7Christmas visitors

Yesterday, some very special VIPs paid us a surprise visit, bringing the magic of Christmas to SPC! Santa, his elves, the Grinch (who’s apparently in a good mood this year!) and ‘Moodolph’ the red nosed cow swapped their usual tools and mowers for candy canes and a sleigh.

Our incredible Maintenance team, who keep our grounds looking amazing, transformed into festive legends spreading Christmas cheer and sweet treats as they cruised through the College. Thank you to our ‘Santa Squad’, aka Will, Tom, Sean, Glenn and Luke, for bringing joy to our day.

Reverse Advent activities

Congratulations to everyone involved in another fantastic fundraiser and morale booster on Thursday. The sausage sizzle was a huge success, with all sausages sold, most of the drinks gone and plenty of Zooper Doopers enjoyed! It's estimated the event raised a substantial profit of between $500 and $1,000 for the Reverse Advent initiative.

A special shout out to Mr John Sullivan, Jensen Coelho and the Student Council for organising the event, which also included a Staff v Student netball match, as well as Mr Dean Hackwill, Ms Wendy Porter and Ms Pope for their great work on the day. A special thank you to Ms Karen Spezza who pre-cooked the sausages - your help made it all possible!

In addition, $755 in monetary donations was collected alongside a generous amount of groceries. Finally, congratulations to the staff netball team on their victory. Well done, everyone!

SPC Stars of Hope - A thank you

Thank you to all the families who have supported us in raising funds for St Vincent de Paul society this year through your purchase of stars and donations. Our final tally is over $2,000 - an amazing effort! Below is a comment from Kevin Elliot, of St Vincent de Paul about what this means for them and the people they support:

Thank you and your students Geoff for your brilliant work and generous support to us at St Vincent de Paul.

As you are aware I am sure the current costs of living are becoming almost too much for many people and we are seeing that every week with increasing numbers of desperate people, many of them “first timers”, seeking assistance.

We see anywhere between 100 to 150 people a week in our assistance centre, including women fleeing domestic violence, families whose income goes mainly on rent and utilities all in a desperate situation.

We do what we can for these people but without the support that the likes of yourselves give we feel we would be fighting a losing battle. Our sincerest thanks go to you and your students once again.

If you placed an order, look out for them coming home with your student either Friday, 6 or Monday, 9 December. In this season of joy and giving, thank you for keeping others in your thoughts and offering your help to support this very worthy cause, whose vital work we are very grateful for in our community.

Merry Christmas!

Wendy Sheridan - Stars of Hope Coordinator

The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial book donation

St Patrick's College has gratefully received a number of books from The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial Ballarat.

The College was among a number of primary and secondary schools in the Ballarat region to receive a generous donation.

Sixty books were delivered to schools in December, following on from 105 books delivered in May. Since its inception in 2014, the group has kindly donated 815 books to Ballarat schools.

"This is a great achievement and one we are proud of instigating," Trustee Bill said.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial for the donation.

2026 Scholarship Program

To encourage and recognise the pursuit of excellence in all areas of school life, St Patrick’s College offers scholarships in the categories of academic excellence, general excellence/leadership, performing arts (music and drama) and sport.

Scholarships will be offered to students entering Years 7, 10 and 11 at St Patrick’s College for the 2026 school year. Scholarships allow for remission of part tuition fees throughout a student’s secondary education and are subject to satisfactory progress and review.

All students applying for a scholarship must sit an examination, conducted by Academic Assessment Services on 1 March, 2025, to be considered for the program. Registrations for our 2026 Scholarship program closes on 19 February, 2025.

Year 7 2026 Enrolments

We are now accepting applications for students entering Year 7 in 2026. Click on the link below to apply.

Two College tours will be held in Term 1, 2025, for prospective families on Monday, 10 February and Monday, 24 March at 9.30am. To register for a College tour, click on the link below.

Year 7 2026 Key Dates:

Enrolments close: 7 February, 2025

Scholarships close: 19 Feburary, 2025

Scholarship testing: 1 March, 2025

Year 7 Orientation Day: 2 December, 2025

Please note, Year 7 enrolment interviews will be held at scheduled dates throughout 2024/25 once a student's application is received.

Flanagan Art Prize - Entries now open!

Entries are now open for the St Patrick's College Flanagan Art Prize, which returns as a major competition and exhibition in 2025.

The national competition offers $18,000 in prizes across three categories - the Flanagan Art Prize, Young Flanagan Art Prize and Clontarf Art Prize.

Winners will be announced at a gala presentation at St Patrick's College on Friday, 21 March 2025, with the exhibition running from Saturday, 22 March to Sunday, 23 March.

Click on the link below for further information and to enter.

Dobsons Uniform Shop - Christmas closure

Please note that Dobsons Ballarat's final day of trade for 2024 is Saturday, 21 December from 9am-12pm. The shop, located at 29 Mair St East, will reopen on Friday, 3 January at 8.30am.

Online orders can be made via its website: https://dobsons.com.au/schools/st-patricks-college

The store's opening hours in 2025 remain the same:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 8:30am – 5:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am – 12:00pm
Wednesday: CLOSED

2025 Term Dates

Term 1

Years 7 & 12 Commence: Thursday, 30 January

All Students Commence: Friday, 31 January

Public Holiday: Monday, 10 March

Classes Conclude: Friday, 4 April

Term 2

Classes commence: Tuesday, 22 April

Public Holidays: Friday, 25 April (ANZAC Day) & Monday, 9 June (King’s Birthday)

Classes Conclude: Friday, 4 July

Term 3

All Students Commence: Tuesday, 22 July

Boarders’ Exeat: Monday, 18 August

Classes Conclude: Friday, 12 September

VCE Practice Exams: Monday, 15 September – Friday, 19 September

Term 4

All Students Commence: Monday, 6 October

Boarders' Exeat: Monday, 3 November & Tuesday, 4 November (Melbourne Cup)

Year 10-11 Head Start: Monday, 24 November – Tuesday, 9 December

Classes Conclude: Tuesday, 9 December

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