Former St Thomas Aquinas Primary Springwood student Sean Cordeiro and fellow Blackheath artist Claire Healy have won the prestigious Sulman Prize for 2022 with their depiction of the fight between the warrior Raiko and the demon Shuten-dji.
St Thomas Aquinas Primary Principal Marina Hardy said the school was excited and proud that one of their former students had won such an impressive award.
Former Principal Peter Gibson also expressed his delight at the news, remembering Sean as a smart and popular student. "Sean, his parents, his entire family were lovely and I'm sure they must all be incredibly proud of him winning this award," said Peter.
Sean and Claire said they were "really surprised and humbled" at the award.
Detail from the Sulman Prize-winning entry by Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro.
"We are not usually known as painters. We approached this work in the same way we approach our sculptures: we let the materiality of the work speak for itself.
"Our work used an army surplus Vietnam war era helicopter fuselage and reverse engineered it into a kite.
"One of the ideas we were thinking about while painting was the militarisation of objects of spectacle: fireworks to bullets, kites to warplanes, social media to insurrection. Why is it that objects of wonderment become the means of our own subjugation? It seems that we are the ones being bamboozled."
They said the exhibition was "awesome, vibrant, funny and thought provoking... The energy and zest of the show is the perfect tonic for the rubbish few years that we have all had."
Blue Mountains Gazette
Katoomba news, sport and weather.
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30 Jun 2025
From Facebook
🧤❄️ Cold and Bare, Show You Care – Boots to Wear! ❄️🧦 This powerful slogan, created by our students, has guided our winter fundraising efforts with Vinnies and what an impact we’ve made together! Through Pyjama Day, the Winter Sleepout, and today’s Boot Day, our school community has come together to live out our faith. These events helped raise awareness of the challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness — especially in winter, when, as shared by local Vinnies volunteers, "our feet feel the cold first." Thanks to your incredible generosity, we’ve raised $1,137 toward our goal of $1,236. Almost enough to provide three full sets of winter clothing to those in need. 💙 Donations can still be made via the QKR! App as we take the final steps towards our goal. We're only $99 away! Thank you for showing your care and walking with us in solidarity.![459854762807679_1322252989901181-1]()
27 Jun 2025
From Facebook
In line with our Vinnies Winter Appeal slogan, we are holding a boot day to raise some much needed funds. These funds will be used by vinnies to provide warm clothing to people who are less fortunate in our local community. Cold and Bare? Show your care, "Boots to wear!" Wear your boots on Monday!
More News
30 Jun 2025
From Facebook
🧤❄️ Cold and Bare, Show You Care – Boots to Wear! ❄️🧦 This powerful slogan, created by our students, has guided our winter fundraising efforts with Vinnies and what an impact we’ve made together! Through Pyjama Day, the Winter Sleepout, and today’s Boot Day, our school community has come together to live out our faith. These events helped raise awareness of the challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness — especially in winter, when, as shared by local Vinnies volunteers, "our feet feel the cold first." Thanks to your incredible generosity, we’ve raised $1,137 toward our goal of $1,236. Almost enough to provide three full sets of winter clothing to those in need. 💙 Donations can still be made via the QKR! App as we take the final steps towards our goal. We're only $99 away! Thank you for showing your care and walking with us in solidarity.
27 Jun 2025
From Facebook
In line with our Vinnies Winter Appeal slogan, we are holding a boot day to raise some much needed funds. These funds will be used by vinnies to provide warm clothing to people who are less fortunate in our local community. Cold and Bare? Show your care, "Boots to wear!" Wear your boots on Monday!
25 Jun 2025
From Facebook
The Stage 2 Soccer Gala Day ⚽️ 🥅 was a whirlwind of excitement at Jamison Oval yesterday as our students showcased not only their growing soccer skills but also their resilience and teamwork. From the first whistle to the final goal, our four St Thomas Aquinas teams demonstrated remarkable improvement in their gameplay, adapting swiftly to each challenge presented. Their behaviour throughout the day was exemplary and they remained focused and positive, turning each shift in the weather into an opportunity to support one another and enhance their collective performance. Our Year 4 boys finished 3rd as did our girls and our Year 3 boys finished 8th and our girls finished 5th. Well done everyone on all of your bountiful effort. 👏 👏 👏 🎉🎉🎉🎉
23 Jun 2025
From Facebook
Some more fun from our UBUNTU Africa performance today. It was great to see everyone actively involved in the music and dancing.
22 Jun 2025
From Facebook
Congratulations to our award recipients this fortnight. We are very proud of all your hard work and efforts. A special congratulations to Bridget who won the Blue Mountains writing award in the years 10-12 division with the theme 'Only I can Say'.
20 Jun 2025
From Facebook
🌙 Pyjama Day for Vinnies! 💤 Today we wore our comfiest pyjamas to school. Not just for fun, but to raise awareness and support for those in our community who are doing it tough this winter. ❄️❤️ Pyjama Day reminds us that while we get to go home to warm beds, many in our community aren’t as lucky. All donations go directly to Vinnies Winter Appeal, helping provide food, blankets and support to those experiencing homelessness and hardship. 💙 You can donate easily through the QKR! App – every dollar makes a difference. Let’s cosy up and show our compassion.
20 Jun 2025
From Facebook
Our FIAT students have been working hard and are all set for their Winter Appeal Liturgy. It will begin at 12:45 prior to assembly. See you there!
19 Jun 2025
From Facebook
Year 1 have been exploring the concept of Sound Energy and Pitch. We love Being Scientists on Thursdays.
18 Jun 2025
From Facebook
Today, we dressed in blue to show our support for our NSW Blues team. A fun day with our classmates.
18 Jun 2025
From Facebook
🏟️ Our S.T.A Boys Stage 3 soccer teams kicked off our first gala day today showcasing their talent and teamwork in a series of exciting matches against some highly skilled school sides. With fast-paced action, clever plays, and plenty of goals, the teams gave it their all on the field. Win or lose, their positive attitude never wavered—they played with heart, had a blast, and demonstrated fantastic sportsmanship throughout. A great effort by both our year 6 and year 5 teams, finishing up 4th place in their pools. Great work boys! ⚽️🥅⚽️👏 👌🤜⚽️🤛💪 ⚽️ 🥅⚽️
17 Jun 2025
From Facebook
👟👟👟Congratulations to our STA Cross Country Champions! All competing brilliantly at the NSWCCC Championships held at the Sydney Equestrian Centre. Talen, Catherine, Charlotte, Dominic, Tighe and Olivia all making St Thomas Aquinas very proud of your efforts. Woohoo!🎉 🎉🎉🎉
16 Jun 2025
From Facebook
Last Friday night, some of our Stage 3 students were joined by their peers from St Canice’s, Katoomba and Our Lady of the Nativity, Lawson for the Vinnies Winter Sleep out. The night offered them the opportunity to have just a small glimpse of the challenges faced by those who are experiencing homelessness — a reality that’s not a choice. Thank you to Roydon Ng and Kim Crawford from Vinnies for making this experience more enriching for our students by speaking to them about homelessness. 💙 Thank you for supporting this opportunity to grow in empathy and understanding. You can continue to help by donating to the Vinnies Winter Appeal through our upcoming Pyjama Day 💤👕 via the QKR! app 📲. 🧊 Cold and bare? Show your care — boots to wear! 👢
16 Jun 2025
From Facebook
Today, we had a police officer come and talk to our students about how to be safe online. Students attended in three groups - K-2, 3-4 and 5-6 with the message and content appropriate to the age of the students and how they might be using devices and being online. The program has been developed by the Federal Police and is called ‘ThinkUKnow’. More information and resources visit the ThinkUKnow website. Students have been encouraged to come home and talk to their families about what they’ve learned about being safe online including their profile/usernames, who they communicate with online, what they might post and how to get help.
16 Jun 2025
From Facebook
A fabulous day was had by all last Thursday at our school Athletics carnival. It was a glorious day in the mountains where our students displayed great sportsmanship as they strove to do their best in their races, field events and tableau games. There was such a positive vibe as we danced and ran and played with our peers. Today, we are holding our 100m finals at Columba Oval. Good luck to those who are running today.
13 Jun 2025
From Facebook
Faith in Action - A Springwood collaboration On Wednesday, our students were joined by Year 10 students from St Columba’s. The Year 10 students worked together to teach our students about Mercy by engaging with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. What a wonderful example of faith in action across our school communities.