Welcome back to students and families. We hope you had a restful break and are ready to embark on the exciting journey that Term 4 promises to be. This term is busy with many events that will engage, inspire, and celebrate our wonderful school community.

Some upcoming events over the next two weeks include:

• Year 12 Independent Study week - Week 3
• The Co-curricular Celebration Assembly - Tuesday 8 October
• The Sports Celebration Breakfast - Friday 11 October
• Our annual awards evening, MSM Celebrates - Tuesday 15 October
• Year 12 External Exams Commence - Monday 21 October

Award recipients for MSM Celebrates will be notified next week. MSM Celebrates recognises the outstanding achievements of our students in various fields. Further information will be provided to families to help plan attendance. Your presence and support will make this event even more special for our awardees.

BOOK NOOK
The Year 12 external exams will take place within the library premises. Consequently, the MSM Library will be inaccessible during this time. We extend our gratitude to the Library and Learning Support Department for establishing the ‘Book Nook’ in room A14, enabling students to continue to pursue their love of being in the library. Students will receive further details via the daily notices.

We look forward to sharing this term with you and celebrating the many accomplishments of our students. As always, thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community.

Feast of St Michael the Archangel
On 29 September, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Michael is one of three angels named as guardians of God’s people, and he is particularly acknowledged as a defender of the faith. Mt St Michael’s College was named for the Archangel by the Sisters in the 1940s. As the horrors of the Second World War raged across Europe and the Pacific, the Sisters felt that his name brought special protection to our College community. St Michael is the patron saint of the dying, bankers, grocers, police and military personnel. At this moment, as our world grapples once again with conflict and the threat of war, we call upon the Archangel to offer God’s compassion, healing and peace.

I share this prayer from the Catholic Diocese of St Petersburg:

Compassion Liturgy
Term 3 concluded with a beautiful liturgy focusing on this year’s core value of Compassion. I would like to sincerely thank the 150 students and many staff who worked tirelessly across Term 3 to bring this liturgy to birth. Special thanks goes to our 2024 and 2025 Student Leadership Teams, who capably led the liturgy, and engaged in a very beautiful ritual as part of this liturgy, passing the guardianship of our College Values to the next generation of leaders.

Commissioning of 2025 SLT
On Tuesday, our community gathered to pray for our Student Leaders for 2025. Our Student Leadership Team received their badge, along with a candle and river stone (a symbol of strength from our recent Year 11 Leadership Retreat), and the following blessing was offered:
May God bless you with courage to seek justice and peace.
May God bless you with hope and vision for a bright future.
May God bless you with love, to see Christ in each other.
And may God bless you with compassion, that you might journey forward,
mindful that you travel in deep footsteps of Charity.

Donation Drives
Across Term 3, our students generously contributed to several material goods donation drives, to support our mission partners in Brisbane:

• Rosies’: our Year 11 students are donating more than $600 worth of grocery items to Rosies’, for distribution to patrons who are homeless. More than 50 of our students have also given time to serve tea and coffee at the Rosies’ outreach centre at Nundah across the course of 2024.
• Share the Dignity: our SES CAN Group and students from Years 7 – 10 have been collecting more than 400 sanitary items for Share the Dignity. 1 in 7 people experience period poverty at some point during their life, and Share the Dignity provides essential products to help those people manage their menstrual cycle. We have supported Share the Dignity for a number of years and are delighted to be able to do so again.  
• Shoes for Micah Projects: our Environment Group has donated 115 pairs of second-hand shoes to Micah Projects, saving them from landfill and ensuring that they receive a loving second home with a person who is struggling financially.
• Pies for SVDP Inala: Congratulations to our wonderful Food Technology students, who recently donated more than 150 homemade pies to St Vincent de Paul Inala.  As the cost of living continues to climb, many families in Brisbane are in crisis, and the provision of quality homemade meals has allowed Vinnies to provide much needed support.

Student Leadership Change of Guard
A very warm welcome back to school for our final term of 2024. On Tuesday we celebrated the Commissioning of the 2025 Student Leadership Team and followed this up with an afternoon tea where our 2024 Student Leadership Team had an informal handover with their 2025 counterparts. The girls exchanged stories of challenges and triumph and offered practical advice to our incoming leaders. We are looking forward to a very busy and rewarding year of student leadership at MSM in 2025.

Uniform Reminders
Upon the return to school after the holidays, it is always a good time to ensure we get the ‘little things’ right. To this end, I am encouraging girls to check that they have all the required uniform items, and that they have their names clearly marked on each item…. especially hats!

A reminder that skirts are to be knee length, that only the College (not team) sports shorts are to be worn for HPE classes and that plain white socks (not branded) are uniform regulation. The formal uniform is to be worn to and from the College, and students are required to change into and out of their sports uniform for HPE or Dance classes either at the end of the lesson or during the nearest break time.

Please assist your daughters in organising for the school week and ensuring that there is a washing routine that enables them to wear the appropriate uniform each day.

Lost Property
As we begin the new term, it is an opportune moment to remind everyone about the lost property that is currently displayed outside Student Reception. Many items, including uniforms, water bottles, and books, have been collected over the past term. We encourage students to check the lost property area for any of their missing belongings. Please take a few minutes to reclaim your lost items and help us keep our school environment organised and tidy.

Late Arrivals
Our Pastoral Leaders have been working hard to monitor and address the number of late arrivals at the College each day. Although we understand that there will be anomalous circumstances whereby a student may be late, there are an increasing number of unacceptable ‘reasons’ given. In terms of routine and effective engagement with their learning, it is essential that students arrive at the College in advance of the 8:30am Homeroom start time.

All late sign ins must be accompanied by a parent note in the diary, phone call or email to Student Reception. Any other ‘lates’ will be followed up and students will need to make up the time that they have missed. It is essential that we work in partnership to support your daughters to meet this expectation and develop positive time management skills that will serve them well now and in the future.

For the Love of Totes
At MSM we have a strong attachment to our tote bags, and they serve the wonderful purpose for girls to carry their books and stationery between classes. Unfortunately, some of our totes are put under undue pressure with additional items and quickly end up in disrepair. I would ask that girls with very worn tote bags replace them to ensure their items are not falling out the bottom or that shoulder straps are not fraying or broken. It is also important to note that under no circumstances are laptops to be carried in tote bags as they do not provide any protection from weather or activity and laptop damage caused by this will not be covered by insurance. I understand the MSM passion for the tote, however in order to protect its longevity students must restrict its use to the intended purpose.

 Thank you for your support in all of the above, it is very much appreciated.

I would like to welcome students back for Term 4 and hope that they had a relaxing break! As we prepare for the final term of the year, there are a few reminders that I would like to offer.

Semester 2 Assessment Calendars
Term 4 is our shortest term of the year, and it is important that your daughter checks her Semester 2 Assessment Calendar this week to allow her to start planning her study commitments for the next 7 weeks. Mrs Kean, Program Leader – Senior School, and Ms Conway, Acting Program Leader – Middle School, spend an enormous amount of time ensuring that assessment tasks are placed at the best possible time with the due date identified clearly on the assessment calendar. I would encourage all students to look at their assessment calendar in their e-diary on Student Café and become familiar with their individualised due dates.
 
Year 12 Independent Study Week and External Examinations 
Our Year 12 students have their final day of official classes next Friday, 11 October. In Week 3, they embark on their independent study week in preparation for their external examinations. Year 12 students are still able to contact their teachers via Teams or email if they have questions in the lead up to their external examination. If they come on campus to meet with their teacher during the timetabled double lesson time, they need to sign in through Student Reception and be in full formal uniform.
 
I strongly encourage all Year 12 students to familiarise themselves with the equipment they require for each of their external examinations and wish them all the very best for these important examinations.
 
Unit 3 Commences for Year 11 Students 
Year 11 students have commenced with their Unit 3 studies this term. All assessment from this point forward in General subjects will potentially contribute to a student’s final ATAR calculation. For this reason, students are not able to change subjects across Unit 3 and 4. I am aware that there are several Year 11 students who do not have the required equipment for Unit 3. Parents are reminded that they can find the Unit 3 & 4 Stationery and Booklist requirements under the Resources for Parents link on the College website. If you have any questions about the required equipment, please do not hesitate to contact me.