By Mr Stuart Ralph, Principal

Good afternoon,

Welcome to Week 2 of Term 2.

This week is a time of celebration for our community, as we mark College Feast Day, our Senior Ball, and the sporting opportunities for our students, and we farewell a long-serving staff member, Mr Roger Lane. Roger has served our community for 19 years and in Catholic education for 49 years. Our staff came together for morning tea on Wednesday, and we will formally farewell Roger at the end of the year.

While Roger has formally retired, he will continue to support with some relief teaching in the technology space when required.

Roger’s service to Catholic education included:

• 2007–2026 – St Brendan-Shaw College
• 1990–2006 – St Virgils College, Hobart
• 1982–1989 – Marist High School, Sydney
• 1980–1981 – St Patrick's Marist Brothers
• 1978–1979 – St Paul's College, Auckland

Roger will be greatly missed in our community, and we wish him well in his retirement!

Feast Day of St Brendan
This Friday 15 May, we will celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Brendan. The official Feast Day falls on Saturday 16 May. The whole Catholic Church celebrates this Feast Day. As St Brendan is the Patron Saint of our College, we commemorate and reflect on his life through a whole-school Mass and by sharing food, participating in house games, and taking part in other festivities.

The day will consist of:

• St Brendan Feast Day Mass – Period 1 and partway into Period 2
• Cross-country – Periods 3 and 4
• St Brendan Day activities – Periods 5 and 6

Saint Brendan of Clonfert was known as ‘the Navigator’, ‘the Voyager’, and ‘the Bold’. One hundred years before Brendan was born, Ireland was moving from paganism to Christianity under the inspiration of Saint Patrick. However, Christianity had a slow start. Although Saint Patrick did much to convert Ireland, Christianity did not flourish until after his death. Because of his upbringing, Brendan carried on the mission to spread the faith. He is known as one of the original Twelve Apostles of Ireland.

Saint Brendan the Navigator is known as the patron saint of sailors. He is the patron of those afraid because he was fearless in setting out into uncharted water and uncertain circumstances.

College Senior Ball – Saturday 16 May
Our Senior College Ball will be held at the Country Club, Spreyton, this Saturday 16 May.

Students will arrive between 5:30 pm and 6:15 pm. Families are warmly invited to watch arrivals from the designated area near the entrance, with parking available in the designated car park. Any student who would prefer a quieter arrival or not to be photographed is encouraged to speak with Mr Peters beforehand so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Our Senior College Ball is a significant celebration of our students' senior year. We look forward to our students having the opportunity to share a meal, dance, and enjoy each other's company.

Year 10 Sport Leaders
Our Year 10 Sports Leaders will be officiating and assisting at the St Patrick's Primary School Cross-country Carnival on Friday, 22 May, and the Our Lady of Lourdes Cross-country Carnival on Thursday, 28 May. It is wonderful to see our young people serving our Primary School communities and, in many cases, our students returning to their Primary schools and actively contributing.

Around the Grounds
I was delighted to attend our football games for the senior girls, Year 7/8, and 9/10 boys on Wednesday afternoon. Our senior girls recorded a 6-point victory over St Patrick’s College, and our Year 7/8 Boys recorded a strong win against Ulverstone. At the same time, our Year 9/10 team, composed mainly of Year 9s, battled gallantly against Ulverstone, who were too strong on the day. It is wonderful to see our new sports uniforms on the field and the pride our students take in representing their College.

Project Connect
Our transition to a new learning management system has required a great deal of work from many of our staff at the College. I thank the parent community for their support in this period of change. In the immediate term, we are working behind the scenes to improve and further develop reporting and the parent portal. Please know that we are continuing to develop and improve the user experience.

Important Upcoming Dates

• Saturday 16 May – Senior College Ball
• Saturday 23 May – Parliamentary Shield – Senior Debating
• Monday 25 May – student-free day
• Monday 1 June – Sports Award Evening (Summer Sports)
• Friday 5 June – TASC Moderation Day – no classes for Year 10–12 students

I thank all parents for their ongoing support.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Stuart Ralph
Principal

Senior Secondary students' Progress Reports will be available via Connect on Monday 18 May. Parents will receive communication from the College on that day with instructions for both reports and booking parent-teacher interviews.
Parent-Teacher interviews for Senior students will be occurring on Tuesday 2 June.

A Report for Year 7-10 students will be available later this term in Week 9, with parent-teacher interviews occurring in Week 10.

If you have any questions regarding these reports or interviews, please contact deputies@sbsc.tas.edu.au.

Students received a printed copy of the St Brendan-Shaw College Student ICT Protocol and Student ICT Agreement 2026 during Homeroom this week.

The protocol outlines College expectations regarding the appropriate use of ICT.

Families are asked to please read through the Protocol carefully with their child. Once reviewed, both parent/guardian and student are required to sign and return the Agreement to the College by Tuesday 26 May 2026.

Please note that a separate signed Agreement is required for each student.

Documents may be accessed below:

  ❯ Student ICT Protocol
  ❯ Student ICT Agreement 2026

Signed agreements may be returned either to your child’s Homeroom teacher or to the Caritas Office.

If the printed copy distributed through Homeroom has been lost or misplaced, replacement printed copies of both the Protocol and Agreement may be collected from Caritas.

If families have concerns regarding the Agreement, please tick the “No” box on the form and return it to the College. A meeting will then be arranged to discuss any concerns.

The team from Civil Contractors Australia are coming to St Brendan-Shaw College to deliver a Hi-Vis Army presentation focused on careers in civil construction.

Students will hear about pathways into the industry before taking part in a hands-on session in the simulator van, featuring either an excavator or front-end loader simulator.

Date: Wednesday 20 May
Time: Periods 3 & 4
Places available: 20 students

Students interested in attending are asked to please complete the form by tomorrow, Friday 15 May.

Click here to complete the expression of interest form.

Our Devon netball teams returned to the court last week after the holiday break in dominant fashion, with all teams recording comprehensive wins.

Results

• SBSC 1 defeated LCS 1 — 85–13
• SBSC 2 defeated DHS 7/8 — 37–8
• SBSC 3 defeated DCS 8 — 50–29
• SBSC 4 defeated DCS 7 — 30–4

After seven rounds, the Lady Saints teams are performing exceptionally well across all divisions. SBSC 1 currently sits on top of the Division 1 ladder, while in Division 3/4, SBSC 4 leads the competition, SBSC 2 sits in 2nd place, and SBSC 3 holds 4th.

This week’s fixtures

• SBSC 1 — 8:30 am
• SBSC 3 — 8:30 am
• SBSC 2 — 9:45 am
• SBSC 4 — BYE

The Lady Saints Senior Girls football team has made an outstanding start to the season.

In Round 1, they took on NW rivals and reigning premiers Marist Regional College. A strong opening term set the tone, giving the Saints a 12-point lead at quarter time. Despite some inaccuracy in the second quarter, the team regrouped after halftime and dominated defensively, restricting MRC to just six points in the second half. Strong performances from Jasmine Minton-Connell, Tahlia Crawford, Brydee McPherson, and Willow Farr helped secure an impressive 41–18 victory.

The Lady Saints backed this up in Round 2 against St Patrick’s College, further establishing themselves as strong contenders for the NSATIS Girls 1st premiership. In a tightly contested match, the Saints trailed by five points at halftime before a powerful second-half effort. Standout performances from Tahlia Crawford, Eve McConnon, and Felicity Downward led the team to a hard-fought 33–27 win.

The Lady Saints will host Scotch Oakburn College next week, with the game kicking off at 2:30pm.

A huge two days of futsal action wrapped up last week at the North West School Titles, with St Brendan-Shaw College teams achieving strong results across multiple divisions. ⚽🏆

Our students represented the College with determination, teamwork and persistence throughout Wednesday and Thursday’s competition, with several teams progressing through to grand finals and medal matches.

Congratulations to our teams on the following results:

• 13 Boys Champions
• 14 Boys Champions
• 15 Girls Champions
• 16 Girls Champions
• 13/14 Girls Runners-up
• 15 Boys Runners-up
• 15 Girls Runners-up
• 16 Girls Runners-up

We were especially proud of the many students who demonstrated encouragement, resilience and sportsmanship across the tournament, both on and off the court. Their teamwork and support for one another reflected the values of our College community.

Thank you to the staff, coaches, organisers and families who supported the event, and congratulations to all students who took part.

The NWJFU season kicked off this week, with the 7/8 and 9/10 boys hosting USC Maroon.

The 9/10 team faced a tough opening match against a strong Ulverstone side. Despite their effort across four quarters, the Saints struggled to contain the USC forwards and fell short, 40–131.

In contrast, the 7/8 team delivered an outstanding performance in their first outing, with many players representing St Brendan-Shaw College for the first time. Showing great depth and teamwork, the Saints controlled the game from start to finish, limiting USC Maroon to just one goal. Their ball movement was excellent, and they capitalised in front of goal to record a dominant 146–6 victory.

Both teams will travel to Ulverstone High School next Wednesday to take on USC Blue, with games commencing at 1:30 pm.

Supercars are coming to Devonport on Wednesday 20 May.

Families may like to head along to the community event at Market Square from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

The event will include Supercars on display, driver interviews, a live radio broadcast, face painting and family-friendly activities, along with a driver signing session from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Location: Market Square, Devonport
Wet weather venue: Market Square Pavilion
Cost: Free entry

There will also be opportunities to win merch packs and tickets to the Tyrepower Tasmania Super 440.