Latest news
Students mark start of Lenten season
On Wednesday 26 February the College gathered as part of God's family for Ash Wednesday Liturgies to mark the beginning of the Lenten journey and to reflect and pray together.
The sign of the cross was marked in blessed ashes on our foreheads as we learnt about the meaning of Lent. We also spoke about kindness and how each class will raise money for Project Compassion, Caritas' annual Lenten appeal.
Preps enjoy delights of pancakes—and furry friends
Shrove Tuesday (25 February) brought our Prep students a day with yummy pancakes, the eggstraordinary 'pancake in the frying pan races' and a special visit to Ten Lives Cat Centre.
Our busy Preps then headed to Cornelian Bay Park for some outdoor fun before heading home for a much-deserved rest.
You can find more photos from the day on the St Mary's College Facebook page.
Netball star takes centre stage
Our Year 6 students hit the courts with Collingwood Magpies Netball player, Kelsey Browne recently for some high-energy netball drills and game time.
The star mid-courter, who was in Hobart last week as part of her season presence in Hobart, put the girls through their paces as she shared her valuable tips and tricks.
Education in the great outdoors
The College's Year 10 Outdoor Education students had an unforgettable adventure on Maria Island recently.
They experienced both indigenous and European history, spectacular views, mountain biking and took part in Dewayne Everettsmith's Aboriginal workshops.
Students also encountered breathtaking wilderness and wildlife in the national park landscape and even spotted a wandering wombat!
Excursion sheds light on history and culture
Our Year 8 HaSS students also explored their natural surroundings during an excursion to Risdon Cove and Bedlam Walls. Students, Madeline Burnett and Holly Ward share some of the highlights of their trip below.
Year 8 recently went on an excursion to Risdon Cove and Bedlam Walls as part of the 'Landscapes and Landforms' unit that we are studying in HaSS.
We learnt a lot about the things that the people of the Aboriginal culture value deeply. We went on a guided walk with Dewayne Everettsmith (a Tasmanian Aboriginal man who educates others about Aboriginal culture). We stopped along the way to take in some of the historical elements of Risdon Cove and their importance to Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples. There, we were shown an incredible large gum tree that is thought to be 500 years old!
After some lunch, we set off to Bedlam Walls and embarked on a new walk. We travelled along the ancient Aboriginal quarry and were shown a rock that was and is important to Aboriginal people. We found out that when Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples lived there they would use the rock as a source for making and sharpening tools. That rock is roughly 6000 years old, making it older than the Egyptian pyramids. We learnt a lot about our shared traditional heritage and more about our connection to land.
Setting new leadership goals
In the January school holidays, Year 12 students, Hannah O'Connell and Matilda Noonan, travelled to Sydney for the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia's Student Leadership Conference. Hannah and Matilda reflect on their experience here:
It was exciting to attend the largest all-girls leadership event like this in Australia, at The Women’s College, University of Sydney from 14–17 January.
We joined 177 students from 81 girls’ schools worldwide from across Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and the United States.
Over the course of the week we had some amazing guest speakers that inspired us and everyone there to think about leadership in new and different ways. One that stood out for us was Ben Pettingill. Ben has been 95 per cent blind since he was 16 and has accomplished many wonderful goals such as walking the Kokoda Trail, competing in a Spartan obstacle race and skiing in the fastest water race in the world. His aim is to educate aspiring future leaders with his idea of ‘Limitless Vision’, which teaches people to aspire, educate and act on their goals.
The conference taught us so many things that we can put into action at school, such as time management skills and changing our mindset about leadership. The conference helped us learn who we are as leaders.
At the conference, we were also placed in squads and our mentor, Rachel helped us with figuring out who we are and showed us that it’s OK to not be sure of everything in life after school. Our squad was made up of a nice group of girls from all around Australia. We really bonded and had many laughs and tears through the week as we connected on various experiences and shared our thoughts.
We will be forever grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this event and will always remember the inspiring activities and speakers and what we learnt about ourselves as leaders.
College life in pictures
Crafty creations
Check out student Brooke Jones' magnificently-made mirror in Year 9 Materials and Design. Wow!
Scooter Day a success
The sounds of excited shrieks and laughter filled the College on Friday 28 February as students in Prep to Year 6 showed off their scooter skills while supporting a very worthwhile cause.
This year's Scooter Day raised important funds for the Tasmanian bushfire appeal, as well reinforcing to children the importance of physical activity.
Smiles galore at our welcome evening
It was wonderful to see everyone having lots of fun at our Families Welcome Evening on Wednesday 19 February.
Thank you to all who attended and for those who helped bring such a nice night together, including the College's Parents and Friends' Association, our Senior band and student helpers.