S t M a r y ’ s C o l l e g e “Truth-Seeking Through Dialogue”

Issue 10, Monday 5 November 2018

S t M a r y ’ s C o l l e g e 253 Franklin Street

ADELAIDE SA 5000

T:8216 5700

F:8216 5730

W: www.stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au

E: enquiries@stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au

From the Principal

Dear St Mary’s College,

The week before last, we farewelled the Year 12 students in their last formal school assembly. I’d like to share part of my address to the students with the school community:

Today is a moment of great celebration, perhaps tinged with a hint of sadness. For some of the class of 2018, St Mary’s College has been a place at the centre of your world for thirteen years. Others have joined us along the way.

A recent episode of Sixty Minutes had a segment on single sex versus co-educational schooling. I am not usually a Sixty Minutes fan, but I am interested in the ongoing debates around school choice and a staff member sent me the clip. There was nothing new or enlightening in the debate. The pro co-educational side focused on the fact that in the real world there are boys and girls, men and women, so therefore schools should reflect the real world.

I find this argument both thin and quite frankly irritating. As a life long teacher/educator, I am used to people making reference to the fact that teachers don’t work in the real world. I hear people talk about what will happen for students when they go out in the real world. What, I often wonder, is it about school that is not real?

Certainly, life at school has its own rhythm. There is a security in the structure of school; a life determined by bells, a uniform to wear, teachers who remind you what needs to be handed in and where you need to be. School is a place that should and hopefully does hold you in the years of your development.

One of my favourite moments in the Sixty Minutes clip was in an interview with the Principal of Loreto College. She was asked to respond to the idea that schools should replicate the real world which is co-educational. Her response was this; “we are not trying to replicate the real world, we are trying to challenge it.”

This was a real ‘yes’ moment for me in terms of St Mary’s College and what we do in this school and what we can do in a particular way because we are a girls’ school. We want to throw out a challenge to the world around us which we know is not always good to women. We do this in the Dominican formation for the pursuit of truth; in the quest for justice for all people and for our earth; in the commitment to a restorative philosophy that requires you to repair and work on relationships that have broken; in the quest to achieve your personal best in your learning and in the unwavering commitment to empower young women in all that you desire and want to work for.

This reflection rings true not just for the students leaving St Mary’s College at the end of Year 12, but for all our students in all their years at the College. I hope as parents that you

experience our school as a place that empowers your daughters to be the best they can be and find their place in the world.

Clare Nocka

Principal

St Mary’s College, Issue 10, Monday 5 November 2018

From the Deputy Principal: Teaching and Learning

While many of our thoughts move to Year 12 completion, there are great varieties of different learning experiences that continue across our R-12 Learning Community.

Junior and Middle School Students: Technology, Learning & BYOD Families from our future Year 5, 6, 7 and 8 classes joined the ICT Executive Team to hear information about learning and technology in our BYOD Information and Discussion night. The evening is not about devices as such, but rather focusses on the teaching and learning opportunities inherent in the promotion of 1:1 devices. This involves our use of Seqta as our Learning Management System, Office 365, different web tools and promotion of a higher order thinking skills using technology, ultimately contributing to personalised learning for our students. If you are a current or future parent in these year levels and want to know more, please contact the ICT Executive Team at BYOD@stmaryscollege.catholic.edu.au. In all four year levels, it was great to start the formal connections between existing and new families to the College.

Some of our Middle School students had a physical start the term, in that many of them were involved in the Year 9 Outdoor Education camp to Deep Creek in the first week. The two-night adventure camps have been a highlight for students who want to explore, test and push themselves in fun outdoor experiences with classmates and their teachers.

Senior School Some important ‘end of academic year’ practices have already begun in the Senior School. Our Research Project team continue to support and challenge our students and each other by working together for in-house moderation sessions last week. These meetings allowed teachers to meet and discuss assessment decisions against the Stage 2 Performance Standards, to see if grades they have given are appropriate on-balance decisions for the evidence of learning presented. This mirrors informal and formal discussions and processes many teachers follow throughout the year as well as external procedures at the SACE Board which validate results.

The first of our major Stage 2 External Examinations have begun. Wednesday Week 1 saw students experience their Italian oral exams at the SACE Board. We also have students taking part in examinations for languages studied outside the school: Chinese, Korean, Persian and Vietnamese. External Music assessments for Solo and Ensemble Performance took place on Tuesday in the last week of Term 3. As always, these language and music ‘performances’ are the result of hard work in a supported environment where our girls are challenged to achieve their personal best.

Term 4, R-11 Reports We wish to advise that R-11 Term 4 Reports will be moving online and will be released through Seqta at the end of this year (ie. they will not be printed). There will be further (separate) communication explaining this move. In short though, this supports the idea that assessment is continuous and ongoing, and is made possible by results and feedback being released in real-time through Seqta for the Middle and Senior Schools. If you have the Seqta app installed on your phone, you would be receiving instant updates as to when a task is ‘released’ and then assessed on Seqta, and you can immediately see and, if need be, track your daughter’s progress. This also allows you to have timely conversations with her or her teachers should you wish to do so.

In the Junior School, feedback and evidence of learning has been continuously reported throughout the year via Seesaw and Storypark across R-3, and through the emerging use of OneNote and Seqta. Next year we are aiming to streamline this feedback delivery which will hopefully be supported by improvements to Seqta’s ability to photograph and report individual achievements as evidence of learning.

While this is a relatively new space for us as teachers, I am pleased to say

that we are progressing fairly well across the board. Please feel free to contact your daughter’s teacher if there is something on Seqta that you or she would be expecting to see that you haven’t already.

Given this emerging space, ‘end of cycle’ (term/semester) reports really become a formal ‘time and place’ recording of progress up to this point. More specific feedback on improvement, performance learning from tasks is most appropriate when it can be received and acted upon, ie. at the time of a specific task being drafted, formally assessed or reflected upon. This can look different across year levels and subjects, so I would again encourage you to have conversations with your daughter and her teachers if you feel she or you would like more feedback on progress and achievement.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the formal end to 13 years of schooling for our Year 12 students. Girls, you have done your school community and yourselves proud. We are looking forward to seeing where your final learning journey at SMC takes you as your External Assessments are marked and your exams are completed over the next month. As I mentioned to you last week, I truly hope that you ‘finish well’.

Speaking of finishing, as part of our end of our final Year 12 assembly we celebrated the winners of our Stage 2 Subject Awards. These were presented to one student from each Stage 2 Subject studied this year. Each Stage 2 Teacher chooses a recipient for the Award at her or his discretion. The criteria for this choice is a combination of the following within each subject, in that the award can go to a student:

• Who has achieved her personal best;

• Who has shown resilience, determination, and consistency

throughout the year; or

• Who has attained outstanding results and/or high academic

achievement.

I would like to congratulate the following students:

Ancient Studies: Amber Ellis

Business: Simone Grzesch

Chemistry and Specialist Maths: Feier Yang

Drama: Casey Powell

English Literary Studies: Natasha Hiotis

Essential English: Alexandra Bouyessis

Food and Hospitality: Jade Bruno

General Mathematics: Abbey Sayer

Information Processing and Publishing: Tahlia Dnistrjanski

Italian: Gabrielle Byrnes

Mathematical Methods: Eilis Murphy

Modern History: Annabel McColl

Music - Ensemble Performance: Holly Ellul

Music - Musicianship: Jessica Cao

Psychology: Anna Hilferty

Scientific Studies: Isabella Seelander

Society and Culture: Taylah Findlay

Visual Arts - Art: Francesca Covino

Visual Arts - Design: Sophie Ienari

Biology and Physical Education: Elliahn Freer

Child Studies and Nutrition: Emma Giersch

English and Photography: Stephanie Oxenham

Music - Solo Performance and Religious Education: Chelsea O’Donnell

Accounting, Legal Studies and Physics: Maddison Moore

Corey Tavella Deputy Principal: Teaching and Learning

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St Mary’s College, Issue 10, Monday 5 November 2018

From the Deputy Principal: Student Wellbeing

Farewell and Thank You to our Year 12 SRCs As the Year 12s finish their last week of lessons, I would like to take this opportunity to thank and farewell our Year 12 SRCs, who have done a wonderful job in building community here amongst the student population this year. They have boldly initiated new experiences and events designed to build greater connections between the year levels (through such things as the Winter Warmers & Spring Sips), to build greater connections amongst the Dominican Secondary Schools in Adelaide (through the Dominican Net-ball Cup) and to acknowledge our cultural diversity (through our celebration of St Patrick’s Day and the end of Ramadan); and have also continued with the traditions from previous years.

Each of them have been involved in the planning, preparation and orchestra-tion of one or two events each, superbly led by the College Captain Grace Bresolin, and the Deputy Captains, Gabrielle Byrnes and Lucabella Clifford.

We wish them every success and blessing for the future, and I’m sure their experiences as leaders at St Mary’s College will put them in good stead for the many things life will throw their way!

Tahlia Broadbent Abbey Sayer Hayley Brookes Eilis Murphy Celestine Cherupallil Brigitte Cupkovic Anastasia Foumakis Madelene Healey Stephanie Oxenham Grace Bresolin Gabrielle Byrnes Lucabella Clifford

Uniform Just a reminder that Hambours went online from 15 October, the start of Term 4. This will provide an opportunity for those who can’t come into school to order, to go online and order instead. Don’t worry….if you still wish to come into school and order you can. A 5% discount applies for all online orders.

As a starting up gift, for the first 50 customers who sign up, they will receive three pack of St Mary’s PE socks from Hambours.

To apply for an online store account, parents/carers need to go to hambours.com.au and click on the St Mary’s College logo.

You can choose to collect your order either from the College shop during opening hours, or from Hambours at Royal Park, or couriered to your home for $10.

Any further questions, please contact Hambours on 8447 2077 or you can email customerservice@hambours.com.au

Lorna Starrs Deputy Principal: Student Wellbeing

On 15 October, the first day back at school, we celebrated Wellbeing Day. Wellbeing Day is about not giving up on your dreams and to believe and have faith in yourself.

At the beginning of the day, the Year 10s had hot chocolate or coffee.

Our guest speaker was an inspirational man named Glen Gerreyn. At a very young age, Glen was diagnosed with an illness and had given up all hope. His friend gave him a book about Nelson Mandala, and after reading that book Glen began to dream and hope again. Glen has now made that dream a reality and owns a successful youth centre, and travels to many schools to spread his hope to others.

During this first session, we learnt about the ‘The Power of Purpose’ and the ‘Seeds of Greatness’. After this, we all filled in the ‘Passionate Pleas’, and wrote about our ‘greatest fears’, ‘when we are most confident’ and ‘our greatest talents.’ We also reflected on statements such as ‘I will never’, ‘I want to start’, and ‘I believe that’. We learnt that no matter what, we should never give up on our dreams and to always chase after them. No matter what hurdles come your way, you must never give up.

After the session was over, everyone had a barbeque lunch and then created vision boards. A vision board is where you stick things like universities, dreams, plans, and goals. I personally enjoyed creating the vision boards and it gave me more motivation to make all the things on my vision board become reality.

I would personally like to thank Glen for coming out to talk to us, and to take the time to share both his story and his motivation. I would also like to thank all of the teachers, especially Ms. Parasiers, for organising this day. Meg Ronastro (10G)

Last week we reached a significant milestone in our building project with handover of the Veritas Centre. While the majority of the project is complete, there are still minor works happening along with play equipment still to come. When we have all trades off site, we will open the building for parents and carers to have a look. The official blessing and opening will be part of our 150 celebrations next year.

St Mary’s College, Issue 9, Monday 5 November 2018

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During the last term break, the Laboratory Managers Association of South Australia (LMASA) committee determined Alun Rowe (Science Laboratory Manager) to be a deserving recipient for a LMASA Exceptional Science Service Award in 2018. There were only three lab managers awarded this honour in the state. Congratulations, Alun!

The Year 6 students celebrated the end of Project Profit by inviting parents into school to showcase their work.

For the last seven weeks the Year 6 students have been learning Religion, Maths, English, Digital Technologies and Positive Education through Project Profit. In business groups, the girls started with $20 and were set the challenge to design, create, market and sell a product to make the most profit possible. The students shared examples of how they problem solved and used communication, initiative and collaboration to be successful. They made a huge $696.40 profit from the event combined with a further $814.70 from trading to students at lunch. This total of

$1511.10 will be sent to the Providence Centre in Cambodia to put four Cambodian students through school for a year – the girls are immensely proud they were able to make this long-lasting change for these students. Lewis Ashton Year 6 Teacher

The International Competition and Assessment for Schools (ICAS) in Mathematics measures student skills and knowledge across five strands:

• Algebra and Patterns - Involves patterns of numbers, relationships

between numbers and the use of symbols to stand for unknown or variable numbers.

• Chance and Data - Involves mathematical treatment of data and

statistics.

• Measures and Units - Involves properties of the physical world that

can be measured, the units used to measure them and the process of measurement.

• Number and Arithmetic - Involves types of numbers, their

properties and number operations. The strand has strong links with Measures and Units, Algebra and Patterns and Chance and Data. It also has some links with Space and Geometry.

• Space and Geometry - Involves the properties of two-dimensional

and three-dimensional space.

In August, 53 students from Years 2 to 12 at St Mary’s College participated in the ICAS Mathematics competition, with great success, with one student achieving a Distinction, eight achieving Credit and 10 achieving a Merit status. Congratulations to all students who entered this year.

Distinction Award: Danielle Ryan Credit Award: Evie Neeson, Jasmin Gasiorowski, Ellen Hutchinson, Miesha Perera, Mackenzie Darby, Caitlin Murray, Nathara Perera and Brinda Murlikrishna Merit Award: Sienna Schroder, Ava Arnold, Alex Breden, Carla

Fontanelli, Ella Bath, Danika Hurst, Kiara Hutchinson, Jasmine Kha, Eva Yau and Celestine Cherupallil

Anna Fontanelli and Julianne Price Mathematics Learning Area Coordinators

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Plastic Ain’t so Fantastic!

Students in Year 8 have been learning about plastic pollution and how to ensure we are caring for our Earth. They gained environmental awareness and quickly recognised the fragility of our environment and the importance of its protection. As a class we decided to raise awareness, become environmental stewards and participate in creating a brighter future for all to enjoy.

Angela Carbone Year 8 teacher

The following students share their thoughts:

Plastic is causing a lot of damage to our world. Examples of this include marine life dying from eating or being caught in plastic and the poisonous gases produced when our plastic sits in landfill- spreading into our water and soil. It is important to reduce our massive use of plastic because “Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not” (The Lorax, 1971). Olivia

Probably one of the biggest surprises for me, was learning about the Great Pacific garbage patch, seeing the collection of marine debris in the ocean was scary. Plastic takes thousands of years to break down which means that all the plastic that was ever created is still around today. I found this fascinating, yet very confronting. To think that all the plastic I’ve used in my life is still in the world today, floating in the ocean, consumed by an animal or finding a place in landfill makes me determined to find alternatives for plastic. Kathleen

After auditing my plastic use for one week, I realised its prevalence in food packaging, restaurants, around the school and in so many aspects of my everyday life. I didn’t notice how much recyclable plastic I was sending to landfill. I found the statistics of plastic pollution insightful and quite alarming. Melissa

There are many ways people can recycle their plastic to reduce their ecological footprint. Coles and Woolworths have created a recycling service called Redcycle, where you can recycle any soft plastics like chip packets and bread bags. Any plastic that can be scrunched into a ball can be put in a Redcycle bin. If more people begin to use this service, we will be able to reduce waste throughout Australia. Elisabetta

I have learned so much this term in Religion. I want to make a change and I think my peers do too. We are one small class, so imagine the possibilities if more people got involved. Unfortunately, this won’t be fixed overnight, but our generation is able to make a change and as I have learnt, it is not that hard. I have learnt about so many people who are such great role models like Molly Steers who started the ‘Straw No More’ campaign. Overall, I think that learning about this topic has been very meaningful and one of my favourites so far! Sienna

8Y have committed to being more aware of the natural environment and making choices that benefit rather than hurt the earth we all live on. We wanted to share some simple things that you can do:

• Say NO to straws! Use metal or paper straws instead

• Don’t forget your reusable fabric bags when grocery shopping

• Keep your food fresh by using bees wax wraps (they are easy to make too!)

• Tupperware or hard plastic containers are a great alternative to plastic wrapping such as

sandwich bags, soft plastic containers, and glad wrap

• Compost kitchen scraps in your green waste bin

• Use a reusable water bottle rather than buying plastic ones (think of the money you’ll save!)

• Avoid plastic plates and cutlery

• Reusable coffee mugs are a must! (Keep a look out for SMC keep cups available next year)

Great Pacific garbage patch

Reusable Beeswax food wrap

Keep Cups

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St Mary’s College, Issue 10, Monday 5 November 2018

Mini Mary’s Caritas Just Leadership Project

On Wednesday 26 September the Mini Marys Faith Formation group led a Caritas focussed Social Justice activity for the Junior School. This activity was the culmination of a project begun in Term 1 when the older Mini Marys attended a Caritas Just Leadership workshop in March 2018.

The Mini Marys created class scripts for each class and awareness-raising scrolls for their families. Each class was presented with activities related to their capabilities during their Care Group afternoon. Each group of Mini Mary girls collaboratively led a short reflection on how we are all created in the image and likeness of God, inviting us to treat all people with dignity and support them to move out of circumstances of poverty and severe hardship.

The girls showed a short Caritas video about a young woman named Janaki from Nepal who was married at 12 years of age, widowed at 14 and then rejected by her village community. Through a partnership program Janaki was taught to sew and given a micro-loan for a sewing machine. She now owns 11 machines, runs a very successful business and is a role model for her community.

Each group taught their class how to create fabric prayer flags as are commonly used in Nepal. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit became the basis of the symbol drawn or sewn by each class connecting to the spirituality of Prayer Flags. Our youngest students drew the gifts of Awe and Knowledge, whilst Years 2-6 sewed symbols for Understanding, Fortitude, Wisdom, Piety and Counsel.

From our Social Justice takings of the week we have been able to donate to this Caritas project.

Care Group teachers remarked on the confidence and skills of the presenters and sewing helpers to assist all the girls succeed and keep the activity flowing. The resulting prayer flags looked fabulous with many girls learning how to sew for the first time.

I am immensely proud of the Mini Marys’ desire to take up this Caritas challenge and demonstrate persistence and courage throughout. The girls learnt many new skills including chairing meetings, presentation skills, keeping students engaged, photography (Rylee),

creating success-orientated activities, sewing, preparing and upcycling pre-loved fabric. All the girls worked in a very cooperative manner, engaged in robust discussions and respectfully problem solved all the challenges encountered.

Anne Soldan Coordinator Junior School Dominican Faith Formation

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St Mary’s College, Issue 10, Monday 5 November 2018

Social Justice Day 2018 Friday 28 September marked St Mary’s annual Social Justice Day celebra-tions. Social Justice is paramount to life at the College and each and every student is given the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in these values. The day allowed students to carry out social justice in their head, hearts and hands. Throughout Term 3, each year level has been learning about their particular year level focus, ranging from homelessness and the Vietnam pilgrimage in the Junior School, to Indigenous issues & domestic violence in the Senior School. This knowledge was put into practice on the day, with a range of activities organised for each year level to expand their knowledge on their year level focus and deepen their empathy for those most vulnerable. Each class had a great deal of enthusiasm and thought when organising their stalls, and it was great to see students from across the College get involved in such a meaningful and practical way. Money raised is still being count-ed, but from reports on the day it is clear as a College community we have been able to make a deep and meaningful impact on the global community. A big thank you goes to the Music Department who prepared music for the day, which aided in creating a community atmosphere. Thank you is also ex-tended to Flekky Band and Malibu Drive who came in to entertain the crowd. Thank you to all of the Social Justice Reps who made this event possible and for their enthusiastic and consistent participation in meetings throughout the term. Thank you to all staff and students who participated and made the day what it was.

The values underpinning Social Justice is not something that is contained within the St Mary’s gates. On behalf of the Social Justice team here at St Mary’s, I hope that each and every one of the students here has gained a deeper understanding of the issues in our world, and a renewed sense of service and responsibility as privileged people to play our part for those most vulnerable. Anna Hilferty 2018 Social Justice Deputy Captain

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St Mary’s College, Issue 10, Monday 5 November 2018

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St Mary’s College, Issue 9, Monday 5 November 2018

Visual Art Throughout Term 2 and 3, students in Reception explored both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art making processes. Students explored graphite and coloured pencils, acrylic painting, collage, felt making and clay. A lot of the work emphasised the importance of working together and to engage with peers in art making experiences. Students explored colour through painting, created art based from books and identified meaning within art and how we can use art to present feelings.

Year 7s explored drawing, acrylic paint, and clay processes. Looking at sculptural artists, students explored form, texture, composition, scale and colour to create a fantasy based landscape. Students developed blending techniques and pieced together an artwork that this ‘out of this world.’ In doing so, students gained an understanding of foreground, mid ground and background and how this impacts on the outcome of art.

Additionally, students looked at art from a functional perspective, where students designed their own clay magic carpets to house their smart phones. Exploring traditional, cultural and contemporary designs, students established a design in which they felt best represents them.

Emphasising the Art under our nose, students were led through a series of stops located around St Mary’s College, each giving students a different perspective of both the new and old buildings. Students explored perspective, texture, scale and line variation in the establishment of a connected art piece.

Year 8 students explored the application of painting, drawing and collage in the construction of a still life. Inspired by a contemporary artist, students learnt about colour relationships, composition, scale, tone, contrast and texture. Guided by their own creativity, students completed a still life bringing all activities into one final artwork.

Year 10 students have had the opportunity to create small scaled pieces exploring a range of subject matters and mediums of their interest. Guided by their own creative direction, students selected artists that were relevant to their artistic practice and created some extremely talented renditions.

Design and Technology Sustainability has been a major focus in Year 9 Design. Students have engaged in real world issues of ethical fashion and sustainability, looking at the impact it has on both people working in the industry and on our environment. As a result, students explored design making processes, creating a unique design and hand crafted a recycled jewellery piece made from old and unwanted clothing. Additional branding was established representing their product along with a statement explaining what the product was made from and why.

In addition, students explored Polymer Clay making processes to design wearable earrings. Students researched both traditional and contemporary jewellery design, explored colour relationships, organic and geometric shapes, experimented with joining techniques and marking, marbling and layering of Polymer clay to create their very own unique design accompanied by their own branding.

This year Coles released a primary and secondary school bag design competition. Students were presented a design brief highlighting the criteria as outlined by Coles. Students selected one of four themes and used design making processes to create their own unique design. Students final outcomes

will now go into the draw to potentially be printed onto sustainable and reusable bags sold in Coles.

Students were able to construct their design using an array of approaches such as drawing, painting, software creation or photography and as a result we had a number of approaches. Neisha Norton-Thomson (Art and DesignTeacher)

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During the second to last week of Term 3, all the Year 11 students went out into the community and volunteered their services to those less fortunate. We had students at Meals on Wheels on Wheels, several Special Schools, schools with intensive English programs, numerous nursing homes and second hand stores, just to name a few.

The feedback we have received from the organisations that hosted our students and from the students themselves shows what a worthwhile program this is.

“I truly underestimated what the week was going to be like and was completely unaware of the changes it would inflict on me as a person. I am honestly incredibly grateful for the experience you provided me with and would just like to share with you some context regarding my week.

My Service Learning placement was at Ingle Farm Primary School's Intensive English Program. I worked with young disadvantaged children from various backgrounds, with most either from war-stricken countries such as Syria, Iran or Afghanistan, rural Aboriginal communities or countries of extreme poverty such as Ethiopia and Kenya. I worked with a certain individual student who was only eight and had previously been living by himself on the streets of Ethiopia before being adopted by an Australian family. The development of his English studies over just eight months of being in the country was quite substantial and truly reflected how important to me these programs are in assisting new arrivals children. As well as this I also worked with an older student in a Year 7 class who was previously living in Syria. He was quite a shy student when I first began working with him, but slowly warmed up when he realised I was someone he could trust. He was a highly intelligent student but doubted himself constantly. Throughout my work with this student, I was completely unaware that his shy personality and stutter was a result of the noise and 'shell shock' of the bombings in Syria. Whilst this was terribly sad, it was extremely rewarding to see him develop significantly since arriving in the country at the start of the year. I developed new skills which I doubt I could have learnt in a traditional high school classroom. As well as this, I further developed the skills which I learnt on the Cambodia Pilgrimage earlier this year.” Poppy

“I just wanted to inform you that I have only had one day of Service Learning and I have already had the most amazing rewarding experience of my life time working with immigrants from overseas as young as seven years old who are incapable of speaking fluent English in fact, some who speak none at all and teaching them how to is the most rewarding experience.” Amber (Giles Street Primary School – Intensive English Program)

“Fantastic … send two the same next year.” Cathedral Fashions

“Really on the ball! Interacted well with children of various disabilities. Put in more effort and performed better than people who get paid to work here.” Errington Special School

“I would like to say how much we enjoyed having Tahlia and Kartia do their placement at St Anna’s. They were friendly and outgoing and were caring and showed empathy with our residents. Our residents enjoyed their company and we enjoyed having them assist our Lifestyle team. They had initiative and a good understanding of how to relate to the elderly.” St Anna’s Residential Care facility

Ms Girgolas’ Year 11 Legal Studies class was very fortunate to gain access to the construction site of our Veritas Centre.

Building Surveyor and Certifier, Brett Fennell and Sarah Construction Project Manager, Fabien Moison, very generously offered their time to explain the applicable building codes and regulations in the context of our Legal Studies learning. We were then taken on a tour of the building site to see these codes and regulations in action.

Students very much appreciated the ‘inside access’ to the building site and invaluable insight into the building and construction industry and the legal expertise and time management navigation required! Sam Girgolas Legal Studies Teacher

St Mary’s College, Issue 9, Monday 5 November 2018

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St Mary’s College, Issue 10, Monday 5 November 2018

Last term 20 Year 4, 5 and 6 students completed their full initiation into the Church as they celebrated their Confirmation and received their First Holy Communion at St Patrick’s Church with their families, sponsors and friends.

Back Row: Chloe Lockley, Sienna Michalik, Dominique Lawrie, Madelyn Moffatt, Phoebe Mammone, Poppy Morris, Zara Hale, Jessica Michalik Macey Livingstone, Izabella Kranixfeld Front Row: Ava Letts, Vegas Nikolitsis, Ava Dobbins, Mikayla Dyer, Ella Parisi, Francesca Baldino, Chaise Meldrum, Isabella Cunningham, Ella Leverington, Alexia Radice

These Sacramental times of retreat, ritual and ceremony encourage the girls to be more open to God and to more readily experience the freely given Grace and Love of God in order to live a richer, more committed life as a witness to the Good News of Jesus.

Back Row: Fr Maurice, Ella Parisi, Macey Livingstone, Zara Hale, Sienna Michalik, Dominique Lawrie, Phoebe Mammone, Madelyn Moffatt, Poppy Morris, Chloe Lockley, Jessica Michalik Front Row: Alexia Radice, Ella Leverington, Vegas Nikolitsis, Ava Dobbins, Francesca Baldino, Izabella Kranixfeld, Mikayla Dyer, Chaise Meldrum, Isabella Cunningham, Ava Letts

Special thanks go to Father Richard Morris and Father Maurice Shinnick, respectively, for leading us in these joyful celebrations. To all parents and sponsors for their love and guidance, to the St Mary’s Sacrament Choir,

Charlotte Lawrie our flute soloist, and Mr Matt Pastro for his care and attention in preparing the girls for these Sacraments.

Ms Anne Soldan Sacramental Coordinator

Last term, our Senior School exchange students – Alessia, Andrea and Francesca from Italy visited the Junior School classes. Together we made scrumptious food to share, played Italian children’s games, did role plays, and discussed life in Italy.

We made le bruschette, i savoraidi alla panna (sponge finger biscuits with cream & chocolate topping) and il macedonia di frutta (fruit salad). The Year 6s found these aspects of Italian school and life most interesting:

• being able to speak two, three or even four languages

• going to school on Saturday morning

• lots more study and tests every week for their subjects

• much stricter teachers

• all the different kinds of middle and senior schools

• no extra-curricular activities at school

• three months of summer holidays

• being able to ride a scooter (small motorbike) at 14

• being able to visit so many different places in Europe and North Africa

• lots of skiing

We were so fortunate to have this encounter provided by Ms Catrina Tridente (Coordinator of Languages). The girls experienced a deeper appreciation of language learning and the opportunities it can afford. Maestra Anne Soldan Junior School Italian teacher

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Did you know that St Mary’s College has a Facebook page? Check out our weekly uploads (each Friday) of the events and activities that students and staff are involved in at the College.

Facebook is a great way to see our college community in action! https://www.facebook.com/StMarysCollegeAdelaide/

Do you know the following facts:

• On average, children aged 10 to 14 years have 2 active social media

accounts

• On average, outside of school, 10 to 14 year olds spend 23 hours online

per week

• 12% of 10 to 14 year olds share personal information online

• 9% of 10 to 14 year olds reported being exposed to inappropriate content

• 21% of 10 to 14 year olds reported being socially excluded by others

online (one form of cyberbullying)

• 36% of 10 to 14 year olds said they had talked to strangers online

*The above facts come from the 2017 Youth Digital Participation Survey – A nationally representative sample of 3017 children and youth (8 – 17 years).

Are you surprised about the above statistics? Do you want to know more about how you can help your daughter if she experiences any of the above scenarios? The Office of the eSafety Commissioner has just released a 10 minute online interactive tour for parents. The interactive tour provides tips on how you can help your daughter explore the online world and mange online issues should they arise. This is especially important as they strive for independence and peer acceptance. Topics covered are: cyberbullying, screen time, social media, personal information, inappropriate contact etc. Parents can select any topic that they are interested in to get started and close the tour at any time, resuming from where they left off the next time they access the tour.

Visit: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent/screen-smart-tour

Giovanna Iannicelli Technology Coordinator

St Mary’s College Absentee Phone Line : 8216 5716

Please telephone before 9.30 am if your daughter is absent

St Mary’s College Uniform Shop : 8216 5719

Opening times - Monday 8.00 am - 11.00 am Wednesday 1.00 pm - 4.00 pm Thursday 8.00 am - 11.00 am

Orders can also be placed online at https://hambours.com.au/

St Mary’s College OSHC : 8216 5743

Page 14

St Mary’s College, Issue 10, Monday 5 November 2018

November

5 Year 12 Written exams begin

6 Reception 2019 transition visit

8 Year 8, 2019 Orientation Morning

9 Year 10 Drama Performance

10-26 Vietnam Pilgrimage

11 Instrument Program Concert (Sunday)

12 Come N Try Day

13 Reception 2019 transition visit

19 Junior School production week

19 Reception 2019 transition visit

19-23 Year 10 Exams

21-23 Year 11 Exams

26-27 Year 11 Exams

26 Year 7, 2019 transition day

27 Year 6 Graduation and Advent Mass

28 Reception 2019 transition visit

29-30 Year 12, 2019 Orientation sessions

December

6 Last Day of Term 4 (EYEC and Year 12 Graduation)

7 Ireland Music Tour departs

E V E N T C A L E N D A R

St Mary’s College is an Allergy Aware school with policies and procedures in place to provide care for the wellbeing of staff and students with allergies. Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that in some cases can be severe and even life threatening. It is important that the school has medical information and medication along with an annually updated medical care plan for students with Anaphylaxis.

As a community, we can all provide support by not sending students to school with food containing nuts; things like peanut paste or Nutella in sandwiches is a common issue. Given that the most extreme reactions can be caused by contact with surfaces or in the proximity of the allergen, this is one precaution we can take as a community. It also helps when providing food for school events and fundraisers, if we avoid food containing nuts.

Our Allergy Awareness Guidelines are on the website. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wh1.thewebconsole.com/wh/4810/images/AllergyAwareGuidelinesJan14.pdf

Wanted … Wanted … Wanted

Do you have any kids character costumes that you no longer need? Our Drama Department would love them for our Primary classes. Please drop them off to the SSO.

Attention: Hannah McCarthy-Oliver.

Hannah McCarthy-Oliver Drama Coordinator

ST MARY’S COLLEGE

Vacation Care Program is

now available on the

College website

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - UMAT will be UCAT

If you are thinking of studying medicine or dentistry in 2020 at university, this is important information for you.

The Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) has now been replaced by the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) from next year onwards. Follow this link for information : https://www.ucatofficial.com/media/1256/ucat-launch-flyer_final-printed.pdf