As I was driving home last night after the Dance Showcase, I found myself reflecting on our 5Cs, our “Vision of the MSM Graduate” and all the activities that I have seen over the last couple of weeks that have provided opportunities for our students to aspire to this vision.
I would like to share some thoughts on the C for “Commitment”. In our vision document it states “Young women of Commitment with the courage to
- Be risk takers
- Aspire to excellence
- Use their special talents to improve their own lives and the lives of others”.
At the Dance Showcase we were reminded of the many, many hours that our students spend in rehearsals, both before and after school. Our dancers aspired to excellence last night and for those of us that were in the audience, that is what we witnessed. I was particularly enthralled by the Performance Ensemble who created an inspirational and at times breathtaking performance “Way Down We Go”. These young women danced with intensity and focus and I was drawn to the display of ultimate trust that they had in each other as they performed their moves. It was also wonderful to see our young dancers who made their debut performances and already had developed presence on the stage. Well done to all the students who shared their special talents with us. Thank you to our dance teachers, Ms Paterson and Miss Humbler, and our Alumni who assist with rehearsals and chorography. Thank you also to the staff who assisted with making the evening such a success, teachers who provided supervision, Mr Watson, Ms Kelly, Ms Bateman and the maintenance team.
Best wishes to our CaSSSA cross country team who will compete in the CaSSSA Cross Country next Friday 27 May. The team will be participating in a final training camp this weekend. This is another example of where our students have shown 110% commitment over the recent months as they aspire to personal excellence to beat their personal bests as they proudly represent our College.
Our Mission life is another extremely important area of our College and where there are many examples of MSM students demonstrating “commitment” and using their talents to improve the lives of others. Our CAN groups are being well supported by staff and students and have been discussing many important issues. I am always impressed by the genuine desire that our students have to make a difference. Our Year 11 students have completed the training so that we can resume our partnership with Rosies. On assembly this week, the Missions of St Vincent launched the St Vincent de Paul Winter appeal. Our Mission Captains also promoted the “Dress like a Farmer Day” and our community responded as checked shirts, assorted farmer’s hats and pigtails appeared to be the most popular fashion items on display on Thursday. Together with proceeds from the Year 12 Charity Ball and the donations collected at the door at the Dance Showcase, our fundraising efforts for Downs and West Community Support, is looking amazing! Thank you MSM for getting behind this important ministry.
Last week students in Years 7 and 9 completed the annual NAPLAN tests online. I would like to congratulate the Year 7 and Year 9 students for their application to the tests throughout the week. I would like to thank the staff who assisted with the preparations for the test, particularly Ms Sissi Lilley (Middle School Program Leader), Mr John Hamilton (Director of IT) and the IT Staff.
This is only a small snapshot of what is happening in our amazing College. I am so proud of our community.
Finally, I would also like to congratulate our Year 11 students on their presentation at their Semi-Formal on Friday 6 May. This event was rescheduled from Term 1, so it was a highly anticipated event that didn’t disappoint. It was a lovely evening. Thank you to Ms Lennon for her organisation and the Year 11 Homeroom Teachers for their support and supervision on the night.
In faith and love
Sharon Volp
Principal
Friday 27 May
3:30 - 6pm
Mt St Michael's College
Prospective families are invited
to pre-register here.
Have you bought your tickets in the College Fees Raffle? Limited number of tickets are sold so you are in with a very good chance. Proceeds are directed to the Sisters of Charity Scholarships.
Click here to purchase your tickets.
I am often asked why single-sex education is beneficial for girls, and even though this is an overly broad question, I believe it to be a pretty simple one to explain.
Mt St Michael's College has long been a leader in excellence in girls' education, and on Friday, May 27 from 3:30 to 6pm, we will host our Open Evening to demonstrate our 'excellence of an all-girls' educational environment. Together with innovative technology and exceptional pedagogies, we blend STEM, culture, literacy, and positive education to prepare our students for the real world. We provide a wide variety of academic and extracurricular activities to meet the needs of each student. At the core of learning is an inclusive and varied approach to learning and teaching, so that all students are uniquely catered for via extension and enrichment, as well as learning support and we are immensely proud to be open for families to showcase our contemporary approaches to learning for girls.
Students' classes will conclude at 2:30pm so that there is sufficient time to prepare for the Open Evening at 3:30pm, after which they may go home. Students who are waiting for buses until the usual departure time of 3:05pm will be supervised.
Thank you to all the students who have volunteered to lead tours of our College next Friday evening and we look forward to seeing everyone at our Open Evening.
Those gifts: God’s love, God’s peace and God’s Spirit, are ours today, too. Whatever the journey of life has given us to deal with, these three things remain. We find them in each other, in our own actions & words, and in the actions & words of those who care for us.
And so, mindful especially today of anyone who is in particular need of God’s love, God’s peace and God’s Spirit, we pray:
May God’s love strengthen you
May God’s peace soothe you
May God’s Spirit sustain you,
Today and all the days of your life.
In faith and love we pray,
Amen.
On Thursday, MSM was awash with flannel, denim, boots and akubras as we celebrated a dress up day to raise much needed funds for Downs & West Community Support. The country spirit was particularly alive in Year 7 and Year 12, and amongst our wonderful staff. Together we raised $718.55 towards our campaign. We remember in our prayers all farming families who are dealing with damage and loss of income caused by recent flooding, and for all who continue to struggle with mental and physical health issues.
Our Year 10 students gathered with their homeroom teachers for a day of prayer, reflection and fellowship at our Year 10 Retreat Day today. Led capably by Dave Jorna from Project Hatch, our students reflected and gave thanks for the many gifts that each person brings to their cohort. Special thanks to Ms Emily McLaughlin and our Year 10 homeroom teachers for their support of this program.
After a break from outreach programs due to COVID-19, it is wonderful to welcome our Year 11 students back to the Rosies Youth Outreach Program. Rosies Friends on the Street is a not-for-profit organisation that offers support and fellowship to people experiencing homelessness across Brisbane. This year, 40 of our Year 11 students have completed training to deliver outreach to the community by offering hot drinks and conversations. This work is central to our College’s mission to serve the poor and affirm their dignity as beloved children of God, just as Mary Aikenhead and her Sisters have done. Thank you to all students and staff who have volunteered their time, and special thanks to Mrs Janet Thompson for her coordination of this important program.
Extensions
As the term progresses, if your student falls behind in her studies, generally through illness or misadventure, then she is entitled to discuss the modification of her assessment deadlines, should there be a valid reason. If your student feels that she may need to negotiate her deadlines, then I strongly encourage her to contact either Mrs Sissi Lilley for students in Years 7 – 9 or Ms Jo Howe for students in Years 10 - 12. Mrs Lilley and Ms Howe are in the best position to ascertain whether your student will meet the requirements for adjustments to be made.
Absences on the Day of an Examination
If your student is absent on the day that she is scheduled to sit an examination, please note that she will be required to complete the examination when she is back at the College. For students in Years 10 – 12, medical documentation must be presented to the Program Leader for Senior School, Ms Jo Howe, to substantiate the absence. Any of the following is acceptable medical documentation:
- PCR test result notification
- Queensland Health notification of a positive test result from a Rapid Antigen Test
- Medical certificate from a telehealth conference
- Medical certificate from a General Practitioner
Confirmation of First Internal Assessment Instruments
Confirmation is the annual quality assurance process used by the QCAA to ensure the comparability of student results for summative internal assessments in General and General (Extension) subjects across the state. Confirmation Event 1 has recently occurred and the QCAA has started to release confirmed results for the first internal assessment instrument completed by Year 12 students this week. This process has involved independent assessors examining the compatibility of the judgements made by MSM and all other secondary schools throughout Queensland to ensure the accuracy of results. Over the next few weeks, MSM will be notified if the provisional marks submitted earlier this year will be adjusted by the QCAA and a result will then be awarded for each General subject. This result will then be communicated back to the school by the QCAA and able to be accessed by students in their Student Portal.
Year 11 Parent Teacher Conferences & Unit 1 Reports
Parent Teacher Conferences for students in Year 11 will occur next Tuesday 24 May from 3:30pm – 7:00pm. These conferences have been strategically placed following the completion of Unit 1 assessment. Teachers will be able to discuss Unit 1 results and provide actionable feedback as we move into Unit 2. The conferences will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If there are any teacher cancellations on the day, due to unforeseen circumstances, you will be notified via email by 3:00pm.
Unit 1 reports for Year 11 students will then be released in the week following these conferences and will capture the performance of students across their first unit. The Year 11 reports will contain important information regarding the attainment of the Unit 1 credit point. This credit point is an essential building block of the QCE system as students need to obtain a minimum of 20 credit points across Years 11 and 12 to achieve their QCE.
NAPLAN Online
Finally, congratulations must be extended to all Year 7 and Year 9 students for their exceptional conduct whilst undertaking NAPLAN online testing over the past two weeks. Results should be available towards the end of July. I am looking forward to seeing how our students are progressing with the literacy and numeracy development.
Our MSM Rugby players were the half time entertainment at the Wallaroos vs Fiji International Rugby Union game recently. It was a special experience to be invited by QRU to play rugby on the hallowed grass of Suncorp Stadium and support our country's finest women's rugby players.
The Ethics Olympiad is a unique and popular program for developing skills and fostering an interest in ethics. Unlike a debate, an Ethics Olympiad encourages students to develop robust arguments with friends and strangers, to collaboratively build a civil response to ethical issues. Topics covered in the Senior School Ethics Olympiad this year were as diverse as: University admission by lottery, the medical brain drain, and the case for antinatalism as a form of protest. MSM participants, Hannah, Lauren, Nick, Nina and Lilly collaboratively discussed these issues, many times agreeing with the opposition’s perspectives. Reinforcing their own position and identifying gaps in the oppositions’ arguments contributed to their well-deserved 4th placing in the competition.
The Middle School Ethics Olympiad will be held in November. Interested students should contact Dr Blackburn via email (ablackburn@msm.qld.edu.au) to join the lunchtime club.
Our Mt St Michael’s College Interact Executives, Mia, Olivia, Emily and Marieta recently participated in the annual Rotary District 9620 Interact Conference. Under the theme of Dream, Believe and Achieve, secondary schools from across the district (from as far west as Roma, North as Gympie and South as the Gold Coast as well as Naru and Papua New Guinea) shared and learnt about the ways Interactors are actively working to transform their local, national and international communities.
MSM was one of 7 colleges who provided a presentation on their 2021 major project that raised funds and awareness for the charity Days for Girls. Some of the highlights on the day were the various key speakers who shed light on wellbeing and achieving high performance, and charity projects that are working to bring dignity to the homeless and those marginalised due to a physical impairment or a biological process. One of the speakers was performance psychologist Krishneel Maharaj who reflected on how we can go about “Hunting the Good Stuff”. This was followed by Norm McGillivray, who founded the Beddown program. This charity seeks to transform/ repurpose vacant night spaces into beds for the homeless. To further interconnections, the delegates had some fun constructing art and drama projects.
The day enabled all delegates the opportunity to connect, share and problem solve ways that they can continue their work of “Service above Self”. Thank you to Rotary Ashgrove/ The Gap for their sponsorship and support.
We would like to congratulate the athletes who were selected for the 2022 MSM Cross Country team. The team will be competing in the CaSSSA Cross Country Carnival on Friday 27 May and we wish these girls all the best ahead of race day.
Last night our Year 7-12 Curriculum and Co-curricular Dance students performed at the annual Mt St Michael’s Dance Showcase.
Performing dance pieces they have been working on to date this year, the event gave students an opportunity to present before a live audience.
Dance works included performance tasks where students have been challenged to learn and demonstrate a particular style of dance and the technical, expressive, and analytical skills involved in preparing and presenting this to an audience. Other pieces were choreographic tasks, where students were required to create a dance work by manipulating the dance concepts and skills to communicate an intent to the audience. We thank all the dedicated MSM dancers involved in making the night a great success and look forward to welcoming you to another Dance evening in Term 3.
$365.10 was raised on the evening for the Downs and West Community Appeal.
Year 9 students were excited and proud to launch their theme and logo for 2022 - “Seize the Moment” or in Latin, carpe momentum. The logo and theme was thoughtfully designed by Year 9 student, Lily and was selected as the winning entry of our cohort competition. In explaining the theme and logo, Lily states “I chose this design and theme as it shows that no matter how impossible it may seem with belief and perseverance we can succeed.” Year 9, this is our call. Let us grasp the flames before us and together “Seize the moment”.
Year 11 Japanese students joined with their counterparts from Marist to enjoy a modern Japanese feast at Wagaya Restaurant in Fortitude Valley. Students were able to order their own meals and interact with friendly Japanese staff.
What’s not to love about these delicious baskets fit for any picnic event! Well done to our Year 11 Hospitality Students who have been working hard on their Picnic Basket unit, preparing tasty sweet and savoury items for our staff who will provide valuable feedback to the students ahead of their assessment.
This term our Certificate in Sport and Recreation class have been tasked with running a Community Sport, Recreation and Fitness program for young athletes. Their first session was delivered to Middle Years HPE students. The ‘coaches’ have spent time doing appropriate risk assessments and detailed session plans for this program. They received client feedback which they will use in their future coaching sessions. Well done to our Year 11 Sport and Recreation students.
On Thursday at lunch, MSM’s Debating Team hosted the inaugural Teachers vs Students debate. The Sophia Centre quickly filled and was buzzing with teachers and students ready to see who would win the argument: Do teachers have more privilege than students? 12.1 Debating Team, comprised of Sophie, Caitlin and Stephanie took on three of MSM’s bravest teachers, Ms Bolton, Mr Cooper & Ms Horton.
Both teams had prepped their finest points and were ready to debate. On the student’s side, they claimed that privilege was awarded to teachers in a few areas: being able to push into the Kaf line, being able to park freely on campus and the fact that students were facing a conglomerate of problems like deadlines, hormones and generally being a teenager. The teacher side hit back hard with statements such as: teachers work hard and barely get time for breaks, that they were not afforded privilege but just common decency and should be awarded this as they are closer to death and do not have the privilege of currently generating brain cells. The debate ended on a gallant and beautiful note where Ms Horton gave up the teacher’s position as winners of the debate by declaring that teachers did in fact have the greatest privilege, being able to teach the glorious students at Mt St Michael’s. Due to this delicate downfall, the adjudicators declared that the students were the winners of the debate.
Thank you to Ms Kennedy for running the adjudication alongside John Ma (Year 12 Debating Coach) and Bella Leung-Dias (MSM Alumni). Thank you to Cate Gaskell and Lucy Tighe, our academic captains, for chairing the debate.
This term at MSM, students have had the opportunity to try one of six “social" sports which takes the spotlight away from our competitive arena and focuses more on the physical and mental benefits of moving our bodies, with some also concentrating on the development of skills. Our Term 2 social sports have included Athletics Development, Aerobics Development, Boxing, Pilates, Tennis Development and Yoga. Great work, girls!
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.
Meetings
Next Meeting - Monday 6 June, 6pm
Please click here for information on 2022 meeting dates and to find out more about the MSM Parents and Friends Association.
Follow the P&F on Facebook
Meetings
Next Meeting - Monday 23 May, 6pm
Please click here for information on 2022 meeting dates and to find out more about the
MSM Alumni Association.
Follow our Alumni on Facebook
Thank you to the MSM parents and caregivers who have completed the P&F Association survey. If you would still like to complete the survey and help the P&F with future event planning, please click here. The survey closes on Wednesday 25 May.
P&F Association Fathers' Golf Day
Friday 27 May - Noon Tee Off
Ashgrove Golf Club
Calling all MSM Dads. The MSM Fathers’ Golf Day is your chance to enjoy the company of existing friends as well as make some new friends within the MSM community. Book now to ensure you don’t miss out. Enjoy 18 holes of golfing ‘friendly’ competition followed by a relaxing dinner at The Gap Tavern.
Click here to book. Bookings close Monday (23 May) at 5pm.
Please click here to view the volunteer timeslots and allocate your availability. For more information, please email our P&F Committee - pandf@msm.qld.edu.au.
Term 1
Monday 31 January – Friday 1 April
Term 2
Wednesday 20 April – Friday 17 June
Term 3
Tuesday 12 July – Friday 16 September
Term 4
Tuesday 4 October – Friday 18 November (Year 12)
Tuesday 4 October – Friday 25 November (Years 7-11)
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
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
Cold weather is coming and we have the answer to keeping warn on those windy, cold days - Downs & West Community Support charity stall! Yes, we are back again on Tuesday 28th June to Friday 1st July at Brookside with a variety of beautiful, handcrafted winter woollies including items for sale for children and babies. Our crotched rugs are amazing.
The stall will be at the Brookside Shopping Centre, Mitchelton and will be located outside Terry White Chemist and T.K.Max from 9am to around 4.30pm except on Friday 25th when we close at 1.30pm. For any further information please see Sr Christine Henry on 0414324682.
Slow down!
The Brisbane City Council, in coordination with The Gap Ward Office, recently erected an additional 40 km/h school zone limit and traffic signs facing incoming traffic along Elimatta Drive and Aloomba Road following a request from Mt St Michael’s College to investigate the traffic management in the school vicinity. A safety project endorsed by Mt St Michael’s College’s Work Health and Safety (WHS) Committee.
In consideration for our neighbours, where possible please avoid leaving your motor running, especially when parked outside a home.
Mt St Michael's College - MSM News
Our mailing address is:
Mt St Michael's College
67 Elimatta Drive
Ashgrove, QLD 4060
Australia
Add us to your address book