Acting Principal’s Message

By Acting Principal, Mr Stephen Hill

Last day of classes for Year 12

Yesterday marked a significant milestone in the academic life of the Year 12 class of 2020 – their last day of timetabled classes!

We all know and understand that our Year 12 boys have experienced a year like no other in recent memory.  For 127 years, the students of St Patrick’s have benefited from the efforts of those who have been here before them. Boys and men who have shown our boys what is to be a great man – a man of aspiration, of compassion, who is respectful, who is hope filled and a man who is honorable.

In any other year, the Year 12 boys and their families would have gathered this week for the Thanksgiving Mass. As part of the communion reflection, the boys traditionally form a massed choir and together sing the song Standing On The Shoulders.

The opening lines from this song read as follows:

I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me.

I am stronger for their courage; I am wiser for their words.

I am lifted by their longing for a fair and brighter future.

I am grateful for their vision, for their toiling on this earth.

It is in the spirit and intention of this song that I would like to acknowledge and celebrate the courage, the wisdom, the commitment of the Year 12 class of 2020.

In particular, I would like to thank and acknowledge the outstanding leadership of our 2020 College Captain, William Rothe and College Vice Captains, Max Waller and Finn Lappin.

As the song says, we thank you for your courage, your wisdom, your commitment and your vision during 2020. In so many ways, you have made us better and so I acknowledge and thank each of you.

While our VCE Unit 3/4 and VET teachers will continue their diligent work with the boys all the way through to the last exam on Monday, November 30, I would like to acknowledge and thank all of these teachers and classroom support staff for all they have done to make this year the very best it could be for the boys.

In particular, I would like to acknowledge and thank Mr Hamish McCrum, Mr Andrew Chamings, Mr Shane Murphy, Mr Steve Biggin and the Year 12 Pastoral Care tutors for their care, support and guidance of the boys throughout this most tumultuous year.

EREA Charter Leadership Award Nominations

Each year, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) seeks to recognise the outstanding contribution of men and women in the service of their school community and the impact that their leadership has had on the lives of others in support of the vision and mission of EREA.

By directly linking these awards to the EREA Charter, we have the opportunity to celebrate the many diverse ways that the four Touchstones are brought to life as a powerful expression of the charism of Edmund Rice alive today.

The St Patrick’s College community acknowledges and congratulates the following staff as our nominees for the 2020 EREA Charter Leadership Awards:

• Gospel Spirituality Award – Nathaniel Winfield
• Inclusive Community Award – Michelle Roberts
• Justice and Solidarity Award – Shane Murphy
• Liberating Education Award – Ian Fernee

World Teachers’ Day

World Teachers’ Day in Australia will be held today (Friday, October 30). This year, despite major challenges, our teachers have made sure that education continued across the country and has reinforced the significant role all teachers, both of today and from years gone by, play in the lives of students, their families and the wider community.

Following is a link to an AITSL report titled Teaching: A valued profession. This report discusses how the Australian community greatly appreciates the work of all our teachers and that they are part of a profession the community trusts and respects.