Murphy's Café goes platinum!

Have you heard the good news? The St Mary's College Junior School has achieved platinum accreditation with the SmartFood Award Program, an initiative of School Food Matters.

The College is the only independent school in Tasmania to currently qualify for the platinum ranking (the highest accreditation possible) through our canteen, Murphy's Café.

To receive a platinum award, schools need to consistently meet a high standard across a range of testing criteria.

In addition to our Junior School Café menu, which features at least 80 percent 'green' items and healthy, nutritious meals based on the five food groups, the College also earned top marks for its healthy eating policy, food service and waste management practices.

Murphy's Café plays a central role in our sustainability movement, and we are so privileged here at the College to be able to enjoy fresh, seasonal produce straight from the source through our school kitchen garden.

Congratulations, Murphy's Café and well done to Phil Shanny and all staff who contribute to making St Mary's College a healthy and positive place for our students to learn, work and grow.

Fantastic start for debating season

The Year 11 College team enjoyed a triumphant start to their debating season on Wednesday 22 March with a win against The Friends' School 2.

The topic, 'Anthony Albanese would resign if the referendum for a voice to parliament did not pass' was clearly articulated by SMC in an affirmative stance, whereas The Friends' School 2 took the negative position on this topic.

Congratulations to team members, Adalia Hauler, Grace Cox, Holly Teale and Abigail Spilling (Year 11), pictured below.

The next debate will be held tomorrow (Thursday 29 March) with the St Mary's Year 8 and Year 10 teams set to compete at Clarence High School. Both teams have been given the negative position on their respective topics.

Anyone is welcome to come and support the students. Details on the times, place and topics are available to view on the Tasmanian Debating Union website.

Elizabeth Oxley

Secondary Teacher

Vinnies Youth Induction Mass

The annual St Vincent de Paul Induction Mass was held last Tuesday 21 March at St Therese of Lisieux Church in Moonah.

St Mary's College was ably represented by Maddie Young, Estella Edwards (Year 12) and Thea Timms (Year 8) who joined students from other southern Tasmanian schools in stating their commitment to the ‘Good Works’ of the Society.

The following students have been elected to leadership positions in 2023:

Senior School President: Maddie Young

Senior School Vice-President: Estella Edwards

Senior School Secretary: Chideraa Ndupu

Senior School Treasurer: Hannah Korn

Junior School President: Georgina Stringer

Junior School Vice-President: Lucinda Washington

Junior School Secretary: Thea Timms

Junior School Treasurer: Jorja Condon

We congratulate these students and wish them well in their service to the Society in 2023.

Belle Young

Youth Minister

Year 9/10 Art - Life Drawing from the Clothed Model

Over the duration of two lessons, the Year 9/10 Art Class was given the valuable experience of drawing from a live, clothed model.

Life drawing classes have been an important learning opportunity for art school students over the world for nearly 200 hundred years, and artists have worked from the live model (outside of art schools) for hundreds of years.

Two brave Year 12 students (Madelin Bannister and Lara Schultz) acted as models, wearing costumes from the Drama department on two separate occasions. They struck up several artistic standing, sitting and lying down poses in front of the class.

The students had to work quickly as some of the poses were held for only one minute, but this gave their drawings a spontaneous, uninhibited and expressive quality.

The longest pose was held for 15 minutes, giving students more time to hone their powers of observation, add detail, experiment with different drawing materials and improve their drawing techniques.

The results were very prolific, diverse and ultimately very rewarding, with tangible improvements evident in their drawings from session to session. I was very pleased with everyone’s enthusiasm, hard work and talent.

Anna Berger

Secondary Teacher

Year 11/12 scientists explore the environment

On 23 March, the Year 11/12 Environmental Science class visited the picturesque O'Grady's Falls in Fern Tree. O'Grady's Falls forms part of the upper reaches of the Hobart Rivulet Track, sitting at 450 metres above sea level.

The students were on site to conduct water testing of the rivulet and are comparing environmental factors at the upper and lower levels of the stream.

Year 1 Excursion: Marine Discovery Centre

Year 1 Penguins and Echidnas visited the Marine Discovery Centre in Woodbridge recently, where they spent the day exploring the habitats of different sea and seashore creatures.

Students learned about the requirements of a habitat, what different creatures eat and how they protect themselves.

Highlights of the excursion included creating a habitat diorama and investigating the rocky foreshore habitat near the centre.

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