Pope Francis has declared that the Jubilee of 2025 is to be dedicated to the theme “Pilgrims of Hope”. In a text written on 7 November 2024, Pope Francis stated:
I invite every reader of this text to make a simple but concrete gesture: in the evening, before going to bed, as you’re thinking over the events you have lived through and the encounters you have had, go in search of a sign of hope in the day just gone by. A smile from someone you didn’t expect, an act of gratuitousness observed at school, a kind act encountered in the workplace, a gesture of help, even a small one: hope is indeed a “childlike virtue”, as Charles Péguy wrote. And we need to go back to being like children, with their sense of wonder, to encounter the world, to know it, and to appreciate it. Let us train ourselves to recognise hope. We will then be able to marvel at how much good exists in the world. And our hearts will light up with hope. We will then be able to be beacons of the future for those around us.
As I reflect on this passage, I have seen many “signs of hope” since the beginning of the school year at MSM:
- Older students moving out of the way on the Convent Lawn to allow the Year 5 students to play
- A Year 7 student telling me how much they just enjoyed their maths lesson
- A chat with Year 12 students at the Kaf
- A student proudly showing her grandmother around the school and introducing her grandmother to me
- A student offering to carry my bag to the car
- Watching students encouraging and supporting each other at the Inter-house Swimming Carnival
- A staff member checking in to see how I am
- Our reception staff helping a student who has lost something
- Hearing stories from parents/caregivers at the Year 7 Parents/Caregivers “Welcome to MSM” function about how their daughters are settling in and the gratitude that they expressed to the MSM staff.
And the list could go on! Personally, I think that it makes for more peaceful dreams when I end the day thinking of a sign of hope. Hope endures!
Year 7 Father/Daughter Breakfast
It was a pleasure to welcome 168 fathers/other significant family members and daughters to the Sophia Centre to share breakfast on Wednesday 19 February.
Thank you to our Guitar Ensemble, who entertained us with some lively Spanish pieces. I am looking forward to seeing the development of their repertoire in coming weeks under the tutelage of their conductor, Mr Joel Woods.
Our Mission Captains, Tully and Sophia also shared some further information about Project Providence. They introduced an activity where fathers and daughters participated in a “craft activity” creating flowers using paper patty pans. These flowers will create a “Hope” installation that will be used during our Centenary celebrations.
This gathering is a wonderful way to spend some special family time together as the Year 7 students commence their journey at MSM.
Foundation IWD High Tea
We look forward to welcoming daughters, mothers, caregivers and grandmothers to our IWD High Tea on Friday 7 March which will be held in the Sophia Centre. This year has a special “centenary flavour” with some changes to the usual program. Tickets for this event were released yesterday, so be quick at this event is anticipated to sell out quickly!
In Faith and Love
Sharon Volp
Prospective families are encouraged to register their attendance to come along and enjoy the many student displays and performances including music, art, dance, sport, science and more. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from our College Principal, learn more about our Junior School offering and take part in our student-guided tours.
Tickets are selling fast for our much-loved International Women’s Day High Tea on Friday 7 March from 3:30 – 5:30pm. Have you and your daughter purchased your tickets?
As one of the highlights on the College events calendar, we will welcome our MSM community, including mums, daughters, grandmothers and MSM Alumni for a sumptuous high tea, entertainment, raffles and more. This year’s event promises to be enjoyable as we gather together to acknowledge and celebrate International Women’s Day and this year’s UN theme #MarchForward.
Tickets are on sale now until sold out and bookings are essential.
Year 7 'Welcome to MSM' Parent Event
On Friday 14 February, we had the pleasure of warmly welcoming our Year 7 parents for a delightful social evening. This event provided an excellent opportunity for parents to connect with over 100 other parents and several members of staff. Under a warm and clear summer sky, the evening was filled with engaging stories and joyous laughter. We are very pleased to hear that our Year 7 students have settled in well and are enjoying the beginning of their journey at MSM. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our Development Office for their work behind the scenes in this wonderful evening.
Visual Art Excursion
Our Year 11 and 12 Visual Art students visited QAGOMA to view the Asia Pacific Triennial 11 Exhibition. The diverse artistic voices from our city and greater region were explored as students experienced the artworks as an audience. This rich experience informs an essential part of their development through the units of Art as Lens and Art as Knowledge, influencing student experimental artworks and bodies of work. It was a very enjoyable experience for our Visual Art students.
Open Evening
Looking ahead, on Friday 28 February, we will be opening our doors to prospective families for our MSM Open Evening. Classes will conclude at 2:10 PM, and students who are not involved in the evening's activities may leave the College at that time. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the students who are assisting in various curricular and co-curricular areas and conducting tours and to our staff for their work on the evening.
Valentine’s Day Fundraisers for Project Providence
On Valentine’s Day, our community donned pink & purple to celebrate Valentine’s Day, reflecting on what it really means to live in a community in faith and love. Our Year 10 students took the time to leave individual love notes on every locker in the College, and hosted an outstanding market full of fun games and delicious food.
Our dress up day raised $704 and the markets raised an impressive $1,400, for a grand total of $2,105 collected for Project Providence. This represents 14% of our total fundraising goal for this project, or in practical terms, this is enough money to fund 1.8 years of education for one of our scholarship candidates in Nigeria. I would like to thank our Mission Captains Tully and Sophia, and Ms McLaughlin and the Year 10 students for their wonderful leadership of this day.
Azalea Blossoms at the Year 7 Father Daughter Breakfast
It was wonderful to join our Year 7 students and their fathers at our annual Year 7 Father-Daughter Breakfast. As they enjoyed a delicious breakfast, our College Mission Captains Tully and Sophia shared a little about Project Providence and invited our guests to craft paper azalea blossoms, which we composed into the word “Hope” and the number “100”. The azalea blossom is a springtime flower and a symbol of hope. The Grantuly azaleas are part of our heritage story, and it was wonderful to see this special tribute to them being created by our newest students. The blossoms made by our Year 7 students will be combined with others made by our community and will be used as part of our Centenary celebrations later this year.
On Monday we celebrated House spirit and College pride at the MSM Swimming Carnival. The day was brought to life with the House themed dress ups with some notable efforts such as a unicorn costume, a Dorothy the Dinosaur companion and an honorable mention to the ‘Wicked’ inspired ensemble, all worn in the name of team spirit. Bold Hawaiian shirts were a big hit, and tutus were again a real feature. The House Captains let their lights shine working with the Year 12 cohort in leading the enthusiastic cheering and war cry wars.
Our swimmers were in fine form with hours of training clearly paying off and the muffled sounds of encouragement helped drive them from the blocks to the finishing line. Mrs Roy is still the keeper of the anticipated results, and the community eagerly awaits the announcement of age champions, records broken and of course, the winning House.
This day would not have been an MSM swimming carnival without the traditional and spectacular Year 12 dance. The music tripping did not dishearten this year’s seniors whose credible choreography, smooth singing and regal rapping did not skip a beat. Thank you to the House Captains, Year 12 cohort, Year 12 Homeroom teachers and Ms McLaughlin for this scintillating and extremely well-rehearsed performance.
I would like to praise the leadership of our older students in supporting the younger girls, especially our Year 5 and 7 students, with participating in races and modelling the spirit and pride that is the true champion of MSM events. An enormous thank you to Mrs Roy, Ms Tesch and all staff who organised, encouraged, and supported our students throughout this thoroughly enjoyable day!
Year 11 Information Evening
I would like to extend my thanks to the students, parents and caregivers who joined us for the Year 11 Information Evening last week. I would also like to thank Mrs Ellen Kean and Mrs Paula Brydon for so generously giving of their time to address the cohort. We trust that you found this evening informative. Year 11 students and families were all emailed a copy of the slides presented.
Contacting Teaching Staff
Parents are encouraged to contact either Homeroom teachers for pastoral matters or subject teachers for curriculum matters at any time throughout the year should concerns arise. For matters pertaining to what is occurring in the classroom, the subject teacher is the best person to contact in the first instance, as they are in the classrooms with students. Homeroom and subject teacher contact details are all available in Parent Lounge. Please go to Student Details > Email Class Teachers > Select the teacher’s name that you want to email.
Year 7 Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences for core subjects for students in Year 7 will be held on Tuesday 11 March between 3:30pm and 7:00pm. These conferences will be occurring onsite in the Sophia Centre. Parent-Teacher Conferences are an excellent opportunity for families to connect with teaching staff to discuss the progress their student is making in each of their subjects. They also provide the forum for families or teachers to raise any possible concerns. Bookings will open on Monday 3 March at 8:30am and close on Friday 7 March at 3pm. Students are encouraged to attend these conferences with their parents and caregivers. Information about how to make bookings will be emailed to Year 7 families at the end of next week.
Elevate Education - Parent Webinar Series
This year, our students in Years 7, 8, and 9 will participate in Elevate Education’s high-impact workshops, designed to develop their study skills, motivation, and exam preparation. Throughout the next term, you are invited to join their parent webinar series. These webinars will help you support your child at home by reinforcing the skills they are learning at school.
Upcoming Parent Webinars in Term 1:
- How You Can Help Your Child Manage Their Time – 26th February 6:30pm (AEDT)
- How You Can Make Technology an Ally (& Not the Enemy!) - 12th March 6:30pm (AEDT)
- How You Can Help Improve Your Child’s Memory - 26th March 6:30pm (AEDT)
Register for the series by clicking the link below and learn some valuable strategies to help support your child’s learning journey. https://go.elevateeducation.com/auschoolwebinar
It is well and truly hard to believe that the Year 5 students will be half way through Term 1 next week! We have continued to be proud of the way in which the Year 5 students have immersed themselves in college life. They are becoming more confident with learning daily routines, developing positive relationships with their teachers and peers, and engaging in classroom learning.
This week, Year 5 parents and caregivers have had the opportunity to meet with their child’s Homeroom teacher during Parent-Teacher Conferences. The purpose of these conferences has been to discuss the students’ transition to Mt St Michael’s, the students’ strengths, and to collaboratively set goals for learning and engagement for the year. I thank both the parents and Year 5 teachers for their commitment to collaborating, and for striving to make the Year 5 students’ first year at Mt St Michael’s as enriching as possible.
It was thrilling to see the Year 5 students participate in their first MSM Swimming Carnival on Monday! The students were involved in both competitive and novelty swimming races, and it was fantastic to see them displaying House spirit and pride throughout the day.
Other highlights for the Year 5 students over the past fortnight have included participating in the Pink and Purple Valentines Dress-Up Day and Market, becoming more confident with using their laptops for learning and commencing co-curricular activities. What a huge four weeks it has been!
YEAR 7 HUMANITIES
Year 7 Humanities students have taken a sweet approach to data. Students used M&Ms to create climate graphs, visualising temperature and precipitation data in a fun and interactive way. This activity helps students understand climate patterns while reinforcing graphing and data interpretation skills plus, there's a tasty reward at the end!
This week we welcomed Shino Nagata from Nagoya University to our Japanese classes. Shino is conversing with the girls in Japanese and offering invaluable cultural insights into youth culture in Japan. We are so fortunate to have you with us for the next 2 weeks Shino-san.
YEAR 11 ANCIENT HISTORY POSTER COMPETITION
At the end of last year, Year 11 Ancient History students put together posters on an aspect of history of their choosing to compete in a poster competition. The submissions were impressive, and the overall winners were announced at our recent year level assembly. Congratulations to the winning group who presented an extremely intelligent discussion of the concept of time throughout history.
At our whole school assembly, our Year 12 cohort launched their theme to the College, ‘Keep the Spirit Alive in 2025'. The theme acknowledges our Centenary year, and the long history of Mt St Michael's College. Our Year 12 students urged us all to remember, and draw on, the wonderful spirit on which our school was founded and bring it fervently into the year of 2025.
Our Year 11 students hosted the Pay it Forward Markets to “pay forward” the privilege of having their upcoming Semi-Formal. Students enjoyed Lob-a-choc, ice-cream, treats and sausage sizzle stalls and the ever-popular Pie the Teacher challenge. All funds raised are going to the College’s 2025 fundraising initiative, Project Providence.
Last week at MSM we celebrated QLD School Libraries Week with daily activities encouraging students to visit the library and discover the ‘Window to the World’ that it offers. Students took part in a genre scavenger hunt, watched a book-based movie, and listened to talks on Adult and Junior Fiction, as appropriate.
Homerooms held book swaps giving students the opportunity to further get to know each other, discuss favourite books and swap with others to discover a story that someone else has really enjoyed.
YEAR 12 GEOGRAPHY CAMP
The Year 12 Geography students spent two days at the Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre (NVEEC) where they collected their data for their upcoming IA2 assignment. They used industry data collection tools and techniques to investigate the invasibility of lantana in the Numinbah Valley, situated next to Hinze Dam.
The students had a lot of fun, especially canoeing to the site where they collected data.
Thank you to our MSM families who have purchased a heart in support of our Light the Way Capital Campaign.
Funds raised will be used to support college initiatives, ensuring that future generations of Mt St Michael’s students can receive the very best education.
All donations are tax-deductible and heart plaques will be mounted and blessed on Mary Aikenhead Day.
- “Back to MSM” Alumni Reunion Day – Saturday 22 March at MSM.
We look forward to welcoming back all MSM Alumni for this day of celebration.
- Mary Aikenhead Day Mass – Friday 25 July at 12 noon.
All members of the MSM Community are invited to join us for this very special mass to be held at Riverlife Baptist Church.
- Centenary Gala Dinner - Saturday 26 July.
More details to come!
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
67 Elimatta Drive
Ashgrove, QLD 4060
Australia
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