College House System
Cathy Freeman, born in Queensland Australia is known for winning gold at the Sydney Olympics and was the first indigenous Australian to win a commonwealth games gold medal in 1994. When asked as 14year old student what she wanted to in the future, Cathy replied “win gold for Australia”.
Throughout her 13 year competitive athletic career, Freeman dealt with many personal challenges however showed great persistence to her achieve her personal goals. When life throws us challenges we must be determined to overcome these setbacks or stressful situations and show that it will not get us down. This value is something we all need throughout the different aspects of our lives from schooling, in the work place and in our family life to achieve our dreams.
Sir John Monash, born in West Melbourne was an extremely intelligent man who was recognised for his love of learning throughout his entire life. He held many degrees and doctorates in the fields of Law and Engineering. Sir John Monash was a highly decorated leader in the Australian military during World War One. He leaves a legacy as a scholar and a man of action. He was a man who sought, above all, to use his education and abilities for the benefit of the community. We should all strive to be truly the best we can be at all aspects of our life. Everyone has one thing that we are passionate about and can achieve great outcomes in. We should all have high expectations of ourselves and those around us. Excellence is about endeavor to exceed the limits, go beyond and think of greatness.
Derrimut, was a leader of the Bunurong people from the Melbourne area. In 1835 his actions were instrumental in preventing a massacre of early settlers. Derrimut greatly respected his fellow indigenous people and the new arrivals to this country. In the late 1850s Derrimut worked hard to protect the Bunurong people’s right to live on their land at Mordialloc Reserve. He was seen as a collaborator, a go between and the savior of Melbourne during the early years of colonisation. In our lives we must respect ourselves, others and also the environment. Dress, speak, and act in a way that shows you know what is right. Respect means you care enough to think about others’ feelings before you act. You don’t interfere with other people’s right to look, think, or act differently than you because you care about their well-being.
Matilda Aston, better known as Tilly, was a blind Australian writer and teacher. She was adamant that the blind had the ability to run their own affairs. In order to make education accessible to the vision impaired, she established the Victorian Association of Braille Writers in 1894. Aston later went on to establish the Association for the Advancement of the Blind. She is remembered for her tireless efforts within the community to promote the rights of vision-impaired people. There are many different aspects of the Patterson River Secondary College Community from students, parents , staff, local primary schools, the environment that surrounds us to our German sister school. All coming together to play an important part in developing us as well rounded people who are able to function in today’s society.