Last Monday we celebrated Harmony Day at the College. Throughout the day we celebrated the cultural diversity in our community. Girls wore their cultural dress and performed their cultural dance routines on the top oval and the Mary Sheil Centre. The Mary Sheil Centre was full of students and staff who were present to encourage and affirm the many girls on stage. It was lovely to see the pride and the honour each girl held for their culture and the pride and appreciation other girls held in acknowledging this diversity in their community.

We regularly celebrate Harmony Day at the College as well as Polynite every second year but COVID has not enabled us to do this over the last two years. I have worked in many schools over my career and St Patrick's is the most culturally diverse school I have be in. Cultural diversity means that all girls have a place where they can belong. There is no one ‘type’ of student in the community, but a broad range of ‘types’ which respects and appreciates the gifts girls bring to this collective. I invite you to enjoy some of the images of our day in this edition of the Inside Out. I thank Mrs Tannous , Ms Glase and the students leaders for leading such a wonderful day.

As we come to the end of an 11 week term, I must congratulate the girls and staff for their resilience and optimistic approach to some very pressing challenges across the term. They have all just got on with it, in spite of sick friends, sick family members, periods of isolation and late minute changes due to our constraints. They will all deserve the break ahead. I would like to sincerely thank Mrs Singles who held the acting CAPA Coordinator position and Mr Combes who held the acting Assistant Principal Students position for the term. We have been very well served by both staff over this time  and  are very grateful for their hard work. We wish Mrs Fenton well as she prepares for the birth of her baby over the coming weeks. Sadly Ms Jo Burnett, our bus driver, will be finishing this term and we wish her well for the future.

Finally, thank you for your support and assistance over this term. It has been very much appreciated. This Sunday is the memorial of the Appin Massacre at Cataract Dam. If you are able, I encourage you to attend. A flyer about this is included in this edition.

Wishing you a joyful Easter and a wonderful break. I encourage you to attend one of the Easter services across this season. May the peace and love of the resurrected God be with you during this time. I will leave you with a reflection on Easter.

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal

We pray for people throughout the world who struggle to get enough food.
May God inspire us all to reach out with small acts of love, making a big difference, so that no one goes hungry.

We pray for the Church throughout the world: that she may be a sign of God’s love for all people and a beacon of hope for all who are in need.

We pray for world leaders: that the Holy Spirit may guide them to speak out for what is right and take action to build a better future.

We pray for everyone who is sick or afraid, bereaved or isolated around the world; and we pray for all who support them.
May God grant each of them peace and comfort, courage and perseverance. 

We pray for the peace throughout the world: that the Risen Lord will turn hearts from violence and open new paths to peace, and justice.

Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer

Extract from Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

Easter Sunday occurs this year on 17 April and is the most important festival in the Christian calendar. Easter is the greatest celebration in the Catholic church because it is the completion of the Holy week that ends with the resurrection of Jesus. Easter celebrates the beginning and foundation of Christianity. Jesus was raised from the dead, and it shows that He conquered sin and death. He is the only Son of God, who through this amazing resurrection, brings us closer to God and our faith.

While the above is true, Easter is not just about recalling the historical event of the resurrection of Jesus as a joyous moment after His crucifixion. It is far more than that. Sr Joan Chittister makes this point when she wrote,

“We love to think of Easter as the feast of dazzling light. We get up on Easter Sunday morning knowing that the sorrow of Good Friday is finally ended… that Jesus is vindicated, that the faith of the disciples is confirmed for all to see, and that everyone lived happily ever after. We love fairy tales. Unfortunately, Easter is not one of them.

Easter is the feast that gives meaning to life. It is the feast that never ends. After Easter, the tomb stands open for all of us to enter. If Jesus is risen, then you and I have no choice but to go into the tomb, put on the leftover garments ourselves, and follow Jesus back to Galilee where the poor cry for food and cripples cry to be taken to the pool and the blind wait for the spittle on their eyes to dry. All the fidelity in the world will not substitute for leaving the tomb and beginning the journey all over again. Today. Every day. Always.

Easter is raw reality. Easter stands in stark witness, not to the meaning of death, but to the meaning of what it is to go on despite death, in the face of death—because of death. To celebrate Easter means to stand in the light of the empty tomb and decide what to do next. Until we come to realize that, we stand to misread the meaning not simply of the Easter gospel but of our own lives. We miss the point. We make Easter an historical event rather than a life-changing commitment. We fail to realize that Easter demands as much of us now as it did of the apostles then.”

Louise Barry - Religious Studies Coordinator

This program enabled us to develop our knowledge of our system of government, parliamentary proceedings and the role of the Governor. When visiting Government House and the NSW Parliament, we not only heard from the Excellency herself, Margaret Beazley, but all the local members, including our MP, Greg Warren. The leaders shared wise advice on how to approach many different issues and allowed us to understand what qualities are needed to be a strong leader. Through this program, we were able to understand the importance of balance within leadership and gained insights into the lives of our political leaders. This was an extremely valuable experience and we are both very appreciative of the amazing opportunity!

Tavara S - College Captain

If you have any questions about university applications or requirements, please reach out to Mr Williams for support (dwilliams@saintpatricks.nsw.edu.au)

The universities offering early entry use criteria other than, or in addition to, an ATAR. 

Debra Bourne - Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

Anzac Day falls on Monday, 25 April (the last day of the school holidays).

Students may wear either summer or winter uniform, but must wear their blazers and hats.

Campbelltown march: Students need to meet on Queen Street, near the entrance of Campbelltown Mall at 8am for an 8.30am march. The service will take place in Mawson Park and will conclude approximately 9.45am -10am.

Camden march: Students must meet at 10am for a 10.30am march. Please meet in Elizabeth St at the Crown Hotel end and look for the school contingent. The service will begin at 11.15am and end approximately 12-12.30pm down at the Bicentennial Equestrian Park.

Students require a permission note for these events. If they have not collected a hard copy, please email me fmusicorullo@saintpatricks.nsw.edu.au for an electronic copy.

Please contact me if you have any queries.

Fran Musico-Rullo - HSIE Teacher

On Wednesday 16 March, St Patrick’s College hosted students from Chevalier College to participate in the practice round of the competition. Our College had the Prosecution role for this round, presenting a case involving a charge of assault on a police officer. 

As this was the very first time in the competition for most of the girls, it was a very exciting, yet nerve-racking day. Despite being new to the competition, the team displayed incredible strength in their roles and were confident and professional throughout the court proceedings. 

This day was the result of several weeks of hard work and planning, which was evident in the quality of each student’s contributions. In particular, the following students put forward an amazing performance on the day:

Ellie C as 1st barrister
Amelia M as 2nd barrister
Mbali J as the solicitor
Megan W as the first witness for the prosecution 
Alana F as the second witness for the prosecution
Alissa P as the magistrate’s clerk. 

Well done to all of the girls who worked behind the scenes, as support in the practice sessions and for managing the procedures on the day. This round was a great introduction to the competition and the girls received valuable feedback from the magistrate, Anthony Gordon from Marsdens Law Group. 

Although the St Patrick’s team did not win, each student enjoyed being able to work together to present their case and to develop their bargaining and advocacy skills.

The next round will be taking place in Week 1 of Term 2 and is bound to be even better. Congratulations to the Mock Trial team on your performance so far - bring on round two!

Cassandra Iler - HSIE Teacher

As a part of the celebration, the College community wore an orange ribbon pin and a selected orange hair accessory for the day. At recess, students enjoyed the sunny weather on their picnic blankets whilst listening to cultural music and dancing on the oval. During lunchtime, the picnic blankets were brought inside the Mary Sheil Centre. Students from Years 7 to 12 performed their cultural dances, and our diverse community was celebrated with a parade of cultural dress.

Thank you to all of the students who were involved in organising such a wonderful day of celebration.

Tarna Tannous - Year 12 Coordinator

This year, students were invited to celebrate World Poetry Day by writing a poem of their own. For inspiration, the Library shared a variety of poems via our World Poetry Day Resource guide.

When a student becomes upset over a score of 98 out of 100, or can't handle coming in 2nd out of a class of 30, etc, schoolwork will often suffer as a result. Perfectionism of this magnitude usually results from a fear of failure, rejection or disapproval, or insecurity about meeting a given standard. Students feeling these pressures quickly fall into obsessive and extended work patterns.

So - how can such patterns and thought processes be avoided? Here are a few specific suggestions for coping with perfectionism.

Separate Work From Personal Feelings- This is a huge hurdle for many students. For them, an evaluation of their work often feels personal, and the pressure of making that evaluation positive can lead to perfectionism. Students need to be reminded to treat work feedback as evaluation for a specific assignment and nothing more.

Set Incremental Goals- Many students set unattainable, or at least extremely difficult, goals. Instead, students should focus on setting goals based on past achievements. If a student gets an 85 on an exam, the goal for the next one should not be a 100 - it should be an 87. This is more realistic. Remember we must learn to walk before we can run.

Recognise Stress- This can be easier said than done, but it's crucial in battling perfectionism. Students need to become more aware when they're stressing over a project (spending unnecessary extra hours, re-writing pages exhaustively, etc). Learning to recognise stress can help students to re-evaluate their work practices.

Explore Efficient Work Methods- Often, newer or easier work methods can assist in efficiency. Students shouldn't get lazy but should allow certain technologies to make work easier. That might mean using Notion for note-making, or it may mean working collaboratively in Google Docs with another student to study for a test - whatever the case, perfectionists can often find their workloads lessened by these steps. It's important to ‘work smarter, not harder’.

Put Things In Perspective- It's crucial for students to have proper perspectives on schoolwork. Being able to stop and think about the worst-case scenario can help students to realise that an individual assignment - while important - should not be a source of unnecessary stress or excessive workload.

Ask For Guidelines– Encourage students to ask teachers how long they should spend on a homework task or an assignment, so they have an idea whether it is a 2 hour or 22 hour task!

Record Time Taken– Have students record for a week or two what they do every day in their home learning and how long it took. This can help parents and teachers identify bottlenecks in subjects or types of tasks.

Dealing with perfectionism can be a long and tricky process. But implementing these habits and thought processes can help students to develop a healthier approach to schoolwork.

The College Library

The Uniform Shop will be open the following days during 2022 School Holidays: 

• Wednesday 20 April – 9am to 4pm
• Thursday 21 April – 9am to 4pm
• Friday 22 April – 9am to 4pm

Bookings are no longer required.