Patrician Brothers College eNewsletter

Acting Principal Leader

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

The final week of Term 2 has seen our school buzzing with activity as we wrap up a productive, exciting, but very cold couple of months of life at Patrician Brothers’ Blacktown.

Term 2 has seen many highlights – Careers Market, Mother’s Day Mass, Respect Week, Delany Cup Gala Day, NRL Schoolboy Cup games, Reconciliation Week Breakfast, a number of great guest speakers, and most recently the Pasifika Fiafia night - to name just a few.

The term finished on a high note with Semester One Reports and Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews for Years 8-11. As always, the opportunity for parents to meet their son’s teachers was affirming and constructive for everyone involved, especially the students themselves. Year 7 interviews are scheduled early in Term 3.

As the final curtain falls on Term 2, it was fitting that we gathered as a school community this week for the Semester One Prizegiving Assembly to celebrate the academic achievements of our students.

We often speak about the vibrant learning and faith community that we have at Patrician Brothers’ Blacktown, so we were extremely proud of the students whose dedication and determination in their studies was recognised and rewarded during this event.

While we celebrated these highlights and achievements, we also challenged the students to reflect on areas for individual improvement and growth. All students are asked to construct two personal goals each semester and these are included in their Semester Report as a personal benchmark. In proofreading reports, it was heartening to see how many students had set meaningful goals, but more importantly, how many had actually shown significant improvements in those specific areas of school life. When all is said and done, most of us actually know where we need to improve, and whether it be learning, vocational, interpersonal, spiritual, or sporting goals - or simply turning up for school every day - we all need mentors and guides to encourage us to stay focused and work harder to fulfill our potential.

We wish all students, staff and families a relaxing holiday break.

Brian Edmonds
Acting Principal

Acting Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care

As we reach the end of another busy and rewarding term, I want to take a moment to thank our students, staff, and families for their ongoing support and commitment. This term has been filled with learning, growth, and many memorable moments—both in and out of the classroom. I am proud of the effort shown by all and the positive Catholic, Patrician spirit that continues to shine through. I wish everyone a safe and restful break.

A continued reminder that satisfactory school attendance is one of our conditions for participation in school representative sport and extra-curricular activities such as excursions. The attendance of all students who nominate for school, PDSSSC and subsequently NSWCCC representative teams will be checked by the Assistant Principals before squads/ teams are selected and announced. Students with poor attendance will not be included in these teams and a process of monitoring and review will be applied until the attendance rate of the student/s in question has improved. As the students are well aware, the same attendance rules apply to several of our elite competitions such as NRL Schoolboy Cup.

As members of our school community, the way we behave on public transport to and from school reflects not only on ourselves but on our entire school. It is important that students demonstrate courteous and considerate behaviour such as; offering seats to those in need, keeping noise to a respectful level, following transport rules, not spitting and treating drivers, passengers, and property with care. Public transport is a shared space, and we all have a role in making it safe and pleasant for everyone.

I wish everyone a restful and safe break.

Victor Hunt
Acting Assistant Principal

Assistant Principal - Learning, Teaching and Innovation

Year 12 HSC Workshops during the July Holidays
We will once again be offering workshops during the July School Holidays for HSC subjects. The schedule has been sent home via Compass. Questions related to these workshops should be directed to the teacher who is facilitating the workshop.

Conclusion of Term 2 Reflection
It was wonderful this week to celebrate the achievements of so many fine young men in Years 7–12 who received awards for Academic Excellence during Semester 1. The spirit in which their peers celebrated their success was a joy to witness, as were the two musical performances.

We were also buoyed by the excellent turnout for our Parent/Teacher/Student interviews, which, for most families, served as a positive endorsement of a job well done throughout the semester. I strongly encourage all students to heed the advice provided by their teachers and focus their attention on one or two specific changes they can make to support further improvement in Semester 2.

We unfortunately farewell two temporary staff members - namely Ms Sophia Grech and Mr Glen Child - at the end of Term 2; sincere thanks is due to both of them for their exceptional work. In a short time, they seamlessly integrated into the culture of the College with professionalism, compassion, and purpose.

Additionally, we wish Mrs Caitlin Almeida all the very best as she takes a 12 months leave of absence for the birth of her second child.

Finally, we farewell two long serving members of the College: Mr Victor Hunt and Mr Anthony Ventra. Their contributions to our community over a combined total of 20 years are immeasurable. We wish them every success as they embark on the next stages of their professional and personal journeys.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields and
Until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I hope everyone enjoys a safe and restful holiday and I look forward to the beginning of Term 3.

God bless.

Heath Borg
Assistant Principal
Learning, Teaching and Innovation

Religious Education and Mission

The Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
On June 29 our Church celebrated the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Together, these two saints played a critical role in the establishment of the Church. Peter is credited as the first Pope, and Paul was a missionary who established Christian communities throughout Europe and the Middle-East, and whose letters were among the first written theological teachings in Christianity.

It is worth noting that these two great fathers of our Church were not the typical ‘leaders’ we might expect God to have favoured. Peter was a simple fisherman who was slow to realise what Jesus was trying to teach him, and who doubted and denied Jesus on several occasions. While Paul might have had more attributes of a leader, he was a persecutor of Christians until the time of his conversion. The fact that these two men were chosen is a reminder to us that God doesn’t favour the perfect: God chooses all of us, and God is prepared to keep working with us for us long as we are prepared to keep trying.

Perhaps the most important message we can take out of the Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul as students, parents, and staff members, is that we are all made in the image and likeness of God; and we are all gifted with unique talents and skills that can be used to make a positive contribution to our world. Yes, we are likely to make mistakes and fail at a lot of things; but God is always willing to keep working with and through us. All we need to do is keep our faith in Him, and keep on trying!

Thursday Morning Mass
On 24 July (Term 3 Week 1) our Thursday Morning Masses will resume. Thursday Mass begins at 8:15am in the College Chapel. All staff, students, parents, and carers are welcome. Parents and carers are asked to sign in at the front office before coming to Mass.

Farewell to Mr Victor Hunt
Mr Hunt has been the leader of Religious Education and Mission at Patrician Brothers’ College since 2019. While he has been serving as Assistant Principal for most of the last year, he has continued to be actively involved in Religious Education and formation at the College. He has also pioneered the Accelerated Studies of Religion I program for some of our highest achieving Year 10 students this year.

We are grateful to Victor for his leadership, service, and witness during his time with us, and we wish him every blessing and success as he embarks on the next step of his vocational journey.

The Religious Education Faculty farewelled Mr Hunt after Thursday Mass in the College Chapel on July 3.

Best Wishes to Ms Caitlin Almeida
At the end of this term, Ms Almeida will leave us for a period of maternity leave. We are grateful to her for her tireless support of her Catholic Studies students this year, and we pray for God’s blessing over her, and her family, as they prepare to welcome a new baby.

Special Religious Education
Each week Mr Beacroft takes a dedicated group of Year 10 students to Blacktown South Primary School to teach scripture classes to Years 1, 2, 5 and 6 students. Our students plan and run scripture lessons that deepen their students' understanding of the Catholic Faith. I would like to thank both Mr Beacroft and the Year 10 students for their dedication to the SRE program.

Anthony Pope
Acting Leader of Learning - Religious Education

Dean of Knowledge Management and Analytics

On Tuesday this week, we celebrated the academic achievement of our students. For Year 11 and Year 12, the College presented awards to the students who achieved first place in each subject. For Years 7 to 10, students were nominated by the Leader of Learning for each subject for an Academic Achievement Award. This award goes to the student who performs academically at the top of the subject as well as engaging with their learning with enthusiasm and commitment.

Honour Roll awards were issued to the top 5% of the grade based on their report grades and personal profiles.

Congratulations to all our award recipients.

Mark Robinson
Dean of Knowledge Management and Analytics

Youth Engagement Strategy (YES) Programs
TAFE NSW offers a fantastic initiative called the Youth Engagement Strategy, designed to provide high school students aged 15-17 with practical tasters of a variety of vocational courses. The program aims to help students to engage more with their studies at school as well as exploring potential career pathways and experience an adult learning environment in TAFE. YES programs typically run for one day a week across a six to eight week period.

Over the past few years we have had several students complete a YES program and the students have found the experience of great value. This year we have had students complete the carpentry and plumbing programs. Next term we have more students completing carpentry, as well as several students undertaking the new refrigeration and air-conditioning program. We look forward to hearing from these students next term, and wish all the best in their exciting venture.

Students in Years 10 and 11 should always keep an eye on their Compass Newsfeed each term to be able to express their interest in completing a future YES program.

Work Experience
Here at the College, we offer work experience on a needs basis to students in Years 10, 11 or 12. Work experience must be approved by the Principal and the process is then managed by myself, as the Pathways and Partnerships Leader.

Before going out on work experience, all students must complete mandatory work readiness activities and there is extensive paperwork that must be completed. All of these processes ensure that each student is prepared, safe at work and will be covered by insurance.

Our work experience program has been very successful in helping students to consider their post-school options and make informed decisions about their future.

If you have any questions about the College’s work experience program, please contact me via email at mlane1@parra.catholic.edu.au.

Marie Lane
Pathways and Partnerships Leader

Resource Centre Update

Term End Trivia
Last week we had teams of students and teachers compete in an end of term trivia competition. Our trivia consisted of a number of general knowledge questions, which teams worked together to correctly guess to earn points in an old-fashioned trivia showdown.

A big congratulations to The Super Senghs, Dilaavar Grewwal, Rajveer Singh, Gurudev Prabu, Atharv Bhoir and Charan Kanwal Singh - who beat out all other teams (including our teachers) to win with a total of 32/40

In 2nd place we had a tie - team Diversity with Oliver Beresford, Logan Serle, Mrs. Cameron, Mr. Hansen and Mr. Sangalang and team Seniors with Joel Amin, Vincent Gomes, Tanush Oberoi and Jayden Cortis, both teams scoring 29/40

Well played to everyone who was involved.

I’d also like to extend a big thank you to Nick Lobb and Riley Egan, who worked over several lunchtimes to compile a list of 40 questions for the trivia and then assisted me in scoring the final answer cards to determine our winner.

Blacktown Writing Competition
If you live in Blacktown City and love to write, this is your chance to shine. The competition is open to adults (17+) and children (aged 8 to 17 years). Entries must be short stories or poems based on the theme, 'In The Moment'.

Let your imagination take over - we can't wait to read your stories!

Entries close midnight Monday 29 September. Click here to enter.

Have a safe school holidays
I hope everyone has a wonderful break. For everyone who has borrowed books for the holidays, please remember that they will be due on the first day back next term.

Beth Head
Senior School Assistant - Resource Centre

Mathematics Update

Improving our Students’ Numeracy Skills
This featured item is to alert parents once again to the ongoing strategy that the Mathematics Department has in place to assist with the Numeracy progression of junior students in the College. The strategy is embedded in an online platform called SmarterMaths and has been implemented with the intention of helping upskill the students in each year group who need numeracy remediation. We have found since using it that it benefits all students, even those considered as the most capable.

For the past 3 years, junior classes have been put through a rigorous regime of testing lessons designed to accurately assess the year level of achievement for each student. Obviously, the later years have done more testing but by the end of year 7 the reported student achievement level is quite reliable. As a student progresses, their achievement level changes.

For a student's mathematical ability to be considered adequate, their band level should match their year level. Achieved band levels above their year level would be considered advanced ability and band levels below indicate a student should be using the system at home to find the gaps in their understanding.

The system is computer-based and uses adaptive technology (an artificial intelligence tool), ensuring students are provided with questions that correlate to their proven achievement level. As a student progresses, the system increases the level of the questioning to match their demonstrated performance.

The tests are computer-marked and provide instantaneous feedback in the form of an overall band achievement and worked solutions for all questions attempted. Every test that a student has completed is stored on the system and sits there as an extremely powerful revision and remediation tool. If used well by a student, it will allow them to identify gaps in their understanding. Students can then focus their attention on a specific topic area in Mathematics, or they can complete activities across all topics

There is a practice section as well as a testing area. The Testing Area is used for the in-school lessons where conditions are controlled so that the reliability of results is assured. Students are encouraged to use the Practice Zone to advance their understandings at home or in their free time. The much-heard student response when parents ask, that they were not given homework, should never apply because they always have SmarterMaths to assist them in their learning.

This resource is a very useful initiative that, if used properly, will have a major effect on your son’s mathematical development. It provides focused attention on the gaps in his understanding and any encouragement or assistance he can get from home in attending to these gaps is one of the easiest and best investments parents could make in their son’s mathematical progression. All boys have been well trained in its use, can demonstrate to parents how the system works, and show them their results to date.

Gregory Kitchener
Mathematics Teacher

Year 7 Food and Agriculture

Year 7 Food and Agriculture—Semester 1 Wrap-Up
This semester, our Year 7 Food and Agriculture students had a fantastic time exploring the world of agriculture and nutrition through a series of hands-on practical lessons. Their final session saw the boys working in teams, each led by a "Head Chef," to run their own kitchen and cook a delicious Spaghetti Bolognese. It was a fun and rewarding way to finish their journey in the kitchen!

We wish these fine young men all the best as they move on to their next TAS subject and look forward to welcoming a new group of students next semester. If they are anything like our Semester 1 class, we are in for another round of enthusiasm, teamwork, and hard work!

Daniela Fedele
Food/Agriculture and Digital Technologies Teacher

Year 9 Food Technology

Year 9 Students Shine in Pastry Hors d'oeuvres Challenge
Our Year 9 Food Technology students recently showcased their culinary skills in a fun and engaging mock event focused on creating a variety of pastry hors d'oeuvres. Each group was tasked with preparing a different recipe, ranging from savoury cheesy twists to indulgent cream cheese and strawberry puffs.

The practical was a true highlight, with students embracing their roles in the kitchen and working together as mini masterchefs. It was a delight to see each team led by their "head chef" - complete with chef hats - guiding their peers with confidence and creativity.

The event not only allowed students to practise essential cooking techniques but also encouraged teamwork, presentation skills, and time management. A truly delicious experience for all involved!

Daniela Fedele
Food/Agriculture and Digital Technologies Teacher

Year 7 - Pathways to Dreaming

Year 7 Pathways to Dreaming at Western Sydney University
Our Year 7 boys recently had the unique opportunity to participate in the Pathways to Dreaming program at Western Sydney University, organised by Ms Kathy Plumridge. The day was filled with enriching experiences designed to inspire and educate students about higher education and Indigenous culture.

One of the highlights was the ASPIRE program, which gave students valuable insight into how the university supports Indigenous undergraduate students pursuing careers in Engineering, Architecture, Industrial Design, Building Management, and Construction Management.

The group also took part in a cultural walk and campus tour, where they learned about the local Indigenous history through powerful storytelling. The tour showcased multipurpose teaching and event spaces located in the heart of the Kingswood campus.

Students explored academic pathways further in a Computer, Data, and Mathematical Science workshop, and wrapped up the day with a visit to the university's impressive Music Playhouse Theatre.

This memorable experience broadened the students' understanding of future opportunities and deepened their appreciation for university life and how it supports the Indigenous culture.

Chelsea Te Ariki
Year 7 Assistant SFL

In May 2024, at the International Conference on Sports and Spirituality held in Rome, the late Pope Francis noted, “The discipline and temperance of athletes, as well as healthy competition, have often been valued as metaphors for virtuous Christian life.” In his address, he reflected on the writings of the Apostle Paul, who compared spiritual life to athletic endeavour, suggesting that “sports can be practised not merely as a pastime but as a vehicle for personal development and communal cohesion.” In his own words, Pope Francis offered the following:

“Sport … is a way to spend leisure time that arouses interests and opportunities for meeting, brings people together, creates communities, energises life in an orderly manner, and promotes dreams, especially in younger generations.”

The Delany Cup 2025 was once again a wonderful celebration of our shared heritage with Patrician Brothers’ College Fairfield, Delany College Granville, All Saints Catholic College Liverpool, Holy Cross College Ryde, Brigidine College Randwick, and Brigidine College St Ives. This year, we were also pleased to welcome Nagle College Blacktown. Played in a gala day format, schools competed in Rugby League and Soccer. All matches were played in great spirit, with a collective sense of pride in both individual and team performances. The event provided a valuable opportunity to strengthen the bonds that already exist between our colleges.

Thank you also to all staff and students who took part in the matches and congratulations to the winners of each competition.

Junior Boys Rugby League - Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown
Senior Boys Rugby League - Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown
Junior Girls Soccer - Brigidine College Randwick
Junior Boys Soccer - All Saints Catholic College Liverpool
Senior Boys Soccer - All Saints Catholic College Liverpool

Thank you to our guests on the day, especially to Br Aengus Kavanagh and Br Peter Ryan, and to all the Principals who were in attendance.

Finally, we thank the staff and students from Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown who facilitated and organised the day.

We were thrilled to welcome almost 300 enthusiastic Years 4–6 students to our Primary School Rugby League Day at Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown earlier this week. The day was filled with fun, skill-based drills, exciting gameplay, and plenty of smiles. Whether the students were footy fanatics or first-time players, they embraced every moment with energy, teamwork, and determination. The day ended on a high note with the arrival of ex-Patties Boys, and now NRL stars - Sunia Turuva, Izack Tago, Soni Luke and Luke Sommerton - who generously signed shirts, boots, helmets and caps for their excited young fans and their parents.

Our staff and student mentors delivered a high-quality experience focused on development, confidence, and connection. A huge thank you to all who attended – we look forward to seeing many of you again in the future as part of our Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown community.