Term 4 Week 6
By Mrs Liz Illingworth, Principal
FINISH STRONG
It is hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching the end of another school year. I hope you can join us in encouraging your young person to finish the year strongly.
"It’s not how you start but how you finish that matters."
Finishing strongly means continuing to participate fully in all learning,
Continuing to participate in co-curricular activities.
Continuing to have high expectations around our College expectations.
Continuing to attend all our College events - even when these can sometimes challenge students and push them outside of their comfort zones, we know that if they don't try they won't know.
SENIOR STUDENTS
Recently, Mrs Jill Crawford opened our Senior Art Exhibition in the Guilford Gallery. The standard of the work presented by our Senior students was incredible. Congratulations to Georgia, recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Art Studio Practice 3 Award, and Aahritik, recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Visual Art 3 Award.
We are incredibly thankful to our dedicated Art Department for their tireless work in supporting students to realise their artistic vision.
Yesterday also saw the final Senior TASC Exam for 2025. We congratulate all students who have completed exams and look forward to re-engaging with all at our End of Year Mass and Year 12 Graduation on Thursday 11 December at the Silverdome, commencing at 6:30pm.
Just a friendly reminder that any students that are unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances must please email me, via principal@stpatricks.tas.edu.au, to explain their reason for non-attendance.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
Last Tuesday, we met as a sign of respect on Remembrance Day. Our Remembrance Day Assembly was a powerful moment of reflection. Our Year 10 Aspiring Leaders, Musicians, Army and Air Force all led with dignity and maturity, offering prayer and reflection that honoured the men and women who have served, and those who continue to serve, in the defence of peace. We thank Lucas who addressed the College, giving us a personal reflection of his Grandfather’s, a touching reflection to our College community. Thank you Lucas for helping us all to understand.
Our 2026 College Captains also represented the College at the Launceston Cenotaph.
SOCIAL MEDIA AGE RESTRICTIONS
A reminder to our College community, that from Wednesday 10 December, young people under 16 years of age will not be allowed to create or hold accounts on certain social media platforms. The eSafety Commissioner advises that Parents/Guardians can help their under 16s by talking openly about the age restrictions, finding out how they currently use social media and how that may be impacted by the new law.
There are no penalties for under 16s who access an age-restricted social media platform, or for their Parents/Guardians. However, penalties will apply to age-restricted platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to prevent under 16s from having accounts on their platforms.
Information and resources to support Parents/Guardians and young people to prepare for the change are available at the eSafety Social Media Age Restrictions Hub. Visit eSafety.gov.au.
I strongly encourage you all to have open conversations with your young people about these changes. Visiting the eSafety Commission will help you keep informed and help you to support your young person.
YEAR 9 SOLO & YEAR 10 CAMPS
Last week our Year 9 students and staff participated in their annual Solo Camps. This experience is an important part of the Rite Journey Program. Students had the opportunity to find time for personal growth, to focus on trusting their inner voice, they had time for peacefulness, rejuvenation and a break from the digital world.
It has been so good to hear staff and students speak of the positive experience that our students were able to have. We congratulate them on their participation, which is often a step outside of their comfort zone, and encourage them to continue to grow from this experience.
In Weeks 7 and 8, our Year 10 students will attend their West Coast Extravaganza in their House Groups. This camp is another opportunity for our young people to challenge themselves in a safe and supportive environment. We encourage every student to attend and engage in what we consider to be an excellent outdoors program with many opportunities for challenge, personal growth and outdoor experiences.
ROWING, BASKETBALL, TOUCH FOOTBALL & NETBALL
Over recent weeks, many of our students have participated in events where they have had the opportunity to show their skills, teamwork and dedication to their sports. There have been many successes that we celebrate with our students. I am so grateful to our staff who enable our students to participate in our Co-Curricular Program.
Enjoy your weekend!
