Curriculum

Higher School Certificate Examinations Conclude

By the time the HSC written examinations conclude on Thursday 2 December, 172 Year 12 St Patrick’s College students will have completed 1,138 HSC papers in 34 courses. Many thanks must go to the parents and carers who gave their time so generously to assist our NESA HSC Presiding Officer, Mrs Joanne Saric, with the administration and supervision of the examinations. Their professionalism and competence have ensured the smooth running of this important enterprise. Thanks must also go to the parents and carers who volunteered their time as reader/writers for those boys with special examination needs.

Higher School Certificate Results and Credentials

Each student of the graduating Class of 2021 will receive the Higher School Certificate Testamur and the Higher School Certificate Record of Achievement which lists the results in all HSC courses satisfactorily completed.

The HSC Record of Achievement will include students' Year 11 Preliminary course grades and their Year 10 grades. This provides formal recognition of students' senior secondary school achievements. The HSC results, Year 11 Preliminary grades and Year 10 grades will appear on separate pages of the Higher School Certificate Record of Achievement.

Students will be able to access their HSC results by telephone, SMS and the internet via the NESA Students Online website next year on Monday 24 January 2022. Students will receive their credentials by mail soon afterwards.

End of Term, the Holidays and Year 12-2022 HSC Preparations

I would like to encourage all boys of Year 11 to use the upcoming holidays wisely and not to let the time pass without having done substantial preparation for the 2022 HSC.

Preparation for the Year 12 Assessment Block, which commences Monday 28 February, is essential. There will be enough time to enjoy the upcoming festive season and holidays with family and friends as well as time for constructive study.

It has certainly been a very busy Term 4 for all and the boys are obviously looking forward to the break.

I wish all parents, carers and boys a joyful and peaceful Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a safe return to Term 1 in 2022.

God Bless.

Michael Cutrupi 

Director of Curriculum

NSW Middle School Ethics Olympiad

Recently, seven Year 9 Philosophy students became ‘Ethletes’ for the day as they took part in the annual NSW Ethics Olympiad. The Olympiad is a competition which sees teams of students address moral and ethical issues with a collaborative approach – the aim being for both teams to present their ideas and build on each other’s arguments to try to come to a conclusion. This year students grappled with dilemmas around gender roles, lying, moral obligations when donating to charity and climate change. 

The online format not only brought students together from across the state, but also judges were able to dial in from faraway places such as New Zealand and the USA.  This gave students the rare opportunity to hear constructive feedback and advice from these experienced people actually working in the field of Ethics.

Although our St Patrick’s College team didn’t place this year, they were given an honourable mention from the judges for a job well done. Congratulations boys!

Heidi Viney 

Diverse Learning Team

Year 8 Mathematics

As we come to the end of Term 4, Year 8 Mathematics (MA7) have been working frantically to collect data from their peers to analyse their results. The students thoroughly enjoyed collecting information from their peers and starting conversations with members of the classroom regarding the topic they had chosen. 

This exercise allowed the students to apply the content they have learnt in class to a real-world problem and see how Mathematics is used in one aspect of today’s society. 

Too often students raise the question “Where is Mathematics used every day?” and this exercise was a perfect example of how the analysis of Statistics greatly benefits our understanding of trends and behaviours around the world.

Below are a few key samples of the student’s final posters.

Michaela Hyo Jeong Lee

Mathematics Teacher