Principal's report

Things have been busy over the last couple of weeks at St Pat’s. 

Major Sporting Events

On Monday, 17 February we were blessed with wonderful conditions as we conducted the annual House Athletics carnival at the College. It was fantastic to see our House Captains and Vice Captains, along with the rest of Year 12 lead the way across the day in terms of participating and House spirit. I was impressed with the skill and standard of our athletes as they challenged long-standing records across all events throughout the day. Equally, I was thrilled to see the level of positive engagement and enthusiasm of all students as they experienced one of the great days in the College calendar! 

Holding the College Athletics carnival earlier this year enabled the staff leading Athletics at the College – Ms Rossato and Mr Hayes – the opportunity to consider the times and distances achieved by all students, including our new students, before selecting the SPC Team for the ACC Athletics Championships, which were held on Thursday, 27 February in Melbourne. Congratulations to all boys who were selected in the SPC Athletics Team to compete at the ACC Championships this week!

For most of our rowers, the 2024-25 season culminated in the Head of the Lake Regatta held on Lake Wendouree on Tuesday, 25 February. It was a great outing for many SPC crews and I was very proud of every rower and their efforts on the day! 

On behalf of the College community, I extend sincere congratulations to Loreto College for winning the Head of the Lake title for girls and to Ballarat Clarendon College for taking out the boy’s title and premiership! 

I wish to thank all of our rowing coaches for their generous commitment to their crews and to the rowing program this season. In particular, I thank Ms Rebecca Gribble and Mr David O’Doherty for their work in leading and coordinating our Rowing program in the 2024-25 season.

Congratulations to the Captain of Rowing, James Clark and the Vice Captains of Rowing, Lachlan Belleville and Henry Reinehr, for their positive leadership and role modelling throughout the season. All three senior rowers led by example and I was impressed by their commitment and leadership – well done! 

I also acknowledge the energetic and positive support shown by the members of the Year 12 Spit Crew at the regatta. I was proud of how they contributed positively to the event and acknowledged and supported the efforts of all rowers and crews throughout the day! The members of the Spit Crew showed a lot of character – well done! 

A few crews have some exciting challenges and opportunities ahead over the next few weeks. I wish all involved with the State and National Rowing Championships all the very best across the next few weeks! 

Next Thursday, 6 March, the House Swimming Carnival will be conducted at Eureka Swim Centre in East Ballarat. This is another wonderful day in the College calendar and I look forward to the event and witnessing our swimmers compete against each other throughout the day. 

Catholic Education

Amongst all of this, I have been busy attending a number of professional learning opportunities and network meetings in my role of Principal. I attended a keynote address delivered by Emeritus Professor David Hopkins in Ballarat about school improvement. The address, entitled as ‘Unleashing Greatness’ was very encouraging and highlighted a number of strategies we have implemented as integral to improving practice and outcomes in a school. Our commitment to this remains unwavering and I am encouraged by the work I am witnessing amongst our staff in this core area. 

Early next week I will attend the annual national gathering of EREA Principals in Brisbane. This two-day gathering will focus on the EREA Touchstones and the future role of Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition in the Australian context. Catholic schools continue to provide important and valuable faith-based educational opportunities across the country.

More than 804,000 students attend Catholic schools in Australia, and this number continues to increase steadily. Approximately 30% of students in Australia attend faith-based schools, with Catholic schools representing the largest of these settings. 

New figures released on government spending on education in 2022-23 show that non-government schools in Victoria saved taxpayers over $3.5 billion in 2022-23. 

According to the Productivity Commission, in 2022-23, on average, government schools received government funding and in-kind support valued at $23,447 per student, while for non-government schools the corresponding figure was $13,898 – a difference of $9,549 per student. 

Across Australia, overall, the figures show that non-government schools saved taxpayers almost $15 billion. 

“We believe all students should receive the funding they need,” said Professor Elizabeth Labone, CEO of the Victorian Catholic Education Authority. “As these figures show, hardworking parents in Catholic schools make an incredible contribution to the Victorian education system, through the school fees they pay, to offset a substantial difference in government funding support. This delivers massive savings to taxpayers.” 

“It should also be remembered that these figures only relate to recurrent funding. Parents in Catholic schools also contribute over 80 cents of every dollar spent on building new schools to meet enrolment demand in the state’s growth areas and upgrade facilities in existing Catholic schools,” she said. 

The Victorian Catholic Education Authority is the peak body for Catholic school education in Victoria. There are more than 159,800 families who choose to send 215,300 students to the 496 Catholic schools in Victoria. This represents 1 in 5 Victorian students. 

International Women’s Day

The Student Council will highlight the importance of International Women’s Day during the course of next week, leading up to IWD on 8 March. The theme for IWD in 2025 is #AccelerateAction and it is tremendous that our student leaders are keenly promoting awareness around a gender equal world, free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination and a world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. 

The focus of the Student Council on IWD is really important, and I commend them for their work in this crucial area. By participating in the activities led by our senior students, we can all contribute to accelerating action for gender equality and making a positive impact in our community.

Let's come together to celebrate the achievements of women, raise awareness about discrimination, and take action to forge a gender-equal world. Together, we can #AccelerateAction and create a brighter future for everyone.

With so much on, I am sure that everyone is looking forward to the long weekend at the end of next week. 

We are already past the halfway point of Term 1, which is hard to believe. But when you stop and reflect on what is going on at SPC, it is no surprise when it is so busy!