Deputy Principal

As I write this article, I reflect on my day. I am blessed that I wake up every day and get to walk through the front gates of St Patrick’s College. A College with a rich history and many stories. Every year new stories are created when our youngest students start in Year 5 and our eldest students graduate from Year 12.

Today was all about learning for me, after all that is why I became a teacher. This afternoon and evening I had the pleasure of spending time with our Year 5 students on camp in Katoomba. There was a real buzz of excitement as the boys recounted their day to me. The boys participated in rock climbing, orienteering, bush walking and gone to Scenic World. They have been eager to learn new things about the environment that surrounds them and have learnt new skills that have pushed them outside of their comfort zone.

Sitting down tonight and talking to the boys and seeing them support each other as some have felt homesick has once again made me see that we can always find God in all things. Their sense of wonder and a willingness to learn is something that we can all benefit from.  As Stephen Hawking once said:

 “It is very important for young people to keep their sense of wonder and keep asking why”.

This year I have had the pleasure of picking up a Year 12 Economics class to teach. Reflecting on the class I taught today made me realise that the sense of wonder and willingness to learn is a hallmark of St Patrick’s College. I am blessed to teach a group of young men who will soon leave the gates for the last time, who question everything and ask why. They do not sit in class and just accept what I say, they want to know why things occur. These young men are our future, and they will go on to make a valuable contribution to society, having a shared understanding of not only providing for themselves and their families into the future as well as those who are less fortunate. 

Dr Lavorato, other members of the Leadership Team and I conduct a HSC analysis of each faculty each year. Just before I went to camp this afternoon, I was able to hear from Mr Reynolds, Head of Department for HSIE B (Economics, Commerce, Geography and Business Studies). Dr Lavorato often talks about our ability to track students.  Mr Reynolds has taken this onboard and last year spoke to each student sitting the HSC in his department to let them know where they sat with their current marks compared to their ability through the years of testing that has been tracked at St Patrick’s. The results in his faculty through tracking from our youngest students in Year 5 to those who have just left and those who are about to leave reinforce that if we can keep our young men striving to enquire, ask questions and ensuring that they always seek to do their best, then our graduates will be young men who can continue to ‘let their light shine’.   

Adrian Byrne

Deputy Principal