Message From the Principal

“… A reconciled Australia is one where our rights as First Australians are not just respected but championed in all the places that matter …”

-Kirstie Parker – Board Member, Reconciliation Australia.

This week we acknowledged National Sorry Day on Tuesday 26 May.  As part of encouraging a deeper understanding of  National Reconciliation Week, which began on Wednesday 27 May, our College recognises that we must provide the time and space to allow real dialogue to happen, learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how one each of us can join the national reconciliation effort. As a formal commitment to action, our College is developing an official Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) through the Reconciliation Australia Narragunnawali program to be launched later in 2020.

I would like to thank Ms Athena Costopoulos, Director of Mission and Ms Megan Christie, Director of Boarding who will be instrumental in leading this project, which will involve a RAP College Working Group consisting of College staff, students, parents and community members. More information will be coming out shortly on how you can get involved, helping our College work towards building a better world for all, through a genuine commitment to the journey of reconciliation and in strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples.

As we began this week the sounds of laughter and joy once again filled our campus, as we welcomed back the large majority of students for face-to-face lessons. Unfortunately, some students from our Boarding community are not be able to join us for the remainder of this term, due to strict Australian border controls and remote community biosecurity directives. However, we are supporting these students and families as best we can, to ensure continuity of learning and much needed connection with friends and the community. I continue to follow and implement Federal and State Guidelines and directives for school and boarding environments, working closely with the amazing and supportive staff at the Townsville Public Health Unit.

I spoke with students and staff recently about how some of us may be feeling a little ‘flat’ at the moment, with energy and motivation somewhat lower than we thought it would be, especially given the good news of school returning. I have read many articles recently about how people in general are coping with the current situation and there have been some interesting perspectives shared. One particular article suggested that we have all been stretched like rubber bands to our limits, given the uncertainty and requirement of pivoting ways of living, working, learning and connecting.  Amanda Gordon, Clinical Psychologist suggested that people need ‘to allow themselves to adjust to a new way of being, rather than waiting until things are back to the way they were, because if you do, you’ll be waiting a long time.’ She suggests that perhaps we need to ‘Live in the moment and find joy in what you are doing right now instead’. This approach particularly resonated with me, as I have always firmly believed in the power of hope, optimism and in reaching out and asking for help when we need it as the most powerful tools in our emotional resilience toolkit.

Our College community is a family that deeply cares for one another and I would like to take this opportunity to remind and encourage any families who may need some support to reach out if need be.

May God bless you all.

Amber Hauff

College Principal

Deputy Principal

Deputy Principal

Cameran Triffett

Uniform Update

As students return to face to face learning and the weather turns a little cooler, it is timely to launch a new uniform item and to reiterate the College Uniform Policy and expectations. 

The College is pleased to announce the addition of a blazer. The new blazer is available for purchase now and can be worn as an alternative to the College academic pullover with the academic uniform.  The College sports jacket is only to be worn as part of the sports uniform and non-College jumpers or jackets are not permitted.

Uniform purchases can be made at Wearitto (263 Charters Towers Rd, Mysterton).  

The opening hours are:

Monday               8–11am

Tuesday              12:30–4:30pm

Wednesday        12:30–4:30pm

Thursday            8–11am

Friday                 8–11am

The College uniform expectations can be located on the College Website: http://www.stpatscollege.qld.edu.au/parents/uniforms-stationery/ and on page 101 of the College Diary.

Personal Devices

A reminder of the College requirement for personal devices, including mobile phones, is that they are to be off and away during the school day.  Further information regarding College expectations around mobile phones and personal devices can be found on page 109 of the College Diary. I encourage you to support your daughter to adhere to these expectations.

Please direct any queries or concerns you may have regarding the uniform or phone policies to your daughter’s Head of House or Head of Year. 

College Enquiries

With the return of students to the College, parents/guardians are reminded of the need to maintain safe social distancing in and around the campus.  With this in mind, we ask that only essential visits are made to the College and enquiries are made via phone on 4753 0300 wherever possible.  Thank you for your assistance.  

Deputy Principal – Academic

Deputy Principal – Academic

Amy Byrnes

As most of our students return to face-to-face schooling this week, we recognise that students have encountered a range of learning experiences during the Learning@Home period.  Please be assured teachers will work closely with students as they transition back into normal routines.

2021 Subject Information Presentations

Due to COVID-19, Subject Selection for 2021 will differ to previous years.  The College is unable hold an evening this year, as such, the presentation will be made available electronically from Tuesday, 9 June 2020.    

2021 will see a change to the curriculum junctures. Year 7 students will experience the full range of subject areas on offer at the College, while Year 8 and 9 are a paired together to deepen the subject learning across a two year period. Students will then enter into Year 10 as a stand alone preparatory year, before undertaking Year 11 and 12. 

To accommodate this change,students will be choosing subjects as follows:

• Year 7, 2020   – will choose electives for their Year 8 & 9 program beginning in 2021
• Year 8, 2020   – will choose electives for their Year 9 program only, beginning in 2021
• Year 9, 2020   – will choose subjects for the new stand-alone Year 10 preparatory year beginning in 2021 
• Year 10, 2020 – will choose subjects for Year 11 & 12 beginning in 2021

Further information regarding the subject offerings and process for choosing subjects for 2021 will be emailed students and their parent/guardian closer to the Subject Selection Presentation date. 

To assist in the subject selection process, students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be involved in subject presentations throughout Weeks 6 and 7 to learn about the possible subject options for 2021.  Heads of Faculty will present this information to ensure students are aware of subject offerings and possible pathways linked to specific subjects – presentation times have been emailed to students.  Any students that are absent on the presentation days will be provided with presentation notes.

Year 11 – Unit 1 Subject Changes

Year 11 students considering subject changes or pathway changes for Unit 2 are encouraged to make a time to meet with myself. Subject changes for Unit 2 will close on Friday 5 June 2020 (Week 7, Term 2).  Unit 2 officially commenced on Wednesday 27 May 2020 (Week 6, Term 2).

Local Schools Community Fund

In 2019, the College applied for an Australian Government ‘Local Schools Community Fund’ grant. We are very excited to announce that our College was successful in securing a grant for 2020 to purchase a suite of high quality, interactive laptops and a charging cabinet for the Learning Support Department. These devices will be invaluable for our students, enabling access to specialist applications and software to support their learning needs in the classroom. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Australian Government, Phillip Thompson OAM, Federal Member for Herbert and the local committee for approving this grant for our College.

Director of Mission

Director of Mission

Athena Costopoulos

Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary – Everything Is Connected

As we slowly resume ‘normality’ let us reflect on the year so far. Severe weather events, bushfires and a worldwide pandemic have devastated the planet.  Nightly, we take in the jagged graphs that represent the faceless loss of lives and jobs. We yearn for hugs from friends, and although laughter and chatter has returned to our campus, many of our friends are still not able to be here. Through our grief and uncertainty, we find new and innovative ways to connect. We revel in the activities that we once took for granted. Grocery shopping is now an outing! We walk The Strand, soaking in the sun, smiles and hellos from strangers. Family time is all the time. Life has slowed down. We find the sacred in the ordinary.

Last week we acknowledged the anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical On Care For Our Common Home. The theme of Laudato Si Week this year was “everything is connected” – a sentiment that has touched us all during this difficult time. During the week, staff and students renewed their commitment to caring for the planet, as we grow through the crisis of the current moment by praying, reflecting, and preparing together for a better world to come tomorrow.

As we ready ourselves for Pentecost, we again contemplate our connectedness to all humanity. Whilst the apostles huddled together, afraid and mourning the loss of Jesus, they received a great gift from the Holy Spirit. As they shared the Good News, they were able to be understood by all nationalities. We have also been given that gift. Our common language is love. Let us continue to demonstrate that love for all through our words and actions.

National Reconciliation Week May 27- June 3

TOGETHER WE PRAY

Prayer For Reconciliation

Holy Father, God of Love, You are the creator of this land and of all good things.

We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history and the suffering of our peoples –

especially the grief of those who were taken as children from their homes and families,

taken from all they knew and loved.

We ask your forgiveness.

We thank you for the survival of Indigenous cultures.

Our hope is in you because you gave your son Jesus to reconcile the world to you.

We pray for your strength and grace to forgive,

accept and love one another as you love,

forgive and accept us.

Give us the courage to acknowledge the realities of our history so that we may build a better future for our nation.

Teach us to respect all cultures.

Teach us to care for our land and waters.

Help us to share justly the resources of this land.

Help us to bring about spiritual and social change to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities,

especially the disadvantaged.

Help young people to find true dignity and self-esteem in the ways of your Spirit.

May your power and love be the foundations on which we build our families,

our communities and our nation.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Adapted from a Prayer prepared by Wontulp Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group 13th March, 1997, Brisbane QLD

Director of Boarding

Director of Boarding

Megan Christie

While is was lovely to see many of our day students back on campus this week, my thoughts were with many of our boarding students who were not able to return to boarding and school due to the current travel restrictions in place. Our amazing boarding supervisors and subject teachers will continue to work hard to make sure these girls who are still Learning@Home are supported until they are able to return to us. I am hopeful that very soon we can all be back together and our Boarding House is filled with love and laughter again.

Last week was National Boarding Week, a week to celebrate the fantastic efforts and commitment from our boarders, boarding staff and schools. With the theme #stayingconnected, never before has this week been more significant.  Although our boarding community were apart, St Patrick’s College Townsville celebrated this special week from May 17 to 24 with some lovely activities.  On social media, our College community was able to step back in time of over 140 years of boarding history.  

Our girls all received a happy national boarding week card with handwritten messages from our boarding supervisors.  Our boarding supervisors filmed a lip sync to “Ain’t Know Sunshine” by Bill Withers because “This house just ain’t no home, anytime time she goes away”. Check it out if you have not seen it via The Learning Hub. Our boarding supervisors received a beautiful potted plant to acknowledge and thank them for allowing our girls to flourish and grow, and always going above and beyond to nurture a positive and supportive environment. Our day students also created a video message for all of our boarding students. This is available on the Pastoral Page on the Learning Hub. 

Director of Students

Director of Students

Maria Franettovich

It was wonderful to look out of my office window this week and see the courtyard filled with students.  The joyful buzz and chatter of the girls is a welcome change to the quiet of the past few weeks.  Delight and excitement was certainly evident in the smiles and laughter shared by our girls as they reunited with their friends, teachers and Heads of House and Heads of Year for the first time since last term.

Although being back in familiar surroundings and reconnecting with their friends will be a great boost to their motivation and confidence, transitioning back to school will be more difficult for some students.  Therefore, it is important to return to the security and structure of routines.  Good routines can help your daughter to feel grounded and secure, as well as helping her plan her time more effectively so she can manage the demands of school, friends, work, play and study. 

Why routines are good for teens

Some teens like and need routine more than others, but in general, having an organised and predictable routine can have the following benefits:

• Routines at home can help teens to feel safe and secure, and can provide stability during a time of change
• Routines that include time for fun or spending time together can strengthen your relationship with your teen
• Having a regular bedtime can help set your teenager’s body clock so their body ‘knows’ when it’s time to sleep
• Having an important job to do in their daily routine (such as feeding and walking the dog) can help teenagers to develop a sense of responsibility
• Routines can help teenagers to develop basic work skills and time management.

How to create a good routine

So how do you create a good routine for your teenager? The key is to involve them in the planning so they feel ownership. Here are some tips:

• Set a daily schedule with the same wake-up times and bedtimes for each school day—and stick to them
• Make study time part of your teenager’s daily routine, with more time allocated for study when assignments or exams are coming up
• Factor in time off—knowing there’s a reward for all that hard work is a great motivator
• Make it visual—draw up a chart, keep a day planner on the fridge, record the routine on your teen’s phone or computer
• Include your teenager’s deadlines for school assignments and exams on your calendar or planner so they can see what is coming up
• Practise, practise, practise—it might sound obvious, but the only way to make a routine stick is to be routine about it!
• Don’t worry if you miss a beat, no one’s perfect. If the day does not go to plan, just smile, stay positive and start again the next day.

You can learn more at www.learningpotential.gov.au

College Chaplain News

College Chaplain

Harriett Veukiso

St Patrick’s College community participates in the annual Vinnies Sleepout to raise awareness of homelessness and fundraise for less fortunate people in our local community. The Vinnies Sleepout allows students to get a glimpse of the realities of homelessness on a personal level by ‘sleeping rough’ for one night. The Sleepout encourages students, teachers and their families to gain a deeper understanding of homelessness, raise awareness of the realities faced by people experiencing homelessness and raise funds to support St Vincent de Paul’s homeless services in the local community.

This term the Mercy Girls in Action invited the College community to take up the challenge and participate in the St Pats @ Home Vinnies Sleepout. Due to the health pandemic we were not able to host a sleepout at the College; however, this did not stop us from helping others and living out our Mercy Mission by walking in the footsteps of Catherine McAuley. The Girls identified that as a result of the current COVID-19 health crisis even more people are likely to be in need.

On the night of Friday 22 May, students and families ‘slept out’ at home in a spot other than a comfortable bed. No blankets, no technology and no luxury for the night. .

Mercy Girls in Action will be donating female toiletries to St Vincent de Paul to support the annual winter appeal. Items such as deodorant, soap, sanitary items and shampoos can be expensive. We ask each house to donate specific toiletries items as listed below.  

Well done to all who took up the challenge to participate in the St Pats @ home Vinnies Sleepout.

Donations

DOMS – Shampoo, conditioner, hairbands, hairbrushes.

PRINCES – Soaps, moisturisers, body wash.

THRONES -Sanitary items, deodorants.

POWERS – Toothpaste, toothbrushes. 

Careers & VET News

Head of Faculty – Careers & VET

Catherine Rentoule

Career News for Year 12 Students

In response to COVID-19 study disruptions, the Australian National University (ANU) has changed their admissions process for Year 12 students who are applying directly to ANU for undergraduate study in 2021. More information about how these changes will impact students is available at the following website:

https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/information-for-prospective-students

James Cook University (JCU) have also introduced an Early Offer Round. All Year 12 students should have received an email from me regarding early admission application details and a two-page application form. Please return this form to the College as soon as possible so that it may be forwarded onto JCU on your behalf. We are excited to report that some students have already received offers.

For students involved in the Work Experience JCU & Mater Hospital HERO Program which was scheduled for May this year, please be reassured that you will not miss out on this fantastic opportunity. It will now take place during the second half of 2020. Further details will be made available to students closer to the time. All applications received so far will be considered for the program later in the year if students are comfortable with this.

Finally, due to the preparations required by Townsville Hospital to manage the COVID-19 response, the decision has regretfully been made to cancel the Townsville Hospital High School Health Careers Programs scheduled for June 2 and 3, 2020. At this stage the programs scheduled for July 20 and 21 will go ahead as planned.

Career News for Year 10 SET Planning

Term 3 we will focus on working with students to develop their Senior Education & Training (SET) Plan.

Developing a SET Plan will help students:

▪ think about their education, training and career goals after Year 12

▪ structure their learning in Years 11 and 12 around their abilities, interests and ambitions

▪ decide which learning options they should choose to achieve their learning, further their education and training and career goals.

Each week, students will undertake various online activities in the Student Secure Area of the St Patrick’s College Townsville Careers Website exploring their personality, values, strengths and interests. Careers Teachers will monitor students’ completion of the set activities and provide support as required.

For more information please have a look at our website or to book a Career Interview please email: crentoule@stpatscollege.qld.edu.au

Hospitality 

Year 12 Hospitality students are studying ‘Food Trends’ and creating dishes that could be served from a food truck.   The girls had the opportunity to cook a gnocchi dish and sauce from scratch.  It was interesting to see how simple it was to make but at the same time quite time consuming.

Year 11 students are studying an Introduction to the Hospitality Industry in particular ‘café culture’.  Students have been cooking recipes that would normally be served in a café environment.  On this occasion they made Mini ham and cheese quiches which were a hit.  Very easy to make and can be served for morning tea, lunch or a high tea event.

HPE & Sport

Head of Faculty – Health & Physical Education & Sport

Ben Williams 

Running Club

Running Club Online will be extended to the end of the term with prizes up for grabs so make sure you are sharing you #ACTIVELikeAPatsGirl moments to be in the running. The Running Club can be accessed via The Learning Hub from the ‘My Groups’ tab in the left hand column. Please contact Ms Perkins if you would like further information about submissions. 

Above: Amy Fraser has been keeping active with her horse; Sarah Bourke walking her dog; and Ms Jane completed Mt Stuart

Choi Kwang Do

Year 9 Fitness will this term be completing a unit on martial arts. The girls have been developing confidence and self defense as part of Choi Kwang Do. A special thank you to Master John VonHoff of the Academy of Choi Kwang Do who made a special trip to run the workshop from our College campus. 

Northern Region – Virtual Cross Country Event

At this time of year, the College would normally be conducting our Interhouse Cross Country event leading to the Northern Region Cross Country trials.  Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Northern Region School Sport are unable to offer this event in 2020.  To provide students with an opportunity to compete, they are conducting a Virtual Cross Country.

Students are invited to nominate for an event, record their time using any device: Garmin/Fitbit/mobile phone app and submit their result via a screenshot. Distances can be run on any surface. Students can submit multiple times and their best time will be used to determine the winners. 

Participating students are to email the attached Nomination Form and the screenshot of their results to: admin.northernsport@qed.qld.gov.au by 2 June.  The top three students in each event will be emailed a certificate, through their school, acknowledging their achievement.

Please direct any questions in relation to this event to our Head of Faculty – HPE & Sport, Mr Williams via sport@stpatscollege.qld.edu.au.

The Arts

Head of Department – Visual Arts & Exhibitions 

Harriet Geater-Johnson

Art Challenge – Final Call

We have had some really fun entries into the final art challenge. The challenge is to appropriate, or recreate a famous artwork. We have extended the deadline until 8 June to give everyone who wanted to enter a chance to do so. Go to the NEWS section of the Learning Hub for more information. There will be two prizes for best junior and best senior entry and these will be announced in the final assembly of term. Thanks to Year 7 student Amelia for her amazing entry!!

Update on all Visual Art Students

We are so excited to finally have most of our students back at school (although we miss those who have been unable to return as yet). Everyone at school has been able to get going on practical work and even though it’s been a very strange start to Term 2 we are really excited about the progress being made! We thought we would include some work in progress images of students at work.

Head of Department – Music & Performance

Johnathon Goulter

Virtual Classrooms

All of our Year 7 to 10 classes have been taking part in musicianship exercises via video and learning new pieces on virtual instruments at home. Year 9 students have been investigating dance music and in particular polyrhythmic dance rhythms of some African Cultures. This has resulted in some students recording themselves juggling egg shakers with their parents/guardians to show their understanding of rhythms. It’s great stuff! Year 11 students and Mr Goulter have been pushing Zoom meetings to their limit with some three part chord singing as part of their compositional studies.

Virtual Bands

It is safe to say that we miss making music and to alleviate this we have started working hard on virtual bands. Our Year 9 and 11 classes have both decided to make  virtual bands showing the repertoire that they are learning. Year 9 students will be recording Daft Punk’s – Around the World and Year 11 students recording The Beatles – I Want To Hold Your Hand. The College Concert Band is also preparing a virtual performance of Eine Kleine Rock Music – A rocked up Mozart version. We will have the videos out in the near future so stay tuned for more information.

Virtual Choir

We have also started mixing and arranging the whole school choir entries for Jesus Lover of My Soul. If you have not seen it you are still able to view it as part of the Week 5 Assembly. We have had a phenomenal response from staff members being involved so look out for who is doing what in the video at upcoming assemblies.

Science & Technology

Head of Faculty – Science & Technology

Chris Pacey

Year 7 Science

This week our Year 7 Science class enjoyed some outdoor education during their unit on food webs. A food web consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem. Each living thing in an ecosystem is part of multiple food chains. The girls have been learning about the producers and consumers that make up trophic levels in a food web as well as how ecosystems are highly connected. Students used string to connect food chains together to help create a visual representation of various food webs in different ecosystems. 

Students also undertook a fun activity to help them understand that some animals are better adapted to take advantage of available foods and will fare better than those who are less adapted. They played the role of birds using different “beaks” made of clothes pegs, fork, forceps, bulldog clips to eat their food  types of beans, macaroni, rubber bands and toothpicks.

Humanities

Head of Faculty – Humanities

Kelli Chapman

Year 9 Geography

Year 9 Geography students are learning through rich tasks and creativity, this week presenting their designs and ideas on how to ‘Feed their own Villages’ through our Food Security and Biomes unit.

Agriculture and food production is one of the earth’s biggest polluters. Sarah Robinson created an easy, accessible garden for a suburb, we can connect to nature and reduce our demand on food production systems using her Lego!

Another fantastic design included a Kitchen which allows you to grow food inside your kitchen bench. Well done girls!

Library News

Library Assistant

Marie Jerome

It is with great anticipation the latest addition to the one of the most favourite franchises has been released, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ has been described as a sleek prequel to The Hunger Games. Coming to the library soon, reserve your read now!

Did you know that reading helps your mind grow? It helps connect different parts of your brain. Research, carried out at Emory University in the US, found that reading a good book may cause heightened connectivity in the brain and neurological changes that persist in a similar way to muscle memory. After reading a book, your brain activity is boosted for days. It is exercise and nourishment for your mind.

Book of the week – More than a Kick

Talking about exercise and mental health, the book of the moment is ‘More than a kick’ by Tayla Harris, a compelling true story of how a photograph of her kicking for goal resulted in extreme online trolling when it was posted to social media. Tayla has been lauded for how she navigates the social and mainstream media storm that followed. Reading through this, there are many positive messages for young women on all levels. New and ready to be borrowed.

Have you seen the latest riddle in the library? There will be a new one each week, come up and test your brain, it is great to hear the chatter and ideas flowing!

College Notices

Blazers Now Available

The new College blazer has arrived, just in time for the cool change in weather. This is an optional uniform item that can be worn with the Academic Uniform.
More details can be found at: https://www.stpatscollege.qld.edu.au/p…/uniforms-stationery/

History in Action Project

St Patrick’s College Townsville has had a long and rich history since its establishment in 1878.

In 2020 we find ourselves once again making history as we respond to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

We invite you to join our History in Action Project, documenting the historically significant times we are living through. 

The College will be collecting and compiling the personal experiences of students, staff, parents and friends in relation to this global health crisis that has changed the way we live, work and learn.

You can contribute by electronically submitting:

• Journals
• Blog posts
• Personal stories
• Poems
• Photographs
• Videos
• Interviews
• Paintings and other artworks

As Intelligent, Confident and Active women of the future we must honour the past as custodians of our College history. Together, we can help to write the next chapter!

Please email all submissions to history@stpatscollege.qld.edu.au

For further information, contact our Communications and Marketing Manager, Jane Perkins on (07) 4753 0300 or via the above email address. 

Ignatius Park College

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