How To Help Your Son Succeed This Year

My deep appreciation to the St Patrick’s College staff who gave up their time to host and participate in the Information Nights for Parents/Carers from Years 5 to 11. Year 12 was held in Term 4 last year.

It was an opportunity to share the College’s strategic priorities for the year, drawn directly from the feedback received in the AISNSW surveys. I shared this data with parents/carers last year and those present on the evenings commented that they could see the “red thread” and alignment in trying to address areas that needed improvement.

For those who were unable to attend, here are some strategies we would love parents/carers to implement:

Establish a consistent routine
1. Set a regular bedtime
2. Create a study schedule
3. Include breaks, downtime and short burst work
Foster a love for reading
1. Read together
2. Create a reading-friendly environment
3. Model reading – dads too
Communicate with teachers
1. Attend any parent-teacher meetings and read TASS notes in Parent Lounge
2. Stay informed – read the Especean
Collaborate on solutions
1. Keep your expectations high and reasonable
2. Praise effort, not just results
3. Develop the skills of independence
4. Encourage self-reflection and goal-setting
Create a positive learning environment
1. Designate a study area
2. Provide learning resources
3. Encourage curiosity and exploration.

Secondary Swimming Carnival and Junior School Cross-Country Carnival (13 February 2025)

Last Thursday, all the boys across the College were involved in a carnival, the secondary at Swimming and the Primary had the school to themselves as they had their Cross Country Carnival.

Both events were a success, with the feedback from students and parents/carers being overwhelmingly positive. I know that as we all left Sydney Olympic Park, the boys were tired, hoarse, and happy, and it reinforced to me the importance of these community days for our students.

Staff new to the College were impressed with the joy the boys demonstrated in barracking for their houses, their competitiveness and the good-natured relationship between staff and students.

Why? Educators at boys' schools celebrate and value the intellectual, physical, social, and emotional complexity of all that it means to be a boy.

Using FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), researchers have observed differences between the developing male and female brain that demonstrate why boys and girls learn in different ways:

Boys' brains are wired to require movement, space, action, and rest.
Boys learn better when material is presented in small portions.

In a school that is boy-centred, teachers introduce more kinaesthetic and sensory experiences into their curriculum engaging boys more fully in their learning. The importance of meaningful and purposeful, authentic work is vital to engage boys. These carnivals are an expression of the way we embrace boys' competitiveness, physical activity, and energy.

These carnivals are a classic example of how Rites of Passage built into the boys’ learning is so vital for them. Participating in a carnival, on a deeper level, transforms basic boy behaviour, which has them at the centre of the universe, to healthy man behaviour where they realise they are part of a community whose their actions affect others.

In our context, the Year 12 boys rise up to lead the carnival and healthy barracking. They wear their House colours with pride and wear fun costumes – a gaggle of bananas in pyjamas, sumo wrestlers and action figures – catch the younger boys’ attention and they know that when the time comes, it will be their turn to take on the leadership of the carnival – a true rite of passage.

All the boys who can swim or run, do so. They are challenged to participate in appropriate physical challenges, and those who cannot, work behind the scenes to assist staff.

In every Indigenous community around the world, boys have always gone through a coming-of-age rite of passage ceremony around the time of puberty. These communities did this to:

acknowledge and celebrate the transition from boy to young man, and
recognise and name the unique gifts and talents in each of the young men.

Despite living independently and with no contact with each other, all these communities did similar things:

used stories as a way of passing on wisdom and knowledge
created appropriate physical challenges for their young men
recognised each of them for their individual gifts and talents, their genius and spirit.

Our society’s lack of formal rites of passage run by the elders of our communities has meant that generations of young men are learning how to be a man through the media and the internet (porn now being the standard form of sex education). Our young men are increasingly engaging in dangerous risk-taking behaviours, and they feel unseen and lost (Rubinstein, A, The Making of Men).

I ask that parents/carers reflect on the importance of these community days to minimise the absentee rate for these events. There were 77 boys absent across the College (4.8% of the student population), some of whom were absent for good reason (funerals, family situations and sickness). However, I cannot accept that so many lads would be so sick that they could not attend on the day; rather, the boys preferred to remain at home, and parents supported their decision.

For the next Community day, I would like to be able to count our absentees on one hand. I want as many boys as possible to be challenged to be part of such a day. Attending such days, a day that takes on the concept of a Rite of Passage, can support students to progress through the stages of their development both emotionally and educationally (which should, of course, be combined anyway). Importantly, it can also bring the whole school community together to celebrate every individual and bring meaning and a sense of purposeful responsibility to young people on the cusp of adulthood.

Algorithms and Adolescents

Are you curious about how digital platforms are influencing your son/s online experiences?

This free, 30-minute webinar, hosted by the Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP) in collaboration with the eSafety Commissioner is for you.

It is on Wednesday 19 March 2025, 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM. You can register via the QR Code.

Land-Banking

In late 2024, two properties became available that border our current College boundary at the back of the Duffy Building, the Fatima Cricket Nets and the Gymnasium. The properties at 171 and 173 Albert Road were put on the open market.

I am pleased to announce that the College, with the support of EREA NSW Colleges, have purchased the two properties, in one line, which is a large parcel of land, two weeks ago.

This was an unexpected purchase but one which will secure the College’s future in the area. We will now review our Master Plan to include this land purchase as we have so many more options for the future.

In the meantime, we have much to refurbish in our current plan and facilities and I ask each family to continue to pay our Building Levy, which is tax deductible, to allow for us to improve our classrooms for our current students.

Staff News

This Friday we farewell Ms Giselle Grapé who will be finishing with the College following 20 years of dedicated service. We wish Ms Grapé all the best as she moves into retirement and new endeavours.
We keep one of our past Junior School teachers, Mr Mark Leary, in our thoughts and prayers, on the recent loss of his beloved brother, Tim. May he rest in perpetual peace.

Year 5 Parents “Cocktails by Scientia”

One of the most important things to learn when raising your teenagers is who their friends are and then building a connection with their parents/carers.

It’s a long, eight-year journey and having those close connections to one another will only enhance your son’s growth into manhood. This year, we have changed things a little in response to feedback from previous years. It is a parent-only event, and we are asking you to wear the colour of your son’s classroom (Orange, black, etc) so that your son’s classmates are easily identifiable, and connections can be made more easily (and in a fun way!). It is also an opportunity to meet the staff in an informal setting. We all look forward to seeing you there!

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

SPC boys can do anything!

**except divide by zero

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