On Friday 31 May, the Year 10 students were lucky enough to have author, Alice Pung, writer of 'Growing up Asian in Australia', visit our school to talk to us about the struggles she faced in her childhood years. Alice spoke to us about the bullying and discrimination she faced whilst growing up. She also spoke to us about her journey in becoming both a Lawyer and an Author.
Alice was humiliated and degraded by her fellow peers from the four primary schools she attended. Despite her struggles, she delivered her inspirational story with pride. She encouraged many of us to follow our dreams and aspirations no matter where we come from. She filled us with optimism and positivity to express our unique cultural differences.
Alice left us with a very powerful message, to be our true selves. She told us to not be afraid to express our true identities, but instead, walk in pride and embrace it!
On behalf of the Year 10 students, we are very thankful to the English department for organising this memorable experience. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to meet with Alice Pung.
By Tessa El-houli and Destiny Mizzi Year 10
The Wynspeak Public Speaking competition took place on May 9 2019. Myself and Marie Houlihan (Year 10) represented MSJ in the Senior section and Arantza Berzunza Cervantes (Year 9) and Natasha Stanley (Year 8) represented MSJ in the Junior section, held at Thomas Carr College. Participating in two categories throughout the evening with a five minute prepared speech and a two minute improvised speech, we all performed well competing against students from multiple Western suburb schools. Fortunately, I was announced the winner of the Senior section for my prepared speech and able to move forward to the final. A week before the final, Natasha Stanley was announced as a ‘wild card’ and she, too, was able to compete in the final.
The final of the competition was held on the 5 June in the Thomas Carr College auditorium, and we were competing against all the winners from the other heats. Both Natasha and I were very nervous but we did a great job with our speeches, presenting better than we had ever before. Even though Natasha and I did not win, we are still very proud of how far we have grown as speakers. We completed the competition, developed our public speaking skills and made new friendships. This opportunity, however, could not have been possible without the help of Ms Skahill and all of the time and work she put into preparing us for the competition, so thank you.
By Alexia Kyriazopoulos, Yr 11.
On Thursday 30 May, Mada, Masa, Linda, Valmai and myself were given the opportunity to attend a Women in Physics Breakfast. We met other like-minded students and guests interested in STEM.
The highlight of the morning was listening to Dr. Suzie Sheehy, a highly influential, and well travelled, Australian female physicist who works on designing and developing particle accelerators for use in the medical field. We learned a lot from her stories and were fascinated by her experiences and her pathway from theoretical physics, captivated by her desire to ‘discover how the world works’, to then realising her passion for applicational physics and making an impact on the lives of others. We learned about particle accelerator technology and the implications it has, not only on research in particle physics but also in areas such as material science, medical applications and its impact on emerging technologies and in advancing society.
A big thank you to Mr. Krishna and Mrs. Devic for giving us this opportunity and for coming along with us. It not only gave us a deeper insight into the world of particle accelerator technology but also left us with a key message to take advantage of the opportunities we are given and to always work hard to reach our goals.
by Madison Hansen Senior Cameron 2
Over three weeks on each Monday, Chess Master, Julia Ryjanova came to MSJ and taught the students of chess club how to play a better, more strategic game of Chess. We learnt many things like how to start a game of chess using the 3 golden rules, how to protect our pieces and how to checkmate someone in the least amount of moves possible. We were all so excited when we found out Julia was coming into MSJ to teach us about the game of chess. Having someone from outside the school with a lot of knowledge about the game was very cool. It was also a good learning experience that we will remember for a long time in the future when we play.
Julia made sure that we all understood and used a magnetic board with a chess set printed on it. This was a good visual and helped us to learn in an interactive way.
Julia played for the Russian National team and was ranked in the top fifty world female chess players in the early 2000's. In 2000 Julia was awarded the title of the Women's Grandmaster which was a huge achievement, and later that year she won bronze. She then immigrated to Australia and began competing again in 2015. She placed 4th and the following year she won! It has been a great honour to have Julia teach us and we hope she may be able to come again.
By Sarah Trigger & Eliza Walsh - 7 Kincumber
Mount St. Joseph Girls' College will host our first ever chess tournament, playing students from other Colleges in Wyndham and Hobson's Bay on 29 July 2019.
A statement will be emailed to families prior to the holidays. Unless you are on a fortnightly or monthly payment plan or have an alternative arrangement approved:
If you already have a payment plan in place, please retain the statement for your records. It would be appreciated if families could make sure their accounts are up to date.
Noel Kennedy - Business Manager
VCE VET Music students performed at Kindred Studios in Yarraville on the Queen’s Birthday we
ekend. The night showcased the work of both Year 11 and Year 12 students performing in front of their families, friends and teachers.
The opening act kicked off with the Year 11 students performing a variety of classic songs from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 2000's. Their recent work in class revealed an appreciation of jazz and classic rock which saw them performing everything from Janis Joplin to The Doors, to Blondie and Amy Winehouse. They have worked really well this semester and their progress has been amazing made evident by their synergy on stage.
The second act was all about the Year 12 students. Our resident DJ, Amber Wilson got the party started, playing songs by artists like Avicii and Naughty Boy. Lulu Guo then performed a series of beautiful and exhilarating piano pieces reflective of music heard at an anime convention and in video games. The night concluded with the hard rocking, psychedelic band, Closer to Nowhere, playing a mix of covers and originals. Lily Riggs, Jaynae Surric-Manna and Naomi Thorpe are making quite a name for themselves in the local scene. Their debut album, Nuns Don’t Wear Denim was released this year and can be found on Spotify. All the students played exceptionally well and are to be congratulated for their work ethic and courage.
Nick Tresize - Music Teacher
On 5 June, as part of their studies in Unit 1, Outcome 2, examining the impact of migration on Australian cuisine, the Year 11 Food Studies students were lucky to be joined by Mrs Hennes (mother of Martina Hennes) who demonstrated the cooking techniques of some traditional Egyptian food. Mrs Hennes prepared a savoury dish of ‘Elbasila w el roz’ (a meat stew with vegetables and rice) and a dessert of ‘baklava’ (a pastry dessert filled with pistachios and a sweet syrup).
During the demonstrations, Mrs Hennes spoke about the influences of Egyptian food on Australian cuisine and the use of spices such as cardamom and bay leaves to flavour foods. She also discussed the differences in the way foods are purchased and meal patterns. Egyptian foods tend to be purchased fresh on a daily basis and dinner is usually consumed as late as 11:00pm.
The students were able to sample the foods prepared, thoroughly enjoying both dishes but with the sweet baklava a clear favourite.
A big thank you to Mrs Hennes for sharing her time and stories and food with the class.
Helen Simsic - Food Technology Teacher
The Year 7 students attended a Mathematics incursion in the Mary MacKillop Centre. The presenter was very funny and was dressed in a white shirt with mathematical symbols on it. He taught us some maths tricks on calculators and taught us about the famous women that were very good at maths. We learnt about the history of maths by matching the famous women to their achievements.
Another really fun activity we did was the ‘Seven Bridges of Konigsberg’. The rules were that you could only go through a bridge once, and you had to go through every bridge. You can’t go through the water you can only travel by the bridges. It was very challenging and we couldn’t work it out! (Try it for yourself in the image).
Overall it was really fun and we learnt a lot!
By Jasmine Evgeniadis and Emilia King 7 Kincumber
A reminder to all current families who have a younger daughter currently in Grade 5 and are interested in enrolling her in Year 7 in 2021 at MSJ, you must submit an online enrolment form. Applications close on 23 August and you will find the enrolment form on our website or by clicking HERE.
