Our student leaders and pastoral staff gave their time for professional development over the week before Welcome Week including a two-day retreat to Blackheath. ‘Being a leader’ and ‘being a team’ were two of the most significant topics presented to the students who are College Junior Deans or members of the Students’ Club and Middle Common Room management committees. They were joined by Welcome Week leaders and the Peer Support Leaders back at College on day 3 and completed further development in respect, first responder, mental health and bystander training.
One of the positive outcomes is having the Junior Deans taking on leading roles in presentations to freshers in Welcome Week (pictured presenting is JD Ed Taylor). They then continuing leading into semester, modelling positive behaviours, mentoring, guiding and inspiring their peers.
Perfect weather greeted over 130 freshers joining the undergraduate community and 31 arriving postgraduates joining Graduate House on their first day at St Paul’s on Monday 17 February. Many of the undergraduates were accompanied by their parents, care-givers and, for those from overseas, their locally-based relatives.
A packed program included arrivals, keycard pick-up and move-in, the traditional welcome ceremony and signing of the College Register, parents’ cocktail party, then Chapel for all new students followed by formal dinner in the Hall. What is exciting this year is the growing number of new Paulines from outside Sydney: 33 from regional NSW, 19 interstate and 20 who live overseas.
Student leaders are briefedFirst arrivals at the Albert ArchwayThe SClub merch stall Keycards and check-inPerfect weather for the welcome
Our new members of Graduate House were welcomed at a rooftop lunch by the Dean, Dr Antone Martinho-Truswell, and are representative of a range of higher degrees from across the spectrum of courses offered at The University of Sydney.
Dr Antone Martinho-Truswell welcomePostgrads from Canada, USA, South America and AustraliaWelcome lunch on the Roof Top Terrace
The undergraduates have chosen a wide range of degrees, from Commerce and Engineering being the most popular, to Science (Medicine), Arts, combinations with Law and a range of degrees in the Applied Sciences, Psychology, Design and Politics. We are also seeing the resurgence of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Science amongst the choices.
The welcome ceremony was held in the Waddy Performance Centre Theatre which comfortably catered for the gathering of 400 people. A number of key messages were delivered to the students: the Warden encouraging our students to be “other-centred” and be there for their fellow Paulines; Senior Student Tilly Walker asked freshers “to be your unique self”; and Head of Admissions TJ Christie emphasised that “Paul’s is a place to make deep connections”.
2025 freshers Senior Student Tilly Walker speaksThe Warden’s welcome to each fresherSigning the register with Head of Admissions TJ ChristieThe Warden addresses the parents
Before the formal dinner in Hall the freshers attended their first St Paul’s College chapel service welcomed by Chaplain Antony Weiss with wonderful music led by the Chapel Choir under Director of Music Jack Stephens.
First Chapel Service for Welcome WeekDirector of Music Jack Stephens speaks
Welcome Week continued with a broad and deep programme of history, culture, academic writing, drugs and alcohol risks, code of conduct, city and beach visits, university campus tour and visits to other colleges.
…Food for hungry freshersWelcoming guests from other collegesLunch with guestsintercol tipintercol tip
The St Paul’s community welcomes our fresher cohort and look forward to seeing and hearing about their achievements throughout 2025.
Pauline, The Hon Andrew Bell, the Chief Justice of NSW, gave his Opening of Law Term address on 6 February and made news headlines with his remarks on a number of current issues. Law students at Paul’s in 2025 would do well to reflect on the matters His Honour has raised, particularly for those shortly to embark on their practical legal training. Andrew states that the costs for this graduate diploma, essential to be admitted into law practice in NSW, “may well present a significant barrier to entry to the legal profession”. He has been able to address some of the issues with the College of Law in Sydney and is about to launch an independent survey through the Legal Professional Admission Board.
His address also reaches deep into the issue of racial, religious and ethnic hatred, activities which have recently become the leading items on our nightly news and, quite rightly, widely condemned as a ‘stain on the soul of our city’ (Archbishop Anthony Fisher, 3 February 2025). He has highlighted the spread of antisemitism in Sydney and attacks on innocent people and destruction of property. Andrew commented: “Freedom from fear is a cardinal element of a liberal democracy as is the freedom to practice or indeed not to practice a religion” and “the lessons of history cannot and must not be forgotten”.
The Chief Justice also called on the judicial profession to consider strongly the largely unregulated sources of information through social media platforms and the “Truth Decay”[1] of our society. A new Supreme Court Practice Note has been promulgated to deter the legal profession’s use of Gen AI – another topic that will be of great interest to Paulines as our University opens-up the usage of Gen AI for student work.
Judicial independence is another of Andrew’s themes and he addresses the use of the USA Presidential Pardons as “gravely undermining the rule of law in the United States”.
To read the full transcript of Andrew Bell’s speech follow this LINK.
[1] the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. See: https://www.rand.org/research/projects/truth-decay.html
Join us at the Summer Soiree
The Warden and the Union Committee warmly invite Old Paulines, their partners and friends to join us for an unforgettable evening of festivities and live entertainment in the Quad and Salisbury.
