Sustainability A Matter Of Recycling

Sustainability A Matter Of Recycling

The Cathedral School Sustainable Guardians are a group of Middle and Senior School students who are passionate about preserving the natural environment and making our school a more environmentally friendly place.

Run by Cathedral’s Science Department, this year the Sustainable Guardians’ focus has been on recycling. As a result, a bright yellow bin has been placed in the Senior School quad for recyclable materials. The materials suitable for this bin are any container with the 10c recycling symbol, however the most common ones are: soft drink cans, poppers (without the straw) and milk bottles (with caps placed in the small red bin next to the yellow recycling bin).

The purpose of the yellow bin is to reduce the number of plastic bottles entering landfills. Money made from recycling is used by the Sustainable Guardians group to continue helping reduce the pollution footprint on the Earth. The recycling bin has been used correctly most of the time, however improvements can still be made. Sometimes, general waste and food scraps have been mistakenly disposed of into the recycling bin, and due to health and safety precautions, Sustainable Guardians’ members cannot sort through to collect the cans and bottles. This causes more plastic in landfills and a loss of potential funds.

Nevertheless, Alana Clark, a Year 12 student member of Sustainable Guardians, believes recycling is a vital action. “Recycling is extremely important to ensure we are looking after our environment as best we can. Although humans have a substantially negative effect on the environment, if everyone could simply recycle this effect would be significantly lowered,” she said.

The Sustainable Guardians make many efforts to preserve the school environment and the Earth at large, and encourage others to do the same. They partake in a range of activities to achieve their goal of making Cathedral a more environmentally sustainable community. These activities include: beach clean-ups, recycling, and raising funds to use within the club as well as to donate to other suitable organisations.

Run by Cathedral’s Science Department, this year the Sustainable Guardians’ focus has been on recycling. As a result, a bright yellow bin has been placed in the Senior School quad for recyclable materials. The materials suitable for this bin are any container with the 10c recycling symbol, however the most common ones are: soft drink cans, poppers (without the straw) and milk bottles (with caps placed in the small red bin next to the yellow recycling bin).

The purpose of the yellow bin is to reduce the number of plastic bottles entering landfills. Money made from recycling is used by the Sustainable Guardians group to continue helping reduce the pollution footprint on the Earth. The recycling bin has been used correctly most of the time, however improvements can still be made. Sometimes, general waste and food scraps have been mistakenly disposed of into the recycling bin, and due to health and safety precautions, Sustainable Guardians’ members cannot sort through to collect the cans and bottles. This causes more plastic in landfills and a loss of potential funds.

Nevertheless, Alana Clark, a Year 12 student member of Sustainable Guardians, believes recycling is a vital action. “Recycling is extremely important to ensure we are looking after our environment as best we can. Although humans have a substantially negative effect on the environment, if everyone could simply recycle this effect would be significantly lowered,” she said.

The Sustainable Guardians make many efforts to preserve the school environment and the Earth at large, and encourage others to do the same. They partake in a range of activities to achieve their goal of making Cathedral a more environmentally sustainable community. These activities include: beach clean-ups, recycling, and raising funds to use within the club as well as to donate to other suitable organisations.

Island Backdrop To Online Learning

Island Backdrop To Online Learning

Jacquin Taumafai (Yr 12), a Thursday Island resident and Senior boarder, is on the cusp of graduating from Cathedral, having experienced a year of enormous learning challenges, including Term 2 spent learning online.

Jacquin, who began boarding at Cathedral in 2018, lives on Thursday Island with his family, including sister Ella (Yr 9) who is also a boarder at Cathedral.

He said some of the biggest challenges with online learning was staying active and maintaining a positive mindset, as well as keeping up with the assigned schoolwork. While he found it difficult to keep up with Zoom initially, Jacquin did resolve issues as time went on, and worked as an independent learner, using the school resources on eCat as his go-to as much as possible.

Away from the screen, Jacquin kept active and enjoyed fishing, diving for crayfish, boxing and kickboxing with his father and friends. He also kept up a part-time job at Mitre 10 on the island.

Whilst spending three months of his Senior year learning from home, Jacquin has made the most of Term 3 back in Boys’ Boarding, and is looking forward to getting through block exams and finishing on a high.

If he ever has to learn remotely again, Jacquin considers himself something of an online learning veteran, and has two tips for everyone: do not let media critiques be your standard and secondly don’t fail to do the bare minimum.

Jacquin, who began boarding at Cathedral in 2018, lives on Thursday Island with his family, including sister Ella (Yr 9) who is also a boarder at Cathedral.

He said some of the biggest challenges with online learning was staying active and maintaining a positive mindset, as well as keeping up with the assigned schoolwork. While he found it difficult to keep up with Zoom initially, Jacquin did resolve issues as time went on, and worked as an independent learner, using the school resources on eCat as his go-to as much as possible.

Away from the screen, Jacquin kept active and enjoyed fishing, diving for crayfish, boxing and kickboxing with his father and friends. He also kept up a part-time job at Mitre 10 on the island.

Whilst spending three months of his Senior year learning from home, Jacquin has made the most of Term 3 back in Boys’ Boarding, and is looking forward to getting through block exams and finishing on a high.

If he ever has to learn remotely again, Jacquin considers himself something of an online learning veteran, and has two tips for everyone: do not let media critiques be your standard and secondly don’t fail to do the bare minimum.

 

Cathedral in Concert 2020

Cathedral in Concert 2020

‘Cathedral In Concert’ was recorded over two evenings late in Term 2 with some stellar performances from The Cathedral School Music students.

The concert showcases many of the larger ensembles performing a wide variety of repertoire that they had been working on over the first half of 2020. The video allows the students’ family and friends to experience the concert, in what normally would have been a live performance. So sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy The Cathedral School’s ‘Cathedral In Concert’.

 

House Spirit’s High on the ‘Green Track’

House Spirit’s High on the ‘Green Track’

Due to the Coronavirus, 2020 has brought about a multitude of changes and re-structures to the school calendar and the annual Interhouse Athletics Carnival is no exception. Instead of one jam-packed, high energy event at the Townsville ‘Red Track’ (Townsville Sports Reserve) for the entire school, the carnival has been spread out over several weeks – with each year level participating on separate days, here on the school sports oval.

Some students missed the grandeur and big crowd atmosphere of the ‘Red Track’, whilst other’s enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of this year’s event. The general consensus being a greater appreciation of being able to participate in the event, considering the Covid-19 circumstances.

Some of our Year 12 students decided to conduct a Vox Pop to find out how the students were handling the new Carnival format.

Thank you to Page Malau-Aduli, Paula Malau-Aduli and Georgie Coburn for being our on-field reporters.

 

 

‘On Wednesday the fifth of August our Year Twelve students kicked off the first Senior School Athletics Carnival with a bang. Well done to all students and staff for creating such a positive, enthusiastic school spirit on the day and a special congratulations to the brilliant Bede House for taking out the win.
The Year Eleven Athletics Carnival was a perfect blend of fun, house spirit and friendly competitiveness. The sun was sitting high but morale was higher, resulting in a fantastic day for all. The amount of talent on display would have you fooled that it was the Olympics. With this bunch, 2021 is looking like a cracker year for The Cathedral School.’

Paula Malau-Aduli

It’s Time To Cut Loose… Footloose!

It’s Time To Cut Loose… Footloose!

The Cathedral School celebrated its Foundation Day on the 24th July, with the highlight being a spectacular performance of ‘Footloose’. The musical was originally planned as a full-scale performance to be held at the Civic Theatre in Townsville, but due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions – had to be temporarily put on ice.

With restrictions eased the resilient, hard-working staff and students managed to revive the show – albeit as a shortened 20-minute performance, at the school’s ‘Rock Centre’ – incorporating a live school band, awe-inspiring lighting and sound, and a live-stream of the event to those who couldn’t attend.

The show was performed three times during the day to allow the Junior School, Middle School and Senior School to view it in person whilst maintaining the required social distancing between seats. Everyone involved appreciated the glimpse of normality being re-introduced back into the school community and the rare opportunity to ‘cut loose’ for another magical Foundation Day.

So lose your blues and kick off your Sunday shoes, here it is… ‘Footloose’.

 

Brooke Sticks To Her Hockey Dreams

Brooke Sticks To Her Hockey Dreams

Brooke Davis (Yr 10), along with Caitlin Weston (Yr 9) went down to Brisbane this month to try out for the Queensland Field Hockey Under 15s Team, along roughly 55 other girls from around the state.

Brooke admits to feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement at the experience. “Mum was there for support, but once I was on the field and started playing, nerves went away,” Brooke said. Brooke ended up being selected for the state team, but plans are on hold due to the current pandemic.

Brooke started playing the sport in HPE whilst in Junior School, and she really enjoyed it. She now plays in under-15s for local team, Wests, in a mid-field position. She trains twice a week unless preparing for a big competition when she trains four to five times a week.

Brooke admits to feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement at the experience. “Mum was there for support, but once I was on the field and started playing, nerves went away,” Brooke said. Brooke ended up being selected for the state team, but plans are on hold due to the current pandemic.

Brooke started playing the sport in HPE whilst in Junior School, and she really enjoyed it. She now plays in under-15s for local team, Wests, in a mid-field position. She trains twice a week unless preparing for a big competition when she trains four to five times a week.