Middle School - Years 7-8

Building Patrick's College People

In 2017, Middle School staff examined the Archbishop’s Charter and the College’s Mission and Vision, and with the support of Fr Richard Ross, developed the ‘Building St Patrick’s College People’ statement, which identifies the five key qualities we aim to build in our Middle School students. These are the qualities that make them St Patrick’s College people. We aim to build St Patrick’s College people who are: resilient, open to the Spirit, life-long learners, learners, respectful and inspired. The statement also provides the curriculum framework for the Middle School's BeSPC program. Every lesson in the BeSPC curriculum is explicitly linked to one of the key qualities outlined in the statement.

BeSPC

BeSPC is the key pastoral care program for our Middle School students as we shape and mould them as young people on their educational journey. The program has a key role in how the Middle School promotes parental engagement, develops its online presence, builds community, encourages leadership, and enables our students to learn more about themselves, each other and our world. Middle School students engage in the program for one period each week.

Engagement

Middle School students follow a structure that is based on timetabled blocks which enables students to engage in the learning, skills and activities in each lesson in more depth. The key principles of Middle School learning are reflected in this structure: simplified timetables and schedules and reduced time in a day spent moving from one subject to another. This allows teachers scope to plan for learning that encourages deeper exploration of the subject matter and greater engagement with activities and pedagogies. 

As well as the core subjects of English, History and Geography, Mathematics, Science, Health & Physical Education and MVPS (Meaning, Values, Purpose and Spirituality), students enrol in Digital Technologies and Japanese (our Language Other Than English (LOTE) subject) as well as elective subjects, participate in BeSPC - a targeted middle years pastoral care based lesson once a week - and the Wellbeing program on alternating Thursday afternoons.

The Middle School offers a well-structured, well-resourced and caring learning environment where students are encouraged to embrace the full range of opportunities offered. The Middle School is dedicated to offering a holistic, individually oriented learning experience for all students.

More Information