I would like to thank all the people involved in these celebrations as they truly mark a very special year. 
The Ball raised over $10,000 which will make a significant difference to the lives of some of the girls and their families. Thank you to the organising committee Mary Ellen Bland, Marion Windle, Sarah Hardie , and Julie O’Keefe. All these women have busy working and family lives and their work on this committee is very much appreciated. I would also like to acknowledge the work of staff member Ms Deborah Renshaw who has had a very busy time negotiating and supporting the activities of the term with such precision and fine tune execution. 

Next Saturday we will all go to the polls to vote in the next State Government. This is a wonderful privilege we have in our free and democratic country. I ask that you carefully consider the impact of the various policies from the major political parties on your daughter’s education. The NSW Greens released their policies recently which clearly demonstrate they will continue to strongly oppose funding to non-government schools.  Both Liberal-National Party and the Australian Labour Party support the Gonski payment agreement and will continue to recognise the need to provide Capital funding for Catholic independent schools. A comparison paper created by the Catholic Education Commission and Bishop Peter Ingham are attached to this edition of the Inside Out for your consideration.

I would like to congratulate the following parents who have again put their hand up to take on roles in the College’s P&F committee.

President: Jodi Stuart
Vice president: Monique Keogh
Treasurer: George Gatt
Secretary: Fiona Evans

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to these wonderful people for taking on these roles once again. Like all of us, they are very busy and they have generously given their time for your daughters. There are a few vacancies which still need to be filled: 

Junior Dance coordinator
Mother daughter coordinator
Father daughter coordinator
Open day coordinator

Can I suggest you bring a friend and offer to assist with these great community events. It would be a great shame if we were unable to hold them because we couldn’t find a coordinator. Please call Jodi Stuart or Deb Renshaw at the College if you would like some further information.

Last Friday was National Action Day Against Bullying. The girls in Pastoral spent some time discussing bullying and the evidence of it in this community. It was very pleasing to hear anecdotally that the girls expressed the view that St Patrick’s College Campbelltown is a very safe environment and that allegations of bullying here are always attended to and dealt with. We have policies and procedures in place to deal with any bullying allegation as it arises and we work with the girls to also recognise it in their interactions. Needless to say, if your daughter is being bullied or if you have any information of anyone else being bullied, that you inform the College immediately so we can intervene. 

You may have read recently the Minister for Education has approved changes to the way leave is recorded by schools. As part of the implementation of the ACARA National Standards, holidays taken by students outside of the school vacation period will be recorded as an absence. In addition to this the principal has the authority to determine the leave as unjustified if she/he believes the leave is not in the student’s best interest. I ask that you give careful consideration to any absence away from school during the term as it does disadvantage your daughter’s progress at school. If you have any queries regarding leave for your daughter please discuss this with her Year Coordinator and complete the application form which goes to the Principal.

Earlier in March, Sr Doreen Dyson sadly passed away. Sr Doreen was a staff member at St Patrick’s College Campbelltown from 1989 to 1991 taking responsibility for enrolments and general administration. After her role at the College, she worked with St Vincent de Paul in the Macquarie Fields area. She was a good organiser and dynamic team member. A few of our longer serving staff have very fond memories of Sr Doreen and we keep in our thoughts and prayers  the Sisters who have lost one of their own. May she rest in peace.

Finally, as we go into Easter I hope you and the family are able to participate in one of the Church services across the week. The pain and suffering of Holy Week through to the time of great joy as we celebrate the risen Christ on Easter Sunday is a very special time in our faith tradition. I will leave you a short Easter Blessing:

“May the truth of Easter
The joy of Easter
And the blessings of Easter
Be with you this day and all days”
Happy Easter

Blessings
Sue Lennox
Principal

UNSW: Getting into Medicine

UNSW has put together information for students wanting to know more about the application process for studying medicine at UNSW.  http://unswfuturestudents.tumblr.com/post/113828077457/getting-into-medicine

UWS DAY

UWS Day Parramatta Campus: Tue 2nd June  USW Day Kingswood Campus: Wed 3rd June UWS Campbelltown Campus: Wed 28th October UWS Bankstown Campus: Thu 29th October Visit the UWS campus to speak to current UWS students and academic staff. Experience the range of courses available at UWS through interactive workshops and presentations, learn about scholarships, The Academy, pathway programs and further opportunities to pursue their aspirations.http://future.uws.edu.au/future_students_home/events_at_uws/uwsday

University of Technology Sydney: Engineering Undergraduate Information Evening

Wed 10th June, 5.30pm – 8.00pm, CB11 Faculty of Engineering and IT Building, Building 11, UTS Broadway Hear about courses and scholarships, learn about the two six-month internships engineering students take as part of their degree, and speak to current students and staff.  http://www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-engineering-and-information-technology/events/engineering-undergraduate-info-evening

University of Technology Sydney: Information Technology Info Evening

Wed 10th June, 5.30pm – 8.00pm, CB11 Faculty of Engineering and IT Building, Building 11, UTS Broadway Hear from academic staff and students about the different course options available and how to apply for the Bachelor of Information Technology Co-operative Scholarship program.  Contact: (02) 9514 2666 or mailto:FEITOutreach@uts.edu.au http://www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-engineering-and-information-technology/events/information-technology-undergraduate

The University of Sydney: Camden Open Day

Friday 12th June 2015. Learn about the world of agriculture, environment, science and veterinary science at the University of Sydney’s Camden Open Day. Participate in hands-on workshops, hear captivating talks and meet scientists conducting cutting edge research, plus be entertained by science with a talk by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Cost is $15 per student. http://sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/high-school/camden-open-day/index.shtml

South West Sydney Institute: Hair and Beauty Information Day

Sat 13th June, Granville College A showcase of careers in Hair and Beauty for potential new students including TVET.  https://swsi.tafensw.edu.au/About-SWSi/Key-Dates#eventDetail

Sydney Film: School Open Day

Sat 9th May, 2.00pm – 5.00pm, 92 Cope Street, Waterloo View a number of short films produced by SFS students, learn about the training available at SFS and speak to teachers and students. http://www.sydneyfilmschool.com.au/school/news/2015-sfs-open-day.aspx

Girls’ Programming Network 

Term 2: Sun 31st May, School of Information Technologies, J12 University of Sydney, 1 Cleveland Street, Darlington Term 3: Sat 8th August, School of Information Technologies, J12 University of Sydney, 1 Cleveland Street, Darlington Term 4: Sun 1st November, School of Information Technologies, J12 University of Sydney, 1 Cleveland Street, Darlington The Girls programming Network is a program run by female IT students targeted at high school girls interested in IT.  One day each term, Girls Programming Network hosts a workshop where you can learn about an exciting topic in computer science. https://sites.google.com/site/girlsprogrammingnetwork/home

Hobsons Course Finder: Survey

Students can go in the draw to win one of two ipads by completing a survey on how the names of university degrees affect students’ choices. The survey only takes 5 minutes to complete and closes on the 5th April. http://surveys.surveyanalytics.com/a/TakeSurvey?id=3174350

Catholic Education Commission NSW and the Council of Catholic Schools Parents NSW/ACT approached the major parties to determine how their education policies will impact the 254,000 students in NSW Catholic schools and their families. We have published a summary of their responses below to help you with your vote on 28 March. 

Please see the attachment for their responses.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is underway for students in Years 7 to 9. Any students who would like to take part can, it’s not too late. It’s a great opportunity to be rewarded for your leisure reading. For more information please visit the Premier’s Reading Challenge Website (https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html) and for a list of the books that students can read for the challenge visit. 

Wheelers E-Books

For students using the Wheelers E-Book platform they have recently released an eBook app for IOS, Android and Kindle devices. The advantages to Wheelers eBook users are:

• No need for additional reader software
• Many ways to customize how eBooks are displayed - font style, font size, background colour, character/line spacing
• One click access to eBooks you're reading
• Your eBooks are available even after you’ve disconnected from the internet
• Features such as highlighting sections of text, adding notes, dictionary, thesaurus and links to Google search results for selected words

For more information visit: https://stpatricksnsw.wheelers.co/help/apps/eplatform-app

The Library Catalogue

Don’t forget that the library website, https://sites.google.com/a/saintpatricks.nsw.edu.au/library/ and the library catalogue, http://destiny.saintpatricks.nsw.edu.au/ has a wealth of resources and information that will assist you with your learning and reading for pleasure, making the library accessible 24/7. Please take a look around the site and discover databases, online journals, assessment task resource lists, how to videos and much more.

Scholastica Presentations

This term the students taking part in the Scholastica Programme have been eagerly working on mathematical real world situations. It has been exciting to see the direction this topic has taken students, from the application of mathematics in go karting to influences of the banking industry. Students will be presenting their findings and the journey they have taken as part of the Scholastica Programme on Tuesday 31 March at 1:30 – 2:30pm in the Benedict Function Centre. If you would like to attend please RSVP using the form on the Scholastica website, http://scholasticaspc2015.weebly.com/invitation-to-attend-presentations.html. If you would like more information about the Scholastica Programme please visit http://scholasticaspc2015.weebly.com/ or contact me in the library.