Parent Workshops

On 16 March, MSJ parents were invited to attend a series of workshops delivered by staff, parents, students and representatives from Sexual Health Victoria. Parents were able to select workshops from a range of areas including:

  • Maths Matters
  • What’s behind the numbers? (explanation of ATAR)
  • Resilience
  • Understanding Assessment and Feedback
  • Career Pathways
  • Year 11 and 12 at MSJ: What is the difference between VCE and VCE/VM?
  • A Social World (social media presented by current Year 12 students)
  • Thriving in VCE
  • Anxiety
  • The effect of pornography on young women and discussion on consent
  • Risk taking behaviours
  • A Parents Perspective: The Challenges of Parenting a Senior Student

Resources from these workshops can be located via your child’s PAM account. Go to ‘knowledge bank’ then ‘parent workshop resources’.

Thank you to all parents who supported the workshops by sharing their own experiences and providing us with valuable feedback to begin planning our sessions for 2024.

Anxiety and reluctance to attend school: A talk for parents

We have partnered with Hobsons Bay Youth Services to offer a few webinars for parents.

All teens experience anxiety from time to time. However, for some teens, anxiety can result in reluctance or even refusal to attend school. Parents play a key role in detecting and supporting teens who experience anxiety. In this talk, Dr Melvin will discuss:

• the signs of anxiety,
• the links between anxiety and school attendance, and
• what parents can do when they encounter anxiety and difficulties with school attendance.

Dr Glenn Melvin is a practising clinical psychologist and an associate professor at the School of Psychology, Deakin University.
As the President of the International Network for School Attendance, he is passionate about developing new ways to foster school attendance and support students who experience difficulty attending and their families.

7-8pm, Tuesday 2 May, 2023

Registrations essential: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ElM2S5JLT7GR6SZOLiuF5g

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD

Do you have a child who experiences Anxiety or Obsessive Compulsion Disorder? Do you want to learn some strategies to support your child to overcome anxiety provoking situations?

The MSJ Students Services team will be facilitating a book club in Term 2. The book club will be reading “Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD’ A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents. It is the first and only book to provide a completely parent-based treatment program for child and adolescent anxiety. Parents will learn how to alleviate their children's anxiety by changing the way they themselves respond to their children's symptoms--importantly, parents are not required to impose changes on their children's behaviour. Instead, parents are shown how to replace their own accommodating behaviours (which allow anxiety to flourish) with supportive responses that demonstrate both acceptance of children's difficulties and confidence in their ability to cope.

From understanding child anxiety and OCD, to learning how to talk with an anxious child, to avoiding common traps and pitfalls (such as being overly protective or demanding) to identifying the ways in which parents have been enabling a child's anxious behaviours, this book is full of detailed guidance and practical suggestions. Worksheets are included to help parents translate the book's suggestions into action, and the book's compassionate and personable tone will make it a welcoming resource for any concerned parent.

If you are interested in participating in the Book Club, please complete the expression of interest form located: MSJ Book Club

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Robyn Thomson rthomson@msj.vic.edu.au

2023 SCHOOL FEES

Updated statements have been issued during Term 1.

For those families that have chosen to pay by term instalments, a reminder that the

2nd instalment is due 24 April 2023.

If you are one of the few that have not yet established a payment frequency with the College, it would be appreciated if you bring your account up to date immediately.

Please review the fees schedule and related deduction forms (Direct Debit / Credit Card / Centrepay) by following the link below.

https://www.msj.vic.edu.au/enr...

$1,225 CSEF reduction in fees

Families who have not already applied & are eligible (hold health care (HCC), pensioner concession (PCC) or veterans’ affairs gold card and temporary foster parents) are strongly urged to complete the CSEF form (also included on our website https://www.msj.vic.edu.au/uploads/Learning/2022-CSEF-application-form.pdf as it provides significant reductions in fees.

Should you have any queries in relation to your account, please contact Mrs Heather Rinaldi (msjfees@msj.vic.edu.au) or 8398 2000 (Option 3).

Your continued support is appreciated.

Daniel O’Malley - Business Manager

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) On School Students with Disability

What is the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data?
Schools must now complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) every year. It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments or “help” at school because of a disability. The NCCD helps governments plan for the needs of students with disability.

Please see the attached document for further information.

NCCD Information Sheet for Parents, Carers and Guardians

VCE Physics Luna Park Day

The Year 12 Physics and Specialist classes were given the opportunity to attend the VCE Physics Day held at Luna Park, which was a highly anticipated excursion for most. For the duration of the day, we were given the chance to go on rides or watch on the sidelines in order to collect necessary data and answer questions in regards to the application of physics to the various rides.

This allowed us to gain a deeper insight into various physics principles such as Newton’s laws and circular motion, seeing and experiencing the rides as practical examples.

We all had a great time on the day, from looking at the St Kilda views on the Sky Rider Ferris wheel to screaming at the top of our lungs on the scenic roller coaster. It was a day well spent.

Seeking volunteers to help with Joseph’s Corner High Tea

Each year, Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College supports Joseph’s Corner High Tea. This event helps raise much needed funds to provide counselling for families affected by addiction.

This year, Joseph’s Corner is celebrating 23 years in the west.

If you can spare a few hours on Sunday 21 May 2023, we would love to hear from you.

Support is needed serving tea and coffee, preparing the serving plates, door check in, clearing tables and washing up at the completion of the event.

Event Details:

Date: Sunday 21 May

Time: 2-5pm

Location: Mount St. Joseph’s College

Please contact Ann Hudson on 0409 901 899 if you are interested in volunteering.

34th Alliance Française French Film Festival

Quel film merveilleux! The VCE French students were very fortunate to experience French culture by attending the 34th Alliance Française French Film Festival! It was fantastic cinematic viewing, as the film related well to the concept of family, a topic that the Year 11 French students are currently studying. Merci à Madame Christofi et à Madame Lenger pour cette magnifique opportunité!

Synopsis in English

In Ténor, we met Antoine, a young man from the suburbs of Paris, who delivered sushi by day and was a rapper by night. After a sushi delivery, Madame Loyseau at the Opera Garnier was very impressed by his talented voice and invited Antoine to sing with the Opera! Antoine had to choose between his life as a rapper or a life where he can chase his dream. There were a lot of funny moments in Ténor, but I also found that there were serious topics too. After having watched the film, I feel that families can be very different and that family is very important to find your place in life and chase your dreams!

Synopsis in French

Dans Ténor, nous avons rencontré Antoine, un jeune banlieusard parisien, qui a travaillé comme livreur de sushi le jour et était rappeur la nuit. Après une livraison de sushi, Madame Loyseau à l'Opéra Garnier était très impressionnée par sa voix talentueuse et elle a invité Antoine à chanter avec l'Opéra! Antoine devait choisir entre sa vie de rappeur ou une vie où il pouvait pourchasser son rêve. Il y avait beaucoup de moments drôles dans Ténor, mais aussi, j’ai trouvé qu'il y avait des sujets sérieux. Après avoir regardé le film, j’ai l’impression que les familles peuvent être très différentes et que la famille est très importante pour trouver sa place dans la vie et pourchasser ses rêves!

Bridget Corluka Year 11


Year 7 Camp

Last week, the Year 7’s went on camp! We arrived at Lake Dewar and not long after we started some of the many fun activities. Over the three days, we participated in a range of rotations, despite the weather! That night, we watched a movie and then went to bed.

The second day was filled with more activities, from kayaking and stand up paddle boarding to geocaching and adventure tunnelling. Towards the end of the night, we had a liturgy run by our very own students, where we learnt the stories behind all of the College Houses. To top it all off, we had an extremely competitive chant off and finished the movie.

On our last day, we woke up bright and early ready to finish off our remaining activities. We said goodbye to Lake Dewar and hello to home. We had so much fun at this camp, and Lake Dewar is definitely a camp to remember.

By Maddie Salmon and Camila Rodriguez (7 Providence)

Year 7 camp was a bundle of fun. The first day was quite wet, but we all pushed through some exhilarating activities. We finished off the first night with a movie, the room full of lollies, laughter and long lasting memories. The perfect start to our Year 7 camp. The second day was warmer, but much more tiring, after the lack of sleep and what seemed like never ending activities. We all still managed to hang in there. We finished the day together as we sang our MSJ college song, all united and welcomed. Our journey was quick and soon we were all home in our parents' safe hands - ready for a good night's sleep. All together it was the perfect way to meet more people and have a good time.

By Zoe De Bono (7 Penola)