Dear St Michael’s College Community,

Year 12 Drama
Anyone who’s been involved in developing Mission and Vison statements in their own workplace, or (worse), simply been told what their organisation’s vision will be, understands the sense of cynicism that is sometimes generated. We also know however, the importance of communities developing, knowing and living out common aspirations, intent and moral purpose. The trick is of course, to get any Vision ‘off the wall’, and from aspiration into action.

One of the truly great examples of doing this, was shown through this weeks’ St Michael’s College Year 12 drama performance of The Internet is Distract- Oh look a Kitten! As I sat in the audience last night, immersed in the wonderful storytelling, laughing (sometimes to the extent of snorting), self-reflecting and again pondering how it is that we can be so proud of other peoples’ kids, I couldn’t help but feel we were experiencing an example of what education can look like at its best. The cast, crew, support team and audience were bringing to life, maybe without even knowing it, the heart of the St Michael’s College Mission and Vision in the most enjoyable way. The following is a selection of our Vision language on display before, during and after the performance:

Community, challenge, choice, student, opportunity, engagement, recognition, exploring, curiosities, flourish, positive, learning, culture, authentic, supportive, empowered, St Michael’s, quality, education, positive, hope.

The planning, preparation, rehearsals, talent, dedication and teamwork required to pull this off is significant, and the audience reaction was proof it was well worth it. Congratulations to all involved for building an obvious team culture that saw each individual working to bring out the best in each other. Credit must go to our talented teacher/director Ms Danii Zappia and her support team, including her staff colleagues, the crew of Vincent, Maree, David and Michael and of course the cast.

Some highlights for me included: Elena holding the protagonist role flawlessly for the entire 80 minute performance; Amber’s hilariously obnoxious “Rachel” and flighty ‘Twitter’; Jasmine’s creative movement between the ominous ‘Netflix’ and enlightened ‘Nina’; Macy finding her role as the ultimate best friend ever, far too natural; Monique making the ever present and increasingly intrusive ‘Google’ feel scarily real; James as a way too matter of fact ‘Nina but Russian’; Torin’s lovably creepy ‘Grandma’ and convincing ‘Amazon’; Mitchell’s forever memorable ‘Bing’ and ‘Corban’; and Lucia’s comedic timing as ‘Tinder’ and a hillbilly ‘email’.

Well done to all involved and thank you for the laugh’s and leaving us with a great sense of pride and hope.

Back to Back
Congratulations to the St Michael’s College Open Girls Football Team for going ‘Back to Back’ following their Open Grand Final victory against Mercedes College on Wednesday afternoon. The three point margin was indicative of the tightness of the game, which was played in a ‘hard but fair’ manner by both teams.

The game was a great showcase for football, with significant talent on display, but also terrific courage commitment and perseverance, particularly as the game became so tight in the final stages. Whilst both teams were out on their feet by full time, the celebration by the SMC girls will always be one to remember.

Well done to all the players and coaching staff on taking out the Grand Final and on the way you represented yourselves and St Michael’s College.

Book Week
Well done to all involved in this week’s Book Week activities, including the Primary Book Week Parade. As Mrs Gilmore exclaimed, it was “out of this world!” Keep an eye on next week’s STAR for reports and photos!

Kind regards,

John Foley
Principal