Latest news

Chinese awards celebrate linguistic excellence   

On Friday 18 September, 16 students from St Mary’s College were recognised for their achievements in the Tasmanian Chinese Speaking Competition and Chinese Language Day Poster Competition at the annual award ceremony hosted by The Friends' School. 

Anya Nordinson and Amelia Santos (Year 3) both won second place in the Chinese Speaking Competition (Year 3 and 4 Poetry group), while Nina Canning (Year 5) was named as the State Champion in the Chinese Language Day Poster competition.

Year 5 student, Amy Houareau’s performance of the Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower 茉莉花impressed the audience of almost 200 people at the celebration, showcasing her creativity and commitment to mastering the Chinese language. 

The joyous evening was filled with inspiration and camaraderie, with attendees from St Mary’s College and their families enjoying a variety of cultural performances, including the Holy Lion Dance and Chinese music instrument playing. 

Our Chinese Teacher, Helen Han, has received heartfelt gratitude from parents for organising this special event, and our students are already looking forward to next year's competitions. 

Heavy-duty work experience 

It has been another year of success in the Career Education space as many of the College's Year 10s have braved the real world to either eliminate or validate their career aspirations. We continue to value the generosity of many business partnerships and thank them for their support of our Work Experience program. 

Recently, St Mary's College Year 10 student, Helena McKay, pictured below, enjoyed donning her steel cap boots and overalls to get her hands greasy during her weeklong placement at Webster Trucks, in the Service Department. 

Helena said the highlights from the experience were working with different types of machinery and assisting in the diagnostics, servicing and repairs of trucks, adding "Doing this work experience has definitely confirmed that I would love to have a career in the heavy machinery industry." 

Angela Mitchelmore

Learning Leader of VET and Careers 

Life skills for 'real life' 

Students in Year 10 are gaining practical, real-life skills thanks to a new series of workshops being delivered as part of the College's Pillars program. 

Designed to equip Senior School students to thrive in the classroom and in the world beyond, the 'Life Skills' workshops cover a range of topics, from basic car maintenance (such as changing tires and checking the engine oil, brake fluid and radiator coolant), to completing a tax return, managing a budget and social etiquette. 

Pictured: Jess Smith (Year 10) changing a car indicator globe. 

Sustainable fashion in focus 

On Saturday 9 September, a number of the College's VET Sustainable Fashion and Design students attended the Tasmanian Fashion Festival, now in its second year. 

With its emphasis on supporting local designers, and featuring three runway shows throughout the day, the event was a great way to immerse ourselves in locally produced fashion. 

The festival has an upcoming designer runway section which we look forward to seeing some of our SMC students enter in 2024. 

We also ran into a number of SMC students who attended which was a highlight.

Joanna Boyd

Secondary Teacher

Students changing the world 

On Saturday 9 September, 21 students from Years 5-10 competed in the Tournament of Minds (ToM) State Finals. ToM is a problem-solving program which requires teams to work cooperatively to find a creative solution to a given problem.  

St Mary's entered three teams, one in the Primary Language and Literature division, one in the Secondary Language Literature division and one in the Primary Social Science division. 

The teams had to complete a spontaneous challenge on the day and perform a 10-minute play as part of a long-term challenge. They were given six weeks to produce their answers to the long-term challenge, which included writing a script and designing costumes and props ready to perform for the judges. 

All teams worked hard to complete their tasks and had a great time on competition day. To add to their success, the Primary Language Literature team received second place.  

All of the students are to be commended on their dedication, creativity and teamwork throughout the challenge period. Congratulations to the following teams on a fantastic effort. 

Pictured: Our Junior School ToM representatives. 

Language and Literature (Primary):  Sophie Breen, Zoe Ratcliffe, Chukwu Ndupu, Phoebe Watt, Matilda Cunningham, Emma Clark, Abbie Fidanza

Social Sciences (Primary): Nina Canning, Amelie Webb, Mila Hardaker, Molly Medhurst, Lucy Kearney, Katie Yan, Annabel Hutchinson

Language Literature (Secondary):  Ava Schultz, Hal Cormack, Cara Watt, Mae Williams, Elsa Clennett, Madison Lennox

Jenny Noble 

Extension Program Teacher

2023 Interschool Philosothon 

A group of St Mary's College Senior School students recently participated in the 2023 Interschool Philosothon hosted by Sacred Heart College. 

A fiercely 'friendly' competition, Philosothon challenges students' intellectual skills and capacity for philosophical dialogue and collaborative inquiry. 

Congratulations to the following students who represented SMC in this year's competition: 

Mae Williams, Ava Schultz, Mia Morrisby, Lucy Pinelli, Charlotte Horden, Beatrix Clarke, Hal Cormack, Adalia Hauler, Grace Cox, Sana Ghiasvand.

Book Week - competition winners announced! 

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2023 Book Week events and competitions, and congratulations to the following competition winners:

Junior School 

Colouring-in Competition 

Kinder: 1st - Rosa Mihal, 2nd - Olivia Tatnell, 3rd - Theresa French  

Prep: 1st - Amelia Fagan, 2nd - Charlotte Tatnell, 3rd - Anneke Westerdiep 

Year 1: 1st - Sophie Campbell-Smith, 2nd - Addie Bailey, 3rd - Evelyn Haddon-Cave

Year 2: 1st - Sandy An, 2nd - Evie Dillon, 3rd - Lukas Reggett

Shortlist Quiz 

Year 3: 1st - Isla Johnstone, 2nd - Maddie Lovell, 3rd - Charlotte Krautz

Year 4: 1st - Bentley Triat/Lottie Stride, 2nd - Maddie Canning, 3rd - Ava Lane/Angel Aboud  

Badge design 

Year 5: 1st - Zoe Ratcliffe, 2nd - Ashlynn Weir, 3rd - Chukwu Ndupu 

Year 6 1st - Sofia Palermo, 2nd - Millie Locke, 3rd - Justine Niekrasz  

Senior School

Parade

Student individual

Winner: Adalia Hauler - Green Eggs and Ham

Student group winner: 

Winning group participants: Georgia Thurley, Sana Ghiasvand, Sarah Thomas, Alice Nischler, Bella Harman, Shanelle Varghese, Lyanne Olesco - The Bad Guys

Staff group winner:

Winning group participants: Nicky Holloway, Emma Zeeman, Ashleigh Horo, Annabelle Docherty, Jingke Zhang, Jade Davis - Alice in Wonderland

Debate 

Students: Negative

Staff: Affirmative 

Topic: We should read our children scary stories 

Staff organiser: Andrew Clarke 

Student organiser: Libby Oxley 

Staff debaters: Andrew Clarke, Brad Parkin, Jess Palermo, Nicky Holloway 

Student debaters: Ava Schultz, Mae Williams, Adalia Hauler, Hal Cormack, Grace Cox 

Winners: Students 

Poetry Slam 

Winner: Cara Watt 

Other entrants - small prize: Rehmaa Shadan, Ava Schultz, Hal Cormack, Sana Ghiasvand 

Marylouise Jones

Teacher/Librarian (Junior School) 

Spring has sprung—and so have our green thumbs!

Our SMC green thumbs have been spotted out in full force recently, working hard to develop our First Nations Garden space. 

The site, which sits on the sloping banks adjacent to the Nagle Centre, is undergoing a full makeover, with Year 3/4 First Nations students last week pulling on the gloves to plant the first bunches of wintercress and warrigal greens.

Joining forces with College Sustainability Officer, Phil Shanny, the gardening crew happily took turns digging the soil, adding the mulch and watering the plants. Great job, everyone!

The garden will soon welcome additional raised garden beds for growing Tasmanian edibles, including kunzea and pepper berry, as well as other bush tucker plants native to Tasmania.

Blessing of St Mary's labyrinth

College staff assembled on the bottom court on Monday 4 September for a special liturgy to mark the opening and blessing of the St Mary’s College labyrinth.

The College’s Director of Identity and Mission, Sharon Lawler, who oversaw the project in 2023, welcomed everyone to the liturgy and gave a short overview of the meaning and use of labyrinths in spirituality in general, and in the Christian tradition in particular.

Following the blessing and prayers of thanksgiving led by Fr Leonard Caldera, our Principal, Damian Messer was invited to journey towards the centre of the labyrinth, with staff watching in reverence.

The labyrinth is used by staff and students alike, providing opportunities for meditation and mindfulness, offering a pathway to peace and a relationship with God. 

Read more about the labyrinth here on our website.