Flourish - Mount Alvernia CollegeWelcome to Flourish, a regular newsletter to give you a snapshot of...
Transcript of Flourish - Mount Alvernia CollegeWelcome to Flourish, a regular newsletter to give you a snapshot of...
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Flourish
Terms 2 & 3 2019
Mount Alvernia College 82 Cremorne Road, Kedron
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CURRICULUM
Welcome to Flourish, a regular newsletter to give you a snapshot of life at the College.
You can read all of our weekly publications at the website, www.mta.qld.edu.au, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram for
regular updates and photos of all that is happening.
Peace and all good
Kerrie Tuite, Principal
Life at Mount Alvernia—Terms 2 & 3 2019
Flourish
Year 10 Art
Some Year 10 students recount some of the highlights,
learnings, concerns, and questions they have after visiting
the APT 9 art exhibition at QAGOMA.
The highlight was being able to look deeper into the
meanings of artworks and understand the artists’
inspiration. The artworks of Kim and Novali made me
wonder about the urbanisation of the world and how can
we make changes for the better. This exhibition made me
think about concerns I have for people and the world’s
safety and growth, and how we could maybe alter it to
have a better effect on us. I learnt about how different
types of art techniques can really change an artwork and
its meaning. Lily
The ideas I gathered about the urban environments of
Brisbane, Indonesia, and South Korea were that all three
have many buildings but green spaces are also a feature.
I learnt that this exhibition showed an unlimited range of
artworks all unique in their own way. Imogen
Year 11 Hospitality
Term 3 focussed on creating a High Tea presentation, and
students spent their time practising preparation of the
various items desired for final assessment items.
The final products looked mouth-watering, and their
teachers were very impressed with the professional way in
which they worked in the lead-up.
We have a cross-campus arrangement with Padua College,
hence the young gentlemen in the photo.
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Year 12 Study of Religion
In May, twenty Year 12 Study of Religion students, along with
the Padua class, went to the Islamic College of Brisbane (ICB)
for a day of interfaith dialogue. This day was definitely an eye-
opener as students saw how life at the ICB is very different to
their own. That being said, the girls found that they all still
enjoy the same things - obsessing over formal dresses,
Coachella, and TV shows.
The students were fortunate enough to hear presentations of
all the wonderful ways ICB gives back to local and international
communities, and this was very inspiring. They heard from the
school captains about how both religions are founded on the
same principle: peace. With the recent tragic events of Christ-
church, interfaith dialogue visits and communications are so
important, as the negative and untrue stereotypes of the
Islamic religion can be challenged. One of the ICB teachers,
along with the senior students, showed the group how they
pray five times a day. It felt truly special, being able to watch
them so dedicated to their religion and faith. The visitors then
had the amazing opportunity of the ICB girls dressing them in
colourful hijabs.
Japanese
In its inaugural year for Brisbane, nine of our students
from Years 7 to 12 put in the hard work to compete in
the Japanese division of the Multi-Language Speech
Contest, held at Griffith University.
These girls performed magnificently and were a credit to
themselves and their college.
Four students were awarded a high commendation for
their work: Dominique, Ashley, Kealey, and Thiana.
Laphini’s high quality leadership of the team was noticed by
many throughout the competition.
It’s not the easiest of tasks to stand up in front of
strangers and speak in a foreign language. I am most
proud of how these young ladies presented themselves,
and was happy to receive the feedback of the teachers
present on the day, who were highly complimentary of our
girls’ presentation and good attitude.
Victoria Uhr, Japanese Teacher
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Life at Mount Alvernia—Terms 2 & 3 2019
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On Tuesday 19 June, the Year 9 Digital Technology
class travelled to Kingpin at Westfield Chermside.
My group had to escape an abandoned reactor, which
pushed us to think outside the box and piece together
information. We learned that even the simplest of details
from warning signs on the walls to measurements of liquid
would mean something crucial to get the next clue.
We only were scared when Twitch, the lady who was
helping us in the rooms, opened the main door at the end
and made us all scream as we didn't expect her.
Keeley
We spent the last lesson of
the semester attempting to
break out of an Escape
Room. When we arrived,
some basic rules were
explained to the whole class
before we split into our
groups. I was in a group
with two other girls, and we
chose to do the room called
Total Carnage, the only
horror room out of the
three available to us and based on the movie Saw. When
we walked into the room we were blindfolded and there-
fore had to link arms.
One by one, each of us was led to a separate part of the
room and one of our hands handcuffed to the floor.
Aleisha
Digital Technology, Design, and 3D MakerSpace
Half of Year 8 and the Year 11 Design students attended
a presentation from Steph Piper, who is in charge of the
makerspace at the University of Southern Queensland.
Steph came into our IT class and showed us the process of
3D printing, what is required to 3D print, and what pro-
grams she used. Steph passed around examples of her
work, such as a jacket she made for an interview, and
bunnies made out of plastic that contained multiple
different types of wood, including coconut husk and
timber. Overall Steph's presentation was very interesting
and very informative.
Ella
Steph's presentation was very informational and gave many
ideas for the Year 11 Design students. She enthusiastically
informed us all about her endeavours and
accomplishments regarding the projects she has done with
3D printing. It was very impressive hearing her story,
from building her own 3D printer to designing something
as big as a shoe or as helpful as a hand cast for medical
purposes. Additionally, she introduced many different
concepts and materials that can be used, such as a pro-
gram that is able to scan an object and automatically print
it, as well as different plastics that can be used.
Chloe
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In the Classroom
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Year 9 Literacy
As part of the College’s ongoing commitment to
adolescent success and wellbeing, a Year 9 Literacy
Essentials class has been selected as a case study to
explore the benefits of learning literacy skills using an Arts
pedagogy.
As a part of this program, students have been engaging
with the novel When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, and
completing a range of visual literacy activities, specifically
regarding the context of the novel - New York City in the
late 1970s. To this end, students have viewed films and
images related to this era, including the trailer for Saturday
Night Fever, Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down, and 1970s NYC
in 41 Terrifying Photos. Students described these images
using the Dystopian vocabulary list and responding in the
form of a PEEL paragraph. They also explored music and
lyrics from the era, including Grandmaster Flash and the
Furious Five’s The Message, which explores life in The
Bronx in the late 1970s.
One of the Drama teachers joined the class to help the
girls identify emotions that characters were feeling in
certain scenes in the novel. Wearing genuine 1970s
clothing and props, the students collaborated to create
freeze frames. The girls are to be commended for the way
in which they participated in this program which moved
them out of their comfort zone - a crucial component of
effective learning.
Rhiannon Markwell, Teacher
Year 10 English
Students have enjoyed their studies of Romeo and Juliet in
Term 3, engaging in not only the written word, but both dance
and modern drama interpretations.
shake & stir theatre co presented a fast-paced,
contemporary interpretation, performed by three actors
playing multiple roles. They brought the play to life with
moments of high tension, dramatic action, tragedy in fight
and death scenes, and some comic relief.
Karen Farrow, Drama Teacher
The Year 10 English studies of Shakespeare this term
culminated in the girls attending Queensland Ballet’s
performance of Romeo and Juliet. It was such a lovely night
of art, dance, and culture!
Sarah Porchak, Learning Area Advisor—Languages
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Life at Mount Alvernia—Terms 2 & 3 2019
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One of the beautiful community partnerships at Mount
Alvernia is that with local childcare centre Molly’s
House.
Here is a report from the centre on one of the visits:
Our mission today was to see the chicken labels we made
and our carrots that we planted from our very first time
there!! Lady surprised Grandma, and Bella got a special
surprise when big cousin Emily showed up with her home room
to take us on an adventure through the garden and up the
ramp! We played the piano and looked out over the beautiful
garden.
Another great morning building and creating more positive
relationships within our community!!
Samaritans is a parish social group, where attendees
can choose their morning’s activity — bingo, painting/
cards/cribbage/Scrabble. Chatters table is popular too,
with knitters and crocheters producing a variety of items.
Each Tuesday morning sees a different group of Year 9
Mt A girls, serving the morning tea and engaging in
conversation with the Samaritans. It is a valuable
connection across the generations, which is enjoyed by all.
Community Engagement and Outreach
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Sony Camp
Each September holidays sees a large contingent of our Senior students combine with students from Marist College Ashgrove
to take on the responsibility of caring for children with special needs, allowing their families some rare and valuable respite.
This ministry is one of long standing in our community, and each year attracts a large pool of applicants eager to extend them-
selves and make a difference to the lives of others. Enjoy some images of this year’s event.
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On the Field
Working in a place where we offer over
eighteen different sports to try and ignite girls’ passion
is special. To see so many students take this up brings
smiles to our faces.
We are working hard this year to provide both
participation and competitive sporting teams.
We understand that not everybody wants to win a
cup and, while our competitive teams are out there
doing just that, we have a great group of students who
are playing for the love of sport and friendship. It is
important that we marry the right coach up to these
teams - someone who has the same focus, where
enjoyment overrides results - this is how the love of
sport can develop without any pressure to perform.
Josh White, Sport Development Leader
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Read Like a Girl with Your Dad
In July we held the second Read Like a Girl with Your Dad
event in the Mount Alvernia iCentre. Dads and daughters
all read The Fall by Tristan Bancks, and then attended an
evening to mingle, hear Tristan speak, and eat pizza.
The book was a crime novel. This genre is a favourite
among readers at the College, and dads reported back that
they found it a great tale as well. The evening has proved
to be real winner, with dads and daughters enjoying the
connections forged through reading the same book.
Helen Stower, Program Leader - iCentre
It Takes a Spark
The It Takes a Spark conference, hosted by Mount Alvernia
on Friday 9 August, provided the opportunity for girls and
teachers across Brisbane to be a part of a student-led
movement in STEAM and entrepreneurship.
The day consisted of three guest speakers: Amy Heffernan,
a field application specialist and research fellow at UQ;
Natasha Huang, who talked about the future of robotics
and how much robotics has developed over the past few
years; and Dr Talitha Best, an Associate Psychology
Professor at Central Queensland University. Each speaker
gave us insights into females working in STEAM and all the
opportunities there are in their respected fields of study.
Between each guest speaker presentation was a variety of
workshops such as What’s in the Box?, which I had the
opportunity, alongside a few other students, to run.
We taught girls from all the way from the Sunshine Coast
and Bundaberg about different uses in technology through
the use of Ozobots, 3D pens, and Sphero Balls, all while
having fun.
From stretching our way through the STEAM Circus to
constructing and flying drones, the day was one to
remember for all students and teachers, who walked out
of the San Damiano Centre with massive smiles on their
faces. Elise (Year 10)
Events