The Feast of St Benedict is an important day in the life of the College as it is twofold in its purpose. Firstly, it is an opportunity for the College community to gather as one in celebrating the Eucharist and in doing this we are honouring the significant role he plays in the spiritual life of the College. And secondly, it is a day of fundraising for the work of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan both, in Australia and overseas. Each year group has a particular ministry that they support and the students have learned about these ministries through chapel and in their pastoral classes. It is a chance for the students to acknowledge how fortunate they are and so through their donations acknowledge that what they are doing will help others, whether it be through education of young children at the Kinder School or supporting women to learn life skills through the Good Samaritan Outreach Centre in the Philippines which the Sisters describe as “a place of hospitality” where those who visit “are welcomed, nurtured, and empowered”.

The annual “talent show” organised by Year 12 continues to be a highlight of this day and each year unearths a hidden talent to the delight of the audience. Other activities include karaoke, a photo booth, a side show alley with games as well as different food options, including the Year 7 cake stall and Patties Diner run by the students from the Hospitality and Business Services classes. This day is always one where the students have the opportunity to spend some time with friends and have a relaxing end to what has been a busy term for the College community. So, a big thank you to the pastoral team and their classes for the energy that goes into making this a successful day.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff and the students for their work this term in what can only be described as challenging. With Covid still having an impact and the influx of Influenza A, we have had to pull together and support each other throughout this time. I know there are many on staff who have stepped in to help their colleagues and students who have kept their friends in the loop when they have been off sick or helped them with the work they had missed. It is through these examples that we see each day what a wonderful community we have here at the College.

Thank you to Ms Bella who has been the Year 11 Coordinator for Semester 1. She has done a wonderful job and has been a great support to the girls during this time and I thank her for the way she performed this role. Mrs Conti will replace her for Semester 2, and we congratulate her and wish her well with the role. To Mr Ashkar who has held the role of Assistant Principal Students, I offer a big thank you for stepping into this role as it is a busy one full of challenges and he has given his time and energy to the girls and pastoral team during this time.

Ms Lennox will return for Term 3.

To finish, I would like to announce our new student leaders for 2022 – 2023. Over the past couple of weeks, we have undertaken student and staff voting as well as an interview process with the final three candidates for each of the six positions. It has been a pleasure to meet with the girls and hear them speak with such care for their College community. I thank all the girls who applied as it shows what a wonderful group of young women we have here.

So, I offer congratulations to the following girls who will hold one of the leadership positions for the coming year.

College Captain – ABBEY C
Scholastica Captain – JAIMEE C
Benedict Captain – CARA M
Community Leader – AMELIA P
CAPA Leader – MONIQUE R
Sports Leader – AMY Y

Blessings

Karen Wright - Acting Principal

YEAR 11 RETREAT

In Week 8 of this term, the Year 11 cohort gathered at the CRU Galston Gorge Conference and Recreation Centre for the second of their Senior Retreats. The theme of the Retreat is We Are God’s Creation and is based on the scripture: “I thank you God, for I am wonderfully made.” Psalm 8 is also the scriptural basis for this Retreat, part of which states, “You (God) made people almost like gods and crowned them with glory and honour.” Therefore the Retreat explores each person’s giftedness and value. The Retreat culminates in each girl receiving affirmations for her giftedness and personal qualities.

The Year 11 girls are to be highly commended for the way in which they entered into the Retreat experience. They wholeheartedly took up the advice to get out of the experience what they were prepared to put into it. With openness and trust, the Year 11 girls were able to gain lasting memories of a very positive and affirming experience with their peers.

Thanks is extended to the team of teachers who co-facilitated this Retreat: Ms Bella (acting Year Coordinator), Ms Bleyerveen, Ms E Wilson, Ms Pereira, Ms Aboud, Ms Wallin.

YEAR 10 RETREAT

In Week 9 of this term, the Year 10 cohort gathered at the Winbourne Conference and Retreat Centre for the first of their Senior Retreats. One of the themes of this Retreat is “On the Journey”. This theme highlights that life is a journey along which signposts and crossroads are encountered. At each signpost and crossroad, we must draw on our inner strength and giftedness in order to successfully navigate life—with all its ups and downs.

Another theme of the Year 10 Retreat is based on the last sentence of the parable of the Good Samaritan: “Go and do likewise.” This theme links to the Year 10 Community Service Program which exists as a practical way for our St Pat’s girls to live out this command from the parable—to go and be neighbour to all people.

As with the Year 11 girls, the Year 10 cohort entered their first Retreat experience with openness and trust. They received and engaged with the various activities with enthusiasm and this meant that they gained much from the experiences presented to them.

Thanks is extended to the team of teachers who co-facilitated the Year 10 Retreat: Ms Glase (Year Coordinator), Mr Stevens, Mrs Conti, Mr Muller, Ms Young, Ms Brown.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator

Retreat Reflection 

By Sienna W and Summer D - Year 11 Students

Year 11 retreat was an extremely eye-opening experience for the two of us. Arriving at the Galston Gorge Camp and Conference Centre allowed us to temporarily leave behind distractions we face in our everyday lives and enter a space and time of reflection through various activities. The retreat also supplied us with an opportunity to build a stronger sense of connectedness with not only our peers but ourselves as well. 

One activity that stood out to us was a movie that we watched on the first night. This movie talks about a young man who was determined to achieve his dream of becoming a school teacher. This movie related to the key theme of the retreat which was ‘We are all wonderfully made in the eyes of God’ as it shows God created human beings in his image. 

Another activity that stood out to us both was the liturgy on the second day of our stay. This liturgy allowed us to quietly reflect individually on various activities, such as reading, writing about the clay sculptures we had made earlier that day, and also lighting candles. Seeing as though retreat is greatly used as a time of reflection, the sacred space of the liturgy allowed us to relax and take the time to deeply reflect on ourselves. 

Overall, the Year 11 retreat was an amazing experience for both of us as it allowed us to gain a sense of connection within ourselves, and also allowed us to reflect on our lives through the activities we were able to participate in. We are both excited to see what the Year 12 retreat will have in store for us next year.

The students participated in a range of activities that allowed them to reflect on their lives as individuals and as a collective. Year 11 demonstrated their ability to work together and listen to each other. The students had the opportunity to examine their relationships and how they contribute to their lives, they researched female role models of today who set the example for women to excel as well as reflecting on the most wonderful parts about themselves and their own lives.

Year 11 presented fantastic interpretations of songs and also took advantage of personal time to reflect deeply on their retreat experience and what life will look like moving forward. Affirmations were thoughtfully written as the students had the chance to see how inspiring they are through the eyes of their peers. 

The students should be proud of how they conducted themselves and will hopefully take with them the understanding of how wonderfully made each individual is. Thank you to the teachers who attended for supporting our students and for Mr Gattone in all of his planning and running of retreat.

Claudine Bella - Year 11 Coordinator

Students, parents and teachers have the opportunity to participate in this survey. The survey is anonymous, voluntary, and participants can skip any questions they are not comfortable answering. Results will show all scores combined together – it is not possible to single out individuals in the results.

The information provided in the 2021 survey has informed over-arching goals related to teaching, learning and wellbeing, including our Engagement project, our Class Structure project and Wellbeing project.

The information provided will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing.

The student survey window will open on Tuesday 26 July (Term 3 Week 2). It will be launched during the pastoral period and students are provided with time to complete the survey with the support of their Pastoral Advisors. The survey takes approximately 25-30 minutes to complete.

Further information about accessing the Parent and Teacher surveys will be provided early in Term 3. 

If you would like more information, please contact the Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching, Dr Debra Bourne.

Debra Bourne - Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

Year 12

On 31 May, our HSC English Advanced classes spent the afternoon exploring one of our prescribed texts, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Accompanied by Miss Hilder and Mrs McGillcuddy, we travelled to the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta to see some of the play’s key scenes analysed and brought to life by a crew of talented professionals. With our various snacks from the snack bar, we watched in awe at the amazing performances alongside students from other schools in the Western Sydney area.

In addition to seeing the performances live on stage, director Damien Ryan delivered a detailed presentation for us that explained the powerful dramatic elements of the play, giving us great advice about the best ways to ace our English HSC exam for this text. This lecture and the performances allowed us all to get a deeper insight into the play that had lived on paper for us since the start of our Year 12 studies. This experience will definitely be one of the highlights of our Year 12 English experience and will greatly assist our HSC journey.

Emma G - Year 12 Student

Year 11

On Wednesday 22 June, I had the privilege of attending the Year 11 English Advanced excursion to Riverside Theatre to see the renowned Shakespearian play, Othello. It was a very exciting and new experience for a lot of the students in our class. During period one, Ms Hilder and Mrs McGillicuddy led us onto the College bus to make our way to Parramatta. The theatre was astonishing and we had the chance to take it all in, sit in the fresh air and eat recess prior to the performance. Waiting with us were students from other NSW schools, sharing the experience with us. We were also able to purchase popcorn, drinks and other snacks to gain a comfortable viewing experience. The theatre was filled with students and members of the public all keen to see the play unfold.

The play was engaging from the starting act, immersing us with lights, music, props and of course the characters. We became captivated by the world of Shakespeare and were able to make connections between the play and the key issues explored in class, such as racial prejudice, jealousy, love and manipulation. Seeing Othello in a theatre allowed us to engage with the play on a deeper level. The excursion would not have been possible without Mrs McGillicuddy, Ms Hilder and the event organisers at Riverside Theatre, so on behalf of our classes, thank you - we are all so grateful.

Stephanie F - Year 11 Student

The Year 11 PDHPE students enjoyed their fitness session at MissFits Functional Fitness on Wednesday 22 June. As part of their Option study, "Fitness Choices", the girls have been participating in a range of fitness activities in order to investigate the benefits of different forms of fitness. Some of the students have participated in Run Club at the school, and the two classes will also be participating in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class at Wolflife Academy next Term. Nothing like a little teamwork to get the heart pumping!

Melissa Pereira - PDHPE Teacher

From Saturday, you have 30 days. If you manage to average  four hours per day of study, then you have approximately 120 hours to study five to six subjects - that is between 20 and 24 hours per subject. A study plan will enable you to be strategic about the use of your Trial HSC preparation time.

The Art of Smart team offer an example plan for English:

Image source: Art of Smart: How to Create Your 30 Day HSC Trials Study Plan in 4 Simple Steps to Boost Your Marks

This establishes an organised To-Do-list for each subject.

The second part of the preparation process is to think about how to study. Some tips include

• Use the Syllabus so that you know 'the dot points' - or the content that will be examined. HSC and Trial exam writers base questions on syllabus content. See if you can match past questions to dot points to practise the type and style of question to expect in each subject's paper.
• Complete any outstanding study notes. Condense them to make them clear - then find some past questions that target that summary.  Index cards from Office Works can be useful.
• Build wellbeing strategies into your study plan. Trials can be stressful. Preparation will help with this stress. It is important to make healthy choices about exercise, sleep and downtime.

You will find past HSC questions from papers completed in the Tuesday study sessions and on NESA's HSC exam papers website. If you run out of questions, ask your teacher for more.

A study plan will help to reduce that overwhelming feeling as we move towards the examination block. It will structure your time so that you do not spend too much time on any one subject.  Follow this link to a Google Sheet to help with your planning. Copy (FILE--> Make a Copy) the sheet and personalise it with your subjects and study goals.

Debra Bourne - Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

Students in Year 8 have been learning Japanese for two terms and their progress in the language has been excellent. The day was an important learning experience in giving an opportunity to experience more of the Japanese culture. The day was a great success. Thanks go to the Year 9 Japanese Elective classes and Mr Tony Burden for their support.

We look forward to offering students more experiences in using their Japanese in the coming semester.

Julian Nash - LOTE Coordinator

Year 8 will begin their subject selection journey on their return, in Term 3 in Week 2. It will be launched in their Tuesday Pastoral lesson where each student is issued a booklet that outlines the elective subjects on offer and the Year 9 and 10 requirements.

An information session is being organised to inform families about the Stage 5 (Year 9 and 10) curriculum on 1 August from 6:30pm. The session includes a presentation about:

• The Stage 5 Curriculum and NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) requirements.
• The elective subjects on offer.
• The online Web Preferences elective subject selection process.

The presentation will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions about electives or about the selection process.

It is important that parents/carers attend this information session so they can support students in making appropriate subject choices.

Should you have any queries about the event or subject selections, please contact the Assistant Principal, Learning and Teaching, Dr Debra Bourne (DBourne@saintpatricks.nsw.edu.au; 4629 2999).

Debra Bourne - Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

On Tuesday, 21 June, our history debating team (Olivia M, Meghan W, Eve M, Molly P, Holly B, Oreoluwa A, Ava M, Orlaith B, Ria K, and Emma G) attended All Saints College to participate in the yearly J A Thompson history debating competition. Starting from 9am until 2:30pm, three debates between All Saints, St Johns, Charbels and our College took place.

For the first debate, St Patrick's competed against All Saints, whilst Charbels competed against St Johns, the topic being ‘Ned Kelly was an Australian hero’, and our team debated on the negative side. We unfortunately lost this debate. For the second debate, St Patrick's competed against St Johns, whilst All Saints competed against Charbels, the topic being ‘The dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975 was justified’. We fought on the affirmative this time and we won. For the final debate, St Patrick's competed against Charbels, whilst St Johns competed against All Saints. The topic was ‘The US response to 9/11 was effective’. We fought for the negative side and we won. Overall we won 2 out of 3 of the debates, and will be progressing to the quarter finals.

Emma G - Year 10 Student

This year the Knitting Group turned 16. We were unable to have our 15th year celebrations last year due to Covid so incorporated this into our presentation. We watched a video of photos charting the history of the group which was well received by the knitting volunteers. In attendance were Lorraine St John, Shirley Mills, Janine McLeod, Maureen McCann, Dell Costa and Sue Ollis. Mrs Wright on behalf of Mrs Lennox addressed the group and thanked them for their service to the College. We were also able to acknowledge the special birthdays of Dell Costa and Shirley Mills.

In total we presented 40 blankets, 20 scarfs and 10 beanies. We will continue to knit until the end of Term 3.

Fran Musico Rullo - HSIE Teacher

We received 26 fantastic entries for the competition which were displayed in the Library and  online here.

Students and teachers were asked to vote online for their favourite entry. There was a great response with over 225 votes in the judging phase with the winning entry attracting 22% of the votes. 

We were very pleased to announce the winner of the competition this week - Mahlia L of Year 8. For those playing along at home the winning picture was Entry #22. 

Congratulations to Mahlia and we hope you enjoy your prize.

The College Library

Thank you to the students who participated in these challenges. We are pleased to announce the winners of these competitions are:

Maths Challenges - Lilly W - Year 7

Book Quotes - Maddison E - Year 7

Congratulations and we hope you both enjoy your prize.

The College Library

eBooks and Audiobooks are excellent resources for holiday reading - they're free, easy to transport multiple titles at once, and they return themselves once the due date has expired!

Check out the new What's New @ Your College Library newsletter for a list of all the new eBook and Audiobook titles - just click on the book cover images in the newsletter to access. The newsletter also has instructions on how to use both ePlatform and axis 360.

The College Library is building the axis 360 collection from the ground-up, so there is also a link in the newsletter for parents and students to suggest new titles - we'd love to hear from you!

The College Library

The story, written by Alton Walley and titled Being a Big Brother, is based on this year’s NAIDOC Message ‘Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up’, focusing on the value of leadership and how we can influence those near to us to make a positive change. Our students were given the final two pages to illustrate.

We had five students submit artworks for the illustrations, which will now go on public display in Charter Hall shopping centres and to a public vote. The favourite designs chosen by the community will then be used in the picture book.

Thank you to Kamilla P, Jasmine P, Mahlia L, Arianna P and Seraphina T for submitting such beautiful artworks. We wish you all good luck on becoming published illustrators.

The College Library

For the first week of the school holidays (Monday 4 July to Friday 8 July inclusive) the Library will be open to all Year 11 and Year 12 students daily from 9am - 3pm. All usual library resources will be available including printing, scanning and photocopying, access to the HSC collection, as well as research and referencing assistance. It is our intention that by opening the Library for this first week of the school holidays, all senior students have the opportunity to study and complete assessment work in a quiet, comfortable space  - particularly in the lead-up to the Trial HSC for Year 12 students.

The College Library

The program is designed to promote reading engagement by getting students and parents to read the same book at the same time, discussing what is happening and what might happen. We have chosen some absolute page-turners to get you and your daughter enjoying a book together.

How does it work? We package up two copies of the same book, two bookmarks, a set of discussion questions, hot chocolate and biscuits to create the Bound Together packs which are borrowed over the school holiday break.

The program continues to be popular with over 30 families taking part these school holidays. We hope you all enjoy this special reading experience.

The College Library

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of a range of traditional and contemporary activities.

NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. NAIDOC week is an opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.

This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek support.

Here is the link to your special report https://saintpatricks.nsw.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-naidoc-week

The Girls in Engineering Club is free to join – sign up today to receive our monthly newsletters packed with inspiring content and activities!

https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/study-with-us/girls-engineering-club 

GIE Club members get…

• Exclusive invitations to Girls in Engineering Club events​.
• Monthly inspo delivered to your email, featuring profiles of female engineers, study tips and more!​
• Opportunities to be mentored by female engineering students. ​
• Access to a closed Facebook community to connect with likeminded girls​.
• Regular workshops and challenges.

Jessica Thomas - STEM Integrator and Science Teacher