2nd September - Mount St Bernard College

Mr David Finch
2nd September 2016
Principal: Mr David Finch
Assistant Principal - Mission: Mr Paul MacCallum
Deputy Principal - Curriculum/Admin: Mr Ian Margetts
Business Manager: Mr David Osborne
Head of Residential: Mrs Tina Schefe & Mr Dave Schefe
Office Manager: Mrs Sue Wegert
Deputy Principal—Curriculum & Admin
QCS Test
On Tuesday and Wednesday five Year 12 students completed the
Queensland Core Skills Test. The QCS Test contributes information for the
calculation of Overall Positions (OPs) and Field Positions (FPs), which are used to select students for tertiary entrance. Congratulations
must go to Olivia Abernethy, Mikayla Hannah, Ashleigh Hebblewhite and Robert Walker who worked consistently through the two days of
testing.
Year 10 SET Plans
A reminder that Year 10 students are currently
undergoing their SET Plan interviews and discussing
subject selection with Mrs Hoult, Mr Fahey, Mrs
Bakker, Mrs Threadingham and myself. If you have
any questions then please do not hesitate to contact
us at the College.
Exam Block
Exams will be held for many subjects in Year 11 and
Year 12 as well as 10W English during the last week
of school. It is most important that students
maintain their focus all the way though to their last
day of term.
Remember, when preparing for exams to use your afternoon and evening homework and study times, in the weeks leading up to exams, to
revise your work and learn the required subject content and skills to be examined. Also;
•Exam Timetable—Make sure you know what rooms your exams are in and what time they start!
•Materials—Do you have enough pens, pencils, a watch, calculator, ruler, glasses?
•Food for Energy! Have a balanced breakfast or lunch before the exam. A meal with lots of carbohydrates and proteins will give the body
enough energy to get through the exam.
Last minute revision! It may help to use blank cards for writing your key notes to help with last minute revision. Some students prefer to
switch off before an exam and leave the notes at home!
•Nervous! Yes, this is normal—it is adrenalin moving around the body— use this energy to motivate yourself to do well.
•If you are worried about anything—talk to your teacher, supervisor, Home form teacher or the school counsellor.
Mr Ian Margetts - Deputy Principal - Curriculum & Admin
Positive Behaviour Support Fortnightly Focus “Being a Good Friend”
Healthy positive relationships with others is one of the main supports in life.
Some of the benefits of having friends
and being a friend:

Having fun

Feeling valued

Sharing day to day stories

Having someone you trust and feel safe with

Having someone to care for you in down times
Good friendships, like any relationship, are like gardens - they need constant work.
Here are some skills needed to be a Good Friend:

Being helpful

Sharing your time

Listening with interest

Helping your friend to grow to be a better person

Respecting their boundaries of what is comfortable for them
Good Friends sort out their problems in a thoughtful way.
They wait for a good time, use a calm voice and talk about how the problem is affecting them.
What sort of friend are you?
Don’t forget we are only a phone call away. If you
have any issues or concerns you wish to discuss
please don’t hesitate to call or email a member of the
Pastoral Care Team:
Jenny Rossiter - Whole School - [email protected]
Trudy Bakker - Years 10 - 12 - [email protected]
Ben Smith - Years 7 - 9 - [email protected]
Paul MacCallum - Head of Pastoral Care - [email protected]
From the Assistant Principal Mission
On Sunday September 4 Pope Francis will officially declare Mother Teresa of Calcutta to be a Saint. She is remembered as a woman
who gave her whole life to serving the poor in India, and as an example of humbleness and holiness for us all.
Lord Jesus, you made Mother Teresa of Calcutta an inspiring example of faith and charity,
and a great and esteemed teacher of the value and dignity of every human life.
We thank you that she is to be venerated and imitated as one of the Church's canonized saints.
May we follow her example, in responding to your call to love and serve the poorest of the poor;
especially those most unloved and unwanted.
We ask this in Your name and through the intercession of Mary, Your Mother and the Mother of us all. Amen.
Personal Development Talks - all Year 7 - 12 students will participate in talks this coming week in the area of personal development.
Personal development is an important component of a number of the core curriculum areas - Health and Physical Education, Religious
Education, Science, Social and Emotional Learning. Topics such as human relationships, lifestyle choices, emotional resilience, puberty,
human anatomy and physiology, reproduction and foetal development are covered in these talks. While these topics are explored
throughout the year in general classes, next week’s presentations will support work covered so far as they are presented by experienced and professional staff from the Cairns-based, Natural Fertility Services. All presentations are age appropriate and targeted to
each year level and are presented within a Christian faith context. We look forward to once again having NFS staff deliver these talks as
they have been doing so for a number of years both at MSBC and other schools and colleges in the Cairns Catholic Education System.
Are you Ok? How are you going? Walking around the classes this morning it was pleasing to see the level of engagement from students in a variety of subject areas. This caused me to reflect on and now encourage all parents/guardians to continue to regularly ask
your son/daughter how they are going with their school work? And more importantly, please remind them to seek help from college
staff if and when they think they need it. There are lots of examples where students will often talk more openly with a family member
about challenges they might be having at school (academically or socially). If this is the case, please know that you can always ring and
speak with (or email) any of the college staff so that we can be aware of your child’s concerns or your own concerns for your child.
Have a great fortnight. - Paul MacCallum
7P’s awesome assessment effort! - by Mrs Catherine Titasey
MSB’s 7P History class have been studying Ancient China this term. Their assessment task was to create a report about the first
emperor of China, Shi Huangdi who came to power in about 236 BCE. What we learned was Shi Huangdi was a brilliant ruler
who unified China into one country. He also made sure there was one type of writing and one type of currency (money) and
they exist today after more than two thousand years. Shi Huangdi built the Great Wall of China using slaves. He did all of these
things in just 11 years. But he was also a bully. He developed a very cruel legal system with brutal punishments like cutting off a
prisoner’s nose and he also burnt all books written about China before his rule - if the scholars disagreed, he buried them alive!
He died suddenly aged 49. Historians believe he died from mercury poisoning – he had taken mercury thinking it would enable
him to live forever! We think he was
clever, cruel and quite crazy!
Back row (L to R):
Meiwap Nona, Blayden
White, Anthony Mairu
& Demetria Ryan.
Front row (L to R):
Tyreece Michael,
Daliah Pearson,
Shenelle Roughsey &
Annatania Escott.
The Queensland Quills: Eileen Stenner, Nathan Dowling, Maya Mitchell, Joshua Lane,
Trisha Lee, Ronin Spartalis, Renee Shannon and Hamish Burnett.
NANNY’S PIES
The Queensland Quills
Our fundraising event this term involved a group of students creating a short
story book, to be written in 12 consecutive hours. The purpose of the event was
to raise funds for The Kids’ Cancer Project. Over 600 schools across Australia
entered the completion, which judges best story and best illustrations. All eligible
books are bound and sent to children’s cancer wards around the country.
Although very challenging, students worked hard to get their creative juices
flowing and produced a fantastic book based on the set parameters allocated by
the competition organisers. Over the four weeks, MSB raised $660 dollars
(a massive effort for our first time). Thank you to everyone who helped us.
Karen Rolfe - Teacher
Year 11 Expedition at Cedar Bay
BY SYLVIA KALAUT
Our year 11 Expedition commenced on the 22nd of
August and finished on the 26th of August. On Monday
morning the buses picked us up and we went to Home
Rule. We were separated into groups of boys and girls,
the girls went in the long way while the boys went in the
short way.
On the first night, the girls camped at Granite Creek and
boys were at Cedar Bay. A highlight of the camp was
when the girls had a free day on the beach (Wednesday)
and the boys had their free day on Tuesday.
We all struggled and all the girls were very helpful to
each other. Iris taught us to be strong and to help others
and Sarah taught us to push harder. Joyce made sure
that we all ate. Shirley and I were always concerned
about our food and how much we should save for the
next couple of nights. Percy, Billy and Anton in the boys
group were encouraging all the boys and they made sure
all the boys were eating and that they were fine.
Overall, this expedition has brought us girls together, I
spoke and got used to girls who I never had spoken to.
This camp ran smoothly we didn’t have any accidents
like we did on some of our past camps and expeditions.
On behalf of all the other grade 11s and some grade 12s,
I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Mr Tolley,
Mr Mawdsley, Miss Standen and Ms Karen for taking
care of us out there. Furthermore, Mr Nightingale and
Mr Blue for making this whole expedition work and run
smoothly. This is to my dear fellow students; we
smashed it, now we’ve got five (5) more school terms to
smash before we can go out into the real world.
Cycad ‘Dingu’
By Deborah Dhurrkay Year 11
Cycads have a long fossil history, they were around at the time of the
dinosaurs. This is a seed plant that is more abundant and more diverse
today. The cycad has a thick brown trunk, with green thin wiry foliage; the
seeds are round and shiny about the size of a 50 cent piece and a long
black stick comes out of the middle towards the sky. Cycads stick to all females and all males in each area. Cycads grow extremely slowly and live
for up to 1000 years.
This artwork is a lino print of my totem which is ‘dingu’. I am a proud
Aboriginal woman this is my cultural identity. This means cycad in Yan
language. We come from Elcho Island but my homeland is Dhalinybuy
which is East of Elcho Island in the Northern Territory. In the Northern Territory Elcho Island we have different language names and spelling for the
different varieties of cycads, however they mean the same thing. In our
culture I was told by my grandmother and grandad that if there is more
than six cycads ‘dingu’ out in the bush near our homeland, they are telling
me that our ancestors are with us. It means they are taking care of us and
we are being guided by their presence. My designs were brainstormed in
my visual art book. The totem I have created is a cycad ‘dingu’ surrounded
by leaves and other types of trees and flowers, this represents my cultural
background my home Elcho Island and Dhalinybuy Outstation. The colour
of the cycad is big brown trunk which represents me and my clan or Tribe.
These colours make me feel proud. This cycad totem tells a story about the
cycad ‘dingu’ that started travelling from Dholtji Island, it floated up to my
homeland Dhalinybuy and Elcho Island and stayed there for nearly 100
years. In this picture the brown represents the lady who travelled across
the islands and green represents the long hair she had. I have also drawn a
little dots, shells and little sea creatures they all remind me of home.
This cycad ‘dingu’ story has different kinds of music and dance moves. This
is our traditional way and all people dance it because it’s the special tree
or cycad that my ancestors have given knowledge to our elders.
This is passed through to the next generations. My ancestors use to cut the seed on the top of the cycad and peeled the skins
off until its smooth, they then mashed the cycad seed slowly until soft, washed them with salt water and made a deep hole
near fresh water. The cycad seeds were left there for two days to become really soft and not sour. One amazing afternoon
when we finished our father’s funeral at ‘Ngayawili’. Afterwards we went back home to have dinner and showers, I went outside the back to relax down. I saw a big cycad right in front moving her fossils around it had the best wind and blew my face
first time, it was telling me to go back to my dad’s grave. Cycads have different size trunks and fossils near my father’s place
and our house is surrounded by cycads. They sometimes take care of us when sitting outside on the veranda to protect so no
bad people can come near us or anything bad happen to us. Another beautiful day my family and I went hunting into the bush
to look for honey. We saw a cycad and lots of cycad seeds. There were big ones, I chopped them off and took them back home
to cook for two days and share with my lovely kind hearted families and friends. My own cycad trees know how to ask me or
do language signs to water them to make them cool. My totem was inspired by my Great Grandmother ‘Sally Bukulatjpi’, she
is my heart my soul, my identity, she also has the most amazing dreamtime stories about my cycad. This cycad means a lot to
me because it represents my cultural dance and dreaming. Overall, I enjoyed making my totem out of Lino because I really
love to share my cultural ideas by making a Cycad plant and I felt proud and I really enjoyed making it.
Reflections on the Gospel Reading for
Sunday 28August - (Luke14:1. 7-14)
I remember when a friend asked me over for
lunch and said that we would be having
sandwiches. This was going to be a no fuss,
casual, informal meal. That reminded me of
the image we found in last weekend’s Gospel.
We heard
“On the Sabbath day Jesus had gone for a
meal to the house of one of the leading
Pharisees; and they watched him closely”.
Now the Pharisees were very strict about
keeping the rules and regulations and would
do no work on the Sabbath including preparing
meals. Thus the Sabbath meal was less formal,
with no hot food. (A bit like the invitation to
have sandwiches for lunch). In this setting
Jesus observed that the guests could not break
away from the world’s social protocols and
they “picked the places of honour.” They had
an image of who they were (better than those
who were not invited for a start), and where
they belonged in the social pecking order of
the chosen group of guests. While the host and
guests were watching Jesus closely, deciding
who he was, Jesus was also watching them.
Tuesday Activities in the
Murray McHugh Resource Centre
Noisiest group - Games Club
Quietest group - Reading Club
Nerdiest group - IT Club
but we’re all relaxing, having fun.
learning and enjoying each
others’ company.
Have ever seen the TV show “Who do you
think you are?” It is often a well-known actor
or actress whose ancestry they are following.
Usually there are surprising discoveries. For
Jesus as he watches the guests, the question is
not “Who do you think you are because of
your ancestry?” but rather who the guests
think they are in their community now and
how they are living out that belief. In fact Jesus
often covers this theme. In the Gospel two
weeks ago Jesus made this point very strongly
when
he
told
his
listeners
that
being a Jew won’t guarantee them entry into
the kingdom of God. It was their attitudes and
actions that counted.
So when we come to God with a problem,
what are our actions and attitudes saying? Are
we humbly using the gifts God has given us to
address the problem, as well as in humility
asking for God’s assistance? There’s an old
saying that goes “pray as if everything depends
on God, work as if everything depends on
you.”
So who do we think we are?
Who do we invite to dinner?
Are the sad, the lonely, those poor in heart
and material goods invited to our meal table?
The ultimate answer to” who are we?”
requires asking the most honest source. …
“God, how do you see me…. and who am I in
your eyes?”
Who do you, God, say I am?
Thanks to Ms Hardess, Mr Pearson, Ms Wareing, Mr Akers & Mrs
Weedon for our Tuesday afternoons
Upcoming Events - 2016
Term 3
Tues 13 - Thurs 15 Sept
Thurs 15 Sept
Fri 16 Sept
Fri 16 Sept - Tues 4 Oct
Senior Block Exams
Term 3 ends at 3pm
Boarders Travel Home
MSB Office Closes @ 4pm
School Holidays
Term 4
Mon 3 Oct
Tues 4 Oct
Wed 5 Oct
Sat 15-Mon 17 Oct
Mon 17 Oct
Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
Boarders Travel to School
MSB Office Re-Opens
All Classes commence Term 4
Boarders Free Weekend
Pupil Free Day
HOMEWORK CLUB
After school homework club is being continued for Term 3,
operating from 3:15pm to 4:15pm. The club occurs in the
library (room L2) where no devices for the purpose of games,
music or social networking will be permitted. Students in
attendance are to be in school uniform.
The homework club is planned to run over the following
periods:
Term 3: Week 2 (20 July) until Week 9 (7 September)
Term 4: Week 2 (12 October) until Week 6 ( 9 November)
Day students are to have a dated written note with guardian
name and phone contact details. Students who attend the
homework club may also go to afternoon tea provided in the
Dining Room, from 3:00pm to 3:15pm.
Ben Smith - Middle Leader -Mathematics
[email protected]
As part of our ongoing commitment to continuously improving the school, we believe it is critical to seek each parent and
guardian’s opinion on a range of issues relating to Mount St Bernard College. Your feedback is very important to us as we
continue to build a successful school and strengthen our reputation as an ‘educator of choice’.
As such, we have engaged the professional services of MYP Corporation Pty Ltd to undertake a strictly private and
confidential School Results Survey on our behalf. The survey should take approximately 10 - 15 minutes and will need to be
completed online between 29th August and 12th September 2016. There are no right or wrong answers and we ask that you
respond honestly to each statement.
Please note that this survey will be confidential. No member of the leadership team at Mount St Bernard College will have
access to your individual responses. We will be provided with a summary of collated results only.
MYP Corp will undertake the following process to ensure anonymity:
1. Parents and guardians will be emailed individual survey logins.
2. Results will be collated externally.
3. A summary of collated results will be provided to the school leadership team.
On the survey start date, survey instructions and a personalised login link will be emailed to all parents. You will continue to
receive friendly reminders during the survey period until you have submitted the survey.
If you do not receive your survey instructions on the survey start date, please check your spam and junk email folders before
contacting Mount St Bernard College.
While we strongly encourage you to participate, the survey is not compulsory. If you decide that you do not want to complete
the survey, simply click ‘Unsubscribe’ in the instruction or reminder email.
Thank you for your assistance in helping to shape the future direction of Mount St Bernard College.
Kind regards
David Finch - Principal