Greetings from Ms Volp in Italy

As this rich and busy semester draws to a close, I am delighted to share a photo of Ms Volp as she enjoys her study experience in Italy. This week, Ms Volp travelled to Assisi (carrying her trusty MSM Tote Bag) to participate in a very special retreat experience. We pray for Ms Volp as she continues her journey and look forward to welcoming her back to MSM at the beginning of Term 3.
We marked our final day of term today with a moving liturgy celebrating the cultures, achievements, and contributions of Australia’s First Nations peoples. During the holidays, Australia celebrates NAIDOC week, so our liturgy followed the 2023 NAIDOC Week theme For Our Elders, reflecting on the many valuable contributions that Elders have made and continue to make to strengthen cultural knowledge and pride.
In the past two weeks there have been numerous activities. Students in Year 10 participated in a Careers Expo to explore different pathways and opportunities for their future, which enabled them to gain a better understanding of their interests and goals, as well as to receive guidance on various courses and careers, and good preparation for their senior years and beyond.

We have celebrated World Dinosaur Day and our own rendition of Harry Potter Day. Students and staff enjoyed a very competitive Student vs Teacher Netball game. The teachers celebrated victory.
Yesterday's Interhouse Athletics Carnival provided students with opportunities to bond and appreciate the spirit of friendly competition. Thank you to Mrs Kay Roy and Ms Jane Tesch for their overall organisation.

Congratulations to our Age Champions:

12 Years – Isla O
13 Years – Kate B
14 Years – Grier E
15 Years – Izzy C
16 Years – Ellen F
17 Years – Emily D
Champion of Champions – Izzy C
100m Sprint Champion – Pepper-Jane B
House Spirit Winners – Stewart
House Champion - Grantuly

Enjoy more photos of this colouful day further down in this newsletter.
Staffing Updates

We wish Mrs Paula Brydon and Mr Peter McFadden all the best for a well-deserved break in Term 3 as they embark on Long Service Leave. Ms Ella Carstensen will be acting Year 12 Pastoral Leader for Term 3.

Sadly, we say farewell to three members of staff who complete their time at MSM.
  • Mr Adam Walker – Curriculum Leader - Mathematics
  • Ms Emma Sanelli – College Psychologist
  • Ms Sonia Ackerman – English and Humanities teacher.
Sisters of Charity

We received sad news this week that the Sisters of Charity congregation has lost two Sisters:
  • Sr Maria Cullen, aged 95, who lived at Mary Crest at Kangaroo Point
  • Sr Robyn Wheeler, aged 89, who lived in Sydney.
We hold the Sisters in our prayers at this sad time and pray for Sr Maria and Sr Robyn as they return home to rest with the God who they have served faithfully for so many years.

Thank you to all our teachers for their unwavering dedication, and congratulations to all students for your commitment and hard work in all areas of school life. I hope all teachers and students have a replenishing break and we look forward to seeing our students again in Term 3 and continuing our learning journey together.
2023 College Leadership Team

Multicultural Australia Luminous Lantern Parade

Thank you to our MSM staff and students from our Social Justice Council, who represented the College at last week’s Luminous Lantern Parade in the Southbank Parklands. Held each year by our friends at Multicultural Australia, the parade provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate our welcome and hospitality to all who now call Australia home.

Our students joined members of other community organisations and thousands of people from diverse cultural backgrounds to walk through the parklands. The evening concluded with a lively world music concert in the Southbank Piazza. Thank you to Mr Beavon and Ms Lennon for your organisation of this special event, and to Ms Bateman for her work on the MSM blouse lanterns that we carried in the parade.
MSM & Marist Environment Group Gathering

Our MSM Environment Group enjoyed an afternoon gathering with the Marist College Environment Group on Thursday. Students enjoyed a shared afternoon tea, followed by discussion and the viewing of the National Geographic documentary Before the Flood. Thanks and congratulations to our Environment Group Executive for planning this first interschool gathering, and to Ms Bow, Ms George and Mr Robertson for their continued work with our students in this important area.
NAIDOC Week Liturgy & Visit from Sr Leone for Project Wakitikimi

Our Semester concluded with a beautiful liturgy celebrating the strength, diversity and wisdom of our First Nations peoples. During the June-July holiday break, we will celebrate NAIDOC Week (July 2-9). The 2023 theme for NAIDOC week is For Our Elders. Our end of term liturgy focused on this powerful theme, recognising the role that Elders play in guiding, strengthening and sustaining First Nations communities. This year’s liturgy featured the music and voices of notable contemporary First Nations artists Archie Roach, Briggs and Mitch Tambo, and a powerful retelling of the story of the 95 members of the Stolen Generations who orchestrated a daring escape from Croker Island, off the coast of the Northern Territory during the blitz attacks of the Second World War. The liturgy concluded with a powerful performance of our MSM Dancers, who danced to a moving traditional language cover of John Farnham’s You’re the Voice. Sincere thanks to our many hardworking staff and students who make these liturgies possible.

We were blessed to have Sr Leone Wittmack RSC from CatholicCare NT join us at our liturgy. Sr Leone is a Sister of Charity who works in Darwin and the Tiwi Islands. Our 2023 major project, Project Wakitikimi, is raising funds for the work that Sr Leone and CatholicCare NT do in the Territory, with a specific focus on providing early reading books in the 40 traditional languages spoken across the region. It was wonderful to see Sr Leone, and to hear about the work that CatholicCare NT is doing to support literacy and broader education outcomes in the Territory. She shared a special video with our community, giving us an insight into the project that we are supporting. Thank you to everyone who has so generously donated to Project Waktikimi to this date. We are well on our way to meeting our $10,000 fundraising goal for this important project.

MSM Victory in MSM v Marist Netball Match

Our wonderful Sports Captains, Olivia and Aspen organised a friendly netball game with Marist College Ashgrove for our Year 12 cohort. The match itself was an emphatic victory for the girls whose skill and strategy significantly outperformed that of the Marist team. The boys displayed great enthusiasm both on and off the court and their interpretation of the game rules offered an interesting dimension to the event.

Full credit to the Marist supporters who were both perfectly behaved and well versed in the art of the war cry. Our MSM supporters shone with their personalised posters and moving rendition of Fide et Amore. A special mention goes to the team, Mrs Roy and Ms Tesch for umpiring, Mrs McMaster for coaching and the staff who came out to offer support and supervision. Bring on volleyball next term!!!!
Date Claimers:
Year 11 Retreat Monday 10 July & Tuesday 11 July
College Group Photos Wednesday 12 July
Year 10 Immunisation Friday 14 July
Student Free Day/Parent-Teacher Conferences Monday 17 July (not Mon 24 July as printed in the College Diary)
Parent Support
 
Parents and carers, I am requesting your support with many of the Pastoral matters that may seem small but consume an inordinate amount of the time of our Pastoral Leaders on a daily basis. Additionally, these are concerns often raised by parents and carers who perceive that not all students are being addressed consistently with regard to uniform and grooming. Please be assured, they are and that is why we are so busy. It is to this end that I implore you to ensure that your daughters are complying with the following aspects of our uniform and grooming policy which appear to be persistent issues:
  • Students are to wear only ONE pair of small studs or sleepers in the lobes of their ears
  • Students are to wear their formal college uniform to and from school EVERYDAY
  • Students are NOT to present to school with false eyelashes, nails or make-up
  • Students are NOT to have extreme contrasts (more than two levels) in hair colour (foils, balayage, stretched roots)
  • Students must wear their hair up if it is longer than just on their shoulders
  • Students must wear their hair in a neat and tidy fashion (out of their face).
If you are contacted by a Pastoral Leader regarding any of the above, please be assured that you are definitely not the only parent and that we apply these expectations to all students. It is important to note that none of these expectations or standards have been adjusted within the time of any present students’ enrolment and as such were accepted and committed to at the time of their enrolment. When staff address these matters it is expected that students and their families will be respectful and responsive to their instruction to meet uniform and grooming expectations. Persistent non-compliance will be addressed in strict adherence to the Positive Behaviour Support Policy. Mt St Michael’s College is a wonderful school with an excellent reputation cultivated over nearly 100 years, all members of the community are fortunate to be able to maintain and perpetuate that reputation. And yes, first impressions last, books are often judged by their covers but above all, our presentation is how we celebrate our pride in belonging to this incredible community. Thank you all in anticipation.

Semester 2 Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences for Years 7-12 will occur on Monday 17 July 2023 between 9am and 6pm. Please note this is a student free day. Teachers will be able to discuss how students have progressed across Semester 1 and provide actionable feedback as we move into Semester 2. The conferences will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If there are any teacher cancellations on the day, due to unforeseen circumstances, parents will be notified via email.

Bookings for Parent Teacher Conferences opened on Wednesday 14 June and will close on Wednesday 12 July at 3pm. I have sent communications to all families about how to book these important conferences earlier in the week.

NCCD Processes

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). It is a federal requirement that we advise all families about the collection of this data. The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
 
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

  • year of schooling
  • category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
  • level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
 This information assists schools to:
  • formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools 
  • consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
  • develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability. The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the fact sheet below.

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal at https://www.nccd.edu.au

NCCD Fact Sheet
ON THE CALENDAR
Around the College
MSM SINGERS
 
The senior vocal group of the College, the MSM Singers, were excited to be invited to take part in the St Laurence’s College “Bach to the Future” Cabaret Concert on Friday 4 June in the very large ERPAC Theatre. Students enjoyed pizza for dinner before settling in for what was a long but very enjoyable evening. The concert showcased the College’s premier music ensembles (in fancy dress!). The students combined with the Big Brotherhood Choir for a nostalgic rendition of the 1960s classic “Put a Little Love in Your Heart (Love Train)”. Our students also sung “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, originally creatively programmed by our Dean of Mission, Ms Kate Simpson, for our ANZAC Liturgy, but reprised for this event in full costume. A great night was had by all! 
BREAKFAST CLUB

Breakfast Club is held in the Innovation Centre Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8am onwards. Learning Assistants are available to help middle school students who receive assistance with home study tasks and assignments. Students can get work proofread before submitting it and as a bonus, grab a loyalty card to earn a hot chocolate and a cookie.

YEAR 11 ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM

Senior Firefighter Brenton Faggotter and Senior Firefighter Fransiskus Nahak spoke to the Year 11 students as part of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Road Attitudes and Action Planning program. This road safety program is a preventative program that provides information to young people about road safety, so that they can make an informed decision to mitigate risks and consequences by planning ahead. They discussed many of the contributing factors that put young drivers at such a high risk for fatal accidents, so that they are better prepared to make good decisions around their driving, and when they are the passenger in a vehicle.
RUG UP & READ
 
With hot popcorn, hot chocolate and marshmallows on offer, our MSM Top Year 7 and 8 Library Borrowers were invited by the library to bring a book and a friend to ‘Rug Up & Read’. Lots of reasons why reading wins!
DRAMA PERFORMANCE
 
Students were privileged to enjoy a performance in the Ionian Auditorium of A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by Griffith University, second year Bachelor of Acting students. We were delighted to welcome back, Siena D’Arienzo (2021 College Captain) who played Hermia in the performance.
YARN CLUB
 
MSM students have been enjoying learning to crochet and “have a yarn” with other crafty textile creatives during Yarn Club. With materials and instructions at their fingertips, this group of students have delighted in this calming activity.
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Well done to our MSM students for a wonderful and colourful display at our 2023 Interhouse Athletics Carnival.
CaSSSA TERM 2 WRAP UP

This week saw the last round of the CaSSSA Term 2 season and our teams have all competed brilliantly along the way, earning some of them a place in grand final matches.
 
Congratulations to our Open B Netball team and Intermediate D and Intermediate F Netball teams on their premiership seasons. Congratulations to our Junior B Touch Football team and our Junior E Volleyball team who finished runners up in hard fought matches. Shout out to Open C Netball and Junior A Touch Football who finished in 3rd place at the end of the season!
Open B Netball Premiers
Intermediate D Netball Premiers
Intermediate F Netball Premiers
Junior B Touch Football Runners Up
Junior A Touch Football 3rd Place
Junior F Touch Football
AEROBICS AT FISAF
 
This year our aerobics teams competed for the first time in the FISAF competition. Their first event was the Super Series, held on Friday 5 June. Congratulations on all teams, most having to experience a new competition for the first time and all stepped up to enjoy the atmosphere and the competition. There was opportunity to compete against other CaSSSA schools including, LHC, St Mary’s and San Sisto, alongside other schools. Having to name our teams, it seemed fitting to stick to our 5 “Cs”, MSM Competence, MSM Conscience, MSM Commitment, MSM Compassion, MSM Confidence and our 6th team MSM Proud! Congratulations to MSM Commitment (Brianna, Aroha, Lucy, Aoife and Georgia) who were awarded a bronze medal in the Secondary Year 10-12 Phase 1 category. 

Thanks to Ms Ruddell and coaches Ionie and Emily for assisting our teams at this event.
VICKI WILSON CUP NETBALL

On Friday 9 June our high performance junior and senior netball teams battled it out in the Met North regional Vicki Wilson Netball Cup and Shield competitions. Both teams made it through to the cross over finals, competing for a place in the State finals, but unfortunately, we were knocked out at that stage by St Eugene’s College in the juniors and St Rita’s College in the senior competition. Both teams played some outstanding netball all day, with limited reserves, they made us MSMproud! Thanks to Ms McMaster, Ms Tesch and Ms Roy for supporting and coaching our teams this season.
FOUNDATION RAFFLE WINNER

Congratulations to MSM current parent, Jody who is the lucky winner of our Term 2, 2023 Foundation Raffle. Thank you to the MSM College community for supporting our raffle and the Light the Way Capital Campaign. 
GIRLS' EDUCATION CONFERENCE

Ms Janelle O’Neill, Director of Professional Learning, recently attended the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools-Asia Pacific Summit on Girls’ Education where she presented a breakout session “Are we listening to our students? Student perception surveys from our context to yours”. This is one of our ongoing formal strategies for students to reflect on their learning and to inform teacher practice. We thank all MSM students for their honest reflections on their learning.
P&F FATHERS' GOLF DAY

Thank you to the MSM dads and caregivers who attended the 2023 P&F Fathers’ Golf Day. The day was a great success with the event reaching capacity. We extend a special thank you to the P&F for organising the afternoon's activities. We look forward to hosting again in 2024!

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The new MSM App One of the key differences in the new app is login. Parents will be required to login. This then allows for a more personalised experience with absentee submission for their daughters, targeted notifications, sporting team schedules, personalised ediaries, etc. The login is the same as the current login for Parent Lounge. 
Download APP Instructions
MSM College Community Groups
 P&F Meetings: Please check the Mt St Michael's College Facebook page and App for meeting update notifications.
Alumni Meetings: Please visit the MSM Alumni Association Facebook page for updates.
2023 P&F Events Schedule
 
Term 3
P&F Meeting Monday 7 August 6pm
P&F Mothers Lunch Friday 25 August 12pm
P&F Meeting Monday 4 September 6pm
 
Term 4
P&F AGM & Meeting Monday 6 November 6pm
 
Notices
2023 Term Dates

Term 2
Monday 17 April – Friday 16 June 
Term 3
Monday 10 July – Friday 15 September 
Term 4
Tuesday 3 October – Friday 24 November (Years 7-11)

Click here to view the 2024 term dates.
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
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
SCHOOL ZONE:
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.
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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