Latest news

The Meeting Place

The College is delighted to announce the official opening of The Meeting Place - a meaningful location for our indigenous students to gather, learn, create, and share stories and experiences. 

The space, which is open to Junior and Senior School students of indigenous heritage, was officially blessed and opened by Andrew Wilkie MP, Independent Member for Clark, and Annie Ellis, the Palawa artist whose wonderful art adorns its walls. 

Year 10 debating victory

Congratulations to Year 10 debaters, Isabel Burdick, Emily Walter and Molly Topham, who have won their final round debate, finishing their season undefeated and cementing their place on the top of the ladder. 

The topic of the scheduled debate was, 'That all classes should be streamed according to academic ability'. Isabel, Emily and Molly, who only found out the topic an hour beforehand, are to be commended for their high level debating and resilience in such a fierce contest. 

The Year 10 debaters have been supported by fellow student, Bridie Lawler (Year 10), who filled in for the team earlier in the season, as well as their Year 11 coach, Emily Keane and mentor, Luzie Gillard (Year 11). 

A huge thank you also to teacher, Karen Walter for attending the debates to cheer the Year 10s on. Well done to all involved! 

Shout out to Year 7 debaters 

Despite the Year 7s' narrow loss against St Michael's Collegiate School in round three, the team (Amber Walter, Madeleine Scotney, Julia Badel and Sophia Raudino) did an excellent job for the first short preparation debate, particularly as they received their topic only an hour prior. 

The topic was 'That fairytales should be taught in schools'. The girls should be commended on their teamwork and confidence.

Winter Woolies wrap-up

Friday 21 August saw St Mary's College turn up in their winter woolies to support the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. 

In addition to the gold coin donation for wearing their woolies, the generosity of the school was proven in the contribution of many items of warm clothing, scarves and beanies. 

The donated items will be taken to the St Vincent de Paul head office to be distributed locally through Loui's Van to people in Hobart who are at risk and experiencing homelessness. 

The College collected more than $1,300 and around 400 items of clothing. Congratulations to the Vinnies conference, and to all the generous families we have in our community! 

Belle Young

Youth Minister 

Book Week 2020 

Book characters came to life on Wednesday 26 August for our much-anticipated 2020 Book Week character parade. 

A highlight of the school year, Book Week invites our students to share in the wonder and magic of reading and literature. 

Students and staff donned costumes inspired by their favourite book characters, with pirates, farm animals, fairytale villains and other wild and curious creatures among those to make an appearance on the College Green. 

Thank you to everyone for your amazing and inventive costume creations. There were so many wonderful outfits and shared stories about much-loved and treasured books. 

A big thank you must also go to our Student Resource Centre. Our library staff worked hard throughout the week to offer our students a full program of events and activities, which included the parade, as well as a writers' workshop, student debates and visual displays. 

While we couldn't have all our parents and carers on-site this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were happy to share many wonderful photos from the day. You are welcome to view these in our Facebook album here. 

Some footage was also taken on the day, which you can watch via our website: www.smc.tas.edu.au/book-week-parade-2020/

Discovery Map workshop

On Friday 21 August the College's Year 9 HaSS students attended a creative workshop run by Tasmanian Aboriginal educational tutors, Dewayne Everettsmith and Sharnie Everett from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. 

The interactive presentation, titled 'Discovery Map', examined the impact of colonisation on the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

Dewayne and Sharnie generously shared their personal story with students, offering an insight into the vibrant cultural heritage of their Tasmanian Aboriginal community. 

Students were engaged and humbled by the testimony of suffering, and the loss of culture and language of the first peoples of the island home we share. 

We pay deep respect to the traditional owners and custodians of Tasmania, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, and their ongoing, profound connection to land, sea, sky and community. 

Thank you, Sharnie and Dewayne, for your generosity and courage in sharing the vibrant joy of community and generational grief. 

Catherine Sandric

Senior Teacher

For the love of mud 

Young learners in Kinder and Prep are breaking new boundaries this term and exploring different challenges with mud and outdoor play. Their new mud suits, provided by the College's Parents and Friends' Association, are designed to support uninhibited outdoor play filled with creativity, joy and sensory experiences. 

Students are enhancing their fine and gross motor skills, as well as their abilities in cooperation, negotiation, communication and sharing in different settings.  

The mud suits enable students to go out outside in any weather and experience the curriculum in an outdoor learning space.

Being outside for a set period of time helps young learners build a strong connection with nature and fosters a spirited sense of adventure.  

Children are encouraged to challenge themselves, test their limits and explore their boundaries in a stimulating, yet safe environment.

Thank you to our Parents and Friends’ Association for generously supplying the Kinder and Prep mud suits, these are a wonderful addition to the early learning programs.

The Envious Curator

'Name this space' competition 

The Visual Arts team is always looking for opportunities to exhibit student work. As you will have noticed, we have been sharing the amazing work that students have been producing in class this year throughout the College, including in The Fountain newsletter. 

We would also, however, like to provide students with the opportunity to showcase the work they create independently. 

With this in mind, Senior Art Teacher, Emma Havard came up with the brilliant idea to allocate a space where students can display the works they've created just 'for the love of it'. We have cleared the massive exhibition board outside S122 in anticipation of your creations. 

To make this space 'official', we welcome student suggestions on what to call it. The chosen name will be featured on the board and the author will receive a Visual Arts pin for their contribution. Please email your suggestions to sjadams@smc.tas.edu.au. Entries close on Friday 7 September. 

SMC Art Club - what a brilliant success!

I would like to acknowledge the 30 strong SMC Art Club members who have consistently attended every Friday to pursue their passion. Each member has worked very hard to complete their Frida Kahlo paintings, improving their confidence and skills in the process. Most importantly, everyone has just been having a really good time!  

We have one more workshop to finish our paintings, before we move on to our next project - clay sculptures of our pets. If you don't have a pet, you can make a clay sculpture of the strangest pet you can think of. New members are welcome. 

Sarah Adams

Learning Area Coordinator – Visual Art

Tea break steeped in culture 

SMC's Year 9 and 10 Chinese students were treated to a Chinese afternoon tea experience during a recent outing to the Hobart Tea Rooms. 

The girls learned about the rich history and culture of tea drinking in China from Lili Sun-Christie, who taught at St Mary's College in 2019. 

The group then enjoyed high tea - they ordered their food and tea in Chinese, and chose and named their own delicious blends, which were individually labelled and packaged for the students to take away. 

Apple for the Teacher visit 

We recently welcomed local radio talent, Mick and Sarah into our Junior School classrooms for 7HOFM's Apple for the Teacher. 

St Mary's College has three Junior School teachers nominated in the competition - Annie Jordan (Year 5 Sassafras), Bridget Taylor (Year 2 Wombats) and Linda Douglas (Kinder Wallabies). Click here to vote. 

Voting for Apple for the Teacher closes tomorrow, Thursday 3 September at 5.00pm. 

The winning teacher receives an Apple Macbook computer, with each student in their class receiving an iPad. 

Good luck to our nominees and thank you to 7HOFM for helping us celebrate and acknowledge just some of our fabulous teaching staff! 

College life in pictures

Drop Everything and Read 

Our Junior School students buddied up with students from the Senior School on Wednesday 26 August to participate in a 'Drop Everything and Read' (DEAR) session. The goal of the program is to prompt children to make reading a regular part of their daily routines. 

Dancing penguins 

Year 1 Penguins have created a lovely display of their namesake. These happy, dancing penguins come in all shapes and sizes, and look right at home in the classroom. 

VET Tourism walking tour 

Our VET Tourism students put their tour guide skills to the test during a recent walking tour of the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and Soldiers Memorial Avenue. 

Guest speaker on resilience 

Year 8s had the privilege to hear from esteemed motivational speaker - and former rock climber and mountaineer, Paul Pritchard. An inspiring survivor of an abseiling accident which resulted in a traumatic brain injury, Paul shared with students his incredible story of overcoming adversity and building resilience and confidence.

Materials and Design 

Pictured below is Charlotte Dean (Year 10) and her awe-inspiring 'optical illusion' table. 

Prep's day out at Dru Point

Sand, water and mud - what more could you want on a day exploring the outdoors? Prep students had such fun adventures at Dru Point Park last week learning about nature in their mud suits. 

100 days of Prep!

Our Preps recently celebrated 100 days of school at St Mary's College. To make the day extra memorable, they created festive hats, posters and necklaces, and decorated cookies. What a special milestone for our young learners!

National Wattle Day

You may have wondered why some of our staff members had yellow wattles pinned to their clothing yesterday. Tuesday 1 September was, in fact, National Wattle Day. The event, which marks the first day of spring in Australia, is  celebrated as a symbol of national unity and resilience.