Junior School

A Hello and a Goodbye...

Mrs Jacinta Young will soon begin her parental leave, a very exciting time for her and her husband and we wish them all the best. I am pleased to announce that Mrs Robyn Withford, who started at the College today, has been appointed as the Year 6 Blue teacher for the remainder of 2021. Mrs Withford has previously worked in the Junior School, but more recently has been a classroom teacher within the Parramatta Diocese. I am delighted to welcome her back to St Patrick’s and I look forward to us working together. 

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the special contribution that Mrs Young has made to the Junior School and the broader College through her work as Junior School Religious Education Coordinator. I look forward to welcoming her back to that role when the time comes. 

Parent Teacher interviews

Thank you to all the families who have already come in to meet with their son’s teacher. It has been great to see parents face-to-face after missing out on this last year. These meetings are an important way to let your son know that you love and care for him, and that his education at St Patrick’s is important to you. I am sure it is a pleasure for you all to hear about his goals, strengths, and achievements.

Mid-year break

The three-week mid-year break is a great chance for young boys to unplug from their studies, unwind and spend social time with friends and family members. Although some screen-based playtime is fine, I encourage more face-to-face play time. If it is possible for you to facilitate some visits with friends, or catch ups in the park and so on, please do. This is a much better way of cementing friendships than boys gaming online together. This is fine in moderation, but it is no substitute for real interaction.

Although I encourage boys to take a genuine break from schoolwork, I do also encourage daily reading to continue throughout the break. This is especially the case if a boy is not yet a confident or fluent reader. We certainly know, when boys return from holidays, who has been reading and who has not! A trip to the local library is highly recommended. Do not forget the many other things local libraries offer, such as audio books, which are brilliant for a shared experience on a road trip (much better than everyone with their own ear plugs in!).

Junior School student awards

Congratulations to the many boys who have earned recognition for their excellent work and behaviour in recent months.

Certificates of Commendation, Year 6

Peter Ghaleb, Jean-Marc Scundi, Jackson Tan

Commendation Awards – Year 5

Benicio Apostle, Ryan Banaghan, Christopher Berbari, Levi Berbari, Andre Bilotta, Aidan Bohl, Paul Boumelhem x2, Baille Brogden, Harry Bugden, Benjamin Calleja x2, Micah Cammileri, Myles Chan, Raphael Cippolone, Emilio Cotroneo x2, Alexander Dabit x2, Alexander Dang, Miguel De Nobrega x2, Marcus Di Cristo, Jerry Di Girolamo, Angus Doolin, Leon Doyle, Ryan Eagleson, Isaac El-Zarif, Lucas Ettorre, Rafael Feher x2, Lachlan Feige, Lucas Gideon, Louis Gilroy, Jack Hannan, Nathaniel Hoang, Noah Ianni, Anthony Ibrahim, Raul Kandiah, Olawe Kelly-Hanku x2, Massimo Mazza, William Milton, Finlay Muir x2, Isaac Neville, Xavier O’Beid, Luca Ortado x2, Andrew Parra, Maximillian Peer, Alexander Pham, Ben Prichard, John-Paul Rahme, James Regina x2, Salvatore Sciacca, Aidan Scullion, Joseph Showah x2, Max Simon x2, Nathan Sleiman, Dimitri Staveris x2, Charbel Taouk, Will Taylor x2, Nathan Touma, Peter Touma, Jack Trad, Nathan Trovato, Stephen Tsabalas, Isaac Turco, Romeo Vecchio, Luca Vigolo x2, Nathan Wong x2, Joshua Ziino x2

Commendation Awards – Year 6

Phillip Alphonse, George Antoune, Julian Ardore, George Avakoumides, Zac Bechara, Jonathan Berkmann, Joshua Brown, Rhys Burnicle, Massimo Cammerari, William Chen, Aidan Clarke, Matthew Daoud, Aidan Darlow, Christian Dellacorte, Luca Di Gori, Marco Di Martino, Desmond Drinias, Cillian Frisby, Christian Georgy, Peter Ghaleb, Isaac Giunta, William Gliddon, Andrew Ibrahim x3, Daniel Karam, Cody Kolman x3, Joshua Lattanzi, Gilbert Mahony, Simon Malki, James Mannah, Timothy McCormick, Terence Michael, Nicholas Morizzi, Dominic Moses x2, Samuel Naccarella, Benjamin Nasr x2, Elliot Nguyen, Gianluca Ocello, Marco Polito, Benjamin Proszenko, Cooper Pursehouse, Jake Quailey x2, Marcello Romeo, Thomas Saliba, Jackson Santiago, Jean-Marc Scundi x3, James Stack, Nicholas Stojanovski, Xavier Tafaro, Jackson Tan x5, Harrison Ticli, Luca Torre x2, Harvey Truscott, Ashton Tullipan, Kian White x4, Henry Whitehead, Noah Young, Noah Youssef.

Best wishes to all for the mid-year break.

God Bless.

Ben Munday 

Director of Junior School