We have been shocked with the devastating news that came out of Christchurch last Friday. It will be one of those events in our lives where we will remember where we were when we first heard the news. A city that has had its fair share of grief and tragedy in the past has now been subjected to another tragedy. Our prayers and thoughts are with the people of New Zealand and particularly those in Christchurch. The victims, their families and all in their community are in our prayerful offerings. I am struck with the leadership and response given by the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.  In speaking of this situation she has introduced a new dialogue into the public rhetoric. She has shown courage in reframing this terrorist attack and standing against those who try to divide communities based on race, religion or colour. She has been strong in identifying the strength that diversity has in the understanding of ‘us’ in community.  Her words are influencing others and we can only hope this will prove to be a positive outcome for all communities.

Emerald Gala Ball
Last Saturday, we hosted the St Patrick’s College Emerald Gala Ball at the Cube. It was a wonderful night which successfully raised money for the Scholarship Fund. A number of hard-working people joined the committee to ensure it was a success. The committee members include Julie O’Keefe (chair), Marion Windle, Peta Borg, Debbie Gates, Erin de Rooy, Tanya Roet, Samantha Richards, Damian McGovern and Danielle Grant. I am very grateful to these committee members. I would also like to acknowledge the companies who generously sponsored the ball. They include Silver Sponsors Campbelltown Catholic Club, Catholic Development Fund, Shamrock Printing, Bronze Sponsors Evans Jewellers, Kelly and Partners, Macarthur United Real Estate, Macarthur Engineering, Marsdens Law Group, TRN Group and Wakeling Automotive. In addition to this we had many companies and distributors who provided prizes and support for the night. We are very grateful and through their help, we will be able to assist girls and families access St Patrick’s College for their education.

Greatest Shave
Last Friday Brooke M had her hair cut to raise money for cancer research in support of her aunty who passed away last year. Her hairdresser Vanessa from Crimson Hair and Beauty in Glen Alpine came to the College to cut off the locks and then style the cut so that it would still fit our uniform requirements. The cut was able to provide hair which could be used for wigs. It was a moving event and many girls were touched by what they saw, given the number of people in our community who have been affected by cancer. Let’s hope that a cure is found soon to end the suffering and loss of life associated with cancer.

St Patrick's Day
Finally, we celebrated St Patrick’s Day this week. We were very fortunate to have Fr Michael celebrate mass for us and the assembly beforehand had fabulous Irish dancing, which is always a highlight. I will leave you with the words of the Deer’s Cry which is a version of the Breastplate of St Patrick.

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal 

St Patrick's Day Prayer

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendour of fire,
Speed of lightening,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's hand to guard me
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.

Amen. 

For such important matters of faith, it is appropriate that Christians devote time and effort into preparing for the holiest of days: Easter Sunday. This is the meaning and purpose of Lent. Lent is a time for preparation, reflection and spiritual renewal. Traditionally, this is done through almsgiving (being charitable to those in need), through prayer (fostering right relationship with God and neighbour), and through fasting (giving up those things in our life which prevent us from being fully human and fully alive).

As a practical means of almsgiving, Lent is also the opportunity for the St Patrick’s community to make donations to Project Compassion. Project Compassion helps to fund the work undertaken by Caritas, the social justice organisation within the Australian Catholic Church which operates in all areas of the world where there is poverty.

The replacement product is the St Patrick’s College Parent Portal (http://www.saintpatricks.nsw.edu.au/parent-and-student-portal). The Portal provides a one-stop point of contact to stay up-to-date with progress, awards, attendance tracking, timetables, wellbeing and communication with teachers. Students and Parents are provided access to the portals on commencement at St Patrick's College.

Announcing new processes available for explaining absences

From Week 9 (Monday 25 March), families, may, if they wish, use Sentral’s Portal Attendance to explain absences OR reply to the SMS Absence Notification message. On logging into the portal, if there are outstanding unexplained absences, a notification is visible at the top of the screen. Click through to enter an explanation.

Debra Bourne - Leader of eLearning and Library Services

The students involved were:
Mackenzie P (Barrister), Ellie F (Barrister), Victoria J (Solicitor), Natalie L (Witness), Alysha B (Witness), Natalie C (Court Officer), Emma F, Mackenzie M, Rahniesha W, Ashleigh K, Stephanie N, Rachael T, Ruby B.

Attending and participating in the Mock Trial practice round on 18 March was both an engaging and practical experience. As a barrister, I got to experience first hand how a Mock Trial round would play out. I learnt the basics of my role, as well as the roles of the other girls on my team. I also learnt how my role was associated with the opposition, particularly in terms of making and responding to objections. Each of the girls who participated in or supported the team gained practical knowledge of what happens in a Mock Trial and can now learn from both St Greg’s and our mistakes in order to improve in future rounds.

As two competitive schools, it was even more beneficial that our practice round was at St Greg’s, regardless of the fact that many students were also familiar with each other and had friendships with each other. St Greg’s really put up a fight for their side of the case and not only should all of the St Patrick’s girls be commended for their efforts, but so should the opposition. The result was that St Patrick’s won the case, with our client being found not guilty to the charges they were accused of. However, in terms of the final score, which is based on the legal proceedings and procedures, we were behind by one point. Overall, it was a great feat for St Patrick’s, and I look forward to developing more skills with the Mock Trial girls in the future and seeing how our scores play out throughout the competition. I have a feeling that this could be a strong year for the Mock Trial competitors!

Mackenzie P - Year 11 Student

All teams had a very successful day with the senior team finishing in second place overall after only losing one game all day. The girls should be extremely proud of the way they played and the team work they displayed throughout the day.

The 15 years team was also extremely successful and finished in equal third place overall. The girls started off very well and recorded a number of strong wins against some very skilled teams. Unfortunately, a couple of lapses in concentration at key points throughout games saw them lose and draw a couple of games that they probably could have won. On a positive note, this did not deter the girls and they went on to finish the day on a high, defeating St Benedict’s 5-0 in their final game.

The 13 years team had a great day learning a lot about the sport. The girls finished the day with two loses, one win and six draws. They displayed great development throughout the day and show great potential for future years. All girls should be very proud of their efforts and were by far the strongest performing Macarthur school in the competition.

Special mention should go to Darcy E (Year 9), Amy Y (Year 9), Julia P (Year 12) and Olivia F (Year 12) who gained selection in the Wollongong Diocesan Representative team to contest the NSWCCC Championships in Nelson Bay.

I would like to extend a big thank you to Mr Baca and Mr David who offered to assist on the day and to our amazing group of parents who braved tough conditions to support all the girls throughout the day.

13 Years Team
Mia F, Mirae Q, Keesha D, Laura Z, Abbie H, Grace B, Aaliyah B, Siena B, Ava H and Ava W.

15 Years Team
Lara M, Amy Y, Tavara S, Eden G, Lucy G, Ellie H, Darcy E, Sophia S, Carrera K, Lily M, Sienna S, Aleshia T and Madison M.

Open Team
Julia P, Sarah P, Amy S, Natalie S, Emily A, Olivia F, Piper A, Tara B, Karina B and Lily M.

By Touch Football Captain Julia P (Year 12)

The library is always exploring new ways to better display our collection for our patrons. The picture books, which have always been difficult to contain on the shelves, have found a new home in a set of wheelable cubicles. These 'boxes on wheels' live near our Manga and Graphic Novel collections and are much more user friendly.

Recently, the library created a designated section for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander books. In doing so, we make these books more easily accessible to the students who wish to use them. 

The College Library

ePlatform by Wheelers is an eBook and audiobook platform St Patrick's subscribes to, for the benefit of all staff and students. The app can be downloaded on your mobile device (phone, iPad or laptop). Once the app is downloaded, you can log in using your St Pat's login details and start browsing - it's as easy as that! ePlatform gives you free acess to the latest releases, contemporary favourites, and classic literature. eBooks are a great alternative to carrying a few books around at once, and audiobooks are excellent to listen to when travelling. We encourage all students to check out all the great titles, and ask the Library staff if any help is needed. 

The College Library

In celebration of International Women's Day, the library celebrated some exceptional women from around the world, in fields such as medicine, aeronautics, science, human rights, mathematics and technology. Drop into the library to read about these women and their contributions. They are posted around the library on our colourful pillars.

The College Library

Within this collection, the girls are able to access physical titles within the library as well as ebooks, websites and articles on Encyclopaedia Britannica. The physical books are put aside on a series of shelves, exclusively for assessment tasks, and are sectioned by year group and the individual assessment.

The College Library

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the College on 4629 2999.

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