Latest news
Sisters lose locks for charity
After more than five years of growing their long, thick hair, Sonia De Cesare (Year 9) and her older sister, Natalie, mustered the courage to face the scissors, all in the name of charity.
Throwing their support behind Variety's 'Hair with Heart' fundraising campaign, the girls each had around 36cm of their locks chopped to donate to make wigs for children who have lost their hair due to a long-term medical condition.
This is the second time in seven years that Sonia and Natalie have contributed to the charity.
The College is very proud of you both and commends you for your bravery and selfless spirit. Well done!
Students go green for World Environment Day
Last Friday 5 June was World Environment Day and to celebrate SMC students engaged in a range of activities to mark the event, which aims to inspire people from all walks of life to ensure a cleaner, greener and brighter future.
Our Year 5-6 Green Team has provided the following article, which discusses what World Environment Day means to our College.
What is World Environment Day?
World Environment Day celebrates and encourages awareness and action for the protection and care of our environment. At SMC, we value our environment very much and we are having a big focus on it this year, with our theme being ‘Our Common Home’.
Why is it important?
World Environment Day is very important because we need to look at the way our climate is going; we need to take a look at what we can do to help this crisis and spread awareness. We need to do our part in protecting our beloved home.
What do we do already at SMC to help the environment?
At SMC we do a number of things to keep our planet healthy, including:
- Nude Food Fridays, which are a great and easy way to remind everyone to be more eco-friendly. Every Friday in the Junior School, we make sure to pack our lunch with the least amount of rubbish possible and the winning class at the end of each term receives a prize.
- The SMC Canteen. Our canteen is not only delicious and healthy but also extremely eco-friendly. Our wonderful canteen distributes our lunch orders by putting them in a reusable container, and on Wednesdays, for the Junior School, or any day for the Senior School, we get an eco-friendly plate. Even the menu is written on a whiteboard so it’s not wasting any paper!
What does the Green Team have planned this year to help our environment?
The Green Team has many exciting changes coming up to help our school reduce the amount of waste we produce. Some of our plans include:
- Introducing hand towels. If we bring in a reusable hand towel to use when washing our hands, we use less paper towel, which would then reduce our amount of waste in our school.
- Interviewing classes. The SMC Green Team will be conducting some interviews with classes, so they can have a say in what we do and what we need to keep our school green. The classes can share some ideas for a more sustainable SMC and the Green Team will try to make them a reality!
Charlotte Poulson, Matilda Wise and Phoebe Wiss (Year 6)
Be 'appy' and live sustainably
Did you know that your phone can help you live a better, more sustainable life?
There's a lot of information out there, which can make finding the right phone app a challenge, especially if you're after an engaging, user-friendly app geared towards children and young families.
Luckily, Molly Topham (Year 10), a member of the College's Footprint Project, has done the hard work for us. After doing some research, Molly discovered the JouleBug energy saving game. She shares her findings with us below.
JouleBug - what is it?
JouleBug is a sustainability app, but do not lose interest there. For all the competitive youngsters out there, it is one where there are points to be won!
The app is based around competitions where people within a workplace, school or community compete at home and their place of work or education.
The app is centred around educating and making more sustainable habits in a fun and easy way.
It is easy to use, you ‘buzz’ an action you have completed, you can add a photo, a comment and then post. You earn points depending on which sustainable action you complete.
There are various challenges from the easygoing turning off lights to changing to a greywater system. All challenges come with points, and contribute to savings in money, water, trees and CO2. Some that we are all capable of doing include:
- Meatless Mondays – going meat-free for a day.
- Kill the lights – turning the light off once exiting a room.
- Hug a Mug – using a reusable mug
- Re-TP – choosing a recycled toilet paper company
- Walkabout – walking instead of driving
- Turning the tap off when brushing your teeth.
Grab your friends, download the app and see how you can make a difference while engaging in some friendly competition. JouleBug is free to download from the App Store and Google Play, and is suitable for both Apple and Android phones. Get gaming!
Molly Topham (Year 10)
St Mary's College Footprint Project
The Envious Curator
Be Your Own Masterpiece — congratulations to our winners!
The eagerly anticipated results are in!
Running for the first (and only time) this year, the Be Your Own Masterpiece competition challenged artists to remake their favourite masterpiece while in lockdown.
Works were then included in the 'Covid Classics' virtual exhibition, where their creative exploits were put to public vote.
Thanks to Michaela Brighella for collating the near 300 votes in order to determine our winners.
It gives me great pleasure to announce the following winners of the Covid Classics Prize:
Winners of the People's Choice
Jessica Smith (Year 7) – The Scream by Edvard Munch
Lucy Rolls (Year 7) – Little Dancer by Edgar Degas
Winner of the Judge's Choice
Amelia Dickman (Year 7) – Little Dutch Girl
Winner of the Packing Room Prize
Nandhini Ramanathan (Year 9) – Little Dancer by Edgar Degas
Winner of the Staff Division
Ivano Del Pio – Contemporary
Judge’s Highly Commended
Maya Manaena, (Year 10) – La Primavera by Sandro Botticelli
Freya Shanny (Year 7) – Ned Kelly by Sidney Nolan
Alicia Dale (Year 7) – Madonna and Child
Melanie Bremner (Year 7) – Son of Man by Rene Magritte
Sienna Nowland (Year 7) – Self-Portrait by Frida Kahlo
Sofia Lumb (Year 7) – A Friend in Need by C.M Coolidge
Judge’s Encouragement
Molly Topham (Year 10) – Fallen Angel by Banksy
Ivy Lawson (Year 7) – The Little Country Maid by Camille Pissaro
Sarah Adams
Learning Area Coordinator – Visual Arts
Year 4 short story showcase
Our talented and very imaginative Year 4 students have written some wonderful stories that we are excited to share.
These stories were inspired by an old boot found stuck in the mud in South Hobart, which was spotted while walking one day.
You can read the stories on our website by following this link.
Update from the Science labs
Our Year 9 Forensic Science students have been hard at work recently recording and collecting DNA evidence from a 'crime scene' as part of their unit on blood.
Enjoying the chance to be back in the classroom and learning together, students conducted an experiment that analysed how blood can splatter in a criminal investigation. In particular, the girls learnt that the way blood splatters can assist in determining the weapon used, the position of the victim during an attack, the direction the assailant's blow came from, and how and where the assailant stood.
The unit also explored the importance of blood, blood donation and how blood groups are analysed.
In Year 8 Science, students have been studying the human body. In the past week they have been looking at the circulatory system, with a focus on the heart.
While there was some squirming and squealing as students dissected a sheep's heart, the activity gave the class a deeper understanding of the different parts of the heart and the path of blood flow.
Cosy for a cause
Students stayed warm and cosy in pyjamas on Friday 29 May as a show of support for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.
Usually, at this time of year, we come together as a community to collect winter woollies and fundraise for St Vincent de Paul.
Although we are not holding a fundraiser at school, we welcome families to make a donation to the Tasmanian Winter Appeal here.