The Year 7s have been an absolute delight these first weeks. I congratulate them all on their first days in secondary school. The staff and students involved in the Boot Camp experience have only reported positives which is very pleasing. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Cathy Coghlan, our Teacher Librarian and Head of IT, for bringing together this productive initiative. It synthesised the key values of a start to a Catholic Secondary School and supported the girls with their first steps in engaging with their primary learning tool – their laptop.

I wish you all the very best moving forward.

Be good to yourself and kind to each other.

Marcus Richardson | Deputy Principal

Assistant Principal - Administration

Welcome Back

The start of a new school year presents a unique opportunity. The slate is wiped clean and lays before us ready for our mark. Of course, the best way to proceed is to have a clear idea of what the year will look like and set some goals in this regard.

Our Year 7s have made a positive start to the year. We have enjoyed getting to know them and spending time with them while they learn to navigate secondary schooling. The girls were particularly excited to receive their laptops this week. The school laptop is a valuable learning tool to be used every day. It is important that families have quality conversations about the expectations in relation to the use of the laptop at home just as we have done in relation to use at school.

Transition

If your daughter has had any difficulty settling in to the new year, please contact her Pastoral Care teacher to discuss this. The Pastoral Care teacher will be able to check in regularly with your daughter and can liaise with other members of staff who may be able to provide support. It is important that issues are addressed early on so there is no impact on attendance and engagement. No concern is too small or insignificant if it is causing concern or distress.

Uniform Reminders

While most students have attended to their uniform for the start of term, it is timely to draw attention to a few areas. Please take the time to read through the uniform section in your daughter’s Handbook and sign to acknowledge the uniform requirements. We would like to draw attention to socks, jewellery and shoes.

We had several students with incorrect socks in the first days of school. Socks worn with the formal uniform should be plain, white, above the ankle. Sports socks with coloured heels are problematic because the coloured heels tend to be visible when pulled up. Additionally, these tend to be shorter than other socks and care must be taken not to purchase an athletic-style ankle sock. Please ensure your daughter has a supply of correct socks so there are no issues in the morning.

The holidays tend to be a time for additional piercings. While the decision to have a piercing inserted is a family one, the College is not supportive of students wishing to wear the piercing until the healing period is complete or while working through any subsequent infection, even if covered by a Band-Aid. Please ensure you have read the uniform requirements carefully before making decisions around piercings, hairstyles and other cosmetic enhancements such as eyelashes and nails. The College is appreciative of the support of parents in ensuring students arrive in full and correct uniform each day.

Finally, a reminder that a Mary Jane style shoe is not an acceptable form of footwear. We understand that these would have been worn by many of our students in the primary years. Unfortunately, students are unable to complete practical activities, such as those in the Science and Technology areas, if they are wearing these shoes. This is a Workplace Health and Safety requirement. A polished, black lace up, school style shoe is required. For our new families, if your daughter is wearing a Mary Jane shoe and you require some time to rectify this, please contact your daughter’s Pastoral Care teacher or Pastoral Leader to discuss this.

Travel Reminder

In the interests of student safety, please discuss with your daughter the need to travel direct to school and remain at school in the mornings, even if she arrives early. Students should not leave the school grounds once they have arrived, including to access local businesses to purchase lunch or breakfast items. The College Tuckshop is open for this purpose.

We are pleased with the positive start to the term and look forward to what the 2019 school year will bring. I hope to meet more of our new families at the Swimming Carnival, New Parent Barbeque next week and the Opening Mass.

Judith Jones | Assistant Principal - Administration

Assistant Principal - Religious Education

Welcome back to the new school year! My name is Tami Hammond and I’m honoured to join the St Mary’s team this year as Assistant Principal - Religious Education (APRE). In my role I am privileged to journey alongside our girls as they travel through their high school years. I work with an outstanding team of Religious Education teachers and our Campus Minister, to ensure that each girl is provided with quality, engaging curriculum, as well as the opportunity to grow and develop in their faith. I look forward to getting to know the students and parents of St Mary’s College.

Opening Mass

Next Friday is an important day on the College calendar, with our Opening Mass taking place at 9am. Our new Year 7 students will be welcomed into the College community and our Year 12s will be inducted as the leaders of our College. A tremendous amount of planning and preparation is going into the event to ensure it is a memorable one.

Theme for 2019

This year our theme to focus on is “service”. As a community of mercy, we are called to offer our lives in service to those around us. This need not be a huge endeavour, such as Orange Sky (see podcast below), but can be as simple as a smile, a friendly wave, or lending a classmate a pencil. Each of us has the capacity to make the world a better place, through small, regular acts of service. What can you do today to serve your community?

Do Life Better - Podcast

How a van and a washing machine helped Nic Marchesi chase his big, audacious dream, and how you can do the same...

Have you ever had a dream of starting a new business or service, or something you can offer to make a difference to those around you? Nic Marchesi and his mate Lucas Patchett, both aged 20, turned a simple idea, a van, a couple of washing machines and dryers into the ever-growing organisation that Orange Sky is today. Orange Sky has grown to have 26 services across the country, and have laundered 8.53 tonnes of laundry. Nic says the biggest successes are in the connections that are made. Every night, 116,000 Aussies are homeless, which means that 1 in 200 people will be sleeping on the street tonight. One of the driving purposes behind Orange Sky is that ability to connect with people and have conversations that challenge perceptions of people who are homeless.

To learn more about the incredible work Orange Sky is doing, and how they turned their big, audacious dreams into a reality head to iTunes: https://apple.co/2HJuVzI or to the Podcast website: https://dolifebetter.fireside.fm/55

Tami Hammond | Assistant Principal - Religious Education

Campus Minister

Welcome back to all the continuing families and a very special welcome to all the new families who are joining our College community this year! For those who are new to the College, my name is Margareta Lemon and I am the College Campus Minister. My role is to be a support for your daughter pastorally and spiritually. I assist in preparing College liturgical celebrations and coordinate the service & mission program which aims to provide your daughter with opportunities to be a women of mercy to those most in need within our community, Ipswich and the wider community. With our theme for 2019 focussing on the pillar of service it is my hope that all students will engage in some way with the opportunities provided for them this year.

Laps for Caritas

On Thursday evening at the College swimming carnival a number of brave staff put on their swimming caps and googles and swam against poverty and injustice. ‘Laps for Caritas’ is an act of solidarity with people who have to cover many kilometers to access fresh water, attend school, or flee from natural disaster or conflict. This annual event also aims to raise funds to support the work of Caritas Australia in empowering communities to live sustainable and overcome poverty. It is not too late to make a financial donation! We will continue fundraising for Caritas Australia later this term.

Combined Colleges Masses

Each month students from St Mary’s and St Edmund’s Colleges come together to lead the singing at the 6pm mass at St Mary’s Church on a Sunday evening. This year these masses will predominately take place on the third Sunday of the month. The first mass will be held on Sunday 17 February and it will be an extra special celebration as the Leadership Teams from both Colleges will be commissioned by the Fr Stephen. All students are welcome to volunteer at these masses. Further information will be shared via notices and the College App.

2019 Cambodia Immersion

Biennially, St Mary’s College sends a team of staff and students to immerse themselves in the everyday life of the people of Cambodia. The immersion takes place from the 30 November – 14 December and involves teaching English to children in schools in poor communities, visiting famous temples and market places, learning about the history and culture of the Khmer people, connecting with the work of the Mercy Sisters internationally and much, much more. We currently have 16 students who will commence their preparations for the immersion this coming week. This opportunity is available for Year 9, 10 and 11 students only. If you would like more information, please email me.

Multicultural Celebration

In conjunction with Harmony Day this year, we are looking forward to hosting a Multicultural event to celebrate the cultural diversity which exists within our College community. The hope is that the event will be a showcase of cultural dance, song, clothing and maybe even food! To assist in preparing for this event, we are calling for volunteers to form a student committee. The event will take place on Friday 22 March at a time to be advised. If you would like more information or if your daughter would like to volunteer, please contact me.

Chapel Masses

Each Friday morning, we encourage members of the College community to come together for Chapel mass. These masses take place in the Mercy House Chapel at 8am. Chapel mass will recommence on Friday 22 February. All are welcome.

Margareta Lemon | Campus Minister | margaretal@stmarys.qld.edu.au

Maths Department

This week all students on the Maths Pathway program (students from Years 7, 8, 9 and some Year 10 students) have been engaging in growth mindset lessons and rich tasks; an integral component of learning mathematics. Hopefully you have heard about or seen some of these tasks at home this week.

Existing Maths Pathway Students

Next week students who were engaged in Maths Pathway last year will recommence modules and the normal Maths Pathway cycles.

New Maths Pathway Students

Students who are only just starting Maths Pathway will be logging on to the program and starting to engage in some diagnostic testing. This will enable them to begin their Maths Pathway journey where an individualised program will then be available to each student. As your daughter is introduced to Maths Pathway, you will find that her Mathematics lessons will be tailored to precisely what she is ready to learn. Four diagnostics tests will be provided over the term; however, they will be completing modules in between, along with participating in rich tasks and working in small groups on topics suited to their individualised program.

All Maths Pathway Students

Students are expected to engage in some of the modules as homework and will require the use of their laptop and access to the internet if possible. If internet access is not available at home, please ask your daughter to speak with her teacher as modules can be downloaded at school and then used at home without internet access. Your daughter will still be required to write her solutions in her Mathematics workbook. Students will have a test every cycle (approximately every fortnight) on the work that they have engaged in during the cycle and feel they are ready to be tested on. Students are being challenged to complete eight modules every cycle this year due to the increased class time for Mathematics.

Bags

Students involved with Maths Pathway all received their purple Mathematics bags last week. This will help students keep their equipment for Mathematics organised and easily recognisable.

Information Night for Maths Pathway

Please ask students to check their inbox for an invitation to our Information Session on Maths Pathway which will be held later this term. You will be able to learn more about the program and how you can best support your daughter in her growth of Mathematics. If you can’t wait to hear more, you can access further information at www.mathspathway.com/our-model/parents/

Year 10 Mathematics

This year students are engaging with an online textbook. This textbook is the same publisher as the new textbook and online package that has been purchased for Year 11 students who are studying the new curriculum. We chose this option to streamline the transition from Year 10 into Years 11 and 12. The learning opportunities available to students from this text are far more advanced. Teachers have worked with students this week to learn how to log in and use this new text. Students can also download a PDF of the text to their desktop if internet access is not available at home.

Anna Johnston | Maths Department

Cultural Report

Welcome back to another very busy year at St Mary’s College! I am very excited to assume the role as Cultural Leader in 2019 and cannot wait to get started for the year! 2019 will be as jam-packed as ever in the Cultural Department, and I am sure it will be exciting and rewarding for all those involved.

Sign on Process

This year the sign on process for all Cultural activities offered at the start of Term One was done online via Microsoft Forms. All students, excluding Year 7 students who were yet to receive their laptops, were emailed the link to the form and required to indicate which activities they were interested in. Some of the programs have already begun, with information regarding auditions or first meetings emailed to those students who signed on. If students are concerned they have missed information, they need to email me as soon as possible.

Music Tuition Program

Students have the opportunity at St Mary’s College to learn a wide range of instruments, music theory and voice. For Year 10 to 12 students, all Music Tuition lessons incur a small payment. Year 7 to 9 students may receive up to 1 year of free lessons on a band or orchestral instrument, subsidised by the school and the P&F. Full details are available in the Music Tuition Information and Enrolment Forms available from Student Services, the School Portal or in the Student Handbook on page 15. There are numerous benefits of learning a musical instrument; increased memory capacity, refined time management and organisational skills, sharpened concentration, reduced stress, opportunity for self-expression and promotion of happiness! I encourage all students to consider the Music Tuition Program in 2019. As Chinese philosopher Confucius once said, "Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without,"

Debating

The debating season is already under way under the direction of Mrs Eryn Gower and with the assistance of many teachers across the College. Debaters are to attend a workshop run by Mrs Gower on Monday 11 February. The SEQ APEX Debating Competition commences in week five of this term. Details of this term’s debating commitments are as follows;

• 11 February Workshop 3pm to 6pm - St Mary’s College
• 25 February APEX Round 1 from 6pm - Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School
• 11 March APEX Round 2 from 6pm - Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School
• 25 March APEX Round 3 from 6pm - Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School

If teams are successful in the 3 rounds above, they will progress to the Quarter-, Semi- and Grand Finals, to be completed by 10 June. Dates for these debates have not been released yet however teams will be notified if they progress to the Quarter Finals. Full details are available in a letter to parents which was distributed to debaters at the first meeting on Monday 4 February.

Ensembles Program

If students have not yet signed up for Debating but are interested in being a member of the team, please see Mrs Gower or myself as soon as possible.

This year, the Ensembles’ Program, including the Junior and Senior Concert bands, the Combined Colleges’ Choir and the String Ensemble will run in conjunction with St Edmund’s College. These ensembles will feature many rehearsals and performances throughout the year. Students are advised to listen carefully to morning notices for rehearsal information as this has not been released yet.

Combined Colleges’ Musical

The Combined Colleges’ Musical will be produced by St Mary’s College this year and we are looking forward to producing ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’.

Inspired by the twisted genius of Roald Dahl, the Tony Award-winning ‘Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical’ is the captivating masterpiece from the Royal Shakespeare Company that revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life. Packed with high-energy dance numbers, catchy songs and hilarious one-liners, Matilda the Musical is a must see! Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the extraordinary girl with a wild imagination.

Auditions will be held shortly (Term One), with rehearsals commencing before Easter and continuing through Term Two; with two after school rehearsals (commencing Term One) and Sunday rehearsals (commencing Term Two). The musical will be performed in the first week of Term Three on 18 to 20 July.

Students who are wishing to be a cast member must come to the audition on Friday 8th March. The audition is for cast members only. Students who want to be involved in the musical in other capacities including band, backstage, hair/makeup, costuming etc. will be called for next term.

Further information regarding the auditions will be released shortly, so keep your eyes and ears peeled!

Showchoir

As in previous years, if you would like to be considered for the Showchoir, you must attend rehearsals, perform for the Opening Mass and then audition. The details of this process have been sent to all students who signed up for Showchoir and will also be published in Student Notices. If you’re concerned that you’ve missed the sign-ons, please email me as soon as possible to receive the information.

Dance Troupe

The Dance Troupe will begin in Week 3, with auditions taking place on Tuesday 12 February for senior students (Year 10-12) and Thursday 14 February for junior students (Year 7-9). In its fifth year at the College, the Dance Troupe has provided numerous opportunities for students to share their passion and talents with the St Mary’s College and wider Ipswich communities - 2019 will be no different! Students have the opportunity to experience a wide variety of dance styles covering contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, tap, Bollywood and many more. These pieces are performed throughout the year at assemblies, eisteddfods and concerts including the end-of-year Dance Spectacular! If successful, Open Dance Troupe members are required to rehearse twice weekly, and attend the College’s first annual Dance Camp from March 1-3. We will also be continuing the Introductory Dance Troupe in 2019, with rehearsals occurring once a week. More details have been released to students who signed on to Dance Troupe auditions. If you have any questions or have missed the sign-ons, email me as soon as possible.

Above outlines just some of the many Cultural Programs offered at the College. I encourage all St Mary’s students to get involved this year as it will certainly be one to remember.

Courtney Fook | Cultural Leader

Digital Technologies

Over the holidays, O11 was transformed from a basic classroom to a vibrant Digital Technologies Studio complete with wall mounted TVs, whiteboard desks and a variety of flexible seating options. A number of the Digital Technologies classes have already started using the space and are really enjoying the new opportunities for engagement and learning.

Matt Jensen | Digital Technologies Teacher

Middle Years - Teaching and Learning

Welcome to 2019! With Mrs Sugars taking an acting role this term, I have stepped into the position of Curriculum Leader Teaching and Learning – Middle Years. We all know learning can be hard, sweaty work, but it is also very rewarding. Just ask my 17-month-old daughter who spent the Christmas holidays transforming an uneasy step into a confident stride. I look forward to working with teachers and students alike in this role to make learning at St Mary’s College wonderful.

Homework Club

Our St Mary’s Homework Club will return next week for 2019. The club will again run each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 3:00 – 4:30pm. The only exceptions are Tuesday of Weeks 6 and 8 due to staff professional development and our Open Evening. A myriad of assistance will be available from staff, so I encourage all students to come along to Homework Club this term.

Intensive Reading Program

During this week permission notes have been emailed home for students participating in our Intensive Reading Program. This program will run each Tuesday and Thursday morning from 8:00 – 8:30 am and I look forward to seeing the girls there!

Matt Jensen | Acting Curriculum Leader Teaching and Learning – Middle Years

Sports Update

I would like to welcome back all existing families to the College and extend a very warm welcome to the new families and staff to the St Mary’s College community. The SMC community is made up of friendly, supportive and dynamic people. We pride ourselves on being well prepared, professional and dedicated to all that we do.

The further development of our sporting program is very reliant on the wonderful staff at St. Mary’s and the extended college community. I welcome and invite parents to contact me if they are interested in assisting in the development of sports whether this may be as a Coach, Manager or Official. Please do not hesitate to contact me on 3432 5431 or antoniac@stmarys.qld.edu.au

This term is extremely busy with CISSSA (Combined Ipswich Secondary School Sport Association) competition, as well as a lot of district trials, both for Western Rangers and Metropolitan West. Most of these messages are communicated via School Stream APP, sent to students via email and communicated via the student notices.

Student Achievement

At the end of Term 4, 2018 Hayley Petersen (Year 10) was selected in the QLD Under 13s indoor hockey team. She travelled to Goulburn in NSW early January for the National Championships. Hayley’s team finished 2nd which was a great result. In October last year, Hayley competed at the outdoor National Championships in Hobart. At the conclusion of that carnival, she was named into QLD 15s squad. Over the recent Australia Day long weekend Hayley went to the State Hockey Centre in Brisbane for a three-day trial to compete for a spot in a Under 15s QLD team. This was going to be a hard trial, being one of the younger girls trialling in a higher age group. Hayley has worked hard over the last few months to improve her hockey in order to compete at a higher level. Just last week, Hayley was named too represent QLD at the Under 15s National Championships in April this year. Congratulations Hayley on this wonderful achievement.