Principal's report

St Patrick’s Day

Today, we celebrated the feast day of St Patrick in true SPC style — with spirit, energy, joy and tradition. St Patrick’s Day is, without doubt, one of our favourite days on the College calendar as students and staff move out of the classrooms and come together as a community for our annual Mass, Assembly and other House-based activities.

For our Year 7 students, this was their first taste of our St Patrick’s Day celebrations and the joy on their faces was unmistakable as they participated in a variety of events with their ‘House’ peers. Similarly, our Year 12 students relished the opportunity to celebrate the much-loved traditions of St Patrick’s Day, such as the green donuts, barbecue lunch and the presentation of their Year 12 badges, one final time.

Special thanks to Mr Geoff Brodie, Assistant Principal: Mission & Identity, and members of the College Mission Team for their efforts in preparing the day of celebrations. Thanks also to all staff who helped organise and run events throughout the day.

Finally, thank you to our students. Your energy and high spirits is what makes this place truly special, and it was evident in spades today. Well done!     

International Women’s Day

As an all-boys’ school, and as a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition, the messages promoted via International Women’s Day are important and reflect our approaches and commitment to developing young men marked by genuine character, compassion, respect and community.

It is pleasing to participate in the Respect Cup each year in support of International Women’s Day. I was fortunate to be present for some of the day on Wednesday, 6 March and was encouraged to see how our young men supported the teams from Loreto College and Sacred Heart College as the main focus of the day. It was also terrific to see Head of HaPE Carly Twaits co-coaching the SPC side as they took on the team from St Joseph’s. Thanks to all involved in this year’s Respect Cup.

Last Friday, we also welcomed members of our community to the Performing Arts Centre for an afternoon tea and keynote address by Offspring Project founder Kristi Davidson. Kristi spoke about the work her not-for-profit organisation is doing to educate and liberate women caught up in human trafficking in India, and I thank Kristi and all those who attended this event. 

It is important that we take time to mark IWD with events and gatherings like this. There is clearly a lot of work still to be done in this area and it is easy to feel discouraged when you hear about the rates of domestic violence, and the gender inequality that still exists in too many settings. But in this sense, the work that we continue to do with our students, current and future, is incredibly important. Promoting respectful relationships and highlighting the injustices that need to be addressed is central to our vision of educating hope-filled, compassionate and confident young men for their place in the world.

I acknowledge and sincerely thank our incredible women staff, friends and colleagues who bring so much energy, wisdom, compassion, courage, intelligence, love and joy to our community.

NAPLAN

This week, our Years 7 and 9 students completed the first two NAPLAN assessments, with the final two tests to be undertaken next week.

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests students on their reading, numeracy, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Established in 2008, it’s an essential tool that helps us evaluate our students’ progress and identify areas where additional support may be needed. It also provides valuable insights that guide our teaching and learning strategies.

In 2023, NAPLAN underwent significant changes to the way it’s conducted, including a move to online testing, timing changes (testing now occurs much earlier in the year) and changes to the way NAPLAN data is collected and reported. 

This year, schools will receive preliminary results in all domains except writing (which takes longer to mark) early next term in a bid by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority to help teachers implement findings as soon as possible. Parents and carers will receive their child’s results at the start of Term 3, with national results to follow in August.

We look forward to receiving and evaluating these results next term, and examining our practices to ensure we continue to deliver an exceptional education to all of our students.

Coffee and Conversations

The first of our Coffee and Conversations sessions will be held on Tuesday, 19 March, in our Performing Arts Centre. These informal sessions are open to members of our existing community, as well as prospective parents, and aim to highlight the programs, events and opportunities available at SPC.

At the first session, Acting Deputy Principal, Ms Carol Roberts, will outline the teaching and learning strategies the College has developed and implemented in the classrooms. We look forward to welcoming you there and enjoying a chat over a cuppa!

Please register your attendance via this TryBooking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CPUBG 

Vale Robert Brennan

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of our friend and well-respected former colleague, Mr Rob Brennan, on Saturday, 9 March.

Rob was Deputy Headmaster at St Patrick’s College from 2002 to 2006, before leaving to take up his first Principal role at Nagle College, Bairnsdale, in 2007. Rob passed away after a short battle with cancer. We keep Rob, Tracey and their family in our prayers and thoughts at this sad time. 

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.