¹ú²ú̽»¨

It’s not one of those schools where there are Rolls Royces driving down the driveway every day. You can have boys there whose parents are builders or teachers, anything really; there is a wide variety of backgrounds and that’s important when you’re trying to look at a balanced school. It’s got a great community. We’re a long way away, we rely on the College to look after our boys, and they do a great job – which is part of the reason why we sent them down. It’s all about getting some balance and we’ve had a great association with families in the city – they have looked after our fellas so well.

What I do find as a general rule is they show their mother a lot of respect and that comes from the Marist culture – they look up to Mother Mary and they do that to their mothers.

We’ve found they are way more helpful and wanting to do things for you, and part of that is being away from home all the time, so that they actually appreciate and enjoy being back at home.

Sending our five boys to ¹ú²ú̽»¨ was the best decision we made.

At ¹ú²ú̽»¨, the boys want to succeed – it is cool to achieve. William has become an independent person, both in his learning and in everyday life. The teachers and support staff at ¹ú²ú̽»¨ do an amazing job. We stress to him the importance of becoming the best version of himself and strongly believe that ¹ú²ú̽»¨ will bring this out in him.

¹ú²ú̽»¨ is not just a place of learning but a crucible for character development – the boys are taught that it is a privilege for them to attend St Joseph’s. This is what impressed my husband and I the most.

William was a man of few words. A simple ‘thanks’ is now replaced with ‘thank you so much’; words that are much more powerful … William has progressed from a shy boy to a young man who can walk into a room, give a firm handshake, look a person in the eye and hold a conversation. He does so with confidence. And there is a difference between confidence and cockiness. That difference is ¹ú²ú̽»¨.

My wife, Julie, and I had a 15-year relationship with the College – our sons were weekly boarders and graduated in 2008, 2013 and 2017. I chose ¹ú²ú̽»¨ because it was consistent to its original purpose – to create men of substance within the Marist tradition who are inclusive, respectful and family oriented, built around Mary and the mother element.

As opposed to being education only during the day, ¹ú²ú̽»¨ is a much more holistic environment. It really is a replica of the home environment.

The lessons of economic and social inclusion learned at ¹ú²ú̽»¨ are transported into the way ¹ú²ú̽»¨ boys behave in their own family lives, work lives and communities. My own sons are massively emblematic of that – the oldest, Lachlan, is a mechanic and his three closest friends are a doctor in Wagga, a grazier in Tibooburra, and a builder in Maitland, and when the four of them get together there is absolutely no lording it over one other … it wouldn’t even enter their consciousness that that was a differentiating factor.

If they are doing that with each other, they are going to be the same with their families and in their communities, and that has got to be good for the place as a whole.

When we dropped Leo off at ¹ú²ú̽»¨ during the height of Covid, I still remember standing on the footpath, saying goodbye, and Mr Blake being there to talk to us. That really meant a lot to me – it stayed with me.

Our journey with the College started long before our sons were Joe-Boys. My husband, Marty (Old Boy, Class of 1996) went from being a student to beginning his teaching career at ¹ú²ú̽»¨. When we got married, we lived in Gladesville so we could stay close to the school. Even after moving back to Armidale, that bond never faded – it actually grew stronger.

I never imagined we’d send our boys to a boarding school. But as I thought more about ¹ú²ú̽»¨, I realised what it could offer our boys. Marty and I watched with pride as our boys embraced everything – sport, music, liturgy, leadership. ¹ú²ú̽»¨ gave them so many opportunities to grow into well-rounded young men.

What I’ve really come to value are the Marist qualities that have been instilled in them – and the kindness of the staff. Being part of the ¹ú²ú̽»¨ community all these years has been amazing, from when we were just a young family … it’s been just beautiful.