This year, St Patrick’s Day is celebrated on Sunday. However, we marked the significance of this day to our College with a Mass this morning. It is a significant celebration for us as St Patrick is our patron saint. St Patrick is the apostle of Ireland and from a young age showed extraordinary courage and strength of character to spread the Gospel and faith throughout Ireland. He lived to be 74 years old, which was something quite unusual in his times. St Patrick spent nearly 40 years preaching and converting the Irish into the Catholic faith. He led a life that was difficult, disciplined and full of faith. He was considered a fighter and revered in almost warrior-like status for his determination in difficult circumstances. Patrick studied to be a priest in France and in 431AD he was consecrated Patrick Bishop of Ireland and sent back to Ireland to continue his work spreading the good news of the Gospel.

Patrick is renowned for many things but one that is close to EREA schools is the Celtic Cross. Many religious orders have also originated in Ireland throughout time thanks to the works of St Patrick; including our Christian Brothers. The Celtic Cross is at the heart of their symbol and it is a common icon across many of our EREA schools.

This College was named after St Patrick in respect to Fr O’Rourke who was the Irish parish priest who acquired the land and assisted with the building works to Morven. However, once the name of the College was decided, the original and following Christian Brothers did much to assure that our College took on the characteristics of this great saint and patron of the country of their origins. Patrick’s influence is spread across many of our symbols. Our College crest bears the resemblance to a shield. Inside the shield is the shape of a bishop’s hat and below this is the College Motto Certa Certamen Bonum (Fight the good fight). St Patrick was certainly a man who fought the good fight. Finally, under the motto are nine battlements. These represent the things that were important to Patrick. They include:

• Love and reverence for the creator;
• Concern for the welfare of others;
• The joy of giving rather than receiving: of serving rather than of demanding service;
• Unselfishness and honesty;
• The importance of Truth;
• The thirst for Justice;
• The love of Beauty;
• Tenacity of purpose in pursuing high ideals;
• The virtue of doing one’s best to achieve the goal however difficult the effort.

At the beginning of this morning’s Mass, I introduced our College Strategic Plan for the next five years. The plan was offered for our Mass so that the next five years of the College will be blessed and immersed in the Spirit of St Patrick in the hope that we will face the years with the same determination as our patron. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many staff, students and parents who had input into the process, it is truly wonderful to know our community was central to its creation.

STRATEGIC PLAN (2019-2023)

WE ARE - ST PATRICK'S COLLEGE, SHORNCLIFFE

After the conclusion of the Mass, I also made a special presentation to Br Michael Ryan. Br Ryan is a Christian Brother and was a teacher at the College for 10 years and College Principal from 1972-1977. This year marks his 60th year as a Christian Brother. In my address, I relied upon an article written by Mr John Lovett, a former teacher 1964-1998, as a farewell to Br Ryan at the end of 1977. He wrote ….

Br Ryan is best remembered by how easily he was able to mix well with all types of people from varying backgrounds and a man who was a very active Catholic and wonderful role-model for young men. He was also remembered for other things – success in the classroom and also on the sports fields. Students under Br Ryan’s tutelage, learned with fewer facilities than those available at wealthier schools, but still many advanced to higher levels of learning at tertiary education.Br Ryan was also an avid sportsman. This was clear in how he lived his life and coached his teams. He was particularly fond of cricket, rugby and athletics. Sporting results for this College in the decade that Br Ryan was here were quite remarkable for the student numbers. Mr Lovett noted that whilst there were many close encounters with premierships, the most important thing was that the boys never gave up. He suspected that this extra heart shown was because the boys, partly, did not want to let down Br Ryan.

Mr Lovett described Br Ryan as a man of great character, ability and charm and those who know him well would agree that St Patrick’s was indeed fortunate to have him as teacher and administrator for so long. The greatest legacy to the College would indisputably be the volume of gentlemen who left this school as mature, aware and Christian members of society. He described Br Ryan as a true follower of Edmund Rice and a great Christian Brother.

We are still fortunate to be able to invite Br Ryan to join us at our College events and celebrations. He certainly enjoyed being with us today for the celebration. We were also fortunate to have some parents with us as well as Br Damian Price, Br Marty Sanderson and Br Owen Brown as well as some of our past Ryan House Leaders.

We held the Great Morven Race after the Mass. Once again, it was a well contested event and still holds much passion amongst our student body. Many of our young men raced in the event across the ages. The winners will be announced at our next Trimester Sports Award ceremony.

On Monday, our Swimming team competed against the other AIC Colleges in the AIC Swimming Championships. Congratulations to St Peter’s Lutheran College for their overall victory. Our young men gave their best efforts and finished 6th overall.

Wednesday marked a new stage to our Paddy’s Van ministry. For the first time, we were able to serve food indoors in the hall of SANDBAG. The patrons appreciated the opportunity to sit in a cool space with tables and plates and cutlery. We will continue this new style of service each Wednesday afternoon. I would particularly like to thank Mrs Maggie Daunt from SANDBAG who has made this opportunity available to us.

Yesterday, Sean Affleck (Year 10) received the wonderful news that he was selected as one of two Australian students to attend the NASA Space School in the USA during the Semester 1 break. Sean was selected from 50 applicants in the Australian Scholarship Group (ASG) program after an application, short-listing and interview process. We are all very excited for Sean as this is a great opportunity for him and testimony to the hard work that he has done during his schooling.

As we have just completed Week 7 of the term, I would expect that there is much assessment becoming due for all our young men. It is particularly important that each student prepares well for their examinations and understands that this is a time when they will need to extend the amount of time that they are using for their exam preparations. This year, only Year 12 students will have block exams, as the Year 11 students have now embarked on the new QCE regime which involves less assessments and a larger spread of time when assessments are due. This has allowed us to remove exam blocks and have exams spread over the semester during normal school time.

Next Monday, the College Leadership Team will start our deliberations on the calendar for 2020. There will be some inevitable changes due to the new external exams in the final five weeks of the year and Unit 3 study starting in the last term of the year in Year 11. We will make these changes transparent to the whole school community, especially our students, as early as we can so that everyone can prepare for the adjustments. I appreciate that some of the adjustments may cause some angst amongst students and their families when past traditions may have to be changed. However, I am sure that you understand that we will be diligent in our considerations when planning.

This weekend, we play our final game of AFL against Villanova College tonight. This will be a “Big Brother/Little Brother” event and we hope to have a large crowd for the final game. The Year 9 game starts at 4:30pm with the Open team starting at 5:45pm. Our senior Cricket and Volleyball teams play at home, whilst the junior team travel to Villanova.

Our College Leadership Team will also be holding interviews for Year 7 students for 2021 and I will be attending the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Brisbane City where we will have the Paddy’s Van and some of our musicians involved in the event.

Live Jesus in our Hearts!

Mr Chris Mayes – College Principal

ST PATRICK’S DAY

Today, during our St Patrick’s Day Mass, we were honoured to have Br Michael Ryan who celebrated 60 years as a Christian Brother. As part of our St Patrick’s Day celebrations we held the annual Great Morven Race. 150 boys participated in a flying dash around the school property and past the historic Morven House in the centre of the College grounds. Student were nominated through their House Dean. If you are in the city on Saturday, you will see the St Patrick’s College Drum Corp and Paddy’s Van take part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade.

ON-LINE MERCHANDISE STORE

The on-line College Merchandise Store is now available, this can be accessed via REALM in the College Services tile, under Merchandise. If you select the College Coin On-Line Store tile it will take you to College Coin, select SPC Online Shop from the top Navigation.

SHORE 2 GATE

Last week we launched our annual Shore 2 Gate appeal at College Assembly. Students received a sponsor card and were notified of prizes and rewards for varying amounts of money raised. The total money raised, will be distributed to the nominated College charities and the other amounts on College projects that contribute to the students.This is the only fundraising project that is run by the school and we would like all students to raise the minimum amount as part of their contribution. We are looking at a total of above $50,000.

PARKING PARKING PARKING

The safety of the students is paramount, I have received a number of complaints from parents about members of our community parking across or in front of the pedestrian crossing. This is extremely dangerous for students who are attempting to use the crossing. Please, can we follow a few simple rules for the safety of all members of our community:

• No double parking
• No parking on the yellow lines
• No parking across the Pedestrian Crossing
• No dropping off and picking up in driveways or bus zones
• Use the two minute areas on Park Avenue and Yundah Street
• No access to the College through Twamley Street

Mr Frank Torrisi - Deputy Principal

Unless you have a payment arrangement in place, your son’s unpaid fees are overdue, could payment please be arranged as soon as possible to avoid further follow up.

If you wish to set up a payment arrangement, please complete the Payment Authority Form on the College website and email to finance@stpatricks.qld.edu.au or if you are needing to discuss payment of fees please contact me at kmattingley@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

Regards

Mrs Karen Mattingley – Credit Manager

This week at assembly, I shared The Story of the Carrot, The Egg and The Coffee Bean.It’s an easy to understand analogy about how we respond to life’s challenges:

Carrots, Eggs and Coffee

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.

• The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
• The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened.
• The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?" You can choose who to be.

For our students the adversity may be that they didn’t make a team they had hoped to, or they didn’t quite get the grade they had aspired to for an assessment piece, or they may be going through some social challenges with changing friendship groups. The adversity doesn’t have to be a significant storm in our life for it to teach us a lesson about how we will respond – as a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean.

Last week I started sharing the full school summary data from our Semester 1 mentoring processes. This week I will share the Study and Homework Data:

I have noticed each time we have gathered this information that a significant number of our boys consider the weekend to be a time to do no homework or study. This rate of doing 0 hours rises from 1% during the week to 7% on the weekend, for the whole school. If I drill down further, I see the following:

A balanced and healthy lifestyle is extremely important, but I would caution our men in the senior years of schooling that to do nothing throughout the term and then cram when exams are imminent is not best practice. Doing regularly revision and assignment work is a far more beneficial study model.

Ms Elizabeth Gaber – Dean of Administration and Business Intelligence

Please find below Paddy's Van Roster

Paddys Van Roster

St Patrick's College SchoolTV

Grief is a natural response to loss. It might be the loss of a loved one, relationship or even a pet. The more significant the loss, the more intense the grief is likely to be. Children and adults grieve differently due to their developmental stage, and this can prove difficult for parents to understand.

Young children fluctuate in and out of the stages of grief rapidly, as they may not comprehend the permanency death. They express their grief more physically. Teens on the other hand may not know how to express their grief and will need some space to process their loss. Some may choose to grieve alone, not wanting to stand out or be seen as not coping. Whilst others, who may have a greater understanding, can start to question their own mortality.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents can learn how to acknowledge their child’s feelings and the best way to support them through the grief. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition and we always welcome your feedback.

If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information.

Here is the link to this month's edition https://stpatricks.qld.schooltv.me/newsletter/grief-loss

Mr Darren Kearney - Dean of Students

REMINDER

Please find below the schedule for Co-Curricular Photos for Term 1 AIC Sport.

Saturday, 9 March

• Cricket – Years 5, 7, 8 and 9 : Curlew Park
• Volleyball – Years 7, 8 and 9 : Waterford Drama Rooms at the College

Friday, 15 March

• AFL - all divisons
• 1:00pm – 3:00pm at the College

Saturday, 23 March

• Cricket – Years 6, 10 and 1^st XI and 2^nd XI : Curlew Park
• Volleyball – Years 10, 11 and 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th : Waterford Drama Rooms at the College

Last week, the College had mixed results on the sports field across all age groups against Padua.

Our SPC Swim Team placed 6th overall at the AIC Championships which was a respectable result given the highly competitive nature of the competition. St Peter’s Lutheran College were the outstanding team on the day. Our swimmers gained a number of top three placings and many individual personal best times for the season, along with some new college records. The Swim squad also won the annual St Patrick’s v Padua Swim Meet last Friday night.

AFL 1^st also had a big win against Padua. The 1^st XI Cricket and the 1^st VI Volleyball both had tough losses with both matches going right down to the dying minutes.

This week St Patrick’s are drawn against Villanova with our senior teams playing at home. The Paddy’s Battalion will be wanting all students to come along and support both the cricketers at Curlew Park and volleyballers in the Callan Centre and Christian Brothers Building.

This Friday is the last round of AFL against Villa. There is going to be a big crowd with a few off-field activities happening. It will be a great Friday night out and we are encouraging as many as we can to come and support the team.

Sign on has now been completed for both Football and Rugby. Due to the increased number of students wishing to participate, St Patrick’s require enthusiastic students and parents to referee Rugby and Football matches on Saturdays. If you would like to referee this season, please email the coordinator. The contact details are below.

A reminder for students who have signed on for Cross Country, Rugby and Football that the in-season sports of Cricket and Volleyball training sessions always takes priority over all other preseason sports sessions. Exams are fast approaching, and students are reminded to take a ‘balanced’ approach to their sporting commitments during this time. Students are asked to communicate with sports specific coordinators or directly with coaches well in advance if a problem is identified.

Bramble Bay trials for students born in 2008 and 2009 are advertised through student notices. Metropolitan North trials are advertised on their website. Students wishing to attend trials MUST request forms from Sports Department and receive the official school stamp on completed paperwork. Students also MUST be involved in the St Patrick’s Co-Curricular program to be permitted to attend trials. Bramble Bay and Metropolitan North have an online payment system. They advertise a closing date for payment and are strict on this process.

Thank you to the parents who volunteered some time at the canteens last weekend. Please consider helping our community for a small part of your day on Saturday. Please click the links below.

Volleyball Canteen

Cricket Canteen

Contacts for Trimester 1 and 2 Sport

• Cricket Coordinator Mr Matt Ingram mingram@stpatrick.qld.edu.au
• Volleyball Coordinator Mr Steve Coppingscopping@stpatricks.qld.edu.au
• AFL Coordinator Mr Dom Crowley dcrowley@stpatricks.qld.edu.au
• Cross Country Mr Alec Gold AGold@stpatricks.qld.edu.au
• Football Coordinator Mr David Ludlow DaLudlow@stpatricks.qld.edu.au
• Rugby Coordinator Mr Matt Ingram mingram@stpatrick.qld.edu.au

Outstanding Student Achievements

Jacob Barnett won the Hammer Throw at Queensland States on the weekend, throwing in at 50.20m.

Congratulations to the following students who have made the Bramble Bay Rugby League teams for U11s and U12s Ryan Smallhorne, Micah Hamilton, Elijah Hamilton and Angus Twist.

Mr Dan Nethery – Head of Sport

Cultural Support Group News

The St Patrick's College Cultural Support Group will be hosting a 'Trivia Night through the Decades' on Saturday, 16 March at the College. This is a fundraising event for the Cultural Department to support our young men in their cultural pursuits.

DETAILS:

• WHEN: Saturday, 16 March 2019
• WHERE: Christian Brothers Building, St Patrick's College
• TIME: Doors open at 6:30pm for 7:00pm start
• BYO: Food
• DRINKS: Beer, Wine and soft drinks can be purchased on the night

Important things to note

• Please register your team name if purchasing a Table of 8
• Come dressed as your favourite decade, there will be prizes for the best themed table and best dressed
• There will be raffles, prizes and live music
• This is an 18+ event

2019 | 2020 Entertainment Book

The Cultural Support Group are fundraising with the Entertainment Book.

Hurry! See Early Bird Offers available now. Offers will expire on 25 March 2019.

To order your copy of the 2019 | 2020 Entertainment Book please click here

Debating

The St Patrick’s Debating season is in full swing as the term draws to a close in coming weeks.

Both Year 8 teams won their opening heat rounds in the QDU Competition at Craigslea State High School on Wednesday night.

Last week, the 12.1 team got off to a strong start with a resounding four point win over Mueller College while the 12.2 and 10.1 teams both registered losses.

Mr Dennis Clough - Debating Coordinator

Theatresports

The Theatresports season is up and running again for 2019. If you enjoy improvisation, drama or performing then to come along to any of the three sessions below:

All year levels are welcome!

Mr Duncan Moir - Theatresports Coordinator

Chess

Chess Club

The SPC Chess Club starts up next week, all students are welcome.

• Junior Chess Club (Years 5 to 8) - Mondays at 3:00pm W201/2
• Senior Chess Club - Tuesdays at 3:00pm in W201/2

However, come along on what ever to day suits you best.

Mrs Rosemary Butt - Chess Coordinator

Film Crew

Senior Film Crew

The SPC Film Crew is a group of dedicated students who learn about photography and Film Making and then put these skills into practice by;

- documenting the College year in photos and videos

- producing shots /film for college based 'clients' eg sporting, cultural or community projects

- competing in themed Photography Competitions

For more information contact the Cultural Office or Ms Wissman: lwissman@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

Ms Leigh Wissmann - Film Crew Coordinator

Junior Film Crew

2019 has seen the launch of an exciting new club for students in years 6 to 8. Junior Film Crew teaches up-and-coming film enthusiasts the basics of photography and cinematography to give them the core skills to get started in filmmaking. We have started this term looking at still cameras and learning the basics of taking a great photograph. Also this term, the students have a challenge of creating a stop-motion animation to show off their new photography skills. If this sounds exciting to you, it is not too late to join! We meet Tuesday afternoon from 3:15 to 4:15 in B1A1. Email Mrs Lucy Hulme: lhulme@stpatricks.qld.edu.au for any questions or information.

Mrs Lucy Hulme - Junior Film Crew Coordinator

Sing with Brisbane’s Voices of Birralee choirs!

Does your child love to sing? Choral organisation, Voices of Birralee, would love to welcome your child into its training ensembles! With a philosophy centred on a passion for developing musical and social skills in children to carry forward into the future, Birralee has three training ensembles; the Birralee Piccolos (prep – grade 1), the Birralee Kids (grades 2 – 4) and the Birralee Singers (grades 5 – 7). Rehearsals are held in two locations, at Birralee HQ in Bardon and at Eagle Junction State School, Clayfield, so parents can choose the most convenient location. For more information or to enrol your child, please visit www.birralee.org, email contact@birralee.org or call 07 3367 1001.

Tuckshop Menu 2019

Please find below 2019 Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection Notice and Frequently Asked Questions

2019 Collection Notice

2019 Collection Notice Faqs

We’re keen to hear from any parents who able to assist setting up for the Mother Son High Tea in the Christian Brothers Building on Tuesday 8 May from 9:00am-12:00noon.

Also, Dads it’s your turn to do the waiting on our Mums. If you have some spare time between 2:30-4:30pm on the afternoon to help with serving our High Tea we’d love to hear from you.

Please feel free to email Stacey Bishop on sbishop@stpatricks.qld.edu.au or phone 3631 9052 if you can assist.