I hope you had a wonderful break and that the start of the year has been relatively smooth. Congratulations to the HSC class of 2021 as they achieved outstanding results in their HSC exams. Through their results, the College was again in the top 200 schools across the state and the best performing Catholic school in the Macarthur area. All girls achieved exceptional results across the bands with many achieving personal bests that exceeded their expectations. All girls who were seeking entry into university were given early offers before they sat their exams. We are very thrilled for them and proud of their achievements. A photo of all of the high achievers present at the assembly is included in this edition.

We have a few new staff who have joined us this year. I would like to welcome:

Mrs Jackie Benney          Learning Enhancement Coordinator

Ms Tabitha Brown           RE teacher

Ms Emily Negrin              Maths teacher

Mr Ben Robson               eLearning and Innovation Coordinator

Ms Maree Torpy              Teacher’s Aide

Mr Matthew White          HSIE Coordinator

Ms Philomena Camilleri   Teacher's Aide

Ms Ashleigh Young         PDHPE /RE teacher (who will be starting in a few weeks)

Matthew Mahasay           IT Technician

 We are thrilled to have these staff joining us this year. They will be a wonderful addition to our community.

After we had finished for the year last year, I sadly accepted the resignation of Mrs Boulatsakos. Maria has been a fantastic Year Coordinator and teacher. It was sad to see her go. We wish her well for the future. Mrs Nina Tacca-Baudana will be taking leave for the year. She has decided to focus on her health, and we look forward to her return in 2023. The photos of our new staff are in this edition of the Inside Out.

We also thank Mr Josh Combes who will be taking on the role of Acting Assistant Principal Students for this term and Mrs Vanessa Singles who is the Acting CAPA Coordinator, Mrs Eileen Norris and Mrs Alison Bleyerveen who will be covering for Ms Stephanie Dunn and Mr Gary Spies and Mr Bayley Spencer who are covering for Mrs Pola Nicolaou this term.

Sadly, Mrs Nicolaou’s son was gravely ill through last year and then finally lost his battle against stomach cancer this year. He was only in his twenties and such a beautiful, strong, intelligent young man. His loss is deeply felt by his whole family and our community. Please keep Mrs Nicolaou and the family in your prayers. I am sure when she returns later this term, you will extend to her the care and comfort that is always present in our community.

We welcome our new Year 7 girls and girls in many other years as well. They have had a great transition in to high school. They are familiar with their locks; they can read their timetable and we haven’t lost anyone on the site through the day. There seems to be lots of smiles and we are very pleased with their progress. If you have any concerns with your daughter, please contact her pastoral advisor or her Year Coordinator. There is a lot to learn in the first weeks, so I suggest that you reassure her and encourage her to be active in finding the solutions at the College if she can.

It is wonderful that we were able to host our swimming carnival on Thursday. The girls were very animated and managed to support the people in their teams with much enthusiasm. I like to acknowledge the work of Mr Ashcroft and the PDHPE staff in setting up and running the day. All girls go to the event, and it was great to see such excitement and team spirit.

Well, we are managing COVID as best we can. Thank you for registering your results each Monday and Wednesday. The current regulations are in place for the first four weeks of the term so we are hoping there will be some changes coming up. The girls have been wonderful in wearing their masks and keeping their social distance. Let’s hope and pray that this will ease in the coming weeks and our experience of normal will slowly begin to return.

I will leave you with a reflection provided by Joan Chittister about prayer:

“When we go to pray, we go, not to be given something but to be quiet, to develop a heartbeat of acceptance, to become the calm that is calming. Humility makes listeners of us. And in listening to everything that happens to us, we find God’s word for us.”

Sr Joan Chittister:  The Breadth of the Soul

I encourage you to find some time to pray in the coming week.

Sue Lennox - Principal

Lectio Divina is a way of prayerfully reading scripture which was devised by St Benedict. It involves listening with the ear of the heart to a scripture passage. Lectio invites us to listen, savour, and respond—not simply understand the meaning. We read the text slowly, savouring the words. It gives us something to ruminate on with the focus being on formation of the heart rather than intellectual curiosity. In the practice of lectio divina, the words of the text become alive and touch us in spontaneous ways that lead us more deeply into relationship with God.

Our Year of Prayer and Lectio Divina is supported by two other Benedictine values: Discipline and Obedience. Discipline is the value of being faithful. As people of constant prayer, we will remain faithful to our belief in God and we will grow in trust that our relationship with God is the way to fullness of life. Obedience is the ability to listen and then follow through with appropriate action. Prayer is not only about saying set words and asking God for things. The better part of prayer is being still and silent so as to hear God’s voice deep within our hearts. Upon listening to the call of God within us, we can discover what we must do. Our prayer leads us to appropriate, loving action.

In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, St Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). St Paul’s advice to “pray constantly” for our St Pat’s community means, as stated earlier, “to put God into everything we do.” We cannot go about our daily life and the only thing we do is pray. Putting God into all we do—that is, being enthusiastic—will be that which guides our every word and action. With God constantly in our thoughts, our actions become guided by love, peace, and joy. In this sense, then, our daily activities themselves become a form of prayer. Let us rejoice always and give thanks.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator

There is an extensive archive of editions already available, and every year, 10 new editions are added. Each edition includes a video quiz, video Q&A from leading specialists, fact sheets, articles and a host of other resources including suggested apps, books, websites as well as other additional videos. SchoolTV offers information in bite size, easily digestible pieces that is available to you when you need it, 24/7. 

At a time when the wellbeing of our youth has never been more challenged, SchoolTV delivers accessible and empowering information in a unique and easy to understand way. Contact your school for further information and how to access this valuable resource.

There is a link from the College home page (under portals). Access the resource here https://saintpatricks.nsw.schooltv.me/.

^{This article is reproduced from School TV promotional flyers}

Debra Bourne - Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

Twenty three students, across twenty subjects, were acknowledged in the HSC Distinguished Achievers list. These students achieved in the highest band (Band 6 or Band E4) for one or more courses. Band 6 for two unit courses and Band E4 for extension courses indicates the highest level of performance with students achieving between 90 and 100 percent in these subjects. This is outstanding and congratulations to these girls.

Our recent high achiever's assembly honoured the achievements of our 2021 HSC graduates. The ceremony included speeches from Dr Bourne, College Dux, Georgia Josif, College Captain, Tavara Sofa and College Principal, Ms Lennox. Several students also offered subject specific advice around study strategies, managing major projects and managing workloads. 

Thank you to our High Achievers who could celebrate with us at our assembly and for sharing their stories with us. We commend the grit that our all of our 2021 graduates drew upon to make significant and impressive progress throughout their time at St Patrick’s College. They are to be applauded

Students in classes did not throw beans but were able to eat some. These beans were freshly roasted, and students enjoyed the crunchy, almost popcorn like taste. Students also were given the opportunity to make their own sushi roll. These rolls are called “Eho-maki” which is a good luck sushi roll that you are not allowed to cut. The roll represents your wishes and goals for the year. Cutting up the roll will cut up your luck. Students ate the rolls without cutting them thinking of their goals for the year.
It was a great experience for all students and we look forward to a year of great luck in 2022.

Julian Nash - LOTE Coordinator/Japanese Language Teacher

Throughout Years 10, 11 and 12, your daughter will have a number of opportunities to sit the NESA online tests, receive feedback on her progress and access support to reach the minimum standards.

The first round of tests for our Senior School students will take place in Week 7 of Term 1. Tests will be scheduled in Reading, Writing and Numeracy. There will be further test opportunities scheduled later in the year and your daughter will be advised of these test dates in advance.

An information package will be provided to your daughter in the coming weeks. It explains what the tests involve, what she can expect and how she can best prepare for the tests. We encourage you to read this information together and, for more information, visit the NESA website:

http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-minimum-standard

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mrs Claire McGillicuddy via the College.

Claire McGillicuddy - Curriculum Administrator

Best Start Year 7 is an online literacy and numeracy assessment package for schools to assess the literacy and numeracy skills of students as they begin their secondary schooling. It is designed to assist teachers to identify where students may require additional support and to more effectively target teaching for all students across all secondary subjects.

Best Start Year 7 does not provide separate parent reports, as the purpose of the assessment is to provide feedback to inform teaching. However, teachers are able to provide feedback to students, parents or caregivers during the usual teacher interview process. Best Start Year 7 is just one of a range of informal assessments that the school uses to assess students.

Please inform us if your child has special needs requiring support to complete an online assessment.

More information about the Best Start Year 7 is available via this link:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/literacy-and-numeracy/best-start-year-7

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mrs Claire McGillicuddy at the College.

Claire McGillicuddy - Curriculum Administrator

In this current situation, we have decided to hold off starting Music groups until Term 2. We will then reassess the risks and let you know when they will begin. The current groups offered this year are as follows:

St Pat's Ensemble - open to any students who play an instrument and have at least one year of experience. We will meet on Tuesday mornings from 7:45am in the MSC when we begin. 

Choir - open to any students who love to sing! We will meet on Wednesday mornings from 7:45am outside Westview (F block) when we begin.

The Band - open to any students who want to learn guitar, ukulele, keyboard, bass or pop vocals. Will rehearse in J34 on Fridays at lunch when we begin.

Sorry to be a little vague about the starting dates for these groups but we will keep you posted before they start and hope to see as many students involved as we have had in the past. 

Elizabeth Samyia and Janet Rennie - CAPA Teachers

College Swimming Carnival

Our first major school event for the year is the College swimming carnival. The swimming carnival was held on Thursday 10 February at the Gordan Fetterplace Aquatic Centre. 

Activities Program

Our activities program commenced on 1 February with a flurry of physical activity and excitement. The College has once engaged the services of a variety of facilitators and will continue to run a number of specialty programs including Cheer for students in Years 8–11 as well as an Outdoor Education program for students in Year 8.

MISA

Our trial process for the Term 1 MISA teams is well underway and the competition starts on 15 February. Term 1 MISA sports include Indoor Cricket, Volleyball and Hockey for students in Years 7-9 and Oz Tag and Basketball for students in Years 10–12. Information regarding MISA can be found at https://www.misaonline.org.au/

Wollongong Diocesan Sport

Wollongong Diocesan sport kicks off with the Diocesan Tennis on 14 February followed by the Diocesan Touch on 24 February and Diocesan Swimming on 11 March. Trials for these teams will begin very soon and will be run during lunchtimes. We also have our Year 9 PASS class supporting the Western Region Catholic Primary schools by acting as officials at their selection swimming carnival. Information regarding Wollongong Diocesan sport can be found at https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/

NSWCCC Sport

NSWCCC sport registrations have opened for a number of Term 1 events and this is the pathway for our elite athletes. Registrations for these selection trials are done online and all students have been emailed information on the process. It is important that students and parents are aware of the requirements to register for these teams as well as the closing dates for each sport. The link to Catholic Schools NSW Sport website is https://csnsw.sport/

NSWCCC SELECTION TRIAL                         REGISTRATION CLOSE DATE  

Squash Championship                                   11/02/2022 

Tennis - CCC                                                   18/02/2022 

Baseball - CCC                                                21/02/2022 

Softball - CCC                                                 25/02/2022 

Volleyball - Open                                            25/02/2022 

Cricket Girls - CCC                                         1/03/2022 

Triathlon                                                         1/03/2022  

Water Polo                                                      11/03/2022 

Diving - CCC                                                   21/03/2022 

Rugby 7's Girls - CCC                                     8/04/2022 

Volleyball - 15 Years & Under                        8/04/2022 

Australian Football - CCC                               20/04/2022 

Basketball - CCC                                             22/04/2022  

Hockey                                                           19/05/2022 

*Please ensure you take note of the closing dates as late entries will not be accepted.

Sports Council

Under the leadership of College Sports Captain Madison Mulhall, the Sports Council is underway and looking to introduce a range of new initiatives throughout the year. The Sports Council is open to all students 7–12 who have an interest in the sports program at the College.

Term 1 Calendar of events. *Please note that dates are subject to change

Scott Ashcroft - Sports and Activities Coordinator

Why The Morning Is So Important

Your mornings are the most important part of the day. Say YES to your day, introducing positive routines and habits into your mornings. The way you start your day has a massive impact on how you experience the rest of the day.

Starting Your Day On a Positive Note

1. QUIET TIME: Start every morning with a period of purposeful silence. If this is new to you, start with just a few minutes sitting in silence, closing your eyes, relaxing your body, and focusing on your breath.
2. AFFIRMATIONS: Create new positive stories or affirmations about what you want and, more importantly, who you are. Direct your mind to think in a positive and focused way.
3. VISUALISE: Picture in your mind what you want to experience in your day, what you need to do and the person you need to be.
4.  READ: Spend a few minutes reading something inspiring that develops you personally.
5. EXERCISE: Exercise or even stretching helps you lift your mood and boosts not just your physical, but also your mental state.
6. MUSIC: Listen to music that makes you feel good.

  Score your mornings on a scale of 1 to 10 then ask yourself, what can I do to improve my score?

The College Library

This is a website with three online resources that helps students develop essential skills for academic success and positive mindset. There are units of work on topics such as improving time management skills, how to study, research skills, summarising, technology use, brain and memory as well as topics like managing stress, growth mindset, goal setting, motivation and positive thought habits. You can see all of the topics covered in the attached handout.

The library includes:
75 video lessons for students (20-30 mins each) from two experts on Study Skills & Wellbeing.
Full access to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and 43 study skills units of work.
Full access to Human Connections Online Wellbeing Resource with 17 modules.

Parent Access

To access the online library, go to studysamurailibrary.com and login with these details:
school’s username: saintpatricks
school’s password: 21success

Student Access

There is a direct login to the Samurai Library from the Library Services Website. - 
The more of this website you can work through, the more you will set yourself up for stress-free academic success.

Dr Prue Salter (ELES) and Rocky Biasi (Human Connections)
Study Samurai Library
www.studysamurai.com

Welcome to Country: A Travel Guide to Indigenous Australia by Professor Marcia Langton is a fascinating tour guide for those of us wanting to have an insight into Indigenous culture and travel. The book covers a range of topics including dance, storytelling, language and cultural awareness. This guide also addresses the events and issues facing Australia today, such as as Native Title, the Stolen Generations, the 2020 bushfires, the Black Lives Matter movement, and making a rightful place in the nation for the First Australians.

Shackleton’s Endurance: An Antarctic Survival Story by Joanna Grochowicz tells the amazing true story of Ernest Shackleton and his team as they set sail for Antarctica in August 1914, where they plan to cross the continent on foot. In January 1915, his ship, the Endurance, sinks without a trace. To survive, Shackleton and his crew aim to make it home against tremendous odds, with only lifeboats to cross the heavy seas of the South Atlantic - and the life-saving power of Shackleton's extraordinary leadership skills. 

The Stardust That Made Us: A Visual Exploration of Chemistry, Atoms, Elements and the Universe by Colin Stuart is designed to present chemistry in a new, approachable way. This book explores the history and application of chemistry in the natural world. With incredible artwork, the reader can visualize the 118 known elements and explore the chemical makeup of the universe. With engaging, easy-to-understand text by acclaimed science writer Colin Stuart, this title will truly captivate and inspire.

Modern Herstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary people rewriting history by Blair Imani profiles and celebrates seventy women and nonbinary champions of progressive change. Despite making huge contributions to the liberation movements of the last century and today, all of these trailblazers come from backgrounds and communities that are traditionally overlooked and under-celebrated. This book tells the important stories of the leaders and movements that are changing the world right here and right now—and will inspire readers to do the same.

Students are invited to come in to browse and borrow fiction and non-fiction books, graphic novels, manga and magazines. You may also request items, ask for research help or play a board game with your friends.

The Pop Up Library will be open for a different year group each day:

Mondays - Year 7

Tuesdays - Year 11 and 12

Wednesdays - Year 10

Thursdays - Year 9

Fridays - Year 8

We hope to see you there!

Are you motivated by the reward of getting great results (the carrot) or by the pain of the hard slog of last minute submissions and disappointing results due to not enough preparation (the stick)? Knowing your personality can help you develop great study habits and gain terrific results.

The concept comes from the idea that to make a donkey move forward, you can either tempt it with a carrot (a reward) or threaten it with a stick (a punishment). Of course we aren’t donkeys but the same rules apply.

You are more likely to be a ‘carrot’ person if you focus on your goals, make lists and plans, enjoy the feeling of achieving well and can visualise your goals.

You are more likely to be a ‘stick’ person if you leave things until the last minute, procrastinate, don’t plan, and avoid the work that is needed to get the good results.

It’s not hard to change from that stick to the carrot. Speak to your parents and set goals together. Perhaps you can negotiate some rewards such as a movie night for improved grades. Speak to fellow ‘Carrots’ and ask what helps them. Perhaps you can organise some sessions where you can help each other with setting up positive habits and structures.

Remember, the change can happen, but no-one can do it but you.

The College Library

As the only all-girls' school in the Macarthur area, St Patrick's College for Girls offers a secure and supportive environment for local girls who thrive in such a setting.

We invite you to join us and the wider community on Saturday, 19 March 2022. Tickets are $125 each, or a table of 10 for $1,200.

Theme - 'Carnival' - it's all about fun, with a bit of class
Entertainment by Special Guests The BlackTies and The High Rollers Band

We welcome Year 5 girls from ALL primary schools to visit the College Campus. Students get to experience College life in an all-girls' environment. They'll meet the teachers and students and get to participate in high school lessons.

THURSDAY 10 MARCH 2022 - 9am to 11am

Registrations are essential. Book your spot here!

Get to know our guest speakers:

Esther Adeyinka (Class of 2014): Esther is a Solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills currently working in Private Equity and Venture Capital. She advises the NSW Regional Director of the Department of Home Affairs as part of the NSW Youth Reference Group and sits as a Youth Member on the Multicultural NSW Advisory Board. Esther also owns SHADIE BY EA, a small business which provides essentials for women of all skin tones and sizes.

Monique Keogh (Class of 1990): Monique is known as one of Campbelltown's most community-focused females, and was recognised as Local Woman of the Year in 2020. She is currently working in Human Resources with Sydney Water, where she has been for the past eight years. Monique was the founding President for the College Alumni Association in 2009 and in addition, started Campbelltown Thunder Netball Club in 2016 with her daughters, who are also St Patrick’s Alumnae.