25 July 2019 Janelle Agius – Principal Dates to remember JULY 2019 Welcome back to Term 3. This is a very important term of study for all our students, but especially for Year 12. It is 25 Subject Selection Night vital that students settle into a solid pattern of study as 28 Catholic Education Week soon as possible. The holidays are over and now is the time August 2019 for the enjoyment and satisfaction that can be achieved through diligent hard work. I remind all students that 1 Parent Teacher Interviews school work is their full time occupation. Any part time work should be just that 1-2 CQU Jazz Festival ‘part’ time. 3 Year 12 Formal 3 Rock Pop Mime St Patrick’s Community I would like to welcome Mrs Bernadette Marcel-Hubert and Mr Damian Coles to 4 National ATSI Childrens Day St Patrick’s College. Both teachers will work at both Mercy College and St Patrick’s 6 Colin House Day College. Bernadette teaches French and Damian teaches English. 7-9 Year 11 ACTS Camp NAIDOC Week 17 Mackay Orchestra and Bands On Tuesday 16 July, students attended the NAIDOC Mass along with Mr Stephen 18 Music Ministry Mortimer and Mrs Deborah Millar. The theme of the Mass was: ‘Voice. Treaty. Truth’. This was a celebration for all Catholic schools around Mackay, to come 19 2020 Enrolment interviews together to acknowledge and honour the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 30 Rats of Tobruk Ceremony peoples. September 2019 St Patrick’s College is appreciative of the hard work from all those involved in 2-4 QCS Preparation Days making it a memorable mass. Our sincere thanks to Fr Don who presided and Fr 7 Proposed 90 Year open day Stephen, Fr Sathish, Fr Alex and Fr James who assisted. Thank you also to Mrs Karlie Tatchell for her organisation of the mass, to Mrs Deborah Millar and NEW PHONE NUMBER students who assisted with the pre-Mass organisation and morning tea. The Mass FOR THE COLLEGE was a wonderful celebration of paying our respect to indigenous peoples and the The phone number is importance of their culture to our country. 4994 8700 On Friday we sampled a range of traditional foods and celebrated during NUMBER FOR SMS the second break with a Barbeque, music and activities in St Patrick’s Square. A The number to send special thank you to Mrs Karlie Tatchell, SMS Messages regarding Mrs Deborah Millar, Mr Stephen student absence is Mortimer, Mr Marcus McConnell and their helpers for organising this activity 0416 906 288 for us. Semester Reports Staff have been busily marking and compiling reports for our students during the holidays. These reports are now available on Parent Lounge. Appointments for Parent – Teacher interviews on 1 August are also now able to be made via Parent Lounge. Students are expected to be part of the interview process. I wish to welcome all to come along to the evening. Netball and Rugby League Teams Congratulations to our QISSN Netball girls and our Confraternity Rugby League boys who all represented the College with distinction in the first week of the school holidays in Bundaberg. Both teams did well, with managers and coaches delighted with the teams’ commitment, behaviour and tenacity in high level competition. Thank you to all managers, coaches, support staff, parents and students involved. Catholic Education Week Catholic Education Week will be celebrated across Queensland from 28 July – 3 August 2019. This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day. The theme for this year’s celebrations is: Many Voices. One Spirit. Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society. There are 306 Catholic schools in Queensland that educate around 149,000 students and employ more than 20,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way. Our school is planning a number of activities during the week and we hope you are able to join in the celebrations with us. I thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you during Catholic Education Week 2019. Flu Season Reminder As you are aware every year Queensland experiences an influenza or flu season. As we enter this season it is timely to remind parents and care-givers not to be complacent about flu. Flu is a virus more serious than the common cold and can be spread through talking, coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include sudden fever, dry cough, muscle aches and pains, fatigue, headache, sore throat and a stuffy or runny nose. If your child has flu-like symptoms, the following is advised: • Keep your child home from school; • Ensure your child washes their hands regularly with soap and water or hand sanitiser gel; • Wash your hands before and after touching your eyes, nose and mouth; • Encourage your children when coughing or sneezing, to cover their mouth and nose with disposable tissues which should be disposed of immediately; Page | 2 • Don't share items such as glasses or cups, lipstick, toys or anything which could be contaminated with respiratory secretions; • Maintain at least one metre distance from people who have flu-like symptoms such as coughing or sneezing; • Ensure they drink plenty of fluids and get lots of rest; • Consult your doctor if you are concerned about their symptoms. The school requests that anyone displaying flu-like symptoms stay at home until such symptoms have passed. Families should also reinforce the recommended protective actions listed above. Increased awareness and ongoing attention to prevention and control measures, such as vaccination and good hygiene, are steps that we can all promote to reduce the impact of influenza. For further information please contact Queensland Health on www.health.qld.gov.au or phone 13HEALTH (13 432584). Whooping Cough Queensland Health has advised Rockhampton Catholic Education that whooping cough is currently prevalent in the wider community. Whooping cough is a contagious respiratory infection and can affect people of any age. In some individuals, the infection may only cause a persistent cough, in others it may start like a cold with a runny nose, sneezing and tiredness, and then progress to the characteristic coughing bouts. It is suggested that parents remind children of the following hygiene practices: • stay home when you are sick; • wash your hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitiser gel; • wash your hands before and after touching your eyes, nose and mouth; • when coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues which should be disposed of immediately; • don't share items such as glasses or cups, lipstick, toys or anything which could be contaminated with respiratory secretions; • maintain at least one metre distance from people who have flu-like symptoms such as coughing or sneezing Vaccination, exclusion and early diagnosis is important to limit the spread of whooping cough in our community. Anyone who displays symptoms of whooping cough is encouraged to seek medical advice. For further information please contact Queensland Health on www.health.qld.gov.au or phone 13HEALTH (13 432584). Enrolment Processes for 2020 The dates are below for your information if you have a student in Year 10 or you know of others who may be interested in enrolling in the College next year. 25 July Subject Selection Evening from 3:30pm – 6:30pm in St Patrick’s Hall. Attend at a time to suit your family. 31 July Due date for Enrolment and Subject Selection forms to be returned to St Patrick’s College. 5 August Notification of enrolment interview date posted in week beginning 5 August. 19 August Formal enrolment and subject advisory interviews with a member of the College Leadership Team will begin during the week of 26 August. End term 3 Notification of acceptance. 28 November Orientation Day. Page | 3 Mackay Show Sugar Cane Competition The Sugar Cane Competition and Exhibition at the 140th Annual Mackay Show was held in June. Year 11 student, Jackson Chapman and his parents, Dwayne and Estelle entered sugar cane into this competition in the school category nominating our college as a recipient. Following judging on Friday 12 July, the Chapman family were successful in winning two sections for the College. The first was the best fifteen sticks of five different varieties which won first place, collecting prize winnings of $500. The second section was for the school nominated for Winner of the Overall School Cane Competition. This had a prize of $1000. Our thanks to Jackson and his family for their very generous support of the College. This money will be used for the student’s benefit. Fr Don White - Parish News Priests’ Jubilee Mass Bishop Michael McCarthy invites you to the Jubilee celebration of Presbyteral Ordination, especially of Fr Stephen Hanly (30 years), on Friday 26 July at St Joseph’s Cathedral, William Street Rockhampton, commencing with Mass at 10:00 am. You are all welcome to attend and to stay for refreshments after Mass to catch up with our priests. Volunteer for Vinnies This year we celebrate 125 years of the Society in Queensland. Our local Vinnies Charity Shops are calling for volunteers to support the wonderful work of the St Vincent de Paul Society in our local community. Please give some thought to how you might be able to support Vinnies. For more information phone 4953 4515 or email [email protected].