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

News

Term 3 Week 7 2021

From the Principal

From the Principal

Dear St Michael’s College community,

The Star Newsletter

As you are aware, The Star is the weekly newsletter of St Michael’s College. What you might not be aware of is why it is so named. The following is an extract from week 1 of 2006 and the first renamed weekly newsletter/bulletin to The Star:

“Welcome to the 2006 School Year – and our revamped newsletter: ‘The Star’.

You’ll notice that the Star of Faith has central position on the College crest. In Lasallian heritage it symbolises that Lasallian schools and works are examples of God’s presence in our world just as the Star of Bethlehem marked Jesus birth as presented in the Gospel.

St Michael’s encourages all those involved in the College – students, parents and staff – to ‘let their light shine’. This is another link to our ‘Star’ – that the St Michael’s College community be a shining light to the broader community, something which has typified our growth and development over the past 67 years.

‘The Star’ is also a beacon of communication. From ancient times mariners have navigated via the stars and scientists suggest that the stars tell the stories of our origins and possibly future! The SMC weekly ‘Star’ aims to help families navigate their way through the year as the regular means of communication which deals with the present, the future and provides regular insights to our foundations.”

Whilst there are also other complementary forms of communication utilised by the College, I would encourage you to keep the The Star on your regular reading list. A reminder also that past editions are available on the College website.

 

St Michael the Archangel

Whilst on the theme of names, the Feast of our College namesake is later this month, and we therefore remember the important role that St Michael the Archangel plays in our Christian tradition and for us at St Michael’s.

St Michael’s College was established on East Avenue, Beverley in 1954. At inception, the founders released a statement relating to the choice of name. In essence, it read:

“The name of St Michael the Archangel would be a fitting designation for our new venture….We would like the vision of this great champion of God to be continually before the minds and gaze of the rising generations that will come to this new school”.

Saint John Baptist de La Salle writes in his Meditation 169.1 that “Saint Michael the Archangel was the leader of all the angels who remained faithful to God”. For those who know the story, as God’s loyal warrior, St Michael led the army of angels that cast Satan (the devil) and his rebellious angels from Heaven into hell. The Hebrew version of his name (Mīkhāel, Mi cha El), translates to ‘Who is like God?’ and is said to be the rhetorical battle-cry used by Michael to challenge Lucifer and his followers during the great battle in Heaven. The translation of ‘Who is like God?’ into Latin is Quis ut Deus and sits on the St Michael’s College crest. De La Salle wrote that “Saint Michael, inspired by this attitude of faith, which served as his shield against the evil angels, was victorious over them by these words”. (Med 169.2)

For many, angels bring a sense of peace and security and St Michael the Archangel is often called upon in prayer for protection against evil. This theme is prominent in most traditional prayers to St Michael, with novena’s often seeking inspiration from the qualities associated with the Archangel. The more prominent characteristics and qualities attributed to St Michael include humility, zeal, strength, loyalty, courage, commitment and honour. St Michael the Archangel is also the patron Saint of numerous groups and organisations, including the military, police and paramedics. SAPOL hold their Remembrance Day for fallen colleagues on the feast of St Michael the Archangel, 29 September each year.

As we continue to navigate through these uncertain times, it seems timely to acknowledge the important heritage of our College name and draw on the spirit and qualities of St Michael the Archangel today.

We therefore pray that St Michael look over our school community and protect us, giving us the strength and humility to live, learn and lead together with courage, commitment and honour, no matter what the challenge may be.

Principal Leave

Finally, please note that I will be on leave over the next two weeks. Damian Patton will be Acting Principal during this period, with Damian McNamara Acting Deputy Principal – Primary. I know they will have the full support of the St Michael’s community and I wish them every success as we move to the end of term.

 

Kind regards

John Foley
Principal

Weekly Communication and Important Dates
Weekly Communication and Important Dates

Weekly Communication and Important Dates

IMPORTANT DATES

5 September
Father’s Day

6 September
PUPIL FREE DAY – NO CLASSES
Staff Professional Development Day

9 September
Warming Minds, Warming Hearts fundraiser:
Guernsey and Jersey Day (Primary Campus)
Beanie, Scarf and Sock Day (Secondary Campus)

Season of Creation
1 September started the season of creation.

The Season of Creation is the time of year when the world’s 2.2 billion Christians are invited to pray and care for creation. This liturgical season runs annually from September 1 (World Day Of Prayer For Creation) through October 4 (Feast of St Francis of Assisi).

An excellent resource with clips that explain the month is available at the official site www.seasonofcreation.org

It is a time to think about our connection to creation and one another and make commitments to care for the world and each other better.

The College will be making a commitment to creation in prayer and activities during the month.

Mr Robert Dempsey, Director of Mission

ENTERTAINMENT BOOK

Support our fundraising and purchase an Entertainment Book membership. Click here for more information. 

Click here for Term Dates.
Click here for Uniform Shop hours and information.
Click here to purchase the Entertainment Book.

For previous editions of The Star Newsletter, if using Desktop, please navigate to the side bar to view previous editions or if viewing on a mobile phone scroll to the bottom of the page.

Primary Campus

Primary Campus

BOOK WEEK – OLD WORLDS, NEW WORLDS AND OTHER WORLDS

Reading is a super power and books are magic and throughout the last week this has been evident as we placed a spotlight on all things book related.

This year is the 75th anniversary of Australian Book Week and in 2021 it is an event that seems even more relevant. During our recent snap lockdown many of our students commented that it was the books borrowed from our resource centre that helped them through and everyone loves a good story.

SPLASH THEATRE

The week began with a performance from Splash Theatre for the Receptions through to Year 3.  Classic children’s stories were brought to life by the actors with minimal props and maximum suspension of belief from the audience. From the classic that is The Little Prince to the simple tale of Chicken Little our younger learners were enthralled.

BUDDY ACTIVITIES

Continuing with the theme of storytelling, many of the buddy activities this week involved authors from older year levels reading their ‘published’ stories to the younger students and the enjoyment from this clearly went both ways. Other activities including designing different worlds and putting them together. Our buddy programme really builds a strong sense of community.

DOORS TO OTHER WORLDS

One of the highlights of this week was the competitive edge that took over the school when it came to the class competition. The brief was to transform your classroom door so that it opened to another world. We had doors to Pacman games, entrances to Jurassic Park, a pirate island, Dreamtime stories, rocket ships to outer space and Minecraft of course.

The winners were judged by Mr Patton and Ms Steventon and were awarded as follows:

  • Year 1 for Dreamtime stories
  • 4M Harry Potter’s Chimney
  • 6M The Door to the Tardis

Each of these classes will now get a special prize of a class lunch!

AUTHOR VISIT

Danielle Clode is an award-winning Australian author of In Search of the Woman who Sailed the World. Her writing includes natural history, essays, science-writing, historical fiction and best-selling children’s books.  Our students were thrilled with Danielle’s tales of her early life, she grew up in the fishing town of Port Lincoln in South Australia before sailing around the coast with her parents on a boat known as ‘the Pirate Ship’. After finishing school in far north Queensland she moved to Adelaide to study politics and psychology and has even worked as a zookeeper! Danielle also shared with us some ideas about the craft of writing and our own budding authors in Years 4- 6 would surely have picked up some great tips!

THE PARADE

The Grand Finale of the week was the parade and it was a joy to behold with so many students and teachers making the effort to dress up. It was no ordinary Friday morning at all and if you have watched the live stream the excitement and fun in the air was palpable.   A huge thank you for the support from parents who went the extra mile to organise costumes, we appreciate your time, energy and creativity!

Thank you to all our teachers and support staff; thank you all for entering into the spirit of the parade, you were all “out of this world”. The IT crew provided a great experience for the community at home. I am so proud of the how well the Year 6 boys commentated and MC’d.  Special thanks to Marco, Will, Riley and Oliver for commentating and to Kaylen and Jude as our MC’s.

Always remember reading really is a superpower and books are magic.

Mrs Joanne Gilmore
#alwayslearningalwayswillbe

Secondary Campus

Secondary Campus

YEAR 8 RETREAT

As an integral part of the College Religious Education and Pastoral Program, all Year 8 Students will be participating in a one-day Retreat on Tuesday 7 September 2021.

As the word ‘Retreat’ implies, it is a time for students to reflect on their experiences of Year 8 so far and examine their relationships with family, peers, self and God.  The variety of small group activities will involve group discussion, reflection, relaxation and prayer, focusing on the theme of “The Hero Within”.  St Michael’s Year 10 and 11 Lasallian Youth Leaders will run programs at designated venues supported by Pastoral Teachers, Year Level and Assistant Year Level Directors and the Director of Mission.

Students will return to the College after having lunch at the Henley Football Club and engage in an activity connected with healthy relationships and see Mr Mosca play some music.

Parents/Guardians are reminded to complete the “Consent2Go” permission via the email sent from the College.  Students are required to bring their own medications and have personal medications with them at all stages of the Retreat.

Mr Robert Dempsey, Director of Mission   

YEAR 11 LASALLIAN RETREAT DAY – THURSDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2021

This Year 11 Lasallian Retreat Day will be presented by our Old Scholars with the assistance of Pastoral Teachers and the Director of Mission. The team will be trained by the Lasallian Mission Council in Sydney to present the day.

The day will focus on “Service, Opportunity and Sacrifice” as key requirements to be great citizens and leaders in the world. As the word “Retreat” implies, it is a time for students to reflect, learn more about themselves, and explore the ‘big picture’ in their lives, both in a pastoral and spiritual sense.  They will also be challenged to reflect on how they can make a positive difference in their communities.

The Year 11 Lasallian Retreat Day will take place at the Henley Campus. Students can wear neat casual clothes and will need to bring a pen. They will be provided with a pizza lunch.  Students will begin the day in pastoral classes and then move to Founders Hall. The day will finish at 2.30 pm. Students can remain in the LEC if they need to catch a bus at 3.30pm.

Mr Robert Dempsey, Director of Mission 

ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE PHYSICAL EDUCATION WEEK 2021, WEEK 9

Physical Education Week 2021, celebrates the importance of Health & Physical Education in supporting the development of physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. As an essential component of the Australian Curriculum, Health & PE provides students the opportunity to learn how to lead active and healthy lives.

Throughout PE Week 2021, students (and staff) will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities that will involve being active and having fun! The PE Week program will be distributed to pastoral care classes and put into SEQTA notices.

The current recommendation for adults is 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days. Our children need even more!

Have a look at Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines here

As parents/carers, we can be positive role models for our children – increase activity levels by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, get off the bus one or two stops earlier, park the car further away from the shops, or go for a walk after dinner with the family.

As the days are becoming warmer it’s a perfect time to enjoy being active!

Mrs Sally Nicholson, Head of Department Health & Physical Education

YEAR 7 AND 8 READERS CUP CHALLENGE

The Readers’ Cup Challenge is a great way for reading enthusiasts to compete whilst enhancing their reading life. For both Year 7 and Year 8 students, competition fever ran high! Claiming victory was the Year 8 team, ‘The Revengers’ (8GPC-02) and the Year 7 team, ‘Burnsy’s Boys’ (7BPC-02). Well done teams!

Ms Beverley Coleman, title

YEAR 7 POETRY CAFE

On Monday and Thursday this week 7GPC5 and 7GPC3 participated in the third annual Year 7 Poetry Café. This marks the end of a 5-week unit of work whereby students’ begin to develop an understanding of various forms of poetry and poetic devices. The café enables students to engage with an authentic audience that promotes confidence building skills, public speaking and a love of language. The hot chocolate and biscuits also sweeten the deal as well! Overall a great lesson spent!

 Ms Rhiannon O’Hara, Teacher

YEAR 7 GIFT MAKING IN ITALIAN

This term in Italian, students in 7GPC2 learned about the ‘Casa del Cioccolato’ (House of Chocolate) in Perugia, Italy, which is renowned for their Baci chocolate. The Baci chocolate typically contains a message about friendships, family and love, and is translated into four different languages.

Inspired by this idea, the students wrote a message about a person who inspires them in Italian and made a dessert to pair with their note. They also wrote about why they love this family member and expressed their gratitude.

I am extremely proud of the hard work demonstrated by the students during this project. It has been a pleasure to observe students using their language in a meaningful and purposeful way.

Ms Olivia Andreula, Italian Teacher

YEAR 12 WELLBEING WALK

The Year 12 Wellbeing Walk has continued to grow in numbers. Every Tuesday morning, at 8:00 am a group of our Seniors visit 303 by the Sea as a way to connect, relax and start the day in a positive way. This week we added breakfast to our coffee orders. We also had a special addition to the group…Mr Viz. We look forward to welcoming more staff and students each week.

Ms Elli Nicola, Teacher

CAN YOU SPOT THE DIFFERENCE?

Check out our Year 10 Computer Aided Design students ‘Spot the Difference’ creations using Photoshop. Can you spot the difference?

Ms Tess Morcom, Design & Technology Teacher

Emilia B Owen C Tyler R Jackson P
YEARS 7-9 LEARNING AND WELLBEING CHARACTER STRENGTH FOCUS

Week 7: PERSPECTIVE strength,

If perspective is one of your strongest character strengths, chances are you may not think of yourself as wise, but your friends may see you that way. They may value your point of view on different issues and turn to you for advice, often.

Perspective recognises and attributes weight to many sides of an issue before decisions are made. People with this strength can see the bigger picture and can make sense of the world in a broader context. They can see the gist of difficult matters; seeing the “woods and the trees”. It allows people to address questions about the meaning of life, and allows us to work well in teams, communities and societies. People with this strength help their group to navigate challenging circumstances, as they are rational and perceptive in identifying opportunities.

Last Monday morning, at our weekly Staff Briefing, Ms Casserly shared a prayer which discussed the importance of perspective. She spoke about her family’s awe at the accomplishments of the Paralympians and how their conversations at home had led to them viewing the competition and following the journey of many of the Olympians, and the remarkable feats they managed to accomplish, just to be present.

Coincidentally this morning when my alarm rang, I awoke to the story of Ahmed Kelly a two-time Paralympian. A quick visit to the Paralympics Australia site[1] reveals that Ahmed once lived in an orphanage in Baghdad, Iraq, with his brother Emmanuel. The brothers were born with underdeveloped arms and legs and humanitarian worker Moira Kelly adopted them and brought them home with her to Australia in 1998.

A keen footballer, Ahmed made his Paralympic debut at the London 2012 Paralympic Games – where his sisters, Trishna and Krishna, the Bangladeshi conjoined twins who were separated in 2009, cheered him on. He recently won a Silver Medal for the 150m Individual Medley in Tokyo.

These remarkable stories, and so many like them, create an opportunity to view life from perspectives which consider the grit and perseverance needed to chase dreams, despite the most difficult of challenges. It leads us to imagine just how inspiring that goal can be, and how much we can all achieve with a positive mindset. The view from another perspective can inspire all of us to reach for the stars and to persevere, regardless of how impossible the odds might seem.

Whilst not quite on the same scale of awesomeness, but still pretty awesome ?, in Year 8 Pastoral Care, girls’ classes utilised perspective when they looked at myth-busting body image myths and working towards suggestions for making our community a place where each of us feels comfortable and safe in their skin; happy to be themselves. This work, during extended Pastoral Care, was a lead in to the Taryn Brumfitt (Embrace) session they will attend next week. In a similar way, boys’ classes worked on related body image discussion with their pastoral care teachers, in preparation for further pastoral care experiences next week.

Some student leaders in Years 7-9 also joined older brothers and sisters in a Focus Group meeting on Monday following Dr Nagel’s presentation on safe device use last term. This exceptional group of young leaders viewed Dr Nagel’s data from a range of perspectives and formulated some outstanding suggestions on how we might work with peer presence to create safer device habits in our community. They were able to work collaboratively engaging not only perspective, but also leadership and teamwork!

At Wild Wednesday lunch this week, College Leader, Morgan Cooper, was truly inspiring to her younger brothers and sisters in Year 7-9. Speaking from the heart, Morgan spoke about how important the opportunity to be a Leader was to her, how much this had allowed her to grow and work outside of her comfort zone to extend herself. She also spoke about her role models in Mr Smith and Mr Foley, whom she admired for their kindness and their clear humanity in the way they embraced each student and cared for them. Morgan also discussed how to manage stress and nervousness and the importance of her goals and sharing them with people who were a support to her. I’m sure the students present viewed Morgan’s perspective with admiration and that they walked away, after a delicious lunch, thinking about nurturing similar opportunities in the future.

Whilst we view these impacts at a College level, on a professional level, Linked In asserts that there are many work-related benefits to leveraging perspective. These include:

  • Increasing the ability to regulate our emotions and practicing more empathy
  • Expanding our open-mindedness to respect differences
  • Improving our analysis of people’s personalities so we can better relate to them and employing different parts of our own personalities to foster more positive and effective relationships[2]

Wishing you a happy and healthy weekend ahead, with abundant opportunities to view life from many perspectives. ?

Mrs Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Learning and Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

1 Paralympics Australia viewed at https://www.paralympic.org.au/athlete/ahmed-kelly/ 1 September 2021
2 Pollit, I (2018) Perspective: Use The Force of This Strength to Increase Your Success. Viewed at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/perspective-use-force-strength-increase-your-success-polit-di-paola 31 August 2021

Careers and VET Services

Careers and VET Services

SUBJECTS OUTSIDE OF ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE

Whilst most Year 11 students may have now selected their 2022 Yr 12 subjects, they may also wish to consider subjects that operate outside of the College. Students who choose to do one of these subjects can easily drop one of their subjects once enrolled in an alternative course.

If students wish to discuss any on these options that can book in with Ms Coorey or for Aviation (Mr Woolford)

SUBJECTS OPTIONS AT MARDEN OPEN ACCESS –
WORKPLACE PRACTICES FOR ELITE ATHLETES

Applications of interest are now open for elite dancers and athletes (eg SASI scholarship holders), and Coaches/Referees from anywhere in SA. This subject is for state representatives’ or highest “League” representatives and provides the possibility to combine study and dancing/sporting activities whilst gaining academic credit towards SACE. It can be studied via Marden Open Access. Please see: https://www.msc.sa.edu.au/workplace-practices/.

 This is a very highly scaled subject. Please note that eligible students in Year 10 can also consider this subject. Applications should be submitted through Mr Gavin O’Reilly.

OTHER STAGE 2 SUBJECTS AT MARDEN

Students may choose to do other subjects through Marden Open Access – especially if students are interested in a subject which may not run at St Michael’s in 2022. For example Geography. The cost for the family is approximately $1500. Please see this link.

LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH

The Adelaide School of Languages offers SACE Stage 2 Integrated Learning.
French for Industry – please see the advertisement below (This is a very highly scaled subject): https://schooloflanguages.sa.edu.au/

TWILIGHT STAGE 2 SUBJECTS AT THEBARTON SENIOR COLLEGE

Twilight Stage 2 subjects can be completed at Thebarton Senior College and are held one night per week between 4.00 – 7.00 pm for subjects that St Michael’s College not offer (Cost to family TBC). Please See this link.

Stage 2 Earth and Environmental Science, Journalism and Media, or Food and Hospitality

AVIATION: SCIENTIFIC STUDIES

For details regarding aviation at AMSC Bedford Park, Please see Mr Woolford.
For information regarding Stage 1 and Stage 2 Aviation options at Glenunga International College, please see this link.

YEAR 12 UPDATE

The College has sent a very detailed SEQTA Direct Message to Yr 12 students on Thursday covering:

  • Employment – Christmas Jobs/ Apprentices and Traineeships
  • SATAC Deadlines
  • Flinders University Yr 11 Grade Scheme
  • TAFESA Applications and Auditions
  • Medicine and Dentistry Interviews
  • Career Appointments

Please ensure students have shared the update with their families.

Students wishing to consider applications for Interstate Universities, please take advantage of the early application process and scholarships. It is important to follow this up NOW. Please refer to page 10 of the SATAC Guide for the interstate SATAC Equivalents.

UNSW offer a special COOP Scholarship for those seeking to collaborate with Industry leaders and experience other exciting opportunities. Applications close in 4 weeks. For those aspiring to the highest levels of leadership and achievement, we encourage you to check this out! Please see this link.

Ms Rose Coorey and Mr Anthony Vizaniaris, Careers Counsellors

Congratulations

Congratulations

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Year 12 students Nicolas A, Matthew Z and Ethan G on making it into the Semi Final of the Esports competition for the game ‘Rocket League’. The students recently won the META High School Esports Rocket League Grand Final and are in the top 4 groups in Australia for this game. The boys will be competing against New South Wales on Saturday. Good luck!

 

SAPSASA Year 7 Soccer State Carnival
Last week, three of our Year 7 girls represented the Airport District in the State Carnival for Year 7 girls SAPSASA soccer at Barratt Reserve. The Girls competed in Division 1 and drew with East Adelaide for first position. Well done to Jessica B, Maeve N and Ciara O. Great job girls!