Principal's report

Student Leaders

In recent weeks, the College has been through the annual process of selecting its new student leaders who will sit on the Student Council. This includes talking with all Year 11 students about the leadership roles on the Student Council and the steps they need to take in relation to applying for a leadership role. 

The process includes the students composing and submitting a letter of application, feedback from their teachers and all students in the Senior School, as well as attending an interview to discuss their leadership aspirations and the skills they feel they might bring to a role. These interviews were conducted over the last couple of weeks. 

It was a genuine pleasure to be a part of these and to engage with the boys as they articulated their leadership vision for the College and the positive impact they hoped to make as a student leader. 

Following this process, I am pleased to advise the College community of the following appointments to the student leadership roles for 2026-2027:

College Captains

College Captain: Jackson Turner

College Vice-Captains: Paddy Casey and Wyatt Tunstall

Boarding Leaders

Boarding Captain: Angus McNamara

Boarding Vice Captain: Jasper Delaney

Touchstone Leaders

Liberating Education: Riley Hayes

Gospel Spirituality: Jackson Goddard

Inclusive Community: Charlie Pappaluca

Justice & Solidarity: Isaac Gillett

House Captains

Galvin House: Redmond Ward and Lenny Ireland

Keniry House: Raphael Galias and Patrick Snowden

Nunan House: Fred Foley and Ollie Turner

Ryan House: Harrison Bennett and Archer Martin

I congratulate these students on being appointed to these roles on the Student Council and look forward to working with them from next term. At the same time, I acknowledge and thank the 2026 Student Council, very ably led by College Captain, George Charles and the two Vice Captains, Cam Belleville and Taj Bobrowski. These young men have done a tremendous job in serving the College community as this year’s Student Council. 

Community Events and News

The College Celebration Dinner occurred in the OCA Pavilion on Saturday, 22 August and was a tremendous occasion. The College inducted four Old Collegians as ‘Legends’ at the evening:

• John James Sheehan, Posthumous (SPC 1925-1932); 
• Ft Lt Paul Martin Pardoel, Posthumous (SPC 1982-1987); 
• Brig Eamon Patrick Lenaghan A.M. C.S.C (SPC 1985-1990); 
• Archbishop Shane Anthony Mackinlay (SPC 1977-1982)

I place on record my thanks to the team who put many hours into the dinner – Halina Sztynda, Lorrie Liston, Tanya Drake, Dean Hackwill, Alan McKinnon, Brendan Eckel, Katie Spurgo, Andrew Jirik and thanks to Peter Wilson, Chair of the School Advisory Council for taking on the role of Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

The annual Break the Cycle event will occur on Friday, 28 – Saturday, 29 August in the Pavilion. This is a student-led event and aims to raise awareness around the significant issue of gendered violence, as well as raising money in support of two local agencies that support female victims of domestic violence. This is the third year that our student leaders have organised and promoted this event. I commend them for doing this and look forward to supporting it across the 24 hours this weekend. 

A Blue Tree now stands in the front gardens of St Patrick’s College, providing a permanent tribute to Old Collegian Rohan Cosgriff (SPC 2018-2022) and a powerful reminder of the importance of mental health, wellbeing and looking out for one another. 

The tree was unveiled and blessed on Thursday, 20 August with Rohan’s parents, Rebecca and Anthony, and his brother Darcy (SPC 2015-2020), joining members of the SPC community for the ceremony. 

The initiative was first proposed by 2025 Vice Captain Brendan Monaghan and brought to life through the commitment of the 2025 and 2026 Student Councils, with Brendan and current student leaders Daniel O’Brien and Lachlan Lloyd playing key roles in bringing the project to fruition. 

The Blue Tree Project is a mental health awareness initiative that uses blue-painted trees and sculptures as visible reminders to start conversations about mental health and wellbeing. It began in regional Western Australia in 2019 following the tragic death of Jayden Whyte in 2018.  

The College enjoyed the annual SPC in Concert on Wednesday, 26 August in the Performing Arts Centre. This concert is always a highlight in the College calendar and this year’s event did not disappoint. It is encouraging to see our young men in these showcase performances and the standard of the performances increasing all the time! My congratulations to Tim Snibson, Katrina Bird and all involved in this year’s SPC in Concert!

Teaching and Learning at St Patrick’s 

St Patrick’s continues to reflect on how teaching and learning can best respond to the needs of boys and young men in a changing world. The recent Teaching and Learning Review provided an opportunity to listen closely to staff and students, recognise effective practice already occurring across the College and identify areas for further development.

More than 25 staff are now contributing to the Teaching and Learning Group, considering how the College can continue to strengthen teaching and the conditions that support learning. Communities of professional practice will also provide opportunities for teachers to learn from one another and build on effective practice across the College.

The voice of the boys remains particularly important. As part of the review they spoke clearly about wanting respectful classrooms where behaviour supports learning and where they have opportunities to participate, think and be challenged. 

They also spoke with a strong sense of aspiration about their futures, and about wanting their learning at St Patrick’s to open possibilities and prepare them well for the pathways they choose beyond SPC.

The work ahead will build on what is already working while maintaining a clear focus: how can we continue to improve the experience of learning for every boy at St Patrick’s?