From the Principal
Dear Parents and Friends of St Patrick’s College
Term 2 certainly has had a very wet and soggy start. I hope you have not sustained any damage to your property during the wild winds and the hard rain. Watching the girls return to school as they battled the elements was difficult, however they soldiered on and their dampness and discomfort was alleviated as they caught up with friends and exchanged their stories of their Easter break.
During the past term, the girls had worked on preparing for the ANZAC assembly which was held on Monday 27th April. Year 7 and 8 made poppies. Year 9 completed slouch hats which had the name of an Australian killed in the Vietnam war on it. Year 10 created paper rose wreaths with the names of Australians killed in WW1. Year 11 and 12 made crosses, each colour representing a different conflict from the Boxer rebellion right to Afghanistan naming service persons who were killed in the conflict. RE students looked at the symbols of ANZACS , indigenous perspectives and the role of the army chaplain. English students studied the role of the nurses, Math students studied the statistics of Gallipoli and Science students studied the Lone Pine. Food tech students made ANZAC biscuits and Geography students studied the geography of Gallipoli. PDHPE did an army boot camp and Visual Arts created a multimedia artwork. Evidence of this cross disciplinary approach was displayed in the Mary Sheil Centre on the day.
The ceremony brought together many different cultures, perspectives and experiences. We respected those who had fallen, with a particular reference to relatives of students and staff from our College community and those from the local community. It was sensitively presented and well received. I would like to thank Mrs Fran Musico Rullo for her passion and drive, the HSIE faculty and all other staff for their support and work leading up to the day. I would also like to congratulate the girls who were outstanding in their participation and contributions at all levels.
Later in the week we hosted the College AGM. As a company, we have Members of the Company and a Board of Directors. The Chair of Member, Sr. Elizabeth Delaney has been involved in the College for 25 years. We are very grateful for the support and wisdom she has provided St Patrick's College over that time. During the Easter break our Board Chair was awarded his doctorate. I would like to congratulate Dr Michael McDonald for this outstanding achievement and also thank him for the time and leadership he continues to give St Patrick’s College through the Board. We are very fortunate at the College to have such capable and experienced professionals leading and advocating for our community. Both the members and directors present on the day were delighted to witness some of the talent in the College during the assembly and then again through the submitted reports at the meeting.
Again, in the past week, we have been confronted with news of the further pain and suffering of people in our world through natural disaster or political legislation. How can God be present in these events and in times like this? The answer may well be found in the writings of St Teresa's:
"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion is to look out to the earth; yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now."
Blessings,
Sue Lennox, Principal
Senior School
Year 11 Half Year Exams
Year 11 Exam period to begin Week 3
Year 11 Girls will be sitting their half yearly examinations in Week 3 (next week, 4-11 May 2015). The first exam, English, begins on Monday 4th May at 8.35 am. Girls are asked to be there 15 minutes prior to the start of their exam. Students are expected to be at school for each day of the exam period and,if not sitting an exam, they will be in supervised study. The exam period concludes Monday 11th May with Business Services, Maths Extension and Studies of Religion held in the afternoon session. An exam timetable can be downloaded here.
Community News
Multimedia now a regular feature of Inside Out
Multimedia is now a regular feature of the new look Inside Out
Indulge yourself and enjoy these two video clips several galleries that reveal life at St Patrick's College Campbelltown. Speical Thank You to Mr Julian Nash, whose untiring efforts have produced some beautiful commemorative videos for our collection.
St Patrick's College Campbelltown ANZAC celebrations flag raising ceremony from St Patrick's College on Vimeo.
St Patrick's College Campbelltown Annual General Meeting Special Assembly from St Patrick's College on Vimeo.
Year 10 Students Commit to Community Service
Community Service is the offering of our time and effort to assist those in need. For students in a Catholic school, learning about social justice does not occur only in the class room. Practical, ‘hands on’ experiences of social justice make it real for our students and therefore is a significant way of making it relevant to them. As a pledge to this level of education, St Patrick’s is committed to an effective Community Service experience for our girls.
In the past, our Year 10 girls have undertaken Community Service for one week in term 4. This year, to ensure that every student is able to participate in an authentic service experience, Community Service occurs on Tuesdays between 1:00pm and 3:00pm throughout each term. Year 10 has been divided into four groupings so that one of the groups goes out to Community Service each term. In this way, there is greater opportunity for the College to build relationships with the broader community through outreach. There is also the opportunity to encourage the students’ ongoing commitment to community service beyond their one term experience.
In Term 1, we completed community service at Carrington Centennial Care in Camden. The first week of community service we had a briefing session at school where we decided which place we would go to. We chose Carrington. We arrived at Carrington the following week and went through an orientation that prepared us for the next 6 weeks. For the rest of the week we were excited but nervous about starting our first week. When we arrived we went to our designated area. We met the recreational officers who would be in charge of us. We experienced many different emotions entering each week. One of our favourite weeks during the experience was when we got to play mini golf with some of the residents. We also were able to do some art with a resident who told us about her family. During the 6 weeks we were able to talk to some of the other residents and they were interested in our school and some of them were telling us stories about their life. Overall our experience at Carrington was both memorable and enjoyable. We experienced many different emotions and nothing could prepare us for what we were to experience.
By Abby and Nadine
In Term 1, we sent the first group of our Year 10 girls to 7 venues in the Campbelltown and Camden areas. The feedback from these venues has been very positive. They have expressed an appreciation for and the value of our girls having regular weekly contact with the people they serve. Our Term 1 Community Service girls received favourable evaluations from their supervisors and for this, they have been a credit to themselves, their parents and to the entire St Patrick’s community.
Mr Angelo Gattone, Mission Coordinator
Important Dates
Important Dates for May 2015
4 to 11 May - Year 11 Half Yearly Exams
6 May - Year 8 MISA Debate
8 May - Year 7 2017 Enrolment Interviews
8 May - CSDA Round 4 Debating
9 May - Mother Daughter High Tea
9 May - Year 7 2017 Academic Scholarship Examination
12 to 14 May - NAPLAN
13 to 15 May - Year 11 Retreat
15 May - CSDA Round 5 Debating
18 May - Enlighten Education Excursion
18 May - Year 12 SOR Incursion
18 May - Year 11 SOR Incursion
20 May - Year 10 English Excursion
20 May - Year 8 MISA Debate
20 to 22 May - Year 12 Retreat
22 May - Junior Dance Years 7 to 10
22 May - CSDA Round 6 Debating
25 May - Sorry Day Excursion
26 May - Middle School Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews
28 May - Year 12 Drama Seminar
29 May - Year 12 AIS Excursion
29 May - Year 11 Dinner Dance at St Gregory's College
29 May - CSDA Debating Elimination 1