SMC NEWS 2023 - Term 2, Week 2
Week Ahead
From the College Principal
Parent Night - SMC App and Live Reporting
We have a very important engagement night next Tuesday night starting at 6.00pm in the ERCC. At this night we will provide details about our SMC App and our Live Reporting process for 2023.
At St Mary's College, Live Reporting will be available for Years 5 - 10. We are looking forward to seeing you at our brief presentation next Tuesday night 3 May at 6.00pm.
What is Live Reporting?
Continuous reporting or progressive/ongoing feedback refers to the process of teachers providing timely and targeted feedback to students about their learning progress in a subject. This is done through an online system (Canvas) and the feedback and assessment information is made visible to students and parents.
Why move to a Live Reporting model?
The main benefit of this model is that students and parents receive feedback in a ‘timely’ manner about how the child is progressing. End of semester reports are now seen as too little, too late, with not enough targeted feedback and time for the student to improve their learning.
Many schools are now trading off the traditional subject report comments and instead providing timely and targeted task/assessment feedback throughout the year through Canvas. This enables teachers to provide feedback either written, audio or video, along with the assessment rubric with the option to upload annotated student work directly to students and parents.
Just to be clear, SMC are not moving away from written reporting. We will still produce a written report each term. Live Reporting is simply an extra avenue of feedback for our parents and carers.
SMC Cross Country
We will run our cross country this coming Friday 28 April at St Mary's College. We are looking forward to a great day of house spirit. Sports uniforms are allowed on this day.
Have a wonderful week,
Mr Brendan Stewart,
College Principal
Deputy Principal
Week 3 Overview
Labour Day
Monday is a holiday for Labour Day. This annual holiday commemorates the granting of the eight-hour working day for Australians. It also recognises workers’ contributions towards the nation’s economy.
Debating
Our Year 7, 8 and 9 teams will compete this Wednesday evening.
Free Dress Day
On Thursday we have a free dress day focused on Men’s mental health. By promoting mental health awareness and encouraging open conversations, we can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues and provide men with the support and resources they need to lead fulfilling lives.
High Achievers Afternoon Tea
On Thursday, our boys who have done very well on their Term 1 reports will be celebrated with an afternoon tea.
Rosies
On Friday evening a group of boys will be out in the community serving hot drinks and providing companionship to those in our community on the edges and doing it tough.
Mr Stephen Monk
Deputy Principal
monks@stmaryscollege.com
Identity
Domestic and Family Violence Remembrance Day
On Wednesday 3 May, the Domestic and family Violence Remembrance Day March and Candle Lighting Ceremony takes place.
This annual community event is aimed at raising awareness of domestic violence as well as campaigning to bring about its end.
The event takes place on the village green next to the City hall and Library at 541 Ruthven Street from 4.30 to 7.00pm, where there will be a sausage sizzle and coffee van.
There will also be music, a candle lighting vigil and speeches.
As a boys college, we encourage our young men to be part of the solution to the scourge of domestic violence.
The College will be present in solidarity at this inclusive, family friendly event and encourage all boys who wish to attend to contact Mr Murphy.
Mr Kevin Murphy
Assistant Principal Identity
murphyk@stmaryscollege.com
Curriculum
Desirable Difficulties
If you ask what learning is, you’ll probably get different answers from different people, depending on what they do and who they are.
One definition of learning is to think that it is the acquisition of novel skills, knowledge and abilities, and their integration into existing ways of knowing, being and doing.
Learning is also something that is not done FOR you, but is something that YOU DO actively. For students, being given learning materials like a video or a text to read and them reading it, is not learning – it’s what the students do with this experience, and how they link it and connect it to what they already know and how it applies to the real world – that’s when learning happens.
One thing is true is that when we learn, it’s not all smooth sailing – it can be frustrating, reducing our confidence and even making us question our ability to learn at all. Bjork and Bjork’s (2011) Desirable Difficulties speaks to this aspect of learning, in that while we may slow down with our learning and get confused or take more time to work things out and make connections, this often leads to more long-term retention of knowledge, thus providing advantages in the long run. In short, when learning is difficult, students retain the knowledge better. I think it’s timely to remind students of this when they are feeling frustrated, experiencing difficulty, and ready to quit. Push through, because you are actually far more likely to remember this information or how to carry out this skill as a result of the difficulty you are experiencing now.
Mr Mark Watson
Assistant Principal Curriculum
watsonm@stmaryscollege.com
Student Engagement
Parent Education Evening
Parents would have received an email regarding the next Parent Education Evening where we will be hosting Melinda Tankard-Reist. Melinda will be speaking to parents about raising boys in a society that is increasingly sexualized. Please check your emails for the details and join us in the ERCC if you are able to – Monday 8 May at 5.45pm. More information about Melinda’s work can be found at Collective Shout.
A Reminder about Lockers and Phones
All students at St Mary’s College have a day-locker where they are expected to keep their bags during the school day. The usual practice is that boys bring to school, all the books and equipment that they will need for the school day. This is left in their locker and boys take with them the books and equipment for each session. At breaks, boys return to their lockers to swap books, collect their lunch and re-organise themselves for the next session.
Because lockers are used to secure items that are valuable, the College requires all boys to have a sturdy lock to secure their day-locker. In order to ensure the security of lockers and student belongings during the day, boys are required to use the College issued lock which they will be given at the beginning of the school year. In the event that the student forgets his combination, several staff members have over-ride keys that can open the locks.
A brief version of the mobile phone policy is as follows:
- Boys in Years 5 and 6 are required to keep their phone in their bag and locker from the time they arrive at school until they leave the Primary building after 3.05pm
- Boys in Years 7 to 10 are required to store their phone in their locker from the 8.10am until 3.05pm
- Boys in Years 11 and 12 may have their phone on them, but it is to remain unseen
- Using a mobile phone at the wrong time will result in the phone being confiscated
- Not securing a mobile phone in their locker will result in the phone being confiscated
- First instance until the end of the day
- Second instance until the end of the following school day
The changes to the mobile phone policy make the security of lockers a significant priority. Please speak with your son about these expectations and how he might be managing his locker and phone.
Mrs Samantha Parle
Assistant Principal Student Engagement
parles@stmaryscollege.com
Business Manager
As we progress through Term 2, we trust that you should have received your Term 2 invoice and the April statement, reflecting your overall balance. If, for any reason you have not received these documents, please do not hesitate to contact our accounts department at accounts@stmaryscollege.com. They will be more than happy to assist you by sending these through.
We understand that the payment of school fees can be a challenge for some families, and we are here to help. If you are experiencing any financial difficulties, please know that you can contact me personally in in confidence and we can discuss payment plans and financial concessions available.
Mr Patrick Wilson
Business Manager
wilsonp@stmaryscollege.com
New Parent Portal App
We are excited to announce that our new Parent Portal App is now available for parents to access.
To access the app please follow these steps:
- Open App Store or Google Play
- Search "St Mary's Toowoomba"
- Download the app (picture below)
The app includes important information and a live calendar with event information, that will act as our point of truth moving forward.
