As you receive this edition of the Inside Out you, your daughter and the family will be thinking how lovely it is to now have some time away from the screen and the books, to rejuvenate and rest for the coming weeks. You will have received your email from the College yesterday, which outlines the journey back to face to face learning for next term and some of the adjustments we have had to make to accommodate the risks that still lay before us.

Whilst we are all very excited to return to the College next term, it is normal and expected that there will be some anxiety and concern for some girls to make it back on site. Ten weeks at home, whilst not an ideal scenario, has provided some security and assurances in this time of uncertainty. The first step out of what has become "the norm" is always the hardest.

The following advice came from the Australian Psychological Society. To assist your daughter in this transition, you will need to reassure her that the decision to return to school is based on the health advice and there is confidence that they are safe to return. The data, gathered through health, is that whilst young people may contract COVID 19, most young people don’t normally get sick from the virus. The College will have in place COVID-Safe practices, including sanitising stations, girls will be required to practice good personal hygiene and everyone will be required to wear a mask. Level 3 restrictions will assist us in maintaining these good safety precautions. Everyone at the College will be working hard to make sure all are safe. If the situation deteriorates and our safety is compromised, decisions will be made to address this. Finally, if any girl is unwell or has signs of COVID 19, she must not attend school and will need to get tested and receive a negative result or no symptoms, before she can return. Together, we will be able to enjoy the benefits of returning to the College, whilst also keeping each other safe. If you daughter does have concerns about returning, please let her Pastoral Advisor or Year Coordinator know, so we can start to assist her in preparation for this transition.

This week, students in Year 7 to 9, will begin to receive their package that will provide the resources for the first week of Remote Learning for next term. The support staff have been busy putting these packages together and have included a little treat for girls along the way! I have included a few images of the organisation that was required to ensure the right material found it way into the right package. In addition to this, our staff have then offered once again, to drive these packages to the homes of the girl's, so we can be sure they receive the material in a timely way. This, in itself, was a logistical feat, to develop the delivery routes, so all would be covered. I extend my thanks to the support staff, who have devoted many hours to make this happen.

Thank you once again for your ongoing support and patience. Please reach out to the College if you have any concerns or queries. I wish you a good break and look forward to our return next term. I have included a prayer from Pope Francis for our fathers and father figures, whom I neglected to congratulate and acknowledge in our last edition, which was just prior to Father’s Day. I hope there is still a little shine left in your household for you from your special day.

St Joseph is the model of the educator and the dad, the father. I, therefore, entrust to his protection those who are fathers. Best wishes to you on your day and everyday!

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal

I ask for you the grace to be ever closer to your children,
allow them to grow, but be close, close!
They need you, your presence, your closeness, your love.
May you be for them as St Joseph was: guardians of their growth in age, wisdom and grace.
May you guard them on their journey: be educators and walk with them.
Thank you for all you do for your children: thank you.
May St Joseph bless you and accompany you.
Pope Francis

“This is the first time the three of us feel compelled to address together the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on persistent poverty and the importance of global cooperation. Together on behalf of our communities, we appeal to the heart and mind of each Christian, every believer and every person of good will…Again, we recall Scripture: ‘Choose life, so that you and your children may live (DT30:19)’. Choosing life means making sacrifices and exercising self-restraint”.

The theme for 2021 is “A home for all? Renewing the Oikos of God”, Oikos being the Greek word for home or household. In Genesis God set a dome over the Earth. The word  “dome“ is where we get words such as ‘domicile’ and ’domestic’ — in other words, God puts us all — all people, all life — under the same domed roof — we are all in the house, the oikos of God. God gave humans the ministry to take care and cultivate this oikos of God. As Christians we believe the world belongs to God but was entrusted to us as a gift to be cared for as stewards. All people around the world are to share in this gift, its resources and the responsibility that comes with God’s trust in us. This year we are called to seriously reflect on this and question, is Earth a home for all? What can we do to renew the household of God? Given the current issues facing us with the global pandemic and climate change, we must talk about a way forward and pray that our leaders make the right decisions for the future of our common home.

A guide for communities and individuals can be found here.

Louise East - Religious Studies Coordinator

An important phrase in our College Prayer is that “through hospitality, justice, and peace” we make Christ present in our world. As a Benedictine community which values hospitality, justice, and peace, it is incumbent on us to not only say these words—we must act upon these words and live them. With this in mind, the St Patrick’s community has made a commitment to the Campbelltown branch of the St Vincent de Paul to provide 45 Christmas hampers for distribution in early December to families in the local area. This is a way we can act upon the values we espouse.

As usual, our ability to supply 45 hampers is only possible through a collective effort. When every member of the St Pat’s community makes a contribution, the result is amazing and we are more than able to achieve our set goal. This collective effort is our manifestation of the same miracle of Jesus, who, with five loaves of bread and two fish, was able to bring about the feeding of a crowd of more than 5,000 people. The miracle in that story is that Jesus convinces everyone to share what they have so that everyone gets what they need—and there are even leftovers! Let’s follow this example of Jesus and share what we have.

During this lockdown term, the St Patrick’s College Social Justice Group has been able to reconvene its regular meetings via Zoom. With the leadership of the incoming Benedict Captain, Grace K., the group has been preparing for the Christmas hampers drive next term. Also, the group has been discussing how they can raise awareness of current social justice issues.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator

Through this unit, students are provided with opportunities to explore their own stories and connection to places of personal significance. While the remote learning environment has meant we cannot use clay as we normally would, we have found an excellent substitute with salt dough. They’ve been experimenting with this new medium over the past couple of lessons and are getting ready to bring their final designs to life. We will look at painting these next term and can’t wait to see the results.

If you’re looking for a fun and easy activity in the upcoming holidays, feel free to follow the simple recipe attached.

Tarna Tannous - CAPA Coordinator

While they are unable to do their usual ensemble activities, this class has been finding new and creative ways to warm up online. One example of a zoom warmup is this family portrait activity. Students were allocated a family member role and given 5 minutes to create a costume and persona for a photo. Look closely at the picture to find personalities such as the deadbeat brother, the “too cool” older sister, the grandparents, and many more.

Tarna Tannous - CAPA Coordinator

For these artworks, our Year 9 Visual Arts students spent some time exploring the natural environment. They investigated various ways to document the natural landscape around them such as sketching and taking photos. The students explored the work of John Wolseley which inspired them to represent their landscapes more creatively by using varying perspectives. These artworks can be viewed from multiple angles. As the viewer, you are to decide which angle you find more comfortable viewing.

Year 9 Figurative Landscape Exhibition

Tarna Tannous - CAPA Coordinator

Year 7 students have been focussing on body percussion and Year 8, creating rhythms with cups. They have also been analysing music and responding in many different ways. It has been wonderful to see the students and often their family members become involved in the Music lessons from home.

Year 7 Music Class - Body Percussion

Year 8 Music Class - Rhythm Cups 

Tarna Tannous - CAPA Coordinator

We would like to share Erica's original dance composition based on the feeling of objects around her home.

Year 7 Dance: Tactile Stimulus as Inspiration for Dance - Erica E

Tarna Tannous - CAPA Coordinator

In learning to recognise the various Elements of Art this semester’s classes have enjoyed online scavenger hunts, painting with coffee, arranging objects, paper collages, taking photographs and developing their drawing skills. We think they’ve done a great job!

Tarna Tannous - CAPA Coordinator

Brooklyn was generous with his time and information as he engaged with the students answering their questions with detail and enthusiasm. He offered great insight into the world of journalism, his first-hand experience in how he landed his dream job and offered great advice in pursuing the career you want. 

One of the highlights from this interview was the impact of Brooklyn’s social media presence - a topic that has been the focus for Year 12 English Studies this term. The discussion centred around how through the use of social media platforms, he was able to change people’s lives and opinions by simply informing them with simple facts and in a more accessible way than other news forms and outlets. 

Brooklyn also had questions of his own for our students inquiring about the online learning experience and how they have navigated through a challenging year. The interview provided students with a greater understanding of how the broadcast journalism industry works as well as the required drive, motivation and passion for the job. 

“My greatest take away from the interview with Brooklyn was his final advice for the students - if you have a dream, work hard and just go for it! Take every opportunity that leads to reaching that goal and you can make it happen.” Karina B 

“I really enjoyed that we were able to speak to Brooklyn so we could learn so much more about how he got his job and how he made it through life to where he is now." Natasha B

Claudine Bella - English Faculty

The girls were joined by hundreds of other student leaders from around the country, via this virtual space. This program was an opportunity for students to meet an inspiring leader who could speak about personal and professional experiences, and who could help young women aspire to leadership roles. The keynote presenter on the day was Joann Wilkie, Deputy Secretary for the Economic Strategy and Productivity Group, at NSW Treasury. In addition, a panel of female members discussed highlights, challenges and opportunities they have experienced in their careers.

Here is some feedback from three of our incoming student leaders:

Charlotte F
"The workshop was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to how passionate the women were in their chosen fields. They all gave such insightful speeches about their experience being women in leadership roles, the adversities they had to face to achieve their goals and ways in which young people can become involved in their community at an early stage. It undoubtedly inspired me to persevere through the challenging experiences I’ll face approaching Year 12, as it’s what strengthens and builds your individual character. A truly invaluable experience."

Tavara S
"The Young Women’s Leadership Seminar provided an amazing insight into the lives of female leaders like Joann Wilkie (Deputy Secretary, NSW Treasury), Bronnie Taylor (Minister for Mental Health), Kate Washington (Member for Port Stephens) and many others. They taught us that leadership works best through collaboration and to challenge the restrictions of the stereotypical mould for women, encouraging the message of 'lifting each other up and pushing each other forward'. It was inspiring and motivating as it reiterated that we should be proud to be women and embrace our femininity. We are so grateful to have attended the event, we hope that we can demonstrate fearlessness, provide support and encourage the message of 'lifting each other up and pushing each other forward'  through our leadership at St Pat's."

Madison M
"On 2 September, the leadership team and myself were granted the opportunity to attend The Young Women’s Leadership Seminar. This was such a great experience hearing the voices of successful women in leadership. One of the key quotes that I took from the Sports Minister, Natalie Ward, was “You gain strength, courage and confidence with every experience you face”. This statement resonated with me because I feel that this opportunity as Sports Captain has given me the power to speak on behalf of my cohort and the College. Being in leadership isn’t easy and you are sometimes faced with bad situations. Leadership requires great determination, resilience and patience and these are the characteristics that these inspiring leaders portrayed. Kate Washington, who is the Minister for Disability, expressed that “being in leadership isn’t about who speaks the loudest, it's about the person who listens and represents everyones thoughts”. Throughout this presentation, I was able to envisage what a good leader looks like and really evaluate my role as an individual and also as a leader of sport. I know within myself, that I have learnt so much from this experience and I can’t wait to share all of my ideas and listen to my peers."

A reflction from a Year 11 student:

Some of the highlights of the interview with Mike E and Emma included the fact that we got to learn about how their job has changed their lives and how they managed to continue their job during COVID. One particular point I found interesting was when they were explaining what they had to sacrifice to get the job they wanted.  

Some specific questions included “Who is a hero that inspired you on social media and radio? And why are they a hero to you?” They answered that there were a lot of people who inspired both of them and that there would be too many names to put down, but there were several individuals that they listened to on the radio when they were kids. Mike E and Emma also asked us some questions, such as how we were coping with the demands of online learning.

There were many topics discussed during this interview that linked with the content we have been learning in class. This includes career choices, being prepared for change and if you set your mind to anything you can achieve your dream job.We also discussed reliability and credible research. For Mike E and Emma there are thousands of people listening to them live, so what they say has to be reliable and well researched. They spoke about the importance of not believing everything you read or hear and the same goes for us in class. We need to visit multiple reliable sites for work to gather reliable information.

Claudine Bella - English Faculty

Our students have done exceptionally well, scoring excellent marks, coming up with some creative ways to resolve problems in a variety of scenarios. In Round 3, they scored 93/100. Each Party role played their characters effectivley and even managed to complete the round via Zoom. We are delighted to announce that our team has progressed to the Quarter Final and we wish them all the very best.

Jason Muller - Mock Mediation Coordinator/HSIE Teacher

Year 8 Japanese learnt about the art form as part of their 'House' unit of work and participated in designing their own Ikebana. I am sure you will agree, the girls did a great job on their first attempt. Well done to the girls whose arrangements captured a real Japanese essence. 

The students started the term doing Project Based Learning, where they put together self introductions in presentations, using short Japanese phrases. This gave them an opportunity to share information about themselves and develop their language skills.

The Cooking Challenge has also continued throughout the term. Well done to the girls who have all presented their food in the second round. 

Kirrily Cousins - Japanese Language Teacher

Simpson Prize Competition Question:
To what extent have the Gallipoli campaign and the Western Front overshadowed other significant aspects of Australians’ experience of the First World War?

Instructions
The Simpson Prize requires you to respond to the question above using both the Simpson Prize Australian War Memorial Source Selection (which can be found at https://www.awm.gov.au/learn/schools/simpson2022 and your own research.

You are encouraged to discuss and respond to the question from a variety of perspectives, both individual and national using a variety of sources.
You are expected to make effective use of a minimum of four of the sources provided (see link above).

Up to half of your response should also make use of information drawn from your own knowledge and research.

Schools are permitted to submit up to 3 Student Entries.

Closing date
Submit your entry by Friday 5 November 2021 (5.30pm)
Students: Please go to Student Entry Requirements before beginning your entry.
Note: Winners will participate in Simpson Prize activities in 2022
How to submit completed entries is found at How to submit entries
The competition is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and run by the History Teachers’ Association of Australia.

Fran Musico Rullo - HSIE Teacher

To celebrate History Week, the HSIE Faculty ran daily quizzes asking students to guess the names of a variety of historical faces.Congratulations to Charlotte D of Year 8 for winning Rounds 2-4 of our History Week Quizzes and Sophia C of Year 8 for winning Round 1. 

The other competition was for students to take a photo of themselves with a ‘historic item’ they had at home. They were asked to write a paragraph about what they knew about the history of the item and why it was special to them.

There were four winners in this category - Armeet K of Year 7, Riya V of Year 8,  Ria K of Year 8 and Bronwyn Z of Year 9. 

Here are the paragraphs written by the students:

Riya V - 'Heirloom Necklace'
This item is a necklace that has been handed down to my mother from generation to generation. This necklace is really rare and my mother said that this necklace was common within the royal family in ancient India. There are many fake ones in existence, but this is the original one that my mom got from her mother. This stone is traditional and people say that it was worn by queens which makes it very special. It's a very old and expensive necklace and it's really hard to get it in India.

Armeet K - 'Heirloom Bangle'
This sparkly golden bangle belongs to my great-great-grandmother. She bought this bangle for her wedding day and she then passed it on from generation to generation. She passed this bangle on to my grandma, my mum and my aunty. When I’m old enough, this bangle will be passed on to me as well. My great-great-grandmother has passed away now but it’s still nice that we have  one of her special treasures that is now passed down from generation to generation. I don’t know that much about the history of this bangle but I know that it is something special. This bangle means something special to me because it is something that is passed down and it’s worn on a big day of our lives. When I am old enough I would love to be wearing this bangle and have my great great grandmother be part of my big day.

Ria K - 'Antique Piano'
This is my piano. We bought it after I started learning piano for less than $300 (if I remember correctly). It’s brand is ‘John Brinsmead’ which started in 1835 and ended in 1921. Some antique John Brinsmead pianos are valued at $26,000, however,  we bought ours for less than a fraction of that price as it is less rare. I’m very proud of my piano (and very attached to it).

Bronwyn Z - 'World War I Photo Album'
This is an original photo album that belonged to an Australian soldier during World War I. It shows a variety of pictures taken over the soldier’s time in the war. It has various photos around Europe and the UK, including Italy and Scotland. It also includes photos of the Victory parade in England in 1918. There are photos of English, French and Australian soldiers. In one of the photos is Sir John Monash, an Australian military commander during  World War I.

Congratulations to all the winners

Fran Musico Rullo and Nathan East - HSIE Faculty

Students were encouraged to engage with our Australian Reading Hour resource guide which includes:

• information about Australian Reading Hour
• links to an on demand video event “Stories That Matter for Teens” featuring several Australian authors of Young Adult fiction
• information about author Jenna Guillaume and her Australia Reads novella, The Deep End, as well as her other books
• links to two competitions run by the Library for students to participate in for Australian Reading Hour
• book discussion ideas
• custom bookmarks for students to print
• a 'Where Should I Read' chatterbox for students to print
• Find A Word based on The Deep End
• Book Confessional – whether you are a reader or not, this is a fun video for all to enjoy

We hope students enjoyed Australian Reading Hour and all of the activities and competitions throughout the week. The lucky competition winners will be announced at the beginning of Term 4.

The College Library

This week, all students received a copy of What's New @ your College Library - eBook and audiobook edition in an email from Mrs Robertson. The newsletter has instructions on how to access ePlatform, as well as the latest eBook and audiobook titles. As always, if students need assistance or have any questions, they are encouraged to contact the Library by raising a Helpdesk ticket. Happy reading!

The College Library

Borrowing@the library

Although you can’t browse the library collection in person, you can still access the catalogueand browse, look at the newest additions, or choose an ebook or audiobook. Access to e-resources is instant, and if the title is a physical copy, did you know you can put a hold on the book and we will post it out to you? 

Clubs@theLibrary

Face to face clubs are not currently possible but you can still meet remotely. Have you thought about joining a club? 

Literacy and Numeracy@theLibrary

Have you mastered the Alice in Wonderland Escape room yet? Did you conquer it alone or was it a combined family effort?

Insta@theLibrary

Are you following the Library’s Instagram page yet? Mrs Denford keeps the page updated and full of interesting and fun posts. Check it out #saintpatrickscollegelibrary

Questions@theLibrary

Is there something more you need?

Do you need help with referencing or research, or have a problem with AMOW? Lodge a Library Helpdesk ticket and a library staff member will be in touch to assist with your query.

The College Library

The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

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 this fact sheet.

Kristy Dennis - College Business Manager