Junior School

Term 1 Reflections

As we enter the final weeks of Term 1, it’s a great time to reflect on all that we’ve achieved so far. At the beginning of the term, our primary aim in the Junior School program was to support the boys in starting the year off on the right foot. Whether it was settling into new routines, meeting new friends, or building foundational academic skills, the goal was to ensure they felt confident, supported, and excited about their learning journey ahead.

We've seen tremendous progress in both classroom activities and social development, with the boys demonstrating enthusiasm for their lessons and forming strong connections with their peers and teachers. The commitment from both staff and students has made this a smooth and successful beginning to the year.

Our focus has now shifted to supporting the students in finishing the term well. The boys owe it to themselves – they’ve put in the hard work during the early weeks of Term 1 and have set themselves up to conclude the first chapter of the academic year with aplomb. With continued effort and dedication, we’re confident they will finish strong and take pride in all they’ve achieved.

Positive Wellbeing Program

The Year 7 students recently participated in the first of a three-part workshop series facilitated by Ballarat Community Health as part of the Positive Wellbeing Program. During these workshops, the boys explored important concepts such as respectful relationships, resilience, and being safe online. The program also tackles key issues like bullying, calling out problematic behaviour, rumour spreading, and the influence of peers. I hope the students enjoyed the first session and are looking forward to engaging in the remaining workshops later in the term, where we will continue to build on these valuable lessons.

Year 8 Camp

The Year 8 students recently returned from their camp at the Lady Northcote Camp, where more than 200 students participated. The aim of the camp is to foster and support new and existing relationships and support the boys in stepping outside their comfort zones – all while having plenty of fun! I’d like to congratulate the boys for the way they conducted themselves throughout the experience. On behalf of the camp staff, I would like to thank the boys for making it a positive and enjoyable experience for all involved.

Camps are hard – and that’s exactly the point. There are challenges that come with being away from home, working in groups with students who may not be close friends, sleeping in cabins with unfamiliar faces, and dining alongside 200 other people. These may seem like small everyday things, but they can form the real challenges of a school camp. While the boys may or may not have been challenged by the camp activities as such, the boys were certainly pushed to navigate situations that required teamwork, patience, and adaptability. 

Despite these challenges, the boys were always supported by staff and peers, and they found within themselves the resilience to problem-solve and rise to the occasion.

I am incredibly proud of all the Year 8 boys who attended the camp and would like to thank all the staff who helped make it such a rewarding experience. I hope the boys learned something about themselves and feel even more equipped as members of both the St Patrick’s and broader community.

A special thanks goes to the following staff for their support of the camp and the time they gave up from their busy schedules: 

Mr Whittingham, Mrs Rossato, Mr Ryan, Mr Verbeek, Mr Fernee, Mr Hendrickson, Mrs Harrington, Ms Stevenson, Mr Ebbels, Mr Fryar, Mr Grace, Mr O'Brien, Ms Rice, Mr Stickland, Mr Barfoot, Mr Stevens, and Mr Wilson. I’d like to extend particular thanks to the Year 8 Coordinators, Mr Hearn and Mrs Lamanna, for spearheading the operations of the camp and extend my appreciation to the camp staff at the Lady Northcote Camp. 

Junior School House Soccer Competition

The Shed Oval soccer pitch was pumping on Wednesday at lunch time for the first round of the Junior School House Soccer Competition. The Year 7 students kicked off the event in fantastic style, and they’ll be joined next week by their Year 8 teammates for Round 2. It was great to see such high levels of participation and enthusiasm from the Year 7 cohort – well done to everyone who got involved and showed their team spirit!

NAPLAN

The Year 7 cohort has been completing their NAPLAN assessments this week, and we’d like to remind families that testing continues next week with the following sessions:

• March 18: Conventions of Language
• March 19: Numeracy