In field and classroom shall be our aim

In my role I have the opportunity to meet with many alumni. I do so here and if travelling, interstate and overseas. Recently I spent some time with a notable old boy in the United States. Among an enjoyable journey of memories, he focused on a couple of important people during his time at the school. One was Elmer Rahn and the other was Bill Vanthoff. He talked about the legacy that these two gentlemen provided for him and his classmates in a former era. He talked about the learning that he got from those individuals. He talked about the improvement that the school experienced as a result of having those two servants of the school.

The two gentlemen that he was talking of were significant contributors to the life of our school, but it wasn’t through the classroom that they were able to influence our community. Rahn was an educator of a different kind. He was an athletics coach. He presided over a time when Trinity’s success in the athletics field was significant. Indeed, we dominated over a number of years from the late 50s and early 60s. Rahn was remembered by this old boy as someone who taught the ability to run faster, but also to help students understand how to get the best from themselves. Likewise, Vanthoff was not a teacher. He did undoubtedly have a very significant contribution to make to his school though. He did so by curating our sports fields and cricket pitch. Having been a VFL footballer and a member of the royal Australian Air Force during World War Two, he then spent many years working at the MCG before coming to Trinity. I suspect that both of these men would be proud that we are the reigning AGSV Athletics Champions once again!

The impact of these two men was clearly profound on the students of the day. The impact that they had wasn’t in the classroom, but in the fields where our students played. This ably demonstrates that learning occurs in every part of our school community and that everyone has a role to play in contributing to that learning. In considering this, I wonder about our future old boys. I wonder when they are much older and looking back at their time at the school who they will think of as being great influences on them, not just in the classroom doing Maths, Science, History and English for instance, but out on the sporting fields as teacher coaches, or in the other nooks and crannies of school life. Will the names Sherratt, Botha, Fewster and Moreira be spoken in the same ways as Rahn, Vanthoff, Byers and Maus perhaps? I strongly suspect so.

Trinity’s Marles Playing Fields have long been a cornerstone of life beyond the classroom – a place where generations of students have forged friendships, built resilience, and experienced the true spirit of our School. For more than 40 years, these grounds have been cared for with pride, including by our longest-serving staff member, David Sanguinetti, relative of the legendary Bill Vanhtoff.

But we cannot do it alone.

To realise this vision, we need the philanthropic support of our community. Every contribution, large or small, will bring us closer to building a pavilion that honours our past and equips our students for the future.

This is your chance to be part of something lasting – a project that will shape Trinity for decades to come.