St Patrick's College Mackay - Term 2 - May 2023

We are now drawing to the end of the first Semester, with students and staff looking forward to the upcoming holiday break.  

Year 7 Enrolments 2024
We welcomed many new families to our College for our 2024 Year 7 enrolment interviews which were held in Week 5. Round One enrolment offers will be sent to families on Wednesday, 12 July 2023. We remind all parents/guardians with students wishing to attend Year 7 in 2024 to complete their online enrolment application as soon as possible to be eligible for the Round One offers. Thank you to the many staff who have been involved in this collaborative process.

Senior Subject Selection Evening
It was good to see so many families taking advantage of the Subject Selection Evening held at St Patrick’s College last Wednesday. Formal enrolment and subject advisory interviews with a member of the College Leadership Team or Middle Leaders are currently being held. Please contact the College office if you have not booked an interview for your 2024 Year 11 student.

College Teams Success
Congratulation to the many academic, sport and cultural teams who have represented the College throughout the term. I am extremely proud of your support and effort.
 
Bikeathon
Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the recent St Patrick’s College Bikeathon.  We were blessed with fabulous weather and it was wonderful to see so many students and staff supporting this event. Congratulations to everyone involved in making the day such a success.

Retreats
Last week, our entire cohort of students attended various retreats and reflection sessions throughout the Mackay area. This was an opportunity for development of a personal identity and leadership qualities for students. It was also a wonderful opportunity for students and staff to get to know each other outside the classroom environment.  I personally enjoyed being able to witness firsthand the enjoyment, challenges, team building exercises, reflection and prayer experienced by our students.

Human Powered Vehicles
This weekend our amazing HPV teams will participate in the Whitsunday STEM Challenge at Palmyra Dragway. A huge thank you to Mr William Gilbert for his guidance in this extracurricular activity. I would also like to acknowledge our teaching and ancillary staff members who are also volunteering their time to help the teams on Saturday. 

Uniform Committee Update
Thank you to all for completing the survey regarding changes to our current uniform. We received over 850 responses – a huge success. All information is being collated and ideas will generate from your suggestions. Following this process, there will be a rollout period to allow for the transition to the new uniform.

It is anticipated that the uniform will not come into effect until 2025. Therefore, the 2025 Year 7 cohort will be the first intake of the proposed new uniform as our suppliers need advanced notice of 12 months. There will be some slight elements of change during this ongoing introduction period. We will keep you informed during this process.

Staffing News
I would like to welcome Jakobi Johnson and Nicole Saunders to our Teaching staff at St Patrick’s College. We also welcome back Jackson Harris as a Teacher Assistant. We are delighted to have you all join our St Patrick’s community.

Show Holiday and Student Free Day
A reminder that following our Show Holiday on Thursday 22 June, there will be a Student Fee Day on Friday 23 June for all Year 7 – 12 students. This is officially the last day of Term 2. I look forward to seeing all students returning refreshed on Monday 10 July 2023.

Parent Engagement Evening
We invite all families to join us for our next Parent Engagement Evening on Thursday 20 July from 5:30pm. Our session on “Wellbeing” will be held at St Patrick’s Senior Campus. More details will be sent to families before the evening.

Year 7 Camp and Retreat

Az Hamilton from Just Motivation led the Year 7 Retreat which aimed to get students to think deeper and be attentive. When asking questions, go deeper – “Go the extra mile” as Jesus said and find out more about people; be a true friend to each other.

At the Year 7 Camp students were able to work in groups doing team building exercises and practice their leadership skills. Each evening on camp, students participated in a liturgy. This was a wonderful time for prayer and self-reflection.

Year 8 Retreat
Dave Jorna from Project Hatch led the Year 8 Retreat which aimed at recognising each other’s gifts. Students recognised each other’s talents and how people used their gifts to be good friends and be an example for others to follow.

Year 9 Retreat
Michael Fitzpatrick from Belum, led the Year 9 Retreat looking at relationships within the group to see how they could improve their relationships with one another and come together as one. They also began to think about how they would soon become the Senior Year level on the Mercy campus.

Year 10 Reflection Days
Glen Gerreyn from the Hopeful Institute, led the Year 10 reflection days which focused on where they want to be in the future and how to get there and what did they need to do or change to give themselves the best chance of being successful.

Youth Mass

Our Youth Masses at both the St Mary’s and St Patrick’s Parishes continue to grow. Attendance from students has been fantastic with new students joining us each month. There was standing room only at St Mary’s last weekend and it was wonderful to see our students getting involved in all aspects of the mass. Serving the parishioners a light supper after mass is another small way for our students to give back to the community. 

Brekky Van 

Thank you to Mrs Mifsud, Miss Nutt and the Midas staff and students for the first five weeks of Term 2. Attendance was exceptional. Even though the mornings have been cool, Orange Sky and our Brekky Van have been well supported by those in need within our community. Oraya House will now be looking after the rest of the Term 2.

A special thank you to ESA International for their exceptional donation of $3000 to our Brekky Van. This will go a long way to supporting the ongoing running costs of this service.

Throughout 2023, we will be working closely with The Resilience Project to support the wellbeing of our school community. 

The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs and provides evidence-based, practical strategies to build resilience.

Our Partnership Program consists of online presentations and weekly lessons for students, professional development for staff, and Parent & Carer Hub (inc. digital presentations) for our parent and carer community. 

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing the Parent & Carer Hub with you. The videos are 5-10 minutes long and will walk through the key pillars of resilience: Gratitude, Empathy & Mindfulness. You’ll hear stories and be introduced to activities to show how these strategies can support our kids' learning and development, and also support you as parents and carers. 

This program is an important part of our school’s effort to look after the mental health of our community.

View the first presentation of the series here:

Part 1: Meet Hugh and learn about The Resilience Project - https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-hugh/

In this presentation, Hugh shares a personal experience about his sister's battles with Mental Illness.

Note: This video contains a story about an Eating Disorder that may be triggering. Please consider this before watching. For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page. 

On Tuesday 16 May, a young St Patrick's College Soccer Team participated in the knockout round of the U15 Bill Turner Cup at Magpies Sporting Club. The team displayed some great skills and played well together however were unable to get a win in their first two games. In the third game St Patrick's came away with a close win against Catherine McAuley College. 

Both Darby Geisler and Max Hughes were exceptional in the goal box, repelling numerous shots on goal throughout the day. Our defence of Ned Pidgeon, Noah Newland, Harry Leigh and Max Miles put in an outstanding effort by protecting the St Pat’s goalkeeper. The main battle in most games was in the midfield where Wenlock Gould, Duston Morrow, Liam Anderson and Jai Zhang battled constantly for possession. Our strikers Nate Harwood and Jonathan North created many scoring opportunities throughout the day and put several shots in the back of the net.  

Mr Cureton would like to congratulate the following players on their dedication, skill and sportsmanship during the event: 

Harry Leigh, Darby Geisler, Noah Newland, Ned Pidgeon, Max Miles, Wenlock Gould, Dustin Morrow, Liam Anderson, Jai Zhang, Max Hughes, Nat Harwood and Jonathan North

In the second week of this term St Patrick’s College - Mercy Campus was represented by four teams at the Whitsunday Futsal Trials at the Multi Sports Centre at Sarina State High School. 

The St Pat's 12 years team were unlucky not to progress to the semi finals and finished the day with two wins and a loss. St Patrick's 12 Years; Pascoe Gould, Kayden O’Brien, Kodan Christensen, Erin Cureton and Ainslee Richardson.

There were two St Pat’s 13 year teams that played on the day. St Pat's White were competitive in all of their games and finished second in their pool however did not progress to the semi finals due to for/against points difference. St Patrick's 13 Years White; Liam, Harry, Max, Ky, Lily, Johnny and Wyatt.

Full of nerves and anticipation the St Pat’s Green team put in 100% for each game and enjoyed the experience of playing other schools in the competition.  St Patrick's 13 Years Green; Samuel, Levi, Lewis, Max, Kael, Jayden and Jake.

Our 15 years also had strong performance and were unfortunate to progress further. Many of the games involved the lead changing several times as both teams struggled for dominance.  St Patrick's 15 Years; Ned, Wenlock, Nate, Darby, Paige and Noah.

Mr Cureton, Mrs Clancy, Mrs Miles and Mrs Hamilton are pleased to report that players in all the St Patrick’s teams played to the best of their abilities in every game and were respectful to each other, referees and their opponents. Congratulations to all students involved. 

St Patrick's rugby league young guns Xavier Kerrisk and Jaxon Purdue have enhanced their sporting reputations with selection in the Queensland Secondary Schools Under 18s representative team.

The dynamic duo were named in a powerful Maroons’ schoolboys squad after stand out performances for the Capricornia region at last week’s State Secondary Schools Carnival in Townsville.

Both played key roles to help Capricornia reach the Championship final against South Coast with the classy Kerrisk – rated one of the best young hookers in Queensland – also named Player of the Tournament and joint Player of the Final with rival Bailley McConnell.

Kerrisk and the skilful Purdue are both Mackay Cutters junior products and contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys.

The pair recently participated in the Queensland Under 18s Emerging Origin camp and will now line up for the Maroons at the National Secondary Schools Championships that will be staged at Redcliffe during July.

There was more good news for St Patrick’s College when emerging forward Sam Anderson was chosen in the Queensland Secondary Schools Under 15s White squad.

Anderson joins fellow Capricornia reps in The Cathedral College Rockhampton second rower Jake Armstrong and five eighth Archie Lloyd and St Brendan’s Yeppoon hooker Jay Marsh in the Maroons squad to compete at the National Schoolboys Under 15 Championships at Port Macquarie during September.  

Emerging netball goalkeeper Shayla Pershouse will realise a childhood sporting dream when she dons her beloved Queensland attire at this year’s School Sport Australia Netball Championships.

The defensive dynamo produced superb performances for the Capricornia representative side at the recent Queensland School Sport Netball Championships in Brisbane to earn her maiden State honours.

Shayla will now line up for the Maroons at the School Sport Australia Netball 15yrs and under National Championships in Perth from July 29 to August 4.

It is a huge achievement for the 15 year old DAS product who was at her combative best when St Patrick’s College won both the Cup (Seniors) and Shield (Junior) categories at the Capricornia Regional Trials last week at Mackay Multisports  Stadium to qualify for the prestigious Vicki Wilson State Netball Championships in Brisbane later this year.

All conquering St Patrick’s College will represent the region in the Vicki Wilson Cup after toppling Holy Spirit College Dovetails 19-12 in the final.

Earlier the senior girls registered wins over Mackay North State High, Mackay State High, St Catherine’s College Proserpine and Whitsunday Anglican School in a semi final.

A feature was the tenacious defence of Pershouse and Durelli and the creative skills of centre Newland who proved an excellent feeder into the circle.

“All of the players trusted each other with positive talk on court and team support a major highlight” revealed coach Newland.

The triumphant St Patrick’s Cup squad coached by Christine Newland and Sally Redfern was: Lilly Newland, Ainsley Carey, Francesca Vella, Tenille Cotter, Rebecca Symons, Kiana Dunn, Bethany McPherson, Ella McGill, Shaylah Pershouse and Sophie Durelli.

Unbeaten St Patrick’s defeated Holy Spirit College Dovetails 14-9 in the Shield decider with strong performances from shooter Tahlia Anderson, centre Tayla Lucas and goal defence Kate O’Brien.
In the lead up to the final the girls eclipsed Moranbah Rhinos, Mackay North State High, Mackay State High and St Patrick’s Junior Development team in a semi final.

The winning St Patrick’s Shield squad coached by Di Bailey and Kasey Maunder was: Tahlia Anderson, Jala Brown, Lacie Clarke, Jayda Earl, Tayla Lucas, Mackenzie Maunder, Sky Mole, Kate O’Brien, Mia Pastega and Libby Zurvas.

St Catherine’s College Proserpine won the Boys Round Robin series with Mackay State High finishing runners up and St Patrick’s third.

Co-captains and goal defenders George Mann and Joshua Williamson led a new-look St Patrick’s team that improved throughout the series after tossing Moranbah 9-7 in their opening game and suffered narrow losses to St Catherine’s and Mackay State High.

Coach Nina Gaviglio praised the efforts of her developing squad which also included goal attacks Braithan Vickers and Jacob Elbourne, wing defenders Oscar Bishop and Lance Allan, centre Trae Cora, wing attack Toby Falconer and goal shooter Josh Venz.    

We are very excited to announce the launch of our online Events & Payments system through the Parent Lounge. 

Instead of completing permission forms by hand, parents are now able to login to parent lounge to accept/decline attendance for various events including excursions, camps and sporting activities. 

Another awesome feature of this new system is the ability to make card payments for excursions, camps and sporting activities if required.  No more having to come into the office or send cash in with your child.

To find Events & Payments, simply log into your Parent Lounge via the App or Website and click on Events & Payments on the left side of the screen.  This will bring up a list of your events.  Follow the prompts to record permission/attendance, etc.

If you are having any issues accessing Parent Lounge, please contact the school office.

The AUSLAN Club is going strong. We have about 43 members who meet regularly on Tuesdays at first break.  We recently had the opportunity to sign the Australian and New Zealand National Anthems on ANZAC Day during the main ceremony. Student also did a display at our Open Night.

On Saturday 22 July, we are travelling to Townsville to perform the Australian National Anthem for the Cowboys V Eels NRL game at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium. 

Thank you to Mrs Kylie Denning (Educational Interpreter), Mrs Jenny Magnussen and Mrs Erin Greentree (Community Representatives) who join us each week to give guidance to the students.

The University of Queensland Science Ambassadors program has been run at St Patrick’s for the last eight years. High achieving, motivated Science students have been sharing their enthusiasm for science, helping with the Science Week activities, developing leadership skills, and raising the profile of science in our college.

The UQ Science Ambassadors for 2023 are: Alex Brannan, Danika Arvidson, Anna Zhang, Gabrielle Ipson, Melisa Li, Kimberly Ortega, William Radke, and Ishka Shepherd. Congratulations to all of them!

Written by Danika Arvidson
I have always been fascinated by the topic of science and exploration, as it teaches us about the worlds beyond our own, and in turn teaches us about our own environment, how we came to be and how we have evolved. 

In the topic of science and exploration. ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, JUICE, will make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa – with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments. The mission will characterise these moons as both planetary objects and potential habitats, explore Jupiter’s complex environment in-depth, and study the wider Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giants across the Universe for three years.

The Ariane 5 was launched on the 14th of April 2023, from the European spaceport in France, beginning its 8-year journey to Jupiter and three of its moons. It will reach Jupiter in July 2031.The spacecraft will go on to spend many months orbiting Jupiter. The last leg of the JUICE mission will focus on Ganymede—a moon larger than Mercury— which is believed to have more water than Earth, and because of this abundance of water scientists have predicted a high opportunity for life in the past, currently, or in the future. 

As of the 3rd of May 2023, JUICE has currently accumulated 46,958,082 km, with a total of 668,041,918km to follow, until science and our understanding of space and life is revolutionised once again.

In April, our College Choir was fortunate to perform with Karen Jacobsen (voice of Siri)  and the QLD Symphony Orchestra at the World Premiere of Misogyny Opus. Congratulations to these students who had the opportunity to performed original Australian music. Each student and staff member was gifted a personalised thank you gift from Karen following the event. Thank you Karen for supporting our students in their create endeavours! 

Our Year 10 Visual Art class had the opportunity to use their talents in service of others this term. Crossroad Arts, as part of their Annual Giving Program fundraising campaign, asked for local artists to complete a canvas to be sold to raise money for their annual projects.

Rhianna Mestidio, Jillian Panganiban, Charley Corby, Zoe Kirkpatrick, Kaili James, Willow Barrett, Ashling Scanlon and Amelia Crouch all put their best foot forward to create a canvas using any medium on the theme “Access is Love”.

These artworks, along with others from across Mackay, will be exhibited on the Street View Gallery walls at Crossroads, 55 Wood Street, Mackay City Heart. The exhibit opens Friday 2nd June and runs until August 4th August. All canvases will be on sale for $40. 

Congratulations to all our students that competed at this year’s second Mackay Whitsunday Interschool Chess tournament, hosted by Mackay Christian College.

St Patrick’s sent 31 students to participate in the event which proved the biggest competition so far in the region with approximately 245 students taking part.

The students represented the College with distinction with Earl Barrios, Ethan Dunn, Asher Radke and Seth Postlethwaite all coming home with a Gold Team Medal in the B Division and Owen Frannetovich, Robin Varghese, Jake Rickards and Axel Arinas collecting a Silver Team Medal in A Division – a tremendous achievement. Owen also clinched an individual bronze medal.

Several St Patrick’s students also earned Merit Ribbons and these included Oscar Nauman, Robin, Jake, Chase Crisp, Adam Matsen and Michael Mauchline (A Division) and Earl, Alfie Wanless-Johnson, Ethan, Seth and Elijsha Zemek (B Division).

A big thank you to Team mentors Doug Beddington, Lincoln De Thomasis and Sharon Stewart-Harris for their great support on the day.

Ergon Energy Network and Energex would like to invite you attend to the 2023 Apprentice Information WebEx Session. These sessions are for anyone who is considering an apprenticeship with us in 2024 and open to school leavers, mature age applicants and people of diverse cultures and backgrounds.

You can choose to attend one of the three Sessions on offer but if the dates or times are unsuitable, we can provide you with a copy of the recorded Session.
 
To Register:  Email through the following:
You will receive an email with the WebEx dial-in details the week before the Session.  If dialling in at school - please have the students interested and teachers dial in from one location in the school with a video screen if possible.  Teachers are encouraged to also attend.  

If it is through a school the name of the school attending, approximate numbers of attendees and email address to apprenticerecruitment@energyq.com.au and include the Session that you will be attending

If individual person – please provide name and email address to apprenticerecruitment@energyq.com.au and include the Session that you will be attending; 
       Tuesday 20th June – 6pm to 7pm
       Thursday 22nd June – 3.30pm to 4.30pm
       Monday 26th June – 12pm to 1pm
 
The Information session will include:
Attendance at a WebEx Information session Information on the trades/apprenticeships that Ergon Energy Network/Energex offer Locations of the 2024 apprenticeships Opportunity to hear from our Apprentices and Tradespeople Overview of our recruitment process including testing requirements  
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Apprentice Team on 1800 262 353 Option 3.

Bookings are filling up fast! Don't miss this great opportunity for your school. 

If you would like to book a group of students to attend, please BOOK NOW to secure your preferred timeslot!

Thank you to the Schools who have already booked and we look forward to seeing you and your students at the Expo.

This FREE community event is held to offer students planning their pathway from education to employment, the latest on tertiary studies, training, courses, career options and job opportunities from a wide range of exhibitors based throughout Australia and overseas. Please forward the information to your wider school network and community to encourage them to visit this free community event.

Help us in assisting your students to take the next step towards their future!

We thank you in advance for supporting this free admission community event. We look forward to a successful year in 2023 and seeing your students!

Yours in Education and Training,

The team at CareersEvent.com

The North Qld Police Service Academy is holding an Open Day on Saturday 15th July 2023 from 9am to 2pm. I am extending an invitation to all interested students, teachers, parents etc.

Overview; 

• Have you ever thought about a career with the police? The Queensland Police Service (QPS) Open Day is your opportunity to learn everything you need to know about a challenging and rewarding career with the QPS.
• Find out more about life as a police recruit, see demonstrations from our specialist units, try your hand at the obstacle course or kick start your recruitment application process at an information seminar. 
• Our officers will be available to answer questions about the recruitment process, career pathways, daily life as an officer and more. 
• Whether you’re interested in General Duties, Scenes of Crime, Water Police or joining the Dog Squad this is your opportunity to find out more about a career with the QPS.  
• Your experience can help us make a real difference. 

Activities;

• Check out the North Queensland Police Service Academy where you’ll complete your police training.  
• Watch demonstrations and chat to officers from our specialist units including Dog Squad, Highway Patrol, Criminal Investigation Branch, Scenes of Crime, Water Police, Major and Organised Crime, Forensic Crash Unit, Special Emergency Response Team, Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit, Mounted Unit and more.  
• Information sessions will be delivered throughout the day, where you can ask questions about your future career as a police officer.  
• Kickstart your application by completing your physical assessment and find out more about the application process at our information hub. 

** DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN START THE APPLICATION PROCESS AT 17 YEARS OF AGE ? **

QPS Open Day Townsville
Saturday 15 July 2023
9am – 2pm
North Queensland Police Service Academy, 26 Heatley’s Parade, Rowes Bay
PLEASE ENSURE TO BOOK VIA THE LINK BELOW: 

TOWNSVILLE ACADEMY OPEN DAY

APPLY TODAY - https://applynow.net.au/jobs/C... 

For those of you who may not have heard of Teen Shed Mackay yet, we are a Community Initiative creating a space for all our Teenagers to come together, be involved in workshops, programs and activities around our Community, and once we have our own space a location where they can hang out and just be. We are a preventative space, working on keeping our teenagers busy and engaged. We will be working closely with our whole community to bring our Teenagers amazing experiences and challenges outside of the classroom space.

All our socials are @teenshedmackay, Facebook, Insta & Ticktok, we do also have a webpage: www.teenshedmackay@gmail.com.

The Australian Minister for Education is encouraging teachers, parents and students to complete a survey to inform the work of the Expert Panel Review for the next National School Reform Agreement.

The Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System (the Review) will make recommendations for Education Ministers to inform the next agreement to improve education outcomes in Australia and meet the current and future needs of students.

Survey participants can have their say on a range of issues including:

• Improving education outcomes
• Supporting student health and wellbeing, and
• Supporting and retaining teachers.

The survey is available to complete here:

Results will also inform the development of recommendations for the final report, which will advise Education Ministers on what targets and reforms should be included in the next National School Reform Agreement.