Over the last few weeks of term 2, I was granted enrichment leave by the College Board. In that time, I participated in trekking four sections of the Larapinta Trail, which is near Alice Springs. We travelled approximately 18-20 km per day over quite rocky and, at times, steep inclines. The weather was warm in the middle of the day, however, the nights dropped to minus 1 and the canvas swag provided limited protection from the heavy dew that formed over the night. One morning, we woke to find ice had formed on the canvas and the campsite was white and crunchy under foot. At night, the stars were spectacular. An astronomer pointed out the regular constellations but also the constellations identified by the local Aboriginal people who use the dark spaces as well as the stars to create images and associated stories. The last day was particularly challenging where we began our walking at 3am in the morning wearing head torches and made our way to the top of Mt Sonder for sunrise at 7am. The whole experience of the centre of our country and continent was awe inspiring. It really is the spiritual heart of Australia. I am very grateful to the Board for this opportunity and to Mrs Wright and Mr Ashkar who took acting roles in my absence.

Last week, staff participated in a week of professional learning and instruction. The Coordinators spent some time with Andrew Martin who outlined the key elements of Academic Buoyancy. On Wednesday, under the guidance of Mrs Benney and experts from the AIS, we looked at how we can support the learning needs of all our girls. We spent some time on improving our adjustments in our programs and teaching practice to accommodate all the girls.

On Thursday, the focus was on Child Protection and how to implement the Child Safe Standards into the culture of the College. Providing a safe environment for the girls is our primary responsibility so the time spent on this work was very important. Finally, for our Spirituality Day, we embarked on our commitment to the Pope’s call for a Laudato Si Action Plan. It was exciting to hear the energy and commitment from staff on finding ways that we can respond to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Thank you for your support for this week. Its value and positive impact on the learning for the girls cannot be over stated.

Over the weekend, a number of staff and some girls participated in the Good Samaritan Education Triennial Conference. Board directors, senior school staff and students from all ten colleges were present, along with members of the governing council of Good Samaritan Education. It was inspiring and enriching to hear Bishop Vincent Long, Fr David Ransom, Ms Brooke Prentis and many others speak over the two days. Ours is a rich and nourishing charism that speaks so eloquently to the needs of communities in this generation in this time in our world.

Sadly, we will be farewelling Mr Gattone at the end of this year as he moves to retirement. He has been an outstanding Mission Coordinator at the College, building community and nurturing an invitational model of faith formation with his welcoming and inclusive manner.  We wish him well for 2023. Ms Haley Keays, Community Engagement Coordinator, finished at the College this week. She has made a significant mark on the outcome of the Gala Ball and our social media pages, where she posted interesting and engaging content that had an enormous reach across the community. We wish her well for the future and thank her for her wonderful work.

Finally, it was lovely to see the girls back at the College. They appear refreshed and ready for the term ahead. I ask that we all remain vigilant about watching for COVID symptoms as we must keep the safety of ourselves and our community at the forefront. My best wishes to the HSC girls as they begin their Trials next week, which will mark the beginning of their final term at the College. I will leave you with a short extract taken from the reflection on Humility which Michael Casey outlined in a workshop at the recent Good Samaritan Conference.

Blessings

Sue Lennox -  Principal

"In the Christian understanding, humility is better understood
not as a virtue but as the effect of spiritual progress.
It is a state or quality that comes about
as the result of the interaction of different influences:
the grace of God and the lifelong experience
of acting and being acted upon."

The Fifth Plenary Council took a long time to prepare for and organise. The first ideas about a Plenary Council for Australia go back to a time even before Francis was elected pope. The proposals for a Plenary Council not just survived but were made stronger by the storm of the Royal Commission on the scandal of abuse in the Church. It took much of the energy of the then-president of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, to overcome the resistance and opposition and announce the Plenary Council in 2018. After a long process of preparation in the local churches, the first assembly occurred on 3-10 October 2021.

The Council is now over, and it has been said that it will take much time for changes to be felt. Some have lamented that significant change is unlikely to occur. There has also been much said about the crisis that occurred on 6 July over the deliberative vote on “Part 4: Witnessing to the Equal Dignity of Women and Men”.

The motion failed because it was not supported by the required two-thirds majority of the bishops. It was an immensely painful moment and caused severe reactions from women in the Church, including Sr Joan Chittister, Benedictine Sister from the USA. She stated when interviewed, “The proof is in. You needn’t wear yourself out trying to convince women that the church really appreciates them, their work, their presence, their talents. They know now – right out of the mouth of the episcopacy that voted against them.”

Participants at the Council have noted that the response in the room to the bishops’ rejection was immediate; it was just before morning teatime, and the vote occasioned deep grief, consternation and tears. It was a rare example of lay-led “insurgency”. Bishop Mackinlay, the Deputy President of the Plenary Council, saw that the program could not continue as it was. After morning tea, 60 or so people (mostly women, two bishops, some priests and lay men) stood at the back of the hall as a form of protest.

Bishop Mackinlay announced that the program would be revised and that there would be further discussion of Part 4. He said the bishops would meet with the Steering Committee over lunch to discuss a way forward. Part 4 of the document was then revised by a new drafting team with a minor revision, without using the language of “complementarity”. It was re-introduced to the assembly on Friday and gained very strong support.

So while a more positive result eventuated, one must ask what exactly will change?

Louise Barry - Religious Studies Coordinator

We are a Benedictine community and, as such, it is appropriate that we celebrate our faith with the celebration of the Eucharist. The Benedictine values we are focused on this year are lectio divina through the lens of obedience and discipline. Lectio divina is a Latin phrase meaning “sacred reading”—that is, lectio divina is a special way of reading and praying the Bible and this is why this year is for us our Year of Prayer.

In our honouring of St Benedict, we acknowledge that his influence has had a significant impact on our College. St Benedict teaches us how to be a Christ-centred community which is focused on the Word of God recorded in the Scriptures. With our focus this year on lectio divina, we are carrying on St Benedict’s love of the Word of God in the Bible. The complementary Benedictine values of discipline and obedience tie in well with the practice of lectio divina and our Year of Prayer. Prayer is essentially a connection with God through conversation and listening. Obedience begins with listening. Once we have listened, we act appropriately. Appropriate action involves discipline—which is the ability to act upon what we have heard in our listening.

Benedict Day is also an opportunity to fundraise for the work that the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St Benedict do, both in Australia and overseas. Our collective fundraising efforts on Benedict Day are offered to the Good Samaritan Foundation which oversees the many good works the Sisters do to bring hope and compassion to so many disadvantaged people. We continue to ask God to bless the work of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator

On Friday 22 July, four of our Year 11 students, Monique R, Millie E-D, Kaleena H and Charlotte T, delivered the results of their discussions and research for their Prophetic Voices Project to the other gathered students from the various Good Samaritan Colleges. Student representatives from each College were required to deliver their “pitch” so as to encourage the other schools to take on the same project. Monique, Millie, Kaleena, and Charlotte passionately advocated for their idea to create a picture story book which aimed to educate school aged students about Aboriginal Spiritualities and Culture. The aim of the book is to help to create a more positive and hopeful narrative about Aboriginal life into the future, furthering the cause of reconciliation.

Charlotte, Kaleena, Millie, and Monique did St Pat’s proud by confidently and enthusiastically advocating for the advancement of a better life for Australia’s First Nation's peoples. This approach reflected this year's theme of NAIDOC week: “Get up, Stand up, Show up”, which encourages Aboriginal Peoples to be active, involved and engaged in the work of creating a better, more hopeful future.

Millie, Charlotte, Monique, and Kaleena are to be highly praised for the way they so ably represented our College. They engaged respectfully with the students from the other Colleges and their adult supervisors commented on their passion and eloquence for what they were presenting.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator

Orihime was the daughter of the God of the Milky Way and made people in the universe beautiful garments and kimonos. Hikoboshi was a farmer who looked after all the animals in the universe. They feel deeply in love and spent all their time together. People in the universe started to complain to the God of the Milky Way that their animals were dying and their clothing was falling apart as Orihime and Hikoboshi were no longer spending their time doing this and helping the universe. The God of the Milky Way became angry and banished Orihime and Hikoboshi to the opposite sides of the Milky Way.

Orihime was heartbroken and, after some time, the God of the Milky Way felt sorry for his daughter. He decided that he would allow Orihime and Hikoboshi to meet on one night, 7 July, to celebrate their love.

In recognition of this, Japan celebrates this as a festival. People write wishes on cards called “tanzaku” and hand them on bamboo branches. They also eat a variety of Japanese foods including Somen noodles.

Students studying Japanese at St Patrick’s College celebrated this event with writing their own wishes for the year and eating Somen noodles. We all wish and hope that the rest of the year is enjoyable and that we all achieve our goals for the future.

Julian Nash - LOTE Coordinator

Year 11 and 12 Business Services classes organised the marketing materials, promotions and sale of food items for a number of weeks leading up to the big event.

Year 12 Hospitaity girls worked for many days planning, organising, preparing, cooking and serving a number of menu items including brioche burgers, haloumi and chicken burgers, corndogs, chicken wings, cob loaves, cheesecake on a stick, brookies and waffles.

It was a most successful day and enjoyed by the whole College community. 

Maree Durrington, Jason Muller and Alicia Pollicina - TAS Faculty

Paris K

Today's performance from Brett was very confronting. The trauma from the Vietnam War nowadays isn't talked much about in society, so this performance really helped me understand the emotions that were in play while serving in the war. It also brings to light the feelings of not just the soldiers, but the family around them and how the soldiers left their lives at home. The songs that were sung helped me comprehend the content but also actually feel it. Rather than teaching me new information, the performance evoked the emotions surrounding the Vietnam War. Overall, it was an outstanding performance.

Bronwyn Z

Brett’s performance of Dusted Off was a very eye-opening experience and further deepened my goal to join the Defence Force in the future. Through the personal stories of the Australian Vietnam War soldiers, I was able to better understand the war from a soldier’s perspective rather than what was written in the history books. Through the performance, I learned more about the importance of mateship in war. Mateship is a major reason soldiers keep on going in war time and through support of your mates, you can survive. Overall, Brett’s performance was outstanding, and I admire his effort to represent the sounds of the Vietnam War including the SLRs, M16s, mines exploding and choppers. I also appreciate the time he took in talking to the girls after his performance. Brett took interest in my ambition to join the Army as an officer and my participation in Army Cadets which gave me confidence to believe I could achieve my dreams. 

Chloe K

Dusted Off was a very engaging and emotional experience performed by Brett Hunt. I believe that Brett approached these various events in a very unique way, showing different perspectives of people’s encounters during this war while depicting elements of music and intense sound effects. He was able to touch on various pieces of information that we had already been educated on during our History lessons, but I think that he also brought through some new opinions and knowledge. One of the main things that I didn't know was the sabotaging of the Australian land mines. This occurred during the nighttime where enemy troops (North Vietnamese) breached toward Australian camps where they got on all fours and carefully removed and disengaged their land mines, placing them in different positions throughout the forest, targeting and sabotaging the Australians' initial plan. This caused so many lives to be wounded, as well as losing the lives of their leader, Peter, and another fellow soldier. This incident showed me how logical and careful they had to be because soldiers had to navigate so slowly and carefully in order to assist the wounded whilst not trying to blow up another mine. Another factor that I also learnt was the discrimination the Americans had on African Americans. Brett’s father was initially told that he couldn't have a drink with a fellow farmer just because of his race. This comment was disregarded by his father, which led to a massive fight. The reason that this stuck out to me was because I didn't expect that sort of discrimination during this time, but unfortunately, we were able to see how long discrimination and racism has occurred. 

Brett was able to keep us engaged through various jump scares and astonishing sound effects, giving us auditory and visual imagery of what the Vietnam War was like. Overall, an amazing performance!

Kirrily Cousins - HSIE Teacher

Students attended a lecture on each of their HSC topics by an expert in the field. These topics included Conflict in the Pacific, Core Unit - Power and Authority, USA National Study and Civil Rights in the USA. The main objective of these lectures was not only to give a thematic summary of the main themes but to provide practical examination strategies and advice. Many of the presenters are HSC markers and they gave the students feedback on what the markers are looking for in their responses.

After the lectures, we also explored the campus and students were particularly impressed by the Main Quadrangle and its neo-Gothic architecture. We paid a quick visit to the new Chau Chak Wing Museum, looking at the mummy room, the Roman and Greek collections and the art gallery.

The students certainly had a 'taste' of university life and I hope they enjoyed visiting my alma mater as much as I did. Thank you to Noor A for the photos.

Fran Musico Rullo - HSIE Teacher

Year 8 have begun their subject selection journey. It was launched in their Tuesday Pastoral lesson where each student was ssued 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

The NCSS Challenge officially started this week and will run for five weeks. Each week, new activities are released along with learning material to build students' skills up to completing each activity. After completing all the activities, students will receive a certificate for their effort. There is a $24 registration fee that provides access to the competition and a suite of learning modules for the remainder of the year. Any student interested in giving the challenge a go, should contact Mr Robson as soon as possible.

Ben Robson - eLearning and Innovation

In preparation for this round, students have participated in training sessions with Anastasia, our Mock Trial Coach. Anastasia has provided the team with many useful tips and has worked earnestly with them to enhance their skills in structuring their opening and closing statements, cross examining witnesses, and responding to objections. 

This round took place on 26 July in the Benedict Centre. We were the prosecution team for a criminal case, opposing St Gregory’s College, the defence team. The students who had an active role in this round include:

First barrister: Amelia P
Second barrister: Amelia Ma 
Solicitor: Mbali J
First witness: Jamelia M
Second witness: Olivia M
Magistrate’s clerk: Caitlin R 

The students who assisted on the day and in the lead up to this round include: 

Millie E-D
Monet C
Abbey C
Amelia Mo
Alissa P
Emily J
Eleanor C

This round allowed the team to explore the consequences for dangerous driving and present legal arguments against an offender. The team confidently provided thorough evidence against the opposition and enjoyed the chance to enhance their public speaking skills. Both teams displayed a passionate understanding of the case and fought hard. In the end, the prosecution won the case as they were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused drove in a manner dangerous to the public. 

However, the St Gregory’s team scored higher points than our team, meaning that they won this round overall. It was a close round and participants should be very proud of their efforts. They are encouraged to continue developing public speaking and advocacy skills.

We would like to thank Mrs Conti and Mr White who continue to give up their time to support us in this competition.

Eleanor C and Millie E-D - Year 11 Students

The decision to re-catalogue without utilising the Dewey Decimal System was made in order to make the collection more user-friendly and easier to navigate.
The History collection is now sectioned and within each of these sections are sub-sections relating to topics such as
History: Africa, Americas, Asia, Australia, Local, Decades, Europe, Germany, Ireland, Russia.
Ancient History: Archaeology, China, Egypt, Europe, Greece, Rome.
Modern History: Revolution, War, World War I, World War II.

We hope these changes will make using the library resources an easy and positive experience.

We look forward to hearing how helpful these changes are.

The College Library

1. Become aware of the excuses you use - make a mental note when you procrastinate.  What excuses do you give yourself?  Too tired?  Too difficult?  Too boring?  Being aware is the first step in changing your behaviour.  Keep yourself honest by asking questions like “is this the best use of my time at the moment?” and “am I doing this as a way of avoiding what I really should be doing?”
2. Reduce or eliminate distractions - creating a clear, uncluttered work environment which is free from distractions will help you avoid procrastinating.  Turn off your social media or WiFi, turn off your music or TV, close the door.  It’s easy to get distracted and lose focus on what you are trying to do, or to procrastinate by surfing websites that are barely related to the topic you are meant to be researching.  
3. Make a prioritised list - before you start work, take a few minutes to work out what your priorities for the session are, based on your deadlines.  Take into account all the time you have available and make a prioritised list.  Work on the most important thing first (see also tip 7 below). 
4. Break down projects into chunks - if you have a big task that you have to do, or something that you really don’t want to start, have a think about how it can be broken up into smaller parts.  A big assignment might need a plan, the purchase of resources, a trip to the library, internet based research, and then several days to write and edit each section.  If you just focus on doing one of these tasks, it’s easier to commence.
5. Just start- stop focusing on getting it done perfectly, or even well, just make a start, even if it’s just for a few minutes.  Starting the task makes you realise it’s not as daunting as you originally thought and allows you to make a small amount of progress, which encourages you to keep going.  Sometimes, once you get started, you can even do more than you originally thought you could or would.
6. Reward yourself- set yourself a small goal (regarding the task you are procrastinating about) and then reward yourself appropriately when you complete it.  For example, write an outline for your essay and then have afternoon tea.  You will be more motivated to complete the task to get the reward.  Note: for extreme procrastinators, you may need to get someone else to check you’ve done the work and to give you the reward! 
7. “Twofer Concept”- when you are working on a difficult or boring task, break it up by having a more interesting or easy task that you work on in the same study block.  You get two lots of homework done, but when you are losing focus on the difficult one, you can switch to the easier one for a bit of a break.
8. Create routines - establishing a routine can help you avoid procrastination as you get into the rhythm of working for a set time each day at a set time of the day.  Making this routine known to your family and friends also helps keep you accountable and stops them interrupting you during your work time.
9. Find a study buddy - perhaps starting that difficult work will be easier if you have someone to work with.  This could be a school friend or a sibling. You could share resources and help each other to get started with similar work.
10. Schedule in breaks - breaks give you time to think and process information that you have been working on and give you an opportunity to do the things you really enjoy.  Plan them as much as you plan your work.

The College Library

In Steven Herrick's excellent How to Repaint a Life, we meet Isaac - a teen who has escaped his absuive father (just as his mother did years prior), and who is determined to carve out a new life  on the road. He finds himself in a small country town, and while he has no plans to stay, it is the kindness of local cafe owner Joan and the heart of fellow teen Sophie that slowly validate Isaac's feelings of belonging and faith in other people. 

The heavy themes of homelessness and domestic abuse are written with care, and counterbalanced with appealing, witty characters. How to Repaint a Life is a clever and thoughtful novel that reminds the reader that while one may not be born with a great start, it is the grace and compassion of others that can help restore..or repaint...a life.

The College Library

Some highlights for students included: it's inclusive, a world of endless knowledge, quiet and safe,  library clubs, the supportive and knowledgeable staff and it smells good. The tiles were then incorporated into our Library and Information Week display. 

This year, the theme of Library and Information Week is Rewrite. Renew. Reimagine. We challenged students and staff to try something new in the Library - read a new genre, borrow an ebook or audiobook, browse our research guides and databases, or suggest a book for purchase. All of these resources, and much more, can be found on the Library homepage.

The College Library

Imagine this....we have cut up some pages from a well-known book in our Library. (Not literally, you know a librarian would never do that!)

Now imagine that we have put some of the sentences from the book into a jar.

Then we are going to release new sentences from the jar each week in the lead up to Book Week.

Your mission is to correctly identify the book, in our metaphorical jar, from these sentences.

A winner will be drawn during Book Week, from 20 - 26 August 2022. Head to the Library homepage and click on Book Week competition to enter. And make sure you check back each week for new clues. Good Luck!

The College Library

Niamh competed against nearly 150 girls in U14 age group from all around the world and placed an amazing 10th place!   

This is the fourth time that Niamh has competed in North America and all four times she has placed in the top 10.

Upon her return last week, Niamh competed at the Australian International Oireachtas held here in Sydney, against girls from all over Australia and New Zealand where she won her sixth International title!

Huge congratulations to Niamh on this outstanding achievement.