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On country | Fanny Cochrane Smith's Church
The College's First Nations students recently enjoyed an excursion to Fanny Cochrane Smith's Church in Nicholl's Rivulet, where they explored their cultural heritage and their connection to land and country.
St Mary's College Learning Support Officer (First Nations), Bellah Parker shares the group's experience with us below.
First Nations students had the opportunity to come together and visit Fanny Cochran Smith’s Church at Nicholls Rivulet.
This was a new experience for most students and staff and a special time as many palawa students are descendants of Fanny. It was an incredible opportunity to not only connect with the sacred land and church but the wonderful knowledge sharers such as Bronwyn Dillon, who is an ancestor of Fanny Smith (daughter of Uncle Rodney Dillon).
Whilst we were on country we got to connect with culture through twining, walking through the bush, experiencing the quiet and relaxing time in the bark hut and a smoking ceremony.
All students took something away from the experience and as always, we just loved being together on country.
A traffic-stopping work of art
A group of Year 9 and 10 students have added a splash of colour and vibrancy to Hobart’s urban landscape through their participation in the City of Hobart's Traffic Signal Box painting program.
In conjunction with Urban Smart Projects, the council routinely commissions local artists to use traffic boxes as their canvas to help beautify the city, and as part of the 9/10 Art elective, our students fulfilled the brief.
As you might have read in the last Fountain newsletter, over the past few weeks, the students have been working collaboratively to plan, refine and deliver a design that draws on its local surrounds, all in an extremely tight timeframe.
The artwork has since been completed and it looks fantastic. The traffic signal box is located on the corner of Melville and Harrington Streets—next time you are in the area, be sure to stop and admire the students' wonderful work. Congratulations to the Year 9/10 Art students and teachers involved!
IWD Art competition: Winners announced
In celebration of International Women's Day, the Visual Art department ran an Art competition embracing this year's IWD theme: 'inspire inclusion'.
A big thank you to everyone who created an artwork with the aim to inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion and forge a better world. Congratulations to the following prizewinners, who were formally acknowledged at last Friday's Senior School Assembly.
1st - Isabella Harman (Year 10)
2nd - Charlotte Spong (Year 7)
3rd - Charlotte Wall and Imala Lester (Year 9)
Emma Havard
Learning Leader of Visual Arts
Year 8 Life and Faith Passover activity
The Year 8 Life and Faith classes have been studying the Jewish religion, as one of the three Abrahamic religions. A significant part of this learning includes the epic story of Moses and his role in freeing and leading the enslaved Hebrew people out of Egypt.
This story has many high points, one of the most important being the story of the Passover. Moses is charged by God to tell the Hebrews to prepare a meal in a particular way, on the night on which they are to flee from Egypt. Making haste and painting their doorways with the blood of a sacrificed lamb are among the urgent preparations they must make.
For centuries since, following God’s command that they never forget their escape from captivity, Jewish people celebrate Passover each year at the same time on their calendar. Year 8C had the opportunity to see, hear and taste some features from a Passover meal. They observed a table set with a shofar horn, a menorah, (the traditional candleholder), as well as traditional dishes.
As each food was explained to the students (e.g., unleavened bread, a sticky muesli bar and bitter herbs), they had the opportunity to learn its meaning in the meal, as well as to taste it. Some of the prayers and of the Exodus story were read during this activity.
Needless to say, rather than partaking of the usual four glasses of red wine during the activity, the Year 8 class drank grape juice!
Students get hooked on fishing
Recently, Mr Jordan and Mrs Godfrey's 9/10 Marine and Antarctic Science classes ventured to Marieville Esplanade to try their hands at fishing off the beach and rocks with rods and reels.
After a lesson on the beach aided by volunteer Rob, the students were ready to bait their lines and cast off from the rocks. While some students became snagged on the rocks, others caught a fish, with Jade O’Brien (Year 10) taking the record with three fish in quick succession. This was attributed to her long family summers spent camping and fishing at Port Arthur.
Most students threw their catch back into the Derwent, probably a combination of fish protection and fear of eating fish from that part of the Derwent River!
Year 6 student leadership conference
On Wednesday 6 March, our Year 6 student leaders converged on the Hobart Function and Conference Centre for the GRIP Leadership Conference.
Held each year, the conference provides the opportunity for students from schools across southern Tasmania to collaborate, share ideas and participate in fun activities and learning exercises centered around leadership skill development and future planning.
Reflecting on this year's event, Year 6 students Amy, Mila and Vivian said they gained a lot from the experience, in particular, 'that leaders have to step forward to make a difference, not just stand by and let others do the work.'
Our Year 6 student leaders have since returned to school with a renewed sense of purpose and energy, excited to put their new ideas and skills into action in the Junior School.
Composting with coffee grounds
Our Kinder green thumbs have been exploring the wondrous world of gardening, with a hands-on workshop delivered by Murphy’s Café Manager and Sustainability Officer, Phil Shanny engaging all the senses and unearthing some new discoveries along the way. The lesson? The science behind composting and fertilising using fresh coffee grounds.
Although many Kinder have seen their grownups drinking coffee, they were fascinated to learn that the leftovers from the coffees made in Murphy's Café are, in fact, great for the College's garden and worm farms!
Mr Shanny explained that coffee grounds can improve soil structure and provide essential nutrients to support healthy plant growth.
The Kinders also learnt that creating compost is a fantastic way to reduce landfill waste and that and that an important part of caring about the environment is slowing down to reconsider before disposing of something for good.
After pulling on the gloves and sprinkling the coffee grounds in the College's 'luwutina kipli' garden, the students helped with planting seedlings and sampling the fresh produce on offer.
Hot school lunches on the menu
St Mary’s College is continuing to lead the way in offering delicious and nutritious food options for students, with a new program dishing up old-fashioned hearty meals and smiles for miles!
Operating out of Murphy’s Café, the hot food program is delivering hot meals for students at lunchtime on a regular basis.
The menu is full of delicious recipes with ingredients locally sourced and a focus on sustainability, nutrition and the joy of sharing a meal around the table together.
This term, students have so far been enjoying penne pasta in tomato sauce, garlic bread, garden salad and fruit salad, with ingredients for the pasta sauce—including herbs and vegetables—grown in the school’s kitchen garden.
The program is also giving students a taste of the food production process, with Certificate II in Cookery students involved in the preparation and service of the meal, and all diners responsible for emptying their scraps into organic waste bins after eating.
An update from our Prefect for Events and Communications, Adalia Hauler
Relay for Life
On 24-25 February, a group of Year 11/12 students participated in Relay for Life at the Domain Athletics Centre to raise funds for the Cancer Council. During the event, one member from every team had to be walking or running the track for the whole 20 hours of the event, even during the late hours of the night.
Our St Mary’s team was extremely dedicated to the cause this year, with many of us having a personal motivation to get involved. Throughout the event, we participated in activities such as the Bollywood Dance Workshop, the Silent Disco Laps and the T2T Cardboard Vehicle Lap, where our team walked a lap in our cardboard double-decker bus as a nod to the Year 12s' final day tradition at SMC.
We all eagerly watched the Army Band at the start of the night, with many of us losing our voices from singing too hard. While walking in groups, the event allowed for our two cohorts to bond and create connections with students from other schools, while also raising money for a good cause.
Between all members on our team, we walked thousands of laps around the track—some of us sleeping for less than three hours to be able to walk through the night.
We are proud to say that we raised more than $7,500 for the event, with donations going towards funding cancer research, prevention and advocacy programs, and supporting people currently fighting cancer in our community.
The team strongly encourages everyone to get involved in the 2025 Relay event to help create a cancer-free future!
Big Night In
On 1 March, the Year 11s and 12s stayed behind school for the Big Night In. Organised by the Year 12s, the night presents an opportunity for the two year groups to have fun and connect with each other. The event was themed as a sleepover party, with the Year 11/12 Comon Room filled with cuddly blankets and pillows and everyone wearing their favourite pyjamas.
The night had a large focus on fostering a sisterhood amongst the students, with the night opening and closing with a pledge about caring for each other and the concept of togetherness.
The night was filled with fun activities including slime making, a 'riff off' and a TikTok challenge, with students working together and learning more about one another along the way. As per tradition, the Year 11s were taken on a ghost tour designed and led by the Year 12s, where the school was explored.
The Big Night In has allowed the Year 11s and 12s to create close connections with their peers that will only grow throughout the year. The night was a great success, with the foundation of long-lasting connections being made and everyone having a blast!
Adalia Hauler
Year 12