By Mrs Liz Illingworth, Principal

ST PATRICK’S DAY

Next week on Tuesday 17 March, we will come together as a College community to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. For many students and staff this day is the highlight of the College year. On this day we celebrate the story of Saint Patrick Patron Saint of Ireland - known for bringing Christianity to the people. We also honour each of our founders - Nano Nagle, Edmund Rice, Julian Tenison Woods and Saint Mary MacKIllop of the Cross. Saint Patrick and our founders were all brave and courageous, each has a story of courage and determination to meet the needs of those around them.

The day is one of celebration and community connection of who we are now. We commence the day in community within our Tutor groups gathering for Mass and Commission our Student Leaders for 2026 before participating in the St Patrick's Day Cup. It is a fantastic day to celebrate all that we are.

PEER SUPPORT

On Tuesday of this week, students engaged in our first Peer Support lesson for the year. Peer Support will be embedded across the College commencing in 2026.

The Peer Support Program is an inclusive student wellbeing program available to schools across Australia. It’s a student-led wellbeing program that is supported by research and endorsed by state education departments.

Senior students are trained as Peer Leaders, and lead small groups of younger students in weekly structured sessions. The program explores four key concepts: resilience, sense of self, connectedness, and sense of possibility.

At our College, Year 12 students will work with Year 9 students, Year 11 students with Year 8 students and Year 10 students with Year 7 students. This will give all students in Year 10, 11 and 12 the opportunity to lead. Over six years at the College, students will experience three years working with older students and then three years as a Peer Support Leader.

The focus of our first lesson this week was ‘The Best Version of Me’. We look forward to this approach supporting the wellbeing of all our students.

HEAD OF THE RIVER & RELAY FOR LIFE

Tomorrow our rowers compete in the Head of the River at Lake Barrington. The Head of the River is a highlight of the rowing season. We wish all our rowers, coaches and helpers all the best for a magnificent day.

Tomorrow is also Relay for Life. St Patrick's College will represent with a team of roughly 80 students, staff, families and friends. Thank you to everyone in our community who has already donated. If you'd like to still donate, follow this link: https://www.relayforlife.org.au/fundraisers/StPatricksCollege
All funds raised stay in Tasmania and support Cancer Council Tasmania.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT SURVEY 2026

In the coming weeks, Insight SRC will be conducting a School Effectiveness Survey on behalf of St Patrick’s College and Catholic Education Tasmania. This will be the second year of a five year commitment to using this survey to gather data around School Improvement.

This survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’/guardians’, students' and staffs’ perceptions of their College experience. The results will provide valuable insights that can guide the College in using feedback gathered to plan programs and activities aimed at enhancing your child’s school experience.

The College has made a decision that, rather than surveying all parents/guardians, we will focus on Year 8 and Year 10 parents/guardians this year. Each household of our Year 8 and/or Year 10 students will receive a letter about how to complete the survey online, with log in information. The letter will be posted home and received in the week of 23 March. Please note that there is only one survey per household, to be completed by the parents/guardians.

Your feedback is valuable and helps us gather the “big picture” of parent/guardian perceptions.

Thank you for your assistance with this in advance.

By Mrs Lindsey Hills, Deputy Principal - Learning and Achievement

PAT Tests

This term, families with students in Years 7-10 will receive their child’s Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) report for the first time. Reports are expected to be available on Schoolbox within the coming weeks.

PAT assessments, developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research, are assessments used in many Australian schools to provide a snapshot of student achievement in areas such as Reading and Mathematics. They are not a comprehensive assessment of your student’s learning, nor do they capture the full range of their knowledge, skills or capabilities and are not aligned with the Australian Curriculum. Rather, they provide a point-in-time reference that helps us understand where students are currently positioned in their learning journey. PAT data is just one source of information that the College uses to inform our teaching practices. Teachers use this data alongside classroom observations, assessment tasks and professional judgement to inform responsive teaching and targeted support. PAT tests occur twice a year at the College, early in Term 1 and in Term 4.

Please see the linked ACER explanatory guides about understanding your child’s PAT report. You will be able to find PAT reports available in the Academic Reports tab on student profiles on Schoolbox later this term. There will be an opportunity to discuss your child’s PAT results further at our Parent Teacher Interviews at the end of this term if you have any questions, so we can work together to support your child’s continued growth.

NAPLAN

With Week 1 of NAPLAN now complete and one week remaining in the testing window, we would like to acknowledge the commitment and effort demonstrated by our students, teachers and support staff. While NAPLAN is only one measure of learning, we are proud of the focus and persistence shown by all involved. Results will be released in the coming months, in line with the usual timeframe.

Parent Teacher Interviews - Wednesday 15 April

The College will be holding Parent Teacher Interviews in Week 11 of this term, with bookings opening on 8 April 2026. Parents/guardians can access Schoolbox to read ongoing feedback comments, assessments and review Attitude and Engagement Rubrics from teachers to ascertain how your student is progressing and inform decisions around making a booking for Parent Teacher Interviews. You will receive a letter via email with details of how to book these on 30 March.

You can download the online booking system Booked (formerly known as PTO) now in preparation. The Booked website portal is available by clicking on or typing the following link in your web browser: https://bookings.parentteacheronline.com.au/?school=aprmz Interviews can also be made by using the Booked Mobile App. The App can be downloaded on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and you can find St Patrick’s College using the code: aprmz

If you encounter any problems using either the Booking website or App, please contact Mrs Nicole Cullen, Personal Assistant to Deputy Principal Learning & Achievement, on 6341 9988 or ncullen@stpatricks.tas.edu.au.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOKED APP

App Store (Apple)

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/pto-parent-teacher-online/id1089092091

Play Store (Google)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=countrynet.parentteacheronline.com.au.pto

App Code: aprmz

By Mr Patrick Moroney - Deputy Principal - Wellbeing & Leadership

What is Peer Support?

Peer Support Australia has been in Australian schools for over 50 years.

• Senior students lead small groups of younger students in structured sessions.
• Peer Support equips students with the skills and tools to build strong relationships. Students learn social and emotional literacy skills.
• The program is supported by research and offers a best practice approach.

Peer Support at SPC in 2026

At St Patrick’s College our House based Tutor system is a place where students feel safe and are nourished by the care received. This year we have decided to invest further into our strong vertical pastoral care network by utilising some of our Pastoral Care lessons as Peer Support lessons.

At SPC we believe all our students have the capacity to develop positive relationships with each other. When students feel seen and supported by peers, schools feel safer and more inclusive. That sense of belonging is one of the strongest protective factors for wellbeing.

Peer support allows for our students to practise servant leadership and empathy by putting themselves forward to assist younger students.

Peer support will consolidate our school values, namely endeavour and excellence this year; where all students are supported to be the best versions of themselves.

When kindness, care, and looking out for one another are visible and student-led, it enhances the desired culture.

Your children’s School Immunisation Program is going digital which means there will be no more paper consent forms floating around school bags or ‘lost’ before they are due to be handed in.

The system we are using is called Vitavo, it is simple to use and update your children's information at any time. City of Launceston may send through reminders and any communication relating to your child's school immunisation. You can opt out at any time.

To get started you need to provide consent for Immunisations.

Please click the link provided https://launceston.book.vitavo.com.au/school/StPatricksCollege-yYGK4C and input your child/ren’s Year level you are consenting for.

(*Note: if you have already consented for a sibling in a previous year please do not change the details, you will need to add each child, example below.)

Then select one of the following options:

· I consent

· I do not consent

When you click ‘I consent’ you will need to create a profile for your child and yourself, the parent profile is a small simplified version.

If you choose 'I do not consent' you will be asked for some further information.

Once you have provided the reason – you need to continue on to fill out a short simplified form.

*Adding a sibling when you already have an existing profile:

Click here to read the latest Parish Bulletin.

Congratulations to Olivia Hinds who recently received the following at the Tasmanian Sprint and Relay Championships:

State Championship Title (Gold)

50m Freestyle (16 yrs)

50m Breaststroke (16 yrs)

50m Backstroke (16 yrs)

100m Breaststroke (16-18 yrs)

100m Freestyle (16-18 yrs)

200m Breaststroke (16-18 yrs)

200m Individual Medley (16-18 yrs)

4x100m IM Relay (Open women)

Silver

50m Butterfly (16 yrs)

50m Breaststroke (open women)

100m Backstroke (16-18 yrs)

100m Butterfly (16-18 yrs)

Olivia also qualified for the Commonwealth Games Trials in June and will also be attending her first Australian Age Nationals in April on the Gold Coast (50, 100 and 200 Breaststroke).

Congratulations to Emmett Gale, who recently competed in the State under 20 Men's Touch Football team in Coffs Harbour at the NTL 2026 Championships. 

Congratulations to Will Ryan, Cooper Harris, Jasper Cassidy, Oscar Baker and Bray Parker who recently competed in the National Futsal Championships in Queensland.

Congratulations to Lily Smith who has undertaken the exciting pathway to further her studies and sport at a US University.

Congratulations to Stuart Innes, who competed at the Junior State Surf Life Saving Championships in Burnie at the beginning of March. He won gold in the Surf race, and two bronze medals in the Board race and the 1km beach run.