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A number of students participated in the Oaktree
Foundation’s Live below the Line andWorld Vision’s
40-Hour Famine, raising in excess of $6000 for
malnourished children in Rwanda. The Senior School also
celebrated Community Awareness Day in March and
August, contributing over $9000 to Destiny Rescue, St
Paul’s College for disabled children, One Girl and the
Collingwood Language School. Ruyton’s notable fairy floss
stall at the Xavier May Time Fair also donated in excess of
$2000 to the Jesuit Mission.
The children from Andale and Bulleen Heights schools were
once again delighted to visit Ruyton for their annual
Christmas party, where, alongside their Year 10 mentors,
they participated in a workshop by Bubble Media, followed
by a picnic lunch, strengthening the relationship we have
with these schools. This event facilitated the development
of Ruyton students’ skills in communicating with children
with learning and language disorders, autism spectrum
disorder and children with difficulties with fine or gross
motor skills and visual perception.
We have witnessed many thought-provoking presentations,
including one by our very own, Mrs Janine Power, who
works closely with Destiny Rescue. A Youth Ambassador for
World Vision, Mr David French-Mullen enlightened us about
his transformative visit to Rwanda and his quest to end
global hunger. In addition, an Old Ruytonian, Ms Anna
Richardson, spoke about her voluntary work as Human
Resources Manager for the School of St Jude in Tanzania.
These inspirational presentations revealed to our students
the benefits of life-long community service. I extend my
thanks to all in the community who have supported our
endeavours this year.
Ms Maria Di Vitto,
Community Service Co-ordinator
Debating
There is a line from a Paul Kelly song,
‘Don’t start me talking
or I’ll have it all my way’
and, I have to admit, it’s the tune
that I hear in my head every time I am with our Ruyton
students whenever they debate.
This year our intake of new debaters was excellent, with
over 30 girls joining our squad from Year 8. These new girls,
along with our experienced debaters, were outstanding,
even managing to set a new benchmark, with nine out of
13 teams winning in Round One. The other very promising
feature was that a broad range of students won Best
Speaker awards across the five debating rounds.
The other impressive accomplishment that must be
recognised is that of one Year 10 girl who won the 2015
Swannie Award for the Hawthorn region. This award is
conferred by the Debating Association of Victoria and
recognises speakers who have excelled in their division.
Given that the standard of talent in our Hawthorn
competition is so high, this is a truly wonderful
achievement for all of Ruyton, let alone for the student
herself.
As a group, these girls are excellent and, thanks to the
Senior girls, the collegiality improves every year. In
particular, it is important to acknowledge the indefatigable
work of our 2014 Debating Captain, Deanne Xu who worked
with amazing enthusiasm to encourage, support and
nurture the girls.
Deanne was ably assisted by our Debating Level Leaders,
Years 8-11. These students took their responsibilities
seriously, demonstrating their sincere commitment to
debating at Ruyton. Indeed, I would like to thank everyone
who has supported us throughout the season.
The leadership opportunities we have in place mean that
we are building depth in the squad, enabling girls to find
their voices in a very supportive environment. This year,
Deanne organised more practice debates for the new girls
as well as ensuring several Year 11 students coached and
mentored new teams. Our aim is to continue to grow this
aspect of the activity, as it is rewarding for both the teams
and the mentors.
I am sure that our 2015 Debating and Forums Captain,
Laura Marshall, will dedicate herself to building on the
great work of her predecessors. Laura has been a wonderful
team player throughout her years of debating at Ruyton
and I very much look forward to working alongside her.
Despite the exacting nature of debating - the need to
research a topic; to consider the counter-arguments; to
organise one’s content and the ability to articulate one’s
position both clearly and persuasively it is also an activity
that is great fun. Our Preparation nights are full of energy
(that’s even before the hot chips come) and win or lose,
each girl leaves a Debating Round at Scotch College smiling.
While it is true that you don’t really want to
‘start me
talking’
, I personally love it when they finally do!
Mr Walter Zavattiero,
Debating Co-ordinator
Annual Report 2014
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