GET TO KNOW OUR COLLEGE LEADERS AND HOUSE CAPTAINS

College Leader William Jordan

As a leader I would describe myself as inclusive, passionate, kind, and approachable.

My favourite TV program is The Office.

In my spare time I like to listen to music.

One chore I don’t like doing is changing my bedsheets.

Leadership means to me to set an example that encourages people to reach their greatest potential and thrive towards a unifying set of values, to create positive change, and to hold a positive influence.

I have two pet dogs whose names are Sylvie and Ollie.

To be a Lasallian Leader means setting a good example to the St Michael’s College community and upholding the Lasallian core principles of faith, respect, service, and community.

This year as a College Leader I wish to be best known as a leader who positively contributed to the initiatives and influences of the college leadership team.

If I could create one change for SMC in 2021 it would be to encourage more students from secondary years to take on leadership roles.

A teacher at SMC I admire is Mrs Papuc because she is funny, kind, and knowledgeable.

Solomon House Captain Chelsea Liu

As a leader I would describe myself as bubbly, encouraging, positive, friendly and always happy to have a chat.

My favourite artist is The Weekend.

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

The best thing about attending SMC is always feeling welcomed and appreciated through the school community.

Leadership means to me setting an example for others through inspiring and motivating them into doing the best they can.

I have a pet dalmatian whose name is Jess.

A person I most admire is my mum for her unconditional support and love. She inspires me to help others as she is one of the most caring, hardworking people I have met, always putting others first. Love you mum!

A quote that I believe in is “Change is an opportunity to do something amazing”.

Something funny that has happened to me was I fell off a diving block during a school swimming competition and ended up with countless bruises!

A teacher at SMC I admire is Mr Biggs because he likes to have a laugh and has an easy-going demeanor that makes learning more enjoyable.

YEAR 7 ARTWORK WITH A FOCUS ON PATTERNS

Using a combination of Tribal Art, Mandalas, Psychedelic Art and Pop-Art, students from 7BPC-05 used their drawing, colouring, and pattern work skills to create these awesome pieces! Enjoy!

Mr David de Lorenzis, Teacher – Secondary

YEAR 7 AND YEAR 12 HISTORY COLABORATION

On Tuesday 10 May, Mrs Howat’s Year 7 History class had the opportunity to learn from Ms Porcelli’s Year 12 Ancient Studies class. The Year 7s are currently learning about Ancient Egypt, and as the Year 12s have already studied Egypt earlier this year, they were willing to lend their expertise. Students worked together to learn the process of mummification and the significance of this to the Egyptians. This was a great opportunity for the bookends of the College to both work and spend time together!

“On Tuesday some of the year 12 students kindly shared their time to teach our class more about mummification and the history of Ancient Egypt. It was great experience as I was able to learn more about Ancient Egyptians’ beliefs about Gods, their traditions around mummification and the way they went about life to enhance their chances of being able to go to the afterlife”.  – Amber (Year 7)

“On 10 May, a few of the year 12’s shared their knowledge about Ancient Egypt with our class. I found it interesting because we were able to learn about ancient Egyptian’s beliefs, how they worship and please gods, their traditions and how they are prepared for the afterlife”. – Chloe (Year 7)

“Working with the Year 7 history class was a great experience! It was a fantastic opportunity to create connections with the younger year levels while teaching them some of the knowledge we have learnt throughout Ancient Studies. I loved chatting to them about history as it is a passion of mine, and it was brilliant to see their reaction to the crazy myths and practices that the ancient Egyptians participated in”. – Anah (Year 12)

Ms Anna Porcelli, Year 11 Director, and Mrs Joanne Howat, Year 10 DIrector

NAPLAN: YEARS 7 AND 9

NAPLAN for Years 7 and Year 9 will be conducted in weeks 2 and 3 of this term.

Students must:

NAPLAN Online testing will take place during weeks 2 and 3 of Term 2:  May 11, 16 and 17 May.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:

• Laptops must be fully charged.
• Laptops must be restarted (updates run if applicable) each day of the week during PC
• Students must bring Headphones (wired only – no airpods permitted
• Pen or Pencil – note paper supplied
• Students must be on time.

Students are NOT permitted to bring into their tests any of the following:

• Rulers
• Books, including dictionaries
• Mobile phones / air pods
• Protractors/mathematics templates
• Calculators

HOMEWORK CLUB TERMS 2 AND 3

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 3:30-4:30pm in the library.

A great opportunity for students to set up the habit of doing homework straight after school or improving study habits. During this time, there will be teachers present to assist students with their work.

Mrs Maria Pepe-Micholos, Head of Library

YEARS 7-9 WELLBEING CHARACTER STRENGTH FOCUS

Week 2: Social Intelligence

“The single most important lesson I learned in 25 years of talking every single day to people, was that there’s a common denominator in our human experience. The common denominator I found in every single interview is we want to be validated. We want to be understood.” – Oprah Winfrey

Social Intelligence is the ability to understand our emotions and those of others around us; to perceive what makes us and them ‘tick’. It helps us to build relationships and navigate social environments with family, friends, colleagues and even complete strangers. It helps us to be aware of the emotions and the motives of both ourselves and other people, past and present, and can help us to regulate our responses, so that we can carry ourselves comfortably in different social contexts. Think of the person you know who times a joke brilliantly or delivers the perfect compliment – these are examples of social intelligence at work!

Sometimes people who have strong social intelligence can come across as confident or we might see them as having ‘strong people skills’. Often, they also usually enjoy helping others to manage complex social situations and feel comfortable in addressing challenges they may face.

Interestingly, the strong relationships that can develop as a result of social intelligence can have an impact on our physical health as the science says that our immune system actually improves and this helps us fight disease, so we can see the importance of growing this strength. In Braving the Wilderness, Brené Brown shares that loneliness and weak relationships are some of the major sources of stress, health problems and depression, and living with loneliness increases our risk of premature death by an enormous 45%!

How can we develop social intelligence and allow for our relationships with others to be more meaningful and genuine?

For our young people, it’s tricky as they often don’t regulate or read emotions accurately as a result of the physical stage of brain development- we’ve learned a lot more about this as a result of technology and research in the last 20 years.

We can reflect on social situations and our own behavior and responses, learning from our successes and failures, and importantly, we can reflect on the manner people around us who really make us feel listened to and affirmed. What is it that they do that allows us to leave that conversation feeling valued and cared for as though we really matter?

At St Michael’s on most days, we would have conversations around social intelligence in classrooms all over the campus! In addition, many other activities build on this capacity. This week we see the first of the workshops for Girls’ classes in Year 7-9, in our Enlighten Education workshop on Friday for Year 8 Girls. This program works constructively to build social intelligence, conflict resolution skills and self-awareness and confidence. Further to this, in Year 7 Mass this week, Fr Paul spoke about the reactions of the apostles and Mary when they discovered Jesus’ body missing from the tomb at Easter. Our Year 9’s have worked on representing their combined Character Strengths, and this involved teamwork, creativity and social intelligence! On Tuesday morning Year 10 students were lucky to have the opportunity to gather to participate in the presentation of Poetry in Action– a performance which focused on the poetry of Wilfred Owen and his experiences of war as a young man. I know students would have left this session with a much stronger insight into the value and accessibility of poetry and the experiences of a generation so far removed from their own. It was hard not to be emotionally engaged by the performance!

Harper Lee wrote the character of Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. One of his famous lines … “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” captures beautifully the value of all of these experiences in the building of social intelligence.

The rich learning experiences of each day can help us to understand our individual experiences, emotions and responses better, and really can help us know, value and care for each other, and become the learners and leaders of the world.

Hoping we all have a happy and healthy week 2!

Mrs Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader