Co-curricular

Head of Rugby Development – Andrew Brownhill Level 3 Rugby Coach

Andrew comes to us from the United Kingdom and is a Level 3 qualified Rugby Coach who is currently enrolled in a Masters in Elite Sport Coaching course. He and his Australian partner have made the decision to move to Australia to be closer to her family and take up the exciting new role at St Patrick’s College.

He has eight years’ work experience in Premiership Rugby clubs (Gloucester and Worcester Warriors) as well as six years’ experience working in the Scottish Rugby Union in Talent ID and as an Age Grade Coach. Andrew’s playing experience includes representing Scotland at Schoolboy level.

Andrew has also been in a Rugby Development role for the past four years. Firstly, working for Mad Dog Rugby (Lewis Moody MBE award winning Rugby Program) and up until departure, at Malvern College, one of the UK’s leading independent schools. In these roles he worked as Head of Rugby operations overseeing the development of Rugby across three schools. These roles also saw him lead the Coach Education Program for all of the Rugby coaches and the Personal Development, Health, Physical Education (PDHPE) staff at each school.

Andrew has developed coaching programs that helped best support each coach individually. He also believes it’s important to help students understand who they are as people and tie that into the school’s values to ensure we are developing better people.

Andrew is passionate about Rugby and developing people and takes a holistic approach in this area believing a relationship first approach is best. His philosophy is “Society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit” as he thinks having this approach ensures we are able to leave a lasting impact on generations to come.

Head of Football Development – Brian McCarthy UEFA “A” Coaching Licence

Brian hails from Ireland, is married to Eileen and together they have two sons, Peter and Stephen and are proud grandparents five times over.

Amongst a host of professional achievements, Brian has worked as the Republic of Ireland Senior International Performance Analyst for four European Championships, three World Cup qualifying campaigns and at the 2012 Euro Finals. During these campaigns he has worked closely with a number highly reputable national mangers, including Giovanni Trapattoni.

Brian also has significant experience as a Coach Education tutor and presenter, at National level, in the Football Association of Ireland’s UEFA “B”, “A” and UEFA Pro Licenses.

Brian is a highly qualified Football professional and experienced secondary teacher. He has extensive experience at international, national association, high performing schools and multiple grassroots levels - as a coach, teacher, analyst, director, administrator, designer, presenter and transformative manager. For the past seven years, Brian had held the position of Director of Football at Newington College where he has been responsible for designing and implementing a bespoke coaching curriculum, a coach identification and recruitment program, professional development for external and internal coaches as well as a myriad of strategies to promote and improve Football. During this time, Brian has worked closely with their boys ranging in abilities in both the preparatory schools and the senior school from the ages of 8 to 18.

We are confident these appointments will do much to foster and develop the already established and rich cultures of Rugby and Football at St Patrick’s College. This was an area that parents were keen to see some improvement. Their experience in guiding and mentoring coaches of all levels will no doubt prove beneficial to entire sports program at St Patrick’s.

McGlade Library Homework Club Re-opens

I am pleased to advise parents/carers and boys that the McGlade Library will re-open and be supervised from 3:30 PM to 4:45 PM Monday to Friday as of Monday 7 February. The Homework Club will provide an environment that is quiet and supervised by staff members available to assist the boys with developing good study habits, techniques, timetables and the like.

Students will be expected to sign in and sign out at the commencement and conclusion of their homework session and are not compelled to stay for the full duration of the above-mentioned time. They should however make their parents aware as to what period of time they will be using this facility in order to arrange travel home.

Those students availing themselves of this service are encouraged to bring some snacks and refreshments which they can consume between 3:10 PM and 3:30 PM. Please note that the McGlade Library will cater to a maximum of 60 boys per afternoon.

The following expectations will be placed on students attending these after school Homework Club sessions, in that they are:

not to use their devices to play games
to remain on task and
to respect the privacy of others by working quietly.

The College is hopeful that a number of families will benefit from this service. Any queries in relation to this matter should be directed to me in the first instance. Please note that Homework Club will not take place on Friday 12 February due to the Senior School Swimming Carnival being on that day.

COVID-19 Protocols and the Co-curricular Program

At present, the 2022 College’s Co-curricular Program will proceed as planned, albeit with certain restrictions and slight modifications in place.

Please note that Mr Mifsud and Mr Locke will continue to keep the community updated on the structure of competitions and protocols that we need to follow when attending home and away fixtures. Not all schools will have the same protocols in place, so I encourage you to read the relevant documentation on a week-to-week basis. These protocols and procedures can be found on Team App so please avail yourself to this service and avoid any possible embarrassment.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank parents in advance for adhering to the protocols that are in place. Previously, parents have been very understanding despite the inconvenience, particularly when it comes to having their other children supervised whilst one son plays. Please be mindful that most indoor sporting events will at best, only allow for one spectator per student to attend and precludes additional siblings to be present.

Co-curricular Cancelled - Friday Weeks 1 and 2

Parents and boys are reminded the College’s Opening Mass and High Achievers Ceremony and the Annual House Age Swimming Championships are scheduled to take place on Friday 4 February and Friday 12 February respectively. As you are aware, these are two significant events in the College’s calendar and as such, every boy is expected to attend and participate. For this reason, please note that all scheduled Co-curricular activities/training sessions have been cancelled for the Fridays of Week 1 and 2.

Training off site – Uniform

Given the unique situation we find ourselves in, boys playing Basketball and Baseball with scheduled training sessions at Auburn Basketball Centre, Netball Central or Major’s Bay Reserve, will be asked to wear only the following items to the College on days they train off-site as opposed to wearing their College Summer Uniform:

Supporter’s shirt, black crested shorts, white socks and sandshoes (College tracksuit in colder weather).
College cap is the only one to be worn. Boys will be issued with a coloured wrist band prior to trials commencing in order to distinguish who has been granted permission to wear College sports gear to the College on specific days.

Boys will have the opportunity to change into a Basketball singlet or Baseball shirt once they board the bus for transportation to the venue. Boys making their own way home after the session will need to change back into their Supporter’s shirt if they are not being picked up by their parents/carers.

Please note that parents/carers are not permitted to attend training sessions until further notice. As such, please make suitable pick-up and drop-off arrangements with your son/s.

Anthony Calavassy

Acting Director of Co-curricular