Business Manager's Report

2017 has come to a close and it has been a honour to complete my ninth year at the College! Being part of the St Thomas’ team is a fantastic experience with there being many opportunities for all. Our boys are very lucky to have a dedicated staff that ranges from the teachers, support staff, coaches and mentors that they come across upon their journey here. It is the people that ultimately make a difference to one’s schooling life. At St Thomas’ we are committed to developing a program of learning that is able to reach out to all our students no matter who they are or where they come from. Hundreds of hours each year are dedicated to simply looking at how can we make things better for our students so they can ultimately become better men.

Working in a school of around 630 students is great as even the business manager gets to know many of the students. It was great to be back working with the boys on the footy field this year and one of the highlights was setting up the inaugural rugby trip to Japan. The experience for all was amazing and with the high level rugby focus, I hope it can become a tradition for all U15 rugby teams moving forward into the future. Thanks to Chris Leader for your support this year. You have contributed a huge amount to St Thomas’ rugby and you are a real asset to the school.

Excitingly 2017 will see the completion of our new STEM classroom block. This will be our third building to be completed in the last four years at the College. This building has been designed to be multi-purpose with a focus on science, mathematics and technology. Next year (May) our new administration centre will begin. Our Support Staff who do a fantastic job in the front office are very excited about making this move after working out of the library for the last two years. This building should hopefully be open in time for 2019 so watch this space!

Finally, it is a privilege to work within a great team superbly led by our outgoing principal, Christine O’Neill . Christine’s forward thinking has shaped the College into the wonderful school it is today. Thank you Christine for being the type of leader that it forward thinking with energy and flair and always has your back. You will be missed but not forgotten.

Merry Xmas everyone .... bring on 2018!

Regards Hamish McCombie