The last two weeks of the term have concentrated on student assessment and teacher marking. Every year level had final assessments due, and the senior cohort completed practice exams for their external exams to take place in Term 4 or completed modules for their certificate courses. This is always an interesting time for schools and teachers. It gives us an idea of the planning, organisation and GRIT of students as they prepare for and complete their work to the best of their abilities and then the assessment and feedback on their work from their teachers. The cycle of teaching, assessment marking and reporting provides not only feedback to the students and their families but also to the teachers. Teachers plan and prepare for their classes based on what they must teach and who they are teaching. The more knowledge we have of the students, the more we know about ways we can teach them. The marking and reporting processes are integral to this. Teachers not only have a view of student, class, and cohort results but also the criteria that they were assessing and how impactful their lesson delivery may have been in certain units, subjects, and criteria. As in all cases, the more prepared and harder the students try, the more useful the data gathered from marking and reporting is to us. Over the past several years we have prioritised data collecting tools that have reliable and easy access for teachers and improving data literacy of teachers to best know their students. So, the efforts put into, and results from the assessments inform us about our impact in the lessons, areas, and ways that we can improve. 

During the last two days of the term, the Year 11 cohort have been participating in their leadership retreat. Over this time, they have been involved in a series of activities aimed at enhancing their leadership knowledge and skills they will need to apply with the student body starting next term. They have big shoes to fill from the departing cohort, but they have been impressive during their retreat. Next year will be a good one for the College because they are leading us. 

Since 2020 with the introduction of the external exams for Year 12 students, schools work at “two speeds” in the last term. On one hand school is normal for students in Years 5 -11 and we also run an orientation evening for new Year 5 & Year 7 students starting with in 2024. On the other, our Year 12 students spend the first three weeks in a more flexible teaching and learning environment and then commence a four-week exam program. From the beginning of Term 4, the Year 12 students will no longer attend tutor groups and will concentrate on their study and certificate achievements. Many of these external assessments are worth 50% of their overall marks to achieve a Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) and/or ATAR score. Students only attend during this time if they have an exam. They return after the final exam for their Graduation Ceremony, Farewell Assembly and Guard of Honor. 

In the second week of Term 4, we will hold a special liturgy to mark the leadership changeover including the ritual of exchanging the College Captains’ ties. 

In my last article I mentioned that I would give feedback on the information collected from the last Parent Satisfaction survey. Overall, there were 642 responses, 70% were from mothers and 30% from fathers. The graphs below give an indication of how many years the respondents have been associated with the College, how they see the significance of religious faith in their lives and why they chose St Patrick’s as their school of choice. As one would expect, there are more parents involved with us for up to five years, but still a sizable number have had long-term involvement too. This gives us reliable feedback over a good range of years of association with the College. 

As a Catholic school, it is especially useful to have an idea of the faith backgrounds and importance placed on faith within our families. As can be seen from the graph below, many of our students may only experience Church and religion through their experiences at school. Catholic schools offer religious education and religious life activities to students. The first is obvious by our curriculum and teachings, however the religious life of a school is more subtle. It refers to the activities and opportunities that schools offer to their members to allow real-life application of their faith in a practical way. This includes retreats, immersions, service programs etc. The sum of these two dimensions is significant to the culture of the school. Often families refer to school values. At St Patrick’s these values are derived from our Catholic Gospel values and one of the more difficult things to articulate to some students and families is that they are the glue between the religious education and religious life. Schools that hold their faith as the most significant thing should always be schools that have clear and well-practiced values. 

Interestingly, the last graph below shows that the top five reasons why families chose St Patrick’s, and all are connected to the school’s values or faith. 

Another challenge for us as a Catholic school, is that we need to ensure that the faith and values are given to the students in a contemporary and true context in a changing world and Church. What (and how) was taught to me as a young person in my Catholic schooling however the Church attendances, practices and influences of that era is quite different now. Values such as inclusion, compassion and respect are expressed differently and the opportunities and activities to be involved in religious life of schools have also changed accordingly. Today, our challenge at St Patrick’s is to be true and authentic to our faith to such a diverse range as shown in the graph below. In a school where our faith is the heart of why we exist and how we do things, we need to be mindful of how clearly we articulate this to our families.  

STAFFING - TERM 4

Next term we have several staff members taking long service leave or parental leave. This has meant that there are many staff changes for the term. Staff who will be taking leave include 

• Mr Paul Arcodia
• Mr Michael Alvisio
• Mr Matthew Seers
• Mr Luke Oxford
• Mrs Kylie Johnson
• Mr Matthew Robertson
• Mr Jonathan Brough. 

I would also like to thank Ms Ruby Wyllie and Mr Malcolm McClelland for all their efforts whilst working with us this year. They will both finish their employment today.

The staff changes for Term 4 include:

Middle Leadership Acting Positions

• Acting Head of Faculty Religious Education 12 months – Ms Sonia O’Brien 
• Acting Head of Faculty English Term 4 – Ms Melanie Stevens 
• Acting Head of Faculty Inclusive Education Term 4 - Ms Catherine Jones 
• Acting 12 Months Program Leaders English 7-9 – Ms Georgia Duby 
• Acting Term 4 Program Leader Literacy – Ms Eloise Svendsen 

Term 4 – Fixed Term Contracts

• Mr Rick Waldron – Mathematics and Science Faculties 
• Ms Kelsey Duke – Mathematics Faculty(returning) 
• Mr Jake Holmes – Chemistry and Junior Science
  Ms Kylie Galway – Teacher of Mathematics and Science 
• Ms Claire Devine – Religion Faculty 
• Mr Michael Bramwell – Design Faculty 
• Ms Catherine Mellor – HASS, Religion and English Faculties 
• Ms Athea Mc Donnell – Term 4 Teacher Aide 
• Mr Samuel Ducasse (TBC when PTT granted) - English and Digital Faculties

Staff Appointments 2023 – Permanent Appointment

• Ms Alice Southby – Teacher Aide Inclusive Education faculty on Monday 28 August 

I hope that all our students have the opportunity to have a refreshing break and that they are helpful and supportive to the family during this time. I look forward to the whole school starting back again on Tuesday 3 October. 

God Bless

Mr Chris Mayes
College Principal