SMC NEWS 2022 - Term 3 Week 7
Principal's Note
Dear Parents and Carers,
This week we conduct our Multicultural Futsal Competition for 2022. As a Principal, I am proud to lead a school that provides opportunities to families from an extraordinary range of backgrounds to be enrolled at the College. This week's competition is a token of our appreciation at the school, and a representation of what our boys bring to St Mary's. In short, our diversity is our strength!
Futsal is indoor soccer and is very popular in many countries. It is roughly similar to what Touch Football does for Rugby League. Our Second Futsal Multicultural Cup (running Monday - Thursday in first break on the oval) contains eight teams of varying cultures and backgrounds. Each team consists of players with a connection to that culture at St Mary's College.
The eight teams competing this week are:
- Iraq
- Germany
- Polynesia
- Sudan
- India
- England
- Scotland
- Spain
I can't wait to see the competition begin on Monday 22nd August, and look forward to celebrating our diversity this week through Futsal.
Multicultural Inclusion
Fostering multicultural inclusion is essential to ensuring a vibrant and prosperous school community in which everyone is welcomed, feels safe and is supported to participate. St Mary's College plays a critical role in strengthening multicultural inclusion in our community by providing an environment where acceptance of diversity, knowledge of other cultures and an understanding of global and local issues can be developed. All school parents and carers, staff and students are strongly encouraged to be involved in shaping multicultural inclusion in our school community.
A Multicultural Queensland
Queensland is now a highly Multicultural state. I have attached a fact sheet below which highlights the changing nature of our population (From the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs website, accessed 23 August 2021):
A Reflection - The Battle Between Good and Evil
Jesus and Satan have an argument as to who is the better computer programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they agree to hold a contest with God as the judge. They set themselves before their computers and begin. They type furiously for several hours, lines of code streaming up and down the screen.
Seconds before the end of the competition, a bolt of lightning strikes, taking out the electricity. Moments later, the power is restored, and God announces that the contest is over. He asks Satan to show what he has come up with. Satan is visibly upset, and cries, ‘I have nothing! I lost it all when the power went out.’
‘Very well, then,’ says God, ‘let us see if Jesus fared any better.’ Jesus enters a command, and the screen comes to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir pour forth from the speakers.
Satan is astonished. He stutters, ‘But how? I lost everything, yet Jesus' program is intact! How did he do it?’
God looks up over his glasses and chuckles, ‘Ah you see, Jesus saves.’
Salvation gives our lives meaning, direction and purpose. The way we live our lives should be irresistible to others. As the folk hymn sings, ‘They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.’
(From Richard Leonard SJ)
Peace,
Mr Brendan Stewart, College Principal - principal@stmaryscollege.com
What's On: Term 3, Weeks 7 & 8
Upcoming Events
THE FUTURE OF WORK - 29 August
You are invited to this FREE event, Monday 29 August from 5.45pm. To book your place, click here.
OLD BOYS' BALL - 17 September
Student Engagement News
Community Effort Needed to Address Vaping
I am aware that many parents are concerned about the increase in vaping that we are seeing in the Toowoomba community. Part of the issue is the easy – but illegal – supply of vapes containing nicotine here in the city. The Darling Downs Public Health unit has been working to try and slow the sale of vapes to minors from shops in the CBD. They have set up a dedicated online complaint form that can be used by the community to report any potential breaches of smoking laws. All complaints go to the Queensland Health Preventative Health Branch and are then triaged to the appropriate Public Health Unit with complaint information for action. This form can be accessed here.
The Public Health Unit would prefer online lodging of complaints as this helps to them seek warrants and other legal solutions with the Police. Please pass on any information that you are aware of via this system, for the good of our whole community.
Trending on TikTok
I shared this link with teaching staff last week - Inside the violent, misogynistic world of TikTok’s new star, Andrew Tate | TikTok | The Guardian
Please read the article and speak with your children – I was surprised at the number of boys here at St Mary’s who know who he is and hold him in some regard. The boys tell me that he’s funny, that’s he’s smart because he’s making a heap of money without doing any work and that “it’s just a bit of fun”. As they are still developing their young minds, they aren’t being discerning or critical of the messages that they are exposing themselves to – and this can quickly become ‘built in’ to their world view.
Collective Shout
In direct contrast to Andrew Tate, our boys were very privileged to hear from Daniel Principe two weeks ago. Dan spoke with all of our boys (expect Yr 6 on camp!) about the way that the mainstream media conditions them to value males and females differently. Even in our Year 5 cohort, boys could identify that girls were valued for being pretty and fashionable while boys were valued for being strong and smart – and they are only 10! It is damaging perceptions like this that form the basis for misogyny and sexism, which essentially underpin the societal issues we see around domestic and family violence.
Dan was able to share his own story, challenge perceptions and give real and practical tips for being critical consumers of media.
If you are interested in further resources from Collective Shout – please have a look here.
Parent Engagement Evenings
Our Middle Years Parenting evening on Monday 1st August was a successful night – some casual drinks and nibbles, along with some good information about vapes, online life and mental health meant that the conversations were flowing. It was great to see parents chatting about the challenges and triumphs of raising young men in today’s world. The feedback was positive and we will be running evenings such as this regularly – watch this space!
As the newsletter goes to ‘print’, we are preparing for the Senior Years Parenting evening on Monday 22nd August, which will look at topics such as work/life/school/sport balance, parenting a teen who can drive and safe parties. We are pleased to be hosting Andre from Red Frogs as a part of this program.
If you have suggestions for topics for these evenings, please let me know.
Who are your kids talking to online?
Unfortunately, many young people are tricked by adults online – it is distressingly common, even here in our own school community. The reality is that it is not hard to create an online identity and convince others of who you are. Some of our young men think that they know how to check – they ask for an image of the person doing something silly (like crossing their eyes, or poking their tongue out) to check that the person they are talking to is real, and not a weird adult who has found a picture of a random kid online. However, the apps that are available to adjust a person’s age and appearance are easy and quick to use, and make it even easier for boys to be tricked in to believing their new online ‘friend’. Have a look at these posts – from Not My Kid, another good source of advice if you are on Facebook.
Mrs Samantha Parle, Assistant Principal - Student Engagement - parles@stmaryscollege.com
Primary News
Welcome to Week 7 in the Primary! What a term it has been.
Year 6 Camp Champion
This year for Year 6 Camp we have had the return of the Camp Champion Trophy. This year our Camp Champion Trophy is awarded to Dom Delander-Taylor. He showed compassion and care for other Year 6 boys on camp who were struggling with being away from home. Congratulations Dom!
SMC White Side
2022 Darling Downs Regional Shield
On Wednesday the 17th of August 30+ boys went to Brothers to represent the Primary in rugby league. The two teams, SMC White and SMC Blue, played extremely well. It was great to see the return of a competitive competition for rugby league in Primary schools. Thank you to Mr Steer and Mr Cowan for attending with the boys and coaching them throughout the day. The SMC Blue team topped their pool and will play a final against Mater Dei in the coming weeks.
Year 5 Living Wax Museum
On Monday the Year 5 students participated in their Living Wax Museum presentation. The students dressed up as a character from the goldfields times and presented them multiple times to their peers and other teachers. The boys did a fantastic job and all of the boys really enjoyed the experience. Thanks to all of the boys and their families for the effort that you have put into their costumes and presentations! WOW!
Swans Touch Competition
Over the past 6 weeks, many boys have been playing an afterschool touch competition at Kearney Springs. The boys have been playing extremely well and are playing in the finals Monday night. We wish all the boys luck and look forward to our continued involvement in touch at South West Queensland and Queensland All Schools Touch in the next few months.
Mrs Shari Pauli, Head of Primary - paulis@stmaryscollege.com
Library News: Book Week
Just a general reminder that the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s (CBCA) Book Week is Week 7. This year’s theme is “Dreaming with Eyes Open”, which can be interpreted several ways. This year’s chosen author-illustrator is Jasmine Seymour: a Darhug woman and previous Best new illustrator CBCA winner. Jasmine has discussed her interpretation of this year’s theme as being centred around country, and The Dreaming. For further information on Jasmine, her books, and her (very interesting!) family history, visit here: https://www.magabala.com/collections/jasmine-seymour
Musical 2023
Auditions for the 2023 St Mary’s College Musical ‘Big Fish’ are being held on Wednesday 24th August.
Boys will be auditioning during sport time with the ladies auditioning after school.
This year, St Mary’s invited ladies from both St Saviour’s and St Ursula’s Colleges. Over 50 students will be auditioning before our Production Team.
Mr John Condon (Director)
Mr Benn Tracy (Musical Director)
Mrs Shari Pauli (Choreographer)
Ms Lillian Cowen (Assistant Choreographer/Costumes and Make-up)
Ms Cherie Runciman (Vocal Coach)
Mrs Leanne Peters (Producer)
Good luck to all those auditioning and we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.
Stay tuned for our cast announcement.
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
Art News
Select Year 11 and 12 students had artworks exhibited at the Future Visions exhibition at USQ last Friday night. The annual award and exhibition showcases the diverse, dynamic, and emerging professional approaches to art making currently being created by Year 10, 11 and 12 students in the Toowoomba region.
Congratualtions to: Liam Woodward, Ruben Sellar, Xander Gilbert-Johnston, Zack Lyons, Cooper Cameron, Carrick Wiggall, Charlie Coorey, Tait Cameron and Christon John.
Thriving Minds Conference
On Friday the 5th of August, seven Year 10 students attended the Thriving Minds Conference. The conference was hosted by Genesis Christian College and Oxford professors gave the lectures. Thriving Minds aims to stretch minds and encourage deeper thinking by adding complexity, depth and richness to topics and challenging students to consider multiple – and sometimes conflicting – ideas and opinions. The Oxford speakers spoke about many varying topics, but one thing was common among all the topics, and that was the need to think outside the box and look at many different options. In this way, the conference informed us about more than just the topics of the lectures; it gave us the tools to apply critical thinking to other issues. Thanks to Mr Williams and Miss Cowen for waking up early and taking us to Brisbane for the day. I encourage anyone who is even slightly interested to attend next year.
Skills in Practice: Ruminations on False Advertising
Duffin: doughnut or muffin? The question has plagued philosophers for aeons. A duffin is shaped like a torus and has icing that clearly belongs on a doughnut; however, underneath the icing is a substance that can only be described as a muffin. To add to the confusion, inside the muffin is a chocolate filling, not unlike one found in some doughnuts. Recently, an unnamed retail outlet has weighed in on the debate with an advertising campaign that can only be described as an abomination. The advertisement claims that the duffin is “not a doughnut.” While this statement seems fine by itself—obviously this retail outlet are claiming it’s a doughnut—the first statement is then followed by the words “not a muffin.” Never in my four years as the St Mary’s false advertising watchdog have I seen an ad campaign as deceiving as this. I have already contacted several solicitors to ensure the safety of the innocent consumer who was simply looking for a snack that is neither a doughnut nor a muffin. In the meantime, I urge everyone to carefully consider whether advertisements are telling the truth about the product so that you don’t fall for the devious traps set by retail outlets.
Reflection by Nathan Ottobrino, Year 10.
Sport News
StreetSmarts T20 Cricket
Below is a little update regarding what happened on Friday:
Game 1 – St Marys vs Concordia
Well done to Nate (63 runs) & Lachie (54 N/O). St Mary’s posts a total of 177.
Aran fought hard for Concordia, scoring a quick 41 runs, but the mammoth total from St Mary’s was a little too tough on the day.
St Mary’s wins by 77 runs
Game 2 – Concordia vs Oakey SHS
Concordia puts up a total of 118 after a great opening spell from Logan & Brendan (4/10 after 4 overs) from Oakey.
Oakey chipped away at the target, and the game came down to the wire, with Oakey just falling short on 113 all out.
Concordia wins by 5 runs
Game 3 – Oakey SHS vs St Marys
It was a tough start for St Mary’s, but a 53 N/O from Cameron lifted the spirits and pushed them to a total of 122.
Oakey built up a solid 61 run partnership, but realised they were running out of time. That’s when Jordan from St Mary’s capitalised with a 5 wicket haul.
St Marys wins by 47 runs.
Having won 2 games, St Mary’s is through to the Area Finals!
Congratulations all and I hope your students had a great experience.
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
Principal's Tours
Family or friends considering St Mary's? Term 3 tour dates now available.
