Absentee Line - Text 0417 596 611 or Phone Primary 8150 2397, Secondary 8150 2323 or Email student.reception@smc.sa.edu.au

From the Principal

Dear St Michael’s College Community,

Welcome Mass

On Wednesday 9 February we celebrated our Welcome Mass at the Secondary Campus via Microsoft Teams. Mr Robert Dempsey (APRIM) developed the theme around ‘Challenge’ which is our focus for the year.

Having our Mass online wasn’t our preference, however, this event is of the utmost importance for all of us at St Michael’s. Our Welcome Mass signifies many aspects of our school community that we value, including our connections with one another and most importantly that we are a Catholic School in the Lasallian tradition. We may not have been together in Founders Hall, but we are connected in spirit as Lasallians.

The College and community continue to meet the challenges of the current environment, and we do this patiently because we know that it won’t be for long, including those of us working remotely and waiting to reconnect with our friends at school.

Therefore, when we are back to a more normal school environment, it is important we must grasp our opportunities with both hands. Students should look to enjoy the challenges we face and know that if we work with purpose and effort, we will achieve our goals in 2022.

For our community to continue to be a successful one, we need to aspire to:

  • Understand what our personal responsibility is during these times
  • Respectfully engage with one another
  • Connect with all that St Michael’s has to offer
  • Have a plan for success

These are the challenges I present to our students as we begin a new school year.

The Welcome Mass is the first opportunity for our new College Captains to address their cohort, and Avah and Massimo’s message highlighted many significant points for our fellow students. They spoke of the importance of focusing on creating a community where everyone is a known, valued and cared for; embracing the “big-brother” and “big-sister” relationships that are the hallmark of the College’s pastoral care program.

They acknowledged the unusual start to the 2022 school year due to COVID, congratulated students for their resilience in making the first two weeks of school a success and encouraged fellow students to continue to give 100% in their studies. They spoke of life’s lessons and challenges, encouraging us all to be resilient and to never give up striving for our personal goals.

Avah and Massimo spoke of the wonderful teaching staff here at the College, as well as the facilities available, all which are in place to assist students to achieve their best.

The message for the Year 12 cohort was to embrace their final year of secondary schooling, which will no doubt have its ups and downs, with confidence, determination and hard work.

Catholic Education South Australia

On Wednesday evening this week, Catholic Education South Australia presented an online launch of Towards 2027: Expanding Horizons and Deepening Practices – Strategy for Catholic Education South Australia. The full livestream of the launch of Towards 2027 is now available, including addresses from Dr Neil McGoran, Director, Catholic Education South Australia, Professor Denis Ralph Chair, South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools,  Premier Mr Steven Marshall, Opposition Leader Mr Peter Malinauskas, Minister of Education Mr John Gardner and Shadow Minister for Education Mr Blair Boyer.

Please click here to access the full livestream.

Kind regards,

Damian Patton
Acting Principal