Clontarf Academy

It’s been a busy final two weeks in the St Patrick’s Clontarf Academy. We spent a couple of days out at Log Cabin Camp with a group of our Year 7 and 8 boys. The camp was a great way to celebrate what was a fantastic term for our boys and a great reward for delivering on our expectations around attendance and behaviour.

Over the two days we held a survival style competition with our boys breaking into groups and running through a set of challenges. The challenges involved crate stacking on the high ropes, archery, hut building, fire starting (with flint), billie tea and damper challenge, fishing and bowling. 

The boys were outstanding on the camp, eager to participate in all of our activities, even the early morning training in -3 degree temps! These camps are a great way for the boys to build relationships, test themselves, build resilience and showcase their leadership.

Our boys had another opportunity to show off their leadership skills last Friday with Clontarf partner SRG Global coming for a visit. A group of our boys stepped out of their comfort zone and took our guests on a tour of the Clontarf space, sharing their own stories of life at St Pat's and enjoying a few games of table tennis and Connect 4. 

These experiences are a great opportunity for the boys to talk in front of a group and network with a variety of industries, learning about what is out there waiting for them post school.

We had our second session on Bundi making on Monday after school. After going out bush and collecting the raw materials, it was time to start peeling of the bark and shaping the final product. The bundi is a traditional club used locally for hunting and in warfare. These sessions are a great way for our boys to connect with culture and learn about the ways of past generations.

Right across Australia, Clontarf holds two morning training sessions a week. These sessions are a great lesson on the importance of routine, exercise and discipline. It can be challenging getting up at and exercising early in the morning in Ballarat’s climate, but we have had a dedicated group commit to this during Term 2. 

This term we held our Top Trainers excursion to the NRL State of Origin Game 2 at the MCG. Our top eight trainers were taken down to 'the G' for what was a great experience for our boys. We also held our trainers raffle with Nick Turner taking out the prize which was a great result given his dedication to training this term.

As we come to the end of Semester 1, I just wanted to thank all of those who support the Clontarf program here at St Pat's. We have an amazing group of boys who have achieved great things so far this year and we will freshen up and be back for a jam-packed Term 3. Have a safe and happy break.