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Janelle Agius – Principal

Last week, we celebrated Catholic Education Week with the theme "A Spirited Tomorrow". This year is a special year for Catholic Education, as we mark 200 years since the first Catholic school opened in Parramatta. A special Mass was held in St Patrick’s Church which was presided over by Fr Don White on Wednesday and was livestreamed throughout the Diocese. Special acknowledgement to Jack Ziebarth for his technical support with the Livestream. Our Diocesan Director, Ms Leesa Jeffcoat was in attendance, along with other Catholic Education Office representatives. I often ask the students "What makes Catholic Education different?" The answer I seek, is that a Catholic school has Gospel values at its core, and Christ's mercy in its actions. As we strive to acknowledge and serve others, through God's mercy, we ‘Seek Christ’ - our college's motto. Our compassion for those in need and the dedication to go that extra mile - that is our mission, one that demands action.

Spirit of Catholic Education Award As part of Catholic Education Week, St Patrick’s College nominated Elspit Mulherin and Jamiey Doevendans for The Spirt of Catholic Education Award. This award recognises individuals making an outstanding contribution to Catholic Education in Queensland. Both Elspit and Jamiey are valued members of the St Patrick’s College community. They communicate a genuine kindness and hospitality, which exemplifies the Spirit of Catholic Education. I take this opportunity to thank both Elspit and Jamiey for all their hard work and dedication. It was an honour to nominate you for this award. Congratulations! Parent Teacher interviews Thank you to our staff, parents and students who attended Parent – Teacher interviews last Thursday evening. I take this opportunity to remind students that this is an important and busy time for both year levels. Assessment this term is critical. Study can be overwhelming if not managed properly. Assessment needs to be planned and attacked at the earliest opportunity. Revision should also begin early. Students should map out their commitments in study and all aspects of their lives as they move through August and September. Students should also take advantage of tutorials run by staff. Parents and students are reminded that the assessment planner for each year can be found on the college website – www.stpats.qld.edu.au.

AUGUST 2021

6 Year 12 Mathematics Methods Exam 9 Year 12 General Mathematics Exam 9 Year 12 Specialist Mathematics Exam SEPTEMBER 2021

3 Student Free Day Confirmation Event 5 Music Ministry

8-17 Year 12 Exam Block

13-17 Year 11 Exam Block

15-20 CBSQ Basketball Tournament 17 Last Day of Term 3

OCTOBER 2021

4 Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday 5 Term 4 Commences

8 Year 11 Retreat

11-22 Year 11 Industry Placement

11-22 Year 12 Industry Placement

19 Valedictory Evening

25-29 External Exams

NOVEMBER 2021

1-16 External Exams

5 August 2021 Dates to remember

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St Patrick’s Community I would like to congratulate Mr Marty Hollis on his new Acting Sports Coordinator position at the College. I know that Mr Hollis will do a great job in this role, after a successful start with our College Athletics carnival recently. Mr Hollis will be replacing Mr Chad Buckby whilst he is on Paternity Leave. COVID Update The coronavirus (COVID-19) is continuing to be a growing concern for health authorities in Queensland once again. A reminder that if any member of your household has been in any of the Local Government Area (LGA’s) identified since 1:00am Saturday 31 July, the same lockdown protocols are required as those who are in the LGA’s. In regard to school attendance, students of families who have had household members in the eleven LGA’s since 1:00am, Saturday, July 31 are to only attend school if they are the students of essential workers. The school will supply work upon request for those students who will be staying at home. If any essential workers child/children are attending school, they must wear masks while at school, and socially distance where possible.

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton is actively planning to manage the implications of this virus for our schools, kindergartens and services. While we hope to be spared the worst aspects of this health emergency, we must nevertheless be prepared for the challenges ahead. Advice has been provided to all schools, kindergartens and services on the measures that we are taking as part of our duty of care and commitment to the safety of all members of our communities. Effective Hand Hygiene Is Vital As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, it is important to remember that effective hand and sneeze/cough hygiene is the best defence against viruses and can help prevent the spread of illness. Lead by example and encourage your children to:

• wash their hands regularly with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet • use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap is not available • cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow • dispose of tissues in the bin immediately • if they’re unwell, stay at home and avoid contact with others such as touching, kissing or hugging.

Check out the 20 second routine video for effective handwashing. Senior Formal On Saturday 31 July, we celebrated the Year 12 Formal at the Mackay Entertainment Convention Centre. Congratulations to all of our students who presented so well. It was a great celebration for parents, students and staff. I reminded students that this event is one of the many milestones that will occur in their lives. As they draw closer to completing Year 12, they, together with their parents will feel some form of nervousness for the future. This is because they will have to move out of their comfort zone of senior schooling into a new area of change. Change in life brings growth and adaptation. They

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should cherish the final months of their schooling, remain motivated to the end and embrace the future. Special thanks to Mr Daniel Skipper for his many hours of preparing this memorable night. Enrolment Processes for 2022

9 August Notification of enrolment interview date emailed out during week commencing 10 August.

23 August Formal enrolment and subject advisory interviews with a member of the College Leadership Team will begin during the week of 23 August.

End term 3 Notification of acceptance.

25 November Orientation Day.

Our enrolment numbers for 2022 are high. If you know of anyone who is considering applying please advise them to contact the College as soon as possible.

Sean Geoghegan – Deputy Principal

On Friday 23 July, the Student Representative Committee organised a Homelessness Sleepout. Mr Geoghegan, Ms Le and Ms Hannant supervised the seventeen students who attended. A guest speaker was present who spoke to the students about homelessness while Mrs Capello from the St Vincent de Paul Society was presented with the donations collected from the College community.

Joseph Kelly – Assistant to the Principal: Mission Readings at Mass, Sunday 8 August 2021 – St Mary of the Cross (Mackillop) First Reading, 1 Kg 17:8-16… The jar of meal shall not be spent Psalm, 144:10-11, 15-18… My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast Second Reading, Col 3:12-17… Bear with one another, forgive each other Gospel, Mt 6:25-34… Do not worry about your life Readings at Mass, Sunday 15 August 2021 – The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary First Reading, Apoc 11:19, 12:1-6, 10… I saw a woman clothed with the sun and with the moon at her feet Psalm, 77:3-4, 23-25, 54… The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold Second Reading, 1 Cor 15:20-26… As members of Christ all people will be raised, Christ first and after him all who belong to him Gospel, Lk 1:39-56… The Almighty has done great things for me; he has lifted up the lowly

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Bucas Room At the start of the year I decided to revamp our College Chapel and the room attached to it. Given the rich history of the College, I thought we should try and acknowledge the important role Fr Bucas had in establishing Catholic education on this very site. So with the aid of Mrs Rose Christensen I set about trying to create a room to reflect our current usage and pay tribute to the work of Fr Bucas. The photographs on the doors show images of Fr Bucas and reflect the development of the Colleges on this site, as well as giving details of Fr Bucas’ life. The room leads to the Chapel, so the central cut out is the Celtic Cross. Fr Bucas had strong links to the Indigenous community, so there is an Indigenous Cross which was made by students from boomerangs, which they decorated. There is also an Indigenous map of the diocese on display. Our Regional Indigenous Education Liaison Officer uses this room, so we have placed the Yuwi greeting above the door to welcome visitors. Inside there is more comfortable seating for students and an Indigenous rug, whilst in the chapel we have tried to make it somewhere for quiet personal prayer/reflection.

Weekend Masses

Tracey McLeod – Assistant to the Principal: Welfare and Administration Learning Management System (LMS) The College uses the Learning Management System (LMS) as a form of communication with students and parents regarding assessment. The due dates for all assessment items for all units are added to LMS and should be viewable through Parent Lounge and Student Café. Assessment due dates are easily seen by students through the ediary tab on Student Café. Results for each piece of assessment as well as comments, will be added to LMS once they have been marked and moderated by teaching staff. Parents may view results, due dates, and where appropriate, the actual assessment items, through Parent Lounge. These can be found by logging onto Parent Lounge and selecting: from the top menu Student details → Curricular Activities

Southside Cluster Northside Cluster

Saturday Vigil Mass Saturday Vigil Mass 6:00 pm St Mary’s 6:00 pm St Joseph’s 6:00 pm St Francis Xavier 6:00 pm St Brigid’s

Sunday Sunday 7:00 am St Patrick’s 7:30 am St Brendan’s 7:00 pm St Therese, Alligator Creek 9:00 am St Joseph’s 9:00 am St Francis Xavier 9:00 am St Michael’s Sarina 6:00 pm St Patrick’s Church

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or from the side menu Curricular Activities Due →view all activities or activities due.

You will also be able to view if your student has outstanding drafts for any subject.

Danika Hurley and Susan McKay– College Counsellors The 2022 ATAR Admissions Year is now open 2021 Year 12 students can now sign-up to the QTAC ATAR Portal. By 11am on Tuesday, 2500 current year 12 students had already registered to receive their ATAR on Friday 17 December! Handy hints for ATAR Portal registration

If students need assistance with their ATAR registration, a handy reference is the FAQs on the ATAR webpage.

Handy hints for ATAR Portal Registration 1. Students should follow the instructions on the screen when signing up for their ATAR account.

2. Students should take care to enter their names, LUI and date of birth correctly into the ATAR portal. 3. After creating their ATAR account, students should log in to the ATAR portal to check that their account details

match the QCAA data. 4. If a student gets the popup error message No Match Found, they can follow the prompts to check and manually

change their own details in the ATAR Portal. 5. Students can call the ATAR hotline 1300 193 173 for assistance with checking their QCAA and ATAR account and

name details.

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6. A new feature of the ATAR Portal this year is that students can now change their own email address in the ATAR portal. Although we do suggest students set up their account with a personal email address and not their school email so they can access their ATAR after finishing school.

All ATAR eligible students are meeting with Susan McKay (Guidance Counsellor) to help with preferences and university selections. If parents or students would like to make an urgent appointment, please call the College or email Susan_McKay@rok.catholic.edu.au or Edith_Weiss@rok.catholic.edu.au.

Is your teen getting enough sleep? Teenagers need at least eight hours sleep each night to stay healthy according to research from scientists at the University of South Australia. “Getting enough sleep is important to all of us – it helps our physical and mental health, boosts our immunity and ensures we can function well on a daily basis,” says UniSA sleep expert Dr Alex Agostini. “But for teenagers, sleep is especially critical because they’re at an age where they’re going through a whole range of physical, social and developmental changes, all of which depend on them getting enough sleep.” According to Dr Agostini, without an adequate amount of sleep, teens are less able to deal with the stressors they encounter including peers and work load. Reminding your teen why it is important for them to get enough sleep and encourage them to switch off mobile phones and other devices a few hours before bed in the evening can positively impact on their quality and quantity of sleep. A few good tips include setting phone to do not disturb for duration of sleep hours or keeping the phones of all family members out of rooms to avoid the temptation of looking at them or being distracted by notifications throughout the night.

Daniel Skipper – Pastoral Care Coordinator Year 12 Formal We had a fantastic evening! After speaking with many of our Year 12 students, it seems that the verdict is unanimous, everyone enjoyed their time thoroughly at the Year 12 Formal. We used Events by Ramona to decorate the room for a glamorous “night under the stars” inspired room. Our professional photographers, Keeara and Reece, were busy throughout the day and into the evening. The photo booth by MJ’s Photo Booth was also very popular. The Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre (MECC) staff were also very accommodating. The meals were great and students were very happy to see them after a big day of photos. To finish off the evening we had some fun entertainment from a group called Pitt Crew, made up of students from Mackay’s Conservatorium of Music at CQ University. Overall, we had a very successful night and I would like to thank all those who contributed to its success, from students and parents, to staff and support staff, thank you all for helping to create memories to last a lifetime.

Marcus McConnell – Cultural Coordinator Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal Illuminate Festival It’s been a huge term so far with for our cultural department, with even more performances on the horizon. On Friday 23 June our students performed at the Illuminate festival on the lagoon stage. Joined by art installations, dancing children in the audience and a wonderful atmosphere, our choir, percussion ensemble and combined stage, strings and concert band gave a fantastic performance.

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Rock Pop Mine The next night our dance squad took home 1st place at the annual Rock Pop Mime. A huge congratulations to our dance squad students, as they made their own choreography and devoted the routine to mothers and their different friend groups that go along with raising a child. On Saturday 24th July a very talented group of St Patrick’s students performed in the Mackay Lion’s Host Club’s annual Rock Pop Mime competition. Students worked hard, rehearsing during the holidays, on weekends, before school and during lunch breaks to come up with a coherent and entertaining routine. The choreography and music were developed by the students themselves, resulting in an enjoyable performance. The students were fortunate enough to win the Secondary Schools division with their creation of “The Perfect Mum”. The story centred around a first-time, soon-to-be mum who was faced with making the choice of what type of mum she wanted to be. Once experiencing four different types of mums, she decided that she wants to be like all of them as they are unique and special in their own ways. Thanks to Madison Brett, Rebecca Wootton and Marcus McConnell for their time, commitment and supervision of the students throughout rehearsals and on the night. Congratulations to all students involved, it was a fantastic night full of creativity. There currently is still a link to watch the performances of the night on the ‘Mackay Host Lions Club’ Facebook page. If you would like to view the St Pat’s performance, please click on the following link and skip through to 1:28:45 https://fb.watch/6ZNzvUSWnC/.

Mackay Eisteddfod Next stop is Eisteddfod. This weekend we will be having workshops at Mercy college, on Friday and Saturday night for our combined ensembles, with our choir rehearsing in J block on Sunday. The schedule and times for these rehearsals can be found on each ensembles google classroom page, so students please make yourself aware of when you are required. Our first eisteddfod performance will be on Wednesday 11 August, with the folk and jazz choir performing at the MECC from 3:30pm. Next on Tuesday 12 August, our choir will be performing in the secondary school hymn and folk, and open section. If you would like to support our students, please make yourself aware of the COVID regulations by visiting the MECC website and familiarising yourself with when you can watch our performances.

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Marty Hollis – Acting Sports Coordinator Athletics Carnival The last major co-curricular event (Athletics Carnival) of the year was held in Week 2 (21 July) this term. The school went out to the Mackay Recreational Centre (MARC) facility and we were not disappointed again! It really is an impressive facility and the staff are amazing. The day’s proceedings included experiencing track and field events along with some novelty team building exercises (3-Legged Race, Over and Under’s, etc.) where students needed to work together in their houses. I personally want to thank the house captains, staff and the student body for getting behind this event. Many students participated to earn valuable points for their house whilst vying to become their respected peers age champion. Listed below is the result.

Other sporting results/trials Rugby League Boys Wednesday 28 July – St Patrick’s (18) defeated by The Cathedral College (TCC) (36) Rugby League Girls- School Competition Wednesday 28 July – St Patricks (42) defeated Sarina/Northern Beaches (8) The girls play Mackay State High School at 4pm Wednesday 4 August. Support is appreciated. Cricket – Girls Congratulations to Mackenzie Allen, Harriet Bampton and Meghan McCartney who played in a combined team with Mercy and progressed to the next level. Next game is Monday 9 August. Soccer – Boys Thursday 29 July – St Patrick’s (2) defeated by Mirani (3) Boys play Northern Beaches State High Thursday 5 August at 4pm. This game is going to be livestreamed. Support is very much appreciated.

Simon Korneliussen – Pedal Prix Team Manager CQU Qld Pedal Prix Super Series 2021 On the weekend of Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July, St Patrick’s College students Delta-Jade Deguara, Cirrie Venz and Ashlee Morrison combined with Mercy students to form a female HPV team and participated in the CQU Qld Pedal Prix held in Emerald. Students competed in a 16 hour Endurance race, testing their endurance and stamina. Ms Nika Langham travelled with the team to Emerald and she was very impressed with the attitude and determination of the students. They pedalled throughout

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the night in cool conditions, battling cramps and breakages. However, through teamwork, ingenuity and pain barriers, they managed to finish the competition. The team was awarded the Best Presented Team award by carnival organisers. Well done! A huge thank you to all staff, parents and volunteers for your guidance and assistance in this extracurricular activity. I would also like to acknowledge our sponsors, Jaycar, Signarama, City Gates Fencing, Blackwoods and PB Fenech. Dean Andric – English Coordinator Whitsunday Voices Recently, two teams from St Patrick’ College were fortunate enough to compete in the Whitsunday Voices Poetry Slam Competition. Kennedy Foley and Kodi Ryke performed their piece on Gender and Ben Van Gestel and Jazmine Marsh executed their slam on the topic of familial relationships. In front of a packed audience, both Pat’s teams brought the house down. I was incredibly impressed with not only the students’ writing ability but also their commitment to the performance aspect of the event. The judges agreed and for the first time ever, St Patrick’s finished first and second in the event, with Kennedy and Kodi taking the trophy and cash for first place and Ben and Jazmine winning the Runner’s Up award. This was a sensational effort from a group of students who constantly lead through their service to their College community. Well done team. St Pat’s Writes … Short Stories, Poems and Memes At assembly next week, with the help of the SRC, I will be launching the St Pat’s Writes Competition for 2021. St Pat’s Writes is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the wealth of writing talent within our College. Students will be able to submit entries across three categories (short story, poem, meme) and there are some excellent prizes up for grabs. All entries must be submitted by Monday 23 August. The culminating event will occur on Friday 27 August, when winners will be announced and students can come dressed as a character from a book or movie. There will also be some fun activities organised at lunchtime by our SRC. To participate in the dress up day, staff and students they will need to bring a gold coin donation. Proceeds will go towards fundraising for our College social justice endeavours. They will also earn points for their respective houses, which will count towards this year’s House Cup Tally.

Entry details… 1. All entries must be submitted via email to dandric@stpats.qld.edu.au 2. Current students enrolled at St Patrick’s College may enter. 3. Students may submit up to two (2) entries in each competition. 4. Works may be co-authored with another student. If a co-authored work wins a category,

then the prize will be shared between the winning authors. 5. Closing date for all nominations is as above. 6. Judges’ decisions will be final.

Day Event

Friday 27 August

Dress as your favourite book or film character – gold coin donation Poetry, short story and meme winners announced

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Career Opportunities

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Community Notices