MSPC Newsletter - Term 3 Week 10, 16th September 2021
Principal
Dear Parents/Caregivers
What a term! The whole community, students, parents and staff have faced the changes in a terrific manner. It makes me very proud to be part of the Mount St Patrick College community. I pray that everyone can have a safe, restful break and come back energised for whatever Term 4 has in store!
COVID
If there are any changes in regards to school restrictions, please take the information that comes from the College as your source of truth. There is so much information flying around from a variety of sources that makes it difficult to find the truth. I encourage everyone to follow the guidelines which are designed to keep us all safe.
YEAR 12
Our Year 12s are in the unique situation of coming back in Term 4 for both educational and community activities to celebrate their time at the College and we hope will send them off in the best possible way. I am confident that in the long run, this difficult time will be beneficial for them as it gives them the tools and resilience to face a variety of challenges. I know that some Year 12s are planning activities for their cohort to have fun and bond further over the coming weeks. These young leaders are our future.
MARY
The College house Loreto, named for the holy site in Italy, has as its patron Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Help of Christians, also the patron saint of Australia. I read recently Thomas Casey SJ explaining his thoughts on what Mary offers us and it resonated with me. He wrote that “Although Mary spoke only a handful of times in the New Testament, her personality and character have spoken to countless believers ever since. At the heart of Mary’s life was this love story with God, a love story that ideally can be at the heart of our lives as well. The first step to God is about opening up the basic flow of our lives so that we are ready to move toward trust, goodness and love. Encountering the depth of Mary is a humbling invitation to live out of the depths of ourselves”.
Be the Good and God Bless
Paul Reidy
Principal
Assistant Principal - Mission
FAREWELL TERM 3
Best wishes to everyone for a relaxing, safe, enjoyable and zoom-free break. Thank you to students, staff and parents for the way you have managed the 4 long weeks of Blended Learning and then the quick return for the final week of Term 3.
TERM 4
Next term begins on Tuesday 5th October for all Year 7 – 12 students. It will be Day 7 of the timetable and Year 7 – 11 students have their Term 4 Sport choices beginning in the afternoon.
We look forward to celebrating with Year 12 their Graduation Mass, Morning Tea and Assembly on Wednesday 27th October at the Gilbey Centre. Unfortunately, only Year 12 and staff will be able to attend these events in person. However, the ceremonies will be live-streamed for parents and students to enjoy.
Year 12, and Accelerating Year 11 students, begin their HSC Exams on Tuesday 9th November and finish on 2nd December. The Year 12 Formal and Presentation Evening will take place from 6pm on Friday 3rd December at the Gilbey Centre for Year 12, their parents and staff.
Monday 1st November will be a Staff Development Day at the College and students are not required to be in attendance on this day.
Mary-Anne McShane
Assistant Principal: Mission
MINISTRY
RCIA – A JOURNEY IN FAITH
Since Jesus invited His first followers to “Come, follow me”, the image of journey has been used to describe Christian discipleship. The Right of Christian Initiation of Adults - RCIA programme provides a setting where the Catholic faith can be explored and the journey of faith can be celebrated within the local Church community.
If any Staff, Students or Parents are interested in the RCIA Programme and learning more about the Catholic Faith, please 'phone Barbara Grant at the Parish Office 02 6672 1118 (email at shpmbah@norex.com.au) or Mick O’Donohue at theCollege 02 6672 2340.
PRAYER SPONSORS FOR YEAR 12 HSC STUDENTS
Prayer Sponsors have been proposed for the Year 12 students of Mt St Patrick College during their HSC exams. A prayer sponsor is someone who prays for another person at specific times with a specific intention in mind. When someone is sponsored they know that someone else is praying for them at that time.
A strong aspect of our Catholic and Christian Faith is the efficacy of prayer (i.e. prayer does make a difference). At the same time the injunction “Pray as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depended on you” has its own wisdom.
I appeal to parents, family and friends of our Year 12 HSC class to make themselves available as a prayer sponsor. Knowing that someone is praying for you at a difficult time is a source of great strength and consolation.
If you are interested in being a Prayer Sponsor for a Year 12 student from Mt St Patrick College, please phone during office hours (66722340) and leave your name, address and name of student (if specific student wanted) with Lesa or Jan at the office. The following prayer may be of use.
Today I wish to remember _________________________from Mount St. Patrick College.
During her/his HSC Exams, give them the strength to complete the exams to the best of her/his ability. Help them to remain calm and to think and write clearly so that they remember the things which they have learned and studied.
Give them the opportunity to show what they know and to have acceptance of her/his efforts after the exam. Fire up in them the determination of St. Paul who ran the good race till the end and who proclaimed 'If God is for us who can be against".
We pray this through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
Mick O'Donohue
Leader of Evangelisation
Welfare
Welcome back to school!!! This is a funny thing to say as we stare down the beginning of a two week holiday. The students (and parents) all did an amazing job trying to keep focused and up to date with class work while working from home. We have acknowledged students who worked diligently during this time with an acknowledgement email or a merit certificate (or both). We have been enjoying this week connecting with students and them with each other.
Navigating returning to “normal” can unsettle students. I have included a fact sheet below which may help if you, or your child, is experiencing uncertainty.
Enjoy the break as a family without school work this time!
Louise Shields
Leader of Student Welfare
Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching
It was great to have the students back for face to face lessons at school this week. As we all know, being connected and completing activities in the classroom is really important for the growth of the students.
Staff members contributed to a Care Pack for Year 12 students which had been planned to be given out during lockdown to give the students a boost whilst studying from home. With the quick return to school, we still went ahead and gave the packs out via a drive-through. It was lovely to see the Year 12’s in their variety of cars but all with big smiles drive past and pick up their bags. The packs contained activities to do when in lockdown and items to make them feel good such as hot chocolate and candles. A new addition to our staff Mrs Jody Van Den Driest put together a Survival Pack with some unique ideas. Each Homeroom teacher completed a letter to remind students they belong to a House in the bigger community of Patties and that we are all supporting them through the final part of their school journey.
With the push back of the HSC exams Year 12 now have time for a rest in the holidays (yes holidays) before ramping it back up for the exams. The extra time at school will allow students to revise and focus on any aspects that they need assistance with. Lots of fun activities are also planned so that Year 12 leave our College with good memories. Hopefully, by Week 4 we can have an awesome Graduation to celebrate the successes of Year 12 and the end of their time at Mt St Pats. I wish Year 12 well in the last part of their schooling.
Congratulations to Year 11 who completed their final exams by remote access and did an amazing job. The resilience and determination of Year 11 is admirable, well done! This experience will only make you stronger in the future. You can handle any obstacle that can be thrown at you.
Year 8 100Hr elective final choices have been put off until after the holidays as we are unable to assemble and complete the choices. These will be completed in Week 1 of Term 1.
I would like to wish all students a happy and healthy holiday and I hope everyone is able to meet with friends and do all the activities they have been starved of over the last 6 weeks. Let's hope Term 4 is uninterrupted and we can continue to grow at Mt St Pats.
THANK YOU TO KING STREET MEDICAL CENTRE
A big thank you to the Staff of King Street Medical Centre who have been going ‘above and beyond’ to vaccinate Murwillumbah including many of our staff and senior students. So proud to see ex Patty’s kids in the medical profession keeping us all safe:
Joey Warne, Ciara Laybutt, Anthea Warne, Dylan Jeffrey, Chloe Jones and Talia Jones
Narelle Sherrah
Assistant Principal: Learning and Teaching
Curriculum
Firstly I would like to commend our students for the manner in which they have embraced the challenges of the past four weeks. This has been an uncertain time and we all know that uncertainty is stressful. However, the feedback has been most positive. The manner in which Years 7 to 11 have engaged with their online learning and in completing their assessment tasks remotely has been inspiring. They are well deserving of a relaxing break next week.
Year 11 deserves a special mention here. Teachers were so impressed with the way students embraced the challenges of completing their end of course examinations online with very little notice. While there were some challenges, teachers calmly worked with students to resolve any online issues that arose. Thankfully these were few and far between.
To the parents and carers a big thank you for your support during this process. What was evident from this examination experience is that Year 11 can roll up their sleeves and tackle unexpected challenges. This will stand them in good stead for facing the challenges of Year 12.
Lastly, to our Year 12 students. Wow, what a challenging time this has been but thankfully you had the opportunity to complete the Trial Examinations before the COVID lockdown. You have put in the hard yards and It is now time to take a breath and rest and then reignite your sense of purpose to complete the HSC to the best of your ability. It reminds me of the importance of the old Latin maxim - ‘carpe diem’ - or seize the day. The updated HSC Timetable has finally been released.
Assessment Term 4 - Weeks 1 and 2: There are no assessments scheduled for Weeks 1 and 2.
Jo McDonald
Leader of Curriculum
Faculty News
FROM THE SPORTS DESK
BOLT FOR GOLD CHALLENGE #2
We had a fantastic response to our Bolt for Gold Challenges during the lockdown period. Our second challenge is still “live” and closed this morning, Friday 17th September. The initial challenge distance was for all participants to accumulate 2000km. It quickly became clear from the number of students and staff registering to be involved that the target had to be increased. So 3000km was set as our goal. At the time of writing this article (Tuesday morning), all 171 participants had walked a total of 2424km. With 3 days left I feel sure that the MSPC Bolt for Gold participants will achieve their goal. I was regularly updating our College facebook page with tallies to encourage those who were active, to remain so.
Well done to all who remained connected to the College during the lockdown period and enjoyed the benefits of physical activity.
TERM 4 SPORT
Last week all students from Years 7 – 11 selected their Term 4 sport options. They were all emailed their selections and have only this week to make changes if necessary. Changes can only be made before the end of this term and must be completed by Miss Gillard.
Under the current restrictions (Level 3) sport is not allowed to resume. Hopefully during the holidays these will be lifted and we can once again resume our regular sport afternoons. I think this will return some familiarity for all students after an extended lockdown period.
TERM 4 SPORT CANCELLATIONS
Term 4 sport has again been severely impacted due to the uncertain nature of lockdowns and hotspots across our state. Below is the complete list of all NSWCCC and Diocesan events which have been cancelled for Term 4. As you can see the list also conatians some primary school events.
The following Term 4 sporting events for NSWCPS & NSWCCC have been cancelled
- NSWCPS Girls Rugby 7s – Ryde
- NSWCPS Golf Tournament – 13 September - Blackheath
- NSWCCC Berg Cricket Championships – Term 4 2021 & Term 1 2022
- NSWCCC Downie Cricket Championships - Term 4 2021 & Term 1 2022
- NSWCCC Junior Basketball Championships – Mon 25 October & Tuesday 26 October – Penrith
- NSWCCC Open Water Polo Championships – Wednesday, 27 October – SOPAC
- NSWCCC Junior Water Polo Championships – Friday, 29 October – SOPAC
- Polding Athletics Championships – Monday, 8 November - Hunter
The following Term 4 Lismore diocese sporting events have been cancelled:
- Lismore Diocesan Primary Athletics Carnival
- Secondary Volleyball Championships
- Secondary Gymnastics Championships
- Secondary Water polo Championships
- Secondary Golf Championships
The following Term 4 sporting events have been postponed pending discernment regarding the possibility of rescheduling:
- Polding Cricket Trials
https://sport.lism.catholic.edu.au/cancellations/
Tim Whitney
Sports Coordinator
College News
MSPC LOCKDOWN CHALLENGES
During the recent NSW lockdown several ‘lockdown challenges’ were sent out to students. This was to keep them connected to the College and provide some fun alternative activities when not participating in blended learning. The challenges include bottle flip, big day out dress up, highest daily step total and random acts of kindness.
I was blown away with the participation from the students, reinforcing the love that some students have for the College and the wider community, in particular with the random acts of kindness challenge. It included acts such as encouraging signs posted around the community, making lunches, dinners and coffees for parents, a student making a cake and throwing a party for her 10-year-old brother who missed his, College students sending in goodies for staff to enjoy at Recess. Winners will receive points for their House and a canteen voucher.
Winners were:
Bottle flip: Fiona Laybutt, Jayde Shultz, Edie Hampson, Ruby Waters and Kiyana Doman Year 11
Big Day Out: Too many to choose from. Over 125 students and staff!
Daily Steps: Zoe Hawkins Year 12
Acts of kindness: Amelia Andrews Year 7
Thank you to all staff and students who got involved.
Josh McCormack
Leader of Wellbeing: Lucan
FISH NAMING COMPETITION
The winner of the Fish Naming Competition was Isla Martin.
Isla was presented with an Encyclopedia of Aquarium and Pond Fish by David Alderton and a Certificate for her efforts. There were over 300 entries in the competition, thank you to all the students who participated. Bert, MSPC's tiger cichlid, was present at the award ceremony.
Brett McCulloch
Science Teacher
Puzzle Corner
Can you solve the puzzle below?
If you think you have the solution, please see/email Mrs Bevan. The first 5 correct answers will receive a prize.
Last Edition’s answer = 55 trees
Awards
CO-ORDINATOR'S, PRINCIPAL'S AND COLLEGE AWARDS
LISIEUX CO-ORDINATOR'S AWARDS
Year 7: Jack O’Shea
Year 12: Lily Rouke
LISIEUX PRINCIPAL'S AWARDS
Year 7: Jack O'Shea
LORETO CO-ORDINATOR'S AWARDS
Year 8: Arlo Kirk, Payten Nash
Year 10: Sadie Glynn
LORETO CO-ORDINATOR'S AWARDS
Year 8: Arlo Kirk
LUCAN CO-ORDINATOR'S AWARDS
Year 7: Stephanie Mayne
Year 8: Ewan Bourne, Kayla Cotelli, Norm Fraser, Lily Jones, Phoebe Piticco
Year 10: Elsie Biles, Jayda McDermott
Year 11: Billy Campbell, Rory Flynn, Jake Leach, Maximo Morrison, Nicholas Shields, Jayde Shultz, Darcy Wills
Year 12: Shaun Tonks, Sashi Wills
LUCAN PRINCIPAL'S AWARDS
Year 8: Ewan Bourne, Norm Fraser, Lily Jones
Year 10: Elsie Biles
Year 11: Billy Campbell
Year 12: Shaun Tonks
NAGLE CO-ORDINATOR'S AWARDS
Year 8: Lily Hope
Year 10: Katie Macdonald, Mason McInerney, Punwatsa Phattharapraphakorn, Geordie Render
Year 12: Taylah Brown, Joseph Fitzgerald, Tiffany New, Ysabella Purser, Bonnie Scanlan
NAGLE PRINCIPAL'S AWARDS
Year 12: Tiffany New
Canteen Roster & Term 4 Planner
The following roster will only come into affect if restrictions remain lifted and we allowed to return to the College. If we are in lockdown due to COVID 19 and restrictions are in place then no volunteers will be permitted onsite until further notice. Thank you for you support.
Below is the Term 4 Planner.
This is an outline of events happening next term. Please check the College Google Calendar regularly for any changes.
Community News
