THE CENTENARIAN PORTRAIT PROJECT

Congratulations to Year 10 student, Charlotte McCarthy, whose artwork has been chosen as a part of ‘The Centenarian Portrait Project by Teenagers’ displayed at The Drill Hall, Torrens Parade Ground.

This competition is a celebration of South Australia’s super seniors highlighting their experiences, memories, and life history through Art. The uplifting initiative by Embraced Inc. aimed to bridge the generational divide by connecting a centenarian with a teenage artist, who is then tasked with creating a portrait that captures and celebrates a moment in a 100-year-life. Charlotte’s super senior was Edna Goudge who is 104.

Charlotte would meet with Edna once a week for a term to gather inspiration for her final painting. Please read Charlotte’s artistic statement below:

“Edna Goudge is an endearing, warm, humorous sweetheart with whom I have had the pleasure of meeting every other week. Edna is a well-loved woman. The staff at her home, her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and anyone who comes into contact with this lovely lady all enjoy her company and her little stories. 

Edna grew up in a simple household. She was always playing outside with her family, friends, and her dog Skipper while living on York St in Henley Beach. She has never been a fan of staying indoors. She, like me, was a basketball player as a child, and her father taught her how to play lawn bowls at the Henley Bowling Club. She went to Woodville High School and took the train every morning until she was 17 years old when she went to work at the post office.  

Edna married at the age of 27 years to an English man who grew up only across the street from her, still holding fond memories of her wedding day. She stopped working outside her home once married, to raise her family, living at Lockleys. Edna was a star at the Grange Bowling Club, where she spent forty years in the top division and travelled Australia with her team. Her final home was at Grange, and she now lives at the ‘Wesley House Aged Care Facility.’ When Edna turned 100, all but one of her siblings were still alive! She and her younger sister had a very close relationship, in fact, they both resided at Wesley House Aged Care. In the facility’s footy tips competition, they were actively competing with one another. Her younger sister, however, passed away in 2020 at the age of 98, while her ‘baby brother’ is still alive at the age of 96. 

Edna’s accepting in knowing she is not going to be here forever, with an endearingly positive view of what the day brings and what tomorrow may hold. As she says, “you are always graduating from something throughout life”. She has an incredible memory, is even better at directions than I am, and is always eager to tell me about her life experiences.  

I have not painted a watercolour portrait before; however, Edna struck me as such a gentle person, which watercolour would capture beautifully. When I first saw Edna, I was struck by her stunning eyes. They virtually tell a story, with each wrinkle and ‘imperfection’ revealing a journey and evoking memories. The soft blue beautifully contrasts with the skin. A beautifully challenging face to paint.”

The painting of Edna was exhibited at The Drill Hall and has been chosen from the selection of portraits entered throughout Australia to be exhibited in Canberra next year.

Congratulations on a wonderful achievement, Charlotte. Your passion for drawing and painting is inspirational!

Mrs Nicolle LeRay-Warren, Head of Visual Arts – Secondary

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to Logan Hughes (9BPC-04) and Lachlan Sands (10PC-11) on winning gold medals in the Under 15 National Football Championships last week. The boys conducted themselves well across the week of competition and made SMC proud.

Congratulations also to Lachlan who has made the All-Australian Team.

CLASS OF CABARET AT THE FESTIVAL CENTRE

Congratulations to Year 11 student, Daniella D’Silva on her outstanding Class of Cabaret performance, presented at the Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre. Daniella sang an original piece she wrote titled Mr. Genie Man and also Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Daniella is a skilled singer, an engaging performer, and a wonderful advocate for Arts excellent at the College.

The Class of Cabaret is an annual program produced by Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Adelaide Festival Centre’s centrED with support from the South Australian Department for Education. Each year students from around South Australia audition, and twenty are chosen to develop a performance for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Students who participate also have the option to enrol in Stage 2 Creative Arts and receive SACE credits for their artistic work.

Daniella comment on her experience:

“Class of Cabaret is such a worthwhile experience for any student. It’s a place where you can be yourself and meet others who share the same passions as you. Working with the mentors has been one of my highlights! They support you as an artist and pushed you to reach your full potential. As well as being a fun experience, it’s also a lot of hard work, but once you get to that final performance, it is well worth the sweat and tears. Getting the chance to experience what it’s like for cabaret artists to perform onstage to a live audience was just surreal. I have become more confident in myself as a person and performer! I am so grateful to Mrs Burns for giving me the opportunity to do Class of Cabaret. I will always remember this experience and the lifelong friends I made.”

Class of Cabaret registrations for 2023 are now open, if you are a Year 10 or 11 student and would like to audition, please contact Mrs Burns for more information.

Mrs Emily Burns, Drama Co-curricular and Events

Photo Credit: Proshots & Ahsan Quresh

CSMF AUDITION SUCCESS

Congratulations to Year 7 student, Alyssa Faranda, Year 10 student, Max Pook-Kathriner, and Big Band 1 on successfully auditioning for the Catholic Schools Music Festival this year.

These students will all be performing on the main stage of the Festival Theatre, to an audience of over 2000 people in September. Alyssa will be performing In My Dreams, from ‘Anastasia the Musical’ on two nights of the festival, Max will be performing a solo saxophone piece called Megalania, and Big Band 1 will be performing The Beatles classic song, Something.

Congratulations to Alyssa, Max and Big Band 1, the College community wishes you the best of luck on your performances.

Mr Tim Donovan, Director of Music

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2022 VOLLEYBALL

Congratulations to old scholar Chris McHugh (2007) and Paul Burnett on making it into the Quarter Finals for the Commonwealth Games Men’s Beach Volleyball. The duo verses Sri Lanka tonight at 8:30pm – be sure to tune in and cheer them on!