Faith, Justice and Formation 

Our Alice Springs Partnership is Back on Track

Throughout the last week of Term 3 and the start of the holidays, the Year 11 Immersion Group embarked on our immersion to Alice Springs, to interact with and further establish bonds with the fellas at St Joseph’s Catholic Flexible Centre. Over this eleven-day experience, we spent seven of those with the fellas out in Alice Springs (Arrernte country) and the latter 3 in Uluru (Anangu territory). For the St Patrick’s fellas, we took this immersion as a unique, lasting experience. We established close and strong relationships with some of the St Joey’s fellas and were taught first-hand the Dreaming of the sites that we visited, which showed us how important the land really is. Those seven days left us with established bonds, not only with each other, but with our Aboriginal brothers making it hard to come to terms with our departure from Alice Springs. In the last 3 days of the immersion, we had the privilege to experience Uluru, Kata Tjuta and King’s Canyon which left us breathless due to the size and distance of the sites. Looking back on it from just over a month ago, the 2022 Alice Springs Immersion Group see it as one of the greatest experiences of our lives and I encourage all boys in lower years that when it comes time to apply, consider it because it is a life changing experience.

We grew in relationship, connection, appreciation, knowledge of the heart of Australia and deep partnership. We also grew in awe of our land and seek to improve the conditions of our First Nations peoples, as we embrace the Uluru Statement from the Heart and all it has to offer.

Nicholas Migliorino

Year 11 Student

Parents' Winter Sleep Out Reflection

On Friday 29 July 2022, we had 12 parents, Ms Daley and Mr van der Meer (also a parent) come together for the inaugural Parents' Winter Sleep Out. A huge thank you to both of them for organising this evening for us – and doing the sleep out 2 weeks in a row!

As I walked through the gates of SPC for the evening, I wondered how much I would get out of imitating a night on the streets being homeless. What I walked out with was an appreciation of not only the indignities, but an insight of how and why this still happens in our ‘lucky country’. We started the evening with a simple supper of soup, then we watched a couple clips and discussed homelessness before sorting out some donated goods. Even though sleeping in the corridors was cold and uncomfortable, the discussions that we had and feelings that were shared will remain with me always. Our hope is that this evening will grow in the years to come and that all parents at SPC will have the opportunity to contribute to this incredible initiative. 

Sarah Akle 

Member of Parent SOL