We hope you have been keeping well and that you enjoy reading your June issue of The Word which is packed with good news.

Firstly we are delighted to announce that the College will open for Semester 2 2020, commencing Monday 17 August and concluding on Monday 14 December in line with the University of Sydney revised semester 2 dates. John’s students are very keen to return and are already starting to move back to College during the winter vacation.

The COVID-19 Hardship Fund has been set up by the College to help ensure that every one of our students who wants to continue their university studies at St John’s has that opportunity. Any donation made will be immediately spent to defray the fees of a student who is suffering financial hardship as a result of the pandemic, and would not otherwise be able to continue in the College.

The College Council are launching two new initiatives:

• In partnership with the Association, the Council has commenced a project to honour distinguished alumni of the St John’s. Your nominations are invited.
• An Official College History is to be commissioned and your input is requested.

Details of all the above and an update on the Association’s plans for the Annual Dinner and Laffo’s Long Lunch can be seen below.

We are delighted to announce that the College will be open for Semester 2 2020, commencing Monday 17 August and concluding on Monday 14 December in line with the University of Sydney semester 2 lectures commencing Monday 24 August.

We look forward to welcoming our new and returning students to the College for a great second half of 2020.

Move-in arrangements have already been communicated to retuning students and will be shared with new students upon confirmation of their admission in semester 2. The COVID-19 health crisis has necessitated new procedures regarding safely moving a large number of students into College in a relatively short space of time, therefore students will be moving-in to College for semester 2 over a seven day period between 10 – 17 August. Students requiring accommodation prior to that date for the purposes of study or employment during Winter Vacation will be moving-in to College on an individual basis as arranged. Full catering will commence on 13 July.

In common with people around the world, the coronavirus pandemic has affected all members of the John’s community and will do so for many months if not years to come.

Whilst at the moment the virus seems to be under control in Australia, the full extent of the economic impact is yet to be felt.

Already the College has had to contend with a serious loss of income for the 2020 year, just like most other businesses in our community .

As we all know, the College was founded by the generosity of the lay Catholic community in the 1850s. That same spirit of generosity we call on again now.

At the College right now is an outstanding group of young people at the commencement of their careers who need the College community’s help.

We want to ensure that every one of our students who wants to continue their university studies at St John’s has that opportunity.

Any donation you make will be immediately spent to defray the fees of a student who is suffering financial hardship as a result of the pandemic, and would not otherwise be able to continue in the College.

This will help both the student and the College contend with what is the latest challenge in our 162 year story.

Our target is $140,000 which will enable us to defray 50% of a semester’s fees for 20 students in need.

Caption: Justice John Nagle (SJC 1929-1935)

The College is delighted to announce that College Council, in partnership with the Association, has commenced a project to honour distinguished alumni of the St John’s.

A dedicated page on the College website will feature distinguished John’s alumni and this will also contribute to research for a College history which is being commissioned.

If you are aware of any St John’s alumni who have  excelled in their chosen field of endeavour, we want to hear about it. All you need to do is to fill out the nomination form on the webpage or send us an email at distinguished_alumni@stjohnscollege.edu.au and set out in a few brief paragraphs the notable achievements of the subject of your submission.

Your invitation to contribute and participate.

College Council has resolved to commission the writing of an official history of the College and has appointed a Working Group to provide advice on the scope of the project and bring it to fruition. The Working Group presently comprises Chair of Council John Coorey, the Rector, Des Kennedy SC and Kyle Oliver.

The Working Group is currently reviewing and gathering source material and is inviting input from alumni and friends of the College.

If you would like to support the project, and potentially play a part in shaping the finished product, by proposing themes and providing potential source material, this is your opportunity to do so.

The Association is closely monitoring NSW Government guidelines around gatherings and should restrictions be relaxed then the Association is hopeful of staging the Annual Dinner later in the year.

The Annual Reunion Dinner is an occasion for all Alumni of the College to reunite at the College, reminisce concerning past events, catch up with former College friends and reflect on the future of the College and their role in that future.

Is 2020 your reunion year?

A reminder that the 2020 Annual Alumni Dinner will be a reunion year for the following fresher years: 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. If you would be interested in being a table captain for your year group reunion, please contact the Association info@johnsmen.com. Thanks to all those who have already registered their interest.

The Association will issue a Save the Date for the 2020 Dinner as soon as practicable.

The Laffo’s Long Lunch Committee is currently looking at a possible date for the 12th Annual Laffo’s Long Lunch. We hope to bring you details as soon as they are confirmed.

It is a friendly and fun lunch in the spirit of Matt Laffan and is a celebration of the great person he was. There will be live music, interesting discussion, poetry, sport and much more. As well as this, it importantly will raise money to assist university students with a physical disability to reside at St John’s College while studying at the University of Sydney.

The Lunch is one of the College’s most successful fundraising events and is the main source of funds for the Laffan Scholarship. The inaugural luncheon was held in 2009 and has been growing in size every year since.

If you would be interested in sponsoring the lunch or have an item or experience you would like to donate as an auction item then please contact the organisers info@johnsmen.com. All proceeds will support the Matt Laffan Scholarship or Hearts in Union, supporting seriously injured members of the rugby community.