impressed me even further as they had to digest loss after such a long season. They did not give up, they did not show their frustration through bad play and behaviour. I saw them win magnificently and take a loss with dignity. Win or lose, when we play like this, Rosebank can not be prouder. 

Sport is more than just a physical contest, it is a test of resilience, collaboration. and leadership. It has for me everything I want for Rosebank students. It relies on focus and that includes mental strength. 

We can transfer this to all training and competition, theatre sports, debating and even concept and strong mindset as students preparation for assessments. The disappointments are huge learning moments. Imagine the courage it must take our students to audition for a role? Perhaps it is when the exam result is not what you hoped, but you use this to your advantage, apply the feedback, build for the next challenge. 

Self-belief trumps good luck every day.

We are especially blessed too because we can draw on our faith and spiritually to back ourselves. I do not think we can expect God to back Roseback in every game we play,  but I do think we can pray to be the best we can.

I thank every student who wears our colours on the sporting field or any competition, but also as you navigate this great school, as you get on the bus in our colours, every time you wear our colours, you represent this great Rosebank team. 

A significant part comes down to mental strength and conditioning, which can only be developed through experiencing wins and losses. 

And while we can not control every outcome on the field or in life, what we can do is celebrate the moments when preparation, resilience and teamwork come together in extraordinary ways.

Following the incredible success of our Future Problem Solvers at the Global Finals in Indiana, USA, we were honoured to welcome Ms Sally Sitou MP to the College on Friday, 1 August to personally congratulate the team. She also hosted a roundtable discussion with students, where they reflected on their experience at the Finals, shared insights into their innovative vaping project and discussed broader issues impacting young people today. 

Their Vaping Awareness project placed 5th in the Top 10 globally—an outstanding result among teams from eleven countries.

Congratulations again to: Lauren Burrello, Sophie Wan and James Davis (Year 9) and Jasmine Taylor and Amelia Marques (Year 8).

Thank you to Mr Mark Borg (HSIE Teacher/Student Leadership Facilitator), supporting staff and all who helped fundraise - you made this possible.

RSVP to our HSC showcases by clicking on the posters below or scanning the QR codes.



 

As Week 5 begins, planning is underway for the InnovatED Showcase and the Free Thinkers Forum. The latter is an opportunity for students from Years 10 and 11 and mature Year 9 students to engage with peers from nine other schools across Sydney and discuss big ideas that are relevant to them and the way in which they perceive the world. Students who wish to attend are required to write an academically rigorous, well-researched speech from which one will be selected as the contribution from Rosebank College. After every three or four speeches the audience will be invited to engage respectfully with the speakers to discuss the ideas raised in their speeches. This day is a little different from usual speech days, with certificates awarded for Best Argument, Most Engaging Speech and Most Original Perspective.

National History Challenge

Students who worked on their National History Challenge submissions during PACE last term are in the final stages of completing their entries, which will be submitted later this week. The theme for 2025 is ‘Conflict’ and students have been working on topics as diverse as women’s suffrage, the bubonic plague, the Myall Creek Massacre and Australia participation in various wars.                                                                           

Thriving Minds Learning

Academy Learning is an organisation based in the United Kingdom who come to Australia annually to run student conferences designed specifically for gifted students. These days are some of the most challenging learning experiences offered to Rosebank students and every year twenty students attend across the two days. Below are reflections from students who attended the Senior and Junior Conferences.

Senior Conference Reflections

The Thriving Minds Senior Conference gave me the opportunity to engage with captivating philosophical ideas and learn about renowned figures from Ancient Greece. From debating whether money or love truly drives the world, to unpacking classical proofs for God's existence, each session offered numerous ways that one could delve into complex topics. What is courage? We explored different perspectives surrounding this thought-provoking question. I was drawn to the Aristotelian viewpoint: Aristotle taught that true courage was the golden mean between cowardice and rashness. This meant facing fear for the right reasons, at the right time and with careful deliberation. This session challenged us to consider whether courage is always virtuous or whether it depends on the cause it serves. 

To conclude, the Thriving Minds Conference was an invitation to gain new perspectives and interact with other like-minded peers. I would recommend this event for anyone who is willing to challenge their assumptions and wishes to gain valuable experiences outside the classroom.

By Lucas Chu (Year 9)

On Wednesday, 6 August, we attended the Thriving Minds Senior Conference. It was an engaging day discussing broader and more philosophical topics such as what makes things good and evil and what symbols represent them? We also discussed good and evil in a religious context with professor Dr Andrew Pinsent, over a Zoom session, straight from Oxford University, where it was 1:30am. Additionally, we talked about courage and what it is, discussing the golden mean which was if the specific type of courage being represented was reckless or courageous. 

An extraordinary example of courage was shown by Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest sent to Auschwitz. When a prisoner escaped from the camp, ten others were chosen to face severe consequences if the escapee did not return. One of the chosen men had a family, and Kolbe, aware of this, selflessly volunteered to take his place, enduring torture in his stead.

The activity that stood out to me the most was the debate at the end of the day on the question, “What runs the world, love or money?” The first speaker argued convincingly that money rules the world, pointing out that, for example, we cannot pay our electricity bills with hugs. However, as the debate continued, others presented compelling points supported by real-life examples, such as people living in the slums of the Philippines, who, despite having very little material wealth, are among the happiest in the world. By the end of the debate, love was declared the overwhelming winner.

It was a truly memorable day, filled with philosophical discussions, engaging debates and plenty of socialising with students from other schools.

By Deanna Le (Year 10)

Junior Conference Reflections

On Thursday, 7 August, the Thriving Minds Junior Conference was held at Ascham School, with students from years 7-9 were invited to attend. This was a day full of philosophical talks and discussion which left more questions than answers. Throughout the day we explored different moral and ethical ideas from consciousness, to freedom of speech, to the power of love. First, we started with the question do snails have a conscious? This question caught many off guard because of its insanity but it became increasingly intriguing. We then talked about what we know about consciousness, how we know it is complex and that it has something to do with neurons. But is a snail complex enough to have a conscious self-awareness? And even if we did know this and everything about a snail’s mind would we know what it is like to be a snail? Applying this to AI we asked, if AI knew everything about us, would it know what it is like to be human? Most of us concluded that no matter how much you know about a human or animal's brain, you will not know what it is like to be that thing. 

We continued talking about AI and asked would it be fair to make robots that feel? We then watched a movie clip of an AI boy coded to love his mother. We were asked to consider was it even him feeling, was it actually love if he is just programmed to feel that way? Ultimately we came back to the question, could AI, with enough knowledge, feel like we do? Next was the discussion on freedom of speech where we heard a lot of differing opinions as we discussed the meaning of freedom of speech and if limits should be in place to regulate hate speech and other speech intended to harm. We then explored the concept of time. This was extremely interesting as we looked at light speed and how that meant we see everything in the past. We then talked about time dilation as things move faster, time goes by slower. Thinking about time this way was very interesting. 

To conclude, we engaged in a debate about whether love conquers all. There were two main arguments for and against. The ones who argued against used many problems in the world as examples of where love did not conquer. Whereas people who argued for the statement mainly said how when love is present, it conquers everything but when there is a lack of it, that is  when atrocities happen. Personally, I came out of this debate thinking love has the ability to conquer everything but in our society, it does not. 

This day was amazingly mind-altering, I strongly recommend others who are interested in philosophical and ethical questions to sign up next year. I know I will.

By Monte Menken (Year 8)

I also attended the Thriving Minds Junior Conference. During the middle section of the day, there was a session focused on the Science of Time. This session explored the various concepts of time and two contrasting theories about time. These two theories were brought together and contrasted by philosopher, JC McTaggart. The first theory supports the idea that time exists exactly how we experience it, it will exist before us and after us and it is constantly the same. A moment occurs as the future, then the present, then the past, with progression occurring whether or not humans are involved. The second theory suggested that the idea of time just exists inside of our heads. Our brains make up the idea of moving through time as we have experiences throughout our lives, creating the illusion of time. What I found interesting is that both theories have been supported by both philosophers and scientists.

By Rebecca Cawrse (Year 8)

2026 GERRIC Student Programs

The Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC) have announced the dates for their student programs, which will occur in January 2026. GERRIC programs are challenging, engaging programs for students identified as gifted. These highly recommended programs are led by experienced gifted educators, university lecturers and other experts in their fields.

The programs are popular, and places fill quickly. To register for the newsletter and also access parent resources please access this link.

The timeline is as follows:

• Friday, 12 September 2025 – Program launch + Scholarship and Rural Access Applications open
• Monday, 29 September 2025 – General ticket sales open
• Thursday, 21 November 2025 – Final ticket confirmations and parent handbook released
• Wednesday, 14 - Friday, 16 January 2026 – Junior Program (Years 3–6) delivered at UNSW Kensington
• Tuesday, 20 - Thursday, 22 January 2026 – Senior Program (Years 7–10) delivered at UNSW Kensington

To ensure an optimal learning environment, GERRIC workshops are designed for students who meet academic entry criteria for gifted and high-potential learners.

For details on eligibility and how to apply, please refer to our GERRIC Academic Entry Criteria document.

Ms Cheryl McArthur
cmcarthur@rosebank.nsw.edu.au

Last week, Rosebank College proudly participated in the National Week of Action against Bullying, held from 11 - 15 August. This annual initiative, known as Bullying No Way Week, brought students and staff together to take a stand against bullying and promote a culture of kindness and inclusion.



The theme for 2025 was “Be bold. Be kind. Speak up". A highlight of the week was the pledge event held by the Culture and Identity Leaders, where students and staff came together to sign the pledge and publicly commit to standing against bullying.

Rosebank encouraged everyone to be bold and say something, be kind and support someone and be proud to take a stand against bullying. The message was clear: bullying has no place in our community and together we can create a safe, inclusive environment where everyone belongs.

By the Culture & Identity Leaders

We warmly invite all former students to save the date for the Rosebank Reunion on Saturday, 25 October 2025, from 4–6pm.

Regardless of when you graduated, you remain an important part of the Rosebank alumni community. The College encourages Class Reunion Representatives to consider hosting their own reunion dinners following the event.

Formal invitation and ticketing to follow.

For assistance, please download our Reunion Guide or contact Mrs Tina Carbone, Community Engagement Liaison at alumni@rosebank.nsw.edu.au