Message from the Principal - Sharon Volp Principal
Congratulations to all students on your application to your studies during Term 3 and especially during these final weeks of term where there has been a busy program of assignments and exams to complete. I would also like to thank our dedicated staff for their commitment and hard work to support your students. I am sure that everyone is looking forward to a well-deserved break.
Election of College Leaders 2021
We extend our warmest congratulations to our Student Leaders for 2021
College Captains - Siena D’Arienzo and Julia Wiseman
Mission Captains - Charlotte Devenish-Meares and Ruby Patterson
Academic Captains - Elora Brady and Ella Patterson
Cultural Captains - Olivia Hutchins and Isabella Pettersen
Sports Captains - Ellie Brockwell and Audrey Tighe
Aikenhead Captain - Ainslea Pratt
Grantuly Captain - Lucinda Knapp
Rush Captain - Holly Rice
Stewart Captain - Jasmine Armstrong
MSM Celebrates
The College Leadership Team have been carefully monitoring the government advice and restrictions as we explore different options for the different community events which occur in our community during Term 4. The health and safety of our community is paramount in our decision making, particularly in the light of the current COVID situation with the increase in community transmissions. I wanted to provide some early notification regarding our revised plans for MSM Celebrates.
MSM Celebrates will be held on Thursday 22 October in the Sophia Centre commencing at 1.30 pm and concluding at approximately 3.00 pm. We regret to advise that parents/carers will not be able to attend this event this year due to the social distancing restrictions which reduces our capacity in the Sophia Centre. We appreciate that this will be disappointing for many parents/carers.
Students in Years 11 and 12 and the award recipients will be present in the Sophia Centre. By changing the time to 1.30 pm this will allow us to live stream the event to all Home Rooms and the wider community. A positive aspect to conducting this event during the school day is that all students will be able to be engaged in MSM Celebrates and be inspired by the students who are honoured during the event. There will also be some changes to the academic awards due to the implementation of the new QCE this year. More information regarding these changes will be distributed closer to the event.
We are also hoping to be able to record the event so that parents may be able to watch it later, if they are unable to view it live.
Happy Holidays!
In faith and love
Sharon Volp
Principal
See below to advertise your business or service.
Peace Liturgy
Term 3 concluded today at the College with our Peace Liturgy.
The focus of our liturgical celebration was the International Day of Peace for 2020, the theme of which is ‘Shaping Peace Together’. Students and staff were encouraged to reflect on what we can do to promote peace in our world.
In the Gospel and in our prayers we reflected on how we can all reach out to one another showing understanding, kindness and respect.
Our Peace Liturgy was wonderfully enhanced through the contributions of our
College Choir and our Liturgy Dancers.
The retreat was facilitated by Michael Fitzpatrick and it was an enriching and meaningful day for all of our students.
In the opening part of the day the Year 12s participated in a shared memory activity. They shared funny and meaningful memories, as well as focusing on more challenging times that they have faced during their time at MSM.
In the mid-morning slot , the students focused on writing affirmation notes to be each other. This activity has continued after the retreat and they will continue with this affirmation process until their last day of classes on Friday.
It is one of their many exiting processes which also includes affirmation notes to staff, Parent Gratitude Letters and Prayer Candles. It has been a busy last couple of weeks!
In these COVID times we had to conduct a modified version of the anointing ritual that we normally have at Year 12 Retreat. Students have the opportunity during this ritual to connect privately with three students who they have had a strong connection with over their time at the College.
Thank you to all of the Year 12 cohort for their wholehearted involvement during the course of the day.
Welcome to MSM 2026 Graduates
We recently welcomed Year 7 2021 into our community for their Orientation Morning, one of the highlights of the College year. Whilst the morning looked a little different from previous years we were grateful that, with careful planning and preparation, we were able to bring together our newest cohort. The girls spent the morning in their house groups and were visited by members of the Student Leadership Team and treated to videos made especially for them by our Year 12 House Captains and Year 7 Homeroom Captains. We hope the girls left the morning with emerging friendships and excitement for their Mt St Michael’s journey. We look forward to officially welcoming them in January.
Year 11 Leadership Day
The Year 11 Leadership day was held Thursday 17th September. Key presenters included Ms Volp who spoke on Servant Leadership, Mr Campion who spoke about the importance of Mission at the College and Claire Ryan, class captain of 2016 who spoke about her leadership journey at the College. All these speakers presented provided the Year 11 students with very rich and pertinent information about student leadership at MSM. The day culminated in the remaining College Captains for 2021 being selected following a voting process involving Year 11 students and staff. Special thanks to the Pastoral Leader Ms Brydon for her organization and preparation for the day.
R U OK Day
As part of their course, the Year 11 Certificate III Business class planned and coordinated fundraising events for the R U Ok? Foundation across all grade levels. On Wednesday, the Year 7s amazed everyone with their crazy hair ideas and generous spirit, and the Year 10s rocked the crazy scrunchies. On Thursday, Year 8 and 9 dazzled in their crazy socks, and the week was rounded off by the wearing of yellow ribbons by the Year 11 and 12s.
A total of $351.25 was raised. A wonderful effort by all!
QAMT Year 7 and 8 Maths Regional Quiz: 3rd place
Congratulations to our seven teams of ‘Mathletes’ who represented Mt St Michael’s College in the Queensland Association of Mathematics Teachers (QAMT) Years 7 and 8 Regional Maths Quiz 2020. Mt St Michael’s College staff Mr Adam Walker, Ms Caitlin Rovere and Ms O’Neill hosted this competition on our campus, under strict COVID protocols, allowing many of our students to participate. The competition included mental computations, problem solving and estimation, with students working individually and as part of a team.
Our highest scoring team, Elizabeth Marschke (Year 8), Iris Brickwood (Year 8) and Rosie Patterson (Year 7), has placed 3rd in the Regional Finals and are now reserves for the State Finals. Congratulations to all Mathletes for their commitment to this extension Mathematics program.
But the spirit of MSM didn’t stop with our students. Twenty-five of our teaching staff participated in a video recording of Uptown Funk, where they showed passion and enthusiasm through their co-ordinated and well-choreographed dance moves. A big thank you to the judges, students, the IT support, and Interact members for this wonderful celebration of Spirit and Talent.
Thanks to the gold coin on entry, all proceeds went to this Term’s charities, Weemala Indigenous Unit at ACU, and Downs & West Community Support.
Our French students enjoying French cuisine
36 Year 12 French students celebrated 6 years of French studies at the newly opened, La Belle Vie in Bardon.
The girls enjoyed 3 courses of fine French cuisine and took the opportunity to thank their Senior French teacher, Madame Swanson for expertly and enthusiastically guiding them through the first ATAR French course.
'Write a Book in a Day' Competition
The writers and illustrators were given five parameters and five words to use in their stories and it was wonderful to watch them collaborate and support one another in this long immersion. Using their gifts and their talents, the girls crafted and edited, critiqued and supported one another to produce two humorous books that will hopefully bring a smile to children undergoing cancer treatment in hospital. The books will be judged by a panel and if successful, may be chosen for publication. The teams were:
Paris Lindner
Isabelle Deegan
Phoebe Campbell
Maddy Spanevello
Emily Tumman
Indiana Bailey
Amy Copeman-Hill
Eloise Burger
Alessandra Spanevello
Lily Weigl
Anika Mulholland
Lilly McKenna
Lily Homer
Maya Dowl
Poppy Coleman
Siobhan Frawley
The MSM Library
Spring as sprung!
Staff and students alike, have been captivated this week by the beautiful spring displays created by our talented library team of Linda, Heather, and Laura, in the M block stairwell and at the Library front desk
Our “Spring into Holiday Reading” challenge has been a fantastic success with the English teachers booking their Year 7 – 10 students into the library to stack up on their holiday reading.
Every student who borrowed was invited to take a ‘flower’ from the artificial garden we had created at the Circulation Desk. The hidden stems revealed whether they had won a sweet treat, with many girls leaving as happy winners.
As well as reading for pleasure and leisure, it is an expectation that all Year 8 & 10 students will read their Term 4 set English texts of “The ratcatcher’s daughter’ or ‘To kill a mockingbird’ over the holidays. More able readers in these year levels can certainly cope with reading other novels as well. Remember, that our digital library, Wheelers, remains open 24/7 over the Spring break with a wonderful variety of eBooks and audiobooks for all ages. https://mtstmichaels.wheelers.co/ It can also be accessed from the MSM intranet home page.
“If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need” ~ Cicero
Stationery Aid initiative
Stationery Aid was created out of a need to collect excess and used school stationery items that are in good condition rather than sending them to landfill.
We collect, sort, clean, renew and repack school stationery items with a team of local volunteers from the Hills Collective. Renewed stationery packs will be donated to disadvantaged children and school communities in need of educational resources.
We accept the following items in good working condition:- all types of pencils- crayons- pencil cases- rulers- erasers- sharpeners- unused exercise books / note pads/ scrap books- highlighters- pens- glue- paints and paintbrushes- maths equipment (protractors, calculators etc)- staplers and staples-folders
A BLUE RECYCLING BIN IS LOCATED AT THE IONIAN FOYER ON GROUND FLOOR DONATIONS CAN ALSO BE DELIVERED TO RECEPTION
MT ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE, ASHGROVE
Please bring all of your excess or used stationery items into the school collection point. If you are uncertain what we will accept please message us
Facebook: @stationeryaid Instagram: @stationeryaid or call 0419757867
Stationery Aid is a registered charity with ACNC.
Notices
2020 Term Dates
Term 4Tuesday 6 October 2020 – Friday 20 November 2020 (Year 12 students)
Tuesday 6 October 2020 – Friday 27 November 2020 (Years 7 - 11)
Handtowel - $5
Both items for only $15 (saving of $2)
Last days at reduced rate!
For the remainder of 2020, we are offering a listing at the reduced rate of only $77 including gst. Be quick as this offer expires shortly*Mt St Michael’s College invites our community to advertise in our online MSM Business Directory, an ideal way for businesses to promote their services, sales and special offers to a very captive and motivated audience, with funds from the directory used for various college initiatives.
The standard listing fee is $165 including gst. To apply please email: msmnews@msm.qld.edu.au
*Please allow 7 working days after we receive your copy and logo for your listing to appear on the MSM Business Directory.
Supporting our Community -
Ministry Care Programme
Our College is aware that there are students and families within our community who, from time to time, are in need of support due to a variety of factors. As a community we respond through preparing meals for families experiencing difficult circumstances. If you would like to contribute to the Ministry Care Programme and support those who are going through difficult times, please contact Stephen Campion: scampion@msm.qld.edu.au
This is dangerous as it blocks other driver’s visibility and obstructs cars from moving around.
In consideration for our neighbours, where possible please avoid leaving your motor running, especially when parked outside a home.
Important Links
Mt St Michael's College - MSM News
Our mailing address is:
Mt St Michael's College
67 Elimatta Drive
Ashgrove, QLD 4060
Australia
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