Clubs

Mt St Michael’s College offers a range of Club activities and special interest programs

Australian Space Design Competitions

The Australian Space Design Competition is a rigorous and challenging activity for students interested in the future of Space. The competition invites students in Yrs 9 to 11 to respond to a request for tender and design a fully functional future space settlement. Aspects to be addressed include overall structure, operations, automation, human factors and logistics. National finalists are invited to represent Australia at the Space Settlement Design Competition at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

The Junior Space Design Competition requires students in Yrs 7 to 8 to form a marketing consultancy and prepare advertising material to support the space settlement designed by their senior counterparts. Recruitment of personnel to ensure the on-going operation of the space settlement is the main theme, and both the Junior and Senior teams work together on a shared passion. 

Business Club

The Business Club has been established to provide opportunities for all students in Years 7-12 to engage in the Business World.  Staff will encourage students to participate in competitions including BlueShift – a competition for students in Yrs 10-12 focusing on a specific case from March - June each year; the Sharemarket Game – a competition for students from Yrs 7-12 to learn how to invest in shares works from and March – June and August-November each year; and the Buy Smart Competition for Yrs 7-12 starting in March and concluding in September each year. 

Students will be guided by the teacher mentor and collaboratively planning in groups by setting visions, working with their group members to set goals and actioning these plans each time they attend Business Club to ensure success in the experience chosen.  All welcome and further information is provided via Student Café and Parent Lounge during March and November.

Da Vinci Decathlon

The Da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of adolescents. Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy. MSM enters teams in Years 7 to 10 and weekly training occurs in the lead up to the competition where students learn to collaborate, delegate and tap into each other’s strengths and passions.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the world’s greatest thinkers and scholars. Da Vinci demonstrated an ability to perceive the interconnected nature of knowledge and embraced learning with a lifelong passion and determination to uncover the unknown. The Decathlon competition places a particular emphasis on higher order thinking skills, problem solving and creativity.

Debating

Mt St Michael's College has a long and successful Debating history, with past students in both State and National teams. Students are offered the opportunity to take part in the Queensland Debating Union (QDU) competition, as well as the Junior Round Robin competition for first-time debaters.

We recognise at Mt St Michael’s College that there are many advantages to be gained from learning how to debate well. The first and most obvious is that it can do wonders for a student’s self-confidence and team work. While debating is a team exercise, it is very individual in its benefits. It also helps students to be active listeners as well as sharpening their analytical skills.

Students are also encouraged to hone their speaking skills so that when they have something to say about an issue, they will have the ability to stand up and say it, and say it well – even in front of an unfamiliar audience. In short, debating can help a student to be the best she can be. The ability to communicate and be receptive to the communications of others is a wonderful advantage in life.

Ethics Olympiad

This competition provides students in the Middle School (Years 8 and 9) and the Senior School (Year 10) with a creative platform in which to engage in clear, concise, respectful discourse around challenging ethical cases. Students with a passion for justice interested in developing their critical thinking, advocacy and communication skills will find this competition highly rewarding. It is not a debate as teams competing against each other can agree on a topic, but rather a vehicle for training the mind to draw conclusions carefully, collaboratively and clearly.

Film and Multimedia Club

The Film and Multimedia Club is an extension of curriculum work in Multimedia Studies.

French Club

French Club is for language and non-language students from Years 7-12. Our goal for the club is to inspire MSM students to have fun in French, and especially to encourage younger year levels to engage with French culture. Students have the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of authentic activities such as traditional French games and board games, exquisite French cuisine, dance, stunning art, music and film. Tutoring is also an important part of the Club’s activities. Older students and teachers are available to help with classwork. 

Japan Club

Japan Club is open to all Year 7-12 students. You do not have to be a student of Japanese. Our goal is to encourage students to learn more about Japan and its people through fun and interactive cultural activities. Activities include festival celebrations, origami, cherry blossom tree collages, calligraphy, yukata (summer kimono) dress-up days, traditional Japanese games, anime watching, J-pop, Japanese TikToks and karaoke. The Club also offers opportunities for Language students to seek help with their work from other students and teacher.

Minecraft Academy

Minecraft Academy is a group of students from years 7-11 who with their love of Minecraft meet weekly and collaborate together to build worlds. The largest ongoing project is the MSM College, containing teachers, students, working lifts and doors. Minecraft Academy also works in a 3D virtual world using VR software. Trying to escape Zombies and Spiders which just seem to creep up on you is the constant challenge in this format.

TED-Ed Club

The TED-Ed Club offers students in Years 8 and 9 a hands-on opportunity to work on the storytelling and communication skills that are vital. Students come together to discuss, research, present and celebrate creative ideas. Working with the College’s Film and Multimedia Club, students have their TED talks filmed and uploaded to have the opportunity to become influencers for a better world.

Tournament of Minds

TOM is a six week challenge that encourages problem-solving skills and team work. The girls work in teams of seven and there are different disciplines for teams to enter including Maths Engineering, Social Sciences, Applied Technology and Language Literature.

The teams are teacher selected (after the girls express interest in participating) as there needs to be students from three different year levels Year 8 - Year 10 in each team. There is no cost to participating in this activity. For further information visit http://www.tom.edu.au/QLD/Default.aspx

Writers' Club

Writers' Club is an inspirational group of students from Years 7-12. Staff provide stimulus to help budding writers with ideas for their writing. A normal afternoon involves a quick brain dump to clear peoples' minds, followed by stimulus material, which can range from pictures to songs, or even peoples' shoes as happened one afternoon. Then the writing happens. For more than 30 minutes, the only sound in the room is the scratching of pens and the silent whirring of minds.

Once this is done, sharing and critiquing occurs, where people can share what they’ve created, and be given constructive criticism to improve their writing. It is often amazing to witness what young writers are able to put on to paper in half an hour! Sometimes the room is sent into uncontrollable laughter, other times into complete silence and awe. Writers' Club also has an annual camp and occasional excursions, enabling writers to immerse themselves in a range of experiences.