St Patrick's College Mackay - Term 3 - Week 2 - 19 July 2024

Welcome back to Term 3. This is a very important term of study for all our students, but especially for Year 12. It is vital that students settle into a solid pattern of study as soon as possible. The holidays are over and now is the time for the enjoyment and satisfaction that can be achieved through diligent hard work. 

I wish to acknowledge and congratulate Mrs Alison Wales on her appointment of Acting Assistant Director, Northern Regions. I look forward to working with her as we reflect on continual school improvement.

CQUniversity Confraternity and QISSN Carnivals
During the holidays it was an honour to attend both the Confro and QSSN Carnivals held in Townsville. A big congratulations to our Girls League team who won the Confraternity Shield and had the opportunity to play as the curtain-raiser in the Queensland Country Bank Stadium before the State of Origin. Our Boys Rugby League team finished 4th in Division 1 and our Girls Netball team finished 4th in Division 3. All our students performed at their best and I witnessed much growth in them as the week came to its end. Thank you students for never giving up. There is no doubt that sport fosters fitness, teamwork, and discipline but it also connects community, promotes mental well-being, and teaches valuable life skills. I wish to acknowledge all the staff who came to support but also many who gave up their holidays to attend. Parents and sponsors I thank you for your continued support. Such a great commitment to giving and community.

NAIDOC Week 

On Tuesday, our students attended the NAIDOC Mass held at St Joseph’s Church, North Mackay. This was a celebration for all Catholic schools in Mackay, to come together to acknowledge and honour the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

A special thank you to Mrs Leisa Scott and Mrs Kelsey Wallace and their helpers for organising this for our college community to enjoy.

Catholic Education Week
Catholic Education Week will be celebrated across Queensland from 22 July – 26 July.

This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools everyday. Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

As part of Catholic Education Week, St Patrick’s College nominated Mr Shane Mau for The Spirt of Catholic Education Award. This award recognises individuals who make an outstanding contribution to Catholic Education in Queensland. He goes above and beyond to volunteer within our college community. Shane has assisted and given up valuable time with our Rugby League program. He gives true witness to our Catholic values and behaviours for which I wish to sincerely thank him.

Our College is planning activities during the week to celebrate this milestone. I thank parents and students for your ongoing support and look forward to Catholic Education Week 2024.

St John’s Centenary Celebration
Today I had the privilege of attending the St John’s Primary School Centenary Mass at Walkerston. Congratulations to Nathanial Rice, Principal and the school community in reaching this wonderful milestone. Enjoy your weekend of celebrations.

School Funding
The government will be changing their funding model to all schools. Please find below a link to the fourth 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: Presentation of School Fees from 2025 onwards

Parent Engagement Evening
Just a friendly reminder to all that our next Parent Engagement Evening will be held next Tuesday 23 July at Senior Campus. The topic this year will be “Turning School Reluctance into School Resilience” and will look at anxiety, what school reluctance is and presents as in students; the spectrum and impact of absenteeism on students, their friends and families; contributing factors to school avoidance/reluctance, finding solutions/strategies for parents and additional resources to support parents. Looking forward to seeing parents there.

A Chance To Serve (ACTS) Leadership Camp was held in Yeppoon this week. Students were given opportunities to develop and practice their leadership skills amongst likeminded peers throughout the Diocese. A highlight of the camp was a handwashing ritual which enabled students to be 'of service' to others as well as being served themselves. A rewarding camp experience was enjoyed by all.

NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of Indigenous communities.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of a range of traditional and contemporary activities.

NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities and is a great opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.

This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your Special Report

https://stpats.qld.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-naidoc-week

2024 Athletics Age Champions
In Term 2 we held our Athletics Carnival Days. Carnivals provide a strong emphasis on participation, which gives all students the opportunity to have a go, have fun and earn points for their house.
Hearty congratulations to every participant and staff for their commitment and hard work to making these carnival days memorable for our students.

Age Champions
In the competitive divisions, competition was strong across all year levels, with a few tied placings in Age Champions.
Congratulations to the following Age Champions:

In Term 4 we look forward to recognising further outstanding school sport student achievements at our Sports Awards assemblies.

Term 3 is going to be a big one! Our Stage Band performed at the Whitsunday Voices Literature Festival recently. The Rock Pop Mime ensemble will perform their original performance ‘Witches’ at the New Life Church on 27 July. Our Stage band will be performing at the CQU Jazzfest the same evening. Notes for these events have been posted on the relevant Google classrooms and will be sent via Events and Payments in Parent Lounge. 

Below is the gig guide for this term, please note all dates for your relevant ensemble. We have some big performances coming up this term such as Instrumental and Choral Eisteddfod, Dance Exchange Competition at the Sunshine Coast and our Cultural Showcase. Our students must attend all rehearsals prepared and on time, as only a few practices are left to polish and memorise our music. Further information for all of these events will be communicated through Google Classroom.

In a perfect world, students can come to school each day, wanting to be there, excited to see each other and to make the most of the learning opportunities provided. However, at times this is not the case due to a range of emotional and mental states. Events both in and out of school, such as lack of sleep, peer conflicts and family breakdowns can interrupt a student's ability to learn. For effective learning to occur, students need to be able to reduce the tension and stress caused by these events.

What is stress?
Stress is a state of worry or mental tension that is a natural human response to challenges in our lives. The physical symptoms of stress include fatigue, tense muscles, rapid breathing, shoulder and back stiffness, upset stomach, excessive sweating and elevated heart rate. Other actions we might see when stressed include irritability, sleeplessness, difficulty concentrating and avoidant behaviour. In an increased state of stress, a students' ability to learn new information also decreases.

Ready to Learn plans
To enable students to identify when they are feeling stressed and independently work through this stress so they can engage in class, students of St Patrick’s College, Mercy Campus, are working on Ready to Learn plans. Ready to Learn plans provide a student with strategies to decrease their stress response to make them more efficient learners. Through these Ready to Learn plans, students will develop more of an understanding of what makes them feel stressed, and explore strategies that work for them to get them focused and engaged in the classroom. This will increase a student’s sense of control and safety, creating more independent and resilient learners.

If you have any questions regarding Ready to Learn plans, or any other concerns regarding your students, please contact their House Co-ordinator or a member of the counselling team:
Donnetta_trannore@rok.catholic.edu.au (Year 8 and 10)
Molly_bettridge@rok.catholic.edu.au (Year 7 and 9)
Danika_hurley@rok.catholic.edu.au (Year 11 and 12)

Turning school reluctance into school resilience: Empowering parents and students. 

The College Parent Engagement Committee would like to invite you to attend our next parent information session, "Turning School Reluctance into School Resilience" taking place on Tuesday, 23 July in the Senior Campus Auditorium (J1), enter through Gregory Street. Light refreshments will be served from 5:30pm for a 6:00pm start.

This valuable information session is designed to address the growing concern of school reluctance in students, exploring the root causes, impact, and consequences of anxiety, absenteeism, and school avoidance.

During the presentation, we will delve into the complexities of school reluctance, including:
Understanding the signs and symptoms of school reluctance
Identifying the underlying factors contributing to school avoidance
Examining the far-reaching effects on students' academic performance, social relationships, and overall well-being
Exploring effective strategies and solutions for parents to support their child's resilience and success
This informative session will also provide an overview of additional resources available to support parents in fostering a positive and resilient learning environment. We believe that by working together, we can empower our children to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

To join us on Tuesday 23 July, please log into your Parent Lounge to accept this invitation electronically and select from the options available how many will be attending the session for catering purposes.

We look forward to seeing you next Tuesday.

Last term, Year 7 to 10 students competed in Robotics and Drones in the Whitsunday STEM Robotics Competition in Mackay. This competition is great for promoting teamwork, resilience and problem-solving skills.

Robotics
Students competed in two challenges, Soccer and Rescue. For Rescue, students were to build a robot which could follow a track, overcome obstacles and rescue a victim. One of our teams achieved third place. For Soccer, students were to build two robots which would work together to score a goal in the opposing team’s goal.

Drones
Students were required to program a drone to find a location and go through an obstacle course. Mercy Students came in first place.

Congratulations to Year 11 student, Traejorn who has been selected into the Australian Open Mens Barbarians Team for the Touch Rugby League World Cup 2024 which is being held at the Gold Coast from 1 August to 5 August. He has also been selected in the Touch World Cup and will travel to Nottingham, England on 10 July until 29 July 2024. What an achievement for Traejorn on being selected into two World Cups at the age of 16 years! Good luck.

Congratulations to our two Year 11 students, Mikayla and DeJay, who have had their Creative Writing published on the Queensland Youth Parliament website.
If you would like to read their articles on the Y - Your Voice Heard, click on the following links:

Mikayla's article: "The Double-Edged Sword: The Impact of Social Media on Teen Mental Health"
DeJay's article: "Revenge of the Chickens: Unveiling the Cruelty in the Poultry Industry"

Well done students.

Rockhampton Diocesan Catholic Charismatic Renewal invite all to their annual gathering for 2024 – Encounter School of Ministry Winter Intensive – 23 to 25 August 2024 in Rockhampton.

This will be a powerful experience over 3 days that helps bridge the gap between the supernatural lifestyle of Jesus and the everyday experience of many believers, and a chance to hear from engaging and faith-filled speakers.

Click the below link for further information and ticket purchases. If you have any queries, please contact Deirdre Comerford 0419 028 016.

https://app.tickets.org.au/ESM...