Deputy Principal

When All the Stars Align: How Teams, Coaches and Supporters Bring Out the Best in Us.

In recent weeks, our Mount Alvernia College community has had plenty to celebrate. Not simply because of impressive results, but because of the training and teamwork that made it all possible. Across music, sport and debating, our students have shown what happens when high standards meet steady effort, and when a community commits to backing our students.

At the Queensland Catholic Music Festival (QCMF), our Franciscan Colleges Instrumental Program (FCIP) and Mt A Choir students achieved a record medal haul. That success did not arrive overnight. It came from early starts, late finishes, repeated rehearsals, careful attention to feedback and the quiet discipline of practising the same pieces until they were polished. It also came from the behind-the-scenes teamwork that so often goes unnoticed. There are staff who coached with consistency, families who managed the extra logistics and peers who encouraged one another to keep going when energy dipped. A medal is a moment. Formation is the long work that happens before the moment, and our students clearly embraced that work. It is a wonderful partnership between Mt A and Padua.

A similar story unfolded at the recent CaSSSA Athletics meet where we achieved our best-ever results, highlighted by a first-ever win in the all-age relay. Relay success is never about one runner. It is about trust, timing, and the humility to play a role for the good of the team. The weeks of training that include refining technique, building fitness, learning race craft and practising baton changes until they became second nature, reflect a mindset our students are learning to carry into every part of life. Athletics asks students to run their race, but it also teaches them to belong to something bigger than themselves. We know this to be true as most of our athletes on this day are not playing their preferred sport. They are netballers, swimmers, rugby, football and touch players who want to bring their gifts of running, jumping or throwing to this marquee event for the College.

Our Year 8 debating team also gave the College plenty of pride, finishing runners-up out of 182 teams in the first-ever grand final for us at the QDU competition. Debating is also a journey. Our girls learn how to research well, think clearly, speak with confidence and respond respectfully under pressure. It takes persistence to keep improving week after week, and real teamwork to build a case together, refine it and trust one another in the room. Competition nights are late and mid-week. Their results matter, but the true success is the growth in courage and character that debating forms.

What connects these achievements is a simple truth. It takes a village to prepare young people for success. It takes coaches and staff who set high standards and give clear, consistent feedback. It takes students who are willing to listen, learn, practise and try again. And it takes a cheer squad in many forms that includes friends, families, staff and the wider Mt A community who back our girls whether they win, lose or draw. That kind of support is powerful. It strengthens academic wellbeing, builds resilience, and reminds every student that effort is seen and valued.

Best of all, these recent successes sit across a range of domains. They are a living reminder that at Mt A there are real possibilities for every student whether it’s on the track, on the stage, in the classroom and beyond. As the saying goes, you cannot be what you cannot see. When students witness their peers pursuing excellence through training and teamwork, it expands their sense of what is possible for themselves.

Adding to the hope-filled spirit of this season, we have also announced our student leaders for 2027. Leadership at Mt A is not a title first and foremost. It is service. It is the daily choice to lift others up, to act with integrity and to help our community flourish.

It truly is a great time to be at Mt A. We are a community forming spirit-filled students who are growing into ethical leaders, ready to make a difference in our world. I have had the pleasure of witnessing every moment in this letter. 

Being a witness on the sidelines fills my cup!

Every blessing,

Michelle Licina

Deputy Principal Student Development & Wellbeing