YEARS 7-9 WELLBEING CHARACTER STRENGTH FOCUS

Week 8: Curiosity
Curiosity … as I wondered earlier this year…where we would be without it? What innovations would we be missing in our daily lives? Einstein is credited with saying I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious, and Rose Wilder Lane, journalist and political theorist, and daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder (whom some of you may remember) said Curiosity is the hunger of the human mind.

Last week we celebrated Wellbeing Week and RUOK? Day… and in the myriad of activities present, curiosity was there. Curiosity at the petting zoo, curiosity in Founders Hall to see who was going to win the best shot… curiosity in asking those around us RUOK?…curiosity in the Tiny Habits session that had us all wondering about the small things we can do to make a difference to our wellbeing.

Over the course of the week, the messaging on social media reflected some ideas that could help us be curious about our habits towards strengthening the pillars of our wellbeing- positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment and health. What if we just shifted them a little further along the continuum- I wonder what difference this would make to ourselves and to our community?

This week, girls in Years 8 were engaged in a Butterfly Foundation presentation Let’s Talk Appearance Ideas and Expectations. Contemporary research indicates that Body Image issues continue to be a pressing concern for our young people. In a proactive approach, this presentation asked students to engage with curiosity as they reflected on what shapes appearance ideals and the way that these impact on us. The presenter, Rachel Soderstrom, urged students to refocus the way they regard social media posts, perhaps being curious about a range of alternative influencers that focus on life beyond the aesthetic. She suggested we should be curious about the impact of those we follow, checking in on how they shape our own responses, and ‘unfollowing’ those who tell us how we should look. Other suggested strategies included changing the conversation and rather than comparing- admiring, and extending some kindness- also considering creating a positive statement to use in the event of negative comparisons.  A separate article about this experience will also be included in the STAR.

At the same time Year 8 Boys focused on a Bodykind RESET session which has at its core the impact of Body Image ideals and invites a similar discussion.

The underlying message of both sessions is to be curious about what makes each one of us who we are and to embrace our own unique nature, without giving too much attention to what can be damaging comparisons that are often heightened by social media platforms. We are all made in the image of God, and each of us is special in our own way and we should celebrate this more consciously, every day.

While these are just several examples of the many opportunities students have to stretch this strength every day, there would literally be hundreds of others across our community!

Our Vision and Mission focuses on the strength of curiosity, as the muscle behind innovation… we seek to be empowered to explore our curiosities, in all their contexts, and become the leaders and learners of the world.

Year 10 Italian Blue Velvet Dinner

After school on Monday, 12 September, Ms Giglio’s Year 10 Italian class met at Blue Velvet Pizzeria for a pizza demonstration and later shared dinner together. They met Ilenia and Paolo, the owners of Blue Velvet, who are part of the new wave of Italian migrants in Australia and who spoke about their migration story and their decision to come to Australia.

Paolo showed us the traditional way to make pizza and then we all sat down to order our meal in Italiano. Whilst we ate our pizza, we spoke in Italiano to each other about our interests and school subjects.  It was a great excursion and we really got to hear, first-hand, about the struggles and challenges that migrants face when coming to Australia.

Written by Alessx Amato, Year 10

Here are some other impressions from the Year 10 students:

‘The Blue Velvet excursion was an excellent way to make the students understand the Italian cuisine and know the basics of making pizzas. By speaking in Italian, it helped us to learn new words and learn how to order in Italian.’ – Chiara

 ‘Learning Ilenia and Paolo’s story and experience of Italian immigration was really inspiring. The restaurant was beautiful, and the pizzas were delicious!’

Evelyn

 ‘I really loved the architecture and design in The Blue Velvet restaurant because it looked like an authentic Italian restaurant.’

Max

It was lovely to see the students engaging in an authentic Italian context, using the Italian language for a real-world purpose.

Grazie mille!

Sara Giglio, Italian Teacher

Indigenous Literacy Day

Last week we had David Booth visit the college for Indigenous Literacy Day. David worked with our students to produce some beautiful Indigenous art that will feature in the Kaurna Courtyard later this term. He has brilliant creative art skills that he willingly shares with our community. David explains what his artwork reflects, as he steadily produces art that is unique, reflective of his culture and that our students can easily relate to.

The following is a brief about David Booth – Artist and performer.

“David was born on Yuggera country Brisbane in 1985 and this is his great grandfather’s country. David spent a lot of his childhood being home schooled on the road between communities through the central desert in the Northern Territory where he learnt a lot of culture and connected with Family. As a young boy he was fascinated by art, music, dance and stories. David’s mother was stolen generation and she was on a journey to connect with Family in Waumungu country which led David and his 5 siblings to being home schooled.

David now lives in the Adelaide hills on Peramangk country. David’s partner and 4 children are Ngarrindjeri and Peramangk decent connecting him to the hills and Coorong. His art is a contemporary reflection inspired by environment, Family, community, and cultural experiences using traditional symbols to tell story also using bright contemporary colors and patterns seen in the environment to bring stories to life.” Glenelg Art Gallery.

Many thanks to Ms Le-Ray and the Art Department for their continued support with our Indigenous Artists.

2022 Book Week – Star Article 

“If we want to nurture empathy in our learners so they can understand different perspectives and explore alternate ways of doing, being and becoming, we must ensure that rich literature is at the heart of every home, library and classroom”. 

Foundation for Learning and Literacy

This year’s CBCA’s Book Week theme, “Dreaming with eyes open” was celebrated at St Michael’s College during Week 5 and 6 this term. The theme explores how reading changes our lives. It transports us into other people’s lives, allows us to experience other perspectives and empowers us with new possibilities. Reading provides an ocean of opportunities: from developing empathy and compassion for others, igniting imagination and resolve, to fostering greater resiliency, confidence and creativity in our increasingly complex world.

On Tuesday August 23, we were fortunate to have book illustrator Craig Smith with us to run workshops with Year 7 and 8 English classes. He shared many tips on how to start drawing with shapes then relying on imagination and viewpoint to develop the detail and intent. Students were guided through steps to draw an illustration in 20 minutes and were amazed at how good their finished sketch looked!

Congratulations to all 9 teams who participated in the Year 8 Readers’ Cup in Weeks 5 and 6. The competition came to an end with an incredible Grand Final, which could not have been any closer! 8BPC 05 and 8GPC 03 both finished on an equal 15 points, forcing the quiz to continue until a clear winner was decided. After 5 tie breaker questions, the 8GPC 03 team was finally able to clench the cup with their accurate and detailed response.

Grand Final result:

8GPC 3 won with 15 points plus 5 tie breaker points

8BPC 5 runners up with 15 points plus 4 tie breaker points

8BPC 6 third place on 15 points

8GPC 2 fourth place on 10 points

Congratulations to the 8GPC 3 Team: Maeve Nicholas, Sanur McMahon, Jessica Burton and Anelise Bewry on your well-deserved win on the day!

As part of the Year 9 English curriculum, students created Book trailers to promote a book they enjoyed this year. With such a high calibre of storytelling on a digital platform, it was a challenge to choose only three winners. Subsequently, we have announced two new categories: Runners-up and Worthy acknowledgements.

Congratulations to the following students on delighting us with their talents.

Other Book Week activities throughout our celebration included Year 7 and 8 Dreamcatcher making with titles of favourite books and “Come dressed in your favourite character” Staff morning tea.

A big thank you to Mr Mark Stevens in Design Tech for making the 3D Dreamcatcher wheels, Ms Leanne Michalik in Art for the leaves and feathers, staff and students for making our “Dream with eyes open” Book Week a special community celebration.

Year 11 Formal

On Friday, 26 August, Year 11 students gathered at the Festival Function Centre for the St Michael’s College Year 11 Formal. This was an inclusive community event held for students where they could enjoy a social night of delicious food and dancing. The event was a great opportunity for students to come together and celebrate. Everyone who attended the event thoroughly enjoyed the night and I am sure that the students will look back on this evening with many fond memories in the years to come. A big thank you to all the teachers and support staff who contributed to this special evening.

Catholic Co-Ed Athletics Carnival

St Michael’s College was represented by a small team of athletes who competed strongly in the Catholic Co-Ed Athletics Carnival at Bridgestone Athletics Stadium, Salisbury on Monday September 12.

We had a great day with some outstanding results.  Out of the 23 students who participated, our team received 34 places for various age groups and events.

The team should be very proud, with great representation of the College and sportsmanship displayed throughout the day.

Presentation From Luke Francesca

During the week a very successful Old Scholar, Luke Francesca from Equipe Advisory talked to students about a different pathway through Accounting, where students combine University study with employment. He also explained the different disciplines of Accounting and how the Accounting profession has significantly moved away from simply producing Balance Sheets and Profit and Loss Statements. Students found the presentation very informative and asked many questions.

We thank Luke and wish him well with his new business adventure and look forward to seeing him again next year.

Mr Hamish Redden, HOD Business