In 2023, Rosny College introduced our college values: Responsibility, Courage, Growth, Respect, and Connection. These values lay the foundation for our college culture, helping all students and community members understand what binds us together and shapes our learning environment.

To strengthen these values and continue to bring them into everyday life, we launched the Rosny College Values Art Competition, inviting students to create artworks representing one of the values. The response was inspiring, with a large number of thoughtful entries. We awarded five $250 prizes to winning entries and added two $100 runner-up awards to recognise the outstanding quality, effort and number of entrances that we received.

A panel led by Chief Judge Dylan Oswin, State Marking Coordinator in the Arts and senior Rosny teacher, alongside Principal Andrew Woodham, AST of Arts Evelyn Murray, AST of Wellbeing and Support Tristan Ferguson, and our School’s Business Manager Emma Burgess, selected the winners. Judging was based on artistic merit and each piece’s connection to the chosen value, as shared in the students' artist statements. The five winning artworks will be displayed in our main entrance as a lasting tribute to our values and celebration of student work.

We are thrilled to share these artworks with our community, and extend our thanks to the Department for Education, Children and Young People’, Culture and Growth team for their support in making this initiative possible by providing us with a values grant.

The Five Values Winners

Juno C. – Life Cycle.

My artwork shows growth through the life cycle of a freesia. The flower begins as a bud, the petals begin to open, it blooms, and then the flower dies. However, this is not the end of the cycle. Before long the flower will bloom again, perhaps stronger, perhaps a brighter colour, perhaps with more buds. This change is part of the flower’s growth, because without the dead petals left behind, there is no way for a new flower to bloom, and no reason to celebrate each flower when it does.

Riley M. – The Connections to Past, Present and Future.

Connections to Past, Present, and Future, is an artwork that honours the connections Rosny students, teachers, and staff share with the land of the Oyster Bay Nation, home to the moomaremener people. This piece reflects our community's bond with the land and how these connections evolve together. Using Aboriginal symbols and traditional weaving techniques, the work embodies the theme of connection as represented throughout all human history and reveals the importance of this value in holding communities together in the past, in the present and into the future.

Charlie B. – Days I Won’t Forget.

My painting illustrates the Candlestick at the Tasman Peninsula. I believe it links to growth as The Tasman Peninsula’s cliffs, are the tallest ocean cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere, and rise to impressive heights of 200 meters and reach 100 meters deep below the surface—over 300 meters of rugged land formed by natural forces millions of years before us. The rock face has been chiselled away by corrosion, forming these magnificent organ pipe like formations across the surface. Just as the cliffs have endured and evolved through natural forces, our personal growth is shaped by challenges that bring out our unique strengths, formed through our own life journey.

Jessica M. – Desire.

My piece embodies the college value of connection, represented through the closeness of two figures sharing a moment of comfort and peace. Their relaxed body language and gentle embrace reflect a deep bond and the sense of calm that genuine connection brings. This artwork highlights the simplicity and importance of human connection, affection, and relationships, emphasizing their role in a fulfilling and joyful life. The figure with wings suggests that values like connection arise from our highest states of being, embodying purity and love.

Jessica H. – All Connected.

My artwork reflects the value of connection, depicted through two faces entwined by countless strings of light. Although the faces are angled away from each other, they share the same neck and shoulders, bound together as one. The light intertwines them, symbolizing that while we are each individuals, we remain deeply connected through invisible threads—family, emotions, community, love, ambition, and the full spectrum of human experience. This piece highlights how our lives are interwoven, always linked in ways that shape and support us.

The Two Runners Up

Haylee B. – Garden of Personal Growth.

My artwork represents the value of growth and includes growth symbols throughout. You can see it in the people’s hair, symbolizing personal growth through the sprouting plants, as well as in the garden, trees, and the sun shining light on new life. Words like resilience, open-mindedness, courage, listening, and learning pour from the watering can, offering messages that nurture growth. The adult figure waters the younger one with wisdom, ensuring they grow with a strong, open mindset, ready to embrace life’s lessons.

Grace W. – Death and Life.

This artwork symbolises life and death, and how these forces grow together through a circle of life. The lily presented in the centre of the frame represents the growth of new things and life, also seen through a new bud opening. The skill represents how new life forms out of death. We see the lily growing from the nutrients of the skull. The spider reveals how these two elements are connected, and that one cannot form without the other. I have also painted a love heart hidden in the moon, which is shining light over this process.

Other Entrants

The Rosny College Values Art Competition has been a powerful testament to our students’ creativity and commitment to our values: Responsibility, Courage, Growth, Respect, and Connection. The competition not only showcased artistic talent but also deepened the connection between our students and the values we uphold. The winning pieces, on display at the college entrance from 2025 onwards, serve as a daily reminder of the importance of these values in shaping our community. We congratulate and thank to all who participated, judged, and supported this prize, and we look forward to seeing how our values continue to inspire our learning community.