SMC NEWS 2022 - Term 2 Week 9
Principal's Note
Dear Parents and Carers,
"Code Blue" News: Most of you will be aware that we have undertaken a new strategy, Code Blue, to allow students to wear their spray jackets on any day. We were conscious of the very low temperatures over the past fortnight and the ability of the spray jacket to "cut out the wind" and provide a little more warmth during the day for our students. You will be aware that the "Code Blue" has been removed for the current week. We will keep you informed. In the light of this move, our ELT (Executive Leadership Team) has been considering ways over the past fortnight to adjust the uniform more permanently to help our students. We have received feedback from many of you, and we have worked through these messages also. I'm mindful that the current uniform has tremendous support in the St Mary's College community, so any change would need to be carefully considered. On 1 August, at the next P and F Meeting, the ELT would like to present a proposed new jacket to the group. This jacket has been carefully considered and would be allowed to be worn on any school day, unlike the current jacket. It is also cheaper than the current spray jacket. If you are interested in providing some feedback on the proposal, please attend the next P and F Meeting on 1 August.
Finding God in Ukraine
Amid the destruction and death in the Ukraine, it’s hard to imagine anything remotely revealing the presence of God. But if you look with the eye of the heart and listen with the ear of the spirit, you’ll see and hear God at work even in the horror taking place in Ukraine.
Some signs of that God’s presence: Vladyslav operates a bakery in Kyiv. He employs adults with psychological disabilities. His shop specialises in cakes and pastries, as well as serving lunch. On the day before Russian troops stormed their country, Vladyslav gathered his staff together. They would stop selling baked goods to individual customers; instead, they would bake bread for all. They produce 300 loaves a day, bread that they give away to homes for the disabled and volunteer organisations. “I am not militant in my nature,” Vladyslav says simply, “but I can bake bread.” The love of God is in every loaf that Vladyslav bakes.
In Krakow, Poland — just across the Ukrainian border – a community of 40 Dominican sisters have opened their convent to refugees: children, women, the elderly — even their dogs. Things are getting a little cramped, but the sisters tell the refugees they are welcome to stay as long as they need to. In Poland and Ukraine, more than 1,000 religious communities of women are providing housing, food, clothing, and emotional support to thousands of Ukrainians who have been displaced by the war. These sisters, like so many of their Polish neighbors, reveal in their kindness and compassion the Gospel Jesus.
This is Hanna’s first year as a teacher. The 23-year-old never imagined teaching her class of fifth graders in the middle of a war — but, despite the bombings and airstrikes, millions of children in Ukraine are still going to school. Hanna is one of hundreds of dedicated and creative teachers who are managing to keep their students engaged in learning. Some students can’t attend every day because they’re constantly on the move from shelter to shelter. Many of Hanna’s students are signing in on their parents’ phones. Hanna says that the routine of school and seeing their friends online is helping. “Even if I’m not teaching the full curriculum,” Hanna says, “it’s good that they’re talking to me [and] to each other . . . [it] remind[s] us of something normal.” The sacrifice and courage of many good people trying to make things “normal” for their fellow Ukrainians — “normal” is the Spirit of God alive in their care of one another.
[The New York Times Magazine, March 27, 2022; National Catholic Reporter: Global Sisters Report, March 24, 2022; NPR, April 5, 2022.]
Peace,
Mr Brendan Stewart, College Principal - principal@stmaryscollege.com
Curriculum News
The Transition Years
It is often reported by both staff and students that Years 7 and 11 are the most difficult for students. These transition years are characterised by the most significant changes to workload and assessment expectations. Year 11 is the start of the program required to be completed for students to obtain the Qld Certificate of Education (QCE); while at the same time students may be starting school-based apprenticeships or working on complex subjects to try and maximise their ATAR. This newfound freedom of choice and higher work expectation for students can be quite a shock and often results in a very difficult Semester 1 before students adjust. Our year 11’s have just completed their first semester and I’ll be working with them in Semester 2 to ensure they are on the correct pathway for them and rising to meet the challenges of the QCE / ATAR system.
Year 7 involves the transition away from primary school and the model of having one teacher almost all the time in the same room. Whereas, in middle school, students study 7-8 subjects, each with a different teacher, in a different room. This is the most significant change to a student's experience of education until they transition to university, TAFE or work. As with all significant changes in a young person’s life, there can be some teething issues and I acknowledge that some of our year 7s are finding the assessment workload difficult at this time of the term. Some acute stress around assessment time is completely normal and means the student cares about the task and is working to do his best. It is unrealistic and counterproductive to completely shield our students from stress. We are preparing young men for the world of work and stress is a normal part of life. Please view this video for an exploration of the types of stress and physical responses experienced.
To ensure that students experience the full range of senior schooling subjects before selecting subjects in years 8 - 11, Year 7's study 8 assessable subjects. Weeks 1 – 4 of each term generally focus on content delivery to equip students with the knowledge required for the assessment tasks meaning weeks 5 – 9 become quite heavy with due dates. The curriculum team spend time each term trying to ensure assessment dates are spread out as much as possible given these constraints and then an assessment schedule is emailed to parents and students. We are exploring ways to give parents access to Canvas to ensure you can see due dates as students do, in their canvas calendar. By spreading out the due dates, we hope to minimise the anxiety and stress caused by having multiple assignments to work on concurrently. I acknowledge that teachers of some classes have given extensions to due dates in an attempt to give students additional time to submit their best effort. This is done in the spirit of helping the boys out but is counterproductive as these assignments then impinge on other subjects’ assessments causing a crunch period for students. Students also contribute to the issue by not starting assignments as soon as they are given and not using the in-class assignment time well. A number of our assessment structures (checkpoints, draft dates) are designed to counteract this by ensuring students work on assignments continuously.
The following expectations will help to ensure students in all years do not experience periods of stress/anxiety that are unmanageable.
Teacher expectations:
- Due dates are published in an assessment schedule to parents and on Canvas for students early in the term.
- Extensions are not given to whole cohorts unless a major disruption has occurred. This extension will be run through the curriculum office to ensure it doesn’t impact other subjects and then communicated to parents and students.
- Checkpoints/ Drafts are managed in-class and appropriate feedback is given on student progress. Parents are notified by a text message (SMS) if a student fails to submit a draft on the due date.
Student expectations:
- Utilise in-class assignment lessons to make a start on assignments and minimise the work required at home.
- Regularly check your Canvas calendar to ensure you know exactly when drafts and assignments are due and meet these deadlines.
Parent expectations:
- Print a copy of the assessment schedule when it is distributed each term and highlight the assessments pertinent to your son.
- Remind and check in with your son to ensure he’s making progress once assignments have been distributed. (Hot-tip: whenever he says he has ‘no homework’, he should be working on his assignments)
- Work on transferring responsibility for managing due dates and assessment workload to your son across the middle school years (7 – 9). Students should aim to be self-managed in years 11 and 12.
Finally, here is a informative video on stress management for kids.
Mr Mark Watson, Assistant Principal - Curriculum - watsonm@stmaryscollege.com
Student Engagement News
The cold and freezing temperatures tell me VERY clearly that we are in the winter season, but I can’t seem to get my head around the fact that we are also half way through the year. How did that happen?! Before the Semester wraps up, and the academic reports go out, there are just a few topics that I would like to update with families.
Student Toilets: We have introduced a significant change in the management of the student toilet facilities in the last few weeks. Your sons may have spoken to you about this, but I also know that many boys aren’t very good at carrying information from school to home – so here is the update.
At breaks, extra staff have been positioned outside the two blocks of student toilets. These staff are checking all boys as they enter to ensure that the boys are not taking any food or their phones into the toilet space. I know – feel free to insert ‘parent eyeroll’ here.
During classes, the toilet blocks are locked and boys who need to use the bathroom during class are asked to follow these steps
- Complete the relevant section of the diary (blue shirts only)
- Gain their teacher’s permission
- Go first to the RTC to discuss with the teacher there
- RTC teacher will liaise with the office for students to use the Sick Bay toilet
As I explained to the boys at Assembly last week, our purpose here is simple: To ensure that anyone who wants to use the toilets can do so safely, without harassment and in a relatively hygienic environment.
We know that – in the past – some boys have resorted to using the bathrooms during lesson time as they feel unable to go during the breaks, due to the number of boys congregating in the bathrooms at break times, frequently with phones or engaged in other anti-social behaviours. The new phone policy introduced earlier this year has helped to address this to an extent.
Already, we are seeing some positives – the cleanliness of the student toilets is significantly improved, there has been nearly no damage to facilities and boys are commenting on their improved environment. On the downside, we are very aware that all of this is only necessary as a result of the behaviour of a small number of students – a disappointing but accurate reflection of society as a whole. The extra staff on ‘toilet duty’ are currently volunteering their time – and I am very grateful for their generosity – however this is not sustainable in the longer term.
Hopefully, as the toilets are now safer to use during the breaks, we will see a decline in the number of boys needing to go during lessons. Of course, the cold weather has not helped but we will continue with this program until the holidays with a plan to review for Term 3.
College Uniform Guidelines: This policy can be found here on the College website, and was last reviewed and updated in 2015. It was due for review in 2020 however the events of that year and a change in College leadership have seen that review pushed back to this year. In the next week, all boys, families and staff will be given the opportunity to provide feedback on the College uniform and make suggestions for changes or improvements. We will also be seeking feedback from our Old Boys community, as their voice in our decision-making is also important.
The boys are excited to have their say, although they may be a bit ambitious with regard to the changes they are expecting. As with so many aspects of College life, there are other guidelines to consider – in this case, the SunSafe requirements as well as WHS best practice. It is also important that the uniform is resilient in the face of changing trends and fashions – and that’s not an easy concept to ‘sell’ to a group of teenagers.
Please keep an eye on your emails as the link to the survey will come to via Edsmart, and will close at the end of term.
House Points: This was the running total for House Points when I spoke to the boys at Assembly last week. No doubt, the boys and staff will be keeping a close eye on these numbers this week, with the Term 2 winning House to be determined at 3pm on Friday of Week 9. The last week of term then belongs to that House. At the moment, it looks like we’ll all be wearing pink and blue in Week 10. Boys earn House Points by participating in activities here at school and by earning Merits from their teachers.
Parent Communication: In response to parent feedback in 2021, we have tried to improve the details going home to parents regarding referrals to the RTC. While the system is not perfect, we are hopeful that the greater level of detail has enable families to have meaningful conversations with their sons regarding RTC referrals.
The letters that are sent home to parents when a Merit is generated are fairly generic and we are looking into ways that we can improve on this as well.
If you have any feedback regarding any of the topics that I have mentioned today – toilets, uniforms, communication – please send me an email.
Mrs Samantha Parle, Assistant Principal - Student Engagement - parls@stmaryscollege.com
What's On: Term 2, Wk 10 & Term 3, Wk 1
Mr Stephen Monk, Deputy Principal - monks@stmaryscollege.com
Primary News
It has been a busy term in the Primary and the boys have had many valuable learning experiences. We are looking forward to Term 3 and many new adventures with the boys.
Here are some things the Primary boys have been involved in recently:
Primary Park Visits: The last of our Primary Park visits occurred last Thursday. The feedback from the boys was that they enjoyed it thoroughly as an alternative at breaks. These will continue again next term, so we can continue to utilize the wonderful park we have so close to the school grounds.
Rugby League PE Lessons: Rugby league lessons have been occurring in the Primary over the past few weeks. The boys have been enjoying learning new skills or refining previous skills they have learnt. The boys will have another two weeks of lessons before the end of Term 2. Next term we will have another provider coming in to work on some different skills with the Primary boys. What wonderful opportunities the boys have been provided with.
Oznam and Mini Vinnies Workshop: Last week the Year 5 students had Julie Inskip from St. Vincent’s de Paul come in and run a workshop with the boys. The boys learnt about how privileged they are in life and brainstormed some ways that they could help the community which included donating cans and having a blanket drive. We will be beginning a Mini Vinnie’s club next term in the Primary. This will be a wonderful social justice initiative. Thank you to Julie, for coming and sharing her knowledge with us.
Oznam & Mini Vinnies
Park Visits
Rugby League PE Lessons
Mrs Shari Pauli, Primary Leader - paulis@stmaryscollege.com
Careers News
Contact the Careers Team
Please phone the College or email us at smc-careers@stmaryscollege.com to make an appointment (by phone, in person or Microsoft Teams). We’re more than happy to assist you and your son with any queries you may have in areas such as, school-based apprenticeships, work experience, TAFE and university applications, career decision-making or industry connections.
Mr Kris Glass, Career Development Practitioner - glassk@stmaryscollege.com
Mr Paul Barber, Career Support Officer - barberp@stmaryscollege.com
Ms Bronnie Littlewood, Career Support Officer - littlewoodb@stmaryscollege.com
Sport News
Team Spotlight: On Sunday, a team made up of predominantly Year 9 and 10 students competed in division 2 of the Open AAG Basketball Cup. Going into the day we knew that winning wasn’t going to be easy. First up we versed Centenary, coming away with a comfortable win. The second game was our redemption game against Toowoomba Grammar - a team who beat us in Term 1 by 40 points. After a tough game, we came out with a spectacular 18 point win, sending us into the grand final. In the final we faced TAS, where we started out strong, securing a substantial lead, which gave us a chance to rotate the team and get a couple of Year 7 and 8 boys on the floor to experience opens level basketball. After and impressive display of team basketball we came out with a 62-24 win to take out the Division 2 AAG Cup.
Team: Kallen Gierke (C), Cohen Stockwell (VC) , Sam Moore, Braslin Anyama, Humphrey Lomocso, Daryl Quijas, Stephen Shindano, Harlie Wolski, Aguot Kur, Lachlan Ramm, Abit Deng, Kaiden Sack, Mr Jacob Pomfrett (coach).
Special mention to Kaiden Sack for manning the score bench all day for us, and congratulations to Darryl Quijas on receiving MVP of the day!
Term 2 Sporting Fundraiser
Thanks to our SMC Sport Season Sponsors
The Hub
Support is available to all students who require assistance with homework, assignments or reviewing current classwork. Support is available in the Hub every morning before school from 7.00am and at both lunch breaks. Support will also be available after school on Thursday afternoons from 3.05pm until 4.00pm. If you would like further information, please get in touch.
Mr Dave Roy, Learning Support Teacher - royd@stmaryscollege.com
Notice Board
The Department of Transport and Main Roads has engaged Arup Pty Ltd to undertake research into use of bicycle and foot scooter parking facilities at Queensland schools.