Absentee Line - Text 0417 596 611 or Phone Primary 8150 2397, Secondary 8150 2323 or Email student.reception@smc.sa.edu.au

Secondary Campus

GET TO KNOW OUR COLLEGE LEADERS
YEARS 7 -12 STUDENT/PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Thursday 19 August
10:00 am to 7:30 pm

NO CLASSES ARE HELD ON THIS DAY. DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS, THESE INTERVIEWS WILL NOW BE HELD ONLINE.

An email containing information regarding the process was sent to Parents/Caregivers on Friday 6 August.

Summary of Dates/Times:

Monday 16 August 9:00 am    Program will close for generation of appointments.

Monday 16 August 3:00 pm    Schedules emailed to Parents/Caregivers. Appointments can be modified if required.

Wednesday 18 August              Final close of program in preparation for interviews.

Thursday 19 August                  Interviews will be conducted online.

While every attempt will be made to ensure all requests are allocated, due to high demand and constraints of the program, not all requests may be met. In order to facilitate the process, please make requests wisely, identifying those teachers with whom you most need to have discussion. Please be assured that should you have any concerns during the term, you are always most welcome to contact staff via email.

To make the most of this opportunity it is important to be prepared. Before your interview, plan specific questions you wish to ask and identify factors of which teachers may need to be aware. The interview process is an opportunity for a two-way discussion where the interests of your child are important considerations for both parties. We also strongly encourage students to attend the interviews in order to enhance the conversation and to hear constructive feedback firsthand. After the interview it is important for parents to follow up on matters discussed at the meeting with their son or daughter. Acknowledge strengths, identify areas where improvements can be made and encourage your child to take responsibility for his/her own learning.

We look forward to seeing you and your child on your selected day.

Mr Gavin O’Reilly, Director of Assessment and Curriculum

YEARS 7-9 LEARNING AND WELLBEING CHARACTER STRENGTH FOCUS

Week 4: Hope

Apart from COVID updates on the news, and the inspiring reports on the competition at the Olympics, at the time of writing this, media attention has turned to the tragic news of the fires in Greece. The devastating impact of climate change, temporarily hiding behind COVID’s shadow, has once again resurfaced in our conversations.

We can all remember our vulnerability to fire as a country in the wake of past disasters, and the fear and destruction caused to the Australian flora, fauna and people. But despite the memories of loss and hurt following the last bushfires, we have other associated memories that offer us something very different to despair.

Remembering these experiences, we also remember the period after the last bushfires, being amazed by the regeneration of nature; the glimpses of green poking through the charred black terrain as a reminder of healing. In the midst of despair nature offered us hope; showing without fail that it prevails in the end. The warmth and generosity of support that flooded victims is another wonderful example of hope in action.

Closer to home our own community has been affected deeply by the loss of one of our own, and as we celebrate Hamish’s life, we also turn to hope to manage the loss and the emotions we feel.

Despite the enormous grief we feel and have felt over recent times at St Michael’s, it’s hope personified we have seen in the support offered to each other on many levels; caring for each other. Hope, together with faith, continues to guide us during this difficult time.

Hope is the perfect strength for these moments, even though we sometimes feel it escapes us.

Science tells us that hope is reported to have positive impact on physical and mental health, providing protection against anxiety and stress, and a stronger ability to bounce back from what can seem impossible. It also helps us to be better communicators, strengthening our relationships, and potentially leading to a longer life with much better physical health.

In Year 7-9 at St Michael’s this week we have actively cultivated the strength of hope. Year 7 and 9 classes utilised hope cards to facilitate conversations in pastoral class, guiding students towards the positive, and goal setting thoughts and behaviours. Students in Year 8 participated in an assembly focusing on cultivating a growth mindset and building their intelligence; a new Yoga/Mindfulness Club was born- Pause Club, which will run each Tuesday at lunchtime, and each day in the daily notices students see an ‘Action for Happiness’ and a link to a daily minute of mindfulness. Breakfast Club has now resumed, after lockdown and restrictions, and further to this our beautiful garden continues to be nurtured by an Eco Squad that focuses on the bounty of nature and welcomes new members with open arms. This is without considering the hope we nurture in the classroom and on the sporting field as students explore their curiosities.

Despite our heartfelt sorrow, our participation in the celebration of Hamish’s life as a community will be steeped in hope; that he rest in peace, that his family and friends be comforted at such an incredibly challenging time, and that we remember his goodness, always.

Whilst having hope may not resolve all of life’s problems, it does give us the strength to persist and to reframe the situation we face in the positive, rather than being overwhelmed by negativity.  Hope whispers that the sun, like the stars, will always return to shine on us, despite momentary darkness, and that both are always present, even when we can’t see them.

As Albus Dumbledore invited us to remember “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”.(1) Hope gives us the strength to do just this.

May we all find the ‘light switch’ and nurture our hope this week, and at the times we need it most.

Mrs Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Learning and Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

(1) Harry Potter and the Prisoner from Azkaban, 2004, Film, Warner Bros Pictures. UK/US, directed by Alfonso Cuarón.

YEAR 12 DRAMA PRODUCTION