Latest news
A musical treat for all ages!
St Mary's College is very excited to reveal that the 2024 Senior School production will be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
We're also delighted to announce the fabulous cast of talented students who will bring the script to life, transporting audiences to a world of 'pure imagination', where fun and adventure comes in bucket loads!
Keep your eyes peeled for more delicious details to come.
Workshops ignite the entrepreneurial spark
The milangkani room resembled the set of Shark Tank on Wednesday 29 May as our Year 5 students became budding entrepreneurs, creating and pitching their own business ideas based on an issue in their community that they are passionate about.
Delivered by the Academy for Enterprising Girls, the workshops are designed to help girls aged 10-18 years develop their skillset and learn to think like a boss, and maybe even start their own business one day.
During the interactive workshop, students were taken on a journey of discovery. Using creative and engaging content, they were encouraged to problem solve, get excited—and inspired—about innovation and future careers in STEM and entrepreneurship.
The students were empowered to learn from one another and worked respectfully and effectively as a team. Well done!
History lesson with a twist
Year 2 students are learning about the history of our school and the first Presentation Sisters who travelled from Ireland to bring Nano Nagle's mission to Hobart, where they eventually founded our school.
To build on their understanding of SMC's 156-year history, the Year 2 Wombats were treated
to a tour of the old convent building. Under the guidance of our very own Sister Gabrielle, the students discovered where the sisters and boarders used to sleep; they took in the view from the roof and even had a go at ringing the convent bell!
Putting the flash in fiction
The Year 9/10 Creative Writing class has been working on a Flash Fiction unit throughout Term 2 and recently, the students launched their own collection of five flash fiction stories.
Flash Fiction is a type of prose narrative that consists of very short stories (ranging from five to 1000 words). These micro stories still contain all the plot elements of a regular short story but focus on limited characters and a plot that may start in the middle of the action.
The Creative Writing students worked hard to create a collection of stories that used the same ideas, narrative and characters in a 1000-, 100-, 50- and 10-word story. They also designed a cover page and reviewed a fellow student's work.
When writing her story, titled Wanted, which incorporates elements of mystery and suspense, Matilda Greenhill (Year 9) said she focused on making sure the plot was "fast moving".
"With the word count, it had to be very fast paced, I had to get the plot moving and not get stuck on a particular scene for too long," she said.
Elsa Clennett (Year 9) penned a murder mystery for her project.
"My story, Tips for Future Murderers', follows a very psychopathic character that's loosely based on a character inSherlock Holmes - Moriarty," she said.
"I love writing in long form so the process of cutting back my story was quite a challenge!"
Year 7 retreat: Stepping outside of the ordinary into reflection
On Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 May, the Year 7 cohort attended their first St Mary's College retreat.
This year's retreat theme was 'Presentation People', which invited students to explore what it means to be a part of a Presentation community following in the footsteps of Nano Nagle.
As they reflected on passages from scriptures, stories from Nano's life and the work of the Presentation Sisters, students were challenged to live out these qualities in their lives and at school, with discussions centered on three main topics: hospitality, compassion and simplicity (the St Mary's College touchstones).
Highlights included making felt hearts to give to a family member or teacher, writing a letter of welcome to next year's year 7s, discussing the themes of photo language and writing on the 'Class of 2029' banner.
Many thanks to all the staff who supported the two days of retreats.
Sharon Lawler
Director of Identity and Mission
Upcycling breathes new life into interior design
The Year 9/10 Furniture and Textiles elective is drawing to an end and the results of one of the major projects are outstanding.
In this elective, students were given the task of upcycling an unloved chair that was on its way to the tip. The design process involved measuring dimensions, creating a mood board and a bus trip to Spotlight for fabrics and trims.
Over many lessons, students then disassembled the chairs, prepared the frame for re-coating, constructed new backs and learnt how to upholster seats.
I think you'll agree that each chair will be a beautifully unique centrepiece in any home.
Teresa Klimek
Technologies Teacher
Art students draw the line
Year 7 Art students have been learning about contour drawing with a special emphasis on the Element of Design – Line. They then went on to practice their linear skills on mixed media portrait drawings.
Following in the tradition of copying from some of the great portrait paintings by famous artists, the students used several drawing media, including black marker pens, coloured Textas and coloured inks.
The aspiring artists concentrated on observing what they could see, rather than what they knew, employing a magnitude and variety of lines, adding coloured line to create form, and exploring colour washes to enhance their composition.
Check out a selection of their incredible works below.
Keep the patrula (fire) burning
On Monday 13 May the First Nations students were lucky enough to spend a day on country with Sharnie Read. We started the day walking takara limuna (Sheoak Walk), which takes you to Bedlam Walls. It was a beautiful morning being together on country, learning knowledge and sharing culture.
We then headed to piyura kitina (Risdon Cove) where we workshopped ideas for NAIDOC Week. We finished the day gathered around the patrula (fire) to reflect on our time spent together.
We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and made the most of our time connecting to country.
Bellah Parker
Learning Support Officer - First Nations
Day of AI | Skills for the future
Classrooms were buzzing on Monday 13 May for the Day of AI—a full day of highly interactive lessons for Senior School students on artificial intelligence (AI).
Activities on the day were geared towards helping students understand AI and skill up in for their future lives and careers.
Spotlight on career experience
Ella Striker (Year 10), pictured below, recently undertook career experience at the Icon Cancer Hobart.
It was a busy day for Ella, who visited the centre's PET/CT scanner and nursing, radiation planning and radiation treatment facilities.
Zoe Dyson (Year 12) also enhanced her skills and experience through a four-day placement with Tasmania Parks and Wildlife.
Community Service Learning | Edmund Rice
Year 11/12 Community Service students recently had a visit from Andrew Blackett, Executive Officer of Edmund Rice Camps Tasmania, who spoke about the different ways that students can volunteer with the organisation.
Edmund Rice Camps Tasmania is a state-wide, not for profit, volunteer driven organisation that provides children, young people and young adults with experiences they may not otherwise have.
Abigail Spilling (Year 12) has been participating in the program for the past three years and shares some highlights of the volunteer experience with us here.
I started doing Eddie Rice when I was in Year 9, but I had heard of Edmund Rice way before then.
During my primary school years, a few of my friends participated in the Eddie Rice Camps, which was something I had always wanted to do. After finding out that I was able to volunteer at the age of 15 (the age limit has now changed to 16), I was ecstatic.
I have now participated in a total of 12 weeklong camps and roughly 25 programs. These programs have given me such a huge array of skills and opportunities that I couldn't gain anywhere else.
Being able to help these children be kids again and build such strong and loving friendships with the other volunteers is so rewarding.
Getting involved with Edmund Rice was the best choice I ever made. It has not only introduced me to a world of new opportunities but also a beautiful group of like-minded individuals who have nothing but support and love for one another.
I always come away from a program with a smile, as I get to feel empowered, learn more about others—and a little more about myself too.
