YEAR 7 GIRLS BUTTERFLY FOUNDATION VISIT – LET’S TALK BODY IMAGE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

Rachel Soderstrom from the Butterfly Foundation visited the Year 7 girls last Wednesday to discuss a range of issues surrounding Body Image in the Digital World. Theodore Roosevelt is credited with saying “Comparison is the thief of joy”, and Rachel’s presentation indicated some of the dangers of comparison to social media platform posts and those who influence the way we view and respond to body image ideals.

The one-hour presentation also offered some helpful tips intended to proactively inform our young people in relation to this pressure that research reports, is a significant area of concern for our young people, in particular, girls. Students were invited to adopt a range of simple proactive strategies including ensuring that they have a broad and balanced range of interests they ‘follow’ rather than a focus on the aesthetic, and that they similarly post on a broad range of their own interests, celebrating each of our own uniqueness.

Georgia and Lilah from 7GPC-02 reflect:

“Today we had a member from the Butterfly Foundation come and talk to us about body image. We talked about how social media can influence our thoughts on our own bodies. We also learned what appearance ideals are, which means society believes we should look like, for example having clear skin, a thin waist, or a face full of makeup. We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to be able to have someone to talk to us about topics like this.”

Mrs Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

WRITE A BOOK IN A DAY

On Thursday 28 July, our two St Michael’s teams participated in the National annual Write a Book in a Day event. Some of the participants have provided their thoughts on the day;

“Write a book in a day was heaps of fun. My team had two amazing illustrators who helped bring the characters to life with their illustrations and six wonderful authors who brought the characters’ personalities to life with their words. The stories improve each year and I can’t wait to write our story for next year”. – Kiara Didyk (9GPC-05)

“I thoroughly enjoyed WABIAD. My team worked very well together this year as we planned it out thoroughly by assigning each writer two chapters to write, with a minimum and maximum word count for each chapter to fit the guidelines. My team finished an hour early because of how organised we were. I would recommend that if you decide to do WABIAD, the first hour or so is spent creating a plot and allocating who does what part”. – Joshua Francis (8BPC-05)

“I would recommend WABIAD to other students because it is an extremely enjoyable experience where you can build positive relationships and work collaboratively with your peers”. – Jessica Squeo (8GPC-03)

“Write a Book in a Day 2022 was a fun and eventful day. The team collaborated very well and shared some great ideas with each other. We got to know each other better and it would be something I would recommend to people who like to illustrate or write. It was overall a valuable experience which I would do again”. – Kristian De Candia (10PC-10)

So far, the teams have raised $845 for The Kids’ Cancer Project. It is not too late to donate to this worthy cause. Sponsorship closes on 30 September!

SMC TEAM 1 Sponsorship link      Teams | Write a Book In a Day

SMC TEAM 1 Sponsorship link      Teams | Write a Book In a Day

Mrs Maria Pepe-Micholos, Head of Library

CO-CURRICULAR DANCE

We are excited to have expanded our Co-curricular Dance program to broaden the skills and interests had by students at St Michael’s College. If you missed the ‘Come and Try’ classes in Week 1, please contact Ms Kollevris and come along to a class or style you might be interested in trying. Everyone is welcome!

Ms Hayley Kollevris, Dance Coordinator

CERT 2 AND 3 IN DANCE

Do you love dance? Are you involved in Dance Tuition at a private studio? Would you like to gain credit for the hours that you Dance at your studio? Would you like to increase your knowledge about Dance and the Dance Industry?

If you are:

• 14 years or over
• Highly self-motivated person

Enrolling in Cert 2 or 3 for 2023 could be a great opportunity for you.

A Completed CERT 2 in DANCE – 50 CREDIT POINTS!

A Completed CERT 3 in DANCE- 70 CREDIT POINTS!

Please register your interest with Ms Kollevris via email: Hayley.Kollevris@smc.sa.edu.au or come find her to have a chat. We are currently looking to enrol a select group of Year 9 Students for Cert 2 starting in Term 4, 2022.

Ms Hayley Kollevris, Dance Coordinator

YEAR 7-9 WELLBEING CHARACTER STRENGTH FOCUS

Week 2: Perseverance

We can all think of people, both close to us, and known to us, who have persevered through great life challenges, from friends and family members to celebrities – perhaps even the athletes at the Commonwealth Games. If we think of First Nations Australians, for example (this week we remember National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day), we can see incredible examples of perseverance of a people and culture in the face of enormous challenge over enduring periods of time, to continue to hope and prevail. When we reflect on this fortitude, we can’t help but be inspired, and interestingly it seems that perseverance is in fact, contagious, as Caroline Adams Miller reports in Getting Grit (2017).

At St Michael’s, we work towards a better future in the development of the learners and leaders of the world we nurture, and we see evidence of this in many areas. Over the last two weeks we have seen the fruits of perseverance and love of learning in both of our Academic Assemblies where many students were acknowledged in their achievements and hard work. And hard work really is what’s needed when we aspire to excellence, as Aristotle is credited with once saying, “Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”   Something repeated. Over and over.

Common sense (and science) tells us that failure, though none of us particularly enjoys it, can be a great teacher. Though we often want to protect our children from disappointment, development of perseverance can be inspired by allowing them to see us experience disappointment at times and then observing our responses as we pick ourselves back up and ‘reset our sails’. It’s also important to let our children experience disappointment themselves – in a safe, supportive context.

When we overcome a setback, and perhaps think about earlier decisions that didn’t quite play out the way we had planned, and we try again, we develop what is known as “grit”. Angela Duckworth, an expert in this field, discusses grit as an essential quality for success in life in Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (2016). She maintains that though natural talent matters, perseverance is much more critical than ability as a predictor of achievement.

Carol Dweck has long been considered to be an expert on “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain’s capacity to learn and to solve problems. She speaks about the power of YET- a little word that loads our thoughts with hope and potential. I don’t get it YET! In her book Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfill Your Potential (2017), Dweck explains the fundamental difference between growth and fixed mindsets. The impact of shifting our mindset can make all the difference to how we feel and the way in which we approach challenge. There are also many TED Talks on the subject, which can be easily located online.

It makes sense that perseverance is closely aligned to goal setting. It’s important as people that we set ourselves goals that can be achieved and also that we think about the steps in the process that will help us get there. It’s also helpful to tell those closest to us, our ‘cheer squad’, about our goals, so that we have their support and encouragement.

While perseverance is a strength that can encourage us to keep going when the going gets tough, it’s not accidental that our faith can help bolster it. In times of trouble and in times of joy, saying a prayer (or two) can support us along our journey. Faith can empower us to persevere. In addition to prayer, our attention to our many blessings – gratitude – can help us keep our balance and stay on course, despite challenges that life sends our way. Together with hope we can find the silver lining at the edge of the clouds that keep us on course, toward our end goals, when the sun emerges.

Wishing you perseverance, and the positive feelings and accomplishment that accompany it this week!

Mrs Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

YEAR 7 – 12 ACADEMIC AWARDS – SEMESTER 1

Congratulations to the following students in Years 7 to 12 who achieved Academic Excellence and/or Academic Endeavour awards for their Semester 1 studies.