Get to know our College Leaders and House Captains

College Leader Emma Brown

As a leader I would describe myself as: someone who is inclusive and wants the best for everyone.

The thing that I do that I am the proudest of are: my art assignments because: of the hard work and passion I put into them.

My favourite TV programs are: Community, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Modern Family

My greatest sporting moment: winning the girls SAPSASA cricket competition.

My favourite band is: Arctic Monkeys

My favourite songs are: ‘Chamber Of Reflection’ – Mac DeMarco, ‘Redbone’ – Childish Gambino

Someone I admire, my parents

My favourite book is: Treehouse series – Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

Funniest moment in my life was: falling up the stairs while walking on stage

The best thing about attending SMC is: meeting new people and the different amount of opportunities provided.

Leadership means to me: being someone who is approachable and who is also a positive role model for younger students.

To be a Lasallian Leader means: to treat everyone with kindness and create a community where everyone is respected.

This year as a College Leader I wish to be best known as: someone who was approachable and was inclusive to everyone.

Five words which best describe my personality are: passionate, sarcastic, reliable, respectful and kind.

A person I most admire is: Emma Watson.

A quote that I believe in is: “Never regret anything that made you smile”

Something funny that has happened to me was: falling up the stair while walking on stage.

A teacher at SMC I admire is: Mrs. Le Ray, because of her strong ongoing passion towards the Arts and for always supporting students through their decisions and helping them in any way possible, even if it’s out of her own time.

Something interesting about me no one knows – I work at Kmart.

College Leader Kayne Hodges

As a leader I would describe myself as: Persistent, Responsible, Selfless

The thing that I do that I am the proudest of is: I always try to put others before myself because: I believe that is the right thing to do.

My favourite TV program is: Prison Break

My greatest sporting moment: When I won Best and Fairest in u16’s for Adelaide Olympic Soccer Club.

Someone I admire: My dad

Funniest moment in my life was: When my friend Blake rode his bike into a river on a school excursion.

In my spare time I like to: Hang out with my friends and go to the gym.

The best thing about attending SMC is: Being surrounded by a great bunch of people.

Leadership means to me: I am a role model and need to present myself in a way to inspire and motivate others to be the best they can be

I have two pet Dogs whose name is: Buddy and Bobby

To be a Lasallian Leader means: I am a role model and need to present myself in a way to inspire and motivate others to be the best they can be

This year as a College Leader I wish to be best known as: respectful, sensible and enthusiastic.

Five words which best describe my personality are: Funny, Kind, Outgoing, Determined and Loyal.

If I could create one change for SMC in 2023 it would be: Year 12 jackets become Year 12 quarter zips.

A quote that I believe in is: Never give up

Something funny that has happened to me was: When my friend Blake rode his bike into a river on a school excursion

Arts Week!

In preparation for our annual Arts Week celebrations, a committee of senior Arts students gathered to plan and generate ideas for the week. They chose this year’s theme to be ‘We Are the Future of Arts’ as they wanted to express that among us are the emerging artists of the future. At recess and lunch, at the mainstage in the ANZAC courtyard, a range of talented student groups performed in a variety of styles, including…

• Chloe T (Guitar)
• Brodie C (Drums)
• Year 8 Rock Bands
• Jacob L (Guitar/Vocals)
• Senior Rock Band
• Ellie P (Voice) and Carla F (Bass)
• Zara K (Guitar & Vocals)
• Year 10 Rock Band
• Betula (Band)
• The Phils (Band)
• MAD Jams (Band)
• John’s Confusion (Band)

Along with student performances, audiences were entertained by Mr Musci’s DJ experience, and Mr Mosca’s acoustic set. The student led Arts Week Committee also set up an Arts advocacy themed badge making stall as well as gave out Arts Week stickers. Students also enjoyed using chalk to decorate the ANZAC courtyard pavers into a wonderful creative collage. This uplifting week was not only a celebration of the Arts at the college, but a celebration of the emerging artists among us.

Drama

The annual Adelaide Festival brings leading theatre makers from around the world to Adelaide, and our students were fortunate to experience two landmark productions in this year’s Festival. Senior Drama students viewed ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ at her Majesty’s theatre and were blown away by the innovative use of live-feed filming and projections embedded within the performance. Students also attended Windmill Theatre Co’s premiere season of ‘Hans & Gret’, a clever and immersive adaption of the fairy tale that plunged audiences into a dangerous world where nothing is what it seems. Students were impressive with the immersive audio technology which was used to communicate directly into their ears. Both highly innovative productions will serve as a springboard for students own creative work throughout the year.

We were please to invite SMC alumni Andrew Crupi back to the college to perform his Fringe production ‘A Solo Commedia dell’Arte Show’ for our Year 7 – 9 students. He inspired students by performing a multitude of characters simultaneously, a comic feat! Year 8 students were fortunate to also attend workshops with Andrew, in which he taught them key Commedia dell’Arte techniques.

Mrs Emily Burns, Drama Co-curricular and Events Coordinator

Dance

Silent Disco

Dance students and staff were involved in our annual Silent Disco moving around the school with Guru DI DI. Students moved through the school dancing and singing and enjoying themselves on Friday lunch.

Dance for Film workshops

Yr 9 Dance students were involved in Dance for Film workshops with Amanda Phillips from Felicity Arts.

Visual Arts

David Booth -Indigenous artist

To kickstart Arts Week we had the pleasure of Indigenous artist, David Booth present his cultural awareness performance to our Year 7 students. In full traditional attire including a didgeridoo explanation and demonstration, story, dance, and audience participation. He gave our students a better understanding of Aboriginal culture and how diverse Aboriginal Australia is.

David also ran an interactive art and jewellery workshop, using symbols for communication and passing on knowledge through stories.

Printmaking Workshop

As a part of Arts Week, a group of Year 10-11 students participated in a two day printmaking workshop with Visual Artist and Printmaker Lucy Timbrell.

The students explored the theme of sea life and nature within their work.

Cartoonist

A cartoonist that came in and drew caricatures of staff and students.

Music

During Arts Week we had some amazing performances from a massive range of people and year levels. It was nice seeing a range of musical styles from the students as well, like rock, jazz, country, pop and many more.

Some of our favourite parts of the week were when our younger musicians got up on stage and gave it a go, because even though most of the time they were very nervous they played really well and showed off their skills. Also watching the audience interact with the musicians and get excited for the music.

The vibes were immaculate in the ANZAC courtyard, and we really enjoyed the music.

Written by Music Captains, Carla Fontanelli and Max Pook-Kathriner

GRIP Leadership Conference

On Thursday 16 March, 12 leaders across Year 10 and Year 11 attended the GRIP Leadership Conference at the Entertainment Centre.

The focus of the conference is to train and develop students as leaders and provide ideas as to how to implement change in their own schools. The students attended a variety of seminars and presentations on topics including ensuring the school is inclusive, making every student feel valued, and introducing new ideas.

This conference allowed our students to discuss new ideas with students from other schools to help all students to feel known, valued, and cared for. We look forward to seeing some of these ideas come to fruition over the coming year.

Sally Whelan, Teacher

Year 12 Advanced Manufacturing

This week in Year 12 Advanced Manufacturing, Danielle Ford (old scholar 2020) came in to share what she has learnt in her TAFE Advanced Diploma in Screen and Media – Content Creation and Design. Students learnt about future pathways for 3D modelling skills and Danielle shared her tips for being successful in Year 12 and beyond.

Year 9 – Mentoring Program

On Monday the 6 March, the Year 9 student leaders visited the St Michael’s Beverley Campus to work with the Year 1’s as part of the Mentoring Program. The day started at 9am when we met with the Year 1’s and assembled into groups. They were full of life and one Year 1 was extremely proud of how he had been to “the big school” for OSHC. They proceeded to show us around the school and the new facilities. This included the Nature Play area, chicken coop, and also a wetlands area which contained frogs. While this happened, we discussed what it is like to be a student at St Michael’s, ranging from the things they loved about the school and important Lasallian values. After the tour we played the game ‘Two truths and a lie’ to get to know each other. We were also shown the wide range of animals that the children have in their classrooms, including Monarch butterflies and caterpillars, a bunny rabbit, and my personal favourite, a barking gecko. Next, we headed upstairs for Easter-themed cookie decorating and some Easter colouring. As our time at Beverley drew to an end, we played outside. This part of the day was definitely the highlight for me as we managed to get our hands on a ball and play a huge soccer game. We ended up with teams of Year 9’s vs Year 1’s, but for every Year 9, there was about 10 Years 1’s! They were so fast and did not run out of energy! The game ended with a score of 0-0 but left everyone with great spirits from the day and a smile on their faces.

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 our celebration of 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 can’t 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 enjoyed Kindness Bingo and a delicious and healthy breakfast, and a presentation by Scott Darlow, respectively.  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 through the Daily Notices. Year 12 College Leaders and some staff recorded affirmations that hoped to create positive emotions and engender positive and impactful choices in our Kindness Reel– Light the Spark of Kindness, which was shared across the community and on social media; a busy group of students has also been working tirelessly behind the scenes to arrange our first ever celebration of Harmony Day next week.

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. It can also nurture meaningful connection and belonging.

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?” (p20). 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 weekend ahead- may we see and experience many acts of Kindness!

Tonia Carfora, Year 7-9 Wellbeing Initiatives Leader

References:

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

Is your child interested in learning to play an instrument?

It’s as easy as 1,2,3!! Lessons on offer include Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and String Instruments and Vocal Lessons.

We still have some vacancies for Guitar, Saxophone, Clarinet, Trumpet and Trombone this year. Places fill quickly so please get your submissions in soon.

If you are interested in signing your child up for lessons, click on this link: Secondary Music Portal and locate the form titled, ‘SIGN UP FORM_2023 – Instrumental Music programme V1’.  This document will provide you with all the information you require to make a decision and to lodge your submission – it’s paperless and as easy as clicking!

Flyer

Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me on james.musci@smc.sa.edu.au

James Musci, Head of Department – Music – Instrumental Music Coordinator, Music Technology

Harmony Day Tuesday 21 March

Weekly Activities Calendar

Opportunities to connect, explore your curiosities and refresh at SMC The Secondary Campus buzzes with chances for us to be together and explore our curiosities, at all times of the day! This calendar shows what’s on, when and where, outside of lesson times. Take a chance and join in… you never know what friends are waiting to meet you there! Everyone’s welcome!

Activities Calendar