As we move into the middle of the term I would think that many students will be working hard to complete assessments and are preparing for examinations. Our assessments are primarily of learning and so unfortunately it is necessary that a body of knowledge and learning has happened before it can be assessed. The reality is that these assessments can then arrive in close proximity to each other, which can result in a very busy calendar. I was recently speaking with some girls in Years 8,9 and 10 and the one thing they have learnt over the years in high school is the importance of being organised and not leaving work to the last minute. I am also aware that in a number of courses girls have had class time to work on their assessments and these have been progressively marked.

Assessments are an important part of our education. They give students, parents and staff feedback on a number of things. They provide staff with feedback on the delivery of the course, they give parents an insight into the progress of their daughter which can be cross referenced with the level of commitment and they give students feedback on the effectiveness of their study routines and what they have learnt though the course.

Another important aspect of assessment is that they allow students to try different things and experiment with the skills that they have developed so that they learn from the feedback they receive. On some occasions these experiments bring success for the learner and on other occasions they don’t. In both instances the learner will learn; either through their mistakes or through their success, there is learning. There are many inspirational quotes which focus on the success achieved through trial and trial and more trial and of success achieved through perseverance, tenacity and creativity.

This is what we want for the girls. That they will experience a disappointing result, that they try something and learn it didn’t work, that they stick their neck out to learn that through their courage they will improve and get better. That they are not afraid to get it wrong. There is no one formula that will bring success. There are no one set of skills that will cover all situations. The girls need to be fearless in trying to learn what their strengths are and what they need to develop. They then need to work on this area of development.  When we work on a weakness we will make mistakes and it will take time to be able to master it, but it will happen. So if your daughter receives a result which is below your expectation, have a conversation with her around what she has learned about herself and what was required in this assessment. If she gets it wrong, that is OK. We never stop learning and our capacity to grow never diminishes whilst we are still breathing.

Next week is National Reconciliation Week. The dates are 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey, the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision. The theme for NSW this year is Grounded in Truth Walk together in Courage.

Through the week a Sorry Day Service was celebrated in Holy Trinity Church in Minto. Once again the community was able to celebrate the contributions of the Aboriginal community and their capacity to continue to thrive against adversity. I will leave you with this prayer that was distributed to those who gathered. Let us pray that as a nation we continue to work towards reconciling the past so that we have a combined hope-filled future in this country.

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal 

Father of all,
You gave our Aboriginal People the Dreaming
You have spoken to them through their beliefs,
You then made your love clear to them in the 
person of Jesus.
We thank you for your care of these people.
You own them. You are their hope.
Make them strong as they face the problems of change.
We ask You to help us,  the people of Australia,
To listen to them and respect their culture,
Make the knowlege of You grow strong in all people
So that You can be at home in all of us,
And so that we can make a home for everyone in our land.
Amen

Adapted from the Prayer prepared by the Aboriginal People 
for Pope John Paul II's visit to Alice Springs 1996.

The day began with an initial lecture on the new common module Literary Worlds before students broke off into the elective groups. During the elective workshops the girls listened to experienced teachers and university lecturers on Hamlet, Emily Dickinson and Lost in Translation. The day was attended by students from all over the state and highlights how dedicated Extension One students are.

Ann Treanor - English Coordinator

We gathered at The Tops Conference and Recreation Centre at Stanwell Tops for three days of reflection, discussion, ritual, prayer, and shared friendship. The Scripture passage which underpins the Year 12 Retreat is from John’s Gospel—the story of Peter being asked by Jesus three times, “Do you love me?” This Gospel story allowed the girls to explore the mystery of Christian love as it may be experienced in their daily interactions and through the varied relationships they have: with self, with friends, with God.

Congratulations are to be extended to this Year 12 group as they entered into the retreat process with enthusiasm and the attitude to gain the most from the experience. Overwhelmingly, the feedback from the girls is that the experience helped them to strengthen already strong friendships as well as re-establishing lost friendships and forming new friendships. The Holy Spirit was clearly at work through the girls during their discussions and interactions.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator

Whilst the students from Years 8 to 10 received their badges last term, we like to give the Year 7 students a chance to get to know each other before they vote for this position.

Election by the College staff and students peers into the SRC is a great honour and provides these students with an opportunity to lead and serve not only their respective Homerooms but also the College community. These students, through their involvement in many aspects of College life, have displayed the qualities that are necessary criteria in the effective management of the role.

And so we congratulate the following students on their election to this position.

The councillors are:

Yasmin W– 7A

Abby D-7B

Tamanna M– 7C

Olivia M– 7D

Laura Z– 7E

Kiara M– 7F

Karen Wright - Assistant Principal - Students

Eliza F spoke to the Assembly about the emails we had received from Belgium from people who sighted our commemorative crosses at Tyne Cot Cemetery. We were able to show the students some photos of their crosses in placed on actual graves (see last week's Inside Out for further information).

Olivia L addressed the Assembly about the work the History Club has been doing to commemorate the contribution of nurses from Campbelltown in World War I. The students were shown many photographs taken by Mr Nash on Anzac Day showing the full involvement of St Patrick's College students in various facets. The History Club  once again donned their nursing outfits from Anzac Day so all students could see their costumes. 

We were fortunate to have in attendance local veterans Mr Elwyn Spencer and Mr Walter Robinson from the Campbelltown RSL Sub-Branch. They presented to Mrs Lennox a Certificate of Appreciation to the College. Mr Robinson spoke briefly, thanking the College and the History Club for its efforts and said that the news of the St. Patrick's nurses had reached 'far beyond Campbelltown'. He said that St Patrick's College nurses 'will go down in history' in terms of the local Anzac Day march. The RSL also presented individual certificates to the girls.

The College and the RSL also had an opportunity to publicly thank Mrs Lucette Zapirain for her wonderful efforts making the costumes.

The History Club is in the final stages of completing its display on the Anzac nurses of Campbelltown, which they are hoping to enter in the Anzac Day Schools Award.

Fran Musico-Rullo - HSIE Teacher

The teams hard work led them to play off for a spot in the GRAND FINAL, however, unfortunately the girls couldn’t sustain their winning streak, losing this game, placing St Patrick’s College 4^th overall, which is a fabulous result.

Individually, the girls also performed extremely well with two of our students, Andrea M (Year 12) and Tara B (Year 11) being identified as some of the strongest footballers from the tournament.

Congratulations to Tara B (Year 11) who gained selection in the Wollongong Diocesan representative team to contest the NSWCCC Football Championships at Valentine Park from the 4–5 June. Good luck Tara B at this tournament.

A special mention must also go to Andrea M (Year 12) who was selected as a shadow player for the Wollongong Diocesan team.

Finally, I would like to extend a big thank you to Peter for driving the team to the venue and for your ongoing support throughout the day.

Nina Tacca-Baudana - Teacher

Of course there are always students using their device for assessments and study, but the challenge was aimed at those who sit and play. Much fun was had chatting, laughing and playing the many games the library has on offer. Perhaps this is a challenge we need to do more often?

The College Library

In order to make the Bookroom more user friendly and the books more easily accessible for library and teaching staff, the textbooks have now been sorted by faculty departments. Each department, ie HSIE, Science, TAS, Creative and Performing Arts, English and Maths, now have their own handy section. The English textbooks have been sorted by author surname, which means staff members searching for an English text in the Bookroom need only remember the author of the book instead of call numbers. The nonfiction textbooks are sorted by the title of the book. This has already made searching for textbooks a much quicker and smoother process. In the coming months, each section will be relabelled with new signage for even easier access. Watch this space for further updates!

The College Library

It was exciting to be notified recently that our ebook reading platform, Wheelers, now has a designated list for the 2019 challenge. This makes it easy to choose an audio book or ebook, knowing that it is definitely on the list. The process to accessing the platform is a simple one.

• Download ePlatform by Wheelers on your device from Google Play, App Store or Windows Store.
• Click ‘Find your Library’ and search for ‘St Patrick’s College Campbelltown’
• Click on the menu bar in the top right corner > sign in
• Sign in using your St Pat’s username and password login

Once you have logged in, scroll to the bottom where you will find (under child/teen), a Premier’s Reading Challenge (NSW) ebooks link. This link will take you to a list of available ebooks which you can read on your device. These will count towards your tally.

I urge all participants to take full advantage of this.

Please remember that you can also log into Destiny Discover through the links in the library tab (right hand side) on the College dashboard page. You also use your College username and password to log in. Here you can search for titles (physical books, ebooks and audio books), or you can look at the displays already on the page.

Keep reading and logging those books. The challenge closes at the end of August.

The College Library

Randa Abdel-Fattah has published 13 books and wrote the first draft of her debut novel ‘Does my head look big in this?’ while still in high school. Although rejected by the many publishing companies she approached, she took on board their constructive criticisms, and later rewrote and successfully published this title; the first of her many books.

It was interesting to hear her story of identity, politics, racism and prejudice, and how although her novels are fiction, they are based on her own personal experiences and those of her friends and family. She was inspiring to listen to and very gracious in personally signing the College Library copies of her books.

I urge you all to take advantage of opportunities such as these.

 Sue Harradine - The College Library

The Library has wrapped a selection of books in brown paper and added just a few lines of the description of the book on the front. Students can choose a book based on these few lines, borrow it, and then unwrap the book to reveal their next great read! We hope this fun initiative will help students broaden their scope of reading -  and may even find a new author or genre they wouldn't have come across otherwise.

The College Library

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