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Dates to remember:

Janelle Agius – Acting Principal

At assembly today, I reminded students that St Patrick’s College is indeed a unique senior

college. I highlighted to students that we continually aim to focus on working in partnership with them and their families; being a leader in curriculum matters and still

keeping Catholic values at the heart of our community. Last week’s Parent-Teacher

interviews gave witness to these qualities. I asked students today to remember the 3 C’s

that I believe are important to St Patrick’s namely – Christ-centred, Curriculum and Care.

Thank you to all staff, parents and students involved in Parent-Teacher evening last week.

The evening was a great success. If for some reason you were unable to meet with a

member of staff and would like to, please contact the office so that alternate

arrangements can be made. If you have any concerns that you would like to raise, please

free welcome to phone or email me.

The Patrick’s community wishes all of our mothers a Happy Mothers’ Day for this Sunday.

Enrolment Processes for 2017

The dates are below for your information if you have a student in Year 10 or you know of others

who may be interested in enrolling in the college next year.

9 June Introduction to Senior Schooling beginning at 7.30 pm in St Patrick’s Hall. All

prospective Year 11 students, accompanied by at least one parent, are strongly

advised to attend. Enrolment forms and information and Choosing Subjects books

will be distributed at this meeting.

14 July Subject Selection Evening from 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm in St Patrick’s Hall. Attend at a

time to suit your family.

22 July Due date for Enrolment and Subject Selection forms to be returned to St Patrick’s

College

8 August Notification of enrolment interview date posted in week beginning 8 August

15 August Formal enrolment and subject advisory interviews with a member of the college

leadership team will begin during the week of 15 August.

End term 3 Notification of acceptance

24 November Orientation Day

May 2016

4 P & F Meeting, 6:00 pm

Board Meeting, 7:30 pm

8 Mother’s Day

15 Music Ministry, 6:00 pm

St Patrick’s Church

18 Big Science

Competition

20-22 Jubilee 150 exhibition

in St Patrick’s hall

27 Catholic Debutante Ball

31 ICAS Science Compet.

June 2016

1 P & F Meeting, 6:00 pm

Board Meeting, 7:30 pm

9 Senior Schooling

evening

10 Year 10 Maths A exam

13 Year 11 Industry

Placement starts

15 End Semester exams

commence

19 Music Ministry, 6:00 pm

St Patrick’s Church

23 Show holiday

24 Exams finish

End of Term 2

July 2016

11 First day of Term 3

4 May 2016

NUMBER FOR

SMS

The number to send

SMS messages

regarding student

absence is

0416 906 288

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Weekend Masses

Date Claimer

Catholic Education is facilitating a series of Parent Education presentations throughout the

Diocese. These presentations aim to support parents in their role as the first educators of

their children and be an opportunity for parents to enhance their own awareness and

knowledge of important topics. Early Life Foundations will be presenting the first program

in the series on Tuesday 7 June at St Patrick’s College from 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm. The topic

of the presentation is: Anxiety – understanding and strategies to reduce anxiety in children. (See

flyer on page 14).

Readings at Mass, Sunday 8 May 2016 – The Ascension of the Lord

First reading, Acts, 1 : 1 – 11 … Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same

Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.

Psalm, Ps 46:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 … God mounts his throne to shouts of joy; a blare of trumpets for the

Lord.

Second reading, St Paul 1 : 17 – 23 … This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in

Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven …

Gospel, Luke, 24 : 46 – 53 … They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy …

REFLECTION

Mother’s Day

No two Mothers are the same. But for every child,

their mother is special and holds a special place of

reverence in their life. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is an

inspiration to all mothers. Every mother loves their

child, but it is a tremendous gift to any mother to know

that others love their child. Mary gave her son to the

world, this love has changed the world. Mary gave her

only son to the world, (His mother treasured all these

things in her heart.) (Luke 2:51) and she shared his birth

with others and she witnessed his death at the hands of others (Meanwhile, standing near the cross

of Jesus were his mother,) (John 19:25). How different would the world be today if Mary had not

accepted the invitation from God.

This weekend, most people will take time to think about their mothers. Many mothers will

receive all manner of breakfasts or lunches, helpfully they are edible. Mothers will receive phone

calls, text messages and gifts (some useful and some not so useful). I hope all mothers get to

spend the day exactly how they wish to spend the day. Thank you to all mothers, you are special.

Passion

Right after the publication of John Hattie’s meta-study ‘Visible Learning’, the Times Educational

Supplement published an article by Warwick Mansell who praised the book as “teaching’s holy

grail”. This educational research study – covering more than 80 million pupils and bringing

together more than 50,000 smaller studies – came up with many of the answers teachers had

spent their careers discussing and debating. It produced definitive answers to ‘what works’ in

teaching. Thanks to him, we can gauge not only the relative effectiveness of almost every

educational intervention under the sun but we can compare these interventions on an absolute

scale of effect size. Hattie ranked 195 influences that are related to learning outcomes from very

positive effects to very negative effects. The average effect size was 0.40. An effect-size of 1.0 is

typically associated with advancing a learner’s achievement by one year, or improving the rate

of learning by 50% or a two grade leap e.g. from a C to an A grade. In the process he buried

some of the longstanding myths of education - such as reducing class size. The latter was proven

to have an absolutely negligible effect on student achievement.

In one passage in a later book ‘Visible Learning for Teachers’ (2012) he reflects on the fact that

we rarely talk about passion in education as if doing so makes the work of teachers seem less

serious, more emotional than cognitive, somewhat biased or of less import. When we do

Northside Cluster

Saturday Vigil Mass

6:00 pm St Joseph’s

6:00 pm St Brigid’s

Sunday

7:30 am St Brendan’s

9.00 am St Joseph’s

Southside Cluster Saturday Vigil Mass

6:00 pm St Francis Xavier

6:00 pm St Mary’s

Sunday

7:00 am St Patrick’s

7:00 am St Therese’s

Walkerston

Saturday Vigil Mass

6:00 pm St John’s

Sunday

7:30 am Eton

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consider passion (he writes) we typically constrain such expressions of joy and involvement to

secluded settings not in the public space of being a teacher. The key components of passion for

the teacher and for the learner appear to be the sheer thrill of being a learner or a teacher, the

absorption that accompanies the process of teaching and learning, the sensations of being involved

in the activity of teaching and learning, and the willingness to be involved in deliberate practice to

attain understanding.

Passion reflects the thrill, as well as the frustrations, of learning; it can be infectious, it can be

taught, it can be modelled, it can be learnt. It is among the most prized outcomes of schooling

and, while rarely covered in any of the studies, it infuses many of the influences that make the

difference to the outcomes. It requires more than content knowledge, acts of skilled teaching,

or engaged students to make the difference. It requires a love of the content, an ethical caring

stance deriving from the desire to instil to others a liking or even a love of the discipline being

taught, and a demonstration that the teacher is not only teaching, but also learning. In the current

economic climate of many countries, property values have plummeted, leading to fewer resources

for the education budget, consequently passion may be the only natural renewable resource that

we have.

Saturday School

I would like to see more students take advantage of the College library which is open every

Saturday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. We have a steady number of between 40 and 50 students

but the library can accommodate many more. It constitutes an ideal learning environment, free

of many of the distractions students find at home. Work is a habit that successful students

cultivate. Knowledge is socially constructed and I cannot over-emphasise the importance of the

process of discussing the requirements of an assignment and having the opportunity to receive

informed and immediate feedback from a teacher. Help is also available for Maths and Physics

between 9.30 am and 12.30 pm.

Student Connect

The May 2016 issue of Student Connect will start arriving in schools from 9 May. In this issue,

the QCAA is encouraging students to log in to their learning account on the Student Connect

website — www.studentconnect.qcaa.qld.edu.au — to check their personal and enrolment details

and become familiar with the login process before results are released at the end of the year. As

an incentive, any Year 12 student who logs in to their learning account at least once between 1

May and 31 August 2016 will be entered into a draw to win a Microsoft Surface Pro 4.

Electronic Assessment Planner

We have reloaded the Semester 1 Individual Assessment Planner to our website. If you have

previously printed out a schedule of assessment dates we ask that you reprint a copy so you will

the correct information.

Writing Workshops

Last week our Grade 11 cohort completed their fourth plenary session to assist them with writing

an analytical essay. These sessions were conducted by our Head of English, Mr Dean Andric. The

purpose of these sessions was to assist the students with the structure and generic conventions

of an essay to ensure that they are well prepared for senior schooling. When we consider that

the analytical essay is the most commonly used method of assessment, it is critical that our

students know how to correctly complete an introduction, main body and conclusion. I was

particularly impressed with the level of engagement of the students during these sessions. This

was a direct result of Mr Andric’s ability to captivate an audience. In addressing the introduction

of an essay, Mr Andric presented an acronym, GNTPC which can be easily remembered as,

Gorillas Never Tickle People Casually. He explained that each introduction should include the

following:

G = General Statement

N = Nutshell Sentence

T = Thesis Statement

P = Paragraph Preview

C = Clincher

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In addressing the main body paragraphs, he presented the PEEL method which refers to Point,

Evidence/Example, Explanation, Link. Each paragraph should follow this format. In addressing the

conclusion, students were presented with the STF method referring to Summary, Thesis

(restated) and Final Comment.

Apart from being taught the generic conventions of an essay, the students were also taught how

to identify the key words or concepts in an essay question and how to apply these to a thesis

statement. Students were given opportunities to practice these methods and present their

responses to their peers. Hopefully now our students can approach an essay question with an

increased level of confidence in their assessments and exams. Great work Mr Andric!

Pastoral Care Program

Over the next two terms, our Grade 11 students will be involved in a Pastoral Care program

that will focus on specific topics to help them cope with the pressures of Years 11 and 12 as well

as providing them with the knowledge needed to make more informed lifestyle choices. Our

Pastoral Care teachers will address a range of topics including Mental Health (Depression,

Anxiety, Panic attacks), Dealing with school stress, Marijuana/Schizophrenia, Alcohol/Binge

Drinking and the effects of addiction on families. Pastoral Care teachers have been busy preparing

engaging lessons for the Grade 11 students who will benefit from gaining more knowledge in

these areas. This program will commence on Thursday and will continue until the end of term

three.

William Cassells – Diocesan Vocational Education and Training Coordinator

and RTO Manager St Patrick’s College

Now that we are settled into term 2 and all Certificate courses both within the College and with

outside providers are running smoothly, I wish to share some figures for your information.

There are currently 17 School Based apprentices and trainees in contract in a variety of

occupations including office administration, hairdressing, mechanical (light and heavy vehicle) and

boilermaking. A further 16 students are undertaking a variety of employment stream certificates

with CQU TAFE including Engineering, Electrotechnology, Automotive and Hairdressing. The

picture below is the Certificate II in Engineering Pathway students assembled to start their first

day.

Work Experience

Year 11 students are receiving their placement information as it becomes available and need to

be reminded to act upon any employer requests for induction training as soon as possible. It is

also important that contact is made with the employer promptly so that details of work placement

can be finalised and most importantly the completion of final signatures on the placement

contract.

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It is essential that this contract be returned to the College before any placement commences as

this becomes the legal document for WorkCover and indemnity insurances.

It is timely to remind all that the placement period is part of the student’s timetable and

considered a very important part of their various certificate studies. At no time should early

completion be considered for a start to holidays. Remember, as this is the first placement for this

group some students will need to attend the College between 4.00 pm and 7.00pm to sit their

end of semester tests. More information will be provided about this later.

Other courses

CQU TAFE have made an offer to commence another Certificate II in Electrotechnology in July

which will run for 18 months and is open to Year 11 students only. It will involve one day per

week at the TAFE campus at Ooralea. Anyone interested should get the enrolment form from

me and return it ASAP as these courses fill quickly.

Traineeship Opportunity

Applications are being sought for the position of a Business traineeship in Asset Management.

This role is employed by MRAEL and hosted by DBCT Pty Ltd. To apply for this traineeship

please visit www.mrael.com.au. If you have any queries, please contact Lynn Halford ext 674 or

Shar Logan on 0407 164 074. Applications close by Wednesday 11 May.

St Patrick’s College has recently become a Reef Guardian school. The focus of the programme is

to showcase sustainable environmental practise through the use of a vast network of speakers,

activities and experiences.

There are currently over 310 schools participating the in the programme, which was launched in

2003 as a vehicle for behavioural change to encourage communities to take action for a healthier

reef.

It is a whole of school programme involving students, teachers and the school community actively

participating across five key areas:

Curriculum – Learning opportunities focused on the reef, sustainability and environmental

issues.

Resources – Reducing, reusing and recycling resources such as waste, water and energy to

improve the biodiversity of your school grounds/or local habitats.

On-ground Projects – Environmental projects that link to relevant curricular or extra-

curricular activities.

Educating the Community – Encouraging others within the school or local community to

adopt best environmental practices.

Partnerships – Establishing partnerships to assist with student learning, environmental

events and expert knowledge, resources and possible funding support.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is a multi-use park employed by a number of key stakeholders

in the fields of tourism, fisheries, ports and shipping, whilst being a World Heritage area.

It is currently facing some issues such as the effects of Climate Change, declining water quality,

loss of coastal habitats, marine debris and impacts from fisheries all of which weakens the

resilience of the reef and its ability to recover from serious disturbances such as coral bleaching.

This needs to be managed whilst meeting criteria of being a World Heritage area.

Reef Guardians involves participation in the “bigger picture” of Great Barrier Reef health and the

understanding that everyone can make a possible difference to the future environment. The

programme’s aim is to incorporate sustainable practises and change through curriculum and other

resources.

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Eisteddfod

A reminder that all Eisteddfod entries and fees must be submitted to the main office by next

Wednesday 11th May 2016.

For all forms and further information, please visit the Eisteddfod website:

http://www.mackayeisteddfod.com.au/

Cross Country/Aquatics Carnival

For the first time the St Patrick’s College Aquatics and Cross Country Carnivals were combined

into a single day event. The Cross Country event saw students start at Caneland Park and make

their way along the Bluewater Trail and Cathy Freeman Walk. Upon completion of the course

students made their way to the Memorial Pool where the Aquatics Carnival took place. All

students are to be commended on their behaviour and participation throughout the day, which

ensured that a fun environment was created for all students.

Colin held off a spirited Rice House to take out both the House Championships for Cross

Country and Aquatics. This extends Colin’s winning record at carnivals to eight in a row.

Results from the carnival are as follows:

Cross Country House Championship Aquatics House Championship

Colin 172 points Colin 286 points

McAuley 130 points Rice 253 points

Chisholm 126 points McAuley 223 points

Rice 102 points Chisholm 214 points

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Colin House – Aquatics and Cross Country Champions

Swimming Age Championships

16 Girls 16 Boys

1st – Kahtia Gooch

2nd – Lisa Manzelmann

3rd – Tylah Leighton

1st – Connor Rudner

2nd – Jack Johnson

Open Girls Open Boys

1st – Mignon Viljoen

2nd – Clara Friswell

3rd – Madeleine Lee

1st – Baiden Brown

2nd – Nicholas Hilder

3rd – Mitch Kelly

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Time Court Umpire Duty

4:00 6 HSC Angels V Mercy Blue SPC White / Sarina Slam

7 SPC Green V Pioneer Green SPC Red / North Stars

8 SPC Gold V Mirani Mystics

4:45 6 SPC White V Sarina Slam

7 SPC Red V North Stars SPC Green / Pioneer Green

8 MSHS Lorikeets V Mercy QISSN SPC Gold / Mirani Mystics

Bye: SPC Blue

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Run For MI Life in conjunction with Amanda Allen have created the ‘Run For MI Queensland’ event. This is a mammoth task that has never been undertaken before. A journey through the sunshine state to shine a light on suicide and depression and encourage kindness, mateship and stronger communities. Amanda is going to spend approximately a month running from Toowoomba to Mackay via inland Queensland farming communities. That’s around 1,200km and you can join her along the way! The route Amanda will be running is based upon key towns that need to be visited, these include: Toowoomba - 29 May Dalby - 31 May Roma - 9 June Emerald - 16 June Moranbah - 24 June Mackay - 2 July

These locations have been hand selected and were found to have the highest age-standardised suicide rate in the Western region of Queensland. We also need to support our farmers and the mining towns that have been adversely affected by the down-turn and the drought. Should you wish to run with Amanda, each location will have a start and finish zone and participants can register here for the run. Adults $20 // Children $20 - Aged up to 12 years // Family Pass $70 - 2 Adults & 2 Children Primary School Group $15 - min 15 per booking // High School Group $15 - min 15 per booking Registrations will entitle each participant to a ‘Box Session’ with Amanda, entry to run with her and a supporters commemorative shirt.