Newsletter

Over the past term, a group of volunteers, made up of MSCW students and teachers as well as Fr Kevin Bates, were involved in a number of workshops, collaborating on the development of our College Prayer. It captures the essence of who we are as Marist women, and who we strive to be for a better world. 

We thank and acknowledge those collaborators of the College Prayer:

Fr Kevin Bates, Parish Priest, Holy Name of Mary Hunters Hill.

Staff:

Ms Louise Kalmus
Ms Charlotte Askew
Mr Daniel Ronchetti
Dr Anne Ireland

Students: 
Monica Attia
Annalisa Galluzzo 
Heidi Chaplin
Ariel Morcilla
Alexandra Chrystie 
Shauna O’Grady
Alexandra Dooley
Kate Plummer  
Danielle Dwyer 
Adriana Pignataro
Emma Edmonds
Emma Serrao
Jacinta FitzGerald

Design of the MSCW College Prayer card:

Ms Rebecca Bombaci 

Congratulations to our new Student Leaders, pictured below at the Change over of Office Ceremony on Wednesday.

Congratulations!

I look forward to working with and supporting their initiatives. 

Please click on the download below to view the new Student Leadership team.

Our Year 8A Debating Team continue to be a winning team. They won the Quarterfinals last Friday night and now progress to the Semifinals next term.

During the holiday break we have staff and students travelling on the Cambodia Immersion, the USA Performing Arts Tour and to the NASA Space School. I wish them all safe travels with much learning and adventure. 

I hope students, staff and their families enjoy a safe and well-earned holiday break and I look forward to new ventures in Term 3.

Dr Anne Ireland, Principal

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools -Charter #1, #2 & #11

We recently met with The Hon. Anthony Roberts MP, Member for Lane Cove to discuss the ongoing challenges we have been facing with the late arrival of morning buses, overcrowding of buses, inadequate services to Lane Cove and other difficulties we have been attempting to solve over many months of communication with State Transit.

As has been requested many times, I ask parents/carers to continue lodging concerns with State Transit on 131 500 and/or http://transportnsw.info/contact-us/feedback/bus-feedback .

Further to this, I encourage parents/carers to express concerns about the State Transit Bus Services by writing to Mr Roberts directly. Please send your concerns to:

This week we finished the semester with Parent/Teacher Interviews for Stages 4 and 5. Such interviews are a mark of the importance for students to reflect on the learning they have had to date and to consider what needs to be put in place for learning in Semester 2. I encourage all students to reflect on the advice of teachers and approach their learning at the beginning of Semester 2 with a positive mindset and commitment to further strengthening their knowledge, understanding and skills within each of their subjects. 

I take this opportunity to thank the staff, both teaching and support staff, for their commitment to our students and their learning this semester.

I wish all students and staff a very restful break. May it be a time of rest and rejuvenation, and time with family and friends.

Ms Marietta Taliana, Assistant Principal

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #8

On Monday, 24th June, Year 9 enjoyed their Reflection Day which was held at Holy Name of Mary Parish Hall. It was a fantastic day led by the Youth Mission Team Australia (YMT). YMT Australia is a national youth organisation that has been operating throughout Australia since 1986.  YMT provides young people with a dynamic and relevant encounter with the Gospel, empowering them to make positive life choices.  Our team was made up of six young people (aged between 19-22) comprised of young men and women who deferred their career or tertiary studies for 12 months to volunteer as full-time youth ministers in schools and parishes.  

YMT ran a very enjoyable day, full of fun, small group activities and some quiet prayer but at the heart of their work was to make the Gospels dynamic, bring them to life and make them relevant to our Year 9 students. They focused on our Marist dimension of ‘Courage for Life’ and the program offered a variety of ways young people in our modern world need to show courage - be it breaking social stereotypes, stigmas and being a young woman of faith in 2019. It takes courage to stand up for ourselves, for others and for a better world. 

Mr Daniel Ronchetti, Acting Religious Education Coordinator

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #1, #2, & #5

On Tuesday, we celebrated the academic success of students in Years 7-10 with many students recognised for outstanding achievement in all courses. Such achievement is recognised by students who demonstrate excellence or perseverance, or both. We congratulate all of these students as well as encourage all students to continue to apply themselves to achieve their personal goals in Semester Two. 

Please click on the downloads below to view the Progress Awards Recipients.

After school study sessions will again be offered at the College for Year 12 students prior to the upcoming Trial Exams. Supervised silent study will be located in Jarnosse from 3:30-5:30, Monday - Wednesday in Weeks 1 and 2 of Term 3. Students are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and are reminded that these sessions will be silent individual study sessions and are not designed for group work.

All of Year 10 are currently involved in the process of selecting preferences for their subjects in Years 11 and 12, in consultation with their parents/carers, their teachers and various coordinators. Presentations and resources from both student and parent information session, including the comprehensive Subject Selection Handbook, are available on the parent and student portals.

Last week all Year 10 students and parents/carers received written recommendations for Religious Education, English, Mathematics and Science to guide their selections for Years 11 and 12 and details of the online subject selection process. Online subject selection is open from 3-24 July and optional parent and student interviews to discuss selections will be held at the College on Wednesday 31 July.

Year 11 will return to their final term in their Preliminary Courses and will have an Assessment Block in Weeks 8 and 9. Year 12 Students will return for their final term and will complete their HSC Courses in this time. Trial Exams are set down for Weeks 3-5 and will run from Monday 5 August to Monday 19 August. During the Trial Examinations Year 12 students will only be required to attend school for the exams and should use other time available to study and prepare for their exams at home.

Mrs Melinda Alvarez, Leader of Learning and Curriculum 

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #2 & #8

On Wednesday 26 June, six other Year 11 students and me helped run the Year 7 Wellbeing session, where we created yarn pom poms. It was very exciting for the Year 11 students to teach and build relationships with the Year 7 students.

Students were divided into their Houses where they received a yarn of wool between two of them and two cardboard circles used to create the pom poms. Each Year 11 Student was in charge of one House and their role was to teach the Year 7 students how to make the pom poms whilst engaging in conversation with them throughout this period. This opportunity allowed the new Year 11 Student Leaders to interact with Year 7 students and develop their leadership skills including communication, motivation, positivity and teamwork. Through this activity, students were able to build stronger relationships and bonds. It was a very successful and rewarding community time activity.

Hannah Pratt, Year 11 Chanel Co-Captain 2019/2020

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #6 & #8

I have read a few articles lately on the topic of anxiety and excitement and whether we sometimes label stress as anxiety instead of labelling it as worry or excitement that we can use to our advantage. When we are feeling nervous, the general advice is to try to calm yourself, which is somewhat counter-intuitive to what our bodily reactions are telling us, fast heart rate, cortisol surging, body preparing for action.

If however we try to corale this stress into excitement then we would be in a better position. The only difference between anxiety and excitement is that excitement is a positive emotion‚ focused on all the ways something could go well. In other words, it’s easier to convince yourself to be excited than calm, when you’re anxious.

One of Europe’s most eminent neuroscientists and clinical psychologists, Professor Ian Roberstson, has devised a simple, four-point plan for channelling stress and turning it to one’s advantage, it is not a new concept but one that I thought could be reconsidered given our own stress at home, work and school and with our young people and is an easy tool to practice over the holidays or when preparing for exams.

This plan is really aimed at putting people in an “opportunity mindset,” with a focus on all the good things that can happen if you do well, as opposed to a  “threat mindset,” which dwells on all the consequences of performing poorly.

Professor Ian Robertson’s “four-step brain hack to harness stress” is as outlined:

• Step one: Tell yourself you are excited rather than stressed. It sounds simple but repeatedly telling the brain that it is excited, changes how it will perform. Cortisol is produced whether you’re feeling stressed or pumped-up. But how the mind reacts alters whether the hormone is beneficial or detrimental. Trying to persuade the brain that it is calm will never work as the bodily sensations don’t match so it’s easier to trick our brain into using stress helpfully, by saying we are excited.
• Step two: Breathe in slowly through the nose for five seconds and then exhale for six; this simple act actually changes the chemistry in the brain. It’s like taking a natural anti-anxiety drug, as we know it decreases your heart rate and blood pressure also. Repeat 3-5 times.
• Step three: Pose like a superhero, puffing out your chest and standing up tall. (no cape required for this step but it still might help if you do have one handy!) and adopting a superhero pose also tricks the brain into feeling more confident (and also others around you). Pumping the chest out and standing up tall triggers the ‘fight’ rather than ‘flight’ emotion, boosting capability (and also helps with your overall body alignment think Yoga mountain pose.)
• Step four: Requires you to squeeze your right hand shut for 45 seconds, open it for 15 and then shut it again. Simple. This switches on the left side of the brain to put you in a ‘challenge’ frame of mind, lessening anxiety, and improving performance.

However, when there is no immediate threat there really are many opportunities to turn a negative feeling or thought of stress into a positive one, and turn those nervous jitters into energy producing enthusiasm.

Ms Becky Salter, College Counsellor

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools -Charter #8

To begin the day we partnered up with another student from our class. Once each pair had assembled in the hall, the facilitators gave us various warm-up puzzles. By answering these questions correctly we were rewarded with small prizes.

After this we were given a marking sheet, to get stamped if your answer was correct. It became challenging as we had to answer as many of the difficult questions as possible in order to receive the most amount of stamps on our papers. 

The questions branched over two sessions, which were split by breaks. Recess and lunch gave us a great opportunity to interact with other mathletes our age from different schools.

After lunch, we continued to make new friends by partnering with someone from a different school. This tested us as we were required to work with someone we had only just met, in a stressful situation. With these partners, we had to complete different levels of difficult questions, in order, to once again, receive stamps and prizes. Within this session, the facilitators gave us chocolate challenges, which called us to answer four or more random questions provided in a limited amount of time. 

At the end of the day the results were announced and we had three students place.

From the first two sessions, we had Elizabeth and Tiarna, who were partners, place 5th. In the last session, we had Imogen place 1st with her partner Liam from Shore.

Overall the day was extremely pleasant and everyone had a lot of fun. We wish to do it again as it challenged us to think out of the box, meet new people and use math skills in a creative and fun way.

Alyssa Simpson and Jacinta FitzGerald, Year 9 Students

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools -Charter #2

On Tuesday 4 June, Year 9 gathered in the Hall to watch a one man show, Fightin' The Kaiser, performed by Brett Hunt. Here, we journeyed through the horrific events of WWI and it’s devastating aftermath. Specifically, we were taught about the life - altering consequences of the war for all who served. Mr Hunt informed us that his entire play is based on true events researched through years of discovery. His characters were developed by fusing stories of different soldiers together in order to create a truly believable account of WWI. 

Mr Hunt’s talent in teaching through storytelling can only be described as impactful and eye opening. He provided us the opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of his characters. The play’s setting was a rehabilitation centre for those affected by war. Many of the character’s names reflected their war resulting injuries or conditions.  Gassy, for example, was left with lifelong lung problems after the Turks gassed his trench using mustard gas. Stumpy had his legs blown off, and Shaky was suffering from shell shock. Then there was Billy, a 16 year old boy who illegally enlisted for the war by lying about his age and forging his birth certificate. After the devastating death of Billy, killed with three bullet shots to the stomach, Gassy’s “survivor guilt” set in immediately. He continues talking to Billy throughout the play, despite the fact that he was now only a figure of his imagination. 

His play also tackled the duties of soldiers during war - such as clearing dead bodies. Here, we learnt about trench foot, a condition where soldiers feet would begin to rot away. He recalled how one soldier would lift the dead soldier’s shoulders, and how the other would lift the soldier’s feet. As they lifted, the dead soldier’s feet would come off with his boot. We were all shocked! During such duties, the Turkish soldiers formed friendships with the Australian troops -  reflecting the mateship and comradery between them.  

Mr Hunt’s talent was truly inspiring, and he managed to present this information in an engaging and intriguing way through storytelling. The way he portrayed the lives of people who served allowed us to truly understand what happened. The way he described the trauma and suffering associated with these events made us realise just how horrific the war was. It truly made us think about how lucky we are to live in Australia where we are free from war. When we reflect on the destruction the war caused, we are forced to question why the human race has not learnt from the past. It is almost impossible to comprehend that countries around the world are still at war with one another. 

It is our hope that future Year 9 students be given chance to experience this incursion, which allows reflection on this significant part of our country’s history. 

Chelsea Colantuono, Year 9 Student

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools -Charter #2

On 15 June, 11 MSCW students, Ms Kellert and Ms Cremin traveled to Alice Springs to compete in the Australian Marist Netball Competition at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College.  It was a challenging 3 days of netball, competing against teams from Marist schools all across Australia. 

After a successful first day of competing, we placed 3rd in our pool, that allowed us to compete in the Championship Division for the rest of the carnival. This meant we would be competing against the top 8 teams within the competition. After some successes and a few close losses we placed 7th in Australia. At the end of each day, one player from each team was awarded 'Player of the Day’, recognising performance and achievements throughout the day. These awards  were given to the Year 12 students being Annabel Da Rin, Ashley Sneddon and Beth Lister. 

To conclude the 3 day competition, scouts from the hosting school selected 24 students they would like to have in their team. The 24 students were separated into two teams, 'The Highly Recommended' team, and the 'Marist All Australian' team. This achievement was awarded to Ashlen Morelli, Year 10 who was selected into the 'Highly Recommended' team and Annabel Da Rin, Year 12 who was selected into the 'Marist All Australian' team’. 

After completing the 3 day competition, we set off at 5:30am in the morning to begin our tour to Uluru. On our first day, we stopped at Kings Canyon where we completed a very challenging 6km hike around the park, finishing in just under 3 hours. After a long day of hiking, we set out to our tour campsite, enjoying a dinner by the campfire underneath the stars. This gave us a good opportunity to bond with each other and learn new skills such as making damper, collecting firewood and setting up swags to sleep in. 

On day 2 of the tour, we had another early morning traveling to Kata Tjuta National Park where we hiked 5.4km observing the beautiful rock formations also known as the Olgas. Finishing our walk in just over 2 hours left us time to eat lunch together and spend time at a lookout point observing both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. After our hike, we went to the Indigenous Cultural centre, and then had dinner as we watched the sunset over Uluru, observing the beautiful colours change before our eyes. We then set back to the campsite, having an early night to prepare ourselves for an early morning the next day. 

On our last day of the tour, we woke up at 5:00am to watch the sunrise at Uluru. It was an amazing opportunity for each of the girls in the team to observe Uluru’s natural beauty and gain the experience of a lifetime. After sunrise, we headed to Uluru and completed a 10km base walk in under 2 hours. We learnt a lot about the significant cultural and spiritual site as we walked around, and sat in caves full of ancient paintings and read dreamtime stories. After our long 3 days of hiking, we traveled 5 hours back to Alice Springs to conclude our trip. 

It was an enjoyable and exciting 7 day trip our team experienced in the Northern Territory that allowed us to engage in the sport we love, learn more about Indigenous culture and create lasting memories with each other. 

Congratulations to the girls who were selected to represent MSCW at the carnival:

Year 10     Grace Quinn, Ashlen Morelli, and Amelia Betts 

Year 11     Nicola Digiglio, Amy Sneddon and Meagan Hamilton

Year 12     Beth Lister, Chelsea Quinn, Annabel Da Rin, Drew Bryans, and Ashley Sneddon

Ashley Sneddon and Beth Lister, Year 12 Students

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #2 & #6

During Term 2 both the Junior and Senior Hockey teams competed in the MCCS competition held every week at Sydney Uni Hockey Centre. Both teams were undefeated throughout the round games and comfortably went on to win their respective semi finals.

The grand final was held at Sydney Olympic Park with the Junior team coming away victorious after a goal in the last 10 seconds of the game to defeat Catherine McAuley. The Senior team competed in a very tough and skillful match against St JP II, coming away as joint champions after extra time couldn’t separate the two teams.

Miss Kelsey Robinson, Sports Teacher

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #6

NSW CCC Football provides opportunities for students in the Secondary Catholic School system in NSW to play for their schools in a state wide round robin competition, to represent their educational areas against other Dioceses in the State, to gain selection in CCC team and play against students from the Private and Public school sector, and ultimately to gain selection in NSW and Australian teams selected from Secondary Schools in the Catholic, Public and Private sectors.

The CCC team this year consisted of 16 students from a number of Catholic Schools across NSW and in that team we had one student from MSCW Kayla Georgaklis.

Kayla is an exceptional centre mid fielder with raw talent. She reads the game well and can use both feet to distribute the ball. She had a fantastic tournament and is always willing to listen to advice and showed great determination in every game. 

Results

CCC v CHS1    1‐1

CCC v CHS      2-1

 CCC v CIS       2‐1

Mr Daniel Watts, Sports Coordinator

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #6

On Friday 14 June, the NSW CCC Cross Country Championship was held, with both Primary and Secondary Students competing.

Seven MSCW students represented CGSSSA at the Championship and all achieved outstanding results and the top ten students in each age group advancing to NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships

12 Years

Ellie Barnett – 19th place

Amelie Fehir – 20th place

16 Years

Kora Villa – 24th place

Emma Serrao – 28th place

17 Years

Eden Fraser – 11th place (NSW CCC Reserve) 

Abbie Lewis – 6th place

18+ Years

Alanna Fisher – 11th place (NSW CCC Reserve) 

Congratulations to Abbie Lewis who will now represent NSW CCC at the All Schools Cross Country Championships in August.

Mr Daniel Watts, Sports Coordinator

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #6

Marist Sisters' College had an action packed season of MCCS Netball in term 2!

All four teams fought hard to earn a place in the semi finals with year 8 being Minor Premiers. 

Years 7, 8 and 9 were all successful in their semi finals, however, Year 10 were missing some of their key players due to AMSA Netball and were unfortunately knocked out in a close match.

The Year 7 team were the first MCCS Netball Grand final of the day last week and it was an exciting one! It was held at the indoor courts at Genea Netball Centre, Homebush. MSCW in the first three quarters could taste victory but a tough fourth quarter meant St John Paul II came away the winners 16-14. A disappointing result but with just two goals in it, the students have their sights on the win next year. 

The Year 8 team came up against a disciplined St Patrick's Marist who proved too good on the day. However, MSCW displayed Woolwich spirit throughout the whole match.

The Year 9 team were victorious in their defeat against John Paul II 21-19 and the skill level from the students was out of this world.

Thank you to all the students for an enjoyable term of MCCS Netball.  A special thank you to the following students umpiring each week: Mia Rodgers, Ashlen Morelli, Sarah O'Sullivan, Nina Gomez-Niewolik and Victoria Vencel. 

Mrs Patricia Cura, PDHPE & Sports Teacher

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #6

Please refer to the Sailing information found in Skoolbag. If you wish to participate next term, complete the registration form.

Sailing will start in Week 1 of Term 3.

Ms Jocelyn Kemp, PDHPE Department

This article on College life meets The Archbishop's Charter for Catholic Schools - Charter #6

In order for our service to run more efficiently during recess and lunch we now require students without student cards using Flexischools on their phones to queue in a separate line outside.

Week 2 

Wednesday 31 July and Thursday 1 August

Penne Boscaiola, bacon, cream & mushrooms                                                                          $6.00

Week 3

Wednesday 7 August and Thursday 8 August

Beef Ravioli with napolitana sauce with parmesan                                                                 $6.00