News & Events

Dear Friends and Families of St Paul’s,

Our Year 12s are currently undertaking their end of year SACE exams or finalising their last major externally assessed assignments. We take immense pride in our Year 12 students, their dedication and hard work not only reflects their preparation, but also the strong foundation they have built over their years at St Paul’s College. We are confident that their results will showcase their efforts and the high standard of education they have received.

While this is in many ways the culmination of thirteen years of education, it is in no way the be all and end all of education. Personally, it is my belief that far too much pressure is placed on students to attain an exceptionally high ATAR. While some students certainly wish to gain direct entry into the University course of their choice (or their number one preference as it is called), it should never be considered a failure if not attained now.

In today’s educational world and society in general there are multiple pathways into whatever career a young person may dream of undertaking. To finish secondary schooling with a solid values base and strong set of beliefs is far more important. Psychologists and other experts suggest that today’s students will have multiple different careers during their lifetime. If this is true, why does society, families and individuals put themselves under so much pressure? Surely every student and every individual working hard to become the best they can be is enough.

EREA Touchstones

Everyone in our community would have heard, read or seen information regarding the four Edmund Rice Education Australia Touchstones. These are Gospel Spirituality, Inclusive Community, Justice and Solidarity and Liberating Education.

Liberation means to be set free. We could suggest that a Liberating Education is one that allows every person the “freedom” to become whatever it is they wish to become. EREA’s definition of a Liberating Education, however, is somewhat different.

As a Catholic College in the Edmund Rice Tradition, we believe that: “We open hearts and minds, through quality teaching and learning experiences, so that through critical reflection and engagement each person is hope-filled and free to build a better world for all.”

That definition does not speak of ATAR’s or SACE completion but rather our school’s hope that we, in partnership with families, produce graduates who have strong enough values to know that life is not all about them as an individual, but rather each one of us has an obligation to contribute to making the world a better place. I am sure you would all agree our world needs young people like this.

I believe this is what St Paul’s is excellent at embedding in all we do. Our pastoral care and wellbeing initiatives must encourage all students to become the absolute best version of themselves. The academics obviously support this but do not define who we are. Sometimes this is a hard pitch to convince young girls and boys or parents of this, but it is what we believe.

EREA will soon be finalising and distributing the latest iteration of our Charter. The content and emphases may be altered a little but the essence of what it means to us as a community will not alter. We are a community built around mutual respect and unconditional love for each other. This respect is the basis of our Common Ground document and binds us all to the Touchstones and the College values of Faith, Relationships, Excellence, and Diversity.

As the year draws very quickly to a close and we welcome many new families and students, we also say farewell and thank you to the families who are leaving us for the last time. We hope that the students and families will remain connected to our community and hold fond memories of their time at the College. We hope that they all take with them Certa Bonum Certamen or “Fight the Good Fight” of faith which will help us all make a positive contribution to the world around us.

Take care.

God Bless

Paul Belton.

St Paul’s College is excited to share some wonderful news regarding a new partnership between St Paul’s College and Adelaide United Football Club. This collaboration aims to foster a holistic school football program focused on High Performance, Academic Excellence and Student Engagement whilst enhancing the sporting experience for our students and promote a healthy, active lifestyle.

The mandate for the partnership is to not only strengthen football pathways for SPC students, but to focus on delivery of outcomes relevant to student leadership, character development and social well-being. Importantly, engagement would not be limited to football students, working closely with SPC we would look to deliver benefits to the broader student population and whole school community.

Because of this partnership, St Paul’s College students will have exclusive access to all things Adelaide United and be able to have interactive and personal experiences which cannot be replicated at any other professional club in the State.

SOME KEY DETAILS OF THE PARTNERSHIP
High Performance Engagement:

• Skilled sessions for students involving AUFC staff
• Invitations to observe AUFC training sessions (either male or female)
• Training session conducted by AUFC Men’s Coach @ Coopers Stadium
• Training session conducted by AUFC Women’s Coach @ Coopers Stadium
• Football development coaching sessions run by AUFC

Community & Student Engagement:

• AUFC player appearances per school term
• AUFC staff/players present at school games and SPC events throughout the year
• Coaching PD workshops with all SPC coaches
• Exclusive school holiday clinics for SPC
• Men’s GA ticket to ALL students involved with Football
• Women’s GA ticket to ALL students involved with Football
• Discount on matchday tickets and merchandise for all SPC Football students

We look forward to sharing more details about upcoming events and programs soon.

Edmund Rice Education Australia is delighted to announce that, after an open selection process and a significant period of discernment, Mr Patrick Harmer has been appointed as the next Principal of St Paul’s College commencing in January 2025.

Dear Friends and Families of St Paul’s,

Week 2 of Term 4 and our attention as always during this time turns to the Class of 2024. Our Year 12 students and their families become the centre of our attention as we began the first of several farewell events. On Thursday we celebrated the outstanding achievements and contributions to our community over the last six years or more.

Thursday was the Celebration and Awards Assembly. Here we recognised all the academic, co-curricular, Christian Service and community contributions of the young men who have enjoyed the opportunity to embrace everything the College offers.

Friday morning’s Graduation Mass was the pinnacle of these events as we celebrated and thanked God for the time we have shared together. We are all blessed to live in Australia and to be part of such a supportive community as St Paul’s. For some parents who made the enormous decision to leave their home country to come to Australia in the hope of a better life for their children, this would never be taken for granted. Likewise, all of us should not take it for granted either.

Both occasions were wonderful, and we are always thrilled at the number of families, parents, caregivers, and grandparents who come along to partake in what is no doubt one of their proudest moments in their families. The smiles on the faces of the families are no doubt brought about by pride, but we would also suspect because they no longer will be paying school fees – or at least for this member of the family!

The College certainly acknowledges the sacrifices and unconditional love and support that these young men receive at home, and likewise the support and guidance that our staff provide. This support is not just about their final year, but right across their 13-year academic journey.

We hope and pray that the graduating class is well prepared for life after school. We hope that they have a solid values base and belief in themselves that will enable them to be both happy and successful.

2025 Prefects

As we say farewell to the Class of 2024 and thank them for their many great contributions to College life, we also congratulate those who have been chosen to continue the magnificent work of College Captain William McCulloch, and his Prefect team this year. As was announced at the Assembly on Thursday we acknowledge and congratulate the following students who will form the 2025 Prefects team.

• College Captain                         Jackson Rohrlach (Nagle)
• College Vice Captains               Bradley Middleton (Gleeson) and Kingston Hammond (Marlow)
• Dally House Captain                  Jamie Agius
• Gleeson House Captain             Sebastian Gladwich
• Marlow House Captain               Jean Tonna Hernandez
• Nagle House Captain                 Rocco Giugliano
• O’Loughlin House captain          Jay Faugno

This coming weekend these young men together with a number of our senior staff will venture to West Beach for a three-day Leadership Camp. We wish them well.

Farewell Assembly

Last Friday it was an immense pleasure to be able to share with Mr Peter Judd a Farewell Assembly to celebrate his retirement following 44 years of service as a teacher at St Paul’s. I do not believe that Mr Judd’s service and longevity will ever be repeated given the difficulty and complexity of modern-day teaching. We thank him sincerely and wish him, his wife Gayle, and their extended family the best for the future.

I am likewise extremely grateful for all the work done by Mr Foulis, Mrs Cook, Mr Martin and the Marketing Team for their efforts in providing such a lovely farewell for me and allowing me the opportunity to express my gratitude for the privilege of serving this wonderful community.

It is only week two and I look forward to completing the term and catching up with as many students and families as I can in the remaining weeks.

Take care, God Bless

Paul Belton

Dear Friends and families of St Paul’s,

Yet another term has flown by and 2024 seems to be disappearing before our very eyes! At the conclusion of every term, it is so especially important for all of us, students, families, and staff to stop and contemplate the last ten weeks. I say this not only because we all need to honestly reflect on whether the terms work is an indication of our absolute best efforts. In addition to that however we should also look back with much enjoyment and pride in acknowledging all the wonderful things that have occurred at St. Paul’s.

Our students are provided with such an impressive array of opportunities that cover all aspects of college life, and we hope that is appreciated by all. These include but are not limited to: excursions, retreats, subject and learning expos, assemblies, cocurricular opportunities, career and subject selection and advice, photos, pastoral care and wellbeing initiatives, health initiatives such as medical injections, camps and leadership opportunities. All this occurs while thousands of great learning experiences take place in classrooms while in background the leadership and admin teams of St Paul’s are busily preparing for 2025! We have already employed several more outstanding educators to join our staff, and we will announce all of these in Term 4 once all our recruiting is completed.

Mr Joe Hicks and Mr Frank Ranaldo

While speaking of staffing, it is with a great deal of mixed feeling that we announce that our substantive APRIM (Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission) who has been acting as Deputy Principal in Darwin this year, has been announced as the new principal of St Joseph’s School in Clare in 2025. We wish Joe well and sincerely thank him for what he has brought to St Paul’s in the past. His enthusiasm, energy, and passion for all things Catholic and Spirituality greatly impacted the staff and students at the College.

We also say farewell and a huge thank you to Frank Ranaldo who has filled in for us in the role of Deputy Principal over the last two terms while Mr Foulis and I had some leave. Frank not only enjoyed his time with us, but he also made an immediate and huge impression on all the staff for his great enthusiasm, support, and work ethic. We will miss him also but wish him and his beautiful family all the best in the future. In our farewell Frank, we also welcome back Mr Foulis from his leave.

Year 12 Students

With three terms down we turn our attention to our Year 12 cohort who only have two weeks of their college life left with us. For most this represents the culmination of 13 years of schooling and while we are sure their parents and families may be close to breathing a sigh of relief, we know there is still much to do and achieve with the limited time remaining. The whole group have been lovely to work with throughout this year. I personally thoroughly enjoyed the Yr 12 Retreat with them and that opportunity to talk to so many about the incredible positive experience that has been their time at St Paul’s. We certainly hope they finish strongly and that their final grades are a true and accurate reflection of both their abilities and the effort they have put into their whole schooling here at the College.

Shannahan Cup

One of the highlights of the entire year is the final assembly of Term 3. On the Friday of week ten the whole college gathers to have a bit of fun involving students from across the College and to announce the winners of the Shanahan Cup. This cup is named in honor of Mr Peter Shannahan a former long serving Deputy and Principal of St Paul’s. Points toward this cup are earned by every student in the College across a wide range of events and experiences from Sports Day to Academic grades, to involvement in assisting the college in duties such as our Road Monitoring, or simply doing charitable deeds for each other. The awarding of this “House Shield” brings enormous pride to the winning House and is very much sought after. The year of accumulating points runs from Term 4 to the end of term three the following year so the Yr 12 students can be involved for the full 12 months – such is the pride in contributing to “The Cup!”

Achilles Cup

On Thursday of this week, we also had a substantial number of students represent the college at the annual Achilles Cup. This is an athletics event held at SANTOS Stadium for boys (7-12) across all the major College in SA. As always St Paul’s competes very well on this stage against much bigger schools. We finished a very creditable third in our division and finished in first place in the U13 and U14 age divisions and second in the U15’s and U16’s. This is quite outstanding, and our thanks go to the staff who have helped the boys train for the event and to Messer’s Gillard, Deluca, Austin, and Dorsi for accompanying the team at the carnival.

Have a great break everyone and enjoy spending time with your loved ones.

Take care, God Bless

Paul Belton

Dear Friends and families of St Paul’s,

It is great to be back! While it seems like it has been considerable time since I left for some leave, time passes very quickly and getting back into the pace of school life is immediate!

I would like to thank the staff and particular our Leadership Teams for their ongoing diligence, dedication and commitment to all things St Paul’s. To Mr Josh Foulis and Mr Frank Ranaldo can I offer a special vote of thanks for their enormous work in their acting roles of Principal and Deputy respectively. At St Paul’s we are particularly blessed with awesome staff across every area and the amount of work that gets achieved for us to provide our absolute best for the students and families, I believe is second to none.

There has been an enormous amount of work undertaken and a great deal achieved over the last few months. The Middle Years Review is one example, and I thank staff, students and families for their active participation in this. As a result of that there is a great deal happening in terms of staffing, curriculum mapping and review as well as an analysis of all the physical resources that may need to be revisited or purchased.

I hope Mr Foulis enjoys his much-deserved break and holiday with his family.

Fathers’ Day

To all the fathers, male mentors, guardians, grandfathers and wonderful men in the lives of our students can I, on behalf of all the staff of St Paul’s, wish you a very special day on Sunday. I know that significant days like this one can be difficult times for some and the most special to others. So, to all I hope the day brings joy in some shape and form.  I know I am so blessed to have my 95-year-old father still with us and I know how much I still turn to him for advice and inspiration. Our celebrations at St Paul’s are always extremely wonderful and this week will be no exception.

Preparation for 2025

We may still only be halfway through term 3 of 2024 but in the background the College staff are working assiduously on preparing for 2025! So much goes on behind the scenes that it appears to be a bit like a duck on a pond – everything looks calm and smooth on the surface, while the feet are going flat out below!

We will grow again in student numbers next year and this will bring with it the need to appoint additional staff across all areas of school operations. This is a very time-consuming and sensitive process the leadership teams of the College handle with the utmost care and respect to all. Our students in the more senior years have been, and continued to be, counselled in all things subject selection and career advice which in turn may and does affect the staffing scenario and the analysis of what subjects need to be planned for 2025. We appreciate everyone’s patience in this regard and encourage all families to contact our staff should you have any questions or concerns.

There is so much happening and still to occur over the last month of the term and we encourage all students and families to be as involved as is possible given everyone’s busy lives.

Take Care, God Bless

Paul Belton