COLLEGE LEADER PROFILES

College Leader Mikayla Verrilli

As a leader I would describe myself as kind, generous, and friendly.

My favourite songs are any Taylor Swift song.

Someone I admire is my mum. She is kind, caring, and always puts everyone’s best interests before her own. Her love, strength, and resilience is so inspiring, and I aspire to be just like her.

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

The best thing about attending SMC is the community.

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

Leadership means to me to be caring, friendly, inclusive, and to give a voice to those who don’t have one.

I have a pet dog whose name is Snoopy.

This year as a College Leader I wish to be best known as kind, approachable, and hardworking.

A quote that I believe in is “If you’re happy doing what you’re doing, then no one can tell you that you’re not successful.”

A teacher at SMC I admire is Ms O’Hara. Her passion is so incredibly inspiring, and it radiates through her genuine love and care for each and every person that she interacts with. She is such an authentic person who is always ready to listen, make you laugh, and will always give the most of herself to help others achieve their goals.

Something interesting about me no one knows? I have 4 siblings!

College Leader Joshua Winston

As a leader I would describe myself as someone who leads by example and sets a standard for others to follow.

I am the proudest of always putting my hand up to help because it makes me feel good about myself knowing that I am helping others and making a difference.

My favourite TV program is Community.

My favourite band is Spacey Jane.

Someone I admire is Mark Mickan.

In my spare time I like to play football.

The best thing about attending SMC is the sense of community that the College has created.

One chore I don’t like doing is unpacking the dishwasher.

Leadership means to me giving a voice to those that are too afraid to speak up.

I have a pet Cat whose name is Mack.

To be a Lasallian Leader means upholding the school values which were heavily influenced by St John Baptist de La Salle.

This year as a College Leader I wish to be best known as a friendly face that is always up for a chat.

NAIDOC WEEK

NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week! Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have a proud history of getting up, standing up, and showing up for their culture. From colonial settlement that resulted in the frontier wars, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and all Australians continue to fight for change today.

This year’s theme is: Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! for systemic change and to keep rallying and supporting all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There are many Issues that need addressing and solutions which include: Seeking proper environmental, cultural and heritage protections, Constitutional change, a comprehensive process of truth-telling, working towards treaties, or calling out racism. To achieve solutions we all need to do it together. A genuine commitment by all Australians to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and support and secure institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative reforms should be our goal.

Our community celebrates this week by becoming more understanding of our Indigenous Culture. We learn more through our ‘daily notices’ that provide information about NAIDOC and how we can support our Indigenous People. Posters explaining what NAIDOC means where forwarded to all PC classes as well as our internal TV screens which carried the theme of NAIDOC. Year 7 History students participated in a VR Indigenous Experience and our SMC community had the opportunity to try Kangaroo Sliders. Students from Mrs Becky Parker’s Year 9 Food Technology classes came together to prepare and cook 200 of the sliders served with a bush tomato chutney. This BBQ allowed students at St Michael’s College to try new and unfamiliar flavours.

Teachers receive a range of the most recent Indigenous resources to deliver in class, and a special thanks to Ms Ebony Brouwers and her Year 8 Girls Pastoral class for making a NAIDOC themed wreath for their classroom to celebrate the week.

We should also celebrate the many who have driven and led change in our communities over generations. We should aim to move beyond Acknowledgement and good intentions. The relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non‑Indigenous Australians needs to be based on justice, equity, and the proper recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights.

Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!

Mr Andrew Spencer, Indigenous Coordinator

YEAR 12 DRAMA PERFORMANCE

This week, Final Act Theatre (Year 12 Drama) performed in their major production The Long Christmas Dinner. Thornton Wilder’s timeless masterpiece invites audiences to partake in ‘one long, happy Christmas dinner’ – past, present, and future. Over 90 years of Bayard Christmas’ showcase how generations appear, have children, wither, and depart. Only the audience can appreciate what changes and what remains the same. 90 dinners compressed into this short one-act positions viewers to pause and reflect on their own families, what has been lost to us and ultimately, what Christmas truly means for each of us.

Over the course of the last three years this group of fourteen have built a bond that truly resembles that of family. It has been an absolute pleasure watching this group evolve not only as artists, but as young people into adults where their commitment to the Arts, their innovation, and their support of one another is unwavering. Congratulations to all involved!

Ms Rhiannon O’Hara, English & Drama Teacher

YEAR 7 VS YEAR 8 SOCCER RECAP

As Term 2 draws to an end, a friendly soccer match was organised by Year 7 soccer coach, Mr Nolan Naicker, for the Year 7 and year 8 boys soccer teams. This matchup has been in the talks since the beginning of the season and with no training or games scheduled for the final week of the term, it was the perfect opportunity to put both teams to the test. Unlike other friendly games, this game had more than bragging rights up for grabs. Utilising the College’s 3D printers, a replica Premier League trophy was produced which took 16 hours to create! This had both teams itching for the win on game day.

To keep the match fair with the obvious age and size differences between the two teams, we started with the Year 7’s 2-0 ahead. From kick-off to the final whistle, the competition was great with the Year 7 team opening the scoring stretching their lead to 3-0. The Year 8 side quickly responded bringing the score to 3-1 at half-time. The Year 8’s came out firing from all directions scoring two goals early in the second half leveling the score and late in the second half the Year 7’s snagged another goal to steal the lead with only minutes remaining. In the final 8 seconds of the match, a handball was given inside the box against the Year 7’s, which then gave the Year 8 team a chance to level and send the game into a penalty shootout.

A cool, calm and composed penalty was taken, forcing the game to a penalty shootout to decide who would bear the trophy for the first time. The penalty shoot-out was a rollercoaster of emotions, but at the end of the day, the Year 7 team emerged victorious and were deserving of the opportunity to lift the SMC Premier League Trophy for the first time. With such a positive response from students, there will definitely be more of these events to come! Click here to watch the video!

Mr Nolan Naicker, Year 7 Soccer Coach and Design & Technology Teacher

YEAR 7 AND 8 VISUAL ARTS

This term in Year 7 Art, students have investigated Japanese Ukiyo-e art and developed skills and techniques using watercolour. I have had the pleasure of witnessing the process of many students gaining confidence in sketching and painting, who were surprised by their own skills and what they can achieve. The focus for Year 8 Art students was Mexican art, particularly Sugar Skulls which are an icon for the Day of the Dead festival. Students sketched, created, and painted their own Sugar Skull designs, which is a long process. The results of their work were brilliant as you can see below!

Mr Dylan Welford, Visual Art & Design Teacher

AUSTRALIAN ARMY CADETS AT ST MICHAEL’S COLLEGE

The Australian Army Cadets (AAC) is a leading national youth development organisation, which is enabled and supported by the Army and supervised by adult volunteers from schools and the community. Cadets not only participate, but also have opportunities to develop their abilities and lead their peers, to prepare them for success in their chosen future careers.

The AAC is a diverse organisation open to young people of all abilities, which seeks to build key attributes within youth by instilling a sense of identity, purpose and belonging through providing challenging opportunities, in a safe manner, that encourage fun and friendship. It creates an environment where young people, regardless of their gender or background, can come together to learn new life skills, make new friends and reach their full potential.

Cadets assist in organising and leading activities, work as a member of a team, and represent the AAC at community events such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies at local RSL Associations and SMC. 422 Army Cadet Unit (ACU) St Michael’s College, incorporates the values of the College as well as those of our founder, St John Baptist de La Salle, to provide an inclusive environment which is welcoming and supportive of all.

422ACU provides opportunities for Cadets to participate in ‘real’ roles that are recognised and skilled, enabling them to exercise leadership through holding key appointments in the unit and teaching lessons to other levels of Cadets. Similarly, Cadets feel a sense of accomplishment by completing challenging activities. For example, in May this year, our Cadets attended a bivouac (camp) at Woodside Barracks where they conducted ‘picket’ duties, completed a navigation exercise and supervised a vehicle check point. There are a variety of adventure opportunities offered during each year, such as this October when, during the school holidays, the AAC will be running ‘Exercise Rising Sun’ and inviting all units from South Australia. This week-long bivouac is fully funded by the Army and has many Elective Courses including; Patrol, Medics, Signals, Engineers, Pipes & Drums, Catering, Media, Mechanics, Drones, Weapons, Amphibious, Survival, and Tier 3 Advanced.

Any students, parents or guardians who would like to find out more, are invited to attend our Information Evening on Wednesday, 27 July 6pm-7pm in the LEC Auditorium.

422 ACU: Cadets at Woodside Barracks during the bivouac “Ex Blackadder”.

YEAR 8 SILENT FILM FESTIVAL – SEMESTER 1 AWARD WINNERS!

It gives me great pleasure to announce the winners of this semester’s Year 8 Drama, Silent Film Festival.

The Silent Film task helps students to develop essential, transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, creativity, and empathy. The winners of this semester’s competition have demonstrated all these skills in abundance while also delivering highly original and engaging storylines not to mention successfully grappling with film technologies – well done, all!

The winning films have met the following criteria: melodramatic elements, plot structure and character types, student performances which are consistent, successful use of intertitles, music and sound effects, a strong overall aesthetic (cinematography and editing), as well as pace, structure, and flow.

Congratulations to the following production teams!

1^st place – The Games Monster
by Anelise Bewry, Jessica Squeo, Charlotte Jackson, Remi O’Neill, Courtney Redden and Ruby Rohrlach

Great sound editing and use of a wide range of camera shot types, highly creative use of lighting and a highly original storyline.

2^nd place – Haunted House
by Chloe Riley, Aeisha Wood, Tammara Bone and Kayla Harradine

Excellent editing with some clever shot transitions, fusion of cinematic styles including some great horror techniques.

3^rd place – Jealous Jimmy
by Ashley Vuyk, Jessica Saulters and Violet McGlade

Great use of the Silent Film conventions including title cards, music as well as some excellent acting!

A big thank you to the Semester 1 Year 8 Drama teachers, Mr Mosca and Ms Kollevris. The award winners will receive a certificate and prize at the beginning of Term 3.

Ms Danii Zappia, Drama Coordinator

SEMESTER 1 DANCE SHOWCASE

The Semester 1 2022 Dance Showcase was presented on Friday 1 July at The Parks Theatre with students from Year 7 through to Year 12 performing. It was an outstanding evening of skill, talent, and immense joy had by all who were involved on and off the stage. Congratulations to all on an amazing performance!

Ms Hayley Kollevris, Dance Coordinator

YEAR 12 SEMINAR DAY 2

On Friday of Week 9, Year 12 students attended Seminar Day 2 at the Christian Family Centre, led by Glen Gerreyn.

Glen is a highly sought-after motivational speaker whose mission is to educate young people to face adversity confidently and make positive life choices. Glen’s interactive presentation allows students to reflect on the effects that external influences and personal perceptions have on the individual. By encouraging critical thinking, students are prompted to counteract negativity and make informed, healthy choices regarding their studies and future pathways.

The Year 12 students in attendance enjoyed the company of their peers and Pastoral Care teachers, capping off the day with a shared lunch before an early dismissal heading into the weekend. Glen’s presentation is dynamic and challenging; one of the highlights of the Year 12 Pastoral Care Program.

Mr Mark Labrosciano, Year 12 Director

YEAR 7 ART – CHARACTER STRENGTHS MEET CHARACTER DESIGN

In Term 2 Mr De Lorenzis’ Year 7 Visual Art class (from 7BPC-05) learnt how to draw the human figure ‘the Marvel way’. Once students had bolstered their drawing skills, they created their own superheroes or ‘antiheroes’. At St Michael’s College, a foundation of the Pastoral Care curriculum, is focused on identifying character strengths and how to best use them to maximise success. The students’ comic book characters and their respective backstories, also needed to incorporate the character strengths and virtues that they most identified with. Please enjoy these four selected works by Logan, Toby, Jakov and Archie. Greak work everyone!

Mr David de Lorenzis, Italian, Digital Technologies and Visual Arts Teacher

YEARS 7-9 WELLBEING CHARACTER STRENGTH FOCUS

Week 10: 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, as elsewhere in our world, we embrace NAIDOC week and we actively work to work towards better outcomes for all members of our community, under the caring and expansive guidance of Mr Spencer. In Years 7 to 9, we also recently viewed a performance called The Hurting Game, by Brainstorm Productions. Kindness features strongly 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!

We can look to the future in the hope of being forces of positive change. Earlier this year our kindness week focused on stronger awareness and promotion of this strength as Year 7 students took a pledge to counter bullying behaviours with kindness, led by their newly appointed class leaders. Students in Year 8 and 9 also 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. This week our first Wild Wednesday lunch, which involved students in Year 7 and 8 coming together based on common interest areas, also led the way to a team-based experience laden with kindness – and a pizza lunch to top it off! Please see the separate article this week.

In a recent article in The Advertiser, it was affirmed that science proves that kindness benefits everyone. It spoke about kindness “being the new ‘cool’” and went on to highlight a study that involved over 60,000 people from more than 144 countries, one of which was Australia. The results indicated that those who give, receive or even notice acts of kindness have higher wellbeing and life satisfaction.

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

Have a wonderful holiday 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.

HISTORY SUSHI LUNCH

The spirits of a Year 8 girls History class improved significantly after lunch as they were provided with a sushi tasting to complete the unit on Japan under the Shoguns. The students proved to be quite skilled in the art of using chopsticks, some for the first time. The lunch was a special occasion for Daniella who had never tried sushi before, describing it as “weird and sticky.” Other comments from the self-taught food critics included “delicious and very educational”, “amazing”, and “speaks volumes about Japanese culture”.

Mr Dylan Welford, Visual Art & Design Teacher

HUTT STREET HOMELESS WINTER APPEAL

9BPC-06 “Helping the Homeless”

This picture below was taken in Adelaide and shows where someone slept last night. On an extremely cold and wet night, a person found this to be the safest place to shelter. This person is a son or daughter of a family that may not even know they are sleeping outside at night.

Although we don’t know the reasons or circumstances that led them to here, we can empathise with their plight, and we can help as Lasallians. At the end of the day, we just need to know that this homeless person in our community needs our support because we care and value all people in our community.

As a Lasallian community we have a responsibility to look after and walk alongside each other and to support those who we may never meet, but we know need our help.

Thank you to everyone in 9BPC-06 class, and their families, for taking time to think of others and to offer a donation that will support the Hutt Street Homeless. Following on from this initiative, the Year 9 cohort decided to raise funds in addition to the money raised by 9BPPC-06 which will be donated as a year level.

The donation will support the homeless who may be one of more than 850 cold, hungry people who will walk through The Hutt Street Centre’s doors each month and will help pay for two months of: ? Nutritious meals; ? Showers and laundry facilities; ? Access to medical services like GPs, nurses and eye clinics; ? Secure lockers to store personal items; ? Referrals and other supports for a path out of homelessness.

St John Baptist de La Salle; Pray for Us. Leave Jesus in our Hearts; Forever.

Mr Andrew Spencer, Indigenous Coordinator

WILD WEDNESDAY LUNCH

On Wednesday afternoon, approximaetly 40 Year 7 and Year 8 students joined together for a team challenge for Wild Wednesday. Working in teams based on their common interests, they charged off to the Mission Impossible theme on an ‘Amazing Race’. Team Orange checked in first with all components ticked off and even had a secret handshake! Students then celebrated with a shared pizza lunch.

We look forward to coming together again next term for a bowling challenge.

Mrs Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

POWER TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PROGRAM (PORT ADELAIDE FOOTBALL CLUB)

We are excited to be in partnership with Port Power who have requested to present their Power to End Violence Against Women Program to a select group of our senior students in Years 11 and 12.

This program will run over two afternoons with two groups of approximately 60 students who will partake in the program. Port Power offer this program as a primary prevention program developed to raise awareness around the issue of violence against women and promote respectful relationships to young men and women across schools in South Australia.

These programs were developed with Centacare Catholic Family Services and the Department for Education, the Power to End Violence Against Women program aligns with a vision for young men and women to foster healthy attitudes to relationships and to challenge entrenched attitudes that can contribute to gender-based violence empowered works with female students in Years 11 and 12 with a focus on promoting a positive sense of self and identity.

The program provides an opportunity to discuss the key drivers of violence such as rigid gender roles and stereotypes while exploring healthy and unhealthy relationships. In doing so, the program will not only empower young women, but build their capacity to understand and address the drivers of violence while providing access to resources for support. The programs use the power of sport as a catalyst for social change, with a vision for young men and women to foster healthy attitudes to relationships and to change social conditions from which violence and unhealthy relationships may arise.

We are thankful for being selected to be a part of this program and we look to updating our community about the success of this program with dates to be provided soon. We believe that this will be a great program for our young people to undertake and use in their own relationships, now and into the future.

Mr Matthew Williams, Deputy Principal Pastoral

YEAR 12 EXAM PROTOCOLS

• Students should be ready to enter Exam Room 15 minutes before the starting time. Please assemble in the adjacent courtyard; for example for all morning exams, please assemble by 8:40am, sign the attendance sheet outside the room and you will be directed from there.
• Students are not to enter the Exam Room until invited to do so.
• Students are to ensure that all the necessary equipment has been obtained for the Exam. NOborrowing will be permitted. NO pencil cases allowed.
• Where the exam is undertaken in electronic format, students are responsible for ensuring their laptop is fully charged and updated and wired headphones only are used if required (check requirements with Subject Teacher).
• Students plagiarizing will have their paper cancelled. However, the Exam must be completed. Obviously final assessment will be adversely affected.
• No student will be permitted to leave the Exam Room before the appointed finishing time.
• The allowance for Reading Time varies depending upon the particular exam. Students must listen carefully to instructions from the invigilator regarding reading time. All notes must be written on the sheet supplied ONLY.   Before the Exam, consideration should be given as to how best to use this time.  Check with teachers if uncertain.
• If a student is ill and unable to attend, a phone call must be made to Mr O’Reilly, ideally prior to the commencement of the exam.
• Full College uniform is required for all exams, including compliance with the Uniform Code.
• Students are encouraged to bring a dictionary into the examination room but only unmarked dictionaries are to be used.
• Students will not be required for formal lessons during the exam week. Instead, private study should take place at home.
• Graphic calculators need to be cleared for subjects other than Mathematics.
• For online exams students will need to clear their laptops of any unnecessary files, undertake a complete shutdown and restart the night before the exam to avoid being disrupted by updates, and ensure their laptops are fully charged.
• Mobile phones are NOT permitted.Teachers will not be responsible for these during the examination period.

Please note that Year 10 and Year 11 exam results will be released via SEQTA in early Term 3.