Return to School 'Road Map'

Last Friday, we received a road map for schools to return to face-to-face classroom learning from the Hon. Sarah Mitchell, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning. The road map was developed in consultation with NSW Health and is current as of 8:00 am, Friday 27 August.

Staggered return

Priority cohorts will begin face-to-face learning on Monday 25 October, as long as community transmission and vaccination rate requirements have been met. As an independent school, we have also been given the latitude to vary the returns to suit our context given that we have a Year 5 to 12 cohort. Unlike other primary schools, our Year 6 boys are not transitioning to a new school and finishing up at their school. Our preference is to have all the Junior School back at the same time so that they can pick up where they left off at the end of Term 2! By that week, Year 12 will have commenced the HSC in the gymnasium, so the risk of transmission is reduced for our Junior School boys and the rest of Years 7 to 11, by having one whole cohort not on site at the College.

Level 3 restrictions (predicted to be in operation from Monday 25 October) include:

wearing face masks for students and teachers
no assemblies or gatherings outside of a prescribed square metre rule
non-essential activities are not to go ahead (sport, choir, excursions) and
adults are not able to access the site unless invited to by a teacher.

It will be mandatory for all school staff to have had at least one vaccination by Monday 8 November. At St Patrick’s College, Strathfield, we are well placed to manage this requirement. As I write this article, 42% of all staff are fully vaccinated, 43% have had one vaccination and the remainder are booked in to have their first jab. The announcement that teachers will be given priority in a mass vaccination event at Qudos Bank Arena in the week beginning Monday 6 September will assist the 15% of staff awaiting their appointment to move up in the queue.

In the meantime, from Monday 30 August, anyone accessing our site needs to have presented a Service NSW Permit (if they come from outside the Strathfield LGA) to myself or Mr Chase. If they live within the Strathfield LGA, they need to present a vaccination certificate, or a negative COVID-19 test result. Parents can be satisfied that all steps are being taken, and implemented, to ensure that our school site is as safe and clean as it can be. We are mitigating all the risks that we have control over and to date, unlike many other of our local neighbouring schools, we have not had to close the site down following a positive COVID-19 case.

The revised commencement date of the first written HSC paper means that results will now be released in mid-January 2022. NESA will publish a revised exam timetable in early September. Year 12 students will finish their final Trial HSC Examinations on Thursday 2 September and will return to online classes on Friday 3 September. The members of the Executive Team are considering the implications of the timeline in determining how Term 4 will proceed, and what the final details will be for all of our beautiful rituals in farewelling our Year 12 students. We will communicate this to our Year 12 students and their parents in due course.

Student Vaccinations

For some members of our community, the vaccination of children is an issue of concern. It is a serious issue and one that is being given much attention by the most senior medical institutions in our country. Over the weekend, I read of reports that the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is recommending children aged 12 to 15 to be included in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Unlike teachers, there are no plans to mandate that children at school (12 to 18 years) must be vaccinated before they return but clearly, there is strong advice that parents should give this serious consideration.

The head of our beloved Church, Pope Francis has urged people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 describing it as “an act of love.” Helping others do the same, he said, is also an act of love. “Love for oneself, love for our families and friends, and love for all peoples. Love is also social and political.” The Pope noted that “Getting vaccinated is a simple yet profound way to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable,” he said. “Our choice to get vaccinated affects others,” he said, adding that it is a moral responsibility. Here in Sydney, our local bishops have also endorsed vaccinations including Bishop Tarabay, the head of the Maronite Church in Australia, who has told parishioners they can “receive a COVID-19 vaccine with a good conscience”, describing it as a “prudent decision to serve the common good”.

In light of the advice of the ATAGI and the Pontiff, I will continue to share information about priority vaccination arrangements made by NSW Health as they come to hand. For those parents strongly opposed to vaccinations, there is no need to send me the masses of research you have found on the internet. You can simply choose to ignore the information as it will not be mandated as a requirement before resuming classes.

Final Week of School

I advised parents last Friday 27 August of our Consolidation Day plans up until the end of Term 3. A reminder that Thursday 16 September will be our last Consolidation Day (screen-free) for all students. Friday 17 September will be the first day of our well-earned vacation break. The boys and their teachers have worked so hard all term that some time to just chill and regroup will be much appreciated by all of us. There will be no supervision for students at the College on this day.

The Role of Fathers in Student Learning

This Sunday 5 September is Father’s Day. We hope that all our fathers, father figures and students, can come together virtually to pray for one another. We are all very busy, especially our fathers, but I urge you to make this Mass a priority with your son(s). Your involvement with your son will reap benefits in the future.

The impact of involved fathers or father figures on the life of a child has been well established over the last two decades. Significant studies in the UK, USA and Australia have found that involved fathers positively impact the cognitive, social and physical wellbeing of a child from infancy to adolescence, with lasting influence into adult lives. Similarly, a father’s involvement in a child’s learning and the life of the school has long-term effects. Research commissioned by Australia’s The Fathering Project, a not-for-profit organisation which ‘aims to improve child development outcomes by inspiring and equipping fathers and father figures to engage positively with their kids’, has found the following benefits to fathers’ positive involvement in student learning:

Children do better in school when their father is involved in their school, regardless of whether their father lives with them or lives apart.
Students whose fathers or father figures participate in school activities enjoy school more, are less likely to have behavioural issues and are likely to stay at school longer.
Students stay at school longer, so retention rates improve.
Once engaged, the proportion of fathers or father figures who are highly involved in school or class activities doesn’t decline over time.
Mothers are more likely to remain involved if a father is engaged at school.

Despite the obvious benefits of getting dads engaged in school and class activities, schools still struggle to engage fathers. Evidence suggests that the current generation of men want to be hands-on rather than distant dads typified by fathers of past generations. The timing is right as many men are working from home, removing distance as a barrier for engagement. The challenge remains for schools and teachers to crack the code to meaningfully engage fathers in their child’s learning and school life.

Fathers will generally become involved in the life of a class or school if they can fully understand the purpose of their involvement.

The importance of a strong school-family partnership is now well established, yet it’s mothers who tend to be the main links between schools and families. Research shows that by specifically targeting fathers, schools and classrooms will see specific benefits for students and schools. These benefits include better outcomes for students (including higher grades and better retention rates), improved school culture and long-lasting family-school connections. With motivation high and more men working from home, the timing is now right for schools to make the effort required to successfully target and engage fathers in the educational journeys of students and the life of the school.

I miss my late father every day and Father’s Day will be a reminder of the impact he had on my life. My father made me believe I could do or be anything I wanted; he was the bedrock of my esteem. Through his daily interactions towards my mother, he showed me how women should be treated. And so it is with fathers and sons. Your son looks at you and learns what it takes to be a man. If you are nurturing, loving, strong, self-controlled and honourable, your son will emulate those qualities. Let us keep our fathers in our prayers this Sunday:

God our Father, in your wisdom and love you made all things.

Bless these men, our St Patrick’s College fathers

that they may be strengthened as Christian fathers.

Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.

Grant that we, their sons and daughters,

may honour them always with a spirit of profound respect.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Staff Changes

We welcome Mr Ian Harris to the College as our Risk and Compliance Officer, a very busy job during a pandemic!
Ms Giulia Valenzisi has joined the staff and replaces Ms Cristanelli who has commenced parental leave. Benvenuta Giulia!

In Memoriam

We keep in our prayers Ms Sonya Windred, a member of our teaching staff, on the loss of her mother-in-law, Ellen Windred, last month.

Please pray for Nate Tucker (Year 9) on the loss of his great-grandmother Betty Mary Ely. We keep Nate and his family in our prayers and thoughts at this sad time.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace.

Amen.

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

SPC boys can do anything!

**except divide by zero

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