Principal's report

CoRE Alliance

St Patrick’s College is pleased to announce we have recently become a member of the Communities of Respect and Equality (CoRE) Alliance. The CoRE Alliance is a region-wide approach to prevent violence against women and their children in the Grampians. The CoRE Plan sets a vision for “A safe, equal and respectful society for everyone” and invites all organisations, businesses, clubs and networks in the region, who share this vision, to become members of the Alliance and start working collectively, with mutually reinforcing actions towards that vision.

Our membership of CoRE aligns comfortably and positively with our commitment to ensuring that a St Patrick’s education is characterised by respectful relationships and our commitment to developing Character, Compassion and Community in all of our students.

On Wednesday of this week, a group of SPC students engaged with members of the Melbourne Storm team at the College in a workshop raising awareness around the issue of gendered based violence. The workshop is a National Rugby League (NRL) initiative and is designed to increase awareness around this serious issue and practical advice on how everyone can contribute to preventing it.

Being a member of the CoRE alliance will provide students and staff at the College access to a range of activities, workshops and resources to assist in developing a safe and respectful community for all.   

NAPLAN

The annual NAPLAN assessments commenced at the College this week for students in Years 7 and 9. These assessments form an important part of the educational journey for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in schools across Australia. These tests provide a snapshot in relation to each student’s progress in key Literacy and Numeracy skills, and I hope that all of our students navigated the tests as well as possible this week and next.

Whilst NAPLAN provide an important snapshot into a student’s literacy and numeracy skills, it cannot and does not measure the achievements and progress of students across so many areas of their educational journey. A school’s internal assessments, monitoring and reporting of each student provides parents and the community with key updates and data in relation to the holistic educational journey of each student. NAPLAN informs and complements this information, and it is important that we recognise and respect the place of this data and the school’s internal and on-going data as we work with each student and his family. 

St Patrick’s Day

I am looking forward to next Monday’s St Patrick’s Day Mass, assembly and celebrations. This is one of the College’s key community days and it is always thoroughly enjoyable to witness the boys as they participate in the activities across the Feast Day! 

It is important for us as a school to celebrate the many strengths of our community. St Patrick’s Day is a wonderful expression of our Catholic identity, our heritage from the Irish Christian Brothers who established St Patrick’s College in 1893 and the vibrant community which we experience each day at the College. 

The green donuts are always a hit with the boys, as is the video which outlines the background and history of St Patrick himself, and the role he is said to have played in converting Ireland to Catholicism!

Happy St Patrick’s Day!  

Flanagan Art Exhibition

The Flanagan Art exhibition returns to the College next weekend and I am really looking forward to this significant gathering and exhibition. 

The Flanagan Art Exhibition first occurred at the College in 2008 and was named in honour of an Old Collegian, Noel Flanagan, who was the Curator at the Australian War Memorial. 

The exhibition allowed artists from across Australia to enter their works of art, competing for a cash prize for the work selected as the winning piece. The Flanagan is an acquisitive art prize and therefore, the College purchases the winning artwork to add to its art collection, which is on permanent display at the College. 

The primary goal of the Flanagan was to enrich the cultural experience of our students and to celebrate the importance of and strengthen our commitment to the arts at the College. 

This year, we received entries from artists from each State and Territory across Australia. The standard of the art works is very high and I look forward to seeing it exhibited in the OCA Pavilion across the weekend of 21-23 March. 

Thanks to Ms Wendy Sheridan and members of the College’s Art Faculty for their work over many weeks in preparing for the Flanagan Art Exhibition!

1st XI Cricket 

Congratulations to the members of the 1st XI Cricket team for making their way into the Grand Final of the ACC Competition following a comprehensive win against St Bernard’s College this week. The details of the grand final are yet to be determined, but I wish the team and their coach, Mr Steve Biggin, all the very best for their final game of the season!