Working as a team comes to fruition at Joeys

In 2018, three close friends at St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill, have worked together to collectively achieve Dux of the College.

Year 12 students Thomas Ryan, Luke Dolin and John Salvaris were announced as joint Duxes of the College with each student achieving an ATAR of 99.75.

“Sharing this achievement with Tom and Luke, who just happen to be two of my best friends, is very satisfying,” John Salvaris said.

“If I had achieved this by myself, I wouldn’t be nearly as happy.”

Working collaboratively is very much a part of the Joeys psyche and Luke Dolin sees this as instrumental to the boys’ success.

“I have been helping them, and they have been helping me, and all three of us deserve this achievement as much as each other,” he said.

Mateship, and the close bond between students, is a quality that resonates across all years at the College.

Many things have been said about the unique connection within the Class of 2018.

Thomas Ryan reflects fondly on this connection.

“Our year group would fill debating theatres, crowd the sidelines at basketball games and cheer as one at the rugby on a Saturday,” he said. 

“We wanted to motivate each other to achieve the best we possibly could.”

The three students are passionate tennis players, and proudly represented the College in debating.

Both Luke and Tom were both selected as GPS representatives.

Tom, Luke and John believe the skills they have acquired in debating have positively affected their academic results.

“The skill of critical thinking is transferable to many other aspects of learning. I definitely believe debating has helped each of us significantly,” Luke said.

Likewise, the teaching methods and process of learning adopted in the classroom, is highlighted as playing a significant role in the boys’ achievement as joint duxes.

“The teachers understand how we work, what works best for us, and they tailor how they teach to match our needs individually,” Luke said.

John, a boarder throughout Years 11 and 12, has been working towards his HSC since his early years at the College.

He attributes his own academic success to the routine and structure of boarding.

“At Joeys, I had no distractions of an evening, there was no TV on in the background, or activity to take me away from learning,” he said.

“The set structure and routine at the College allowed me to focus and work towards my goal.”