MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

“A good beginning is of great importance”

                                                                – Catherine McAuley

It has been a wonderful start to the term and so delightful to have the students back on campus, breathing life into this beautiful place. I would also like to warmly welcome our new students and their families to our community. We hope that St Patrick’s College Townsville will be the place where you will dare to imagine your future and embrace the opportunities with determination and joy.

I hope all of our students have enjoyed some quality time with family and friends, and feel refreshed and energised for the semester ahead. I hope too, students have had the chance to reflect on their report progress in Semester One.

STAFFING UPDATE

We welcomed back Tenille Hambly, Head of Year 12, to the College this term after her leave and she has certainly hit the ground running with our Senior Formal being held this evening at The Ville. The excitement leading up to tonight has been wonderful and I am personally looking forward to connecting with the parents and caregivers who are able to join in the pre-dinner festivities.

We also have two new staff joining the College. John Dyer has joined our community as a full-time Music teacher and is absolutely thrilled to be working with John Goulter to continue growing and developing our amazing musical arts program. Olivia Rainnie has also joined the teaching team as a member of the Science Faculty. She will be teaching senior Biology and junior Science and is very excited to inspire our students to become passionate about learning and understanding more about the world we live in.

MULKADEE

This week, a large number of our students have been participating in Mulkadee, an incredibly unique performing arts opportunity for students from Catholic Schools in our region to learn from industry experts. I would like to congratulate our students and wish them all the very best as they take part in the grand performance this evening to a sell-out crowd of family and friends at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK

As Mulkadee draws to a close, Catholic Education Week is launched on 24, July 2022. This week provides the opportunity for our College, along with the 308 other Catholic schools in Queensland, to celebrate and promote our Catholic mission and ethos. An education in a Catholic school affords young people a holistic experience of formation, placing an intentional focus on helping us to seek to use our God given gifts to make the world a better place for many. The theme for 2022 is, Communities of Faith, Hope and Love and we look forward to sharing how our community is faithful, hope-filled and a loving place, reflecting the gospel values in all that we do.

In Catholic Education Week, schools are able to acknowledge a Year 12 students with the awarding of the very prestigious Dues Caritas Award, recognising how this young person consistently lives out their commitment to Christian living with a grateful generosity of spirit. I am thrilled to announce that Elizabeth Shaju, our Faith & Mission Prefect, has been awarded this special honour for 2022. She will be presented with this award at the Catholic Education Week Mass held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Monday 25 July. We will also formally acknowledge this award at our Speech Night in Term 4.

STEM LEARNING HUB BUILDING PROJECT

Our STEM Learning Hub building project is well underway with a considerable amount of underground works completed, creating the necessary foundation and services for this multipurpose facility. We will continue to share updates via social media and our College website to keep everyone well informed and excited.

COVID-19

COVID-19 continues to provide challenges in a variety of ways. In accordance with the mission, values, and ethos of our College, we remain committed to supporting our community, acknowledging the difficult circumstances in which many families may find themselves. Please do not hesitate to contact the College if you need to discuss any concerns. As always, the health and wellbeing of your daughter, and our staff, remains the priority. 

We have vulnerable students and staff in our community and whilst I can assure you all that our College remains vigilant to our responsibilities, we do rely on students and families helping us to effectively implement and promote COVID-safe measures. The simple, yet highly effective strategies such as attention to good personal hygiene, which includes regular and thorough hand washing and, when appropriate, using hand sanitiser, continue to be a focus. Students should stay home when they are sick, get tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms and follow Queensland Health advice for positive cases and household close contacts.

In the event a staff member of student develops an onset of COVID-19 symptoms whilst at school, we will continue to provide rapid antigen tests (RATs). School staff and students continue to have priority access to RATs at Queensland Health testing clinics and provision of RATs for close contacts, where available.

Thank you for you ongoing support and understanding as we continue to navigate this dynamic situation.

May God bless you and your families.

Amber Hauff

COLLEGE PRINCIPAL