Principal

Mr David Finch

Dear Parents and Carers

We are well into Term 4 and with only 6 weeks to go we are preparing for the end of year functions and school celebrations.

This is a time when we acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our students academically and in other pursuits. It is

also a time we remind our students to compete until they cross the finish line and do their very best until the end of term.

This is particularly important for our Year 12 students who may reach an end to their formal assessment soon, but need to

maintain the passion for success until we farewell them at our Graduation Liturgy on the 17th November. I encourage all

students to do their very best for the last six weeks of school.

I acknowledge the success of two groups of students who represented the college during the holiday period. The MSB Didge

Kids travelled to Winton and performed in the Outback Music Festival and 10 senior students travelled to Japan to experience

an immersion in a very traditional and different culture. Further reports and photos of these events appear in this newsletter. I

thank the students and staff who participated in these events. Currently we have almost 30 girls and boys in Bamaga

competing in the annual AFL Cape York Experience. We wish them well. Opportunities and making the most of these

opportunities and participation is an important part of life and growing up. I am always very pleased that we have many

students actively involved in other interests which add to the overall holistic approach to our education and mission here at

MSB.

As a caring and Christian environment with our extensive commitment to pastoral care and student wellbeing, we work hard

with all students, understanding the many day to day issues and complexities that may occur. We all can make mistakes,

receive another chance at something and are determined to make the most of this second chance. We pride ourselves on a

genuine commitment to the development of each child in our care – academically, social and mentally. As our college

Mission Statement reads…

Drawing our inspiration from the Gospel of Jesus and the Mercy Tradition, we empower young people through our

commitment to education to become persons of faith, learning and hope, and so contribute to their communities. We are

committed to the values of:

• Community – living and giving gracious hospitality in the spirit of family,

• Mercy – acting justly with a compassionate heart,

• Respect – valuing self, others, environment and the purpose of school,

• Excellence – striving towards personal best, and

• Wisdom – gaining life enhancing knowledge and skills.

Within the context of these values, all students and staff at the college are expected to:

• Be Safe

• Be Respectful

• Be Responsible

13th October 2017

Principal: Mr David Finch Deputy Principal - Curriculum/Admin: Mr Ian Margetts

Assistant Principal - Mission: Mr Matt de Jong Assistant Principal - Student Wellbeing: Mr Scott Whitters

Business Manager: Mr David Osborne Office Manager: Mrs Sue Wegert

Head of Residential: Mrs Tina Schefe & Mr Dave Schefe

I conclude with a little story about having a second chance and having faith in someone:

When Thomas Edison died on this day in 1931, he had over 1,200 inventions patented to his name. He is perhaps best

remembered for his invention of the electric light bulb, which we take so much for granted today. Thomas Edison and his

assistants tried various substances as the filament of the bulb, and different gases enclosed within the glass. One of the first

bulbs that Edison produced, he handed to a young assistant to carry upstairs to another laboratory. Carefully the young man

carried the bulb, step by step up the stairs. Suddenly he dropped it, and all their painstaking work was destroyed. Edison and

his team returned to work and spent 24 hours producing another bulb. When it was finished, and again had to be carried

upstairs, he handed it to the same young man in a marvellous gesture of trust and confidence.

Let us pray, remembering how Edison showed trust in giving his light bulb for a second time to the young man and the faith

and trust we empower with our students:

Lord, may people be as ready to give me a chance,

a break, and let me make a new start,

as I am ready to be as equally generous to others.

Forgive me my faults in the same way as I forgive

and accept other people.

Amen

Enjoy the week ahead.

David Finch

College Principal

MSB Students with others

from schools around Cape

York competing in the AFL

Cape York Competition

Deputy Principal—Curriculum & Admin

Welcome to Term 4! A short but important and busy term. All students must make sure they work hard throughout the

term to achieve to their potential. For Year 12 it is especially important. I spoke with the Year 12 cohort this week and

emphasised that for some students, one ‘D’ rating for an assignment can mean the difference between achieving a

Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) or not. All students need to ensure that they put in the effort to finish the year

of strongly.

At assembly last Friday we acknowledge all the students who had achieved either ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ for all the effort and application criteria on their Term 3 reports. It was great to acknowledge such a large group (see names below). Well done! If you have any questions about reports or student progress please do not hesitate to contact myself and the teachers at the College.

TERM 3 ACADEMIC EFFORT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Ian Margetts - Deputy Principal - Curriculum & Admin

Year 7 MACAYLA GRIGG EMMY RIBER DORIAH TAMU ELLIE WARD TAYIESHA WARRIA Year 8 ZACHARY CHRISTIE JESSICA CLAUSS RENEE EDWARDS STACEY EDWARDS TEAFO LUI BIANCA PRICE ELIZABETH RICHARDSON-EVELEIGH FRANCES YUNUPINGU

VENESSA BLARREY Year 9 ISSAC BONNER MARSAT HOBSON

LEVINA DOUGLAS

Year 10 MYCHAEL-LEI SIBLEY

RACHEAL CLAUSS ALEXA-ROSE ELLIS CHANTELLE JEE TENIELLE MAKOA ELIZABETH WONG Year 11 LEE LIDDY

HELOISE VANPOULLE DAKOTA MONTGOMERY

RION SHAILER GEORGIA SMY Year 12 ELAINE LOWATTA TOBY WILLIAMS

DEBORAH GULURRWUY MEGAN LYALL GEORGINA WHAP VENTURE WYMER

Assistant Principal—Mission

Welcome back to term 4. This year has certainly moved along at a rapid pace.

During the last holidays I had the privilege of travelling with my family to Winton in central Queensland with the MSB

Didge Kids to watch them perform at the Winton Outback Festival. Our students, Elizabeth Richardson-Eveleigh,

Frances Yunupingu, Melissa Richardson-Eveleigh, Liam Kaspersson, Matthew Ederer, Tristain Leo and Nicholas

Wurramarrba all gave up a week of their holidays to perform. We were accompanied by Mr Mark Lane and his son Joshua who also

performed with the students. Mrs Jude Koehler along with Mr Alex Collins came along as support as well. It made for a travelling group

of 14 people.

We departed Herberton on the Saturday morning, the first day of the holidays and made our way to Townsville, where we stayed for

three nights. While there the students practiced under the direction of Mr Mark Lane, who over the past three years has developed the

Didge Kids performing group. We also did some fun things like going to the Townsville Aquarium , eating at McDonalds, Sizzler and Pizza

Hut. On the Tuesday afternoon we flew to Winton, arrived at our hotel and prepared for the first performance at the Shire Hall at

7:30pm. The Didge Kids performed with William Barton and Warren H Williams. Their performance was very well received by the

audience. A number of people approached me to comment on how they enjoyed the students’ performance.

On Wednesday our students joined with William Barton at 11:00am and 1:00pm to run Didge workshops and finally they performed on

the main stage in the main street of Winton on Thursday morning at 11:30am with a goodbye concert. All of our students along with

Mark and Joshua Lane performed brilliantly and they all did our college proud. We flew back to Townsville on the Thursday afternoon,

before driving to Cairns early on the Friday to get most of the students to their flights to start the holidays.

A big thank you goes to Mr Mark Lane and Joshua Lane for giving up their time and talents to support our students. Mr Lane is a talented

musician who has developed the latent talent of our students into a impressive group of performers. Thank you also to Mrs Koehler and

Mr Alex Collins for supervising and finally to our seven Didge Kids who were excellent throughout our trip. I had a good time and I

enjoyed accompanying the group to Winton.

Matthew de Jong - Assistant Principal - Mission

Mr Matt de Jong

Assistant Principal—Student Wellbeing

Scott Whitters—Assistant Principal – Student Wellbeing

Email: swhitters@msb.qld.edu.au

Mr Scott Whitters

Family conflict It is important to recognise that Conflict is a normal process through which people resolve differences. When people live together in the same residence, disagreements and arguments are bound to happen, especially as personalities clash and everyone wants to be heard. Teenagers have an innate desire to be heard. This is because they are trying to find their place in society and build a sense of identity.

Conflict in families increases during adolescence, as it’s normal for teenagers to seek independence and separation from their parents. Other causes of family fighting can be differences in opinions, poor communication, changes in the family (such as a new baby or divorce), sibling rivalry or discipline issues. As your child moves through their teenage years, remember that they’re still learning the life skills required to become an adult. Dealing with conflict effectively is likely to be something that they’re inexperienced in, and as a parent you can play an important role in helping them develop this essential skill. How family conflict can influence your child Conflict in families can impact children in many ways. Children can be affected psychologically if the’re exposed to long-term conflict. It can even become a normal part of a child’s life and result in poor habits and patterns of aggressive behaviour. Children can be influenced by family conflict in numerous ways. Some children and adolescents may act out by showing increased aggression, defiance and behavioural problems. Your child may experience depressive symptoms, such as feeling lonely or sad, or isolating themselves in their bedroom for long periods. Children exposed to parental conflict may experience feelings of anxiety or feel pressure to divide their loyalty between parents. When conflict becomes aggression All families need to recognise that anger and conflict are a normal part of family life, and often very prevalent in teenagers who are going through puberty and emotional changes. However, when conflict turns into aggression or violence, it may be time to get help. Young people that are exposed to violence or abuse in the family home, or other parts of their life, are more likely to become violent themselves. If you’re concerned about your own safety, or the safety of other family members, then contact 1800RESPECT, a national domestic family violence counselling service.

Counsellor’s Corner Hello Families and Friends of MSB, My name is Ms Tristan Henderson and I have been thoroughly enjoying my role as Guidance Counsellor here at MSB since May this year. I have been a teacher for 15 years and crisis support/suicide intervention Counsellor since 2009. There are many issues that our students face and need support with as they navigate the often highly stressful secondary school journey. Here at MSB we have a particularly dedicated & hard working team of pastoral care workers, specialists, teachers, boarding staff and aides who prioritise student wellbeing, while supporting and accommodating students individual learning needs. In fact, I have not seen such a wholistic support for students in any other context in which I’ve worked. There are so many challenges that face our youth today, with mental health being the number one concern. The most common challenges that appear across all schools are: depression, anxiety, self-harm, trauma and loss of loved ones through suicide or illness, peer relationships, body image, substance abuse, stress and learning difficulties and homesickness. In the limited space I have here in this newsletter I will address homesickness.

Homesickness: The good news is that there is a cure! Bring a little bit of home with you. Bring your pillow or favourite pajamas, bring pictures of the people you’ll be apart from to look at anytime you want. Keep busy, get involved, there are numerous extra-curricular activities available to students at MSB and the more time you spend keeping busy the less time you’ll have to feel homesick. Stay in touch, via phone or text messages and talk about the fun things you’re doing. Talk to people here at MSB; sometimes, just telling someone that you’re feeling homesick will help immensely. ( http:kidshealth.org) This is a great website containing many informative articles designed to support you in understanding many of the issues our teens face.

Jenny Rossiter— Whole School — jrossiter@msb.qld.edu.au Trudy Bakker - Years 7 - 12— tbakker@msb.qld.edu.au

Scott Whitters - Head of Pastoral Care—swhitters@msb.qld.edu.au

Don’t forget we are only a phone call away. If you have any issues

or concerns you wish to discuss please don’t hesitate to call or

email a member of the Pastoral Care Team:

Positive Behaviour Support

Fortnightly Focus—Being Organised

Being Organised is not just a focus for the beginning of the year.

It is an important life-long skill.

When you are organised - mentally and physically - life runs smoother.

Spending a little bit of time thinking ahead and making sure you have what you need

means that when you get to the point of doing something - you are not wasting any time.

This applies whether you are going camping, getting ready for school/work or planning a

family celebration.

You can help your child by assisting them in:

asking about what have and what they need

making lists, preparing uniforms and packing bags

drawing up a timeline of assessment due dates

using study times away from distractions

reassuring them that they are doing well

Part of Being Organised is to be mentally ready.

Calm yourself, focus on the task at hand and give yourself the best chance of success.

Social and Emotional Learning: Self Management Last newsletter, we discussed the first Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competency: self-awareness, This week we

take a closer look at the second competency: self-management, which is the ability to regulate our emotions, thoughts

and behaviours in different situations.

What is self management?

According to the Lions Question SEL program, self-management involves the learning and application of five skills:

1. Regulating our emotions

2. Managing stress

3. Controlling our impulses

4. Motivating ourselves

5. Working towards and achieving our goals

You can find more information on the Lions Quest program at https://www.lions-quest.org/

Why is it important?

Self-management starts with self-awareness—once we can recognise our feelings and thoughts (self-awareness), we can

start to regulate our emotions, thoughts and behaviours (self-management). We area then in a position to increase our

awareness of others, improve our relationship skills and make responsible decisions. More on that next newsletter!

If you have any questions about our Mount St Bernard College SEL program

feel free to contact Middle Leader SEL Doris Cuda.

During the first week of the September school holidays, ten students

journeyed to Japan for a nine day school excursion. Along with six

staff members, we explored the many cultural, religious and historic

sights around the country.

We began in Kyoto on the first day with a guided tour around the city

to cultural sights of The Golden Pavilion and the Imperial Palace. A

performance by an apprentice geisha (Maiko) ended a full and

exciting day. Although the typhoon approaching Kyoto at the time

may have ended it.

Our second day was in Osaka to visit the Museum of Housing and

Living. The students got to experience pre-modernised Japan with a

small replica village constructed on the 9th floor of a building. It was

an interesting look at how life in Japan was very different from

western culture at the time.

Atomic Bomb Dome

Keiko Ogura and MSB

Tuesday was our visit to Hiroshima, the site of the first atomic bomb

dropped in World War II. This day was quite confronting as we heard

testimony from Keiko Ogura, a survivor of the atomic bomb about her

experiences during and after that fateful day. To finish the day, we

climbed the many stairs to the top of Himeji Castle; a gruelling task to

say the least.

Himeji Castle

Universal Studios was an absolute blast for everyone. The

rides and attractions were a big hit; especially The Magical

World of Harry Potter. It was a nice break from the quick

pace set the days before.

On Friday morning, Tokyo Skytree was on the agenda. The view of Tokyo from 340m above the

ground didn’t disappoint with most surprised that Tokyo stretched from horizon to horizon.

That afternoon was the visit to Tokyo University of Agriculture First Middle and High School.

The students were very engaging and eager to have fun with our MSB students. There were

some reunions as 25 students had visited MSB in July. A group of students from the Tea

Ceremony Club presented us with some delicious green tea and the Kendo Club taught some of

their martial arts to the students.

(L to R) John Stanton, Deborah Gulurrwuy, Sherrika Gilbert, Brendan

Akers, Sonya Frost, Flo Cornish, Tori Wilson, Marcus Brown, Keane Ryan,

Toby Williams, William Brown, Dale Kepi, Caleb Mathews, Ben Smith,

Upcoming Events 2017

Sat 14 - Mon 16 Oct

Boarders Leave Weekend

Mon 16 Oct

Pupil Free Day - QCAA Verification Day

Tues 17 Oct

Immunisations Yr 7 HPV & Yr 10 Meningoccal

Wed 18 Oct - Fri 20 Oct

Class 8C Geography Excursion

Thurs 19 Oct

QATSIF Graduation Peace Lutheran College

Fri 27 Oct

Presentation Evening 7pm Main Hall @ MSB

National Bandanna Day

Sun 29 Oct

Indigenous Mass 10am St Thomas Mareeba

Wed 1 Nov - Fri 3 Nov

Year 11 Leadership Retreat

Barrabadeen Camp Grounds Tinaroo Lake

Thurs 2 Nov

P & F Meeting 5pm MSB Boardroom

Thurs 9 Nov

MSB Play “The Fantasists” 7pm Mercy Hall

Fri 17 Nov - Year 12 Final Day

Year 12 Graduation Liturgy

10am Mercy Chapel

Sat 18 Nov

Year 12 Formal - Reef Hotel Casino Cairns

Tues 21 - Wed 22 Nov

Year 11 Block Exams

Thurs 23 Nov

Students finish school year at 3pm

Fri 24 Nov

Boarders Travel home

Upcoming Events

2018

Mon 16 April 2018

Pupil Free Day

Diocese of Cairns

Commonwealth Games

SNAP Exciting news from the Visual Art Department! The annual art

exhibition SNAP is launching at 5.30 on Friday, November 10, at The

Old Post Office Gallery, Atherton. SNAP aims to showcase student

artwork from Tablelands secondary schools, including, Atherton SHS,

Mount St Bernard Collage, Herberton SS, St Stephens Catholic College,

& Ravenshoe SS P-12. This year MSB is represented by a range of

vibrant and thought-provoking artworks from students from year 10

through to 12. With a number of awards up for grabs in this highly

competitive exhibition, MSB students continue to strive for excellence

and are ever hopeful to pick up a few awards for excellence. A warm

invitation is extended to our school and wider community to come

along and support this event. Circle Friday, November 10 on your

calendar, you will not be disappointed! SNAP will be available for your

viewing pleasure over the Christmas holidays, artworks are for sale for

those of you looking for a completely unique festive gift.