The Fountain

From the Principal

Welcome Families BBQ – Tonight (Wednesday 1 March, 5.00pm to 7.00pm)

The Welcome Families BBQ is on this evening from 5.00pm. The College and Presentation Families have organised the event to welcome new parents/carers to the College, as well as our wider community. I look forward to seeing you there tonight for a bite to eat and a chat. 

Building update 

You will notice in our Junior School the completion of the new Junior Lantern Hub with students taking occupancy during the week. You will also notice on the College Green that fencing has been erected in readiness for the Murphy’s Café extension.  We hope that this will be completed before the end of the year, and for those who would like to see the building plan, it is available to view on the window of the Student Resource Centre, just near Murphy’s Café. 

Year 12 2022 results 

Congratulations to our students and staff for the excellent TASC results achieved in the 2022 end-of year-examinations. It is fair to say that we continue to 'punch above our weight' in matters academic throughout the College. 

 

The 2022 Year 12 cohort obtained outstanding results, demonstrating a strong academic culture at St Mary’s College, with 100 per cent of students completing their Tasmanian Certificate of Education. We are delighted to share the following impressive statistics: 

  • 20 per cent of the Year 12s obtained an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 95 or over, placing them in the top five per cent of students in Tasmania. 
  • 27 per cent of the cohort received an ATAR of 90 or over, placing them in the top 10 per cent of students in the state. This is a four per cent increase from the 2021 results. Furthermore, 40 per cent of Year 12s received an ATAR of 85 or over, placing them in the top 15 per cent of students in the state.
  • Exceptional results were obtained by one of our 2022 graduates, who placed in the top 101 students in Tasmania. 
  • Strong overall results were also evident in English 3 and Mathematics Methods 3, demonstrating outstanding literacy and numeracy achievements throughout the College. In Mathematics Methods 3, 33 per cent of students received an Exceptional Achievement, and 29 per cent of students received an Exceptional Achievement in English 3.
  • Academic strengths were also evident in the 22 per cent of students who received an Exceptional Achievement in Food and Nutrition 3 and 25 per cent of students who received an Exceptional Achievement in Italian 3. An Exceptional Achievement is the highest Tasmanian Assessment Standards Certification result for students. 
  • Moreover, 100 per cent of students who participated in Certificate II in Tourism obtained their full certificate with Vocational Education and Training as part of their Year 11/12 studies. Certificate II in Individual Support and Certificate II in Kitchen Operations were studied at Guilford Young College. 
  • We also had one of our Year 12 students receive the TASC 2022 Outstanding Achievement in VET Award.

Enrolments

We will be holding our Kinder to Year 12 Open Morning on Tuesday 28 March from 9.00am to 11.00am. We warmly invite all prospective families to tour our classrooms and learning facilities, speak with students and staff, and see what we do at St Mary’s College. 

 

If you have friends or relatives interested in enrolling their children at the College, please let them know they will need to contact our Enrolment Officer, Nicole Wighton, enrol@smc.tas.edu.au, as soon as possible to progress an enrolment application. This is also a requirement if you already have a child attending but need to enrol a sibling. 

 

I have listed below all upcoming enrolment dates for your information. 

  • 2023-2024 Year 11/12 enrolments - open
  • 2024 Kinder enrolments - applications due by Friday 5 May 2023
  • 2024 primary enrolments - open
  • 2025 Year 7 enrolments - applications due by September 2023 

The first ‘Meet the Principal Tour’ for 2023 will be held on Friday 31 March at 9.00am for a 9.15am start. The session commences with a meeting and presentation by me, followed by a College tour conducted by student leaders, providing parents and carers with the opportunity to speak to students and staff, and see what we do during a day at St Mary’s College. 

 

The upcoming Meet the Principal Tour dates are as follows: 

  • Friday 2 June at 9.00am for 9.15am start
  • Friday 28 July at 9.00am for 9.15am start
  • Friday 15 September at 9.00am for 9.15am start
  • Friday 3 November at 9.00am for 9.15am start

Past and upcoming events

Year 7 Pillars Experience Week was held from 20-24 February and was a remarkable success. 

Ash Wednesday Liturgies were held on 22 February, marking the beginning of the Lenten journey which will culminate with our Easter celebrations. Read more in Latest news. 

 

The Schools Rowing Regatta was held on 25-26 February at Lake Barrington. 

The Senior School Athletics Carnival will take place this Friday 3 March at the Domain Athletics Centre. We are looking forward to the event and the weather forecast looks perfect!

Testing

Year 7 and 8 PAT Maths testing was held during the past fortnight, as well as the Year 7 AGAT testing for Year 7 and new students. 

 

Damian Messer

Principal