Celebrating Our Community
By Mrs Liz Illingworth, Principal
As we continue on our Lenten way, I hope we can all journey together with hope.
Pope Francis has challenged us all to 'Journey’ as Pilgrims in life, to not stand still; to be ‘weavers of unity’ and to ‘share love that cannot be destroyed’.
CELEBRATING TOGETHER
Celebrating as a community is important for creating and growing our connections together. Our St Patrick’s Day celebrations held last week are an important part of celebrating who we are as a community, acknowledging our past and our Founders, and looking to continue to develop connections and relationships within our Tutor Groups, House Groups and as a whole College.
We celebrated a beautiful Mass together led by Fr Ben Brooks and the Commissioning of our Year 12 Leaders and Investiture of our Student Executive.
College Captains Georgia Millwood and Fletcher Crosswell challenged us all. Georgia spoke to us about our College Value - Relationships:
“One of our College values is relationships. Our College definition of this is that we 'value a school where partnerships between parents/guardians, students, staff, parishes and the community are fostered and developed'. But I believe these connections that we have go beyond this. Connections through Tutor groups, sub-House groups, co-curricular groups and the friendship groups that we form all have value that bring individuality to our community. Even if we don’t realise it yet, the relationships we build within these groups are so important. There will come a time, especially for the Year 12s, when you will only have one more Tutor group or one more House Carnival to go and you may find yourself missing the connections that come with these events. So today bring your energy, appreciate those connections around you and just enjoy this time we have this afternoon.”
And later Fletcher challenged us all to have an attitude that was worth catching:
“Before I leave you today and we go celebrate St Patrick's Day together, I want to leave you with a quote that I want everyone to take in. Someone once said this to me, and I will never forget it. A famous Australia cricket captain by the name of Steve Waugh once posed the following to his team: “Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching?" Today, let's get our attitudes contagious for what's coming up this afternoon. But also for this year. Let's help one another as a community to get all of our attitudes contagious. One more step at a time, we can make our school community even better than it already is.”
As a College we appreciate the wisdom and experience of our young people and embrace opportunities for them to step up and lead - we certainly see this on a daily basis and are proud of each and every one of our students.
SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS SURVEY - MONDAY 24 MARCH - FRIDAY 4 APRIL 2025
Insight SRC is conducting a survey on behalf of your child’s school (St Patrick's College) and Catholic Education Tasmania. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents/guardians perceptions of their child/ren’s experience of school. The results will benefit everyone within the school by providing valuable information about the ways in which the school can plan programs and activities to improve your child’s experience at school.
Although we strongly encourage you to participate, your participation is voluntary. It is important to remember, however, that the success of this important project is dependent on parents’/guardians’ involvement.
You will receive login information that will enable you to complete this survey. The online survey can be accessed between Monday 24 March to Friday 4 April 2025. You may complete the survey at your convenience during this time. We really appreciate your contribution to our continuous improvement as a College.
COLLEGE CAMPS AND RETREATS
Thanks to the commitment and care of our staff at St Patrick’s College, and under the leadership of Mr Dave Hayward, we are able to offer a fantastic Camps Program. Already our Year 9 students have had the opportunity to attend camp in their Home Groups.
In the coming weeks, our Year 11 and Year 12 students will attend their Retreats. We thank you in advance for supporting these excellent programs. During the Year 11 Retreat, students participate in a two day/one night program based on the theme of the 'Journey'. The 'Journey' will connect our students with their in-class learning on pilgrimage, and explore the theme through the lens of personal history, shared values and affirmation. The Year 12 Retreat allows our students the opportunity to immerse and engage in what it means to be St Patrick’s College people, and allow our students to renew their connections with self, others, and our Catholic Identity.
Our Year 8 students will be attending House based camps on Wednesday 26 - Friday 28 March. These camps are a brilliant opportunity for all students to challenge themselves, maybe step out of their comfort zone and stretch themselves to develop and grow relationships. Relationships with other students and staff, whom they will work closely with over their journey at St Patrick's College.
We are so looking forward to working with all our Year 8 and Senior students at the upcoming Camps and Retreats. We thank all our families for committing to both the Camp and Retreat programs and for understanding the importance of them for the journey of your child/ren as members of our Community.
ROWING, CRICKET, BASKETBALL AND MIDNIGHT
Last Saturday was an amazing day at Lake Barrington for the Annual Head of the River. Congratulations to all our rowers on an amazing season. Thanks to our Rowing Coordinator - Mr Adam Symons, and to our Rowing Captains - Meg Rickerby and William Symons. Saturday was certainly a shared celebration of our Rowers' commitment, skill and successes.
Congratulations also to the First XI Cricketers who, as Northern Premiers, travelled to Hobart to play Hutchins in the State Final last Friday and Saturday. Although we didn't come away with the State Premiership, the boys displayed excellent skill and sportsmanship. Thanks to our 2025 Cricket Captain Ethan Arnott for his leadership.
On Wednesday afternoon our Senior 1sts Boys Basketballers played Launceston Grammar for the Northern Premiership. Captain Archie Cooper led the team with determination, narrowly missing victory by just four points in a hard-fought battle.
Midnight: The Cinderella Musical is coming along swimmingly. With many staff and over 150 students (including 40 Year 7 students) we are so looking forward to Opening Night on Wednesday 30 April. Make sure you purchase your tickets and don't forget to bring everyone along for this amazing showcase of St Patrick's College talent.
Enjoy your weekend.
