Term 3 concluded this afternoon with our Peace Liturgy. Thank you to Mr Campion and all staff and students who were involved with this special liturgy. As we approach our school holidays, we can take with us the words of Pope Francis: 

“Let us pray for peace: peace in the world and in each of our hearts. Let us learn from Christ how to pray, to forgive, to sow peace, and to be near those in need. We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor.” 

This final week of term has continued to reflect the busyness of Term 3. On Monday I had the pleasure of attending the CaSSSA Athletics Carnival. This event was postponed from 16 August. Congratulations to our team for their gritty performances in extreme conditions. Special congratulations to the students who were named in the CaSSSA Honours Team – an awesome effort! Thank you to the coaches for their work with the students throughout the season and to the staff who assisted on the day.   

On Tuesday night our Aerobics students did a final “performance” in preparation for the Aerobic Gymnastics Aeroschools State Championships which will be held at Logan Metro Sports Complex on Saturday 2 October. Good luck, girls! 

We also had students in their final rounds of CaSSSA sport on Wednesday. For our Year 12 students this was their final round of CaSSSA. Congratulations to our Open A soccer who won their premiership and the Inter A touch football who were runners up.  

Congratulations to the Year 12 students who concluded their “mock exams” on Thursday and then spent some quality time together at the Year 12 Retreat. The Year 11 students completed their Unit 2 assessments today and commence work on Unit 3 next term. Students in Years 7-10 have also been engaged in various assessments. Congratulations to all students who have worked diligently this term.  

Students in Years 7 and 8 participated in the Entrepreneurship Day during Periods 1 – 4 today. This was a fun and creative activity which was thoroughly enjoyed by the students. Thank you to Ms Thompson, Ms Desailly, Mr Bryan, Mrs Roy, Miss Page for leading this initiative and to the staff who supported prior to and during the day.

Congratulations to our Year 7 and 9 students on their excellent NAPLAN results. They achieved above the state and national means in all domains as shown in the table below. Well done to the Year 9 students who have demonstrated improvement in all domains since they completed their last NAPLAN tests as Year 7 students in 2019. This is testament to the hard work of our students and a reflection of the excellent teaching and learning environment provided by our professional and dedicated teachers.  
Year 9 Results
Year 7 Results
Happy Holidays! 

As you can see, all aspects of our community have remained busy until the end of the term. Congratulations to our students on your achievements during Term 3. I would also extend my thanks and appreciation to parents and caregivers for your ongoing support of our work with your daughters this term. I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing everyone when school resumes on Tuesday 5 October.  

In faith and love,

Sharon Volp
Principal
Term 4 College Community Event
Year 12 Mother & Daughter
Garden Party


Friday 8 October
3:30 - 5pm
TICKETS CLOSING SOON!
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Peace Liturgy

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. 

In 2021, as we heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we were inspired to focus on these themes at today’s Peace Liturgy as we concluded Term 3 at MSM. 

The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”. In the Gospel passage from St Luke that we selected today it begins with “do not be afraid”. Whenever Jesus says something along the lines of “fear not”, it is a pivotal time when Jesus’ followers have needed to pause, asking for direction and courage. We all need to remember this in the midst of this global challenge. 
CaSSSA Athletics Carnival
 
On Monday 13 September our Athletics Team competed at QSAC in the CaSSSA Interschool Athletics Competition (in Lieu of CaSSSA Cup Athletics) – a slightly changed format of events and schools competing to the usual CaSSSA Cup made for a fun day. While we had some fantastic results throughout the day by the team, age groups and individuals, it was the teams courageous and positive attitudes throughout the day as they battled the heat and fatiguing bodies that we were most proud of. Monday brought scorching heat which made events that are already physically tough even harder. We commend our athletes and are proud of them – Go Gold White and Navy!

Aggregate (overall): 3rd place 
Percentage cup: 3rd place 

Track overall: 3rd place 
Field overall: 3rd place 

12 years: 3rd place 
13 years: 3rd place 
14 years: 3rd place 
15 years: 4th place 
16 years: 2nd place
19 years: 3rd place 
 Congratulations to these MSM students who were selected into the CaSSSA Honours Team:
 
  • 12 – 13 yrs 4 x 100m relay team - Chloe Tran, Mackenzie Cork
  • 12-13 yrs Shot put - Jessica Draper
  • 14-15 yrs 4x 100m relay team - Elli Harriden 
  • 16-19 yrs Javelin - Claudia Legge
Year 12 Retreat
 
Year 12 students came together today as a group for their final retreat at MSM. The retreat was held at River Life Baptist Centre, Seventeen Mile Rocks, and facilitated by Michael Fitzpatrick. The day provided a wonderful opportunity for students to reflect on their spiritual journey as well as their journey together as a cohort.
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Year 11 Leadership Day

The Year 11 Leadership Day brought together senior leaders, Ms Volp and Dr Ahern, middle leader, Ms Devenish-Meares and emerging leaders, the 2019 College Captains and the 2021 Student Leadership Team to provide invaluable insights into servant leadership at MSM. This was complemented by a team building exercise to test 'The Domino Theory'. The culmination of these enriching experiences was the election of the 2022 Student Leadership Team. 
Future Problem Solving

The Mt St Michael’s Middle School Future Problem Solving Team has qualified for the 2021 National Finals Future Problem Solving competition which is to be held at Moreton Bay College in October.  This is an outstanding achievement and their selection recognises that they were among the top tier of the teams in their division from across every state in Australia. In preparation for the finals the girls are researching the topic of personalised medicine.  They will be required to use this information as they apply the six-step problem solving process to address a futuristic scenario on this issue. MSM is proud of their strong performance in the Future Problem Solving program with representation in both the National and International Future Problem Solving competitions.
Japanese

Year 12 students of Japanese must be a special group as all of their Japanese teachers over their 6 years of study joined them to celebrate their final Japanese meal together. The girls enjoyed complementary drinks upon arrival at Bishamon and sampled hot pot dishes, vegetarian and seafood specials. We now wish the girls the best of luck in their Japanese External Exam.
Sisters Empowering Sisters

Earlier this term, our Year 7 students listened to a panel of Sisters Empowering Sisters students answering their frequently asked questions on how to deal with periods at school. The Year 12 students communicated to the Year 7 students with compassion and competence and left them feeling empowered. Thanks SES!
Soccer

MSM Open Soccer Team won their Uhlsport Cup Quarter Final defeating West Moreton Anglican College 6-0 – Now our girls will progress to the Semi Final with the game taking place first-week Term 4 – opponent TBA. Congratulations to our principled Young Women with a passion for Soccer!
Hospitality
 
Recently the Year 11 Hospitality class completed their Market Stall assessment. In groups, the girls have trialled and decided on a selection of foods that would be suitable for the target market, the year 7 cohort. The event was a great success with the year 7 students feedback indicating that they enjoyed their lunchtime treats.
Drama Students Excursion to QPAC

On Tuesday 7 September, Year 9 and 10 Drama students had the pleasure of seeing Ishmael by Dead Puppet Society at the Cremorne Theatre. Ishmael is a reimagination of Herman Melville’s classic, Moby Dick, set in space during the year 2033. The students were blown away by the production’s impressive use of miniature puppets and sets, live filming-making and special effects, as well as the gripping original musical score.  

Students will be using this piece of theatre as stimulus for their upcoming assessment; the hard work ahead not taking the shine off the pleasure of finally being able to see live theatre. Thank you to Mrs Linda Statham for organising this excursion which was an enriching experience from both a curriculum and personal standpoint for the students. 

Year 7 Religious Education
 
7B had the chance to participate in a Visio Divina over their last few Religious Education lessons. Visio Divina translates to “divine seeing” and uses visual medium to allow for prayer and mindfulness. 7B learnt about the story of Jesus Calming the Storm and viewed Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee to complete their Visio Divina. They were guided in their meditative prayer and colour selection by Ms Bateman and then had the chance to thank those who calmed the storms in their own lives, as well as reflecting on their own emotions and how the story made them feel. Thanks to Ms Bateman for running and organising this session for 7B, they were very grateful and loved participating in RE through a hands-on experience.
7A, led by Ms Gatling and Ms Bateman, have created turbahs in response to a request for donations for recent arrivals from Afghanistan. 7A learned that many Shia Muslims use a turbah, a small block of clay, during prayer and worked in the Art Precinct to form these, specially imprinted with Arabic calligraphy of the name of Allah. Before the activity began, students prayed for peace and unity as they merged two blocks of clay and, after they had made their turbahs, they were invited to create their own prayer aid from clay. Combining learning, the service of others and constructs of Positive Education, this activity allowed students to practice mindfulness and a sense of mastery while engaged in an activity that matters: three ‘m’s that can enable a state of flow and wellbeing.
Debating Success
 
Throughout Terms 1, 2 and 3, MSM Debaters from Year 7 to 12 participated in the Queensland Debating Union competition. This competition combines students from schools all around Brisbane and sees them debate against each other on Wednesday evenings. These debates require rigorous preparation, commitment and a lot of confidence. Week after week, it was extremely impressive to see our students stand in front of a crowd and present their cases. All our teams had the chance of feeling the pride as a result of a win and notably, both our 10.1 and 11.1 Teams made it to the finals. While the 10.1 Team were knocked out in the first round of finals, our 11.1 Team made it through to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful but the team illustrated great sportswomanship by approaching the other team and congratulating them on their debating skills. To be a debater is not only challenging but very rewarding, as our students have grown in their writing and presentation skills throughout the season. Congratulations to all our debaters!
MSM College Community Groups
Please keep up-to-date with changes to meeting formats.
 P&F Meetings: Please check the Mt St Michael's College App for meeting update notifications.
Alumni Meetings: Please visit the MSM Alumni Association Facebook page for updates.
Parents and Friends Association
Meetings


Monday 8 November (meeting and AGM) - 6pm

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MSM Parents and Friends Association,
please click here 

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Alumni Association
Meetings


Monday 11 October - 6pm
Monday 29 November - 6pm

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MSM Alumni Association,
please click here 

Follow our Alumni on Facebook
P&F Association
2022 Committee Executive
Nominations Now Open 

Why not get involved? 👌 Nominations for our Parents and Friends Association 2022 Committee Executive positions are now open. The P&F Association is seeking interest for the President and Vice President Executive Committee positions. Our P&F supports the College Leadership Team and our students and provides a vital role in bringing our community together. To read more and to download a nomination form, please visit the College website - https://www.msm.qld.edu.au/our-community/parents-and-friends Nominations close MONDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2021. Please send your nomination to pandf@msm.qld.edu.au  
Notices

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
Help Support the MSM Environment Group

Support the MSM Environment Group by donating your eligible containers! Bring your containers to school or use our scheme ID when returning to your local depot. Your donations will go towards funding our current and future environmental initiatives.

Mt St Michael's College scheme ID: C10333591
Now available on the College APP!
Mt St Michael’s College is pleased to bring to you the MSM Business Directory. Accessed through our website and APP, this online portal, profiles businesses and provides opportunities to connect with the wider MSM community to promote your services, sales and special offers. 

Many business owners profiled in the MSM Business Directory are long-term friends of the College. They include current and past parents, local businesses and alumni who, together show a commitment to Mt St Michael’s College and support for MSM events, fundraisers and initiatives. 

If you would like to be included in the online MSM Business Directory, simply email msmnews@msm.qld.edu.au

For more information please click here
2021 Term Dates
Term 1
Wednesday 27 January -
Thursday 1 April (concluding at 3:05 pm)

Term 2
Tuesday 20 April -
Friday 18 June (concluding at 12:30 pm)
Term 3
Tuesday 13 July -
Friday 17 September (concluding at 3:05 pm)

Term 4
Tuesday 5 October -
Friday 19 November
(Year 12 students)

Tuesday 5 October to Friday 26 November
(Years 7-11)  (concluding at 12:30 pm)
Parents are reminded, for the safety of everyone, to DROP students off in the LOADING ZONE area outside the Ionian Centre and avoid areas marked with yellow lines which is against road safety rules. This is dangerous as it blocks other driver’s visibility and obstructs cars from moving around.
Onsite parking in the College grounds; Grantuly, undercover in the Ionian Centre and within the campus near the Sophia Centre is only permitted for staff. In consideration of our neighbours, please refrain from parking across driveways, adhere to the 40 km speed limit and be considerate of those living around the College when dropping and picking up students. Please do not drop off or pick up students within the College grounds.

In consideration for our neighbours, where possible please avoid leaving your motor running, especially when parked outside a home.
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Mt St Michael's College - MSM News

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