Co-curricular - Junior Sport

Junior Sport

Literally hundreds of boys in the Junior School finished Term 2 with a bang, as they ran to the tune of the starters pistol at the Annual House Athletics Carnival. With perfect weather and the new Scientia Building as the backdrop, a dazzling day was surely ahead. The day moved swiftly, with many great performances, close finishes and in what can only be described as a universal anomaly, the students finally defeated the staff in the Staff versus Student relay. 

A big thank you to all our parent spectators, you really added to the atmosphere on the day. Also, to all the staff working tirelessly on the day and huge vote of thanks. Without all your efforts on the day, we don’t have a carnival and it is the work you do on the various stations that makes our day a success. 

In the end it was Berg House that won the day, closely followed by Coghlan and Crichton. Congratulations to Xavier Khoury of Year 6 who set a new record in the 12 Years 100m race. The old mark was set in 2021 by Xavier Milewski at 13.50 seconds. Xavier Khoury has now advanced that record to 13.43 seconds. An amazing run!

Over the mid-year break, many of the boys in the Junior School have been able to take the time to rest, recover and prepare for the coming second semester. Others have used their time to continue to train and compete in activities outside the College. We are blessed in the Junior School to have a wide variety of talented students that excel across multiple areas. Over the holidays there were a number of students representing their district in the NSWJRU State Gala. Boys from St Patrick’s College represented in teams such as Norths, Southern Districts and West Harbour. From all reports the boys played well and most importantly enjoyed their Rugby carnival. 

The popularity of martial arts is seemingly growing with more boys at the College getting involved. During the holidays Antonio Ancona received his Black Belt in Taekwondo. An excellent achievement after four short years in the sport. Those of you who read the Especean regularly will no doubt be familiar with Dante Barbanera and his achievements in Jiu Jitsu. Over the holidays Dante won the Gold Coast and Queensland State Titles. He moves on to the ACT Championships and the Australian National Titles. All going well, Dante will have the opportunity to compete in the World Titles at the end of the year. We wish him and all the boys in the Junior School the best of luck in their sporting endeavors.

The development and success in the Junior School does not stop with the students. Over the Term break, Mr McCarthy of 5 Black made his First Grade Shute Shield debut as a referee. This is a great achievement, and anyone involved in Rugby will understand the effort that is required to get to this level. After refereeing his first match, Mr McCarthy has gone on to cover a further two First Grade matches. Who knows, we all might get the opportunity to see him on the television in next year’s Shute Shield. Well done, Sir!

With the beginning of Term 3, comes the end of the Winter sport season for the Junior School. We only have three rounds remaining before the season officially ends. Games will take place this Saturday 22 July, Saturday 29 July and the final round to be held on Saturday 5 August. Training will continue as normal during this time. 

This Saturday 22 July, the boys in Year 5 will attend their Supporters’ Day. This will be the first home game with the new grandstand seating under the Scientia Building. Very exciting! Boys are to meet in the Powell Pavilion no later than 12:45 PM to have their names marked off. From there, Year 5 will move up to SPC 2 to support the First XI Football team. They will then move down to Breen Oval for the First XV Rugby match. Boys will be dismissed at the conclusion of the Rugby at around 5:00 PM. Boys are to wear their black Supporter’s polo shirt, black College crested shorts, white socks, and runners. If it is cold, the College tracksuit should be worn. This is a compulsory day for boys and any student absent will require a medical certificate. Those boys that are not in attendance will be allocated an alternative activity to attend. I look forward to seeing all the boys in Year 5 supporting our senior teams this weekend.

Good luck to all those competing for the College this weekend. Play hard, play fair and above all enjoy yourselves.

John Locke

Junior School Coordinator of Co-Curricular