FROM THE COLLEGE PRINCIPAL

It was wonderful to gather last week as a community, welcoming many families to celebrate excellence in diligence, effort, and academic studies. We are very proud of these young women and in what they have achieved. I am always particularly impressed with the increasing number of students being awarded Diligence awards, as this speaks volumes to the positive and empowering learning culture we strive to foster in this College.

We were also able to recognise Catholic Education Week acknowledging and celebrating how in Catholic school ministries, which are communities of faith, hope and love, we seek to empower everyone to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society. We were also able to congratulate Adelaide Burke, our Faith & Mission Prefect who was awarded the 2024 Deus Caritas Award for our College at the Townsville Catholic Education Mass held at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Monday of this week. Adelaide demonstrates a deep love for God, others, and self.  She exemplifies the Gospel values through thought, deed and action and is always prepared to listen to and empathise with others, showing dignity and respect to all. Her passion for social justice is undeniable, regularly organising and supporting a myriad of Mercy Girls in Action activities and events. Adelaide truly shows “love for God and others” and is a “gift of self” for others.  She demonstrates the Mercy values of compassion, justice, dignity, respect and hospitality in all that she does and we are very proud of her and all that has achieved and no doubt will achieve in the future. 

We also celebrated the nominations of Joanna Pacey and Gayle Walkom for the 2024 Spirit of Catholic Education Awards. These nominations recognise staff members in Catholic school ministries that enliven Catholic identity and ethos to support flourishing and thriving communities of faith, love, and hope. I am so grateful to Jo and Gayle, who through their very different roles are helping to cultivate a deeper sense of belonging within our community, fostering an environment where our students and their families feel valued, understood, and supported. Through collaborative efforts with students, staff, parents, and community members, Jo and Gayle create opportunities for connection, understanding, and empathy, thereby strengthening the bonds that unite our Catholic community. They are both so humble in their ways of working and would never seek public recognition for what they do, but this nomination is recognition of their invaluable impact and contribution they make to this Mercy community.

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognise and thank Amy Byrnes and Chris Pacey for organising and facilitating the 2024 STEM Trek to the US over the holiday break. From all accounts it was very successful. I also thank John Goulter, Rachel Cairns and Conni Mosch for organising and facilitating the World Choir Games Tour in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand a few weeks ago. Our incredible International Choir Group earned a Silver Diploma Level IV. Competing in the Youth Choir Category with singers aged 13 to 25, our College was the highest-ranked high school choir from Australia in the Open competition during week one. Congratulations to all involved!

I am looking forward to the semester ahead, full of possibilities and opportunities to bring our 2024 College theme to Live and Learn with Courage and Heart.

God bless.

Amber Hauff

COLLEGE PRINCIPAL

FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL – ACADEMIC

In Week 1, we held two Academic and Diligence Assemblies based on the Semester One results for Year 7 to 10, Unit One results for Year 11 and Unit Three Provisional Results for Year 12.  These assemblies acknowledged those students that achieved academic success as well as recognising students who displayed diligence through a strong work ethic. 

During my speech at the Year 7 to 9 Assembly, I discussed the College theme for 2024 of Living and Learning with Courage and Heart, with a specific focus on courage.  In particular, I focused on the advancements in technology, particularly the space industry, following my attendance on the 2024 STEM Trek during the June/July holidays. While technology has changed significantly from our last College STEM Trek in 2018, and post-COVID, there has also been a change of focus by NASA for Women in STEM.  As well as commercial shuttles being launched almost every two days in Orlando, NASA has made a pledge as part of the Artemis Mission to land the first woman on the moon, as well as the first non-Caucasian person. 

But this doesn’t mean that women haven’t flown into space previously. As of February 2024, 75 women have flown in space, of these, 47 have worked on the International Space Station as long-duration expedition crewmembers, as visitors on space shuttle assembly flights, as space flight participants, or as commercial astronauts. The first woman to fly in space began on June 16 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova launched aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft. Chosen from a group of five women selected for training, Tereshkova completed a three-day mission and entered the history books as the first woman to orbit the Earth. Nearly 20 years passed before another woman flew in space. In January 1978, NASA announced the selection of 35 new astronauts including six women for the space shuttle program.  As we now come to 50 years after the first man walked on the moon, NASA’s Artemis campaign is exploring the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as they then prepare for human missions to Mars. Collaborating with commercial and international partners and establishing the first long-term presence on the Moon, in landing the first woman on the Moon, they will use innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. 

After attending Space Camp and hearing of these progressions in the world of space and aviation, what a true display of living and learning with courage, and what a wonderful opportunity for our students.  As women, these advancements show us that there is a place in the front of the room for each of our students to lead.  It is inspiring and reminds that students of St Patrick’s College Townsville can go wherever they put their minds to. 

I congratulate each of our award recipients and I encourage each of our students to strive for the next academic awards presentation at Speech Night.

A list of all award recipients is included in this newsletter.  Further information regarding the criterion for Academic and Diligence Awards can be found on the College Website.

STEM Trek 2024

During the June/July holidays, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2024 STEM Trek to the United States of America with Mr Pacey, our Dean of Academic Operations, and 13 students from Years 10 to 12. This was the third time our College has held STEM Trek, previously held in 2016 and 2018, but due to COVID we had some interruptions to our planned 2020 trip, but were able to re-commence this year. 

STEM Trek involved two days in San Diego, six days at Space Camp and two days in Orlando, with the key focus being on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and the majority of our time being at Space Camp.  In San Diego we explored the city through a Trolley Tour and visited the San Diego Zoo; while in Orlando we finished our trip with experiences at Kennedy Space Centre (NASA) and Universal Studios. 

Space Camp, located in Huntsville, Alabama, a city that is driven not only by the aviation and space industries, but also military.  Launched in 1982, Space Camp has inspired and motivated young people from around the USA, with attendees from all 50 states, U.S. territories and more than 150 foreign countries, with more than one million alumni. Based at the US Space & Rocket Centre, trainees have an unparalleled environment to spur imagination while being surrounded by space, aviation and defence artifacts. The brainchild of rocket scientist Dr Wernher von Braun, who led the development of the Apollo-era rockets that took America to the moon, Space Camp cultivates teamwork, leadership and decision-making skills.

While there are a range of camps that students can attend at the US Space and Rocket Centre, our focus was Space Camp. Students work as a team to confront mission scenarios that require dynamic problem solving and critical thinking. Throughout the week students are immersed in astronaut training activities using equipment adapted from NASA’s astronaut program. Specifically, our students participated in:

• Team building including testing both themselves, and their teamwork skills, including the Pamper pole – where students climbed to the top of a telephone pole while harnessed, to challenge themselves and their comfort zone.
• Multi-axis trainer in a 3-axis gimbal, used for cardiovascular workout and balance training in pilots and astronauts.
• 1/6^th gravity chair – allowing students to experience the weightlessness of outer space and practice their space walk and jumping.
• Flight simulation where students practiced take-off and landing of planes.
• Mission training and then simulated missions – where students experienced what it is like to be launch a space shuttle. With varying responsibilities including being on the shuttle, to being in the control room, and those that had to go into outer space to fix the shuttle while in orbit.
• Scuba diving to experience weightlessness while building items underwater with limited communication.
• Rocket launch where students designed, constructed and launched their own rockets.

It was a wonderful two weeks of learning and opportunities for not only the students but also staff.

Amy Byrnes

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL – ACADEMIC

YR 7-9 ACADEMIC & DILIGENCE AWARDS

The Year 7 Award Recipients are:

The Year 8 Award Recipients are:

The Year 9 Award Recipients are:

Congratulations to all award recipients!

YR 10-12 ACADEMIC & DILIGENCE AWARDS

The Year 10 Award Recipients are:

The Year 11 Award Recipients are:

The Year 12 Award Recipients are:

Congratulations to all award recipients!

QATSIF GRADUATION

QATSIF Graduation

The 2024 QATSIF Graduation for Year 12 students was held on Monday 15 July.  Our students, along with Indigenous Student Liaison Officer Regina Foster, attended the event at James Cook University which celebrated all Year 12 QATSIF students from the Townsville region. 

QATSIF was created to give Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families increased educational choices and life opportunities, operating as an independent, not-for-profit trust.  Providing educational scholarships to eligible First Nation students to support them across Years 11 and 12. 

Our St Patrick’s College Townsville community will celebrate the following students during our NAIDOC Week celebrations, however, congratulations to the following Year 12 students on their QATSIF Graduation:

Nancee-Rae Bowen

Willimina Misi

Kenya Mari

Isabella Nona

Jusuray Maka

Samantha Campbell

Keyara Geatches

Tallara Sorbello

Lily Trevor

Amy Jacobsen

FROM THE DEFENCE SCHOOL MENTOR

Term 3 brings a busy schedule for our Defence students, with Awards Assemblies, Catholic Education Week, NAIDOC celebrations and for some students, new Subjects.  Congratulations to all of our recipients.

2025 Postings

Families are starting to receive details of their 2025 postings.  If you are getting posted at the end of the College year (and leaving Townsville), please email Mrs Joanna Pacey, jpacey@stpatscollege.qld.edu.au

Ensure you read “Moving with Children” on the DFMS website in preparation for the journey ahead https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/military-life-cycle/posting-relocating/moving-children. As a result of mid-year postings, we welcomed new families to our College, at the end of Term 2.  Moving is a major life change, and children may face challenges as they leave behind friends and familiar places and activities.  To make the process more manageable for children and to help them become more positive and self-reliant, communicating truthfully and openly is important to help them understand and cope with the change.  This will allow the children to feel empowered, valued and make them feel a part of the process. 

Education Assistance Scheme

As a timely reminder, don’t forget, within the first 18 months of starting at a new school you are also entitled to tutoring reimbursement to overcome the immediate difficulties caused by changing schools.  For more information about this program:

– visit the DFMS Website  Education Assistance Scheme | ADF Members & Families | Defence

– Consult your local Education Liaison Officer (EDLO), Mrs Jessica Stark jessica.stark@defence.gov.au

– Email: education.supportprograms@defence.gov.au

SUPPORT SERVICES – ADF FAMILY HEALTH PROGRAM

Did you know that Permanent ADF Members and Reservists on continuous full-time service can access funds for their families to maintain a healthy lifestyle?

The ADF Family health program provides reimbursement for physiotherapy, dental, specialist appointments and more of up to $800 a year per dependent!

For more information on how to register, visit Home – ADF Family Health Program

If you will be absent for a period of time during the term due to deployment/exercises or would like further information about the services provided, please feel free to contact the Defence School Mentor, Ms Gayle Walkom via gwalkom@stpatscollege.qld.edu.au or phone 07 4753 0300.

Gayle Walkom

DEFENCE SCHOOL MENTOR

CHANGES TO COLLEGE TRAFFIC CONDITIONS

More details from the College regarding this event will be provided soon.

TSV24 – St Patrick’s College Townsville Traffic Info

TSV24 – Multisport World Championships – Course Affected Roads

TURTLE RESEARCH

Last weekend, Year 11 Marine Science and Year 12 Aquatic Practices students had an extraordinary opportunity to participate in turtle research alongside James Cook University (JCU) researchers. This hands-on experience took place at Toolakea Beach, where students engaged in vital research activities aimed at understanding the behaviour, growth, and environmental interactions of marine turtles.

The activities took place at low tide on Saturday, with students walking emu parade style along the large tidal pools. Their goal was to capture turtles to enable JCU researchers to gather essential data. The students worked diligently, combing the tidal areas to locate and safely capture the turtles.

Once the turtles were captured, the students assisted JCU researchers in weighing and measuring them. They also participated in tagging the turtles and reading existing tags to gather historical data. This process provided students with invaluable insight into the life cycles and migratory patterns of these fascinating marine creatures.

This hands-on experience offered the students a remarkable first-hand look at how marine research is conducted in a meaningful and impactful way. They gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of understanding marine life, particularly turtles, and how such research can contribute to conservation efforts. Overall, the collaboration with JCU researchers was an unforgettable educational experience for the students, highlighting the significance of scientific research in understanding and safeguarding marine life.

HOSPITALITY RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Year 11 Hospitality

PORK KATSU NOODLE STIR FRY

METHOD

1. Wash all vegetables. Thinly slice carrot into half-moons. Thinly slice red capsicum into strips. Trim and halve green beans. Roughly chop the coriander.
2. Add plain flour to bowl 1. In bowl 2, which the egg and milk. In bowl, place the breadcrumbs.
3. Place baking paper on pork schnitzels and gently tenderise with a meat tenderiser.
4. Dip the pork into the flour, followed by the egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs.
5. Boil the kettle. Add noodles to the large bowl and cover with boiling water. Drain and refresh under cold water. Return noodles to the bowl adding the sweet chilli and soy sauce, and toss to coat.
6. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the base of the pan (shallow fry). When the oil is hot, add the crumbed pork. Fry until golden and cooked through (1 – 2 minutes each side). Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.
7. Wipe out the fry pan and return to heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the carrot, capsicum, and green beans and cook until tender (6 – 7 minutes). Add the noodle mixture and toss to coat until heated through (1 minute). Season to taste with salt & pepper. Thinly slice pork schnitzels. Divide noodles and vegetables. Top with sliced pork. Drizzle with the mayonnaise and sprinkle with coriander.
8. Enjoy!