Acting Headmaster’s Message – February 15, 2018

This week we gathered as a College community twice to celebrate two significant events. Two events with two very different purposes but, both equally important to the students, families and staff of St Patrick’s.

On Tuesday, we recognised and celebrated the academic excellence and successes of our high achieving 2017 VCE students and our 2017 Semester 2 Chris Nolan recipients. Once again, the Academic Assembly reminded all of us how many truly capable boys are part of our learning community.

At the week one assembly, I asked the boys to accept and actively work on my challenge to them to be present and to be involved in all aspects of their learning in 2018. The Academic Assembly not only recognises boys who understand what it is to be present and to be involved but, it also presents a model of boys who commit to these attributes every school day. All of us can learn much from our high achieving 2017 VCE students and our 2017 Semester 2 Chris Nolan recipients, as these boys show us the value of persistence; of hard work; of understanding what motivates learning and of genuine pride in our work. Congratulations to all our 2017 VCE high achievers and our Chris Nolan Award winners!

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Mr Gerard Sullivan, Head of Studies, and Mrs Julia Petrov, Acting Deputy Headmaster Teaching and Learning, for their exceptional work in preparing the Academic Assembly.

On Wednesday, we gathered for the second time in the week for our Ash Wednesday liturgy led by College Chaplin, Fr Anthony Nagothu. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the six weeks Lent. Lent is a time of preparation to enable us to participate fully in the great joy of the Easter Resurrection. Lent is the time we are encouraged to consider the gap between the person we actually are and the person love calls us to be.

God of gracious love and mercy

In Jesus, you show us the way to live

During this time of Lent.

Help us to open our hearts to Jesus’ way

So that our hearts will be renewed.

This week also saw the last of the 2018 Year 7 camps. Over the course of the past two weeks, each of our Year 7 boys has spent three days and two nights at the Log Cabin Camp in Creswick as part their introduction and induction to St Patrick’s. High ropes, raft making, a giant swing, group work and leadership activities, a night walk, learning the College song and the -‘war cry’ and so on, made for a very busy three days for our newest boys (and all the staff!). The Year 7 camp is a major undertaking, relying on the input and contributions of many including immediate past Year 12 boys, our current student leaders, the Year 7 Pastoral Care Tutors, most of the Year 7 teaching and classroom support staff, the Year 7 Co-ordinators, Jacinta Burge and Gerry Willis and John Richards, Director of the Junior School.- What a huge undertaking and many thanks to all who contributed to such a successful camp!

–