School Funding
The government will be changing their funding model to all school. Please find below a link to the first of a series of Advice pieces, developed to inform our Catholic Education families of the new Federal Government Funding model (Gonski model) and the impact on funding for Catholic Schools. Over the coming months, further Advice pieces will be shared, with each piece building on the detail of the previous. Please take the time to read each of the Advice pieces, to understand the impact of the changes on the funding for our College and College fees.

Link: How are Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton Schools funded?

Parent Engagement Session
It was very encouraging to have so many parents attend our recent Parent Engagement Session on Education Apps for Academic Success. I felt all who attended learnt something from this session and all felt very welcome. Our next Parent Engagement Session will be held on Tuesday 23 July and the topic will cover improving Mental Health.

Senior Campus – Parent Teacher Interviews
Thank you to the parents, students and staff who attended our Parent Teacher Interviews at the Senior Campus last Thursday. These gatherings are invaluable in fostering a positive and valuable partnership and open communication. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and support for our students as they continue on their academic journey.

Year 7 2025 – Enrolment Interviews
Last Thursday, we conducted our Year 7 2025 Enrolment Interviews at the Mercy Campus. The staff enjoyed meeting with our prospective students and their families. Interviews will still continue over the coming weeks, so I encourage anyone wishing to enrol in Year 7 2025 to submit their online enrolment application now. Our first round of offers for Year 7 2025 will be made on Wednesday 10 July 2024. Thank you to the many staff who have been involved in this collaborative process.

Introduction to Senior Schooling Information Evening
I ask that all our Year 10 families save the date for our Introduction to Senior Schooling Information Evening:

Tuesday 28 May 6:30pm – Mercy Campus Hall

Acting Assistant Principal Mission - Andrea Crocker

Mission News

Last week I was gifted the opportunity to spend a week with other AP Mission/APRE’s in the Rockhampton Diocese discussing the loss of Catholic identity in schools world-wide and discovering ways in which we could enhance our Catholic Identity, both within our College and the wider community. Initially, I thought ‘well for us that’s easy–we have Masses, Liturgies, the Brekky Van, Buddy Reading, Vinnies, in fact a whole host of things that we do in and for the community that help express our Catholic identity.’ Then as I listened more deeply to the concerns of others about the drive towards secularisation in Australian schools, I wondered if our staff, students and families looked at what we do as particularly Catholic, or if they considered that what we practise is for tradition’s sake and just what, ‘good people do’. The overarching question being, ‘are we in danger of losing our Catholic identity?’ In addition to the theological learning of the week, I used the time for reflection; I wanted to discern what made us St Patrick’s College.

To uncover the reasons for our Catholic identity and why our College chooses to give back to the community that supports us, I believe that we must look to what binds us as a College and a community to give of ourselves for the greater good? Is it just our ethos and charism? The Catholic Education Diocese of Rockhampton postulates that the ethos and charism of the school express the assumptions, beliefs and values that the Catholic community shares. They are reflected in what is done, how it is done and who is doing it. A school communicates its distinctive identity through its ethos and charism which find expression in its religious values, culture, rituals and practices.

To elucidate further, in a Catholic Christian educational context, ethos refers to the gospel values and Church traditions embedded in the everyday life and culture of the school and charism refers to spiritual gifts used for the service of the whole community. If we go further and consider the implications of the Christian Brothers and Mercy Sisters and their legacy within our College, we start to see a clearer picture:

Engaging with and being present to all people with humility, empathy, and an open heart–this is what our staff and students strive for in their interactions with others.

Persistently acting to remove unjust policies, oppressive structures, and the casual indifference toward human suffering in our world–the numerous social justice initiatives we endorse are grounded by our faith.

This should tell us that it is not just our Religion classes that signpost what it means to have a Catholic identity, but the way in which our St Patrick’s College community encounters Christ in their everyday lives. If we burrow down further we can see that our College ethos and charism is given voice through: the education and faith formation of our students; the quality of personal relationships fostered between students, families and staff at the College; the Christian attitudes, respectful interactions and responsibilities modelled and explicitly taught by our staff; and the way in which the gifts or graces of the Holy Spirit are given to individuals and groups by our students and staff for the sake of others–not for personal gain. We have a community that is grounded in ‘love of the other’; God is at our College in the faces of the people around us. This is what makes us unique and this is why Catholic schools are important; why St Patrick’s College is important!

So I want to take this opportunity to thank our students, thank our staff and thank our families for continuing to be witnesses for our community; a community with love at the heart if it, and a community that provides hope for our future.

Vinnies Winter Appeal

The St Patrick's College Vinnies Committee is supporting the St Vincent de Paul Mackay Winter Appeal during Term 2. We are seeking donations of tinned food and blankets (new and used) to support those in our local community in need of support. Cash donations are also welcome. Donations can be given to homeroom teachers on the Mercy Campus and student reception at Senior Campus.

Mother's Day Celebration

The Vinnies Committee recently held a Mother’s Day Stall at the Mercy Campus to raise funds for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. The students sold a variety of items ranging from flowers to fridge magnets. The stall was a great success as we sold out after the first day. Thank you to all students who supported the Winter Appeal and we hope all the Mother figures enjoyed their gifts and special day on Sunday. A special thank you to Stomping Elephants and Starcut Flowers for their generous support.

Assistant Principal Welfare - Chris Sorbello

Bikeathon Registrations Now Open!

Students had a great time trialing the Colour Station that has been introduced to this year's Bikeathon and the results were visibly obvious!! Our 2024 Bikeathon is well on track to being another memorable event for the College.

Sports Development Officer - Margaret Ackermann

SPCM Sports News

Head of Sport

We are pleased to welcome our new Head of Sport, Matt Sanders. Matt’s passion for sports and holistic student development is set to leave a lasting impact on our College community.

Originally from New Zealand, with a sporting background in Rugby League and Rugby Union, Matt moved to Mackay in 2015 to begin his teaching journey. At the same time he also worked for the Mackay Cutters as a High Performance coach.

Matt’s journey spans across a wide sporting landscape – from grassroots to high-performance sport, both as a player and a coach. These experiences have shaped his team building and leadership skills, instilling a deep understanding of discipline, teamwork and the pursuit of excellence.

Outside of sports and teaching, Matt enjoys spending quality time with his partner and their newborn daughter.

The future looks bright for excellence, innovation, and community spirit to thrive under Matt’s guidance. Welcome to St Patrick’s College!

Basketball

Training update Weeks 4 & 5

Friday 10 May – Open and Junior Boys and Girls

Monday 13 May – Sophomore CANCELLED

Futsal

Whitsunday School Futsal Titles
In the third week of this term St Patrick’s - Mercy Campus had five representative teams in the Whitsunday School Futsal Titles at the Multi Sports Centre at Sarina State High School

U13
The U13 Red team came into the competition ready and eager to play to the best of their abilities, and they did just that! Despite not having any substitutes, the team went undefeated throughout the whole tournament. Congratulations boys!

Our U13 Yellow side exceeded all expectations, having three wins and one draw and narrowly losing the semi-final. In true St Pat's spirit, the U13 Blue team, although new to the game, showed up, and gave it their best! Results did not go their way and their real trophy was the friends they made along the way!

U15
Our 15 year boys and girls also had strong performances throughout the day. The boys played an entertaining brand of football, winning one game and losing two in their group. The girls started strong winning their first two games. Well done to all players.

Staff were pleased to report that all players played to the best of their abilities and were respectful to opposing teams and officials.

Open Boys & Girls
On Tuesday 30 April and Wednesday 1 May our Open Girls and Boys Futsal teams competed in the Whitsunday Schools Futsal Titles held at Sarina SHS. The boys had a great day and played well. The girls came away 3rd overall, with two wins, one draw & one loss. Five of our senior students were talented enough to be selected to represent the Queensland Whitsundays Schools Team at the National Schools comp to be held later in the year. Congratulations to Ella, Kiana, Lauren, Ryan and Elliott. We wish these students all the best in sport.

Netball

Final call for Season 2 nominations to play Netball, all year levels welcome 7 -12, Mixed and Social Teams.

Season starts: Term 2, Week 8 Wednesday 5 June

Season ends: Term 3, Week 8 Wednesday 28 August

Nominations close: Monday 13 May

Please contact Netball Coordinator, Mrs Maunder at the College on or 49 948 700 or email kasey_maunder@rok.catholic.edu.au if you seek further information.

Auslan Club - Brett Comerford

ANZAC Day

The Auslan Club students were very proud to be part of Mackay’s ANZAC Day main service where they signed the Australian and New Zealand National Anthems. Students commemorated those who have fought for Australia and New Zealand and remembered the sacrifices they made for us all.

Townsville Trip

The Mercy College AUSLAN Club went to Townsville to perform the Australian National Anthem for the Cowboys v Panthers NRL game on the 3/9/22 at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium. Our vocalist was Bianca Maynard and the group signed very well and enjoyed the cultural experience.

Cultural Coordinator - Marcus McConnell

Cultural Performances

We have enjoyed a busy start to Term 2. Our cultural ensembles performed at the St Patrick’s College Open Night in Week 2, where our instrumental, choral and dance ensembles showcased their talents for members of the public and prospective students considering St Pat’s for their high school education. I am always impressed by just how much repertoire our ensembles have to deliver such great performances this early in the year.

Our Drum Corps did a wonderful job marching and representing the College for ANZAC Day. We then had our instrumental ensembles and choir participate in a workshop weekend with guest directors Nicole Thompson (Associate Lecturer - Theatre CQU) and local ensemble director Cameron Matthews. This great opportunity saw our ensembles work intensively on what will be our Mackay Eisteddfod repertoire for the year.

Looking ahead, our cultural ensembles will be hitting the road in Week 6, visiting our local Catholic primary schools to showcase what is available to students at St Patrick’s College. This is always a highly anticipated event for our students, as we perform seven ensembles at four schools in two days!

From the Office

Enrolments Year 7 2025

St Patrick's College invites families wishing to enrol for Year 7 2025 to submit an online enrolment form as soon as possible.

Interviews are currently being held at the College and our first round of offers will go out on Wednesday 10 July 2024.

Enrol now : https://www.stpats.qld.edu.au/enrolment

ZONTA - Mother's Day Raffle

Congratulations to Mrs Symone Mau in the front office for winning the ZONTA club’s Mother’s Day Raffle. The gift basket was filled with lots of goodies donated by staff and students. Students from the ZONTA club also got together to make some keyrings and earrings for their mums and loved ones. We hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day celebration!

Reef Guardians - Beach Clean-up

Students from the Senior Campus travelled to Harbour Beach last week to do their part in protecting our waterways. According to recent research by the CSIRO, around a rubbish truck full of plastic enters our oceans every single minute. Although picking up some rubbish will not end climate change and save our environment, this clean-up was a great opportunity to see the power of collective action. After less than two hours, the students were able to fill the back of a ute with the rubbish collected from the beach. It was great to see so many students support this Reef Guardians initiative, and we hope to have many more this year.

ANZAC Day Flight

St Patrick's College Year 12 student Riley regularly volunteers at the Mackay Tiger Moth Museum. On ANZAC Day Riley was offered a seat in one of the Tiger Moth planes for the flyover of the Jubilee Cenotaph and the flyover to Sarina, which he gratefully did. Peter, the pilot of the plane Riley was a passenger in, also allowed him to fly the plane from Mackay to Sarina return.