22 July 2010
No. 21
Dear Members of the St Patrick’s Family, Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, was 92 years old on Sunday, as the world celebrated the first international day in his honour. 18 July was celebrated, for the first time, as the International Day of Nelson Mandela, for the contribution of the former South African president to a culture of peace and freedom. Leaders are important in our lives. Mandela was able to identify injustice and take action on it. The essence of Mandela Day is to have a huge number of individuals who can take the initiative and put in the time to contribute to communities and charities in a meaningful way. One aim is for everyone to maintain ongoing relationships with the charities and organisations that they assist. As part of the celebrations, global leaders and ordinary people in South Africa and abroad have committed to devoting 67 minutes of their time to community service, to mark the number of years Mandela spent in politics. The work St Patrick’s does with our service program is important for our individuals involved and for the patrons we support. Our volunteers learn something about themselves and provide a sense of community to those we serve. Mr Ellison is currently asking students to sign up to volunteer for the Paddies Van for this semester. I encourage all our students, staff and parents to devote 67 minutes of their time to volunteering for the Paddies Van this semester. Your time will make a difference to you and to others. The Parent-Teacher Meetings were very well attended this week. The partnership between parents and staff continues to be a major factor determining the academic success of our students. I encourage all parents to maintain strong communication with their son’s teachers and to set goals based on the results and comments from the Semester One reports. A large number of students were recognised for their outstanding efforts during our Trimester Two Co-Curricular Awards Assembly on Tuesday. Special mention must go to our Year 7A and U14A Football teams who went through the season undefeated. These are special achievements. Well done, to those players and coaches. I would like to acknowledge the great efforts of the captains of the respective teams, Ryan Hill (Rugby Union and Rugby League) and Liam Kelly (Football). Both boys gained representative honours, played with great passion, and did a great job off the field encouraging and supporting. The AIC Cross Country Championships will be held at Limestone Park on Saturday, 31 July. The coaches and runners have put in an enormous effort over a number of months and deserve our support. Buses will transport supporters to Ipswich to support the Cross Country team and I encourage students to give up some of their time next Saturday to be involved. Photos of Tutor Groups, individuals and Year 12 students who have been here since Year 5 will be taken this Friday, 23 July. If the photograph envelope has not yet been returned, it must be handed to your son’s Group Tutor on Friday morning. These are our official photos for the year so can I please ask parents to ensure their son is in full College uniform, including tie and blazer (for Years 10-12), and is neatly attired for Friday. God Bless
Mr David Gardiner College Dean