Junior School

Last week, the Junior School Student Leadership Team attended The National Young Leaders Day Conference at the International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour. This event provided the boys with an invaluable opportunity to further develop their leadership potential and to also learn from a selection of prominent leaders across all walks of life, who shared their unique leadership journey with the students present. 

A selection of boys from the Student Leadership Team wrote their own reflection of the day:

Nathan Wong (Junior School Captain)

The SPC Junior School Leaders attended an unforgettable leadership experience where we learnt about many new things. Inspirational people talked to us and more than 2,000 people were in attendance. It was magnificent! Firstly, Bronte Campbell told her outstanding swimming success story and shortly after that we had a visit from Josh Pyke who discussed his experiences as a musician and author. Their inspiration was a lot to take in as they were blocked by many people and told that they wouldn’t ever achieve their goals. However, they showed everyone what they can do if you believe in yourself. Later in the day, we listened to further presentations from Anthony Carroll, a ‘Bondi Rescue’ lifeguard, and also Lachie Smart, who holds the Guinness World Record for being the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world!

Olawe Kelly-Hanku (Junior School Vice-Captain)

The Junior School Leadership Team were lucky enough to take part in The Young Leaders Day Conference in Darling Harbour. We listened to the experiences of famous people who went through many physical hardships such as Bronte Campbell, who is an Olympic swimming champion. We also heard from Josh Pyke, a famous Australian musician, who overcame many setbacks throughout his musical career. As students, we learnt how hard some career choices can be, but also how you can pick yourself up when things don’t go to plan.

Zac Bromfield (Berg House Captain)

My attendance at the Young Leaders Day Conference taught me all about the importance of perseverance. We listened to different speakers who reflected on various challenges they were faced with throughout their lives and how they were able to persevere beyond them. Olympic swimmer, Bronte Campbell, was able to overcome a number of injuries during her career and Lachie Smart, a young pilot who flew around the world on his own, conquered different problems with his plane as he tried to break the world record.

Louis Gilroy (Crichton House Captain)

The National Young Leaders Day Conference was a fantastic experience. We heard amazing speeches from Bronte Campbell (Olympic swimmer), Josh Pyke (musician and children's author), Anthony Carroll (‘Bondi Rescue’ lifeguard) and Lachie Smart (youngest pilot to fly solo around the world). The following quote from Lachie Smart stood out to me the most on the day; "Be yourself because everybody else is taken." I really enjoyed the Conference and can’t wait to take part in similar opportunities again in the future.

Levi Soueid (Crichton House Vice-Captain)

Last week, the Junior School Leaders went on an excursion to the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour. We all agreed that it was an inspiring day overall. During her presentation, Bronte Campbell reminded the audience to "never give up, always persevere and always follow your dreams." I believe this is a good motto to live by because we all have dreams that we want to achieve in the future and we should try to have a positive outlook in life, rather than focusing on the negative aspects.

Aidan Scullion (Hanrahan House Vice-Captain)

Spending the day with my fellow leaders and listening to some very inspirational people was one of my favourite highlights so far in Year 6. Being chosen to be a leader is a big responsibility and I want to be able to make a contribution to the SPC community and leave my mark. Anthony ‘Harries’ Carroll from Bondi Rescue was my favourite guest speaker on the day. He talked about overcoming adversity to become the best version of yourself and to never give up on your dreams and destiny. Having a disability or a disadvantage doesn’t mean that you can’t reach your goals in life…you might just have to find a different road to the end! It was very cool to see Anthony in real life because I love watching his TV show as well. 'Harries' reminded me of the type of leader I want to be…one that includes everyone and encourages others to be their best.

Max Simon (Hickey House Captain)

Last Tuesday, the Student Leaders from the Junior School went to the International Convention Centre for The Young Leaders Day Conference. We all agreed that it was an extremely fun day and a great opportunity for us to ‘let our light shine.’ A message that stuck with me from one of the speakers was to “never give up, no matter what.” I thought this was a great piece of advice that we should all aim to follow in life!

Nathan Sleiman (Rice House Captain)

Last week, the Junior Leadership Team attended the National Young Leaders Conference. I really enjoyed getting to meet famous celebrities and hearing about their stories. My favourite speaker was Anthony Carroll, who is known for starring on the television series, ‘Bondi Rescue’. I found Anthony’s story to be very inspiring and he was quite funny too! After a recess break, there was a live DJ who hyped up the thousands of students in attendance with some catchy music. Overall, it was a very enjoyable day and I hope to attend more events like this in the future!

Joshua Kairouz (Rice House Vice-Captain)

I loved my experience at the National Young Leaders Day Conference last week. As leaders of the Junior School, we were able to learn many new skills and pick up advice on how to become a better leader, role model and person. It was such a fun day and I look forward to applying the skills and lessons from the experience to my own role in the Junior School as a House Vice-Captain.

The Junior School has recently purchased a set of lockboxes to be permanently stored in each classroom. In the morning, the boys have been asked to please add their valuable items (such as mobile phones and wallets) to the class lockbox, which will then be securely stored until the end of the day. At this point in time, the class teacher will unlock the box so that the valuable item/s can be individually retrieved before students are dismissed. All boys have been told that the Junior School does not accept responsibility for any items that have not been placed in the lockbox at the start of the day and then go missing later on as a result.

Finally, I would like to recognise an important date in the calendar that occurred last week, International Women’s Day. Please accept my most sincere wishes to the wonderful women who are all part of the St Patrick’s College community and give so much of their time and effort to their roles, parents, carers, teachers, support staff, coaches, and volunteers.

It seems only fitting to mark this occasion during the season of Lent, when we are actively preparing and trying to change our hearts in readiness for Holy Week and Easter. Let us remind ourselves that according to the Scriptures, it was the women who stood by Jesus when He was crucified, who prepared Him for burial and who were the first to witness the new life of His resurrection. May God grant us the grace to see what needs to be changed and the strength to make those changes. 

As always, if you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via email (glenn.stephenson@spc.nsw.edu.au) or phone (8705 9247) and I will endeavour to assist you in any way that I can.

May God bless you,

Glenn Stephenson

Director of Junior School

2022 Lenten Art Competition 

The Junior School Lenten Art Competition is back for another year during our Lenten Season. Your son is encouraged to take part in this with the winners announced in Week 10.  

Your son has been asked to:  

• Design a symbol or image that represents Lent to him.  
• Complete the artwork, give it a title and provide a brief description on why he chose it.  

Entry forms can be collected from your son’s class teacher and completed entries are to be handed to Mrs. Young (Hanrahan 22) no later than Friday 1 April.  

If you have any questions, please contact jacinta.young@spc.nsw.edu.au. 

2021 Winners:  

God bless, 

Jacinta Young 

Junior School Religious Education Coordinator