MSPC Newsletter - Term 4 Week 8, 2nd December 2022

Principal

Dear Parents\Caregivers,

Parish Tableau
I want to congratulate the Sacred Heart Parish community for the Christmas Carnival and Tableau that was held on the weekend.  It was the first I had seen due to covid disruptions over the past couple of years. The three parish schools: St Joseph’s Primary, Mount St Patrick Primary and Mount St Patrick College all contributed through resources, staff, students and parents volunteering their time to be part of this excellent community event. We have seen community contributions to assist those in need this year due to the flood and it is fantastic to come together in a positive way to celebrate. Fr Peter, Mary-Ann Thackray and the excellent parish team have led us through the organisation to ensure its success.

Advent

A Christians we entered into the season of Advent last Sunday. It signals the beginning of a new Church year but also a joyful period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas. It is a time of expectation, knowing what is coming but not being able to speed it up. In our material world it is a busy time with gifts being bought and end of year parties and farewells being held. These celebrations are a time of joy but it can also be a bit much where we feel we are rushing from one thing to the next. If we let it, the season of Advent can be a period of reflection and pause. We can find moment of space in our busy world to reflect on our year and be grateful for the good things and seek ways to move away from the things that were not so good and see new possibilities.

End of School Year
Week 10, beginning on Monday 12^th December, is our last week for students with Wednesday 14^th December being our presentation day in the Gilbey Hall commencing at 1.30pm. This is an important day to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work of our students and I would encourage all students to be present for this day. The last day for students and teaching staff is Friday 16^th December. The last day that the College will be open for 2022 is Tuesday 20^th  December.

Be the Good and God Bless,
    Paul Reidy
    Principal

Assistant Principal - Mission

Launch of New Houses/Long Lunch /Shave for a Cure – A great success!
The College was a blaze of rainbow colours on Tuesday 22^nd November. The mufti day, where students made a donation so that they could wear a shirt in their new House colour i.e. Loreto – blue, Lisieux – Red, Romero – purple, Ignatius – orange, Assisi – aqua, Lucan – green, Doyle – magenta (pink) and Nagle – gold. The mufti donations raised $800 for ‘Shave for a Cure’ and $70 worth of small bottles with surprise contents for this popular stall at the Christmas Carnival. Brave Year 11 students had their locks shortened or shaved and raised $8000 for cancer research. A fantastic effort!

Christmas Carnival and Tableau – A magical evening!
The weather was perfect and the first ‘regular’ Christmas Carnival and Tableau presentation for a number of years began at 4pm on Saturday 26^th November. There were lots of sounds, smells and sights with many families with young children, a variety of stalls, a BBQ, cold drinks, a jumping castle, face-painting, ham raffles, hoopla and cake stalls. The spectacular presentation of the Nativity in the Gilbey Hall was a great credit to MSPP, SJPS and MSPC students and staff.

Thanks to those who attended the Carnival; those who took advantage of the online ticket sales for the Parish Raffle and those students, staff and parents who volunteered to set up and operate stalls and activities on Saturday and then clean up on Sunday.

Presentation Assembly
This special Assembly will be held on Wednesday 14^th December commencing at 1.30pm in the Gilbey Hall. Parents are welcome to attend. All students are to be in their full dress uniform. During the afternoon students will receive Academic Excellence and Merit Awards in year levels and Exemplary Awards in House groupings. There may even be a visit from ‘the person in red’, reindeers and elves!

    Mary-Anne McShane
   Assistant Principal: Mission

MINISTRY

Thank you!
A big thank you to all those students who have participated in Ministry Events this year! It has been great to have them up and running again! It also has been wonderful to see students take a chance and enjoy the experience, and create wonderful connections, new friendships and deepen their relationship with God. Thank you to the many staff who gave up their time to attend these events.

Year 10 and 12 Retreats 2023
Just so parents and guardians are aware, both Year 10 and Year 12 2023 will have their retreats in Term 1. These retreats are a very important tradition in our College and are compulsory. They will take place on the following dates:

Year 12 Retreat: 15th, 16th and 17th February, 2023

Year 10 Retreat: 20th, 21st and 22nd March, 2023

More information will be sent to parents via email before the end of the year regarding both these retreats.

Advent Prayer
We are officially in the season of Advent. Advent, means “coming” or “arrival” from the Latin word adventus and is a special time of year in the Christian calendar and is a period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. I have included two prayers for this week and next, for you to say with your family if you wish.

Week 1: Hope

Dear Jesus,

You are the hope in our world.

This Advent season, help us to slow down, listen to your voice and focus on what is really important.

We place our hope in you as we prepare our hearts to celebrate your birth at Christmas.

Amen

Week 2: Peace

Dear Jesus,

You entered our world as the Prince of Peace. This Advent, as we strive to become the best versions of ourselves, fill us with a deep and abiding peace. Help us share that peace with everyone we encounter, especially those who need it most.

Amen

    God bless,
    Grace Molloy
    Leader of Evangelisation

Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching

Congratulations to Year 7-10 students for their efforts in completing the Assessment Blocks in Weeks 5 and 6. Most students appeared calm and focussed as they attempted the diverse assessment tasks which are aimed at gathering data to inform the staff and students about their progress towards achieving the educational outcomes. The idea behind assessment blocks rather then spreading the assessments over the term is that students are practising preparing for all subjects at the one time rather than focussing all their attention on one subject and neglecting the others. We have found this a successful process in preparing students for the rigour of the HSC. Many students experience anxiety about exams and assessments.By completing assessment blocks in the junior school students can develop strategies to cope with anxiety.

Staff are now completing reports and constructing class groupings for 2023. There are many factors taken into account for class groupings. Academic and wellbeing needs along with student combinations are considered. If you have any concerns about your child’s placement please email me at narelle.sherrah@lism.catholic.edu. Year 7 and 8 classes are learning groups for most subjects with separate classes for Mathematics and Technology. Years 9-12 have a variety of learning groups for each subject.

The Term 4 Beacon scores were made available last week. These scores give valuable data about your child’s work ethic. Congratulations to all those students who improved from Term 3s Beacon Score. Our main aim at the College is that all students grow in their engagement with their learning.

There have been many educational activities taking place in the College since the junior assessments concluded. The Lady Musgrave Island Accelerated Science Excursion was an amazing opportunity for students to experience and witness the work of Marine Biologists. The experience could guide students into their future study options with the knowledge that being a Marine Biologist is not all glamour, it’s a lot of hard work. Thank you to Mrs Tilsley, Mrs Frankham, Mr Bressan and Mr Campbell for giving up their time to offer this experience. All students can look forward to attending the array of excursions that are on offer at the College dependent on their subject choices.

Year 10 attended a presentation about the Solomon Island Immersion program that will recommence for Year 11 students in 2023. Mrs Serone has sent a google form to students as an expression of interest. I will send information to parents about the trip this week. We ask students to complete the form by next Wednesday 7^th December.

Thank you to  the students who volunteered to help out at the Tableau. It was a great experience to work alongside the students serving many ex-students with their children. The following students volunteered: Rhiannon Nolan-Stiens, Maya O’Callaghan, Grace Kelly, Bailee Pedlow, Mya Andrews, Lucy McTaggart, Anja Griffin, Liz Warne, Lily Hope, Echo Rawson Cranney, Taleishia Robinson, Telia Behan, Kaitlyn Benard and Amelia Carr. A great community event. Sorry that Rhiannon Nolan-Stiens was injured in the process of her community service. Hoping for a speedy recovery, Rhiannon!

I hope the 2022 Academic year finishes well for all students and that they look back with pride on their academic achievements.

    Narelle Sherrah
    Assistant Principal: Learning and Teaching

Welfare

Wellbeing focus this week is Relationships and empathy and the Character Strength is Teamwork.

Louise Shields
Leader of Welfare

Curriculum

The past couple of weeks has seen Years 7 to 10 complete their Semester 2 examinations. We have been impressed by their quiet focus in preparing for and completing these tasks.  Reports will be released shortly via the Compass portal.

Meanwhile, Year 11 and Accelerated 10 students are gearing up for their upcoming HSC assessments in Week 9.  Students have been notified of their assessment blocks as follows:

Term 4 Assessment Blocks:

• Year 11 (Year 12 HSC) and Accelerated Year 10 assessment block is scheduled starting Week 9, commencing on 05/12/22 to 09/12/22.

Assessment Policy: A copy of the Assessment Policy can be found on the Assessment Portal. If students require a variation to assessment, they should complete the online Assessment Variation Application Form for each subject. 

Students can access all information regarding their assessments via the Assessment Portal which is found on the MSPC Moodle Site. Students can access the site using their school email and log in: https://moodle.mursclism.catholic.edu.au/ 

For Years 10 - 12: If students are absent on the day of the assessment, a Medical Practitioner must complete the Mount St Patrick Assessment Variation Illness Application. This can be accessed on the student’s year page of the Assessment Portal. A zero will be awarded if the completed document is not provided. NOTE: A signed statutory declaration will not be accepted.  * Please note that a family social event or holiday will not be considered a valid reason for an extension or exemption.

Years 11 and 12 should refer to their Senior Handbooks for the MSPC Assessment Policy relating to Stage 6.  Years 11 and 12 should  be conversant with the NESA HSC Rules and Procedures Guide.  All students entered in an HSC course must read the HSC Rules and Procedures Guide. The weblink can be found on the year page of the Assessment Portal.

Students are encouraged to be proactive with their learning and assessment preparation. This is important for building confidence and assessment readiness. Students will be provided with study guides and revision materials by their teachers. If students are unsure of expectations, they should seek advice from their teachers. There are many helpful online resources that can also assist parents to help their child to be organised, confident and assessment ready. Implementing a balanced home study routine can play an important part in this process.

Below is the schedule for assessment tasks for Weeks 9 and 10:

    Jo McDonald
    Leader of Curriculum

Faculty News

FROM THE SPORTS DESK

GOLF NEWS

Year 9 student Sam Daley competed in this year’s Diocesan Golf Championships held at the Coffs Harbour GC. Sam played well and finished with a stableford score of 32 points. This placed Sam third overall at the Championships. Well done, Sam!

A special mention to ex-Mt St Patrick College student Lucas Higgins who, last weekend played Australian PGA Championships in Brisbane at Royal Queensland GC. Lucas had a steady first two rounds and at one stage was -5 and 4 shots from the lead. Lucas made the cut and played the weekend along with players like Cameron Smith and Adam Scott, to name two.

Congratulations on a great achievement and we are watching your progress.

DIOCESAN OPEN WATER POLO

Boys
After a physically challenging day in the pool, consecutive losses and multiple whistle blows, our MSPC Senior Boys Water Polo squad still held their heads high and smiled. Massive efforts were given by Zayne Chisholm with multiple goals scored throughout the day. The boys played hard all day. Well done to this rookie team. We look forward to the 2023 competition. 

Coach: Tom Gresham 

Girls
After an impressive win of 8-0 against Banora, our senior girls had no trouble in beating Xavier Catholic College shortly after. Outstanding performances by Elizabeth Warne, Hannah Millar, Alexis Pelikan, Maruia Hoggard, Charlotte Foster and Lily and Ruby Van Den Driest saw a total combined scoring of 14 goals. Bringing our girls to the Semi-Final where they were unfortunately narrowly defeated by a strong Woodlawn army. All players showed great spirit throughout the day.

Assistant Coach:Mahli Johnston (Student)

BERG SHIELD CRICKET

Round 2 v St Mary’s Casino
On Friday 18^th November our Berg Shield cricketers (Yrs 7-9) travelled to Casino, via the scenic route, to play St Marys.

We batted first on a slowish turf wicket with many batters getting a start. Sam Acret (23), Billy Smith (41), Sanjay Nix (31 no) and George Fisher (28 no) were the main contributors to a decent score of 4/175 after 20 overs.

When it was our turn to bowl the tone was set with a wicket on the second ball as we bowled them all out for 65 in 18 overs. The main wicket takers were Rishabh Lashand (3/13), Jake Shackell (2/22) and Jack O’Shea with a mesmerising spell of leg spin bowling taking 2/4 from 4 overs. Other wicket takers were Sam Acret and Menzie Tucker. A highlight of the innings was a brilliant piece of athletic fielding from George Fisher who picked the ball up from cover point and threw the stumps down in one movement with the batter well short of his ground.

Another highlight was the impromptu game of backyard cricket breaking out amongst the boys after our bus broke down and we were stranded at Casino for a while. While we got back a bit later than planned it was a great day overall. A get well soon shout out to Mr Nix who was sick and couldn’t attend on the day and a big thanks to Nathan Pryke and Mr Tom Gresham for their assistance. The challenges continue next round as we are drawn against Woodlawn in Lismore.

Michael Acret (for Corey Nix)

Round 3 v St John’s College Woodlawn
On Friday 25^th November our Berg Shield cricketers travelled to Lismore to play St John’s College, Woodlawn in Round 3 of this Year’s 7 - 9 competition.

After sending them in to bat on a greenish looking pitch on Mortimer Oval, we battled well to contain the Woodlawn batters as they looked to up the tempo in this T20 fixture. They ended up with a score of 4/142 from their 20 overs. 5 MSPC players bowled 4 overs each with the wicket takers being Sam Acret (2/16) and Jack O’Shea (2/29). Other highlights were catches taken by Sanjay Nix and Harry O’Brien with Finn Kelly completing a stumping.

We then batted against a very strong Woodlawn bowling unit. While we toughed it out bravely, we struggled to keep up with the required run rate and ended up at 9/106 after our 20 overs. Rishabh Lashand top scored with 23 with the other batsmen to reach double figures being Menzie Tucker, Sam Acret and Hugo Portus (12 no).

While we certainly were competitive, we have to concede that Woodlawn was too good for us on the day. This school season has been a valuable learning experience, particularly for our younger players who have had to play at a higher level against many older players. The potential is certainly there for MSPC cricket in the years to come.

Michael Acret and Corey Nix

DIOCESAN INDIVIDUAL TOUCH TRIAL APPLICATIONS OPEN
Another reminder to any interested, talented representative touch footballers that applications are now open for Diocesan Individual trials. These trials, which are by invitation only, hence the application process will occur in Sawtell

2023 DATES – Term 1
For all those families who love to plan, here are some big dates for Term 1 next year:

Feb 3^rd College Swimming Carnival, TRAC Murwillumbah

Feb 23^rd & 24^th NSW All Schools Triathlon, Penrith

Feb 21^st Diocesan Individual Touch Football Trials, Coffs Harbour

Feb 27^th NSWCCC Tennis Parramatta (Individual application based on Aust ranking)

March 2^nd Diocesan Swimming Carnival, Kempsey

March 7^th Diocesan Winter sport trials (League 15 & Opens B&G, Football Open B&G)

March 10^th Diocesan Tennis Championships, Tweed

March 28^th & 29^th Northern Selection trials Rugby League 15’s & Opens, South West Rocks

March 31^st NSWCCC Swimming, Homebush

April 3^rd & 4^th NSWCCC Touch Football, Wagga Wagga

April 5^th Diocesan Open Basketball

    Tim Whitney
    Sports Co-ordinator

College News

MUSICAL: BACK TO THE 80'S

HELP NEEDED

In 2023 MSPC will be performing the musical Back to the 80s. It is a high school rom com set in the 80s and features many of the 80s greatest hits. This musical has 76 performers with numerous fast. paced costume changes. The final scene being the Prom. This is the biggest cast yet and the costuming is one of the major undertakings.

We are appealing to the MSPC community for donations of 80s style clothes (eg the Madonna Material Girl look, Olivia Newton John’s Lets Get Physical look, Kenny Loggin’s Footloose look) and 80s style prom dresses (taffeta puffy sleeves bright colours etc)

Please do not donate anything precious or indispensable as the garments will be altered and will be well-used by the end of the performances. Donations can be dropped off at the front office.

Could any parents who can help with sewing please contact the College leaving a contact number and Lisa or I will get in touch regarding how you can help.

Thanking everyone in anticipation

    Lisa Fauvette and Sherree O’Brien
    Costume Department

Awards

Lisieux Co-ordinator’s Awards

Year 7: Caitlyn Benard, Sonny John

Year 8: Jared Hall

Year 9: Matthew Ryan, Hiwot Nardi, Ty Lockwood

Year 10: Brendon Brock

Year 11: Isaac Gibson

Lisieux Principal’s Awards

Year 7: Sonny John

Year 9: Matthew Ryan, Hiwot Nardi, Ty Lockwood

Year 11: Isaac Gibson

Lisieux College Awards

Year 9: Ty Lockwood

Loreto Co-ordinator’s Awards

Year 7: Evie Ginn, Noah Matheson

Year 8: Ewan Gale, Clancy Greenbury, Cooper Lynch

Year 9: Gian Kendrick-Morosini, Joshua Hawkins, Jake Shackell

Year 10: Harley Penfold

Year 11: Elizabeth Warne

Loreto Principal’s Awards

Year 7: Evie Ginn

Year 9: Gian Kendrick-Morosini

Loreto College Awards

Year 9: Gian Kendrick-Morosini

Lucan Co-ordinator’s Awards

Year 7: Inge-Marie Kolominskas, Oscar Morfee

Year 8: Ivy Piticco, Max Gommers, Chloe Ryan, Milla Hartwig-Costello, Kate Pryke, Tilda Hewett, Stephanie Mayne

Year 10: Maya Wheeler, Brooke Ryan

Lucan Principal’s Awards

Year 8: Ivy Piticco, Max Gommers, Milla Hartwig-Costello, Kate Pryke, Tilda Hewett

Lucan College Awards

Year 8: Kate Pryke

Nagle Co-ordinator’s Awards

Year 8: Erin Lanyon, Echo Rawson Cranney

Year 9: Molly Dean, Indiana Wadley, Haylen Fox-Duong

Year 10: Summer Gibbons

Nagle Principal’s Awards

Year 9: Indiana Wadley

Community News