S t M a r y ’ s C o l l e g e A Journey of Truth

Issue 9, Monday 18 September 2017

S t M a r y ’ s C o l l e g e 253 Franklin Street

ADELAIDE SA 5000

T:8216 5700 F:8216 5730

W: www.stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au E: enquiries@stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au

From the Principal

Dear St Mary’s College, We are in the final stages of appointing a builder for our West Terrace development with work scheduled to begin during Term 4. I have included updated concept drawings which show what an iconic presence we will create on this prominent city corner. The West Terrace building will include a Visual Art learning space and Year 12 Learning Centre on the ground floor. The Year 12 Centre includes general learning spaces with the flexibility to be opened into larger meeting spaces. There will be a study area for individual and group learning as well as a common area where the students can gather. The second floor of this development will include a full size court and PE learning spaces. All of the areas have been designed with contemporary learning, collaboration, community and flexible use of space in mind. The building is bold and contemporary while also being sensitive to the heritage listed Boylan building on Franklin Street. Surrounding the buildings we will develop landscaped areas for gathering, creating more green space for students. The Junior School play space will also be re-developed. Stage Two of the project includes a new entrance to the school and a re-development of the Old Library into Finance and Administration offices, ICT support and Digital Technologies Learning Suite. Each of the new spaces is being developed in response to learning that is already happening at the College. This includes strong Year 12 results that reflect our support for diverse post school pathways; a rich Visual Arts program taught from R-12; a diverse Physical and Outdoor Education program including a very successful Specialist Netball Program and a STEM and Digital Technologies program that is exploring contemporary and emerging pedagogies. In short, the new spaces will enhance existing learning programs and give our College a strong visual presence in the city. This is an exciting time in the development of St Mary’s College. In the past week, I have had the pleasure of attending my first school musical which I saw on opening and closing night. I was struck by the talent of our girls and our staff; the quality of musical performance, the seamlessness of transition created by the backstage crew, the singing and acting was a delight. The fact that so many girls were able to be involved is a testament to the great work of our Music and Performing Arts Team. This was also very well supported by a large group of staff. An experience such as this adds immeasurable capital to our school community; it is one of the great strengths of the performing arts. For the girls involved, Annie will no doubt become one of their treasured memories of school life. I am already looking forward to seeing what will unfold in two years’ time. Enjoy the closing weeks of the term. I hope the break brings some time for rest.

Clare Nocka

Principal

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From the Deputy Principal: Student Wellbeing

One of the major aspects of our College, and one that underpins everything we do at St Mary’s College, is relationships … being in positive relationship with one another: students, parents/caregivers and staff. Being in right rela-tionship is the framework of our Development of Personal Responsibility and our Digital Citizenship Policy (both available on the school website), and our Restorative Justice practice is how we live out being in positive relationship. What is Restorative Practice? Restorative Justice is about restoring relationships, developing empathy and the desire for reconnection. The Traditional Approach to School Discipline The traditional approach to school discipline asks three questions in response to wrongdoing: • What happened? • Who is to blame? • What do they deserve? This traditional approach, borrowed largely from the criminal justice system, leaves those who have been most affected by the wrongful behaviour without a voice, and without their needs being addressed as part of the ‘solution.’ It also does not effectively challenge the wrongdoer to be accountable to those they have harmed. The Restorative approach starts from a different set of questions: • What happened? • Who has been harmed? And ... • What needs to happen to repair some of that harm? In this approach, the focus is on the harm that has been done and the obliga-tion this brings on the part of those responsible to ‘right the wrong’ as much as possible. It seeks to develop in the wrongdoer an understanding of the harm their behaviour has caused to others so that they can best try to make amends to those most affected. Those most affected by the wrongdoing have the opportunity to be involved in working out what has to happen in order to move forward. Restorative Justice is a way of viewing relationship building and behaviour management in schools that works to strengthen community among students and between students, teachers and parents, through educative processes. Conflict or wrongdoing is seen as causing harm to people and relationships … and in order for the people involved to move forward we need to repair the harm. It is a way of educating students towards self-determined right behaviour that is respectful of all concerned. The onus is on the wrongdoer to be accountable for their behaviour and to repair any harm caused to others. Restorative Practice can build healthier communities; can strengthen relation ships, school community; and foster a more productive learning community … because students are returned to the relevant relationship, reconciled with the learning environment, the classroom. Restorative Practice is not about punishment, and nor is it about having no consequences either, as some people believe. I sometimes have parents/caregivers ask me questions like ‘so what’s going to happen to that person who’s hurt my daughter’; ‘what punishment are they going to get’; and even, ‘how can you let them get away with this over and over again?” Sometimes the consequences may not be what we would want in the situation, but are in place based on all the information we have, and the bigger and wider picture at hand. Listed below, is a summary that compares the disciplinarian approach with the Restorative Practice approach:

Punishment

Expresses power of a personal authority

Is usually painful and reminds student of the past

Is not related to the behaviour

Is easy or expedient

Has a “you’ll pay for this” or “now I gotcha attitude”.

Concentrates on verbal embarrassment

Creates a desire for revenge

Consequences

Is logically related to the behaviour

Concerned with the present or immediate future

Is friendly, but firm

Maintains dignity of both adult and student

Is reasonable in terms of length of time

Is respectfully given

Give responsibility to the individual responsible for the misbehaviour

Much of my work is conducting restorative practice sessions between stu-dents, and between students and teachers. I am continually in awe of the raw honesty and courage of students within these sessions. Seeing students face one another and honestly share how they’ve been hurt, and to hear the other person or people say ‘I had no idea that’s how you were feeling’ or ‘My inten-tion wasn’t to hurt or upset you, I was just having a bad day’, is a privilege. Restorative Practice meetings are often transforming for many students and enable them to let go of hurt and move forward or hear how their behaviour/comments have affected another person, own what they have done, and apologise and move on. Atticus Finch points out to Scout in ‘To Kill a Mock-ingbird’, you can never truly understand another person until you have stood in their shoes and seen things through their eyes. Restorative Practice ena-bles this to occur. Therefore, it is imperative that, as parents/caregivers, you let us know when you become aware of issues your daughter is experiencing either with other students or with teachers. Please do not let such issues continue in the hope that they will go away. Contact either your relevant sub-school director or myself (lstarrs@stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au) and we will follow them up. If your daughter begs you not to contact the school, as she is fearful of retribu-tion or does not want you to get involved, please do still contact us and we can follow it up so it is not obvious it has come from you. Your daughter’s wellbeing is important to us, and our experiences here at St Mary’s College show us that unless students are in right relationship with one another and their teachers, their welfare and learning is greatly affected.

Lorna Starrs Deputy Principal: Student Wellbeing

St Mary’s College, Issue 9 Monday 18 September 2017

Uniform Shop News

From the beginning of Term 4 students are to wear the Summer uniform: College summer dress, school shoes (black flat lace-up) and white socks. If an additional garment is needed for warmth transiting to and from school or at school during the term, only the College jumper or blazer may be worn.

A College hat must be worn during recess and lunch if outside in the direct sun.

Hambours Uniform Shop will be closed for the last three weeks of this term due to staff leave and illness. However, it will be open during both weeks of the school holidays:

Wednesdays 9 – 11am and 2 – 4pm Thursdays 9 – 11am and 2 – 4pm

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St Mary’s College, Issue 9, Monday 18 September 2017

The following wonderful short story by Year 12 student, and founding member of Writers INK since Year 9, Ellen Martin, was recently announced as the Year 11 and 12 section winner of the SA English Teachers Association “Young Writers Award” for 2017. This is a tremendous achievement and a wonderful acknowledgement of Ellen’s ability, passion and commitment to writing. As well as being the senior section winner, she was also acknowledged as the overall winner of the competition.

Ellen is shown here with this certificate and her very moving story “On Making Sense” is published below.

“On Making Sense” – by Ellen Martin (Year 12) The kitchen is filled with cloying steam that smells of wheat and unidentifiable spices that supposedly pack enough punch to warrant ‘Bombay Badboy’ printed on the packet.

A young man stirs the contents of a polystyrene cup with a lethargic hand, attention focused elsewhere as he props his elbows on the countertop. Some things just don’t make sense, he thinks. Things such as printing three-star chilli ratings on foods that could barely break anyone into a sweat.

As he stews his gluggy noodles and dehydrated peas in yellow broth, he contemplates the picture on the grey wall opposite.

“The kitchen needed something,” his mother said when she purchased it, despite the room already being adorned with various decorative oddities. There’s a clock that is likely older than time itself, some watercolours of the family’s home country and several paintings of a woman holding a parrot.

The picture he muses over is the least remarkable in the room, something anyone could pick up from a local junk store. But as per the famous phrase, one man’s trash; one man’s junk painting is another man’s sudden epiphany.

Moving carefully so as not to lose a drop of warm broth, he transfers a forkful of noodles to his mouth and hums appreciatively. Green eyes search the painting with distracted pensiveness until he spots a connection between it and a recent event.

The painting draws colours into the form of two women, one brunette and the other with hair black as onyx, strolling down a seemingly Parisian lane. They laugh mirthfully with large crimson shopping bags in tow. The young man’s hands tighten around his flimsy cup. He realises what intangible force swayed his mother into purchasing the unnecessary decoration.

There’s no effort involved in finding his mother’s double in the black-haired lady of the painting. Her companion, the brunette, conjures images of someone who lingers just inside the recesses of the young man’s memory.

It reminds him of her sister, a regular guest in the sun-bleached memories of his childhood. The vagueness of these recollections stands testament to the meagre strength of his connection to home and family, a realisation that stirs pangs of grief in his chest.

Why don’t I remember more about her? he wonders, and begins clawing through hazy, fragmented scenes in his head. They are about as substantial as the steam from his noodles.

Eventually he digs something up. He recalls a meandering beachside stroll, setting himself in sandy shoes and the feeling of sticky sweet ice cream dripping between his fingers. It tastes of syrupy berries and the salty sweat of his hands under the radiant summer sun.

“I was reading about personalities online,” she was saying to him, “I think you must be an introvert.”

It had pleased him to know that someone else was thinking about the person that he was growing to be. He pulls himself back into the present with a considerably more reluctant mouthful of noodles. It’s an inconsequential snippet of memory, but it stings his heart with a strength the something much stronger. Coming across it is like excavating around a rabbit hole… and he has fallen in.

He spirals into clouds of her perfume that nearly mask the smell of coffee spilled inside her car. He drops into a battered waterbed in a room with a lava lamp, tasting undercooked pancakes. His thumb stings from the burn he had gotten because he’d wanted to test her words – “Don’t touch the grill!” His body is warmed by the scent of sunscreen and a prescription shower gel that belonged to the younger version of a cousin who as of last week, has to live without her mothe—

No! It was so unfair! She was still had so much life to live! It didn’t make sense!

He drags himself up, out and away. Desperately fills in the rabbit hole. Runs until he can no longer smell the sunscreen and pancake batter. Convinces himself his eyes are watering because his noodles are too spicy.

After an evening of anguish, he throws open his laptop. His noodles are long abandoned on the island bench. If he writes about it, he can make things make sense.

With a vicious shove, he tips the inkwell of memories from behind his eyes onto the page. There is nothing more cathartic to him than channelling his feelings into words. He launches into the story because his teachers always tell him that the best titles are conceived after the tale’s end.

His inkwell begins to run dry after a few pages. He stops typing. This hasn’t solved anything. In the same manner as a life cut short, this piece is just another tale without resolution. A late-evening addition to a series of drafts he will likely never finish. One more story without a title. His questions remain unanswered. Where is the sense in it all? The closure? The purpose? The poetry?

He grips his head and bows over his trusty computer. Almost an hour later, he is still there.

He is wondering, with eyes wide, if maybe…some stories just don’t have resolutions. Maybe they exist not to send oneself on a trip through wonderland tied with a pretty, red bow at the end. Maybe they exist to make one appreciate everything that happened before the journey’s end. And maybe lives are the same.

He looks again at the painting of the two women, mother and departed sister, and breathes deeply.

Some things don’t make sense. The ending of young, vibrant lives is one of them. All one can do in such a case is review old memories with joy. Perhaps that is the poetry of living.

He thinks about ice cream on the beach, burnt thumbs and spilled coffee, and he smiles. Those memories are treasure now. They are to be polished, not tarnished with sadness.

Taking the images of someone so filled with light and joy, only to garner grief from them…now that just wouldn’t make sense.

St Mary’s College, Issue 9, Monday 18 September 2017

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Year 10 Retreat

The Year 10 Retreat at Mylor, on 24 - 25 August, focused on ‘Making Connections’ where we explored Indigenous and personal spirituality through story sharing, ceremonies, prayer and activities. I am grateful to Pilawuk, David and Niwili, who were some of the leaders that shared their culture, story and experiences with us. It was important for us to learn about the rich history and struggles of Indigenous Australians along with being immersed into their culture and spirituality over the two days. Teresa K, 10B

My favourite part of the Retreat was the contemporary dance workshop. The teachers were fantastic, and I loved learning and choreographing a part of the dance with my group, using teamwork and leadership to make it fun, creative and unique. Amber Fibrosi, 10W

The most interesting part of the Retreat was meeting the Indigenous presenters and hearing their stories. We witnessed Indigenous spirituality first-hand and made connections with the work we have been doing in Religion and Humanities. In the bush tucker and didgeridoo activity, we learnt how to make different sounds on the didgeridoo, which was very interesting. Caitlin Wyman, 10R

I had been looking forward to this Retreat all term as it has an Aboriginal focus to it. We were able to hear from Pilawuk, David and Niwili who were amazing speakers. We were so grateful that they shared their stories with us about their life experiences and their connections to the land. It was definitely important for us to attend this Retreat, as we were able to gain a deeper understanding into the Aboriginal culture and being involved in activities such as the bush tucker talk, digeridoo playing and the traditional dancing help us to understand this. On the Retreat, I learnt many new life lessons about making sure I am always connected with myself and understanding that there is always a connection to nature in everything I do. This was also a time for reflection and to take some time out to embrace our natural environment. Sophie Teakle, 10 Gold

MAKING A DIFFERENCE …..

“A JOURNEY OF TRUTH” SOCIAL JUSTICE AT ST MARY’S COLLEGE

Social Justice at St Mary’s College is central to our Dominican community and is truly alive in the corridors and playground at the school. We endeavour to encourage all students to strive for social justice in their lives. Unfortunately, we do not live in a world where everyone has equal opportunities, and we have not yet achieved global justice. In a just society, the needs of everyone would be met and all people’s rights, regardless of their status, wealth, race, belief or upbringing would be respected. This is our mission. The search for social justice is the continuing struggle to attain a world where everyone is given the same chances, feels safe and is not discriminated against in any way. At St Mary’s, we join the struggle to reach a just and perfect world. Over this term, all year levels have and/or will be participating in social justice activi-ties and gaining a deeper understanding of their particular social justice issue. Stu-dents will empathise with those who are less fortunate and grapple with ways to re-solve injustices in our world. In curriculum learning areas and Care Education sessions, a variety of activities and sessions have been organised at each year level—culminating in our annual SOCIAL JUSTICE DAY and ROCK CONCERT on Friday 29 September. A brief overview of Social Justice issues being covered by various year levels:- From our youngest students making muffins for Moore Street, collecting sponsorship for ‘Walk a Mile’ and creating stalls for Social Justice Day, the Junior School are embracing their Social Justice term. Each week, the Reception, Year 1 and Year 5 stu-dents have been making muffins to help feed the men who visit the Moore Street Centre for training, coun-selling, shelter and a nutritious meal. Each week dozens of muffins have been donated and the girls have enjoyed putting their cooking skills into action. Another local action the Junior School will participate in on Social Justice Day is a Walk a Mile event. The money raised from stalls on Social Justice Day will be donated to the Vietnam Pilgrimage the Year 11 stu-dents will undertake in Term 4. Our commitment to St Vincent De Paul will begin early in Term 4 as the Junior School undertakes its annual

Christmas Appeal. Students will be invited to donate items that will be used to cre-ate Christmas Hampers for underprivileged families across Adelaide.

R- 6 – Helping Others

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Throughout the term, the Year 7 students are focusing their social justice awareness on the work of the Adelaide Day Centre for Homeless Persons (Moore Street). Each week a Year 7 class has been making soup and muffins which is given to Moore Street to feed those in need in Adelaide on a daily basis. The girls have made many, many litres of minestrone, chicken and vegetable soup and muffins each Wednesday afternoon. During the last weeks of the term, the students will be participating in a clothes and ‘garage sale’ drive, donat-ing ‘once loved’ goods for those who require support in clothing themselves or their families. The girls will also hold a garage sale on Social Justice Day with funds going to the Moore Street Centre. The Year 7 student involvement has been most valuable, allowing students to pro-vide practical support to those who are needy in our local communities.

Year 8 students will be participating in the Cambodian Schools Focus. They will gain an awareness of schooling resources in Cambodia and the rebuilding of the country after many years of tyranny under Pol Pot. The students will learn about Cambodia and the work the “Friends for All Children” Foundation and Irene Du-arte initiated in this strife torn country. Fourteen of the Year 11 girls who participated in the Cambodian Pilgrimage have presented their experiences to the Year 8 cohort. Some of the Year 8 students have written to the 85 Cambodian students who are sup-ported by the Providence project in Battambang. The Year 8 students will also be supporting the initiatives in Battambang, Cambodia by raising funds on So-cial Justice Day The students will also gain an understanding of the conditions that teachers and students have to experience in poverty stricken areas of Cambodia. The funds raised by the Year 8s will go to support these schools and the ongoing projects in Battambang and surrounding villages.

Year 8 - Cambodia – Providence Sister’s Cambodia Projects

Year 7 - Doing it for those in need – Moore Street Centre

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St Vincent de Paul Society is a renowned organisation that is actively involved in helping people – by work-ing with people and respecting their dignity – helping them help themselves. Australian Vinnies support Vin-nies groups in developing countries through a process called TWINNING. St Mary’s College has volunteered to be ‘twinned’ with a St Vinnies Conference in an Asian nation which is in need of financial stimulation and microcredit support. Over the last ten years, we have assisted villages develop a goat and mushroom initiative in Kerala, India; enabled women in a village in Sri Lanka to develop a rabbit industry; and supported a Thai village to develop fishing self sufficiency. The Year 9 students will be involved in a Microcredit program which will allow an opportunity for students to develop their understandings of credit and the impact it has on lives both locally and globally. Each Year 9 class will be granted a monetary loan which they will use to operate a food stall on Social Justice Day. These funds will then be directed to a Vinnies partner in an Asian country. It is estimated that 200 people will benefit initially from the initiative … but because of the revolving or ongo-ing nature of the project, the community will continue to benefit from the initiative with poor families able to support themselves and each other. This program is social justice in action and an exciting opportunity to make a difference. Last year, the 2016 Year 9 cohort raised $2000 enabling families to become more self sufficient. Year 10 Social Justice has been built around their Retreat experience, held this term. During the Retreat, students gained a greater appreciation of indigenous culture and spirituality through interaction with indigenous Australians. Stu-dents participated in a series of art, dance and weaving work-shops. The students reflected on their own stories in order to make connections with the Dreaming stories they were exposed to. From this, they moved into an historical and contemporary context and explored current issues associated with indigenous communi-ties. Year 11 students will share their experiences of a recent journey to Oak Valley. As part of their Social Justice focus for the remainder of the term, the Year 10s will support a variety of Indig-enous issues and initiatives. On Social Justice Day they will be involved in a workshop with the LINK-UP PROGRAM which sup-ports “Stolen Generation” victims trace their birth origins. Classes will also be involved in making Indigenous crafts and selling these items on Social Justice Day. An exciting initiative has been put in place over the last 10 years where Year 11 students are invited to make the journey from the perspective of charity to that of justice through active service. From the 18—22 September, all Year 11s will be participating in the Service Learning Program. All students are placed within organisations that assist the needs of the ‘marginalised’ in our community. These include organisations who provide service to the elderly, the disabled, the disadvantaged and those who are seeking new opportunities. As well as providing practical support to the ‘marginalised’, all students will be given an opportunity to reflect and journalise their experiences at the end of their placement. We encourage all Year 11s to make the most of the experiences that they encounter at the end of this term.

Year 10 - Indigenous Australians – Making Connections

Year 11 - Service Learning Program

Year 9 - Microcredit St Vincent de Paul

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Year 12 Social Justice Activities: all Year 12 students, in their RE classes, have been studying justice issues that are: Homeless Sleep Out: A group of students experienced how a homeless person might feel as they survive a night out under the stars raising money and awareness for St Vinnies and their work with the homeless.

Students camped out under the Susan Sullivan Library during the evening of 20 September, bunking down on nothing more than cardboard sheets and blankets. Year 12 RE students added to the experience, providing a meal for participating students.

Zonta Birthing Kit Making: In a bid to raise awareness about conditions in third world na-tions, one Year 12 class is listening to a guest speaker from Zonta on the morning of Social Justice Day. The students will be packaging birthing kits for African women. This group of students will not only raise their own aware-ness of the issue creating birthing kits, but also undertake some fundraising activities in aid of this worthy cause. This class have decid-ed to create 200 birthing kits which will cost $600 - money they hope to recoup on Social Justice Day.

Refugees: Another group of Year 12s have and will be analysing past and present refugee and asylum seeker issues. Social action and awareness has occurred in class and a fundraiser will be arranged with funds support-ing the Australian Refugee Association and the Sophia Centre.

Puddle Jumpers: Is an organisation that works with children and young people who do not live with their birth parents and come from disadvantaged circumstances.

They offer a range of services which enhances and improves their short term and long term futures.

Domestic Violence: Another Year 12 RE class has been studying and gaining an awareness about domestic violence in our community. They have been learning about the ZAHRA Foundation, an organisation that pro-vides assistance to South Australian women and children who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence.

Ethical Fashion: Students have been focussing on fabrics made from ethically sourced fabrics and in ethically sound workplaces.

Other activities that have been undertaken this term at St Mary’s College for Social Justice include:

Vinnies on Parade

World Vision 40 Hour Sacrifice Peter Batty Coordinator of Social Justice

Year 12 - Helping Those On Our Doorstep and Beyond

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St Mary’s College, Issue 9, Monday 18 September 2017

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On 29 August, six Year 10 students attended Reconciliation SA: Generation of Change. The day was filled with many activities such as a performance, from the acting company that ran the day, planning activities to take back to our school to raise awareness for the cultures that are in our community and some fun group games. These activities were a great way to hear ideas from other schools about what they already have in place and what they will start, to try to unite the different cultures at the schools. The day was very productive and educational as we learnt new

ways to recognise racism and how to deal with it in an appropriate way. From this day, we acknowledge that if we want to see a change occur in our society the change starts with us. Sophie Teakle Year 10

Over the last two terms, Batol Jawad, Ruby Sellick, Victoria Moore and Lili Rothall have been participating in the Debating SA School’s Competition, held on Thursday evenings at Nazareth College.

The girls have had the opportunity to argue many interesting topics against various schools. Some of the topics were: “That Hogwarts is an ideal school”, “That doctors, nurses and midwives who promote antivax messages should be prosecuted”,“ That students should never be forced to repeat a year at school”, as well as several others.

This year, the competition was of such a high standard that despite only losing one debate in the whole season, the team just missed out in making it to the finals round by only 0.03%.

During the season, the girls developed invaluable skills in researching, organising and presenting information, to form balanced and informed arguments through reasoning and evidence. Most importantly, with each debate, it was wonderful to watch the girl’s confidence in public speaking improve.

Furthermore, the students demonstrated wonderful team spirit in the way they supported each other during each debate, and throughout the season. They are to be commended for their effort, enthusiasm and commitment in attending the evening debates, as well as the endless lunchtime meetings.

It has been an absolute pleasure coaching the girls and I congratulate them for participating in the Debating SA 2017 Schools’ Competition.

Angela Caporaso Year 9 Debating Coach

Maths & English Help

Maths & English Help is up and running. This is a fantastic opportunity that students have to receive assistance with their literacy and numeracy. Students are invited to bring friends as a form of peer support and gain help with homework and classwork. For those students who are struggling, or having difficulties completing homework, this can be an excellent way to get ahead.

At lunchtimes on Mondays and Tuesdays, there are at least five teaching staff available to help one-on-one. On Wednesday afternoons, the Library is staffed with teachers to help students who wish to stay after school. Students can get help with all Maths topics up to Year 12. The English staff assist students in developing self-drafting techniques, empowering them to edit their own work as well as essay structure, spelling and grammar.

Does your daughter need additional help? Ask her if she knows about Maths & English Help. Taking a proactive approach to seeking assistance develops academic responsibility and remind her that she can always bring her friends!

Maths & English Help is in K11 during lunchtime on Monday and Tuesday, and in the Library after school on Wednesday.

Left to right: Ruby Sellick, Batol Jawad, Tori Moore & Lili Rothall.

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St Mary’s College, Issue 9 Monday 18 September 2017

From the Music Department

In the three weeks since the last newsletter, it has been an incredibly busy yet rewarding period in the life of the SMC Music Department.

Mid-term, the ABODA (Australian Band and Orchestra Director’s Association) Festival was held once again at Westminster College. This year, the SMC Music Department entered no less than seven ensembles, a record for our College. Making their debut were the Junior String Ensemble and our College Orchestra. Also performing were our Senior String Ensemble, Middle & Senior School Concert and Stage Bands.

The depth and breadth of the music program was reflected in the ensembles being incredibly consistent by achieving joint second place (Silver) in every division we entered, which is a fantastic achievement.

Sunday 10 September, saw our Stage Band 1 perform at a prestigious ‘invitation only’ event at the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel. The “Big Band Bash” saw no less than a dozen of Adelaide’s top Secondary School Bands perform in a non-competitive environment to a large audience. Our music students did a great job mixing it with some of the best school bands in the business!

The day after, on Monday 11 September, the Senior Vocal Jazz Ensemble performed at a special “Hall of Fame” event, where two of Australia’s most renowned music educators, Eric Bryce and John McKenzie were posthumously inducted into the S.A. Music Industry Hall of Fame. The ensemble performed with their choir Director Ms Michelle Nicolle, one of John McKenzie’s most celebrated students, in a beautiful rendition of the ballad, “Days of Wine and Roses”, a fitting tribute to these great educators!

On Thursday 14 September, a number of Solo Performance and Ensemble Performance students were requested to perform at the SACE Benchmark Seminar held here at the College. This was another example of the St Mary’s College Music Department being recognised for its quality and integrity.

Year 12…WHAT’S NEXT?

Term 3, is decision-making time for Year 12 students looking at applying for tertiary courses in 2018. Students have been engaged in a variety of sessions this term, which have provided them with relevant information and enabled them to make informed decisions about their futures.

Tertiary Information Sessions In the middle of this term, Flinders Uni, Adelaide Uni and the University of SA presented to our Year 12 Students what they each have to offer in terms of new courses available, Uni life and the facilities at each of their respective universities. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and collect resources that relate to their area of interest.

Course Counselling and Tertiary Applications Year 12 students now have their SATAC guide (blue) to undergraduate courses that outlines specific information on tertiary courses available in SA in 2018. This information is also available on the SATAC website. Students have also been able to discuss their course application with key personnel. I remind students who have yet to make an appointment, to do so in the next couple of weeks. The closing date for most undergraduate courses is 29 SEPTEMBER 2017. Access to relevant information regarding tertiary courses and the application process is via the Year 12 portal.

SATAC Information Session A forum held on Parent Teacher Interview night provided another opportunity for both parents and their daughters to seek clarification regarding the SATAC application process, as well as ask questions regarding specific courses and pathways to tertiary institutions.

Course Curiosity Year 11 & 12 students had the opportunity to get a taste of tertiary courses thanks to 24 St Mary’s College Old Scholars who participated in our ‘Course Curiosity’ sessions last Wednesday afternoon.

These students are currently studying in a variety of areas including Education, Design, Law, Science, Commerce, Allied Health, Engineering, Event Management, Commerce and Health Science. The girls took time out of their tertiary studies to provide our senior students with an ‘inside’ view of individual courses and answer related questions. We thank our old scholars who are always happy to return to St Mary’s and provide our students with insight and give useful advice regarding course counselling.

For further information on career options please make contact with Mrs Suzanne Megaw, Flexible Learning Coordinator. smegaw@stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au

This will be a busy and exciting term for our Year 12 students, finishing off their final assessments and making decisions regarding life after school. I remind them that they are not alone in this journey and I

encourage them to communicate with their teachers when in doubt or if needing advice and assistance. Ms Christina Kilishiri Director of Senior School

St Mary’s College, Issue 9, Monday 18 September 2017

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As part of Religion this term, 10W are delving knee deep into the recycling debate but more importantly looking at our moral responsibility as Christian citizens to care for our earth in whatever way we can. As a class we attended the SOLO Resource Recovery Centre and got to see firsthand what 500 plus SOLO garbage and recycling trucks bring in every day! And it’s a lot! The multitude of seagulls sifting through the rubbish looking for food scraps was certainly a sight to see. Mrs LP’s Year 10 Religion class visited SOLO Resource Recovery Centre. We saw lots of rubbish waiting to be recycled, including: plastics, cardboard, paper, wood, organics, metals, glass and many more other things. It was an eye -opener to see how much rubbish was being consumed by everyday people from Adelaide. Around 500 rubbish trucks enter the facility per day with over 2,000 tons of rubbish coming through. Ruby Glancy At the dump, it was a curious experience to explore and discover more about recycling and rubbish close to home. There were huge piles of paper and cardboard, of compost and of general waste. All of these had been generated during the day and if everything is on schedule, they should be gone by tomorrow to their designated areas (to be broken down further in the recycling process). It was an insightful experience and educational. Michael’s points on consumerism were also extremely interesting as it was applicable to our own lives and made us think about our current impact on the waste that we generate. Lauren, Brinit, Rida, Christine

This term our Junior School community began preparing heartfelt prayer gatherings around a central theme. Three classes with invited families have celebrated liturgies during this time, with other classes to follow.

Ms Keller with Year 5 - The Assumption of Mary – 9 August Mrs Dina Tseregounes with Year 2 – Happiness – 6 September Mrs Stoyanoff with Year 3 – Spring – 13 September

Our College Chapel offers us all a space of serenity and peace. Our liturgies invite us to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of life and celebrate with word and song, giving thanks for our relationship with God and each other.

Anne Soldan JS Coordinator Dominican Faith Formation

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St Mary’s College, Issue 9 Monday 18 September 2017

September

4-10 15-24 Year 11 Oak Valley Immersion Trip

18-23 Year 11 Service Learning Week

19-20 Catholic School Music Festival Evening Performances

20 Year 8 Retreat

21 Confirmation Celebration—7.00 pm St Patrick’s Church

27 Cambodia/Social Justice Art Evening—6.30 pm CPA

29 Social Justice Day

Term 3 ends - 3.15 pm dismissal

October

16 Term 4 commences for all students

Year 10 Wellbeing Seminar Day

22 Holy communion celebration—St Patrick’s Church 2.00 pm

25 Final teaching day for Year 12 students

26 Year 12 Mass—St Patrick’s Church 1.30 pm

27 Year 12 Breakfast

E V E N T C A L E N D A R child & adolescent

sleep clinic

Does your teenager have a sleep problem?

Does your teenager:

have trouble falling asleep?

not fall asleep until late at night?

have trouble waking up or getting out of bed in the

morning?

miss school or feel fatigued throughout the school day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your

teenager could benefit from a new treatment program

being run at the Child & Adolescent Sleep Clinic, within

the School of Psychology, at Flinders University.

For more information please call

8201 7587 or email casc.enquiries@flinders.edu.au

www.facebook.com/cascsleep

2018 Enrolment Confirmation

In order to assist our planning for 2018, if your daughter(s) will not be returning in 2018, we ask that you please complete the table below and return to the College no later than Friday 1 September 2017.

Parents and Guardians are reminded that one term’s notice is required when intending to withdraw their daughter from the College.

Please only complete this slip if your daughter (s) WILL NOT be returning to the College in 2018.

..................................................................................……….........………………………………………...……………………………………………

Please return this slip to the Student Services Office no later than Friday 1 September 2017.

Parent/Guardian (Name): ……………………………………………………………………………....

Parent/Guardian (Signature): ………………………………………………….. Date:….………………….

Daughter(s) Name Current Class School Transferring to in 2018

St Mary’s College Absentee Phone Line : 8216 5716

Please telephone before 9.30 am if your daughter is absent

St Mary’s College Uniform Shop : 8216 5719

Opening times - Monday 8.00 am - 11.00 am Wednesday 1.00 pm - 4.00 pm Thursday 8.00 am - 11.00 am

St Mary’s College OSHC : 8216 5743