Every day is important at the College, and none can afford to be wasted. I know how much our teachers prefer not to have interruptions to learning time, particularly staff in Senior College who are under pressure to deliver content under a stringent timeframe. Whilst this strong academic focus is an obvious strength of the College, there is much more happening at this time than the “three Rs”. 

In the area of the Arts, our Senior Theatre class presented “Under Milk Wood” by Dylan Thomas, with a school-based afternoon performance and wider community performance held on Tuesday evening. Thanks to Ms Jess Magee for her leadership, and support to staff and students for their performances. Please see some reviews from staff: 

“I was fully engaged and entertained by your performance from beginning to end and marvelled at the rapid scene and character changes throughout the performance. Having not seen the production before I was astounded at your quality stagecraft and the heart with which you presented each of your roles. The overall sense of the grit and grind of an oppressive working-class town you created was outstanding” . 

“……..The pace, rhythm and accents were fascinating.  Students made excellent use of stage space and the large audience responded positively to the production.  I cannot praise this production up enough.  I look forward to the end of year production to see what our talented youngsters (under the direction of Jess) will be able to present. I would like to commend Jess on her hard work in getting the students ready to perform”. 

Due to illness and a subsequent Covid test, I was unable to attend Tuesday night’s performance. I was disappointed to miss this, particularly after the musical presented last year and acknowledging that this was their “Grand Final” in the Arts space.  

Last week, our Year 9 and 10 students enjoyed performances of Such Sweet Sorrow and MacBeth: The Rehearsal of Bell Shakespeare by the Players. Mrs Jen Mertes arranged this performance for our students.  Again, another opportunity for our students to engage in the Arts.  

On Wednesday, the focus turned to football with our Year 7/8 team taking out the NWJFU premiership against Burnie High School at the Dial Park Complex in Penguin. It was my privilege to be there; after receiving the negative Covid result, I was straight to the ground!  

In a tough encounter, our Year 9/10 team went down to Burnie High in their final. They were not disgraced however, outscoring the opposition in the last quarter.  

At about 11.45am on Wednesday, I drove to Launceston to watch our Senior Girls Football Team play a trilling match against a powerful Guilford Young College. We had many good players; listening to the early patches of the game on the live stream whilst driving, the names Mitchell, Saward, Smith, Stone, Thompson and Dennis all prominent. Younger players in Ellie Poke, Samara Whitney and Tayla Hoiberg-Cox had great games also as Year 8 and 9 students.  

With the game going into extra time, Rakelle Walker marked overhead in the late stages, then converting a goal to tie the match. A trilling finish to a hard-fought match.  

Yesterday, a collaboration between key staff such as Mrs Carolyn Winchcombe, Mrs Rachael Koop, Mr Graham O’Connell, Ms Jess Magee and others, delivered an Aboriginal cultural incursion here at the College. This saw members of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community lead us in an engaging experience. I wonder if your children spoke about this at home? Did you know that Marist Regional College has more ATSI students enrolled than any other Catholic College in Tasmania? One aspect of the culture and unfortunate history is that none of the students here descend from the Northwest people due to the genocide that took place here around 200 years ago. Yesterday was an awesome experience, that despite the tragic history of this area, we are still able to celebrate what is one of the longest, ongoing living cultures and traditions known to humanity.  

 Please see the comments below from our guests:  

David: Thanks so much for today was a really enjoyable day for us all. 

Michem: Thank you soo much was so sweet working with you guys today keen for more days there! Got any videos of today or pics would love them 👌 and have you got any videos of the kids singing the welcome absolutely loved that ☺️ 

Karen: Thanks for today, your students are awesome and they reminded me why I love doing this. 

Auntie Marcia: This school is so welcoming and we have been really looked after. Your students are a credit to your school. 

Today, I visited activities organised for Medieval Day for Year 8 students. 

Earlier in the week, you received a College survey that we designed in conjunction with Catholic Education Tasmania and an independent external consultant. It is our hope that we can utilise the survey help us plan for the future and utilise the feedback to “keep doing”, “start doing” and “stop doing” various operations, behaviours and approaches. Thank you to staff, students and members of our community who have been able to complete this for us to date.  

Over the last two editions of the Star, we have asked you two questions relating to our Mission. We are keen for you to provide some perspective around what is fundamentally important to you and why you believe we exist (our purpose). Some key themes from your responses included safety, values in faith, life, learning and culture, the importance of mental health awareness and support, a high-quality holistic education with variety, hospitality and welcome and to be inspired every day.  

Thanks very much for your responses. All respondents were entered into a draw to win a voucher to spend locally, we would like to announce the winner:  Timothy Mason 

Congratulations! 

Over the last fortnight, our Deputy Principal: Learning and Teaching, Mr Wayne Gale has been on leave. We would like to thank Mrs Emily Sass has been acting in the role and will continue until school resumes for Term 3. 

Wishing all our families a safe and restful school holiday break. 

In partnership 

Mr Gregg Sharman 

Principal