Open Evening
On Friday, 28 February, we had the pleasure of warmly welcoming over 1000 members of our community and prospective families to our Open Evening to share our unique MSM community. The Principal's Address was so well-attended that we reached full capacity. A special thank you to Year 5 student Olivia, for sharing her positive experiences at MSM with the audience.

Our wonderful students and dedicated staff showcased our Community Action Network (CAN) groups, curriculum, sport, culture, and academic co-curricular activities. A heartfelt thank you to all the students who assisted throughout the evening demonstrating our vision of the graduate, as young women of commitment, confidence, compassion, conscience and competence. We also extend our gratitude to members of our MSM Alumni and Sr Cate O’Brien, who attended and spoke to families about the rich history of the College in this centenary year.

Families consistently commented on the warmth and friendliness they experienced and praised our students for their confidence and passion for the College. I would also like to sincerely thank all staff who assisted during the evening.

To our families, please stay safe over the next few days and take care of each other during this unprecedented weather event.

Year 8 Retreat
Our Year 8 students enjoyed a wonderful Retreat day at Riverlife, reflecting on the ways that hey can cultivate the dispositions of courage, selflessness, kindness and joy. Using the Disney film Frozen as inspiration, the students sang songs, shared stories and created some beautiful memories. Each student took home a glittery sensory bottle to help them calm the storms of life and a “happy” bag, decorated with symbols of things that bring them joy. Sincere thanks to Ms Devenish-Meares (Year 8 Pastoral Leader) and the Year 8 Pastoral Team for their support of our Retreat program.

Project Providence Update
Our Project Providence Fundraiser continues to flourish, with our community generously embracing the mission to give a life-changing secondary education to two female students in Nigeria and Malawi.

Recently, our CAN groups ran a series of very successful food and drink stalls at our Open Evening, raising $1,951.90 for Project Providence.

To date, our fundraising total is $4,830.71, which is 32% of our total goal of $15,000. That will cover the cost of educating one of our girls for four years! This is an impressive position to be in so early in the year, and demonstrative of the generosity and capability of our community. Thank you to everyone who has supported our fundraising efforts so far.
 
Ash Wednesday
This week, millions of Christians around the world paused to mark Ash Wednesday, the formal commencement of the Lenten Season. Lent is the season of preparation for Easter, spanning forty days. During this time, we are called to live more simply and to serve others.

Our community gathered for a solemn liturgy where we prayed with courageous and hopeful hearts for the grace to live simply this lent, and to be open to change.

St Patrick’s Day Mass – a message from the St Patrick’s Day Parade Association
The Annual St Patrick’s Day Mass, organised by the St Patrick’s Day Parade Association, will be celebrated again this year in the Cathedral of St Stephen, Elizabeth Street at 10.00am on 17 March 2025. Fr Gerard McMorrow will be the celebrant. All are welcome to attend. The Mass will also be live-streamed through the Cathedral website on this link - Archbne.org/bzw

A prayer for Pope Francis
We join with the universal Church in prayer for Pope Francis, who remains critically ill in hospital at this time.

Loving and Merciful God,

We come before You in prayer, lifting up Your servant, Pope Francis, in his time of need. You are the Source of all healing, and we ask You to surround him with Your loving presence, granting him strength and recovery. May Your divine grace rest upon him, restoring his health and filling him with renewed vigor to continue leading Your Church with compassion and wisdom.

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 30:17)

We place Pope Francis into Your hands, trusting in Your eternal care. May he be comforted by the love of the Church and the prayers of all the faithful. We ask, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that his recovery be swift, and his spirit be strengthened in Your peace. May Your will be done in his life, O Lord, and may Your healing power be with him always.
We offer this prayer in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

(Credit: Caritas Jerusalem)

Senior Students Explore and Discuss Gender Bias
This year our SLT continued to pursue the goal to connect with other student leaders from Brisbane. The focus has been to engage in leadership development and discerning ways to tackle the issues faced by our young people today.

Cyberbullying, Consent Education and broadly Respectful Relationships, are at the forefront of every parent’s and school community’s mind. How do we work together to protect and educate our girls for safety and success? This year, MSM has engaged the expertise of Ms Caitlin Humphreys to assist with the planning and implementation of a program to address this imperative. As a staff we have begun our own education, however our student voice is a valuable way to gain insight into their understanding of these contemporary issues and to help direct our approach.

Last week Marist College Ashgrove warmly welcomed 20 of our Year 12 students to engage in a forum encouraging robust analysis and discussion with 20 Marist Students called: ‘Continuing the Conversation – Respectful Relationships: Gender Bias’. As the title implies, there was plenty of opportunity for mature debate and rich discussion. The Marist staff provided poignant case studies for students to discuss in small groups. The dismissal of Triple M’s Marty Sheargold, the ongoing criticism of Sam Kerr and the prevalence of a ‘boys will be boys’ culture in Australian sport were unpacked and analysed in the context of how those stories reflect the nature of perceptions of gender, society and how they influence relationships.

Both our MSM girls and the Marist boys, were open to the opinions and perspectives of each other and the rich conversations expanded to other topical issues, including the Marist students being schooled on what endometriosis is. One boy noting: “I’ve never heard of it and can’t say it……but it sounds pretty bad!”. Our students were both amused and pleased to observe not only the shock, but genuine empathy their hosts expressed.

The feedback from all participants has been overwhelmingly positive and I look forward to planning further opportunities with my Marist colleagues for connection and exploration of our wellbeing priorities.

As always, our students represented Mt St Michael’s with pride and made a positive and lasting impression.

Year 7 Parent Teacher Conferences – Tuesday 11 March
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 have now closed for these conferences. I hope that all families find these conferences helpful. Students are encouraged to attend these conferences with their parents and caregivers. 
 
NAPLAN Online Testing
 NAPLAN online testing is fast approaching. The testing dates for students in Years 5, 7 and 9 are as follows: 
 

	Year 5	Year 7	Year 9
Wednesday 12 March	Writing:  9.30am – 10.30am	Writing:  11.00am – 12.40pm	Writing:  8.50am – 10.30am
Friday 14 March		Reading:  11.00am – 12.40pm	Reading:  8.50am – 10.30am
Monday 17 March	Reading:  8.50am – 10.30am
Tuesday 18 March			Conventions of Language:  8.50am – 10.30am
Wednesday 19 March	Conventions of Language:  8.50am – 10.30am	Conventions of Language:  11.00am – 12.40pm
Thursday 20 March		Numeracy:  8.50am – 10.30am	Numeracy:  11.00am – 12.40pm
Friday 21 March	Numeracy:  8.50am – 10.30am

 
Catch-up sessions will be conducted across the 9-day testing window. 
 
NAPLAN online testing requires the use of a laptop with the ability to play audio. Students will need wired headphones to use the audio player. Please note that air pods or blue tooth earbuds are not permitted for NAPLAN online testing. Students will need to ensure that their laptops are properly charged the evening prior to support them in this endeavour.   
 
If you have any questions in relation to NAPLAN testing, please contact the Head of Junior School, Ms Katie Jordan (kjordan@msm.qld.edu.au), for students in Year 5 or the Program Leader - Middle Years, Ms Alison Larkings (alarkings@msm.qld.edu.au), for students in Years 7 and 9. 

Assessment Calendars
Semester 1, Unit 1 and Units 3 Assessment Calendars are all available in Student Café and Parent Lounge. These calendars provide an overview of all assessment for the upcoming semester, and it is important that all students use these documents when organising their study schedule to ensure all assessment tasks are completed to the best of their ability. 
 
Students and parents can access their bespoke assessment calendars through Student Café and Parent Lounge using the following steps: 

1. Go to Calendar > eDiary Student Name (Picture 1) 

2. Untick all fields except LMS/Assessment Activities (Picture 2) 

3. You can view what is due in the coming month (Picture 3) 

Attendance at School
Regular attendance at school is critical for your student’s learning and development. If your student is going to be absent for more than a week during the term, parents need to request approval for this absence in writing from Ms Volp. While the value of a family vacation is accepted, as is the occasional need for attendance at events in term time, priority must be given to regular school attendance. This is particularly the case if your student’s absence will involve missing end-of-term assessment. 

Extension requests
There will be circumstances that arise where your student can apply for an extension to an assessment deadline. Please note that, as per QCAA guidelines, family holidays during term time are not valid reasons for an extension. If your student falls behind in her studies, generally through illness or misadventure, then they are entitled to apply to modify her assessment deadlines. If your student feels that they may need to negotiate her deadlines, then I strongly encourage her to contact either Ms Larkings, Program Leader Middle School, for students in Years 7 – 9 or Mrs Kean, Program Leader Senior School, for students in Years 10 - 12. Ms Larkings and Mrs Kean are in the best position to ascertain whether your student will meet the requirements for an adjustment to be made.  Please note that any request must be made at least 2 business days before the due date.  
 
Absences when assessment is due
If your student is absent on a day when they have an assignment due, they are still expected to submit their assessment digitally using the process required for the specific subject. If your student is absent on the day that they are scheduled to sit an examination, please note that they will be required to complete the examination when they are back at the College. Students will be expected to complete their missed examination as soon as practicable. The procedures relating to assessment can all be found in the College diary. 
 
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 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 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

MSM Cares
This week in Year 5, we launched “MSM Cares” – a community service and social justice group, led by Junior School students. MSM Cares will take care of four projects a year (one per term), which are all aimed at raising awareness and money for local, national and international communities in need.
The MSM Cares Term 1 project involves fundraising for Project Compassion (through Caritas Australia). This initiative will run through the duration of Lent, taking us up to the school holidays.
Year 5 students are encouraged to donate gold coins between now and the end of the term for Project Compassion. Each morning, students who have brought coins to donate will be invited to contribute them to the class collection jar. We have also invited our Year 9 Big Sisters to take part!
Each term, a volunteer group of Year 5 students will lead the specific MSM Cares project. This term, we thank Millie (5H), Sarah (5L), Audrey (5H), Emmy (5L) and Abigail (5L) for showing great initiative and leadership for MSM Cares.
 
Junior School Positive Behaviours for Learning Awards
This week, our first group of Year 5 students to receive Positive Behaviours for Learning awards were presented with their certificates. Congratulations to the following students:
Olivia (5H) – for demonstrating outstanding diligence in your first weeks of Year 5 at MSM. You address learning tasks with enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and care. Keep up the super effort.  We are excited to see all you will achieve this year. 
Abigail (5H) – for making a valuable contribution to our class community through your engagement in all class activities, and by consistently demonstrating respectful learning behaviours. Your kindness and consideration set a wonderful example for everyone around you.  
Charlee (5L) – your dedication and commitment to learning have truly stood out as we commenced the year at MSM. You have consistently approached your class work with diligence, focus, and a positive attitude. Your hard work not only enhances your own growth but also inspires those around you. Keep up the great work Charlee!
Eva (5L) - your respect for both your peers and teachers creates a positive and welcoming environment in the 5 Love classroom. You consistently demonstrate kindness, empathy, and consideration for others, which sets a wonderful example for everyone around you. Keep up the excellent work!

Ms Katie Jordan
Head of Junior School

Year 5 Science
The Year 5 students are thoroughly enjoying working in the College Science labs! Last week, they engaged in the ‘Bird Beak Investigation’, where they explored how bird beaks are structural adaptations that enable birds to obtain food for survival. Through participating in this practical investigation, students determined which ‘bird beaks’ are most effective for securing different food sources.

Year 5 Junior School Video
We were excited to launch our Junior School promotional video at our Open Evening last Friday evening. Click here to view our video showcasing our wonderful Junior School.