Tomorrow, on Remembrance Day, we need to pause at 11am for a minute’s silence in memory of Australians who have died or suffered in wars and armed conflicts. We hold in prayer, those who have sacrificed so much for us, so that we may continue to enjoy the freedoms we have today. May we look to live our lives in a way that honours their sacrifice.

Deputy Principal St Patrick's College Mercy Campus 2024

Congratulations to Mr Scott McSherry on his appointment as Deputy Principal commencing 2024. I wish Scott all the best in his leadership of the College.

Important Information Regarding Parent Consent
An email has been sent to all families regarding parental consent on student’s records. To ensure your consents have been updated please access the online Parental Consent via Parent Lounge, if you have not done so already, by 1 December 2023. Even if you have previously advised, the system requires you to refresh. Consents will default to ‘No’ if not refreshed by this date. This will mean that a student's photo will be excluded from all media.

Please refer to the email dated 14 September 2023 for further details and contact the College Office if you have any enquiries.

All Saints and All Souls
The Feast of ‘All Saints’ is celebrated annually on 1 November. On the Feast of ‘All Saints’ we think of many ordinary good people who walked with God in their daily lives, and who have now passed. All Souls Day follows on 2 November. On this day we remember all the departed and in particular those who may still need our prayers. It is good for all of us to remember family members and friends who have passed away and to pray for them on these days.

Semi-formal
The Year 10 Semi-formal will be held on Wednesday 22 November. Tickets should now be purchased. We look forward to seeing all students attend what will be a memorable event.

Sports Awards Presentation
Mercy Campus Sports Awards were held at a special assembly last Wednesday 1 November. Congratulations to the huge number of students who participated in the various carnivals and competitions throughout the year and those who received awards on the day.

Fees and Textbooks
Please ensure that all fees are finalised as soon as possible. Year 12 students should have returned all their textbooks prior to next Friday’s graduation.

End of Year Celebrations
The end of year is fast approaching. Next week our Year 12 students will celebrate their Final Assembly on Thursday and Graduation Mass on Friday. These activities will be filled with mixed emotions, not only for the students, but also for parents. I welcome all parents and families of our Year 12 students to attend or watch the Graduation Mass through our live stream. The live stream link can be found on the College App.

I wish all our graduating students the best as they continue their journey into the next stage of a wonderful life.

Year 12 Students Driving
I remind students of their obligation to remember to drive safely and obey all road rules when they leave the College on next Friday. Local police have indicated that there will be a strong law enforcement presence next Friday (Graduation Day) and over coming weeks. High spirits that can accompany significant moments such as leaving school for the last time, should not play out in bad behaviour whilst driving vehicles.

Parties and Young People
Hosting parties for people who are underage is a high-risk activity and I remind parents of the legal obligations and issues that can surround such events. It is important that any hosts of non-official social events understand they can be held liable in law for any injury/breaches in criminal law by anyone attending under their supervision. The College disclaims any responsibility for any non-official functions held.

News from around the College

Arts in the Gardens - 16 November 2023

On Thursday 16th of November at 5:30 - 7:30 pm, St Patricks College Mackay is hosting our very own “Arts in the Garden''. This evening will be showcasing what the very talented performing arts students have accomplished over the year. With a walk through Art Gallery, Illuminate installation display, dramatic performances, student led work, and live music, you're bound to see something that will interest you. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase, so come along and enjoy a fantastic evening.

Please RSVP to the event via this link: https://forms.gle/ZkX5Skp2HPzfYy8H6

Year 11 Early Childhood Studies

Year 11 Early Childhood Studies students have been learning about the importance of Literacy in the early years. They have been researching fun activities like singing, reading, storytelling, drawing and writing and how this helps to develop a child’s literacy skills.

On Monday 6 November the Early Childhood Studies class went to the Mackay Childcare Centre, where they had the opportunity to implement play-based literacy activities, developed during Term 4 lessons, with children aged 3 to 5 years.

The students enjoyed teaching the young children literacy skills such as letter recognition, phonics and vocabulary through the games and activities that they developed such as Alphabet Bingo, Missing Letters, Musical Alphabet, Letter Tracing and Playdoh Letters. The Early Childhood Studies class had a great time working with the Kindy group of children at Mackay Childcare Centre and helping them to explore literacy through play.

Student Counsellor

Autonomy Supportive Parenting

Teen years are the transition time between childhood and adulthood - meaning that when young people go through this period in life they enter it without much control and independence but come out the other side as adults with freedom to do what they like. How can we use this time to set young people up to be ready for the next stage in their life so they become self motivated young adults?

Pushing boundaries, risk taking and seeking more independence can be difficult to navigate, but they are a necessary part of a young person getting ready to enter into the world and learning how much control they can have over their life. Teenagers feeling this sense of autonomy and control over some aspects of their life is very important so they become adults who motivate and move themselves forward.

Autonomy Supportive Parenting is a great way to achieve this balance. PHD Psychologist Dr Tali Shenfield has a few great tips on how you can incorporate this into your parenting style:

1. Provide unconditional love - children who feel that they will be loved even if they “mess up” have less fear of failure and are more likely to be able to take some risks and gain more learning and experience. To act with unconditional love even when young people do eventually “mess up” we can make it clear we do not approve of the behaviour but still love and value who they are. Separating the behaviour from the person is key.

2. Give your child the opportunity to make some age appropriate choices - allow them some choice in their day to day routine and other areas where possible. This is an excellent way to support their decision making skills and have them grow into adults who feel they can steer their own ship! Of course adults set the household boundaries and rules - but involving your child in conversations and decisions about consequences will facilitate communication and collaboration.
3. Help your child feel valued and competent - young people need to feel like they contribute to the family unit in a positive way to stay motivated and maintain a sense of direction.
4. Demonstrate empathy and employ active listening skills - try to listen first before giving advice. And if conflict arises due to how your child expresses their emotions - for example getting upset and then throwing things or yelling - try to validate the feeling but make it clear the behaviour is not ok. “I understand why you’re angry but it is not ok to yell at me”. Again focusing on the behaviour when the young person messes up.

https://www.psy-ed.com/wpblog/autonomy-supportive-parenting/
https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2008_JoussemetLandryKoestner_CanPsych.pdf

Darcie O’Grady - School Counsellor

Sports Department

St Patrick’s College Touch Football

Gold Coast Titans All Schools (GCTAS) is an annual touch football event run by Queensland Touch Football held at the world class Gold Coast Performance Centre at Runaway Bay, Queensland.

Held in October, it is the world’s largest touch football tournament, with over 530 teams representing various schools both nationally and internationally. This year we entered both U15 Girls, U15 Boys and Open Boys.

Across the 5-day tournament, over 7,200 students took to the field playing over 1,850 games across 30 fields, attracting between 6,000 and 10,000 spectators.

St Patrick's teams achieved well in all competitions with U15 Girls placing 3rd U15 Boys 7th and Open Boys 4th in their pools.

Special mention to Tenzin Contor and Will Whippy for six years’ service to the College Touch Football program

Team award winners

U15 Girls;
Best and Fairest - Indy Jorgensen
Players player - Jala Brown

U15 Boys;
Best and Fairest - Sonny Doring,
Players Player - Lachlan Beldan

Open Boys;
Best and Fairest - Kouper Minniecon
Players Player - Toby Falconer

We would like to thank all players who trialed and attended the carnival.

Confraternity Jersey

Nell O'Brien and Ella Phillips proudly displayed the special Confraternity jerseys, numbers 11 and 12, purchased during our recent auction. These jerseys have special significance for Nell and Ella as they finish their final years of schooling with jersey numbers that both their fathers wore while representing the College.

Chris O’Brien, father of Nell, was winning Confraternity Captain in 1989 in Year 12 and wore jersey number 11 and Peter Phillips (dec) father of Ella, was winning Confraternity Captain and Player of the Carnival in 1990 in Year 12 and wore jersey number 12.

This picture shows the generations of pride and friendship while representing St Patrick’s College especially this year in 2023 with our success in Rugby League and with our many sports played at the College.

St Vincent de Paul Committee

Vinnies Hampers & School Savvy Donations

Reminder - Term 4 Vinnies fundraising focus will once again be the Mackay St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hamper Appeal.

Vinnies Christmas Hampers

The Vinnies Committee are seeking donations of various food items for the annual Mackay St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hamper Appeal.

The ‘Most Generous Homeroom’ trophy is up for grabs for the homeroom with the most Christmas hampers. The winning homeroom will also receive a homeroom lunch and the ‘golden basket’

The Christmas Hampers will be presented to Annamaria from Vinnies at the final assembly for Year 10 on Wednesday 22 November (Week 8)

CatholicCare School Savvy donations sought:
We have been asked to support the local CatholicCare School Savvy project that will be happening in early January next year. School supplies and uniforms will be available at a small cost to families in need to help with the financial burden of getting kids back to school.

Both campuses are invited to donate any of the following items to support this worthwhile project: