Especean

Principal

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of St Patrick’s College, 

You will notice this week that a banner will be placed on our College fence celebrating the wonderful milestone of the Bicentennial of Catholic education in Australia. In addition to this, each boy will receive a prayer card. 

 

The first Catholic school in Australia was founded in October 1820 by Irish Catholic priest John Therry. The school, which Catholic historians believe was in Hunter Street, Parramatta, taught 31 students – seven of whom were Protestants. An Irish Catholic convict, sent to the colony being convicted of embezzlement, named George Marley, opened the school for Fr Therry and ran it for three years. This school was transferred to the site of the present Parramatta Marist School junior in 1837. Parramatta Marist High School, now located in Westmead NSW, traces it origins back to this first school. 

 

Three Christian Brothers came to Sydney from Ireland in 1843 at the behest of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome. For more than ten years prior to their arrival, the missionary priests in Australia had been making overtures to the Founder of the Christian Brothers, Br Edmund Ignatius Rice, to send brothers to educate the sons of poor Catholic people in Sydney, most of whom were Irish convicts or ex-convicts. The three young Religious Brothers (all under the age of thirty) were on the same boat to Sydney. To the delight of the Irish Catholics of Sydney, each brother was given charge of a school close to the centre of the city. Poor boys flocked to the schools in large numbers and the brothers instructed them daily in religious and secular knowledge, using the monitorial methods in which they had been trained and the textbooks (mainly Readers) which the Irish Christian Brothers had published. The schools were non-fee-paying and the brothers' Vow of Gratuitous Instruction was kept intact, as they received only their upkeep from the diocese.

 

In our College’s case, the Christian Brothers opened a school on our site in 1928 next to their training centre (now the ACU). With an enrolment of 39 boys, Br Hickey oversaw the growth of the College that catered for the growing residential population of the Inner West. In 2007 the Brothers entrusted the mission in education — inherited from Edmund Rice — to a new body: the Australian schools with their governing and administrative structures formed Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA).

 

In the main, the Brothers have directed their energies to work with those most in need. Ministries with refugees, with Indigenous people, for social justice, with the struggling of Africa and East Timor and the Philippines have become new foci of ministry. Throughout the world, the Congregation is finding opportunities for growth in bringing hope where needed.

 

The Council and Board of EREA were entrusted with the governance of the schools. In turn, they appoint an Executive which administers the schools; ensure their faithfulness to their mission; and maintain relationships with Church and government authorities.

 

EREA, as part of the mission of the Catholic Church, was charged with the responsibility for the governance of over 50 schools throughout Australia. Each school has a separate character and history but all draw life from the same charism of Edmund Rice and from the Gospel.

 

Today, Catholic education has grown to 1,751 Catholic schools in Australia educating around one in five or 768,000 students and employing 98,000 teachers and staff. We recognise the contribution of all those who came before us to build Catholic education in Australia and we look to the future with faith and hope for the contribution of generations to come. There is much to celebrate, so we pray to our Lord:

 

Almighty and all-loving God,

with gratitude for the endeavours of Catholic education in the past,

with confidence in our Catholic pre-schools, schools and universities today,

and with faith in their continuing contribution in the future,

we celebrate 200 years of Catholic education in this Great South Land.

 

As our Heavenly Father,

we thank you for your providential care for your children in this land

in inspiring priests, religious and lay people

to found and staff our schools in ages past.

Through them, the Good News of your Son was brought to the young

even in colonial times – and ever since.

 

As Christ the Teacher,

you grace the staff and leaders of Catholic education today.

As they build on the achievements of their predecessors

direct them in their present efforts

to ensure that every young Australian has the opportunity 

for an excellent education and formation in faith.

 

As our Inspiring Spirit,

you lead us into the future.

In the century ahead grant those teaching and

learning in our schools,

those planning and leading,

and the families and communities that entrust 

their young people to us,

a love of learning and a willingness to be the

face of Christ

in the world of tomorrow.

 

Pour out your abundant blessings upon all involved

in the ministry of Catholic education. Amen

Current COVID Restrictions

I wanted to take this opportunity to inform parents of where we are at with COVID-19 restrictions at the College. It has been unfortunate that many of our parent gatherings have not been able to proceed and at the time of this publication, with respect to parents outside of school hours, gatherings are limited to 30 people indoors and 50 people outdoors for schools within Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong. Parents and visitors therefore must register for sports fixtures.

 

This has meant that our usual welcome events for Year 5 and their parents have moved into the virtual sphere, as have other social events. You will be advised as soon as restrictions are lifted. A reminder that parents and carers are not allowed on school sites or at off-site school events held during school hours except for the following purposes only:

  • Essential parent and carer meetings with teachers and/or school executives, with a scheduled appointment. This includes scheduled meetings with parents and carers of prospective students.
  • Parents and carers who attend a school administration building or another defined location for the purpose of picking up their child if they are unwell or where they have been asked to arrange for a COVID-19 test after their child has displayed flu-like symptoms while at school.
  • Parents and carers who need to be on-site for canteen and uniform shop duties or to collect or purchase uniforms.
  • Parent or carer volunteers required as educational support roles for activities essential to the delivery of the curriculum such as reading groups, music, dance and kitchen garden areas. Schools are required to have scheduled programs in place and remind parents and carers that they must not attend school unless it has been previously arranged.

Condolences

Please keep in your prayers Joseph Lombardo (Year 8) on the loss of his grandfather Vito Lombardo.

 

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

 

SPC boys can do anything! *
*except divide by zero