When Patrick Hogan talks about his family’s connection to St Clare’s Catholic College, it is difficult to know exactly where to begin. 

Perhaps he should start with his grandmother Kath, who recently turned 101, meaning she was born the year before the school started.  

Generations of Hogans have received a Catholic education in Taree, from Patrick’s parents, aunts and uncles to his siblings, cousins and now his own children. 

“I am very proud that the Hogan name is part of the 100 years of St Clare’s,” Patrick said. 

Patrick and his wife Vanessa are members of St Clare’s graduating class of 1997. The pair met in Year 1 at Taree’s St Joseph’s Primary School in 1986, where Patrick attended with his twin brother Len. They later moved together to St Clare’s, beginning Year 7 in 1992. Patrick and Vanessa started dating in their final year of school. 

Almost three decades later, their three children have followed them to St Clare’s. Charlotte graduated in 2020, William in 2023 and Addison is a current student, due to graduate in 2027. 

When it came time to choose a secondary school for their children, Vanessa said the decision was an easy one. 

“There really was no choice. It was a natural progression from St Joseph’s through to St Clare’s for the continuity of Catholic school education that both Pat and I grew up with,” she said. 

“I feel at a Catholic School, the teachers put in the extra effort to get to know their students. The pastoral care that the kids receive, as well as the academic and the sporting opportunities, are just second to none.” 

That sense of being known has followed the family through generations. Charlotte remembers becoming aware of just how much history her family had at St Clare’s soon after she arrived. 

“When I was in Year 7, when I had just started at St Clare’s, I remember walking through the admin building with all the photos of the old students on the walls. I remember finding my mum and dad in one and showing all my friends and saying, ‘This is my mum and dad.’ That really reminded me of all the history that our family has here, and it was really special.” 

Years later, Addison discovered for herself what the Hogan name meant at St Clare’s.  

“It really opened my eyes when I started in Year 7. All the teachers already knew who I was just from my last name,” she said. 

“Not just because of my parents, but also my siblings, cousins, aunties, uncles. The teachers all asked how they were, they asked how they were all going, even if they left years and years ago. It just reminds you that everyone remembers you, really cares about you here at St Clare’s.” 

The children have also experienced some of the same St Clare’s traditions their parents remember. Patrick recalls travelling to Canberra and the snow in Year 9 in 1994, five nights away from home. Decades later, Addison made the same school trip, visiting the Australian War Memorial and searching for her great-grandparents’ names. 

One Year 12 tradition has proved particularly special to both generations. At their senior retreat in 1997, Patrick and Vanessa’s classmates wrote messages to one another, placing them in individual envelopes to take home. Vanessa still has hers. 

Twenty-three years later, Charlotte came home from her own senior retreat with an envelope of messages from students and teachers. 

“I still sometimes find them in my cupboard and take them out and read them,” Charlotte said. “I think it was really special getting all the letters. It was nice to see what everyone thought of you, especially the letters from the teachers – I found those ones really, really special.” 

Much has changed since Patrick and Vanessa walked the corridors of St Clare’s. They have watched the campus grow, with facilities such as the Josephite Learning Centre, new library and hall now part of their children’s school experience. But what matters most to them has remained remarkably familiar. 

“St Clare’s still has the same feel about it from when we were here,” Vanessa said. “Back from 1997 when we graduated through to Addison still being here in 2026, there are still some teachers here that taught us, that are still caring and providing for their students.” 

Patrick’s connection with one former teacher has continued into the next generation. Pam Squires was his Year 11 and 12 coordinator and someone he remembers for the care she showed her students. Today, she tutors Addison in maths. 

“It’s the relationships that you build at school that go right into the future,” Patrick said. 

As St Clare’s celebrates 100 years of Catholic education in Taree, the Hogan family offers a living link between its past and its future. 

A century of history is found not only in old photographs, buildings or school records. It lives in friendships that have lasted decades, teachers who still remember former students, traditions passed from parents to children and a faith that has helped guide one family through generations. 

Patrick says St Clare’s can be summed up in three words: “Family, faith and respect.”

Subscribe to Aurora for more stories like this!