MSPC Newsletter - Term 1 Week 1, 3rd February 2022

Principal

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Welcome to 2022. Whether you are new to the College or returning for another year we welcome you and your family and look forward to working together to continue to build this fantastic community. As you know we are not back to normal. In fact, this is the first time we have started in a disrupted manner and I hope that we get rid of the disruption and move on quickly. You have probably had a more recent personal experience with the pandemic than previously and I ask that you take the precautions and rules that are in place, both at the College and in the wider community, seriously so we can all be safe. Hopefully, the break was a good one and students are refreshed and ready to make this year a great one. I thank all parents who came and collected Rapid Antigen Tests. I trust that you will use these as directed and we will be able to keep our community safe.

Last year’s theme was Journey Together and Year 12 2021 certainly had a different journey, but they did do it together and have come through with a fantastic set of HSC results. I often speak of the importance of habits to students. This week our Leader of Curriculum, Mrs Joanne McDonald, put a quote to the staff by Will Durant, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” 

We do seek excellence at Paddy's, not just academically, but in the manner, we present, build relationships and interact with those within and beyond our community. It does not come quickly and we cannot turn excellence on and off when we want. We have to create good actions and do them repeatedly until they become our normal. 

The College held an HSC Awards Ceremony this week and we were pleased that so many students could come to have their achievements acknowledged by the community and pass on some advice to Years 11 and 12. Both Miranda Quantrill (99.35) and Ysabella Purser (99.1) achieved ATARS over 99, which is an extraordinary achievement. They addressed the students with their methodologies. It was interesting that both students valued the extra-curricular activities both at the College and outside which gave them a release from the pressures of study. Sometimes students in their HSC years feel they need to give up their music, job or sporting team in order to achieve highly. These fine young people are testimony to the College aim of Embracing Life with the benefits of a well-rounded balanced life with varied activities leading to high achievement and less stress. Having goals to strive for are also very important which lead to them planning out time for study and time for those other activities. Truly excellence for them was a habit.

Unfortunately, in many ways, the norm in society is to be cynical or distrusting and even pre-covid there have been studies showing our young people are pessimistic about their futures, we aim to focus on what opportunities are available and be grateful for them, rather than be focused on what we are missing out on. Our student leaders in the SRC have come up with a wonderful positive 2022 theme in Choose Hope. We will make a deliberate effort to focus on the positive of what we can achieve at the College. This optimism should be seen in making concrete goals in achieving what we hope for and celebrating the successes along the way. Doing those little things right repeatedly creates those good habits which lead to excellence.

Be the Good and God Bless,

Paul Reidy
Principal

Assistant Principal - Mission

Welcome back to the 2022 academic year.

Our College theme for the year is ‘Choose Hope’!

The annual MSPC College Swimming Carnival will be held tomorrow at TRAC from 8.45am to 3pm.

We will have an opening College Mass on Friday 11^th February however, there has to be restricted attendance due to COVID regulations.

All Year 7 students will experience the Currumbin Treetops Challenge on either Friday 25^th February or Friday 4^th March.

All Year 7 students will be offered a free immunisation programme. HPV Dose 1 Boostrix injections will be given on 2^nd March in the Gilbey Hall, if Year 7 parents send in signed permission forms. Information Kits will be sent out next week.

College Photos will take place on Thursday 3^rd and Friday 4^th March in the Gilbey Hall. We are using a new company this year called Advanced Life. Following are the details regarding online orders and costings so that parents can do some budgeting at this ‘expensive’ time of the year.

Mary-Anne McShane
Assistant Principal: Mission

Dear Parents,

School photography day is coming up soon. Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by following the link below or by returning the order envelope with your payment to our photographer on school photo day.

NEW
advancedlife now offers Latitude Pay! To take advantage of LatitudePay and split the cost of your order into 10 small easy payments, simply order your school photos online as usual, set up a Latitude Pay account in just a few clicks and pay no interest or fees when you pay according to your payment schedule; it’s that easy.

3 easy ways to purchase:

1. LatitudePay – Click on the link below, set up an account during the online order process and split your payments across 10 weeks with no interest or fees, if you pay on time
2. Visa, MasterCard or PayPal
3. Cash – complete the envelope supplied and return it to our photographer on photo day

Or visit: www.advancedlife.com.au
And enter online order code: B8V DPW 9YB

School photography information:

• Online orders- do not require an envelope returned to your school
• Sibling Photos- Don’t forget to pre-order your sibling photos online up to 24 hours before photo day. We provide your school with a list of sibling orders right up to the day of photography, so no one misses out. If you miss the online order deadline, you can submit a completed sibling order envelope first thing in the morning of the day of photography, so your school is aware you want the photo taken and can bring your children together in time for it. Sibling photographs only apply to children enrolled at your school. Please note not all schools offer sibling photos
• Late fees- a late fee will be applied to each package purchased after photo day due to the additional cost of producing these packages separately
• Package delivery- photographic packages will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after photos are taken
• Previous Years’ photos- Past years’ photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available to order under the “previous years or group photo” tabs at your school’s advancedorder site when you click on the “Order School Photos Here” button above. You can also order past packages, portrait images and gifts from your child’s unique, individual and secure advancedyou image archive site using the unique 9 digit image code found on packages you have ordered in the past

 advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to Mt St Patrick College for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience as fast as possible, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience please contact us at: www.advancedlife.com.au/contact

Kind regards,
Lola Ruiz Diaz
Client Coordinator

MINISTRY

Welcome back to a new school year. I hope that you all had a restful and relaxing holiday. It is my great privilege to be taking over the role of Leader of Evangelisation, which was previously done so exceptionally well by Mr Michael O’Donohue.

It is my hope that we continue to build on our beautiful College traditions, Catholic Faith and sense of community. Most of all, I want this same experience for our students and, most importantly, to meet them where they are at in terms of their personal faith journeys.

Our theme for this year is “Choose Hope” and it encompasses positivity, being optimistic and choosing to be mindfully hopeful in all that we do. I really think this is important in our current climate.

This year I am asking that we support each other and our students in actively choosing to be hopeful in all that we do. As Catholics, we believe in the hope of Jesus Christ and that he is the source of all that is good.

In keeping with our College traditions, and pending Covid-19 Guidelines, we are currently in the process of planning for both the Year 12 and Year 10 Retreats at Camp Bornhoffen. Please keep an eye on your emails regarding information about these camps. 

Year 12 Retreat Dates: Wednesday 16/02/2022 to Friday 18/02/2022
Year 12 students need permission notes returned to the office by Wednesday 9th February and their dietary requirements google form, which they have been emailed, completed by Monday 7th February. 

Year 10 Retreat Dates: Wednesday 16/03/2022 to Friday 18/02/2022.
More information to come.

Please be assured we are taking all necessary Covid-19 precautions. More information regarding protocols, procedures and guidelines for the Retreat will be emailed to parents next week.  

We will also be celebrating the induction of our School Captains, SRC members, House Leaders, and Assistant House Leaders at Mass in the Sacred Heart Parish Church on Friday 11th February at 9:30am. Only the Year 12 cohort, the Year 11 SRC, House Leaders, Assistant House Leaders and Year 10 SRC members will be in attendance due to Covid-19 regulations regarding spacing. Parents of the Captains, SRC and House Leaders are invited to attend, but you must RSVP to the College Office by Wednesday 9th February.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at the College. 

Many blessings and much hope for the year ahead. 

Grace Molloy
Leader of Evangelisation

Welfare

STUDENT WELFARE

Welcome back to all students and parents to the 2022 school year. The students look amazing in their uniforms and appear ready to take on 2022. This year is exciting because in Term 4 we will be launching our new House structure. This will include 8 Houses and 8 Leaders of Wellbeing. This means that each co-ordinator will have roughly 100 students in their care instead of what has typically been 150. We hope the benefits of this will be greater care for the students which will result in stronger connections and engagement. We want MSP to be a place where students want to come.

To help us transition to the 8 House structure, we already have 8 Leaders of Wellbeing in place. There are 2 leaders in each of our existing 4 Houses for Term 1, 2 and 3, so they can get to know the students well and share their strengths and skills with each other as we build toward the launch.

The Leaders of Wellbeing for 2022 are:
Nagle - Jody Van Den Driest / Brett McCulloch
Lisieux - Mitchel Rice / Kath Swift
Loreto - Majella MacPhail / Michael Levick
Lucan - Lauren Bristow / Susan Waters

I am very proud of this team who I know are so passionate about helping your children through the often bumpy years of adolescence. The Leaders will (if they haven’t already), emailed you to inform you of which one of the 2 House Leaders will look after your child during the first three terms of this year. Once you know the leader for your child, this is the person who will oversee the wellbeing and discipline of your child.

As always, our hope is that parents continue to support our standards of uniform, behaviour and participation. Working together is how we achieve the best outcomes for the students.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the respective Leader of Wellbeing or myself if you would like any assistance whatsoever.

My email is louise.shields@lism.catholic.edu.au

The email for every teacher in the College follows the same pattern, that is firstname.surname@lism.catholic.edu.au.You can use this to contact homeroom or class teachers as well, if you need to.

This year’s College theme is “Choose Hope”. After a couple of turbulent years for everyone we hope to develop skills that teach students to see opportunity, to challenge themselves, to overcome disappointment and to develop a growth mindset. Every year group has a timetabled Wellbeing lesson to assist them with this.

Our hope is that every student thrives at MSPC this year.

Louise Shields
Leader of Pastoral care

Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching

Welcome back to the entire Mt St Patrick College Community. We look forward to a year full of learning and fun. We started the 2022 academic year with our College Vision: Embrace Life which is inspired by the life and teachings of Christ encapsulated in John 10:10.  I have come so that you may have life, and have it to the full.

This vision encourages us as a Christian community to see life as a gift to be enjoyed, celebrated and shared, through the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom.

Developing academically is one aspect of this vision. At Mt St Patrick College our goal is for each student to grow academically so that they can live their life to its fullest potential.

At yesterday’s opening College assembly we celebrated the extraordinary achievements of the 2021 HSC cohort. Mt St Patrick College was mentioned 73 times in the Distinguished achievers list recognising students who achieved a Band 6, a mark above 90 in an individual subject. Seven of the band 6 results were received by Year 11 Accelerated students in Investigating Science, Chemistry and Mathematics. The 73 band 6 results were across a variety of subjects and is the the result of resilience, dedication and collaboration. 14 students received an ATAR above 90 which is exceptional for our little school in our little town. Miranda Quantrill and Ysabella Purser achieved exceptional ATARs of 99.35 and 99.1, respectively. This is the first time in the history of Mt St Patrick College HSC that 2 students in the same cohort received an ATAR above 99. Miranda came 1st in the State in Music and Tiffany New 4th in the State in Industrial Technology: Multimedia. The College was ranked 114th in NSW secondary schools.

Congratulations to Miranda Quantrill who received the DUX trophy at the assembly and is now moving to Sydney and will be studying Medicine at UNSW. Ysabella Purser was awarded 2nd Aggregate and Chloe Hillcoat and Lily French achieved equal third aggregate, Well done girls!

The College was inspired by the exceptional efforts of the cohort and we would like to wish them all the best in the future. Please keep in touch and remember you are always a Paddy’s student.

All students in the College in 2022 are challenged to set some personal goals and to strive towards achieving them. I hope that all students quickly settle into their Learning Groups and make the most of the school year.

The Learning and Teaching Leadership Team at the College is:
Narelle Sherrah:         Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching
Narelle Chaffer:          Leader of Pedagogy
Joanne McDonald:      Leader of Curriculum

Please contact any of the team if you have any concerns or questions.

CHANGE OF DATE
The Year 11 and 12 Information night will now be held on Wednesday 2^nd March at 6.30pm in the Gilbey Hall, not 9^th February as was published in the College calendar. This night is important for all parents and students in Year 11 and 12.

Narelle Sherrah
Assistant Principal: Learning and Teaching

Curriculum

Dear students, parents and carers

I hope you have had a wonderful break. We enjoyed welcoming our students back this week. The start of a new year is always an exciting time. It has been a long time coming with the ongoing delays but we are finally able to celebrate our 2021 Year 12 cohort on their excellent HSC results. We are so proud of their efforts, resilience and their many sterling achievements. Some of the highlights from the 2021 HSC include:

• 73 Band 6 results, which is the highest band that can be achieved.
• First in the State for Music 1 - Mirance Quantrill
• Fourth in the State for Industrial Technology Multimedia - Tiffany New
• All Round Achiever - Miranda Quantrill scoring Band 6 results across 10 units
• All Round Achiever - Ysabella Purser scoring Band 6 results across 10 units
• 14 students with ATARs over 90
• 19 HSC courses above State average for Bands 5 and 6 combined.

* Only 1,476 students across the state achieved the ‘All Round Achiever’ level of excellence.

   The College was ranked 114th in the State based on 2021 HSC results.

‘The philosopher Will Durant once sagely observed, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  A tribute publication entitled, ‘Year 12 Excellence’ will be uploaded to the College website under the ‘Learning’ tab. It will also be included on our Facebook page shortly. The publication aims to acknowledge the breadth of excellence our Year 12 students have consistently demonstrated.  - We are so very proud of each and every one of our Year 12s and wish them every happiness and success for their future endeavours. We encourage them to always “be the good”.

This week we warmly welcome back our Stage 4, 5 and 6 students. Starting the year in a positive manner is very important and we encourage students to be organised and ask questions  if they are unsure of expectations.

A helpful checklist for being organised includes:

* ensuring the right books and materials have been packed for each lesson

* using the College Diary on a daily basis

* review your notes after class

* keep track of deadlines and important dates

* complete homework as it is due in a quiet designated space

* ensure that Assessments are planned for. Download and use the assessment and Study Guide Planner on the Assessment Portal.

Assessment Notification

In the next Newsletter I will publish a weekly overview of assessment tasks. Students can access assessment tasks and their assessment calendars via the Assessment Portal from the Moodle Page. We will show Year 7 and new students how to use this once they have settled in. Students use their school email account to access this.

Wishing all our students a wonderful start to the next stage of their learning journey.

Jo McDonald
Leader of Curriculum

Faculty News

FROM THE SPORTS DESK

COLLEGE INTERHOUSE SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Our annual College Swimming Carnival is to be held at the Tweed Regional Aquatic Centre (TRAC) this Friday, 4^th February. Once again it will be impacted upon by Covid restrictions and parents are being asked not to attend this annual College event. Some important things to keep in mind for any new parents:

• $3 entry to be paid upon arrival. (Let staff know your TRAC number if a season ticket holder)
• Students can arrive dressed in House colours. They will need to have their College hat.
• Students are required to sit in their year groups, with masks on when not competing and limit mixing or socializing with students out of their own year group.
• Students can be dropped off at the venue from 8am. If your son / daughter normally catches a bus to school, they can do so as normal and meet in the Canteen basement where staff will gather all students and walk them to the pool at 8.30am and then at 8.45am.
• Please label all belongings.

We had to follow the same restrictions at last year’s carnival (without the mask mandate) and still managed to have a great carnival.

If you have not already done so, follow the College on facebook as there will be regular updates, pictures and maybe some athlete interviews to keep you all up to speed on the goings on inside the TRAC

Click on the links below for the College swimming records and the College Swimwear Policy.

DIOCESAN SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Successful athletes will be invited to join the MSPC Swim team to compete at the Diocesan Championships to be held at Lismore Memorial Baths on Thursday 10^th March. Further information about this will be sent via the new Compass app to parents

DIOCESAN TOUCH FOOTBALL TRIALS APPLICATION

Talented Touch Football players are again reminded that to be considered to be invited to attend the Diocesan Trials at Coffs Harbour on Thursday 3^rd March, all applications have to be completed by tomorrow Friday 4^th February. You can complete the applications through the Lismore Sport website link here:  https://sport.lism.catholic.edu.au/?doing_wp_cron=1544140477.4038619995117187500000

DIOCESAN WINTER SPORT TRIAL REGISTRATIONS

Any students interested in the Diocesan Winter Sports trials for Under 15 and Open rugby League are asked to register via the registrations tab on the Lismore Sport webpage (link below). These trials will be held at St John’s college Woodlawn commencing at 9am on Tuesday 1^st March. Successful students will be asked to pay a $10 levy.

Applications are also open for Open Boys and Girls Football trials to be held also on Tuesday 1^st March at the Northern Rivers Football Academy in Lismore. Applicants must complete the registration form and successful applicants will be informed when coaches short list all applications.

Lismore Diocesan Sport web page link:
https://sport.lism.catholic.edu.au/?doing_wp_cron=1544140477.4038619995117187500000

TERM 1 SPORTING DATES

Feb 4^th         College Swimming Carnival

                    Applications close for Diocesan Touch Football Trials U15 & Opens

Feb 15^th        Applications close for Dio Winter sport trials U15 & Open Rugby League and Open Boys &                           Girls Football

March 1^st       Diocesan Winter Sport Trials Rugby League – Woodlawn Football – Northern Rivers Football                           Academy

                     Diocesan Tennis Championships – Arkinstall Park

March 3^rd       Diocesan Touch Football Trials Coffs Harbour (Successful applicants only)

March 10^th      Diocesan Swimming – Lismore

March 17^th      Girls League Tag – Murwillumbah

March 22^nd     Diocesan North Open Football – Northern Rivers Football Academy – Lismore

March 24^th      Diocesan Open Basketball – Coffs Harbour

March 28^th      Country Cup Open Rugby league – Mullimbimby

April 1^st           NRCC Netball Boys and Girls – Arkinstall Park

                      NSWCCC Swimming and Diving  - Homebush, Sydney

April 4^th          College Cross Country fun run Fingal to Kingscliff

April 7^th & 8^th  NSW All Schools Triathlon – Penrith

SPORT OVERVIEW FOR YR’S 9 – 11 STUDENTS

Tuesday afternoon sport is now obsolete at Mt St Patrick College. All students at school will now have a double period of dedicated sport on a given day in their timetable. To see the structure for students in Years 9 – 11 please click the links below.

Tim Whitney
Sports Coordinator

College News

A NOTE FROM THE ENVIRONMENT DESK

OUR Journey to becoming a Sustainable School

Beginning in Term 1 2022, Mt St Patrick College will be starting two new initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint. 

Our first initiative is Meatless Mondays.  According to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation, the meat industry accounts for roughly 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  If the world is to meet its target of limiting global warming to “well below” 2^oC, some degree of diet shift will be necessary. If the world is to strive for the most optimistic target of keeping warming to 1.5^oC, changes to diet are even more crucial.

Starting next week, Monday 7^th February, students are encouraged to bring a meatless lunch and the canteen will only be serving vegetarian and vegan lunches. Our canteen will be offering delicious choices, such as: haloumi soft tacos, Mexican bean soft tacos, vegetarian cannelloni, spinach rolls, vegetarian triangles, haloumi burgers, curried lentil burgers and falafel burgers.      

Flexischools have also come on board, changing Monday’s menu to meatless and the canteen ladies encourage you to order online.  Details are on the Meatless Monday Menu following.

Our second initiative is Nude Tuesday’s.  Nude Food Day is a global initiative developed to encourage kids and parents to eat well and live well, and eliminate all unnecessary packaging and wrapping that goes into schools.

Historically, Nude Food Day has been celebrated on a specified date, however in 2022, we are promoting the event to run across the whole year, on Tuesdays.

Essentially, kids bring their food – nude! This will reduce the amount of rubbish that goes into the bins, that goes into the ground, that pollutes our planet.  Almost all plastic is derived from materials made from fossil fuels.  4% of the world's annual petroleum production is diverted to making plastic, and another 4% gets burned in the refining process.  Re-usable plastic containers reduce our use of fossil fuels, and our carbon footprint.

Jackie Tilsley
Earth and Environmental Science Teacher

YEAR 9 ACTIVITY WEEK REMINDER

Late last year all parents in Year 8 (now our Year 9 cohort) were emailed a youtube link to a powerpoint about the planned Activity Week in Term 3, Week 3 August 1st - 5th. If you did not get time to view this powerpoint and your son or daughter is in Year 9 this year or a new student to the College in Year 9, please revisit the information powerpoint by accessing it here via the youtube link: https://youtu.be/psQEAJxProk

As mentioned in the presentation, Year 9 parents will be emailed a google form to express interest in their son or daughter attending one or the other of the planned activities during Week 3 Term 3. This google form will be emailed out next Monday 7^th February. Parents of year 9 students, can you please start the discussion about which is the most suitable for your circumstances and complete the form when it lands in your inbox next week. Only one parent needs to complete the form.

Tim Whitney
Sports Co-ordinator

Awards

2021 HSC HIGH ACHIEVERS

DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVERS

Sequoia Arnaud-Gower, Jordan Arthur, Imogen Ball, Abbey Bevan, Darcie Bevis, Taylah Brown, Matthew Colnan, Imogen Evans, Olivia Flannery, Lily French, Isabella Grigalius, Corey Grossman, Zoe Hawkins, Chloe Hillcoat, Georgia Hutton, Jessica Johnson, Lucy Jones, Bella Kidman, Joshua Lees, Ben Longhurst, Kiara McCarthy, Madison McClymont, Hayley Mcfarlane, Tiffany New, Lia Newland, Charlotte O’Keefe, Amelie Ogg, Mariah Ouwerling, Leila Parnaby, Wren Phelen, Ysabella Purser, Miranda Quantrill, Bonnie Scanlan, Catia Stebbing, Sashi Wills, Breanna Yabsley.

TOP ATAR

Miranda Quantrill, Ysabella Purser, Chloe Hillcoat, Sashi Wills, Lia Newland, Sam Anderson, Corey Grossman, Georgia Hutton, Breanna Yabsley, Joshua Lees, Imogen Evans, Tiffany New, Lily French, Zoe Hawkins.

TOP ACHIEVERS

Tiffany New:               4^th in the State – Multimedia

Miranda Quantrill:       1^st in the State – Music, 99.35 ATAR

Ysabella Purser:         99.1 ATAR

MSPC PERPETUAL TROPHIES

3^rd Aggregate:             Chloe Hillcoat and Lily French

2^nd Aggregate:             Ysabella Purser

Dux:                            Miranda Quantrill

SPECIAL AWARDS

Abbey Bevan:             Caltex Prize for All Round Effort

Elizabeth Warne:         Long Tan Leadership Award (Yr 10)

Jack Devoy:                Long Tan Future Innovators Award (Yr 10)

Bethany McTaggart:     Long Tan Leadership Award (Yr 12)

Mystique Millar:           Long Tan Future Innovators Award (Yr 12)

Community News