MacKillop Chronicles Term 2, Week 7

Dear Families,

I am writing to advise that the College has chosen the following days for Staff Professional Development in line with the mandatory requirements of the Diocese of Catholic Schools Broken Bay and the Catholic Schools Broken Bay Enterprise Agreement. I think it is useful knowing these days in advance so that working parents/carers can make arrangements ahead of time as these are Student Free Days.

In addition to the dates listed above, I thought it might be useful that you had access to the following dates for the remainder of 2025:

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Tanya Appleby | College Principal

Last week, our Year 6 Debating Team, consisting of Avah, Hannah, Elisha, Isabella, Lyla and Laylah, participated in their first debate against St Brendan’s, Lake Munmorah on the topic: "That Australia should close all its zoos." Representing the affirmative team, our students argued passionately and persuasively, presenting thoughtful points about animal welfare, natural habitats, and ethical responsibility.

In a tightly contested match, the team narrowly missed out on victory by just five points—a huge achievement against a very experienced team. Our speakers demonstrated confidence, teamwork, and growing skill in rebuttal, impressing both the audience and adjudicator, Mr Webster.

We are incredibly proud of our team for their preparation, courage, and respectful debating manner. Congratulations on a strong performance.

Well done, team!

Chris Shilling | Curriculum Lead Early Stage 1 and Stage 1

MacKillop Catholic College Celebrates Pentecost and Leadership

This past fortnight at MacKillop Catholic College, we celebrated Pentecost and the end of the Season of Easter. Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 engaged in joyful and meaningful learning experiences that helped them understand the significance of this special time in the Catholic faith.

Our classrooms were filled with wind, fire (the paper kind!), doves, and discussions about the powerful moment when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. Pentecost is a significant moment in the Church's calendar, reminding us of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.

Across all year levels, students explored the story of Pentecost and reflected on the gifts of the Holy Spirit - wisdom, understanding, courage, knowledge, and more. Through prayer, discussion, art, and storytelling, students deepened their understanding of how the Holy Spirit is present in our lives and how these gifts can guide us to live with love, faith and compassion.

Our Year 6 students also represented MacKillop at the Diocesan Leadership Day, joining students from the 36 Catholic primary schools across the Diocese of Broken Bay. This special event provided opportunities for our senior students to reflect on servant leadership, grow in confidence, and connect with others as they prepare to lead their school communities.

As the Easter season draws to a close, we celebrate the faith, learning and leadership shown by our students and look forward to the ways the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us in the year ahead.

Tim Snelling | Religious Education Coordinator K - 6

Little Lighthouse Playgroup

This term has been a lot of fun in playgroup. Each fortnight, we have been fortunate to have so many families coming out in the rain and cold to enjoy some time connecting with others in the greater community. Last week was probably the most fun yet as we mixed up some super fluffy cloud playdough in every colour of the rainbow. The perfect wintery day activity. 

Little Lighthouse is a great way to meet other families with children starting big school next year, building confidence, friendships, and ensuring the only tears on the first day of school are from Mum and Dad.

Our next playgroup is on Thursday, June 19, in the College Library's makerspace; everyone is invited.

Youth Group and Youth Mass

Our next Youth Group and Youth Mass is on Sunday, 22 June. Youth Group is open to primary and secondary aged children from not only our school and parish, but the wider community as well. A place where young people can connect in faith through conversation, games and activities.  Followed by Mass and a light supper, it is a meaningful afternoon of family connection. Make sure that you mark your calendars!

Welcoming our newest members

Since mid-May, Mrs Appleby and Mrs Power have been part of the St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Baptism Committee. It’s an incredible privilege for our College to warmly welcome new members to the Warnervale Parish community. As the College Parent Engagement Coordinator, I’ve put together some heartfelt welcome gifts from MCC, including a beautiful Baby's First Prayer book and a commemorative baptismal cross. We look forward to celebrating this special journey with all our Parish families for many years to come.

Blessings,

Lucy Marien | Parent Engagement Coordinator

Enrolment Interviews

Over the past several weeks, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of interviewing many students and their families as they embark on their Secondary School journey at MacKillop.

I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to engage with our current Year 6 students and their families, as well as those joining us from a variety of other schools in the surrounding area.

It is a chance to put a face to the name, but more importantly than that, it is a chance to learn a bit more about each individual within our community.  At MacKillop, we take great pride in knowing our students well, so that we can best meet their educational needs.

It is particularly encouraging for me to discuss our intended direction as a school with our parents and hear that it aligns so closely with what they want for their own child’s education.  It is very clear to me that our parents and carers want a rigorous academic program, firm but fair behaviour management, an opportunity for students to be supported in their own faith journey, a variety of sporting opportunities, cultural development and high expectations across the board.

I am confident that we will deliver these outcomes.  There will be bumps in the road, that is inevitable in any school, but together we can achieve amazing things.  These enrolment interviews are, in many instances, just the first opportunity for you to connect with us.  I strongly encourage you to maintain that connection to the College and our staff.  We want to know what’s working for you as a family, and we also need to know what can be improved. 

We are completely invested in making MacKillop all that it can be, so please don’t ever hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns.

God bless,

Paul Lynch | Head of Secondary

Stage 5 Visual Arts, Photographic and Digital Media (PDM) and Visual Design – Ceramics students have recently completed their assessment tasks, with outstanding results across all classes. A selection of these impressive works will be on display in the Art Rooms’ gallery space.

In Year 9 Visual Arts, students explored colour pencil techniques to create vibrant drawings of lollies, demonstrating strong observational and rendering skills. Year 10 Visual Arts students developed technical acrylic paintings of cars on canvas, focusing on form, light and composition.

In PDM, both Year 9 and Year 10 students studied still-life photography, experimenting with lighting, shapes, and shadows to produce thoughtful and stylised photographic compositions.

Year 10 Visual Design – Ceramics students took inspiration from vehicles, crafting imaginative clay cars and miniature diorama scenes to showcase their skills in 3D design and hand-building techniques.

These engaging projects are just a glimpse of the exciting creative opportunities available in Years 9 and 10. We congratulate all Stage 5 students on their creative achievements and encourage students to visit the display to celebrate their success.

Jillian Young | Leader of Learning and Teaching Creative Arts

We are looking forward to welcoming our sister school, Nihon Daiichi Junior High School, early next term. Our sister school is located in Ryougoku, an inner suburb of Tokyo. The school is eight stories high, and there is no parking available. All students and teachers commute to the school by train. It is located near Tokyo’s tallest building, Tokyo Sky Tree.

Our sister school students are very excited to experience life at MacKillop. A Japanese word we often hear when they arrive is “hiroi”, which means “spacious”. They are always surprised to see our school oval. In comparison, our sister school has a hard-court area, but no grass. They also get excited about seeing our beaches, wildlife and trying different foods. Our Japanese sister school students are very proud of their culture. They run lots of activities while they are here for our host students, such as origami, Japanese children’s games, calligraphy, songs and dances.

2 More Host Families Needed

If you are interested in hosting a student, please contact Mr Kilham. We still require 2 more families to host boys.  Students, please be aware that JUMP hours are awarded for hosting, as well as for the opportunity to participate in class exchanges, a visit to the Reptile Park with the Japanese students, and a farewell party/festival during the stay. Families will also receive some financial support for hosting a student. The Nihon University Daiichi Junior High School students will be visiting from Sunday, 27 July, until Sunday, 10 August 2025.

If you and your family are interested in this wonderful cross-cultural opportunity, please email me at andrew.kilham@dbb.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Kilham | Leader of Learning and Teaching Language, Japanese

Term 3 Allied Health Professional Bookings

Just a reminder to parents in preparation for Term 3, please ensure that you have booked your allied health appointments with Mrs Natalie Lea at natalie.lea1@dbb.catholic.edu.au so that your child can access an allied health professional. 

Director of Learner Diversity K-12 Announcement

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Salina Mayall in the role of Director of Learner Diversity K-12. Salina joins us from the Independent School sector, where she held the position of Head of Campus, Year 3 - Year 12.

Mrs Mayall comes to us with comprehensive knowledge of the Disability Standards for Education (DSE), National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) and NESA requirements, including Disability Provisions and Life Skills. Her ability to navigate through these regulatory bodies has enabled her to lead inclusive practices that foster student success and wellbeing. She is looking forward to working with families across K-12 and leading her new team, and will commence in this role at the beginning of Term 3. 

The Parish would like to invite parents of children who are baptised Catholic and wish to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation to attend the upcoming

Parent Enrolment and Information Night on Thursday, 19th June at 7:00 pm in the Church.  

Please note that enrolment letters and forms will be sent to each child in Year 3.

Best regards

Kim McCarthy | Parish Secretary
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Parish, Warnervale

Ph: 8379 1740

Please be advised that enrolments are now open for CatholicCare’s July Vacation Care Program.

Families are able to register here: www.catholiccaredbb.org.au/vacation-care

CatholicCares Vacation Care programs offer a wide range of activities catering to children of different ages, interests and needs. We also head out and about on a range of local excursions.

The environment that they provide is stimulating and enjoyable, with activities that harness the children’s interests and strengths, while respecting their need for leisure.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to respond to this email or speak to the OSHC Coordinator at your school.

Camps are an integral part of school life. Away from the daily classroom, teachers and students have an opportunity to engage in new experiences and master new skills.

Listed below are tentative camp dates for 2025. Please consider these dates when booking holidays or other leave requests to take your child/ren out of school. As camps are compulsory school events, we are unable to credit or refund camp costs for non-attendance.

Year 5                 29 October to 31 October 2025

Year 9                 15 - 17 September 2025 // New date

Year 10              28 July to 29 July 2025

Year 11              3 November to 5 November 2025

Thu 19 Jun - Year 3 Confirmation Parent Information & Enrolment meeting
Sun 22 Jun - Year 3 Confirmation Session 1
Thu 26 Jun - 2:00PM - 8:00PM Sec Parent Teacher Interview Evening
Thu 26 Jun - 3:30PM - 6:30PM Pri Parent Teacher Interviews Evening
Fri 27 Jun - 8:45AM - 3:00PM K-12 Parent Teacher Day
Sun 29 Jun - 10:00AM - 11:00AM Pri Yr 3 Confirmation Session 2
Fri 4 July - K-12 Pupil Free Day and Year 7-11 Report Released

For the most up to date information please refer to Compass