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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 4 Week 5&6 2022

From the Principal

From the Principal

Dear St Michael’s College Community,

As we come to the end of the year for some of our secondary year levels, it is important for us to maintain our connections with friends and families through the holiday period. We need to ensure our young people are keeping their bodies and minds healthy following what has been an exceptional year particularly with the COVID-19 disruptions of Semester 1.

A pastoral initiative this year has been a focus on a positive mindset which Mr Williams expresses in the article below.

Pastoral Care and Wellbeing

Article written by Mr Matthew Williams, Deputy Principal Pastoral

“Let go” – Resilience Project by Hugh Van Cuyleburg

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students,

I recently read the book ‘Let Go’ by Hugh Van Cuylenberg, the founder of the Resilience Project. Several of the statements and strategies in the book resonated with me, and I want to share these with you as a part of our Catholic community.

Hugh talks about staying connected and conversational with our young people.  He encourages parents to have regular conversations with their children and let them know it is okay to be vulnerable and not to be judged or feel the need to be protected by opinions.

A young person’s ability to develop and connect with others is being hampered by a dependence on electronic devices.  Data from 2019 showed that Australians would spend, on average, more than forty-six hours a week peering at their screens.  This was before COVID!   Data also shows that we check our smartphones approximately 85 times a day.  There is a name for this, it’s called ‘Nomophobia’, the fear of being without a smartphone.  For people to reduce the amount of time spent on devices, research shows that individual flow activities need to be identified.  This could be going for a walk, playing sports, board games, going to the beach or spending time with family and friends.

A few strategies which can assist include:

  • Delete all social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram from our smartphones, and if we need to use them, have them only on our laptops.
  • Turn off all notifications. They only exist to encourage us to use an app on our phones.
  • Remove all addictive apps on our home screens.
  • If possible, leave phones at home when you go out.

I encourage all of us to connect more with those around us by communicating in person as much as possible.  Find activities that are important to us, that we enjoy and can do with others, or alone.  When we ask our children the same questions about finding activities they enjoy, they can find their own flow and become more positive, focused, and happy.

Mr Damian Patton, Principal

Weekly Communication and Important Dates

Weekly Communication and Important Updates

RIP

Mr Sisto Priarollo
Much loved grandfather of Savannah Lamming.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in Peace. Amen

Primary Campus

Primary Campus

Mattia’s Pizza Incursion

On Monday 14th November Year 6 classes were fortunate enough to be given a pizza making lesson by Mattia. Mattia shared his knowledge of pizza making and taught us how to make traditional pizza dough from scratch. The boys were very keen to taste the end product and were very impressed. Grazie mille Mattia!

Ms Giulietta Saraceno, Languages Teacher

P.E. Week

This week the Primary Campus celebrated South Australian Physical Education Week. This is a week celebrated within many South Australian Schools to celebrate Health & Physical Education and why this learning area is so crucial to students physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and social health.  We celebrated as a school through a meditation on Mindful Monday, a class quiz on Teamwork Tuesday, a steps challenge on Walking Wednesday, skipping and balloon tennis on Try Something New Thursday and finished off with a healthy buddy lunch on Feed Me Friday. Check out the photos below to see all the action!

In addition to this we had our Year 6 House Captains run a fitness station at ACHPER’s Come and Try P.E. Week clinic for Year 2’s and had our Year 2’s also attend the clinic! The leaders ran a station for four different schools and had outstanding feedback. The Year 2’s got to try out a range of different stations including ones led by school leaders, Rugby SA, Lacrosse SA, Tennis SA, and Soccer!

Miss Annabel Lampard, Health and Physical Education Teacher

How do I make a difference? – Vinnies Christmas Appeal Food Drive

Ms Patrizia Puglia, Director of Religion and Spirituality 

Secondary Campus

Secondary Campus

Year 8 Woodwork – Timber clock or sign

In Year 8 woodwork this Semester students got the choice to make a timber clock or hanging wall sign. This project was designed and introduced by student teacher Ryley Martin, who demonstrated the safety and procedures of the woodwork room. Students began by learning how to use the bandsaw and biscuit cutter to create a timber panel. They then designed the shape, cut it out using the bandsaw and sanded it down perfectly. The Year 8’s demonstrated a strong ability to independently manage their own projects within the workroom and problem solve how to create unique shapes. Using Adobe Illustrator they designed their own custom laser engraved images and number markers. The students should be very proud of the products they have created.

“While making the wooden clock I enjoyed using the machines to create it.”- Isabella Spadavecchia

“I learnt how to use the disk sander to sand the shape of the clock, and I got to use the biscuit cutter for the first time to join the two pieces of wood together.”- Angelique Ciccone

“I liked being able to find my own image and laser cut it onto my clock”- Evie McGregor

Ms Tess Morcom, Design and Technology Teacher

Year 9 Retreats

On Thursday 10 November, the Year 9 students took part in the Laudato Si’ Retreat which aimed to raise student awareness about the key elements in the encyclical and our responsibility to care for the environment. We were blessed with the best weather for two weeks, after an early morning scare with thunderstorms, and the group started their walk between different stations. Each station had a different theme and presenter and the Pastoral classes moved between each. Students enjoyed lunch in Henley Square and their Copenhagen ice cream.

Laudato Si’ is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. The encyclical has the subtitle “care for our common home”. In it, the Pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take “swift and unified global action.” Students were encouraged to think about the urgency of looking after our planet and the need for all of us to be aware and take action.  Thank you to all involved and especially the parents and students as our attendance was excellent and a worthwhile experience had by all.

Further information on Laudato Si’ is available here;

Encyclical: Laudato Si’ – Catholic Earthcare Australia

Laudato Si Action Platform – Catholic Earthcare Australia

Here is a comment from one of the Year 9 students:

“The Year 9 Retreat was a day where we walked in the sunshine around Henley. We walked from station to station learning about the Pope’s letter to the world about the environment, Laudato Si. Activities varied from talks about the topic to persuasive posters about saving our planet. We were blessed with amazing weather and each presenter taught us something unique and invaluable about Laudato Si and other related topics.” – Kiara Didyk 9GPC05

Mr Robert Dempsey, Director of Mission

Year 8 Reception Mentoring

The Year 8 Student Leaders in Term 3 and 4 have been involved in some mentoring sessions with our Reception students from Beverley. In Term 3 the Year 8’s ventured down to Beverley where we were shown around the campus and then did some art activities with their buddies. In Term 4, the Reception students came to the senior campus and participated in a Scavenger Hunt around the campus and played some games with their buddy.

A couple of our leaders commented:

“The sessions with the Receptions were a fun and engaging experience. I strongly encourage this for further years and for it to start in Year 8 so that on their journey through primary school, they will have an experience to remember. I enjoyed the change from school to hanging out with the little kids as well as seeing them so proud to show off their favourite things around their campus.” – Sasha Corbo

“My experience with the Reception students was very fun and educational because it helped my leadership skills grow. My group did a scavenger hunt around the school, then joined with other Receptions and their leaders and played a friendly game of soccer with each other. This was an enjoyable moment and I can’t wait to see my reception buddies again.” – Giuseppe Cardillo

Mr Paul Flaherty, Year 8 Director

Year 9 Accelerated Italian Pen Pal Catch-up at Bottega Gelateria 

On Thursday Year 9 Italian was blessed with a beautiful sunny day, and an engaging opportunity to practice their Italian at Bottega Gelateria in Henley Square. Throughout Semester 2, the students have been corresponding with their pen pal from Nazareth College in Italian. Today they were able to meet in Piazza Henley, meet their pen pal for the first time, chat in Italian about their childhood memories and plans for the weekend.

After students met their pen pal, the Italian piazza experience would not have been complete without a stop at the gelateria. We were fortunate to have the owner, Adriano, open the store especially for the students so they could practice their Italian with a native speaker. Together with their pen pal, the students ordered a gelato of their choice in Italian, choosing from a wide variety of authentic flavours as the ice-cream is prepared daily just like it is in Italy.

After we walked along the jetty and enjoyed the sunshine with new friends, we returned to school, very proud of how far we’ve come in our Italian studies this year. Overall, it was a very enjoyable, relaxing morning where students could get a taste of La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life).

Ms Olivia Andreula, Italian Coordinator

Year 10 Advanced Manufacturing

This Semester the Year 10 Advanced Manufacturing students researched golf putters and then used the OnShape design program and 3D printers to create their own golf putter.  Students were able to use the 3D printers to create a prototype and then modify their designs to make improvements.  They found that the plastic putter heads were very light and therefore in some cases, students added pieces of solid metal to act as weights.

The Taylormade golf company were generous enough to supply us with merchandise to hand out to the best designs, and the thought of being hired to design their next putter was a huge incentive.  There were some very interesting and unique designs with Theo Kousiandis’ coming out on top as our overall Golf Putter Package winner. Other winners of a Taylormade hat were Sam Jarvis, Lewis Chambers, Daniel Porcaro and Steven Kassos.  Examples of their work will be sent to Taylormade.  Stay tuned to hear about any job opportunities that may arise from our results.

Mr Mark Stephens, Design & Technology Teacher

Year 11 Advanced Manufacturing

Students were challenged this semester to create flat pack furniture for children that could be added to the Year 12 Outdoor Construction subject’s cubby houses. This real-world context sparked some amazing ideas from students who worked in teams to use the design process and their understanding of modelling, 3D printing, the CNC Router and the Trotec laser cutter. The brief required students to plan their concepts within only 2 sheets of 9mm Plywood and to incorporate an interactive, fun and educational aspect. Some of the projects designed included a goat bookshelf, a crocodile table, an outer-space chair, a stove, a Christmas tree bookshelf and an elephant shaped microwave.

“I really did enjoy the challenges of this course as it allowed me to explore the software used in this area. I was even able to implement this into my own projects. I learnt how to use Onshape, Keyshot and the CNC cutter. Onshape allows you to implement your ideas into the virtual plane, allowing your vision to come to life, it’s useful for designing things like furniture or gifts and more. Keyshot allowed you to render your design in order to see what it would look like in the real world. The CNC cutter removes your need for IKEA, as you can simply make all your furniture at home.” – Amie Lu

“I thoroughly enjoyed this course throughout the year and enjoyed the challenges that came with it. They tested my problem-solving skills and thinking skills greatly.” – Mitchel Tassone

“New skills I learnt included the process of planning, designing, using Onshape, engineering drawings and assembly. These processes were useful as they challenged you to think critically and carefully about a design that you want to produce.” – Joshua Lucas

Ms Tess Morcom, Design & Technology Teacher

Breakfast Club

It was fun vibes as usual at a very special Breakfast Club last Thursday, when we farewelled our star trio of Year 12 helpers:  College Captains Massimo Cavallo, Avah Topp and College Vice Captain Rana Hussien. Each of them were rewarded for their efforts throughout the year with their very own Breakfast Club Pack including Vegemite, Jam, Honey and a personally engraved Specialty Butter Knife. Special mention also to Nicholas Costa, who always brightened people’s day with his barista skills on the coffee machine throughout the year. Whilst our Year 12’s will be missed; the entire Breakfast Club crew can be proud of the impact they have had within our College Community this year.

Breakfast Club takes place in the Food Tech Kitchen in the LEC every Thursday morning from approx. 8am-8:30am. It has grown into a significant weekly community event where hundreds of students attend each week for some tunes, fun atmosphere and various breakfast treats including toast, pancakes, fruit, juice, milk, and yoghurt. We look forward to working with the College Leaders elect over the next few weeks and 2023. Our final Breakfast Club for the year will take place on Thursday morning in Week 8.

The Breakfast Club Team – Ms Sarah Sokolovic, Administration Officer – Pastoral

2023 Leaders Elect Leadership Workshop

In Week 5, our 2023 Leaders Elect came together for a Leadership Workshop, in preparation for next year. In this workshop, they collaborated to work through scenarios to support College improvement and policy application.

Year 10 Charities Week Drop Off

Last Wednesday, a group of our Year 10 students dropped off donations that were collected from Year 10 students during Charities Week last Term to Foodbank.

In total, we had 50kg of food, which equates to 100 meals!

The students who assisted with the drop-off were:

  • Mikayla Roberts
  • Georgia Zajkov
  • Armani-Louise Rositano

Mr Aldo Calo, Year 10 Director

Year 9 Cultural Incursion

On Tuesday the 22nd of November, students who chose to study Italian this year had the opportunity to experience a traditional Pizza demonstration and tasting led by a pizzaiolo (pizza maker), Mattia Cirulli. Mattia is from Rome and has been living in Australia for 8 years, where he runs his own pizza cart business.

While Mattia impressively flipped the dough in the air, he explained the differences between Pizza Napoletana, which has a think base and Pizza Romana, which has a thicker crusty with a crispy exterior.

‘It was very deliziosa, had lots of flavour and the demonstration was fun to watch.’

  • Liliana

It was lovely to see the students engaging in an authentic Italian context and learning about quality over quantity, which is important not only when preparing food, but expands to all aspects of life in Italy. As Mattia says, pizza is not just about food, but about culture, tradition and passion.

Grazie mille!

Ms Olivia Andreula, Italian Coordinator

From Little Things, Big Things Grow… Acts of Kindness

This week the Year 7 and 8 Eco Squad began one of our biggest projects to date … creating acts of kindness as small gifts for 2023. Kindness is one of our character strengths and, as our Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader,  Tonia Carfora explained, being kind ‘helps our community to know, value and care for each other … [and that] … kindness also protects us from the negative effects of stress. Kindness makes us feel good. The Eco Squad is looking forward to being able to share these acts of kindness next year.

Ms Catherine Pearce, Robyn Palmer and Bridget Kearins, Eco Squad 

Year 7 Italian Animal Enclosure Diorama Creation

Last term all of the Year 7 students went on an excursion to the Adelaide Zoo as part of a cross curricular Science/Italian excursion.

As a follow up task and assessment, Mrs Giglio’s students had fun creating an animal enclosure diorama and then were asked to talk about it in Italian.

Students used the language they learnt on the excursion to describe the features of the animal, talk about what it was doing, where it was from and whether it was endangered or not. This was then presented orally.

The dioramas are currently on display in the library.

Ms Sara Giglio, Teacher 

Pastoral Care & Wellbeing

Pastoral Care & Wellbeing

Wellbeing Literacy Initiative in Years 7 – 9

“The goal is to turn data into information and information into insight.” – Carly Fiorina, former chief executive officer, Hewlett Packard

Recently Year Level Directors met to discuss the insight gained from the range of surveys we conducted across the community this year. As Cathy Fiorina indicates, data is essential to continuous improvement, and this is something we strive towards at St Michael’s. While the data was affirming in many ways, a number of areas have been identified by Year Level Directors as opportunities for growth that they will continue to develop and nurture in their cohorts through a range of age-appropriate strategies.

One of these is areas is wellbeing literacy. Simply put, this relates to how people communicate about their wellbeing and the strength of their awareness and understanding of strategies available to achieve it in their lives. Schools play an important role in developing their students’ ability to articulate wellbeing, both in Pastoral and Curriculum areas, as holistic learners. We know how important literacy is in general for student life outcomes. Wellbeing literacy elevates the importance and accessibility of wellbeing, as it allows people to have agency in nurturing both their wellbeing and those of others.

To this end, a new initiative is being trialled in Year 7 and 8 this term, as one example. With the generous support of Library staff, excerpts from a range of appropriate books have been distributed to 2 classes in each year level: 7B5, 7G3, 8G3 and 8B5. In moments during classes, and/or silent reading in English, students are encouraged to read the brief excerpts, discuss the ideas, and head to the library to borrow the book to read more, when convenient. The objective is for students to read about wellbeing, tools and language in context, have some dialogue around it, and also encourage strong readership, which, as we know is so fruitful in developing many qualities, including social intelligence, empathy and gratitude.

We look forward to sharing further insights of the journey ahead!

Ms Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

YEARS 7-9 WELLBEING CHARACTER STRENGTH FOCUS

Week 5:  CREATIVITY

Charles H Duell, once the commissioner of the US Patent Office, is quoted to have said that the patent office would shrink in size and eventually close because “everything that can be invented has been invented.” That was reported to have been in 1889!

Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? Whilst there is some controversy about who said this and the context, it raises some interesting ideas about Creativity and our ability to see beyond the horizon of current innovation. Either way, it seems hard to fathom that this could have been a genuine thought at the time, especially considering the volume of change that we have navigated since then!

There are many amazing examples of Creativity in the world, both past a present, beginning with creation. “In the beginning God created heaven and earth,” Genesis Ch. 1.

It’s true that we live a more comfortable and longer life because of Creativity, though in some cases it has complicated life too. We can all think of artists, musicians, scientists, inventors, builders, storytellers whose Creativity has had an impact on us. These include people like: Einstein, Da Vinci, Curie, Jobs, Spielberg, Rowling, Tolkien… those who disperse colour, hope and longevity into our lives, particularly in recent times. It’s sometimes easy for us to forget our COVID journey, but Creativity has been pivotal not only in finding health solutions but also in ensuring that life had as much sense of normality as possible and allowed us to maintain connections when the future was not clear.

At St Michael’s, we see amazing examples of Creativity in the learning experiences and opportunities offered to our students- not just in the vast range of curriculum areas in classrooms, but also outside of the classroom through many opportunities to grow, including Eco Squad and co-curricular areas. Being creative comes in many forms and can be in any environment. For our Eco Squad, it’s in designing and planting new garden beds. It’s in reusing old materials to create beautiful new items. It’s bringing colour and life into a previously unused space. That’s so significant!

Creativity is about taking our ideas and dreams and turning them into reality. People who are creative are often able to see hidden patterns, they connect things that may not seem related on the surface and create innovation. It’s a strength that supports problem-solving and is also highly appreciated by the business and employment world.

Sometimes Creativity can seem to occur accidentally, without us even trying. Many people have creative insights on the brink of sleep, whilst walking or in the shower, for example! I’m sure that many of us have experienced a lightbulb moment when we least expect it! It feels great- thank you brain!

Week 6: Kindness

Science evidences that Kindness is so good for our physical and mental health and is an instrumental building block for healthy relationships and community.

As a Catholic school in the Lasallian tradition, we often reflect on the teachings of St John Baptist de La Salle, who is also the patron saint of teachers. He is credited with establishing a philosophy and practice of teaching which encompasses the whole student, and which teaches the value of love and Kindness.  St John Baptist de La Salle was ahead of the game!

In truth, I believe that we are all inherently kind. Sometimes our intentions may get a bit confused, or we may not be at our best, and sometimes it’s also true that we can focus more on what’s wrong, rather than what’s right, so that the Kindness in front of us is not the first thing we see.

When I look around me in this community, I feel safe that we can look to the future in the hope of being forces of positive change.  Earlier this year our Kindness week worked to ‘immunise’ us against more negative behaviours such as bullying. The week focused on stronger awareness and promotion of this strength as Year 7s took a pledge to counter bullying behaviours with Kindness, led by their newly appointed class leaders, students in Year 8 and 9 swapped tokens such as Kindness cookies (made by Year 9 Food Tech students) focusing on what they admire in each other. Across the Campus, posters and visual reminders focused on the power of Kindness and its contribution as an agent of change in our community and the world. The posters remain in place as a reminder of the value we place on this strength.

Today in Chapel, as will Year 7 students later this week, Year 8 students focused on Jesus’ Kindness and recognized Kindness in the character Olaf from Frozen. They challenged their peers to work constructively on acts of Kindness this week, supported by an excellent clip featuring Simon Sinek, who spoke about the triple benefits of acts of Kindness. Sinek indicated that acts of Kindness bring positive emotions to the giver of the Kindness, to the recipient, but also to the onlooker! He encouraged us to imagine a world where each of us works towards a focus on Kindness and the consequences our actions can bring.

One of the fundamental teachings that we know of Jesus is to ‘love one another’– John 13:34. The wisdom of this advice prefaced the science of today by just a few years!

May we see and experience many acts of Kindness and have time to develop our Creativity and flow over the coming weeks! ?

Ms Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

Christmas – Advent

At Advent and Christmas, we celebrate the birth of our Lord, we give praise and thanks, we reconnect with family and friends. Beginning the Church’s liturgical year, Advent, (from Latin adventus, “coming”), is the four week period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. It starts on the Sunday 27th November and ends on the fourth Sunday before 25 December.

Advent Wreath

An advent wreath in our home or church is a reminder to prepare for the birth of Jesus at Christmas. When we light the candles on the wreath, it symbolises the coming of light (Jesus) into the world.

Candle 1 (violet): represents hope

Candle 2 (violet): represents peace

Candle 3 (rose): represents joy

Candle 4 (violet): represents love

 

 

The central white candle is lit on Christmas Day and represents Christ.

There is a link with guidance on how to make a wreath for your home and prayers you can say as a family.

Some interesting Advent web sites:

How to make your own advent wreath

Lasallian Advent reflections including videos created by Br. George Van Grieken, FSC

Advent Calendar

How Christmas is celebrated in countries around the world

History of the 12 Days of Christmas 

Mr Robert Dempsey, Director of Mission

Hutt Street Bake Sale

Hutt Street Hero would like to thank the St Michael’s community. “Great fundraising and we appreciate you choosing to help people experiencing homelessness.”

 

Careers and VET Services

Careers and VET Services

Year 12 Families

Students and parents would have received by email this week, a very detailed Final Careers Newsletter. If you did not receive this email please email rose.coorey@smc.sa.edu.au ASAP.

We hope that families have had a chance to look through this and are aware of key deadlines – the first being Monday, 28th of November.
We wish our students all the best in the final wrap and look forward to seeing our students realise their potential on SACE results day Monday 19th December and beyond..

Planning ahead Years 9 -11

Students should begin thinking about eligibility for Scholarships applied for during Year 12.

Many Scholarship applications ask for evidence of leadership, demonstration of authentic interest in particular areas, involvement in teams and community service. For scholarships such as the Tuckwell Scholarship at ANU there are points allocated for various types of Co and Extra curricular activities. See: https://tuckwell.anu.edu.au/
Scholarships to Bond University also require much depth. See: https://bond.edu.au/scholarship/excellence-scholarship

Not all scholarships are about high academic achievement. Many scholarships are also awarded on equity grounds and directed towards students from under represented backgrounds. It is never too early to start planning for ways to improve a student’s competitiveness.

We have recently emailed all students who have expressed an interest in Medicine, Dentistry or Oral Health pathways with information about ways they can get prepared. If any student who is interested in these pathways missed out on the email please email Ms Coorey: rose.coorey@smc.sa.edu.au

At various times throughout the year we invite students aiming for a Sports Scholarship in the USA to make an individual Careers Appointment. The subjects you select from Year 9 can impact on opportunities in the USA after Year 12.

We encourage all interested students to refer to the US Embassy Facebook Page as there is a wealth on information available: https://www.facebook.com/EducationUSAAustralia/

 

Big Opportunities:

We provide the information below for your family’s own consideration and assessment. We do not endorse or recommend such programs. All costs are paid for by the family’s.
2023 Duke at the ZOO Register your interest ASAP

Zoos South Australia is the first zoo in the world to be an accredited Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Centre.

The Zoos SA program is open to adventurers aged 16-20, and will run as a course parallel to the school year, February to November with classes at both Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park.

The program will involve participants developing skills to support the Adventurous Journey section of the Award as well as the Leadership component. In addition to this, all participants will complete the Service section of the Award with monthly activities at Monarto Safari Park. See : Dates and locations for more details.
https://www.zoossa.com.au/dukeatthezoo/

Defence Force Work Experience Opportunities for 2023 now open

For students in Year 11 or Year 12 in 2023.
See: https://www.defence.gov.au/jobs-careers/student-pathways/work-experience

Ms Rose Coorey, Career Counsellor