COLLEGE NEWS

COMBINED SCHOOLS’ MUSICAL RECAP

With Ms Jillian Turner |

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, EVENTS & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Three schools, one cast, and a timeless story were the perfect ingredients for this year’s huge Combined Schools’ Musical production of Beauty and the Beast.

Involving students from St Patrick’s College Townsville, St Margaret Mary’s College and Ignatius Park College, performers worked for months finessing their singing, acting and dancing skills. Coordinating rehearsals across three Colleges is always challenging, but complications arising from COVID restrictions added yet another layer of difficulty.

Luckily, we had a secret weapon: well-known Townsville-based artist, Arminelle Fleming, was at the helm. With her wealth of knowledge, skill and industry contacts, it’s safe to say that Armielle sailed the ‘BATB’ ship through those stormy waters. If Arminelle was our Captain, Year 11 student, Emer Friel, was most certainly First Mate. Emer demonstrated maturity and insight beyond her years in this challenging role. Her input was invaluable, as was that of Dan Lobley who joined us in the final stages of rehearsal as the show’s Stage Manager. Dan’s technical expertise, coupled with a calm, generous demeanour, made him a popular and respected part of the BATB family. 

In a show like Beauty and the Beast, audiences expect to be visually wowed. While the villager costumes and props were easier to source, the same could not be said for anything in the enchanted castle. Fate smiled on us – Toowoomba Anglican School had performed the show in 2021 and were happy to sell on their costumes. Crisis averted, right? Not quite. While we now had a number of the key costumes (Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs Potts, Madame Wardrobe, Chip and Beast), the rest had to be made. Dancing whisks, dinner plates, cutlery, flowers and fruit bowls – all of these items were made from scratch. Considerable brain-storming went into the ‘what’ and ‘how’ for each object.

• What would form the ‘bones’ of the dinner plates? Answer: hula hoops and yoga mats!
• What could we find to make life-sized whisks? Answer: pool noodles and irrigation flexible tubing!
• How can they wear the colander (i.e. oversized laundry baskets with mop heads as the draining spaghetti)? Answer: Attach suspenders and add a jaunty beret!

By re-imagining everyday objects, we were able to create magical, yet quirky costumes for the castle ensemble.

One of the great things about this year’s show was how active cast members became in the behind-the-scenes preparations. Students styled wigs, wielded hot-glue guns and sewed buttons. So much of what audiences saw was produced by our cast.

Once in the theatre, things began to move swiftly. Musical Director, Dr Mark Smith, had assembled some of the city’s best musicians to play the show’s iconic tunes. Incredible backdrops and set pieces – some designed by our talented VA teachers – Mr Marano, Mrs Walsh and Mr Pope – transformed the stage. Arminelle, with the invaluable help of Mr Goulter and Ms Butler, continued to finesse and polish each moment, while Ms Hudson, Ms Doyle and Miss Jarrah helped shape key moments. Ms Tillack from IPC joined us in the theatre; her experience, good-humour and positivity was most appreciated.

The Production Team’s dedication to excellence set the standard; their drive to deliver a first-rate show to Townsville audiences was matched by the cast and crew. Ultimately, however, we remain indebted to Arminelle. Her undeniable passion for the Arts was the beating heart of this show. She crafted Beauty and the Beast into something more than a schmaltzy school performance. Her musical – OUR musical – was clever, vibrant and moving, and we will be forever grateful to her.

With so much talent to work with, and so much goodwill generated through college and community collaborations, Beauty and the Beast was an enormous success and one of which we are incredibly proud.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the show’s success.

PS: Hosting duties for the next Combined Schools’ Musical now fall to Ignatius Park College and Ms Tillack is extremely excited to deliver another quality production to Townsville audiences in 2023.

COMBINED SCHOOLS’ MUSICAL REFLECTIONS

Being a part of BATB this year was truly an incredible experience! I am so grateful for the opportunity and the family I have made throughout, and for the immense support provided. Being offered a lead role was definitely an honour and such an enjoyable experience thanks to the welcoming atmosphere created – not just by the cast and crew, but also by the Civic Theatre staff. If given the chance, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

– Madaya McMillan (BELLE)

Being part of the Beauty and the Beast production has been such a rewarding experience, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to not only play a lead role, but to have been involved in any way. I feel so fortunate to have meet such an incredible group of people, and I am very privileged to have worked with an incredibly experienced director. I also got to work with my favourite group of teachers. Shout out to Stage Manager Dan, and the Civic Theatre Crew, who worked very hard to make the show happen!

I am very proud of the show we got to put on, and I look back on the fun memories I have of an incredible group of people. The energy created by working with creative and talented like-minded people is something I will always remember.

– Lilly McCarthy (MAURICE)

As a student who has an avid passion for performing arts, particularly acting, Beauty and the Beast was a great opportunity to further explore my love of performance. The experience, whilst establishing new friendships, allowed us to work with experienced professionals, namely our incredible director, Arminelle Fleming. She harnessed our existing enthusiasm for theatre and encouraged us at each rehearsal to achieve more. It was a unique experience and one that I will forever cherish (and miss daily). I highly doubt the songs will ever leave my mind and I can confidently state there will ever be another cast who will love their stage manager as much as we did (thank you, Stage Manager Dan). I thank everyone who made Beauty and the Beast not only successful, but also unforgettable. I loved being your teapot.

– Bonnie Hughes (MRS POTTS)

SPORT & FITNESS NEWS

With Ms Angela Cooper | HEAD OF SPORT & FITNESS

CROSS COUNTRY RECAP

Cross Country is about pushing yourself and encouraging others. 3.4km is a long distance to run and this type of activity is not for everyone, but we get to run along a highlight of Townsville – along the beautiful Strand.

With perfect weather conditions for running, this year’s Cross Country fielded the largest group of competitors yet. It was great to see the participation from every age group. Ms Cooper’s organisation of the event was excellent and the teachers stationed along the course were incredibly encouraging.

The amount of encouragement from students was also tremendous. Every girl cheered others on as they ran or walked past; Sisterhood was well and truly on display. While this was evident across the board, a special mention goes to Year 12 student, Flora Nona, who sacrificed her place to help another student in need and stayed with this student until help arrived. Flora consistently leads by example in terms of her House Spirit and this is what the Melville Cup Award is all about.

RECORDS

Just one record was broken this year. Year 12 student, Brooke Davis-Goodall, broke the Open Division record in a time of 15mins 30secs. Brooke adds this achievement to a string of other successes over the past few years.

• In 2018, Brooke broke and still holds the 14yrs record in a time of 15min 15 sec.
• In 2021, she broke the 17yrs record in a time of 14min 43 secs; this record is also unbroken to date.

AGE CHAMPIONS

HOUSE SPIRIT POINTS

Congratulations to Princes House who were the winners of the Cross Country House Spirit Award.

OVERALL RESULTS

Congratulations to Thrones House for their wonderful achievement!

– Clara Deer, Sports Prefect

NORTHERN CROSS COUNTRY

Despite a great effort from our Cross Country team, only two of our students were successful in making the Norther Cross Country team:

• Open: Brooke-Davis Goodall, who placed 2^nd
• 15 Years: Eryn Matters, who placed 6^th

Special mention to Sarah Bourke who despite finishing 7^th in the 16 Years event, narrowly missed out on making the team.

Brooke and Eryn will travel to the Gold Coast in July to compete in the State Championships. Congratulations, girls.

SCIENCE NEWS

Congratulations to Eleanor Baxter who will be attending UQ as part of the Junior Physics Odyssey program, in July. Eleanor’s application was wholeheartedly supported by Ms O’Shea and Ms Finlay and we know she will have a wonderful, educational experience. Congratulations, Eleanor!

In July 2022, I will be attending a three-day workshop run by The University of Queensland. The Junior Physics Odyssey is a program where current Year Ten students are invited to participate in various physics experiments, workshops and lectures, which will hopefully give us an insight into senior physics. Personally, I’m hoping to see the pitch drop experiment, which is the longest running lab experiment in history. The program also allows me to meet with other students from around Queensland, as well as experienced UQ students. I am very grateful for this opportunity and would like to thank the Science and Math teachers at St Pat’s for their help. I cannot wait for the workshop and have already started packing my bags for Brisbane.

– Eleanor Baxter – Year 10

JAPANESE NEWS

Enjoy these photos of our Japanese students playing the chopsticks game! Fun, fast and much harder than it looks, this was an exciting way to learn chopstick etiquette. 

HOSPITALITY NEWS

With Ms Camille Flores | DEPARTMENT OF HOSPITALITY & FUNCTIONS

The Year 11 Hospitality Practices students have completed their first unit, ‘Introduction to Hospitality’ and have begun studying, ‘Casual Dining’. The girls have been busy learning the basics of café culture and excited to run their own Breakfast Café next term. They have been trialling a range of breakfast choices to serve from their café including: Smashed Avocado and Maple Glazed Bacon, Omelettes, Pancakes and much more. The quality of the food the students have prepared has been excellent and their skills in plating is steadily improving. Well done to all the girls on their hard work throughout the term. 

DRAMA & DANCE NEWS

With Ms Jojo Butler | DRAMATIC ARTS, DANCE & PERFORMANCE

YEAR 8 DANCE

In Term 2, the Year 8 Dance classes conducted peer workshops about different dances performed all around the world. They delivered a multi-modal presentation that showcased their research of the country and dance style whilst analysing the dance genre and its relevance in today’s world. The students also taught a small routine for their classmates to experience the style of dance. It was a very informative week of workshops where we all learnt about and danced the:

• Tarantella (Italy)
• Tinikling (Philippines)
• Siva (Samoa)
• Sirtaki (Greece)
• Salsa (Cuba) and
• Hula (Hawai)

YEAR 10 DRAMA

In Term 2, the Year 10 Drama classes have been exploring Arthur Miller’s playtext, The Crucible. They worked collaboratively in small groups to pick a scene from the play to perform it in the style of Gothic Realism.

As part of their study of the text, the students engaged with the critical themes prevalent within this rich and dynamic play. For example, the girls learnt how The Crucible was a political allegory comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials. They came to understand what mass hysteria, rumours, fear, judgement and skewed social status can do to a society of isolated people.

Students worked diligently to enhance their performance skills of movement, gesture, verbal dynamics and focus on stage. They were asked to explore the motivation and objectives in their scenes, which was a challenging but rewarding task. Overall, the girls worked extremely hard to put together polished and prepared performances.

LIVE THEATRE EXCURSION

In May, the Year 10 – 12 Drama classes were invited to attend TheatreiNQ’s production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht. Translated from the original German, and directed by the company’s Artistic Director, Terri Brabon, this was an incredible experience. TheatreiNQ expertly introduced students to the Theatre of Social Comment, showing parallels between Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939 to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Brabon combatted any assumed lack of knowledge of history with stark between-scene reminders via projections of contemporary 1930s news headlines and news photographs; this constantly linked the play to the rise of Hitler.

To add an additional dimension to the production, Brabon set the play in 1930s Australian gangster land. The combination of the Australian setting, the German Weimar cabaret, exaggerated cartoon-style acting, and the constant reminders of the Hitler’s rise to power, served to reinforce that such historical moments are much closer to home than we might think. The students truly enjoyed the production, the takeaway messages and the way in which dramatic concepts were showcased in this clever adaptation. 

Thank you to Ms Doyle and Ms Maguire for accompanying the students to see the play. 

FROM THE LIBRARY

With Marie Jerome | COLLEGE LIBRARIAN

What a wonderful and blessed time it has been in the Library. This term, we celebrated Reconciliation Week by putting our favourite books on display from the Cultural Corner. Activities were held in the library and tasty treats were supplied by Miss Kulbicki for us to delight in.

Our Year 7/8 Reader’s Cup team were victorious in their competition and will be heading to the State Competition, held in Brisbane later this year. The team worked very hard for such a great outcome and were back to the books the next day after competition! Our year 9/10 Teams were very competitive also; we are super proud of all their efforts.

With holidays fast approaching, it is a great time to remind everyone of our Ebook provider, Wheelers. There has been a 333.33% increase in borrowing this month compared to last year, which is incredible! There is an array of not only Ebooks, but also Audiobooks for your reading pleasure. You can access Wheelers via the Library Website on the Learning Hub.

Next term will bring sensory delights throughout the week. On offer will be Lego experiences and also pop-up knitting sessions, so keep your eyes peeled on notices for the session times and dates. You may have noticed we have added more games to the selection this term. Othello, Guess Who and Connect 4 are available for those times you would like a brain break and to connect with your friends. Chess Club and Dungeons and Dragons Club are still proving popular during the week – don’t forget you can join in at any time.

Look out for the new books on display on your return as I’m sure there will be something there to tempt you!

SHARING SACRED STORIES – 11REE

Ms Andrews organised for the Year 11 REE students to read their Sacred Stories to the Year 3 students at St Joseph’s School last week. It was a wonderful opportunity for our girls to engage with and build relationships with the younger children.