Acting Headmaster’s Message – February 2, 2018

The motto on the crest of St Patrick’s College is Facere et Docere – To Do and To Teach and 2018 is shaping as another year with many opportunities to both do and to teach!

This year, we will celebrate the 125^th anniversary of the opening of the College. Quite obviously, much has changed since the College was officially opened on January 24, 1893 under the leadership of Br Ryan. From the initial enrolment of 34 students, consisting of 24 boarders and ten day students, 2018 will see us commence with approximately 1390 students (including 62 boarders).

An examination of the life of Edmund Rice has noted the Parable of the Sower as a reading which, through the words of Edmund Rice himself, has animated the Christian Brothers and their ministries for many years – -Have courage! The good seed will grow up in the children’s hearts later on.-

In the parable of the sower, as most would know, Jesus tells the tale of a sower who went out to sow. His seeds fell on a variety of grounds and so had varied success in growing grain. Some of the seeds fell on good soil and -brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!- (Mtt 13:8-9).

As teachers, classroom support and administration staff, we aim to sow the seeds of learning within each boy and to provide them the opportunity to hear the Gospel message of Jesus, to embrace the values of such a life and to accept the challenge of living out that message in service as part of the mission of the Catholic Church in the contemporary world. We do this on the ground which you, our families, have already been tending and will continue to nurture. As we commence the new school year, I pray that we will always endeavour to sow good seeds in the hearts of those we serve.

At Thursday’s Opening School Assembly, we formally welcomed 225 new Year 7 boys to our college, and how appropriate it was that they were accompanied by our 224 Year 12 students as they processed together into the O’Malley Gym. In addition to this, we welcomed a further 51 new students across Years 8-12 who are joining St Patrick’s this year.

We also have 16 new teachers, classroom support, boarding and administration staff commencing work at St Patrick’s in 2018. They are:

Monique Allen	Years 7-12 Drama
Steven Biggin	Years 9-12 Mathematics
Melissa Binnie	Year 9 Health and Physical Education and VCE Psychology
Connor Bourke	Junior School Religious Education, Humanities and English
Esta Bourke-Finn	Years 7 -10 Art and Visual Communications and Design
Ryan Bullock	Boarding Housemaster
Stephanie Carswell	Years 9-11 English and English as an Additional Language
Thomas Hoy	Year 8 Humanities, International Studies and English
Jared Lynn	Senior School Visual Communications and Design
Michelle Norton	Teacher Assistant
Tiernan Somers	Mission Trainee
Maree Stevenson	Teacher Assistant
Karla Strambini	Teacher Assistant
Mitch Tuddenham	HaPE Trainee
Maya Watters	Funded Students Facilitator and Mathematics teacher
Jarryd Van Der Linde	Boarding Assistant

I know that you will join with me to offer all our new boys and staff members a very special welcome and to pray that their time at St Patrick’s will be joyous and hope filled. Where the message of love and inclusion which Jesus lived and preached will be evident in all they encounter. Where life-long friendships will form and where each day will be charged with learning experiences that excite, engage and extend all.

Last year, a significant number of boys were part of an extended conversation that Mr Crowley and Mr Sullivan led around the College’s Vision Statement – Raising fine boys to the status of great men. Their question during these discussions was simple -“ What does it mean to be a great man at St Patrick’s? Thursday’s Opening School Assembly provided us the opportunity to show the entire student body the culmination of that conversation when our 2018 student leaders, College Captain Sam Williams and his Vice Captains Tom Clark and Dean O’Brien, launched a short film which encapsulates the students understanding of what it means to be a great man at St Patrick’s.

The Great Man video shown to the boys at the assembly has been shared with our community via our social media channels and the College website and I would encourage all of members of the St Patrick’s College community to take the time to view the video. As Sam Williams said to his fellow students, -It contains the concepts, the values and the standards that we, as the student body, believe are fundamental to the spirit of St Patrick’s College.-

You can the Great Man video at the following links:

College website: https://www.stpats.vic.edu.au/en/st-patricks-college/vision/

Youtube: https://youtu.be/7duDVvUXIbk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spcoca/videos/2290909520934796/

May 2018 be one of true joy for all and may the blessings of God renew our spirits, nurture our compassions and open our minds and hearts to the Good News of justice and peace.

Regards, Stephen Hill