We are celebrating another very busy period in the Performing Arts department. We have the College musical production moving forward to its final August destination, individual instrumental students’ performance nights at the end of Term 2 and other exciting opportunities for our performing arts students.
We had a visit from Broadway veteran, J. Elaine Marcos, as part of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy Outreach scheme. Some of our senior music and drama students took part in a ‘triple threat’ workshop, learning a combination from The Addams Family.
The Year 9 and 10 bands, The Stoned Toes and Bohemia, performed at Kindred Studios as part of Worth the Wallet program. It was great to see so many students, parents and staff attending to support the bands who were fabulous!
The annual instrumental soirees will take place on 14 June (strings, brass and piano) and 21 June (piano, voice and drums) in the PAC, 5.30 - 7pm as well as 19 June (guitar/bass) at lunchtime. This is a great chance for some students to perform solo or in groups. Please attend if you can.
We have had some brilliant results for strings and piano students in their Australian Music Examination Board exams. Congratulations to all students who took the exams and their teachers for all their hard work and commitment.
Legally Blonde Jr. is shaping up to be a ball of fun and colour! The cast is working so hard to deliver an amazing show. Tickets are on sale at Try Booking from 5 June for the show at Altona City Theatre, 4-5 August, 7pm both nights and Saturday matinee at 1pm. Please come and support this amazing bunch giving their heart and soul.
Tickets are on sale from 5 June, click HERE to book.
Do you have a child who experiences Anxiety or OCD? Do you want to learn some strategies to support your child to overcome anxiety-provoking situations?
The MSJ Students Services team will be facilitating a book club in Term 2. The book club will be reading Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents. It is the first and only book to provide a completely parent-based treatment program for child and adolescent anxiety. Parents will learn how to alleviate their children's anxiety by changing the way they themselves respond to their children's symptoms - importantly, parents are not required to impose changes on their children's behaviour. Instead, parents are shown how to replace their own accommodating behaviours (which allow anxiety to flourish) with supportive responses that demonstrate both acceptance of children's difficulties and confidence in their ability to cope. From understanding child anxiety and OCD, to learning how to talk with an anxious child, to avoiding common traps and pitfalls (such as being overly protective or demanding) to identifying the ways in which parents have been enabling a child's anxious behaviours, this book is full of detailed guidance and practical suggestions. Worksheets are included to help parents translate the book's suggestions into action, and the book's compassionate and personable tone will make it a welcoming resource for any concerned parent.
If you are interested in participating in the book club, please complete the expression of interest form located here: MSJ Book Club
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Robyn Thomson rthomson@msj.vic.edu.au
What is the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data?
Schools must now complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) every year. It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments or “help” at school because of a disability. The NCCD helps governments plan for the needs of students with disability.
Please see the attached document for further information.
A statement will be emailed to families prior to the Term 2 holidays.
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 60% settled by the end of May (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 24 July 2023.
Your assistance in ensuring that your account is up-to-date is greatly appreciated.
Closing date - 20 June 2023
CSEF Applications ($1,225 CSEF reduction in fees)
Families who have not already applied and are eligible (hold health care (HCC), pensioner concession (PCC) or veterans’ affairs gold card and temporary foster parents) are strongly urged to complete the CSEF form (also included on our website https://www.msj.vic.edu.au/uploads/Fees/CSEF_application_form.pdf) as it provides significant reductions in fees.
Should you have any queries in relation to your account, please contact Mrs Heather Rinaldi (msjfees@msj.vic.edu.au) or 8398 2000 (Option 3).
Your continued support is appreciated.
Daniel O’Malley - Business Manager
On Wednesday 10 May, our Year 8 students were entertained by the Complete Works Theatre Company who visited the school and delivered a poetry workshop to assist the students with their study of Indigenous Australian poetry this term.
Combining spoken word and song, the performers engaged the Year 8 students with their entertaining and interactive workshop. In addition to consolidating what they had already learned in class, the students picked up a lot of new information about some famous Australian poetry, poetic devices, and how to explore meaning in a poem.
Following the incursion, the students had the opportunity to write their own acrostic poems and create their own similes, using a formula outlined by the performers.
The Australian Poetry incursion was a fantastic experience for our Year 8 students!
Rebekah Taylor - English Domain Leader
Former MSJ student Naomi Thorpe (Class of 2019) has her artwork displayed as flags throughout Hobsons Bay. They are currently being exhibited at the Altona Meadows Skate Park near the Altona Meadows Sports Centre off Queen Street.
This is Naomi's first paid exhibition. She applied through the council and was selected over many competing artists.
Her work has been on display for seven weeks and is due to come down any day now.
We are very proud of Naomi and her achievement and involvement in community arts.
Global Politics is a VCE subject in Year 11 and 12. On Monday 8 May, we got the opportunity to engage and talk with a UN representative, Mr Clinton Moore. Clinton took the time out of his day to come and visit our classes and educate us about a lesser known branch of the UN, called UN Habitat, in Bangkok, Thailand. This branch of the UN is responsible for helping countries in South East Asia achieve sustainable urbanisation, while also working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals; Number 11: Sustainable cities and communities, as well as Number 13: Climate Action. Through discussing his projects in UN Habitat, Clinton gave us a deeper insight and understanding into regional relationships of South Pacific Asia, as well as the ins and outs of how things work on political and diplomatic levels across the UN. Through having the opportunity to talk about working in the global politics sphere, many of us got to see the opportunities future career pathways may hold.
As well as working for the United Nations, Clinton has worked in Melbourne at local council levels such as the City of Melbourne and Hobsons Bay, helping these bodies put into place the Sustainable Development Goals mentioned above. Clinton was able to provide us with an insight on how global political bodies differ from local political bodies in terms of time and resources. Clinton has also worked with and currently works with the University of Melbourne.
Currently the Year 12 Global Politics class is looking at China as a global power especially in South East Asia. Clinton provided us with a different perspective to issues we are looking at like the South China Sea dispute and China’s belt and road initiative. Getting this ‘insider’ information and perspective will hopefully be able to give our class an upper edge in exam time when discussing and analysing these initiatives and issues.
Getting this deeper insight into first hand UN work has been a privilege for the Politics students and helped us understand complex global politics issues in an interesting and informative way. Thank you so much to Clinton for taking time out of his busy schedule to come and talk to us, as well as another huge thank you to Ms Borrman, Ms Pallasis, and Ms Doering for organising and facilitating this opportunity.
Zara Curtis and Keletso Radihephi (Year 12 Global Politics students)
Over the recent school holidays, MSJ students Mia, Macy and Shauna, with their Lifestyle for Kids dance school, performed in three stage performances consisting of a twenty minute routine, at Universal Studios, Disneyland, and Citadel shopping outlet in Los Angeles, USA. They also attended workshops in Disneyland and at Millennium Dance School with renowned dance instructors. What a fantastic experience!
