By Mr Stuart Ralph, Principal

I have been away from the College for a couple of days while having some minor knee surgery, and Mrs Debra Bonde has been Acting Principal in my absence.

This week, our students were given several opportunities inside and outside the classroom. I am incredibly pleased with how our students engage with each other, continuing to build lasting relationships. Through relationships, we make a community where we celebrate everyone having the opportunity to thrive and everyone, staff and students alike, having the right to feel safe, valued, and respected.

The College has been developing a Positive Behaviour Framework and guidelines for classroom expectations. We aim to capture teachable moments, reinforce positive behaviour and be explicit about our expectations.

This will centre around the three pillars:

Our goal as a school community is to create and maintain a positive and safe learning environment that enhances our school culture, where we maximise individual academic and social growth. Our students' experience at St Brendan-Shaw College is supported by our College Values.

The Rite Journey
On Monday, Year 9 students embarked on their Rite Journey Challenge Day, either climbing Mt Roland or completing the Archers Knob walk at Narawntapu National Park. The day's theme centred around challenges, relationships, and connection with our natural environment. This week, our Year 9 Lyons House students will also participate in the Lyons House Reflection Day as part of The Rite Journey program.

Sport
On Monday evening, I was privileged to watch our two junior soccer teams play each other during the season opener. Pride in representing their College, impressive skill and, above all, excellent sportsmanship were displayed. Yesterday the Year 9/10 Futsal Tasmania High School Championships was held in Devonport, with the Year 9/10 Girls coming away with a win, while the Year 7/8 High School Futsal Championship was held today. Our Years 7/8 and 9/10 NWJ Football competitions also kicked off this afternoon.

College Ball
Our Senior College Ball will be held at the Country Club next Saturday, 18 May. This is a special occasion for our senior students, and we look forward to celebrating together.

What’s Ahead
The College will be a hive of activity again next week:
– Senior students will continue to engage in dance practice.
– We have a College tour next Wednesday morning for new enrolments in 2025 at 9.15am.
– Feast Day of Saint Brendan is next Thursday 16 May. This is an important day of celebration for us as a community. Mass will be celebrated at the College and families are most welcome to attend. Please register your interest through Caritas Reception or email principalsea@sbsc.tas.edu.au.
– On Friday 17 May, the College will host the Regional Principals Meeting for the north of the state. Parents who are doing drop-off on Friday, please be aware that there will be additional traffic.

Mother's Day
I wish all our mothers and carers a happy Mother's Day on Sunday!

God bless,

Mr Stuart Ralph
Principal

When you really listen to another person from their point of view and reflect back to them that understanding, it’s like giving them emotional oxygen.
– Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey (October 24 1932 – July 16 2012) was an influential American author, educator, and businessman, best known for his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Published in 1989, this self-help book has had a worldwide influence in both personal and professional productivity and management. Covey's teachings emphasise effectiveness based on principles and character ethics.

Congratulations to Abbie Tattersall (Year 7) and Braydee DiNunzio (Year 8), who have both been selected to represent Tasmania in the National Schools Swimming Championships in late July on the Gold Coast.

They have both been selected for five individual events each which is a fantastic achievement, with only the top two swimmers in the state selected for each event. They have both worked extremely hard to get to this level.

On the final day of Term 1, seven students participated in the state heats of Rostrum Voice of Youth at Marist Regional College. 

Rostrum Voice of Youth is a national speaking competition which provides an opportunity for secondary school students to gain experience and confidence in expressing their views and communicating a message.

Students self-nominate for the competition that includes a prepared six to eight minute speech and a three minute impromptu speech.

Srishti Namoa was the winner of the NW Regional Senior competition and Josh Lowry was awarded the Encouragement Award in this division. We also had students compete in the Junior Division (7-9).

Congratulations to all students who participated and heartfelt thanks to Ms Cheryl Gamble for making these opportunities possible.

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) is a suite of online competitions designed specifically for primary and secondary students. ICAS is conducted annually in Australia and in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, Pacific countries, and America. Top-scoring students in each year level in each subject are awarded an ICAS medal. ICAS assesses students' skills in Digital Technologies (Year 7 only), English, Mathematics, Science and Writing.

As a registered ICAS testing centre, St Brendan-Shaw College is pleased to be able to offer the facilitation of ICAS testing. If you would like more information on ICAS in a general sense, or on the process involved in purchasing tests, please email Bridget Leary on bleary@sbsc.tas.edu.au

The Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize (FMMP) is a competition for Year 9 Tasmanian students interested in preserving and commemorating the meaning of the Anzac spirit through researching the contributions of Tasmanians during World War 1. The 2024 competition has not yet been announced, but information about the 2023 competition can be found in the PDF attached for interested students who may wish to participate in this year’s round of the competition.

View the 2023 Information Sheet 

Have you heard of Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

May is Apraxia Awareness Month. May 14th is the internationally recognised, Apraxia Awareness Day.

Several children on the northwest coast are living with Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a lifelong motor speech disorder that affects 1-2 in 1000 children. Children with apraxia know what they want to say, but when they go to speak, they have difficulty moving their tongue, lips and jaw as well as turning their voice on and off to speak. This makes them hard to understand and is frustrating. Children with apraxia need to attend speech therapy up to four times a week.

This year, for the first time in Tasmania, there are several landmarks that will light up BLUE on Tuesday 14 May, which you can visit:

• Paranaple Centre, Devonport
• Waratah-Wynyard Council offices, Wynyard
• Burnie Council offices, Burnie
• Leven Bridge, Ulverstone
• Town Hall, Launceston
• Tasman Bridge, Hobart

To learn more about apraxia you can head to @keystocommunicatesp on Instagram and on Youtube, Keys to Communicate Speech Pathology or their Page on Facebook.

The Gavin O'Dea Library has a dedicated web page providing information and resources to assist students with:

• Research
• Essay Writing
• Study Skills

SBSC Library: Research & Study Skills web page is part of our library guide. We recommend all of our community members take advantage of this resource.

Thursday, April 4 2024 saw 28 of St Brendan-Shaw's investigative minds step up to the challenge of the MAT Problem Solving Competition.

MAT, the Maths Association of Tasmania, holds this annual competition, producing 8-12 unfamiliar questions that require combining a range of mathematical skills over two hours. No answer is easy to come by. The competition requires experimentation, perseverance, generalisation, understanding of relationships and the application of prior knowledge in new ways. Like a marathon, it is a test of technique, endurance and willpower.

Furthermore, it is not simply the answer that matters. Students are marked on how they communicate their reasoning, as well as the final answer.

It was great to see students from Maths Extended (Year 9 option) as well as so many other students electing to extend and challenge themselves with such enthusiasm. Congratulations!

For now, we will wait with baited breath until the state results are released!

A number of Year 10-12 students participated in work experience during the Term 1 school holidays. A heartfelt thank you to the following businesses for hosting our students and allowing them to expand their skills:

• DBL Mechanical
• Forth Primary School
• Spreyton Primary School
• St Patrick's Catholic School
• Allure Hair and Beauty
• Oliver Kelly Group
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School
• Meadway Mutts Dog Training & Boarding
• Insparations Day Spa
• RFS Projects

Work Experience will be available again during the Term 2 break. In Weeks 3/4, an information session will be held for students interested in Year 10 or above.

Below are some photos of some of our students in action.

The UTas School Leaver Expo is on from Thursday 27 June to Sunday 30 June.

Senior students will be able to attend during school hours from 12pm to 2pm at the Cradle Coast campus, which will be arranged via Mrs Banfield.

Alternatively, students and their families can attend the evening session at any of the three UTAS campuses.

For further information, please click this link utas.edu.au/school-leaver-expo

This afternoon, the SBSC Girls 1sts and Boys 2nds teams played in the NSATIS Basketball Grand Finals.

The girls playing first had a close game against Marist Regional College. Both teams played a fantastic game, with the Lady Saints claiming back-to-back NSATIS Championships, winning 54-42.

The Boys 2nds was another close game, with the lead constantly changing over the four quarters. The Saints would go on to claim their first NSATIS Boys 2nds Championship with a 64-56 win over St Patrick's College.

Thank you to the referees for officiating two exciting games. A special mention to Lincoln, who umpired all the NSATIS games this year and did a great job in the Grand Final.

Well done and thank you to Mr Ryan and Mrs Aherne for a great season and all their effort and support in coaching and managing the teams.

The Devonport Regional Gallery invites you to our first-ever open community exhibition, All in. 

The exhibition features over 60 artworks by creative locals of North West Tasmania, representing all ages and all abilities. It’s a celebration of diversity, imagination, and the wonderful talent that exists within our region. Join us in celebrating you, our creative community.

You can also get involved by casting your vote for your favourite artworks in the three categories: Engaged: most thought provoking; Boundary Braker: most original; and Wow-Factor: most impactful. Winners will receive cash prizes thanks to our partner, Frankie J’s.

18 May 2024 - 13 July 2024
Upper Gallery, Level 2

EXHIBITION OPENING:
Saturday 17 May, 6.00 PM
Devonport Regional Gallery, Upper Gallery – Level 2

Please register at Council's All In. event page

The Devonport Regional Gallery invites you to our first-ever open community exhibition, All in. 

The exhibition features over 60 artworks by creative locals of North West Tasmania, representing all ages and all abilities. It’s a celebration of diversity, imagination, and the wonderful talent that exists within our region. Join us in celebrating you, our creative community.

You can also get involved by casting your vote for your favourite artworks in the three categories: Engaged: most thought provoking; Boundary Braker: most original; and Wow-Factor: most impactful. Winners will receive cash prizes thanks to our partner, Frankie J’s.

18 May 2024 - 13 July 2024
Upper Gallery, Level 2

EXHIBITION OPENING:
Saturday 17 May, 6.00 PM
Devonport Regional Gallery, Upper Gallery – Level 2

Please register at Council's All In. event page