GET TO KNOW OUR COLLEGE LEADERS AND HOUSE CAPTAINS

College Leader Lina Ciampa

As a leader I would describe myself as kind, respectful, compassionate, diligent, and dedicated.

My favourite TV program is Emily in Paris.

My greatest sporting moment was winning the Best and Fairest awardfor my Year 9 netball team.

Someone I admire is my Nonna.

My favourite book is Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch.

In my spare time I like to spend time with friends and family.

The best thing about attending SMC is the amazing, caring, and supportive teachers.

One chore I don’t like doing is dusting.

Leadership means to me showing kindness to all and having courage.

This year as a College Leader I wish to be best known as compassionate.

Something funny that has happened to me was when I was six years old and went to a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in the United States, I came up on the big screen eating a giant turkey leg!

A teacher at SMC I admire is Ms Porcelli because I admire her kindness and intelligence.

MacKillop House Captain Holly Dini

As a leader, I would describe myself as someone who is committed and supportive.

 My favourite TV programs are Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice.

 My greatest sporting moment was making the U23 Australian Squad for lacrosse.

 My favourite band is One Direction.

 In my spare time I like to walk my dog.

 One chore I don’t like doing is washing the dishes.

 I have a pet dog whose name is Buddy.

 To be a Lasallian Leader means to uphold the Lasallian spirit.

 This year as a House Captain I wish to be best known as approachable and inclusive.

 A person I most admire is my mum.

 A quote that I believe in is “If it doesn’t matter in five years, it doesn’t matter at all”.

 A teacher at SMC I admire Mrs Papuc because she cares about her students and is a funny person!

YEAR 8 SEMESTER 1 CLASS LEADERS

Congratulations to the following Year 8 students on their appointments as Semester 1 Class Leaders:

8BPC-01 – Noah Parfrey and Fletcher Tape
8BPC-02 – Mikhail Kupeckyj and Harrison Sykes
8BPC-03 – Jasper Gargula and Kristan Tsoulakis
8BPC-04 – Franco Esposito and Remy Spells
8BPC-05 – Domenico Portolesi, Michael Sergi, and Dimitrios Tsaconas
8BPC-06 – Cooper Raftery and Rocco Rositano

8GPC-01 – Sasha Corbo and Deanna Skordas
8GPC-02 – Lara Jolly and Jasmine McCaffrey
8GPC-03 – Anelise Bewry and Matilda Grant
8GPC-04 – Jacqueline-Marie Davies-Morgante, and Ava Mackenzie
8GPC-05 – Scarlett Brown, Isabella Dragani, and Imogen Robinson

Mr Paul Flaherty, Year 8 Director

YEAR 9 FOOD TECHNOLOGY EXCURSION

Last week the Year 9 Food Technology cohort were lucky enough to attend Sprout Cooking School. The students were able to showcase their knife and culinary skills and created healthy, fresh, and tasty meals that could easily be recreated at home utilising seasonal produce. Students cooked Chicken Korma with fresh Naan bread and Sweet Ricotta Tarts with Grape Compote.

Mrs Becky Parker, Food Technology Teacher

YEAR 9 ITALIAN TRACES OF ITALY EXCURSION

In Week 6 and 7, Year 9 Italian classes spent a day looking for traces of Italy in the Adelaide city centre. As they explored the area between Victoria Square and the North Terrace cultural precinct, they discovered the Italian influences in Adelaide’s design, architecture, public artwork, and food. Students learned about and viewed the Italiannate architectural features on many buildings, such as the keystones on the Adelaide Town Hall, and the many columns that adorn the facades of significant buildings like Parliament House, The Magistrates Court and the Art Gallery, to name but a few.

They learned about the connection between the Bronze pigs in Adelaide and the Wild boar in Florence, and the scandal caused by the copy of Canova’s sculpture of Venus, outside Government House, which was the first public sculpture erected in Adelaide.

Some students enjoyed a variety of pasta dishes and pizza at the iconic Lucia’s Pizza & Spaghetti Bar, which was one of the first pizzerie to open in the 1950s during the wave of Italian immigration.

“The Italian excursion to the city was an enjoyable and unique opportunity to learn how the Italian culture has influenced the Adelaide skyline and culture. We were not aware of how prominent the Italian architectural style could be seen in Adelaide’s buildings, like Parliament House and The Supreme Court. Our favourite part was having lunch in the market and being amongst all the different foods. We would definitely recommend this excursion as something for future Year 9 students of Italian to look forward to.” – Liliana Walsh (9GPC-01)

Ms Olivia Andreula, Italian Coordinator

YEARS 7-9 WELLBEING CHARACTER STRENGTH FOCUS

Week 7: Kindness

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.

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.

This week at St Michael’s we remember National Close the Gap Day and National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. As we know, the subject matter of both of these days has caused and continues to cause deep seated pain and hurt. Exclusion, inequity and bullying can have long lasting negative impacts on all people involved, and we actively work to address these issues at St Michael’s both proactively and reactively in many ways, including strong and relevant Pastoral Care learning experiences and interventions. Though no intervention alone is the be all and end all, kindness can be a protective strength in both of these areas. For one thing, it can help us to manage our social media contributions so that they do not hurt or offend. When we are reminded to post in kindness and with prudence, we know that this does help to avoid exclusion, offence or hurt, and helps us to work towards being the community where each person is known, valued and cared for. This is true both across the digital space and in person too!

While we cannot undo the hurt of the past, we can look to the future in the hope of being forces of positive change. This week while students across the senior campus were invited to review the impact of Bullying and Violence working with resources provided by Bullying No Way, students in the Junior Years also engaged with activities to promote kindness. 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. Staff wore t-shirts in a visual display of similar sentiments, and each day students were encouraged towards acts of kindness. A kindness call out recorded acts of kindness that have been experienced by staff and students of the College and these were then represented in a stunning visual display by our Communications and Community Relations Team for all the community to enjoy. Year 12 Student Leaders gave up their lunchtime to help raise the display. Some of the acts of kindness included:

“Today in class a student turned up after extended absence. Another student was well ahead on the assignment and sat down with the student and supported her in catching up on what had been missed”.

“Recently I’ve been feeling a little down and my Mum has been there for me to cheer me up!”

“My friend bought me a cookie because I forgot my lunch money”.

Our new bathrooms in the LaSalle courtyard were also opened, and we celebrated the kindness and generosity of students who had been involved in the planning process over a period of many months.

At a time when the news is laden with discussion around vaccines, kindness, it would seem, can almost be seen as a sort of vaccine in potentially hurtful situations; effectively having the capacity to avoid ill feeling, injustice, exclusion and offense, especially when employed in tandem with other strengths.

Hugh Mackay, author of The Kindness Revolution comments that “a kindness revolution could lead to a more energetic commitment to reconciliation with our First Peoples, or a more humane response to people who come here legitimately seeking asylum or a more determined effort to eradicate poverty and homelessness- to say nothing of more urgent action in the face of the effects of climate change. Might we finally stamp out racism, sexism, ageism?”. All such important issues for the future of our children, for our world and for their capacity to become the learners and leaders they choose to be.

Mackay also discusses a Gospel story we all remember- the story of the loaves and the fishes where Jesus feeds 5000 people, and still has food left over.  In some ways, Mackay suggests, kindness is like this. We can spread it all around and still have plenty to spare. It seems to regenerate, just like the loaves and fishes seemed to do. When we share kindness, we leave people feeling better than they did before, and we feel good about this too. The people we share kindness with can also be inspired to share their own kindness and before we know it, we have a wave of kindness – acts of kindness perpetuated by those whose lives or hearts we touched– as St John Baptist de La Salle would say. Hopefully this week, some hearts were touched and the momentum created will continue to pay it forward!

Have a wonderful Week 7 and weekend ahead – may we see and experience many acts of kindness!

Mrs Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

References: Hugh Mackay The Kindness Revolution. Allen And Unwin, 2021.

THE SANTOS SCIENCE EXPERIENCE

A nationwide STEM outreach program for Years 9 and 10 students

The Santos Science Experience is a three-day hands-on science activities program. Their aim is to inform students of the importance of science and technology while stimulating and heightening their interests in a wide range of science disciplines and career opportunities, encouraging further studies in the sciences, while at the same time giving them a ‘taste’ of university/tertiary life.

They offer the following programs in South Australia this year.

10 – 12 August 2022 – University of South Australia, Mount Gambier

27 – 29 September 2022 – University of South Australia, Whyalla

22 – 24 November 2022 – University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes

6 – 8 December 2022 – Flinders University, Adelaide

13 – 15 December 2022 – University of Adelaide, Adelaide

There is no selection process and students can enrol online at www.scienceexperience.com.au. Cost is $190 per student, and there are some sponsored places available through Rotary or the National office.

Further information can be obtained by calling 03 9756 7534 or email admin@scienceexperience.com.au