calling - issue 37 - (24 november 2011)

Dear Members of the St Patrick’s Family, It is hard to believe that the end of the year is upon us. This is the final edition of the Calling for 2011 so I take this opportunity to thank you for your support both of the College and your son throughout 2011. The year has been a very good one with many highlights. Recent gatherings such as the Celebration of Excellence and the Year 12 Farewell Assembly have given us a glimpse of some of these highlights and have allowed us to acknowledge the many people who have contributed in making 2011 so successful. Term 4 will finish on Friday with a Christmas Liturgy in the Callan Centre beginning at 12.30pm. All parents are welcome to attend. Students will be dismissed at 1.30pm. A reminder to parents and students that all musical instruments, netbooks, library books and text books need to be returned to the College. Please ensure this is done. Next week the staff will be completing reports and doing preparation work for 2012. Your son’s Semester 2 report will be posted on Monday 5 December so should arrive during that week. Accompanying the report will be a letter from myself, some other information flyers and a letter outlining some of the 60 year celebrations planned for 2012. On Saturday Father Liam, Mr Gardiner, Mr Corfield, Mr Phillips and ten Year 11 students Jordan DeSylva, Angus Lane, Lachlan Marsh, Keegan McCann, Duncan Moir, Peter Sloss, D’Arcy Smith, Jake Stephenson, Ricardo Thomas and Michael Xanthopoulo will travel to India as part of our Immersion Program. As well as working in a number of schools, hospitals and orphanages we will also be taking money raised during the year by Houses and students. This money will be used to assist in the building of homes for families. I wish all staff and students the best for this Immersion. Please keep in your thoughts and prayers the McKerihan family (Hamish Year 7, Lucas Year 5). Melissa McKerihan passed away earlier this week after a long battle with cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Finally this week I take this opportunity to wish all members of the St Patrick’s College a happy , holy and safe Christmas. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, spend time with family and friends and have a well earned break I trust this is a time of hope and joy for all. I look forward to seeing you all again in 2012. God Bless

Dr Michael Carroll College Principal

24 November 2011 No. 37

COLLEGE DEAN

DAVID GARDINER

I would like to thank everyone for contributing to such a positive year for the whole St Patrick’s community. Personally I have had a very good year and that is in no small way to the smiling faces, hard work and positive vibe from all the students, staff and parents. I leave on Saturday for the India Immersion, with ten Year 11 students, Father Horsfall, Mr Corfield and Mr Phillips. It has been a buzz to see the boys so excited leading up to the Immersion. In addition to a series of formation meetings, the boys have raised money through carwashes, selling chocolates and coordinating a BBQ. These funds will be invaluable in supporting the many communities we will visit. It is fitting that in the Year of the Volunteer, these young men are prepared to give their time and energy to helping others. It is a wonderful personal trait. The season of Advent begins next Sunday. On Sunday we will begin our Immersion by visiting Mother Teresa’s tomb in Mother’s House in Kolkata. I can do no great things, only small things with great love. Mother Teresa I pray we may take her example and apply it in some small way in our volunteer work in India. Advent is a time of waiting. The Latin word for to wait – attendere means to stretch oneself forward. As we look to Christmas there certainly is a degree of anticipation of what lies ahead for us all. May our preparation for the celebration of Christmas heighten the meaning and experience of the event we await. I wish everyone a very safe and holy Christmas with your family and friends.

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL STUDENT FORMATION — FRANK TORRISI

STUDENTS

With the end of year upon us I would like to sincerely thank all the parents for your wonderful support during the year. The role of parents within the College community and with the support of their son is vital to the success of a school. St Patrick’s has had a very successful year and one in which growth has continued to occur. This has been en-hanced by the positive role played by our parents. The end of the school year brings the holidays upon us and in many cases the question of what to do to keep our sons engaged. Hopefully, the holidays will be a time for fami-lies to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. Most important in this is spending time together. The greatest gift we can give our children is time together. Make the most of these opportunities and enrich your son’s life. Work commitments make this difficult in some cases with the two months holiday for the boys. It is important that you know where your son is during each day and who he will be with. The media continually informs the Australian public that alcohol plays a significant role in the lives of Australian youth. Those parents with children in secondary school must continually talk to their son about alcohol and reduce all possibilities of involvement with alcohol. I hope everyone enjoys a safe and joyous Christmas. START OF SCHOOL YEAR 2012 All Years 5, 8, and 12s and any new students in other year levels will commence school on Monday, 23 January. All students will attend from Tuesday, 24 January. It is im-portant that for the commencement of the new school year, every student must have his correct College uniform and adhere to the College Hair and Grooming Policy. Issues that must be addressed include correct hair and grooming in line with the College’s Policy; correct black leather belt; and shiny, black formal school shoes. All students in Years 5 to 12 will be required to have a school back pack or shoulder bag to and from school in 2012. The only bags students may carry around during school hours are small draw string bags. It is important that all students meet these requirements for the start of the new school year.

I would like to thank and congratulate Mrs Sandra Fowlie and the House Deans for the great support they have provided to me this year, as well as the enormous contribution they have made to the St Patrick’s commu-nity throughout 2011. Have a wonderful Christmas.

YEAR 8 “FACE TO FAITH” INDIAN VIDEOCONFERENCE This term Year 8 students have been learning about wealth and giving and what different religions and cultures say and do about it. To do this we have been using the “Face to Faith” program which is an international program linking students and schools from around the world through the use of shared learning modules, video-conferencing and an online community. Here are a couple of reflections from this term’s participants: CARTER BELL, YR 8 Throughout term 4 Grade 8 have been studying the effects of material and spiritual wealth. To get a far reaching and extensive understanding of this unit of work a selection of grade 8 students ran a Video Conference with a public school in India called Bal Bharati. The Video Conference occurred in week six of Term 4. This was conducted as a question and answer style interview with Indian students aged from 13 to 15 years. We learnt many new things about the lifestyle, culture and community of India, including the fact that they had very strong religious beliefs, but regardless of whether they were a Hindu or a Muslim their patriotism supersed-ed their religious differences creating a wonderful sense of community. We also asked a number of questions about the student’s perception of wealth, both material and spiritual and used the information gained to get a greater understanding of Indian life-style. One of the highlights of this video conference for me personally was when Cory, the coordinator of the two sessions, asked us both the question “What part of the day do you most look forward to?” When it was our turn to answer we said “Getting home from school to watch TV”. When Bal Bharati answered they said “When I get to school and I know that I will be able to learn something new which could be fundamental in my future. “ I was amazed by how much we truly take for granted here in Australia. The company that made this Video Conference possible was Face to Faith, they have their own online community and this term we have also had the opportunity to chat to students around the world to appreciate different countries cultural and spiritual back-grounds. It will be an experience that I will never forget and I thank everyone who was involved in making this great opportunity come to life. Thank you. CORY DAVIS – FACE TO FAITH VIDEOCONFERENCE FACILITATOR This was an incredibly good VC, primarily because the students asked the majority of the questions and kept the dialogue go-ing. Here are some of my observations…Here is where the conversation began to take off: A student in India asked the question, "What is more important, spiritual or material wealth?" St. Patrick's responded by saying that spiritual wealth is better because material wealth doesn't last. Another student stated that we need material wealth to live, but spiritual wealth is better. Other an-swers included that being happy is more important than having nice cars and big houses; you can be rich but really unhappy; Bri-an suggested that what is needed is a balance between the two...we need to be spiritually happy and materially happy. I tossed the same question to Bal Bharati and students responded by saying that indeed, spiritual and material wealth is interrelated. Ex-amples given were: once you have knowledge, you are happy and you can make money which will make you happy; both are equally important but spiritual wealth is more important because material wealth can't always buy happiness; however, material wealth helps to gain happiness. After this discussion a student from Bal Bharati wanted to be very realistic and, in my opinion, wanted to make sure everyone was-n't being too idealistic. He asked, "Can we be happy without money?" A very serious, legitimate question. St. Patrick’s students answered by saying that money is indeed important because without it we wouldn't be able to get a good education/play sports; other students said that we need it to buy food/water and that we've grown to accept it so much that some people think it is more important than spiritual wealth and this is not a good direction. Finally, a student flipped the question around and said, "Can you imagine a world without spiritual wealth, without friends?" I thought this was an interesting way to answer the question! Bal Bharati then asked St. Patrick's about what their religion teaches about using wealth (a fantastic question!). St. Patrick's had several different answers but the bottom line was that they are taught that they should give whenever they can. One student men-tioned the story of Jesus and the rich man who asks, "How can I get into Heaven?" I believe it was Saxon who made it clear that when the Bible says to give, it doesn't mean we have to give everything away but we need to take care of ourselves as well (I liked this very reasonable, realistic response!). Flinn mentioned the Golden Rule and that we need to give in order to be happy. I also liked the quote from Saint Mary MacKillop: "Never see a need without doing something about it." Bal Bharati then answered the same question by discussing several different religions represented in their room: Islam Buddhism, Sikhism all instruct wealth be given to those in need. One student mentioned that the Ramayana states that doing a charity is im-portant; Hinduism says you cannot regret giving and should always do so generously; one student mentioned their mother's wise advice that you will get two times back what you give; Jainism says there is no fixed amount but if you want to give, give from your heart; Finally, a student went through pictures of symbols representing different religions and what they have to say about wealth...very nice! Without a doubt my success story for this VC was the fact that it was almost all student initiated conversation also appreciated the very specific examples students gave from different faith backgrounds. This is where genuine learning takes place. Well done to all involved.

STUDENTS CURRICULUM LEADER JUSTICE & PEACE — MARK ELLISON

IDENTITY & MINISTRY

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL IDENTITY — MATTHEW HAWKINS

C hristmas is a month away. As a dad of two (four year old Claudia and two year old Charlie), Christmas has in recent years taken on a new life for me. And while I am guilty on occasion of getting carried away with the commercial aspect of it all and spoiling my own kids, I have re-

discovered the magical aspects of Christmas these past few years. For me, the magic is the excitement of Christmas Eve, the anticipation of something special about to hap-pen, the gathering of family and friends, the early morning, the sharing of terrible bon-bon jokes and the looks of amazement on my children’s faces as the day unfolds. It’s no wonder then that we often use Christmas as a signpost of different stages of our lives, and we often use lines like: “Remember that Christmas we spent at the beach” or “How about that Christmas when Grandpa fell off his chair!” Like most, my memories of Christmas involve people, places and events, not the gifts I have received. I can’t wait to add to those memories this year as I share the day with my family – my wife, my kids, my parents, my brother and his family. Inevitably, the Christmas break is also about reflecting on the year that has passed and dreaming of the possibilities of the new year – setting goals and making resolutions, some more realistic than others! Personally, I love this aspect of the Christmas holidays – new possibilities excite me and inspire me. Wondering what is in store and what I might be able to achieve keeps me motivated as I begin a new year. However, for some, Christmas can be a difficult time. I know that some of our Paddies Van regulars struggle without family and friends at the traditionally festive Christmas time, and we try our best to create some sense of occasion at our annual Paddies Van Christmas Party. This year, it will be on Thurs-day December 22 at Emma Miller Place on Roma St from about 5.15pm. If you would like to be in-volved, or would like to donate anything to the Christmas Party, such as Santa hats or a tray of fruit, please contact Helen Righetti in the Student Office on 36319014 or [email protected]. Finally, as many of you are now aware, this Christmas will be a very difficult one for the McKerihan family. Hamish and Lucas, and their dad David, will be missing their mum and wife, Melissa. Obviously, our prayers are with them now and over the Christmas period. I wish the entire St Patrick’s community every best wish for a restful and loving Christmas.

As this is the last Calling for 2011, I would like to thank all those who have assisted in making SPC Sport this year so successful. We witnessed some exceptional performances throughout 2011. To all the SPC students, their parents, coaches and supporters, I would like to extend my gratitude and thanks for your commitment and support of our sporting program. I would like to especially thank all the sports specific coordinators for what they have achieved this year in their respective sport/s and their dedi-cation to making SPC Sport both enjoyable and continually successful each year. I believe we have achieved again an enormous amount in 2011 and the preparation for 2012 sport is well and truly under way and looking even more promising. The positive evolution of our sporting program at St Patrick’s is a credit to everyone involved. Many thanks to our administration team for their ‘behind the scenes’ efforts with making sure that our sport is running smoothly each and every week. Thank you to Donna Day, Ryan Schultz and Corey Meehan! To the College Leadership Team and in particular Dr Michael Carroll, who have supported both me and the SPC sporting program. Their support and faith in what we are trying to establish and achieve sporting wise is sincerely appreciated. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the great work of our ground staff and maintenance crew at St Pat-rick’s College. Very rarely do they ever complain when asked for assistance in the set up and pack up of equipment or the preparation of grounds and facilities for our sport. More often than not they are the first to volunteer to assist in what we put together for the students of St Patrick’s College. We are extremely lucky to have such staff as well as a close knit community who love their sport and are all striving for the betterment of the SPC sporting program. I truly hope that you all have a very safe and joyous Christmas spent with family and friends and a re-freshing break over the coming weeks. I look forward to 2012 and for what is looking like an equally (if not better) successful sporting year ahead. Merry Christmas and once again THANKYOU! SPC CRICKET COACHES STILL REQUIRED FOR 2012 We are calling for anyone within the St Patrick’s community who is interested and wishing to coach cricket for our College in 2012 to contact our Ryan Schultz (SPC Coaching Administrator) and pass on the following information: Name Contact details (phone numbers, e-mail address etc) Cricket coaching experience Coaching year level preference Blue Card details (If you have one. If you do not we can arrange for your application) Shirt size All interested coaches can send the above information to: Mr Ryan Schultz – [email protected] Ryan can be contacted on 3631 9045 during College office hours.

ACTIVITIES

DIRECTOR OF SPORT— LUKE DONATINI

SPC Term 1 Sporting Calendar 2012 Below is an outline of proposed dates of sporting events for St Patrick’s College (internal, AIC and CIC). Please be advised that some of the information below may change and should be used as only as an informational guide. Any changes made will be published in 2012 via the Calling, on sporting notice boards, on the College Website and in daily notices. For further information regarding any Metropolitan North Regional sporting trials or associated matters please refer to the Met North Sports Website: www.metnorthsport.qld.edu.au

ACTIVITIES cont’d DIRECTOR OF SPORT— LUKE DONATINI cont…..

January 2012 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

30 Week 2 (B)

31

1 NEW YEAR’S DAY

2 NEW YEAR’S DAY HOLI-DAY

3 AIC 20/20 Cricket Match (GABBA)

4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 Christian Brothers Cricket Week

12 Christian Brothers Cricket Week




16 Christian Brothers Cricket Week SPC Swim Camp SPC Cricket Training CIC & U13 3:30-5:00pm Curlew Park

17 SPC Swim Camp SPC Football Clinic U13, U14, U15, U16 (8.30am – 10.00am) SPC Cricket Training U14/15 Open 3:30-5:00pm Curlew Park

18 SPC Swim Camp SPC Football Clinic Yr5, Yr6, Yr7 (8.30am – 10.00am) SPC Cricket Training CIC & U13 3:30-5:00pm Curlew Park

19 SPC Swim Camp SPC Football Clinic U13, U14, U15, U16 (8.30am – 10.00am) SPC Cricket Training U14/15 Open 3:30-5:00pm Curlew Park

20 SPC Football Clinic Yr5, Yr6, Yr7 (8.30am – 10.00am)

21 22

23 Week 1 (A) TERM 1 COM-MENCES Yr 5,8,12 and new students in all other year levels Welcome as-sembly Term 1 Fees due

24 Cricket/Volleyball Training/Trials Com-mences

25 26 AUSTRALIA DAY

27 AIC Swim-ming Villa Swim Meet (Langland’s Pool)

28 Volleyball/Cricket Trails AIC – Trial vs SPLC (H) CIC – Trial vs BBC(H)

29


February 2012 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Week 2 (B)

31 (January) Cricket/ Volleyball Spirit Assembly

1 2 3 CIC Swim Meet @ NC (Boondall) AIC Swim Meet @ SPLC (Indooroopilly)

4 Round 1 Cricket/ Volleyball AIC – SPLC (A) CIC – SLC (H)

5

6 Week 3 (A)

7 8 AIC Ecumenical Service @ SPC

9 10 CIC Swim Meet @ IONA (Wynnum) AIC Swim Meet @ MCA (Ashgrove)

11 Round 2 Cricket/ Volleyball AIC – SLC (H) CIC – TSS (H)

12

13 Week 4 (B) Bramble Bay Swimming

14 Inter-house Swimming Carnival

15 Inter-house Swimming Carnival Bramble Bay Basketball

16 17 College Swim-ming Champi-onships @ Sand-gate Pool

18 Round 3 Cricket/ Volleyball AIC – MCA (A) CIC – MBBC (A)

19

20 Week 5 (A)

21 22 23 24 CIC Swim Meet @ NJC (Indooroopilly) AIC Swim Meet @ SPLC (Indooroopilly)

25 Round 4 Cricket/ Volleyball AIC – SEC (H) CIC – GT (H)

26

27 Week 6 (B)

28 29


March 2012 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Week 6 (B)

1 2 AIC/CIC Swimming @ PAD (5 to 12) (Kedron)

3 Round 5 Cricket/Volleyball AIC – IONA (H) CIC – BBC (A)

4

5 Week 7 (A) Swimming Spirit Assembly

6 CIC Swimming Championships @ SAC Chandler

7 Bramble Bay Football

8 AIC Swimming Championships @ SAC Chandler Bramble Bay AFL

9 10 Round 6 Cricket/Volleyball AIC – PAD (H) CIC – PAD (H)

11

12 Week 8 (B)

13 AIC/CIC Rugby/Football Sign On Rugby/Football Coaches Meet-ings @ Curlew Park

14 AIC/CIC Cross Country Sign On Bramble Bay Rugby League

15 Bramble Bay Rug-by League

16 17 Round 7 Cricket/Volleyball AIC – VILL (A) CIC – NC (A)

18

19 Week 9 (A)

20 Rugby/Football Training Com-mences

21 22 23 Co-Curricular Photos

24 Rugby/Football Trials AIC – Trial vs SPLC (A) CIC – Trial vs BBC

25

26 Week 10 (B)

27

28 Bramble Bay Hockey

29 30 Final Day Term 1

31 AIC Rugby Trial vs SLC (H)


April 2012 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

30 Week 3 (A)

1 Under 14 Rugby/Football Canberra Tour Sunny Coast Rug-by Tournament

2 Under 14 Rug-by/Football Canberra Tour Sunny Coast Rugby Tournament



5 HOLY THURSDAY

6 GOOD FRIDAY

7 EASTER SATURDAY

8 EASTER SUNDAY

9 EASTER MON-DAY

10 Easter Foot-ball Tour (TBC)

11 Easter Foot-ball Tour (TBC)

12 Easter Football Tour (TBC)

13 Easter Football Tour (TBC)

14 Seniors Cross Coun-try Leadership Camp

15 Seniors Cross Country Leadership Camp

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY HOURS The College gym is open the following hours for the duration

of the Christmas holidays

MON, WED & THURS 8am to 11am

Please note: GYM is CLOSED from 15/12/11 to 9/1/12

ACTIVITIES cont’d SWIMMING CO-ORDINATOR— SHANE BOWDEN

We are now in the last few days of serious training for 2011 and I would like to encourage all our swim-

mers to continue working hard over the Christmas holidays and make sure they are in great shape for

2012. If you are at a loose end locating a club, Redcliffe Leagues Club on Sydney St, Redcliffe, provides

some of the best coaching available.

Remember the swim camp is on from the 16th of January through to the 19th and it would be great to have

all our serious swimmers getting down to business at the camp. Details are located at the back of the

Swimmers Handbook available from the Student Office. For further information please contact me on

[email protected].

Finally our first swimming meet for AIC swimmers in on the very first Friday back (January 27) and CIC

swimmers the second Friday (February 3). Training also begins in earnest Monday, January 30. Times are

below.

Swimming times for Term 1 are as follows:

MONDAY (SANDGATE POOL) 6:00am – 7:30am

TUESDAY (SANDGATE POOL): 6:00am – 7:30am

WEDNESDAY (REDCLIFFE POOL): 5:45am – 7:30am

THURSDAY (REDCLIFFE POOL): 3:45pm – 5:00pm

There will be buses to take the boys to school after morning training and a bus take the boys to Thursday

afternoon training at Redcliffe. Parents will need to drop the boys off to morning training and pick up after

Thursday training.

COMMUNITY NOTICES cont’d

Desperately seeking

1961 photos

Junior

Grade 6 Grade 5

Call jan Thompson on 3631 9015

if you can help

Lost Property

School Jacket (Callum Piddington). It is a size 10 and it has a rip on the outside back near the hem. He is in class 5C. If found please return to the Student Office or the Main Office over the holiday period.


Stat ionery Orders F r i d a y 2 5 t h N o v e m b e r

L a s t d a y f o r a c c e p t i n g o r d e r s a t t h e C o l l e g e .

IMPORTANT NOTICE

SCHOOL FEES ALL OUTSTANDING SCHOOL FEES THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY ON A PAYMENT SCHEME WILL NEED TO BE FINALISED BY FRIDAY 2 DECEMBER, 2011. FEE ARRANGEMENT FORMS AND DIRECT DEBIT FORMS WERE EMAILED OUT TO ALL FAMILIES LAST WEEK. IF YOU WISH TO ENTER INTO ANY OF THE PAYMENT SCHEME OPTIONSAVAILABLE PLEASE COMPLETE A FORM AND RETURN TO THE FINANCE OFFICE. PLEASE NOTE ANY FAMILIES THAT HAVE A PAYMENT SCHEME IN PLACE FOR 2011 WILL NOT NEED TO FILL IN ANY FORMS. YOUR CURRENT INFORMATION WILL CONTINUE FOR 2012. A LETTER WILL BE SENT SHORTLY WITH NEW AMOUNTS FOR YOUR 2012 PAYMENTS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT JUDY KELLY ON 36319019.


TUCKSHOP NEWS

UNIFORM SHOP

THANKYOU TO ALL THE VOLUNTEER HELPERS FOR THIS YEAR AND THOSE WHO HAVE OFFERED TO HELP IN 2012. IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. WISHING ALL COLLEGE FAMILIES A SAFE AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS & HOLIDAY BREAK.

TRADING HOURS FOR BACK TO SCHOOL 2012 9AM – 2PM

Wed 11/1 Year 5, Thurs 12/1 Years 6 & 7, Fri 13/1 Year 7, Mon 16/1 Year 8, Tues 17/1 Years 8 & 9, Wed 18/1 Year 10, Thurs 19/1 Year 11, Fri 20/1 Year 12

Sat 21/1 Pick up of Embroidered Hats, Any Exchanges.

Tuesday Morn BBQ— Decker Park, Sandgate

7.25 am—9.00 am

Thursday Morning BBQ —Humpybong School 7. 30 am—9.00 am

Thursday Evening Street Van —Brisbane City

5.00 pm—8.45 pm

Saturday Night BBQ—Sandgate Rotunda

5.45 pm—8.30 pm

If you can help with this roster over the holiday period please call Helen Rigetti. on 3631 9014

If you can help with this roster over the holiday period please call Helen Rigetti on 3631 9014.

IF YOU CAN HELP WITH ANY DONATIONS OF FOOD FOR THE STREETIES CHRISTMAS PARTY PLEASE CONTACT HELEN ON 3631 9014

The Paddies Van is

Proudly Sponsored by:-

A roster for the new year will be

mailed out in early December.

Thank you once again to all the wonderful

volunteers who have helped

in the tuckshop this year.

I hope you all have a

Happy Christmas and New Year.

Demetria Karydas

DATE CLAIMER

November 25

Year 10/11 Exam Block Christmas Liturgy Final Day Term 4

2012 DATES CLAIMERS

January 23 2012

Year 5,8, 12 and all new students begin

January 24 2012

All students begin

January 25 2012

Photos are taken for Student ID Cards

calling - issue 37 - (24 november 2011)

Documents

positive year

good year

lucas year

year celebrations

mckerihan family hamish

st patricks college

mr corfield

mr gardiner