Last Sunday was Pentecost marking the end of the Easter period for the Church. Pentecost Sunday is often referred to as the birthday of the Church. It was on this day that the disciples received the Holy Spirit. In essence, they were relieved of their anxieties about themselves and sent forth to preach the good news. The visitation of the Spirit assured them that Jesus was still with them and loved them and they were set free to love others and tell them to rejoice in being loved by God. This is considered to be the birthday of the Church because the disciples moved out into the community and preached and the teachings of Jesus were spread far and wide. As a contemporary Catholic community, this celebration of the Church is most important to us because it reminds us that our faith and beliefs are not something that should be stored away and only used when it is convenient. Rather, our faith compels us to not only love one another but also to go one step further be seen by others as communities that demonstrate this love to each other. As a Catholic School, we are therefore called to mould a community that is inclusive of all and models a respect and love for each other in the way that we treat each other and the expectations and tolerance that we place on each other. In short, we aim to be communities that bring joy to each other and to those around us. If we are a loving community at St. Patrick's, what we do for each other and the way that we support one another should be focussed on bringing joy to others. This is not to say that on occasions some hard decisions have to be made that may not necessarily be welcomed by some, but certainly these decisions should always be based on an integrity that centres on the common good for the community.

On Tuesday night I had the great pleasure of attending the Steve Biddulph parent information evening. I found him to be an extraordinary presenter. Steve has had over thirty years of experience in researching, writing and presenting about boys and masculinity. His easy (story telling) style of presenting certainly appealed to my learning style. I am sure that everyone who attended took away their own messages. One that clearly resonated with me was around the great need of young men for good role models. Steve spoke very directly and succinctly about the roles that both mums and dads play in the lives of young men. More importantly, he also spoke about how and why these roles change as our young men grow. He was very clear about how important it was for parents to work together as a team to mentor these young men in their formative years particularly around the age of 14 years. He also mentioned that around these years, young men look to other males particularly to be their "mentors". These mentors could be and usually were others apart from their fathers and he encouraged the notion of looking to other important males in their lives to role model what a good man should look like. Steve was particularly clear here about the role of fathers and the importance of good role modelling in behaviours and expectations of these young adolescent men. He believes that this is a time when dads should be very present to the young men.

The notion of working in partnership is obviously something that we very much value as a school. Students at the age of 14 years are in the middle of their schooling experience at St. Patrick's. Therefore, it is important for them to receive consistent messages about what are the expected behaviours of a young man and what it means to be a good man. As mentioned last night their attitude to women is central to this. Furthermore, given that the young men spend a significant amount of their time around the College it is highly possible that their role models will be male staff such as teachers or coaches. This responsibility means that our messages and behaviours as a College and men will be more closely scrutinized by our students than some may have considered. Furthermore, it also means that the way that our young men relate to their female teachers and learn from these experiences is also a significant part of their formation. I believe that our House system is the foundation of an excellent pastoral and formation program for the students and I urge all parents to work with the staff and House Deans as much as possible to ensure that we are all sending very consistent messages to the young men about what is expected of them and how they can grow into Men of Action (good young men). I would also like to highlight the great work done by Mr Brian Polich and his "Rite Journey" team who work so well with our Year Nine students. In some cases, the students do not see the purpose of this program, but Steve Biddulph's presentation simply reinforced to me that at their stage of development this may be the case with some, but the integrity and focus of the program is very clearly aligned to his research and experiences with adolescent males. I would like to think that all Year Nine parents who attended on Tuesday evening would agree with this.

The combined musical (St. Patrick's and St John Fisher) performed its last show last Saturday night. This was the culmination of many hours of preparation and practice by both staff members and students. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and was delighted to see so many young men and women participate and clearly enjoy themselves. It was also very encouraging to see many students from this College singing and dancing on the stage, as well as being involved in many other sporting, cultural and academic pursuits.

This weekend we will host St Laurence's College in our annual "Back to Shorncliffe" day. For those families that are new to the College, this event is one of the highlights of the calendar. It is a great opportunity for each of us to attend Curlew Park as a community and support so many of our young men who will either be playing or supporting our Football and Rugby teams. It is also a significant and, perhaps emotional day, for all of our Year 12 students as this will be their last chance to play or support teams at Curlew Park. This weekend the First XV and First XI players will be wearing black armbands in memory of Mr Peter King. Peter was a great supporter of this College and a wonderful man and he will be fondly remembered by many Paddies' Old Boys who will also be in attendance on Saturday.

God Bless

Mr Chris Mayes - College Principal

Last Friday, I travelled to the Brisbane Magistrates Court on an excursion trip with 60 other Year 10 students as part of our Legal Studies unit. While there we had the opportunity to experience a multitude of different cases and learnt a lot about the Australian legal system. I personally got to experience about 5 different cases, including 3 sentencing hearings. Two of the earlier cases were moved to later dates, I was told this is quite a common practice in the courts.

On the day, there were a variety of cases to be observed. One was a case where a gentleman was charged with misuses of a carriage services to harass and menace a person. He was only given a $500 bond with an 18 month good behaviour bond as his actions were not deemed to be threatening. It amazed me just how thorough the prosecution and defence were in some instances.

This experience has opened my eyes to some of the illegal behaviours that do occur in public, it has also lead me to believe that I may want to pursue a career in the legal system in the future as I believe that it is quite interesting.

I would like to thank Mr Brough, Mrs Gillions, Mr Merrett and Ms Paton for taking us on a very interesting experience.

Sam Essex - Year 10 Student

This week, as you walk into St. Patrick's College, you will notice something different outside Morven.The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags will replace our College flag for National Reconciliation Week; a week that commemorates three significant milestones in the reconciliation journey for Australia.

Tuesday, we commenced with National Sorry Day. Our Indigenous students handed over both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to Mr Chris Mayes during Tuesday's College Assembly, where they were then raised outside Morven in a symbolic ceremony at morning tea. Alongside this, many students pledged their commitment to acknowledging this day by simply placing hands around the College entrance. During lunchtime, Rabbit Proof Fence was screened in our Library. National Sorry Dayhas been held across Australia each year since 1998. It came about as a result of the Bringing Them Home report into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, who came to be known as the Stolen Generations.

During the week, we continued to commemorate other milestones in the reconciliation journey, including the anniversaries of the successful 1967 referendum and 1992 High Court Mabo decision.Today, students participated in an exciting Inter-House trivia competition and tomorrow, they will get to sample kangaroo sausages at lunch time with some fun back oval games.

For more information on National Reconciliation Week, and to explore how each of us can join the national reconciliation effort, visit www.reconciliation.org.au.

Mrs Susan Harris - Acting Program Leader - Identity

Parents are reminded that photos will be taken on Saturday for all Football and Rugby teams. Please note the attached times for photos. Students should wear College formal uniform to the game (except Years 5 and 6 and 7.30am games) and change into their full Football and Rugby uniform for the photo.

I would like to thank all the parents who attended the Parent Education Evening last Tuesday. The information presented by Steve Biddulph provided some very useful information, firstly to understand what young men are going through, followed by how to build a healthy relationship with our children and the significance and importance of being present for them. I have purchased Steve's books and have placed them in the library for families to access. Steve presented five essential points when raising our boys and developing them into fine young men, out of which I discerned the following key pieces of knowledge:

• Spend time with your sons (be present with them, find mentors and be a mentor to other children)
• Play rough and tumble games, with boundaries
• Teach them to respect women
• Honour their feelings
• Develop a backbone with heart
• Teach them to do housework
• Help them develop a sense of service for others

A big thank you to the Parents and Friends Committee who support these parent education evenings, Mrs Maxine Nott who organised the tickets and collation, Mrs Sandra Fowlie who assisted in preparing the tea and coffee, the College Maintenance Crew for the Callan Centre set up and Ms Morgan, Mrs Dacy, Mr Crowley and Mrs Garside for assistance on the evening.

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5 Healthy Ways to Manage Emotions - By Michael Grose

Here are 5 healthy ways to manage your emotions that you can pass on to your children:

1. Breathe deeply

The trick here is to take deep breaths, rather than shallow breaths. The easiest way to breathe deeply is to sit up straight (or stand up straight) count to 3 quietly while breathing through your nose, and count to 5 while breathing out. Breathe slowly and deeply. You may even feel a little 'heady', which indicates deep (and low) breathing.

2. Use a positive reappraisal

Sometimes known as positive reframing, positive reappraisal is a simple technique you can use to help you look at a situation or event in a different light. Emotions are caused not by an event, but by the way we look at an event. A wedding speech to one person is a chance to strut your stuff (so they feel excited), while someone else may see it at as a nightmare (so they feel anxious). Change the way you view something and you'll better be able to manage your emotional response. "This is a challenge, not a problem" is a catch-all reappraisal. The more specific the reappraisal the more effective it will be.

3. Use positive, REALISTIC self-talk

Next time you catch yourself talking yourself or something down replace the negative with something realistic but more positive. Something like "I've done it in the past and I survived. So I should be able to do it again."

Repeat this a few times and your emotional state will shift to a better one. You may not exactly be jumping over the moon with confidence but you will feel less stressed. That's what emotional management is about.

4. Have constructive habits and hobbies

One of the tenets of good emotional health is that a person needs hobbies and interests that lift them up, making life enjoyable. Single-tracked lives – all work and no play – are recipes for emotional disasters. If you can relate to this, then I suggest you take the time to find a hobby or interest that juices you up.

5. Seek professional counselling

We all get stuck from time to time by aspects of our lives, such as experiencing loss, transition or trauma. When this happens we need a professional who can help us take the steps needed to become 'unstuck'. A well-known song by US singer Kenny Rogers song went, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em and know when to walk away." I'd like to add another line - "You've got to know when to get some help." Seeking help is something we are getting better at as a community, but we still have a long way to go until it accepted and normalised.

Year 8 Camp and Retreat Program Week 4

All Year 8 students will undertake a special program next week. Each House group will spend three days on camp, one day on retreat and one day participating in an Indigenous Cultural program. It is important that all students undertake the full program for the week. Students who are going on camp on Monday and Wednesday will be required to meet in the Plaza Area. All camping gear should fit into one duffel bag.

The outline for Week 7 is as follows:

Note: Student are to wear sports uniform when they are on the Retreat program

All Hallows Dance

• Year 9 to 10
• Friday 29 May
• 7:00pm to 10:00pm
• Cost $10.00
• Venue is the Loretto Hall at All Hallows.
• ID is required
• Appropriate clothing needs to be worn including footwear - no singlets or thongs allowed.

It is expected that our young men are fine ambassadors for our College, therefore normal school rules and expectations will apply at this event.

Mr Frank Torrisi - College Dean - Student Formation

AIC Round 4 against St Peter's Lutheran College was highly successful for St. Patrick's. We were the dominant school in both Football and Rugby across all age groups.The only disappointment of the day was the loss of 1^st XI football going down 3-2. 1^st XV Rugby bounced back to form to post a strong win 41-28.

A number of our teams have consistently played very competitive games and are genuine premiership contenders going into the last 3 rounds of competition. Attendance at training becomes vital for these students over the coming weeks.

Mr Torrisi spoke on Assembly this week about students wearing full formal uniform before and after games. It sends a very strong message to our opposition that we have passion and pride at St. Patrick's. Year 5 and 6 students plus the early 7.30am games are exempt from this rule. However, if students are going to remain at Curlew Park to support their school mates all students must change into formal uniform.

This Saturday is Back to Shorncliffe day and all teams are playing at home. It is traditionally the largest spectator day of the year. Old boys, past parents and other affiliated community members always make the effort to attend this special day. I encourage all players, especially the younger students, to remain for the later games and be part of the Paddies Battalion during the 1^st XI and XV games. Please note the later kick-off times for 1^st XI and XV this Saturday due to the volume of games being played.1st XI Football will kick off at 1.30pm and 1^st XV Rugby at 3.15pm.

Each Football and Rugby team will have their Yearbook photos on Saturday before their game. If your child is injured or illness prevents their participation this week it would be appreciated if they could attend for the photo. Students must be in full College sports specific uniform to be allowed in the photos.

On Tuesday the Trimester One Sport Awards for Cricket, Volleyball and Swimming were presented. Thank you to the many parents who attended the ceremony. During the ceremony four teams where presented to the College as AIC premiership winners.The College is presently designing a new medal for recognition of an AIC premiership and will distribute the medals as soon as possible.

Don't forget that St. Patrick's Sport is on Twitter. Sign up to @StPatsOfficial to get updates throughout the day.

Spectators are reminded that it is a safety regulation that everyone except match officials must remain behind the 'red' line adjacent to all playing field sidelines at Curlew Park.Thank you for your assistance in maintaining a safe playing environment for the players and match officials.

Full canteen facilities will be available on Saturday at Curlew Park. All parents are asked to support the Sport Support Group by volunteering 30 minutes of their time to assist in the canteen or BBQ while their son is warming up prior to their game. Please drop by the canteen and introduce yourself. Your assistance is appreciated on this very busy day.

Parents are reminded that weekly fixture venues and times are available on the sports specific Connect pages (Link here). The draw is also posted on the College App on Friday afternoons. It is always advised to check the draw on Friday night in case a last minute change has been made.

The Shorncliffe Shufflers are running this Sunday at 7:00am. Please meet in the plaza area ready to enjoy a 6 or 10 km run/walk. All abilities welcome.

Contacts for Trimester 2 Sport

Rugby Coordinator - Mr Ryan Schultz rschultz@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

Football Coordinator - Mr Jonathan Hall jhall@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

Cross Country Coordinator - Mr Paul Toohey ptoohey@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

All information regarding Cross Country, Football and Rugby can be located on the sports specific connect pages - Connect Sport Pages link here »

Outstanding Student Achievements

Met North Cross Country – On Tuesday 28 students competed at the Metropolitan North Cross Country Championships at St Paul's School. Hard training brings reward in the sport of Cross Country and reports from head coach Mr Jackson Alves was that students are performing strongly in the lead up to August 5 AIC Championships. Aedan Berry, Blayde Steiger, Thonjot Mabor and Johann Maritz qualified for the State Championships to be held at Runaway Bay Sports Complex in July. Special congratulations to these runners.

Mitchell Mahon has been selected in the Queensland Under 12 Futsal team to compete at the National Championships in January 2016.Congratulations Mitchell.

Max Themor has been selected in the Under 13 Queensland Indoor Cricket team. Max will play in the National Championships in July. Well done Max.

Ben Gould, wow what hasn't Ben achieved in Table Tennis! Ben's results in Kiribati at the Oceanic Championships were strong. He succeeded in his goal to be selected into the Oceanic team, and will again travel to the World Cadet Challenge in late October.This is the second year in a row that Ben has achieved this honour. This is a prized and challenging achievement with only one player from each country allowed to be selected. Ben won the event and is very pleased to have this opportunity a second time, which very few achieve as it is 15 and Under age group only. Ben also won the Gold in the Oceanic Boys singles, three Silver in the Oceanic teams, Boys Cadet doubles, and Cadet Mixed doubles. He has also been selected to play in the Queensland U21 Youth team to play in Croydon Victoria at Australian Closed (Senior's event) in July. AN amazing effort - well done Ben!

Mr Doug Locke - Head of Sport

This week in Culture there is information on Chess Club, Debating results for Years 8, information for Youth Theatresports and a wrap-up of the College Musical.

Chess Club

Friday night's match against St. Peter's Lutheran College was a hard fought one and we came away with a well-deserved win over some highly rated competition. Congratulations to all of our Chessmen on a great match. Our Senior and Intermediate teams were outstanding.

This week we travel to St. Laurence's College for Round 5. Our weekly mini-tournaments have shown the amazing improvements that some of our players have made over the year. We have been fortunate enough to have such a gifted squad of young men that we are now brimming with talented players and gaining a place in the AIC team is a much sort after position.

This week we also had the opportunity to play with a beautiful chess set that was kindly donated to the College. We greatly appreciate this wonderful gesture.

Good luck to our Chessmen for Round 5.

SPC Chessmen – Play Well, Be Awesome.

• Senior Chess Club – Monday 3:15 to 4:30
• Junior Chess Club – Tuesday 3:15 to 4:30

Youth Theatresports

It has been another big week for the SPC Theatresports men. On Tuesday evening the Year 11 Team, Sam Ricks, Matthew Milward, Cillian McDonald and Matthew Smith, competed at Nudgee and successfully made it through to the quarter finals. The mixed team, Jed Cates, Jared Noble, Hayden Jones, Brayden West and Max Freedman were competitive in their heat, hosted at The Stuartholme School, however they were defeated by St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace and Stuartholme School.

Many thanks to the coaches Jonathan Ricks and Callum Butkus for their leadership and management of the Year 11 team. We wish both the Year 11 and 12 teams the very best as they take to the stage in the quarter finals.

Mixed Team

Year 11 Team

Mr Adam McPhee - Theatresports Coordinator (amcphee@stpatricks.qld.edu.au)

Film Crew

• Junior Film Crew (Years 5 to 8) meets in the Library every Monday lunch of Week B.
• Senior Film Crew (Years 9 to 12) meets in the Library every Monday lunch of Week A.

Remember to check your emails each day for new updates/room changes.

Debating News

QDU Debating News – Mrs Lorraine O'Sullivan - Debating Coordinator (losullivan@stpatricks.qld.edu.au)

Our Grade 9 teams and 11.2 were both defeated last night. Thank you to Dennis Clough and Ann-Louise Newman for all their hard work with these teams.

Paige McDonald's 11.1 team is undefeated and is through to the Finals rounds.

Captain of Debating Harrison Hanelt, is busy organising a staff/student debate to promote support for the final Year 12 debate on 3 June. Keep an eye on the Daily Notices for the time and place of this spectacular event.

College Musical News

Months of auditions and rehearsals culminated in our performances of "POPSTARS the 90's Musical" in the Callan Centre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights last week. Over 100 students from St. Patrick's and St. John Fisher Colleges were involved in the cast, band and crew and they all rose to the occasion with terrific performances, which were enjoyed by large and appreciative crowds on each night. Many audience members commented on the great sense of fun and joy created by the performers and all left with some iconic 90's songs ringing in their heads. Well done to all of the staff and students involved in creating something of which you can be justifiably proud.

Mr Geoff Samuels - Head of Culture

This year, Brisbane City Council will be offering free Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Chickenpox vaccinations to all students in Year 8. Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (Whooping Cough) vaccinations will be offered to all students in both Year 8 and Year 10.

If your child has missed a school vaccination from this year or last year, you can have these vaccinations caught up at one of Council's free immunisation clinics. To locate Council's free immunisation clinics please click here or call 3403 8888.

To download a School Immunisation Program consent form please click here or call 13 Health on 13 43 25 84.

If you would like to request your child's immunisation history with Council, please send your request with your child's full name and date of birth to immunisation@brisbane.qld.gov.au