At St Patrick's, we aim to develop the whole person – intellectually, spiritually, physically and emotionally – so that our young people who are educated in faith founded in the person of Jesus Christ live their lives with a hope-filled future.

Pastoral Care

Since 2014, St Patrick’s has had a Pastoral Care Worker providing support to students and families two days a week.

Pastoral care at St Patrick's is based on the ideals of a Christian community. Pastoral care is love in action and is founded upon:

• The loving concern God has always shown for his people throughout the history of salvation;
• The value and uniqueness of the individual person created in the image of God;
• The fact that ‘the Catholic School is committed to the development of the whole person, since in Christ, the Perfect Man, all human values find their fulfilment and unity’ (The Catholic School, 1977, n35);
• The recognition that the ministry of each member of the school community contributes to the development of the climate of the school;
• The understanding that, ‘the entire effort of the Catholic teacher is oriented towards an integral formation of each student’;
• The Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) 'Path to Life Framework', which contains 10 pathways for schools to help focus on areas of need in pastoral care through their school review and improvement process; and
• Our Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) Student Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Policy.
   

Student Wellbeing

Student wellbeing is of the utmost importance at St Patrick's. We are eager to ensure that all our students enjoy a healthy mind, body and spirit, and we integrate a number of programs to support this.

Counselling for children and their families is also available from CatholicCare. A school counsellor visits the school regularly for individual sessions as well as advising and supporting staff on appropriate programs for small groups and classes. Read more about the school counselling available to students.

If a staff member or parent feels that counselling may help a student, they need to discuss this with the principal who may discuss this with the counsellor and/or parent and arrange the appropriate permission forms and questionnaires to be completed by parents and staff.
 

Engagement in Physical Activity

Engagement in sport and physical activity can help keep children healthy, happy and socially engaged – all of which can impact on their intellectual capacity and academic achievements. We aim to provide children with positive sporting experiences to help develop a lifelong interest in sport and physical activity.

One way we do this is through the Sporting School Program – a $200 million Government program designed to help schools increase children’s participation in physical activity and connect children with community sport.

St Patrick’s has recently been successful in securing funding from the program, enabling us to partner with AFL NSW/ACT to allow all children in our school to experience AFL. These lessons were held during sport time. Stage 3 concluded the program successfully and enjoyably by putting their skills into action at an AFL Gala Day. 

We have also partnered with the NSW Touch Association to deliver a Touch Football program to all the classes in the school during their sport time. We have submitted a further application in the hope of receiving funding to help reduce the costs of our very beneficial swimming program.

To find out more about Sporting Schools or how parents and families can support positive sporting experiences at home, visit www.sportingschools.gov.au  
 

Supporting Families

Living as an authentically Catholic community, we strive to be welcoming, inclusive and compassionate to all. In addition to the wellbeing of students at St Patrick's, the pastoral care and wellbeing of our parents and families is important to us and gives witness to our Catholic faith in action.

When families are in need of extra assistance, whether financial, emotional or otherwise, the school is here to provide support to families in a variety of ways while maintaining confidentiality and dignity.

Families are encouraged to speak with the principal or a member of the school leadership team if they feel they need support of any kind.

Read more about our partnership with parents in the Parent-School Partnership Framework