From the Principal

As I write today, we have commenced another four weeks in remote learning mode. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s announcement last week, to continue ‘lockdown’ for another four weeks, means students will not return until Monday, 30 August.

The Premier also announced that Year 12 could return on Monday, 16 August. However, due to health and safety concerns, Sydney Catholic Schools has decided Year 12 will not return to face-to-face learning, instead continuing with remote learning.

Yesterday’s Wellbeing Day was well received by all. I hope everyone enjoyed a restful day, including family time, exercise and any necessary catch up. 

My daily and weekly Zooms with parents and students have continued to ensure that our MSCW community is kept up to date. 

Thank you to those parents who have provided such positive feedback. This certainly continues to keep spirits high at this challenging time. Your suggestions regarding other ways to improve the learning and wellbeing experience for your daughters are also well received. Thank you!

The student Zooms have also provided an opportunity for me to see student faces, albeit on the Zoom screen, as well as to listen and answer any questions they may have. As I sign off, it is always lovely to hear the “Thank you, Miss”. The gratitude and resilience of our Marist girls shines through, and despite some frustration, they carry a positive attitude and the proven capacity to bounce back from these difficult times. Well done to our girls!

Welcome

We welcome Mr Franco Chiu to the HSIE faculty as Mr Naicker takes leave until the end of the year. 

I will continue to connect with you in the Zooms. Stay well and safe.

Dr Anne Ireland, Principal

From the Assistant Principal

Study Skills and Tips for August

How to Stay Positive About Your Schoolwork

It can be difficult to stay positive about your schoolwork at all times, particularly if you are facing challenges – whether they be personal or whether you are grappling with something like online learning. When we allow pressure and stress to build, we can get into bad habits and let go of good habits. As a result, students can feel even more drained and exhausted.

The key to being positive and managing negative emotions, such as anxiety and depression, when faced with pressure in any situation – including schoolwork and exams – is to ‘fuel up’. ‘Fuelling up’ is about boosting wellbeing factors in your life. You need to boost these factors in your BODY, MIND and EMOTIONS.

BODY: Here are some things you can do to boost the energy in your BODY 

• Get better sleep

Feeling good all starts with getting the right amount and type of sleep. Start with a good night-time routine. Stop doing things that stimulate you, such as drinking caffeine, watching TV, or being on computers, iPads and phone screens, etc. Try a warm drink such as chamomile tea and use essential oils such as lavender oil. Having a soothing bath or shower can also help, along with gentle stretching of tight or tense muscles. If you still feel you are not getting a ‘good’ sleep, be sure to see your doctor.

• Eat in moderation

Never skip a meal, especially breakfast. Breakfast replenishes your body and helps you start your day full of energy. Eat three main meals and two to three snack meals a day. Eating five to six times in a day keeps your blood sugar levels balanced, giving you an overall sense of wellbeing needed for focusing on your tasks and responsibilities.

• Exercise regularly

Regular exercise – at least three times per week for a minimum of 30 minutes per session – can ‘soak up’ stress chemicals in your body, help you to relax and even help you sleep better. Brisk walking, aerobic classes, swimming, bike riding or jogging are all great exercises to either start or end your day right with. They help release stress build up and relax your body and mind.

MIND: Here are some things you can do to THINK more positive

• Change your thinking and perceptions

Write down your top five fears and worries. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Then ask yourself, “Is that true?”. Usually fears and worries are not based on reality but on imagined scenarios that have little to no evidence. If it’s something that can’t be changed, bring acceptance to it. It is what it is for now!

• Change your focus

Have you noticed that we make what we worry about bigger and keep it closer to us because of the way we think and focus on it? Try this…make your fears and worries SMALL in size (5 cm in height), DARK in brightness and as far away as possible in DISTANCE. When we change the size, brightness and distance of the things that upset us in our minds, it reduces the intensity of the emotion.

EMOTIONS: Here are some things you can do to FEEL more positive

• Acts of kindness

Make a list of five acts of kindness you can do every day. Make them simple acts of kindness that are easy to do, such as saying thank you, etc. Do these five acts of kindness every day for six weeks. The research shows that people that do this, and think of three good things in their life (as above), have a dramatic positive boost in their mood.

• Three good things exercise

Every day, at the start and end of your day, think of three good things that happened. Write them down. Then think about either WHY those good things happened or how it MADE YOU FEEL when those good things happened.

• Start ticking things off your list

Pick something small and achievable to start with that you need to do for school and get it done. You will feel much more positive when you start doing things. Do a few more easy things to get your confidence up, then tackle a more challenging task.

This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #2, #6 & #8

From the Religious Education Coordinator

8 August is the feast day of St Mary MacKillop of the Cross, Australia’s saint. When choosing the patron for the community of women who would later be known as the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Mary MacKillop said “Let us, my loved Sisters, be faithful to the spirit of our Glorious Patron – patient, humble and hidden.”

In 1893, Mary wrote this to her sisters: “Let us ask Joseph to obtain for us a generous devoted love for Jesus, a love that will make us like himself . . . A love that . . . will make us delight in serving his poor, and his neglected little ones.”

In her autobiography, St Teresa of Avila said of her devotion to St Joseph, “I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of [St. Joseph] which he has failed to grant… To other saints, the Lord seems to have given grace to succour us in some of our necessities, but of this glorious saint, my experience is that he succours us in them all…” 

Pope Francis announced a Year of St Joseph in December 2020, describing St Joseph as a father who was beloved, obedient, accepting, creatively courageous, tender and loving – a working father; a father in the shadows. During the days and weeks when we are challenged in our daily activities through lockdown, let us too turn to St Joseph and St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and their unshakeable trust in God’s providence.

Memorare to St. Joseph
Remember, O most pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my great protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection, or implored your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding therefore in your goodness, I come before you. Do not turn down my petitions, foster father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them.

Amen.

Mary MacKillop Prayer
Ever generous God,
You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop
To live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and constant in bringing hope and encouragement to those who were disheartened, lonely or needy.
With confidence in your generous providence and through the intercession of Saint Mary MacKillop
We ask that you grant our request…
We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so that we too, like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage, trust and openness.
Ever generous God hear our prayer.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.
Amen.

 

Prayer Time Friday

All students are invited to Prayer Time Friday at 1.45pm – 2.00pm during remote learning. An invitation will be shared in Compass News with the Zoom link. It is a way of joining together as a community of faith.

While we are physically distanced, we can still stay connected to our Catholic faith communities through the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. It has links to live streaming of Masses, prayer resources and other activities in the Archdiocese. 

Many blessings for the days ahead.

This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #1, #2

From the Leader of Wellbeing

“Discovering meaning in life isn’t easy in challenging times. Yet, such times might present the best opportunity to do just that.” (L.Waters, 2021)

What does having meaning actually mean?

Finding meaning has much to do with how we make sense of our lives and the world we live in. It’s also a question of discovering the inherent value in life and finding things to strive for in accordance with our values.

As we end another week of lockdown, we need to consider and evaluate how best to keep positive with an open mindset, through finding small pockets of optimism and purpose. A large number of studies support meaning as a foundation of wellbeing and health. According to Professor Lea Waters (2021), “people with a firm grasp of meaning have stronger positive emotions, better relationships, and exhibit many positive personal and social traits.”

When it comes to dealing with stressful circumstances, meaning helps us develop effective coping strategies. ​​Finding meaning in what we do is crucial to staying motivated. This especially goes for struggling students and for all of us in uncertain times, like living through this current global pandemic.

Finding meaning in life, and using it as a motivator in uncertain times, is particularly crucial for our students today. Meaning isn’t always easy to find in everyday situations and it is not uncommon for students to go through a period such as this feeling a lack of purpose.

The Wellbeing Team has invested a serious amount of time into creating a remote Community Time and Tutor Group program that accentuates the importance of connection and inclusivity – integrating activities for a range of interests into a series of creative and sporting outlets. Please encourage your daughters every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, to maintain that morning connection by joining Tutor Group Zoom meetings and being present and ready to go at 8.45am.

We need to remember that when we do return to face-to-face learning, the school day is very structured. To support the transition, we need to maintain similar structures at home by engaging in the various learning and wellbeing opportunities as a form of meaning and purpose.

Community Time

Some examples of Community Time this week across all Houses:

• Whole House Zoom: including prayer, a ‘show and tell’ video from the Colin Cares initiative and a Tutor vs Tutor Kahoot  
• My Marist Compass Goal Setting: students worked on their goals in breakout rooms and within their Tutor Group 
• Year 10 and Year 11 Holy Name of Mary Youth Group: students watched an invitation video from the Youth Ministers of Holy Name of Mary Parish Hunters Hill (Danielle and Luana, ex-students of MSCW). Students were invited to volunteer their time to become facilitators of the local parish Youth Group.

We Are Here To Help

Should you have any concerns of your daughter’s engagement with her learning and social connections, please reach out to the Tutor, House Coordinator or myself to assist as a starting point. Communication during this time is crucial and early intervention is always our preferred option.

Let us continue to work together to ensure that this remote learning period is a time of meaningful learning, with continued connection building and support for the wellbeing needs of each student.

As always, here are a few resources that may be helpful:

1. Top Parenting Tips For School Life During COVID (Triple PPP)
2. Raisingchildren.net
3. Parenting During Lockdown (University of Melbourne)
4. ReachOut for parents

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

From the College Counsellors

It is never a bad thing to ask for help. Your usual coping strategies might be out of reach or not practical at the moment. Remember that we are here. If you need some extra support or assistance in connecting with external service providers to enhance the wellbeing of your daughter, or increase your own capacity to respond to the many demands of parenting, please get in touch. 

You may also wish to check out some of the many useful resources available online, such as: 

• Headspace
• Smiling Mind

On the College website, you will find a link to School TV or you can check it out here.

There are a number of topics covered on the site, as well as useful factsheets, apps, books and special reports. They are all designed to give busy parents quick, credible information – from exam jitters and surviving final year to cyber-safety, resilience and mindfulness. 

Additionally, if you have found a resource or service that has been extremely helpful to you or your family, we’d love to know about it.  

You can connect with a College Counsellor through the House Coordinators, Leader of Wellbeing or directly via email and phone:

• Louise Scuderi – louise.scuderi@syd.catholic.edu.au
• Monica Rogenmoser – monica.rogenmoser@syd.catholic.edu.au
• (02) 9816 2041

Gifted and Talented Report

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

STEM News

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

Jarnosse News

Year 7 – Take a break, relax and read!

As part of their English programme, all Year 7 students are undertaking the Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC), a challenge to read 20 books across the 12 months from September last year to the closing date on 20 August this year.

With the limitations of lockdown and the experience of remote learning, there couldn’t be a better opportunity for students to take some time out every day to relax and read.

By this stage, students should have filled in their PRC Student Reading Record with most, if not all, of the 20 books they need to read to complete the challenge.

Please ask your daughter to log in and show you where she’s up to. She has her username and password, and the PRC site is accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. If she cannot log in for any reason at all, ask her to email me and I will find a solution.

Our online e-book library (SORA) has a huge range of interesting and appropriate titles, including a special section for PRC titles, and is easily accessible to the girls. If they’ve forgotten their login details or can’t remember how to use SORA, there are three short helpful videos on the Jarnosse site, which is accessible via their student cloudshare page.

There’s no better time for snuggling up and reading than during a winter lockdown, when social and sporting activities are so restricted. So encourage your daughter to find some books and set aside some reading time each day.

This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #8

Community News

Free online Zoom workshop for parents & supervisors of learner drivers on 2 September 2021