Yesterday we had the athletics carnival at Campbelltown Stadium. With the weather being particularly awful on Wednesday afternoon, it was wonderful to see the sun shine and the pleasant temperatures from the start of the following day. Throughout the day, girls were busy participating in numerous events. They were cheering and active either running, jumping or just encouraging each other. These are the days that students will remember when they reminisce their school days decades later. These days are very important in the life of a developing adolescent. They offer activity that is different to the normal school day. Students are in the sun and fresh air all day, they are with friends and colleagues and they get to try their hand in different activities. For the athletic girls, it is their day to shine and receive the accolades from observers for their skill and prowess. All girls will have a go and some will be proud of their achievements. Some will be pleased they at least had a go. At St Patrick’s, this day is mandatory for all girls as we believe in the education of the whole person. I hope your daughter enjoyed her day and managed to improve on her results. I am appreciative of Mr Ashcroft and his team for the work they put into the day so that it went very smoothly.

One of the College’s Directors, Mr Daniel Smith, was one of the convenors of the Australasian Conference on Learning Environments held last week at the Hilton. I had the good fortune to present to the delegates ‘The St Patrick’s Story’. I must congratulate Mr Smith on organising such an excellent professional event. The presentation was largely about the improvements made at the College in buildings, programs and infrastructure that enhanced the learning experience for the girls. It was very humbling to present this knowing it was a result of many people doing their best because they believe in the difference it will make for the girls. The feedback from the delegates was very positive. I am very grateful for the contributions made by all in our community that make it such a wonderful school.

After many weeks the musical is ready to be launched. My thanks to Mr Combes and the CAPA team along, with many others, for the work they had done in getting it to this point. The girls are excited and I am confident we will be treated to the BEST entertainment possible. Tickets are now available on trybooking so I encourage you to purchase your seats so you don’t miss out. There are a number of performances for your consideration. I hope to see you on the night.

We wish Mrs Arena and Ms Cornett the best over the long weekend as they take Year 12 PDHPE for their excursion to AIS. I appreciate their generous support of the girls over this time. We also wish Mrs Singles the best as she started her leave to prepare for the birth of her second baby. I warmly welcome Ms Macri, who will be replacing Mrs Singles for the year.

Finally, I will leave you with a short prayer on the common cold. With so many unwell, at the moment, may this prayer from Leunig provide some relief.

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal 

God bless those who suffer from the common cold.
Nature has entered into them;
Has led them aside and gently lain them low
To contemplate life from the wayside;
To consider human frailty;
To receive the deep and dreamy messages of fever.
We give thanks for the insights of
this humble perspective.
We give thanks for blessings in disguise.
Amen

From the book: When I talk to you (Leunig)

Last week, from Monday 28 May to Friday 1 June, the library held a Great Book Swap, the aim of which was to raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation is a charity that aims to improve reading and writing skills and encourage a love of reading, in order to decrease the disadvantage which children living in remote Indigenous communities face on a daily basis.

The idea behind the book swap was that students could swap a pre-loved book for a new book, all for a gold coin donation. Our goal was to raise $1000 so that the Indigenous Literacy Foundation can purchase new books to distribute to those living in remote Indigenous communities. Although we did not reach this goal, we managed to raise $200.55 which is a fantastic effort. Thank you to all staff and students who supported the book swap and helped us to raise money for a wonderful cause.

All leftover books not sold are going to be donated to several charities. The grandmother of one of our students is currently organising books, clothing and other equipment to send to Papua New Guinea. We will be arranging with this student’s grandmother to send some of our leftover books to these schools. Any books not sent to Papua New Guinea will be donated to Lifeline.

We also had a book display to support our Indigenous literacy activities.

The College Library

Good Reading magazine is an Australian, monthly and family-owned magazine dedicated to finding Australians great books to read.

Good Reading magazine publishes reviews on a range of fiction (including international), non-fiction and children’s books, as well as articles and interviews with notable authors such as Jackie French, Tim Winton, Jeffery Archer and many more. Good Reading magazine can also be viewed online at www.goodreadingmagazine.com.au.

Good Reading magazine also publishes two online magazines especially for children and young adults, 'Spine Out' and 'PK mag'. 'Spine Out' is a fun, interactive magazine for high school students, which features writing, artwork, photography, poetry, music, short films and book reviews written and created by teens. If you are interested in having your work published in 'Spine Out' magazine, and are aged 12-19, you can send an email to info@spineout.com.au. 'Spine Out' magazine can be viewed at www.digital.spineout.com.au.

If you have younger siblings, 'PK mag' is a fun online magazine for primary school aged children. It features stories, book reviews, art and more, all created by younger children. It can be viewed at www.goodreadingmagazine.com.au. 

Happy Viewing!

Amanda Dallo - College Library

The Overcoming Procrastination unit in the Study Skills Handbook looks at the reasons why students procrastinate and what techniques they can try to overcome this common problem. Setting work targets with rewards at the end of each completed step is a well-known strategy, but an example of a less commonly known technique is the ‘twofer’ concept. For this technique you have two tasks, one you don’t mind doing and one you have been procrastinating about. Decide on a set period of time that you will work for. During this time, if you have any trouble working on one task or reach a point where you have a bit of a mental blank, you should then switch to the other task and alternate between them. Of course it is better to focus solely on one task, but if this isn’t working by alternating between two tasks at least you are being productive for the whole period of time and forcing yourself to do some work on the less favoured task.

You might also like to visit the Assignment Skills unit in the Study Skills Handbook for some more ideas on approaching assignments. 

To access the Handbook and these units, go to Destiny Discover-Links-Study Skills Handbook. Use your College login and password.

The College Library

Each week, two ‘Words of the Week’ are put up on the display board, and the challenge is to find the definition, then use the word in a sentence. The extended challenge is to use both words in the one sentence.

Amaze the library staff with your word skills as you ‘challenge’ yourself each week.

The College Library

We invite you to have a look and follow us. You can find us at:

saintpatrickscollegelibrary

The page is constantly being updated with photos and news from the College library.

We digressed a little this fortnight to support Mr Combes and the musical team as eager students and staff folded masks for the upcoming College musical ‘Queen of Storms’.

In the upcoming weeks, we will take the ‘Dreaming’ theme further as we design and create Dreamcatchers.

The College Library

The ‘Bringing Them Home’ report acknowledged that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities in the name of ‘protection’ and ‘assimilation’. These children are known as the Stolen Generations; and this removal was a government policy in Australia, officially until 1969.

Our College’s Year 11 Aboriginal Studies class was able to participate in a commemorative Mass at the Holy Trinity Church on 23 May. For some of the girls attending this was the first time they had experienced a service like this. It was wonderful to see how this service has grown over the years, and to see more and more of our local schools participate in the commemoration.

The next important date was Reconciliation Week 27 May - 3 June. Our school participated in a number of Reconciliation Week activities, led by our Social Justice Captain Rachel. Our College began with a prayer and reading of the importance of Reconciliation Week - introducing the theme ‘Dont Keep History A Mystery’. Throughout the week our girls were able to participate in the creation of a ‘Sea of Hands’ inspired by the ANTaR model, traditional Indigenous games led by our Year 12s, and learn about important Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contributions to our nation’s history. This culminated in a Kahoot Challenge for all homerooms to see how much they had retained from the historical facts placed around the school. Homeroom 8E were our winners, with 9D and B runners up - well done to all of those girls. Our Library also organised a ‘book swap’ to raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. A big thank you goes out to Rachel and the Social Justice team for their work, and the Library Staff for their fundraiser.

During Reconciliation Week many of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls from Years 7 to 11, participated in a NAISDA Dance College incursion; this incursion was in partnership with Campbelltown Arts Centre and NAISDA. Natasha our instructor came along to put the girls through their paces, and teach them some traditional and contemporary dance movements. All of this was then choreographed into one dance and the girls were able to add some of their own Deadly moves. It was great to see our Year 7 girls participate and shine, as well as our senior girls. Our senior girls have been invited to apply for the NAISDA mentorship. The mentorship will include workshops, performances, on country visits and a 3-day residency program at NAISDA Dance College in Gosford. Stay tuned for a Deadly dance later in the term.

Friday 25 May saw many of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls in Years 9 -12 attend the first session of AIME for 2018. During the day, our senior and junior girls participated in various workshops designed to develop their self-esteem, cultural awareness and, for our seniors, safe behaviours.

Throughout the day, each group participated in activities and worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from other schools. These days are an excellent opportunity for our girls to build their confidence and meet new people, as well as participate in and learn about new things. There will be a number of other AIME days throughout the year, so if there is any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander student who would like to participate, especially in Years 9 - 12, let us know.

This term has seen the completion of the first Year 8 Aboriginal Studies Portfolio Assessment, and there have been some amazing pieces of work produced. Over the last three years each Year 8 cohort has exceed the previous - and this year's cohort has not disappointed!

There will be a few more exciting events coming up this term, including our NAIDOC Assembly in Week 10; an invite will follow shortly - but keep Monday 2 July free!

It has been a busy term so far, but we are all looking forward to many more exciting things.

Nandawanjing

Jo Tanginoa - Aboriginal Education Teacher

We would love to hear from anyone in our community who has an ancestor who served in World War I.  We would like to honour them, record their story and use their photographs in our service.

The photos attached belong to Abbey C (Year 7). They are medals of her ancestor, Private Patrick Bugden VC, who gained a Victoria Cross in WW1 and was killed in the conflict. Abbey is a member of our History Club. These photos also show his actual medals on display at the Australian War Memorial.

I can be contacted at the College on 4629 2999 or via email fmusicorullo@saintpatricks.nsw.edu.au

Fran Musico Rullo – HSIE Teacher

Jane Willloughby spoke to the girls about how St Vincent de Paul distribute these knitted goods. They are not sold in the St Vincent de Paul shops but reserved for welfare cases when they occur. Jane spoke about the plight of the recipients of these blankets. One was an elderly man in the middle of winter who could not afford heating on his pension. He was looking forlorn and sad and when Jane gave him one of our blankets he beamed knowing the St Pat’s girls had made the blanket with love. The very fact someone cared about him restored his spirit. Another was a family whose only possessions were what they could carry. They came to one of the St Vinnies stores and Jane gave the family our blankets to get through the winter. Again, the recipients were so touched that there were people out there empathising with them.

Jane also highlighted to the girls the increasing number of homeless people in the Campbelltown area. The main cause of this is housing/rental affordability. Jane explained to the girls that one of the main difficulties for the elderly in winter was keeping warm. Most could not afford the electricity for heating so the blankets were often all they would have.

I would like to thank the knitting group helpers – Mrs Maureen McCann, Ms Lorraine St John, Mrs Maureen O’Brien, Mrs Cathy Johnson, Mrs Janine McLeod, Mrs Shirley Mills and Ms Kay Cornett for assisting the girls each Thursday lunchtime. We are also indebted to the grandmothers and friends of the College who donate knitted squares regularly, Mrs Jan Vacchini, Mrs Pam Poole, Mrs Jean Mills, Mrs Judith Andrews and Mrs Gayle Levy.

We will be continuing Knitting Group until term 4 so we would appreciate donations of knitted squares (cast on 50 stitches in garter stitch), wool and needles (preferably 8mm size 4).

Fran Musico Rullo - HSIE Teacher

With some very engaging and challenging debates we have come up against Chevalier College, Mackillop Wakeley, All Saints Liverpool and Casula, Clancy, Cerdon Merrylands, St Paul’s Greystanes and La Salle Bankstown. The final preliminary round will be at Freeman Bonnyrigg on Friday 15 June, then the real fun begins as we enter the finals series. So far, with only one round to go, we still have nine teams in, out of ten, with a chance at the finals, with many of these teams still undefeated.

Congratulations and best wishes for round six girls. We are all super proud of you.

Mrs Marguerite Pulham - Debating/Public Speaking

Nearly 300 mums, daughters, grandmas etc all enjoyed a wonderful afternoon eating delicious food, and drinking bottomless cups of tea and coffee, provided by Kuburlis Catering.

We were all entertained by the lovely tones of Karleigh Rose, as well as testing our knowledge with some challenging trivia questions. The photo booth was once again a very popular addition keeping the girls well occupied.

We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

The College P&F

8 - 10 June - Year 12 AIS Excursion PDHPE
11 June - Queen's Birthday - PUBLIC HOLIDAY
12 June - College Assembly, Yera 10 Design and Technology Excursion
13 June - Year 10 Subject Information Sessions
13 to 15 June - Year 12 Retreat
14 June - Grandparents Day
15 June - CCC Cross Country, Year 10 History Incursion, CSDA Debating Round 6, Year 9/10 Camden Open Day Excursion
19 June - Middle School Assembly
20 June - NSW CCC Touch, Year 10 Subject Information Sessions
21 June - College Musical Dress Rehearsal, College Musical 7.30pm
22 June - College Musical 7.30pm, CSDA Debating Elimination Final, AIME Excursion Years 9 - 12
23 June - College Musical 2pm and 7.30pm
25 June - Year 11 2019 Information Night
27 June - Year 11 'U-Turn the Wheel" Incursion
29 June - Year 10 Community Service Incursion, CSDA Debating Quarter Final
2 July - College Assembly
5 Juy - Year 10 Design and Technology Excursion
6 July - Benedict Day Mass, Staff and Students finish for Term 2
23 to 27 July - Staff return for Term 3 - Pupil Free Week
30 July - Students return for Term 3