MMADD Day (Music, Media, Arts, Dance, Drama)

On Friday 3 June, MSJ held its annual MMADD Day! The day was a huge success with a range of performances and workshops taking place, all fitting in with the theme 'Childhood Nostalgia'.

The day began with a performance by MSJ's cast of Mary Poppins which was an incredible opportunity to be able to perform after three years of rehearsals and cancellations due to lockdowns. Next was a performance by the Year 12 Drama Class that explored the legacy and future of women. This performance was inspired by the Rupi Kaur poems Legacy and Progress and looked into different eras of female activism; including the suffragettes, stonewall, civil rights, me too and modern feminism.

The next part of the day then gave the Year 8-11's the opportunity to participate in a workshop of their choice. The options included a range of different activities in varying areas of the arts. Whilst the workshops were going on, the Year 7 and 12 students rehearsed for their House performances to be performed at the end of the day.

At the end of the day, the whole school gathered again and watched the dance performances that had been put together by each House. Then a surprise act was performed featuring some of the teachers and Student Leadership Team to some of the hits of each decade including 'Stayin’ Alive', 'Material Girl' and more! Then after some deliberation from the judges, CAMERON was declared the winner of the House performances with their fabulous performance to One Direction.

This was such a fabulous day which gave everyone the opportunity to get involved and try something new!

Isabel Vella, Year 12 - Arts Leader

Mount St. Joseph Girls' College is delighted to offer a presentation with Dr Kristy Goodwin. This presentation will help confused and concerned parents navigate the digital world with their ‘screenagers’, without suggesting that they ‘digitally amputate’ them. Dr Kristy will arm parents with research-based yet realistic advice to help parents feel confident about how they can best support their adolescent’s physical health, mental wellbeing and learning online.

Kristy will explore:

  • Why young people are susceptible to potential pitfalls online given their brain development;
  • Why the online world is appealing to adolescents (there’s science to explain your teen’s digital infatuation);
  • A simple (and realistic) formula to determine healthy screen time limits for teens of various ages (based on their basic needs);
  • Why parents need to be the co-pilot of the digital plane and establish five boundaries to ensure their teen’s time online supports their physical health and mental wellbeing;
  • How to support their teen’s ‘digital dna’, especially when using social media or playing multi-player video games;
  • Why digital disconnection is critical for your teen’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

Parents/Carers who are interested in attending, should please book HERE

Piano Soiree

On 2 June, we were invited to perform a piano piece we had learnt in front of a small audience of parents and other students. At first, I was very nervous especially because I had not performed in a long time and was scared of making a mistake. Even though I was very anxious and overwhelmed, I came to realise that even if I made a mistake, I could keep going and not let that get in the way of my playing. On the day, I played well and was able to remain calm. The audience was incredibly supportive and encouraging! I am glad that I played and proud of myself as well. The other students were amazing, and it was a great experience for me.

Laura Rosa 9B

COLLEGE TUITION FEES

Statements have been emailed to all families 15 June 2022.

For those families that do not have a regular, scheduled payment arrangement in place, we would kindly remind you that your fees should be approximately 70% settled by the end of June (as we aim to have fees paid in full by September).

If you already have a payment plan in place, please retain the statement for your records.

Families paying by term instalments, please note, your 3rd instalment is due 25 July 2022.

Your assistance in ensuring that your account is up-to-date is greatly appreciated.

Daniel O’Malley - Business Manager

Young Leaders of the West

This term, senior students Delaney, Lauren, Vendangi, Sharla and Kiana volunteered to attend the Young Leaders of the West Forum on Gambling. During this event, they learnt about how detrimental the effects of gambling can be, not only to the perpetrator but to the people around them. With the support of Victoria University, these students also got to listen to guest speakers and complete many fun activities which helped them to become more aware of this serious matter and how to prevent this from continuing into younger people's lives.

Courtnee Doering - Community Engagement Leader

Year 11 and 12 VET Music live!

On 9 June, the Year 11 and Year 12 VET Music classes performed at Kindred Studios in Yarraville. Due to COVID, we have been unable to perform at Kindred Studios for a few years now, so it was really quite special to be able to get back out there after such tough times and perform, not only at a live venue but in front of an audience filled with our closest family and friends.

On the night, we arrived and went straight to a sound check where we were able to work with professional sound engineers. We then got a few minutes to ourselves to get out some pre-show jitters and then performed our set and had the best time ever!! We were then lucky enough to watch the Year 12 students perform after us and we were all quite starstruck by their amazing talent. We were so lucky to be able to perform in a real, professional environment and to share the experience with each other. Being able to watch the Year 12 students also gives us an insight into what you do in Year 12 VET Music and an opportunity to just enjoy some great music-making. It was such an incredible experience to get to perform in such a great venue for our family and friends and to really get to experience what performing is like in the music industry. What a truly amazing night!

Kesara Brocas-Reti, Year 11

GIFTED AWARENESS WEEK

The week of 23 May celebrated Gifted Awareness Week with the theme 'Like Minds'. Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools held a literacy competition which asked students 'what it means to be gifted and working with like-minded minds'. Students were about to demonstrate this in a range of ways from a poem, a song, a video or an essay.

Deanna Caputo of Year 11 created a poem named 'A Sententious Union' and Tanisi Nadkarni of Year 8 also designed a poem, 'Want it', both very inspiring.

We would like to congratulate both Deanna and Tanisi for winning the literacy competition for their heartening entries.

Read Tanisi's poem HERE

Read Deanna's poem HERE

Inspiring Teacher

Taylor Douglas, an instrumental music teacher at MSJ, recently became the State Champion for the AFBJJ Victorian state titles for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in his division. Taylor had some inspiring words for others...

"This has been a nearly 5 year process from losing every match in my first competition to what you see now. It is easy to miss the amount of work that goes into achieving anything worthwhile, easy to get frustrated by everything involved in achieving your goals and to doubt yourself. I have experienced every bit of this but the one talent or gift I have is grit. I knew that success would come if I just kept at it and also know that there is more to succeeding than winning. Every time I get out there, I have won. Today was just the next level of that. Today was an excellent day, but there is plenty of scope left for my development and improvement.

Keep clapping for others, your turn is coming. When it does, it is sweeter when you have people to clap with you.

Some of the best lessons I have learned in past few years have come from these competitions. I have learnt the power of being vulnerable, getting outside of my comfort zone and making progress in a new domain. I encourage you all to try something new that excites you!"