The Gospel reading for the fourth Sunday in Lent was from John’s Gospel. In this particularly reading, Jesus had a conversation with someone who doubts that he is the Son of God. One of the Gospel messages was that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn but rather save. John used the analogy of light and darkness to make the point. As always, light was goodness and darkness represented evil. He spoke of Jesus bringing light into the world and that many people only knew of darkness because they only knew of evil ways. It was not that they did not want to practice good things, just that they did not know any other better ways. Jesus’s presence into the world brought a goodness that they had not experienced before and to follow him meant to shun evil ways and live for goodness.

Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believeare condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.(John 3:14-21)

John wanted all to know that to seek light (goodness) that they had to believe in God and follow the example of his Son. In our everyday existence, if we are true to our own faith, this is exactly what we aim to do. Our goodness is shown in how we act towards each other, what words we speak to each other and our attitudes, care and compassion shown to others, particularly those who might be different. We must also accept that sometimes the people that we interact with have not seen the light and their actions and words might be different to our own. But it is in our own example and actions that we use to try and show them the light. So, in this week’s Gospel, keeping in line with Lenten readings, we are asked to reflect on our relationship with God: do we shine a light on those around us?

Tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day. However, we marked the significance of this day to our College with a Mass this morning. It is a significant celebration for our College as St Patrick is our patron and dear to our community. He was known as 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 was born in 386AD and died in 461AD. Living to the age of 74 years old was something quite unusual in those days. During his lifetime, St Patrick spent nearly 40 years preaching and converting the Irish into the Catholic faith. Patrick’s life must have been extremely difficult, disciplined and full of faith. He was revered in almost warrior-like status for his determination and hard work in difficult circumstances. In effect, he was considered a fighter. Patrick eventually travelled to France and studied to enter the priesthood. 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 Christianity spread by 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 of Morven so that the College could commence in 1952. 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 right across many of our symbols at St Patrick’s. 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.

On Wednesday, I sent a letter to all members of our community regarding Chris Campbell’s appointment as the new Head of School at Southern Cross College, Scarborough. Whilst, I am saddened to lose such a valuable and knowledgeable senior leader with our College, I am very happy for Chris. His promotion to this role is recognition of the great work that he has done at St Patrick’s, particularly in the role of Dean of Teaching and Learning in the past 11 years. Whilst I have thanked Chris in my letter, the entire College will have the opportunity to formally thank him during next Tuesday’s final term assembly.

Our Round 1 Debating started on Wednesday 28 February. Our Year 10 and 12 students competed very strongly and both teams were narrowly beaten by 1 point. Both our Year 9 and Year 11 teams won the week before and the Year 8 teams compete this Wednesday night.

On Tuesday evening, our musicians from various ensembles, bands and choirs performed for their parents and staff. It was an excellent evening with many entertaining performances. Thank you to the many parents who attended the evening. We are very fortunate to have so many talented staff dedicated to offering their expertise and such opportunities to our students.

This Saturday is our final round of Cricket and Volleyball for the season. We will host Padua College in the senior competitions and our younger teams will travel to play at Padua. It will be quite an emotional day for the many Year 12 students who have been involved in these sports since they started at St Patrick’s. Our First XI Cricket team are sharing the competition lead at this stage and if they are able to win, they will be the first St Patrick’s First XI to win a cricket premiership since we entered into the AIC competition. Hopefully, playing on St Patrick’s Day will be a good omen.

Mr Chris Mayes – College Principal

Please note that the Year 12 Maths A and Maths B exams will now be held during the afternoon session on Wednesday 21 March. Maths A will run from 12:00pm–2:15pm and Maths B will run from 12:00pm–2:30pm. Extra time students are to arrive prior to the commencement of the exam.

Year 11 12 Exam Tt Term 1 2018

Mr Chris Campbell - Dean of Teaching and Learning

Australians will spend approximately $2 billion on chocolate at Easter this year and much of it will be chocolate produced using child labour from West Africa. These children – as young as 12 – pick cocoa beans – a key ingredient used to make the chocolate we eat. Some of these children are trafficked. Most are forced to pick cocoa for minimal or no wages, for long hours, in dangerous working conditions, without any possibility of attending school.

Many do not know what the cocoa beans are used for and most have not even tasted chocolate.

Look for the label!

Slavery-free chocolate carries one of these three labels - FAIRTRADE, Rainforest Alliance or UTZ certified.

This shows that the cocoa beans used in the chocolate’s production have been sourced ethically, from farmers who engage in good labour practices.

How are ACRATH and Caritas helping?

ACRATH’s call is in line with Caritas Australia, which funds projects such as cocoa production in Bougainville. In this project young people in Bougainville are learning cocoa production skills. This ensures they receive a fair price for their crops at the market and helps break the poverty cycle.

The Catholic Church’s stance

The purchasing of slavery-free chocolate is an important choice that consumers, all of us, can make every day. We can choose to buy only chocolates that are produced slavery-free.

Slavery-free supply chains are becoming a major issue within the Catholic Church and in the wider business community, not just at Easter.

Two of Australia’s largest archdioceses, Sydney and Melbourne, are moving to ensure their supply chains are slavery-free.

Sydney has already established a Taskforce, which will look at where possible, only purchasing slavery-proofed products and services. Melbourne is set to follow this lead.

Christine Carolan, the Executive Officer of ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans), said buying slavery-free chocolate at Easter gives people the opportunity to take a stand against human trafficking and slavery.

“We know that some children, working in some of the cocoa farms in West Africa are trafficked. Many others work in dangerous conditions for little or no wages and cannot attend school,” Ms Carolan said.

“Lent is a very important time for schools who raise funds for Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion. We support this wonderful project and ask schools and parishes to remember to use only slavery-free chocolate in their fundraising. If you buy chocolate with one of the three slavery-free labels you can be sure that the cocoa beans used in the chocolate’s production have been sourced ethically, from farmers who engage in good labour practices.”

Statistics on child labour

Tulane University’s 2013/2014 Survey Research on Child Labour in West African Cocoa Growing Areas found that 2.12 million children were working in child labour in cocoa production and 2.03 million children were working in hazardous work in cocoa production in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana combined.

A decade ago there was almost no slavery-free chocolate sold in Australia. The global movement, led by many groups in Australia, including ACRATH, has seen a dramatic increase in the availability of slavery-free chocolate for consumers.

Some successes are:

• ALDI stocks a wide range of UTZ certified Easter chocolate.
• Cadbury dairy milk chocolate bars made in Australia have been certified Fairtrade.
• All Mars bars made in Australia are now certified RAINFOREST ALLIANCE
• All Nestle chocolate made in Australia and New Zealand is now UTZ certified.
• Haighs sources 70% of their cocoa from UTZ certified farms. Their Easter range is 100% certified.

ACRATH urges consumers this Easter to:

• Buy only slavery-free chocolate – use your buying power to take a stand.
• Use only slavery-free chocolate in school fundraising.
• Eat only slavery-free chocolate. If your local/favourite shop doesn’t sell slavery-free chocolate, then ask them to please start stocking it.
• Find out about cocoa bean production and the plight of many children in chocolate production.
• Thank the managers of stores that are stocking slavery-free chocolate this Easter.
• Discuss your slavery-free chocolate decision with five other people to help spread the word.

Join with millions of people around the world who now buy and eat only slavery-free chocolate. To buy slavery-free Easter chocolate look for any of these certification labels on the wrappers: FAIRTRADE, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ.

Mr Tim Kenny – Dean of Identity

Let’s get ready to say ‘Bullying. No Way!’ on Friday 16 March 2018

Our College will proudly stand united with schools across Australia on Friday 16 March to mark the eighth National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA).

The NDA provides our College the opportunity to stand together on this important issue and help ignite thoughtful and positive discussions about bullying and ways we can work as a community to address it.

I’m proud our College community will be sending a powerful message, along with other Australian schools, that bullying and violence in or outside the classroom, are not okay at any time. Through positive action we can make a real change.

At St Patrick’s College, we are dedicated to supporting our students and families. We need to ensure we are providing safe and supportive learning environments, free from bullying, harassment and violence.

As discussed in previous Calling articles this term, St Patrick’s College launched their Anti-Bullying Program to counter bullying in Week 4.

Please visit the Bullying. No Way! website bullyingnoway for practical advice and information to help students, parents, teachers and other members of the school community work together against bullying.

Mr Darren Kearney - Dean of Students

Simon Patmore a St Patrick’s Quane House Old Boy won Australia’s first Gold medal of the Para Olympic Winter games on Monday. He competed in the snowboard cross final in PyeongChang. Simon has now won medals at both summer and winter games. Congratulations to Simon!

As we move into the last round of the AIC Cricket and Volleyball season it is pleasing to receive feedback from our coaches regarding the vast improvement in individuals and team performances in their chosen sports. The aim of College sport is for the students to have a high degree of fun, further develop physical skills and foster a stronger relationship with other students and College culture. 1^st XI Cricket can win the AIC premiership but must defeat Padua in the last round. We wish 1^st XI Cricket and all teams well in the last round against Padua this Saturday.

Steve Copping and his coaching group have been impressed with the enthusiasm shown by the 75 Year 5 and 6 volleyball players. This is a new program started in 2018 to assist students who are going to play volleyball in future years to gain the basic skills and knowledge in the game. The format of the two sessions per week program has been skills on one day and game play during the second session. The Thursday game day competition finished this week. The ‘top of the table’ and ‘wooden spoon’ teams will enjoy a pizza lunch in coming weeks for their efforts. St Patrick’s look forward to the Year 6 group arriving in 2019 ready to enjoy and perform strongly in the AIC Volleyball competition. Year 5 and 6 Volleyball will again be offered in 2019.

Many students are already excited with the upcoming Football and Rugby season fast approaching. Trials information has been posted on the My Groups specific REALM pages to those students (parents) who have completed the sign on process. Parents and students MUST access this information via this group. Emails will not be sent. Additional information for sports will be posted once coaches, training times and trials information are confirmed. Training/trials begins on Monday 19 March. Easter holiday clinics/trials are in the calendar feature under MY Groups. Any students who haven’t completed sign on, time is running out. Please contact Di Twist for any assistance requireddtwist@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

Our Cross Country runners started the racing season today at Nudgee College EREA meet. Teachers, Dom Crowley and Alec Gold, have begun the season with huge numbers at training. Cross Country will go on camp 23–25 June at a cost of approximately $230 for all Year 7-12 runners. Cross Country is open to all student athletes. Football and Rugby players could make use of these sessions to improve their fitness levels leading into the AIC season. Training sessions are posted in Realm My Group for all students (parents) who have completed the sign on process. It’s not to late to sign up!

The Merchandise Shop has all your son’s Trimester 2 sports requirements, socks, jersey’s etc are available. The Merchandise Shop also has an extensive supply of second hand rugby/football boots at very cheap prices. Most students will compete in an eight game season and purchasing brand new boots each season is sometimes cost prohibitive.

Thank you to Louise and Peter Olley who volunteered some time at the Cricket canteen last weekend. Unfortunately, the Volleyball canteen in the Christian Brothers Building didn’t have any parent offer to help which is disappointing. Please consider helping our community for a small part of your day on Saturday. Please click the links below.

Volleyball

Cricket

Contacts for Trimester 1 and 2 Sport

• Cricket Coordinator Dan Nethery dnethery@stpatricks.qld.edu.au
• Volleyball Coordinator Tim Hoysted thoysted@stpatricks.qld.edu.au
• Cross Country Coordinator Dom Crowley dcrowley@stpatricks.qld.edu.au
• Football Coordinator David Ludlow Daludlow@stpatricks.qld.edu.au
• Rugby Coordinator Dan Nethery dnethery@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

Outstanding Student Achievements

Congratulation to LeBron Brooks and Charlie Schiffer on their selection in the Metropolitan North U12 Basketball team. The students will now travel to Cairns to compete in the Queensland State Championship. Well done.

Congratulation also to Miller Bell and Joel Hogan on their selection in the Metropolitan North Baseball team. Jett Daley (centre picture) was named as the shadow player for the squad. The students will now travel to Redlands Baseball Club in late March to compete in the Queensland State Championship.

Br Chris Pritchard recently travelled to Toowoomba for the Open Schools Tennis Championships in his capacity of Metropolitan North Manager. This is a position Brother has held for many years. Brother Chris is presently sporting a large gold medal around his neck after Met North won the Championships!

Mr Doug Locke – Head of Sport

Music News

SPC Co-Curricular Music Department Update

It’s been a busy start to the year for all of our SPC musicians and their families. This year we have 250 students in tuition from 12 highly qualified and motivated staff and tutors. We have 166 of those students who then go to make up 15 top quality ensembles which service our College community. It is becoming a large department within the College and will only grow in the coming years.

Here is a quick summary of our week.

Music Spirit Assembly

A celebratory Music Spirit Assembly was held on Tuesday in Christian Brothers Building. Our ensemble leaders for our 15 SPC ensembles were presented with their badges and our Music Captains for 2018, Tobias Batson and Zachariah Anderssen were presented to the College Community. Big Band performed Livin On A Prayer by Bon Jovi featuring Reuben Hazelman on guitar and we celebrated the great variety of expression the boys have available to them at our College.

AMEB Exam Certificates

Twenty-four of our talented and dedicated students also received their AMEB achievement certificates on assembly, having completed their music performance exams at the end of last year. Students had completed exams ranging from Preliminary up to Grade 5 and on a vast array of orchestral instruments. Well done to the students, staff and their families for all their dedication.

Senior Ensembles Music Evening

Congratulations to all of our music students, staff and families involved in the Senior Ensembles Performance Evening on Tuesday night in the Christian Brothers Building. Symphonic Band, String Ensemble, Drum Corps, Singers, Chamber Strings, Pier Pressure, Percussion Ensemble and Big Band provided a highly entertaining program for all to enjoy. Thanks to our Principal Mr Chris Mayes for his support of this event, along with many staff who gave of their time to contribute to supervision and technical team help on the night. Thanks also to our Year 12 leaders who ushered and hosted our community into the College and cared for them on arrival, and to our Cultural Support Group who fed all of our performers and provide some delightful nibbles pre-show for parents and grandparents to enjoy.

Liturgy Band

Well done again to the SPC Liturgy Band and Singers who rehearsed and then supported the ministry of our St Patrick’s Day Mass in the Christian Brothers Building.

Mr Kane McNally - Co-Curricular Music Coordinator

Debating

The Year 8 debaters opened their season against Bracken Ridge State High School on Wednesday night at St Paul’s School.

Despite a valiant effort, the team lost by a narrow 1-point margin.

Upcoming debates:

Year 9 – Round 2

YOU ARE: Affirmative. VS Murrumba State Secondary College 9.1 at 8:00pm on 2018-03-22 VENUE: Genesis Christian CollegePLEASE NOTE: THURSDAY NIGHT!!
Topic: That students should spend one day each week learning trades (e.g. hairdressing, plumbing, carpentry)

Year 11.1 – Round 2

YOU ARE: Affirmative. VS Northside Christian College 11.1 at 6:45pm on 2018-03-22 VENUE: Craigslea State High SchoolPLEASE NOTE: THURSDAY NIGHT!!
Topic: That local communities should be able to cap the number of tourists that enter their region

Year 11.2 – Round 2

YOU ARE: Affirmative. VS St Columban's College 11.2 at 8:00pm on 2018-03-22 VENUE: Craigslea State High SchoolPLEASE NOTE: THURSDAY NIGHT!!
Topic: That local communities should be able to cap the number of tourists that enter their region

Mr Dennis Clough - Debating Coordinator

Theatresports

Theatresports is back for 2018! 2017 was a successful year for the SPC Improvisers with TWO teams making it into the Finals at LaBoite Theatre. Over the course of this term come along and try out your improv skills.

Term one training details are as follows -

Monday AM: 7.45 am – 8.25 am

Tuesday PM: 3.05 pm – 4.00 pm

Thursday AM: 7.45 am – 8.25 am

Mr Adam McPhee - Theatresports Coordinator

Chess

SPC Chessmen – Play Well, Be Awesome.

Mrs Rosemary Butt - Chess Coordinator

Cultural Support Group News

We are off to a great start with this year's fundraiser through the Book, with many orders already being received. Please see below for full details on the Early Bird deal which has a cut off date of 19 March 2018. Click on the links below to see the Early Bird Offers and secure your copy of the 2018 Entertainment Book.

Click here to view Early Bird

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR COPY

St Patrick’s College Cultural Support Group
Carmel Moir
07 3631 9042
cmoir@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Other News

All inquiries please contact Mr Matthew Seers: mseers@stpatricks.qld.edu.au

YEAR 10 BLAZERS

To facilitate the Presentation of Blazer Ceremony to Year 10 students next term, all ordered blazers must be paid in full and sizes checked before the end of Term 1. Thank you to those families who have already been in to organise this.

TERM 2 UNIFORM CHANGES

• Years 10, 11, 12 - grey trousers, tie, blazer
• All year levels – tie

TERM TIME TRADING HOURS

• TUESDAY12:00noon-4:00pm
• WEDNESDAY 12:00noon-4:00pm
• THURSDAY 7:30am-11:30am