Middle School Report – August 17, 2017

The Year 9 Retreat was conducted this week. It was facilitated by RealTalk Ministries, with the theme of -‘Stronger’. The day encourages and challenges students to work on themselves and their relationships by making good, and at times, hard decisions. Stronger awakens the idea that men are shaped by the choices they make. Stronger is a step towards recognizing the key role relationships play in shaping boys into young men. By Tackling the big issues like respect in relationships, peer pressure, and bullying, in a way that encourages our boys to be men of character, whilst affirming the dignity of women. Like the muscles that give physical strength – character and success are propagated through good training and hard work. Stronger calls forth a higher standard for the men of tomorrow and thus we continue to meet the goal of educating our young boys and raising them to the status of Great Men.

Year 9 Social Reports from the boys:

We recently participated in the Year 9 Social for 2017 and it was a blast!!! We got to interact with the girls at Loreto as well as having fun with our mates at SPC. The dance lessons where challenging at first but with hard work it was a major success at the Social. The outfits at the social where amazing and so much effort went in to looking good for the Loreto girls on the night and the SPC boys were looking smart. We had an amazing DJ who played some awesome tunes throughout the night which was heaps of fun. A huge Thank you to all the teachers who put their effort and time into the Social as well to our amazing DJ and our dance instructor Eric. Jasper Magri and Jake Leahy

The Social was a great night, good music, great dance instructor and the chants were unreal, great dancing by everyone as well. Gilles Smith

On Wednesday night, Year 9 students from Loreto and St Pat’s participated in the Year 9 Social. Over the past 4 weeks, they have been participating in dance lessons teaching them formal dances such as barn dancing or the Pride of Erin. Last night, they got to showcase all that they had learnt at the Social. This was partnered with Sam’s amazing DJ’ing to produce a great atmosphere for the students. There was lots of free style dancing, loud music and a very bright lights display. It was a great night in short. Josiah Tudball

Last Friday four of our Indigenous boys, Hayden Carlyle-Marks (Yr 7), Joshua Carlyle-Marks (Yr 9), Elias Jarvis (Yr 8) and Jack Sampi (Yr 9) were invited to speak at the Koorie Conversations Conference at the RACV Resort, Creswick.- They spoke to over 250 people from the Koorie Education workforce from across Victoria. The conference was about improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students.

They spoke about their involvement in the KAOS Program (Koorie Academy Of Success) which is run by Tony Lovett (VACSAL), Aaron Clarke (AIME) and BADAC staff. These students, along with three others, represented everyone in the KAOS program and were putting forward their reasons why other regions should set up a KAOS program of their own and they also spoke of their aspirations for when they leave school. All boys spoke extremely well. Pictured is Jack Sampi Year 9.

Eoghan Somers has been dancing overseas recently and this is his report. Year 9 at St Patrick’s College is about fostering good relationships and finding those role models and mentors to help guide us on our journey from childhood to manhood. My family are predominantly Irish, so Year 9 in our household is a time to reconnect with our heritage and travel “home” to see our aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, As well as sharing some special father and son moments.-

This trip in July was made all the more special for me due to my successful audition for a two week summer school with the Royal Ballet School in London. I have been studying Ballet and other forms of dance since about the age of six. Role models such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ivan Vasiliev and Daniel Gaudiello inspire me to work hard and reach great heights. At the RBS I had the opportunity to work with faculty from one of the best ballet schools in the world. International students came from all over participate in an intense schedule of dance classes. I made many friendships, overcoming language barriers and cultural differences to share laughs and to create long lasting memories.

Now, back in Ballarat, I have learnt that I will be dancing with the Australian Ballet Company in their upcoming season of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. In this performance I will be sharing the stage with many professional dancers as well as St Patrick’s College old collegian, Callum Linnane. I am given many amazing opportunities in the arts and I am eternally grateful to SPC for the support and courage they provide me in my journey.- by Eoghan Somers

Regards

Michael Busscher

Director of Middle School

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