Headmaster’s Message – September 21, 2018

Dear Parents, Carers, Friends, Staff and Students of St Patrick’s College,

I write this editorial just after our final, and very moving, assembly for our Year 12 class of 2018. At this assembly, the student leadership baton was formally handed over to our 2019 Student Council. It is with great please that I formally present to our community our 2019 College Leaders:

College Captain: Aidan Hanrahan

College Vice Captains: Jobe Quick and Matthew Duffy

Galvin Captain: Hamish Britt

Galvin Vice Captains: Izaac Grant and Hudson Wilde

Keniry Captain: Connor Shugg

Keniry Vice Captains: Ben Dodd, Alexander Kirby

Nunan Captain: Joshua Stahl

Nunan Vice Captains: Cooper Craig-Peters and Joshua Canny

Ryan Captain: Mitchell Phillips

Ryan Vice Captains: Broden Haintz and Sean Antrobus

Captain- of- Boarding: Joshua Wilson-Stanton

Vice-Captain- of- Boarding: Jack Tillig

On behalf of the entire College community we wish our 2019 student leaders all the very best as they begin to make their own positive contributions to St Patrick’s College.

At our Transfer of Leadership Assembly, I made particular mention of the wonderful legacy of our class of 2018. I enclose below a copy of my speech and encourage all parents and carers to read this.

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Headmaster’s Speech at Exchange of Leadership Assembly

Today, as we gather as a school community, it is my great pleasure to acknowledge and thank our 2018 Year 12 cohort, and our school leaders, for their contribution to St Patrick’s College, not just for his year, but throughout their entire six-year journey, as well as to welcome our new College leaders to their positions and wish them well.

I am sure everyone here would all agree that we have been blessed this year with the leadership provided by our College Captain, Sam Williams and Vice Captains Tom Clark and Dean O’Brien. Sam, Tom and Dean, you have led our community with great humility, compassion, maturity and courage. Most profoundly, you have led our school community in an incredibly relational way. You have always been available to guide and be present with all students, but particularly our younger students. Through your capacity to combine the qualities of strength and kindness in just the right quantities, you have been great role models to all members of the SPC community. No one could ask for more than this. On behalf of this community we offer our sincere thanks and admiration for your leadership.

I would also like to formally thank the Year 12 Student Council and Mrs Ryan for the wonderful leadership shown in our many school initiatives and gatherings this year. You have been selfless in the offering of your time and your ongoing encouragement of all students to be involved and have an impact has set an incredibly high bar for next year’s leaders to follow and we thank each of you for carrying out your roles so generously and enthusiastically this year.

Most significantly today, we wish our Year 12s all the very best for their final weeks of school and their upcoming exams. I remind each of you that the best measure of success is whether you can say, at the end of your Year- 12 journey, that you have reached your potential and given your very best. With six weeks still ahead of you before your final exams, there is still plenty of time to work with your teachers to significantly refine your knowledge and skills. We continue to pray for renewed energy for each of you on your journey to the finish line. To all of our Year 12s we thank you for your stewardship of the College.

As I am sure everyone will be aware, the discernment process for selecting the student leaders each year is a very involved one. First, we seek to hear the voices of students and staff. Second, we ask those students identified as leaders within their cohort to write a formal application. Third, I, Mrs Ryan and Mr McCrum interview all students over the course of a very full day. I want to acknowledge all of the students who were identified as leaders of the incoming Year 12 students. The panel were so grateful for the opportunity to view and listen to your hopes and dreams for your cohort.

We wish Aidan Hanrahan, Jobe Quick and Matthew Duffy all the very best as they take up their significant roles within the College, as well as the new Year 12 Council and the entire 2019 Year 12 cohort. Every student in our 2019 Year 12 group is a leader of this school.

Always remember, as our school leaders, you will be asked to guide us with confidence, a genuine willingness to listen to all, and an understanding that sometimes difficult decisions need to be made and you have to stand by these. But I also want you to always remember that your carry on your shoulders the hopes and dreams of generations of past students, staff and parents, our current community, and future students who will walk through our gates in the coming years. It is certainly an enormous responsibility each of you have, but what an honour.

Final Prayer for our community

At the end of another incredibly busy term, we give thanks as a school community for all of God’s graces received this year. For our friendships, the encouragement of our teachers, the love of our parents and carers, and for God’s unending love, we are thankful.

Jesus, your- ministry to the sick and those in need of healing not just of their physical ailments but more importantly of the -illnesses- of their society that crippled, muted or deafened them to live life to the full, is a constant source of challenge and inspiration to us.- – We pray for strength to for all members of our community to be people who live the transformative dream that is the grace of God.

Have a wonderful holiday

John Crowley