MacKillop Chronicles 2023 Term 1, Week 8
Thursday 23 March 2023
NAPLAN has almost finished 2023 with all students making a concerted effort to complete the assessment tasks. It all wraps up tomorrow so we can get back to what we do best, inspire and learn.
Our Mini MacK's have inspired Primary to give once again for our greater community. Students have been decorating Easter cards and donating eggs to be taken to the Senior members of our community in Residential care. Thank you for all the donations so far, Mini Mack's will be collecting until the end of next week.
Harmony Day was officially celebrated this week on Tuesday 21 March, as we were deep in the NAPLAN head space we decided to celebrate next Tuesday 28 March. Students are asked to wear Orange, for those who pre-ordered a Sausage sizzle from around the world.
Yesterday, a group of students from Years 8 and 10 attended Camp Breakaway where they hosted the Mini-Olympics for adults living with disabilities. Our students, along with Mr Webster and Sr Jiji helped to run the event and assisted with the engagement, participation and socialisation of camp attendees. Mr Webster said 'our students were outstanding' and made him so proud. They all had such a great time and he would love to go again!
If your child is in Year 4 or above and is currently doing their Sacrament of Reconciliation, the final class preparation is this Sunday 26 March. Please make sure you have booked a time for your child/ren to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. warnervaleparish@bbcatholic.org.au or call 8379 1740.
Primary Matters
Dear Community,
Fifth Sunday of Lent Gospel Account
“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11: 1 – 45. By Lazarus rising from the dead illustrates Jesus’ absolute power of life and death. It shows he is both divine and human. He had the human ability to show compassion in a time of extreme need. By raising him from the dead also illustrates that he truly is the son of God, who has power over everything.
Harmony Day Tuesday 28 March
Harmony Day is a national celebration in Australia to celebrate diversity and the multiple different cultures that call Australia home. The children are encouraged to wear orange or the dress from their family's ancestral roots and donate a gold coin for our Lenten Appeal. During the day the children will participate in a special liturgy after recess followed by CLAN activities on how to get along and belong. A sausage sizzle will follow for those who have made an order on QKR.
Parent Volunteers Needed to Cook Sausages for Harmony Day
Thus far we have three volunteers to help cook and serve the sausages on Tuesday but we really need a few more. Please let Tim Snelling know @ tim.snelling@dbb.catholic.edu.au if you can help. You would be required from 10:30 to approximately 1:30. We need your help!
Holy Week Events
Being Catholic or for that matter being Christian should mean we are Easter people. The events of Easter go to the heart of our faith. If you do not believe in the events of Easter, then dare I say events like Christmas lose their meaning. To faithfully commemorate the events of the Easter story our Year 6 students will re-enact the events of Palm Sunday at the Week 9 Friday assembly @ 1:20. On Holy Thursday the last day of Term 1 some students from K – 12 will re-enact the Stations of the Cross. More information will be sent home by Mr Snelling soon, but for now please note all parents are invited to these solemn events.
Key Events Coming Up
Many of our children will be making their First Reconciliation in the afternoons between Tuesday 28 – Thursday 30 March. This is a wonderful sacrament that has been given to all people of faith.
The Year 6 students will head to Canberra on Monday 3 April – Wednesday 5 April and the kindergarten children will enjoy a Nursery Rhyme Dress Up Day Friday 31 March.
The whole school will stop on April 3 to commemorate Anzac Day.
Second Step Parent Information Session Friday 31 March @ 9 am in the library
As you should be aware our school has introduced a new Social and Emotional Learning program for Years K – 6 to help students to learn how to develop social, emotional and personal development skills. Mrs Denneman and Mrs Owen our SEL Coordinators would like to invite parents along to an hour-long information session to learn about what is taught and the objectives of the program. More information specific to this event will be compassed out to parents.
MacKillop Playgroup
Thank you thus far to the handful of parents who would like to be a part of our inaugural playgroup at MacKillop to hopefully commence next term. If you are interested, then please send an email to the office to register your interest.
Before School Drop Off
Parents are reminded that before school staff teacher supervision does not commence till 8:20 am in the morning, so try to drop kids off just before or around this time. Children being dropped off way earlier than this time are unsupervised. All children must sit down in the shade sail area until a teacher arrives for supervision. Please help us keep everyone safe!
Afternoon Drop Off – Almost Getting it Right
A big thank you to the parents who are doing the right thing for traffic to flow and for the safety of the children. Sadly, we still have some parents who do not comply with instructions and consequently the traffic snarls. Come on, everyone needs to do their bit!
Enrolments for 2024 Kindergarten are being filled now
Commencing tomorrow enrolment interviews are being held at the school for parents of children wishing to come into kindergarten in 2024. If you wish your child to be in kindergarten in 2024 or know of someone who wants to send their child here, then please do not delay. Come and collect enrolment forms from the office and lodge them as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
For Your Diary - Term 2 Commences Wednesday 26 April for Students
A Thought for the Week…
“Like attracts like. Whatever the conscious mind thinks and believes, the subconscious identically creates.” Adams.
God Bless
Frank Cohen
Primary Principal
Japan Cultural Tour 2024
New Zealand Multi-Sports Tour 2024
Secondary News
Prayer: Lenten Prayer
As we continue our journey through Lent we continue to pray for the less fortunate, give to charity where we can and be mindful of living good lives. We are now approaching Holy Week in the next couple of weeks and the blessed holiness of Easter.
Loving God,
You have heard my complaints, and my impatience.
Sometimes I become frightened when I move away from you.
Guide my heart back to you.
Help me to think beyond my own wants
and to desire only to do your will.
Thank you for the many blessings in my life
and for the ways I feel your presence.
AMEN
Learning: Frozen Weeks
These appear on our calendar throughout the year and form an important part of learning. Frozen Weeks occur the week before formal exams where we insist all students are in every class during that week and the teachers must also be present to prepare for the exams in the following week. Obviously, attendance is important at all times but in the week leading up to exams, teachers can concentrate specifically on exam techniques and revise the learning that will be examined.
Our Year 12 students are presently in their Frozen Week leading up to their “Ace Your Exam” Week. These exam marks will not go towards their final assessment marks as NESA will only allow a specific number of exam times. However, we feel our students need practice in time management and experiencing exams under HSC conditions, so they complete these exams to assist with this.
The exams will reinforce what knowledge and skills the students have developed and what they need to work on to improve their grades. We wish them all the best in their preparation.
Vertical Pastoral:
Part of the Vertical Pastoral program is the identification of students who may need extra assistance with their learning. The 2 hours are proving to be very successful for students to be able to read more, work on assessments, to socialise with students across the year groups and for all students to be better prepared for class.
However, we are aware that not all students find this time a solution to other issues they may have which are preventing them from learning effectively.
As a result, the next stage of the Program is to identify students who need some more help in varied areas such as attendance, behaviour, effort in class, working hard but not progressing and so on.
Staff are being asked to identify up to 3 students they are teaching who may fall under one or more of these categories. From this, students will be assigned to various Middle Leaders for the assistance they need.
This is not a punitive approach but one where teachers will try to work with the students to understand why these concerns are occurring and then put in place the assistance required. By doing this we hope to identify and help more students reach their goals and potential.
NSW Police talk
On Tuesday of week 7, we were fortunate to have two officers from the police force come to speak to our students about social media and the pitfalls of inappropriate use and distribution of images. Both officers used everyday examples of some of the issues that arise and result in police involvement. They emphasised that they are seeing increasing numbers of police reports of online bullying and harassment as well as sharing and distributing inappropriate, illegal content.
Once again, our students have been educated about viewing and “showing” (which constitutes “sharing and distribution”) illegal content amongst themselves. It was somewhat disturbing that some of our student's behaviours were unsettled and not attentive to the message at hand. It is vitally important that students understand the serious nature of unacceptable online behaviour.
Another point that was made, which students often forget, is that no content is ever fully deleted. There are servers all over the world that are used as back - up where content can be retrieved, should the need arise. The content can not only be retrieved; it can also be traced to the original sender. Please take the time to talk with your children about these matters. At a school level, we have engaged the students in Digital citizenship educational activities and had several speakers present to them over the last three years. It is an ongoing activity that we repeatedly remind them and still, we see young people making inappropriate choices that result in stressful situations for families.
Smashed Alcohol Presentation:
Year 8 attended the Smashed presentation which is a credible piece of theatre that engaged and inspired the students last Tuesday. It was a hard-hitting interactive education presentation that empowered students to behave responsibly and make informed choices. Students observed the experiences of three credible teenage characters, exploring and reflecting on vital underage drinking themes including; relationships, consent, health, safety and career aspirations. By interacting with the characters, the students were challenged to think; what if that was me? Offering advice, discovering realistic ways to deal with peer pressure and where to get further support were all explored. It was a very worthwhile and valuable experience for the students which hopefully educates them on the potential consequences of underage drinking.
Senior ArtExpress Excursion:
Last Wednesday, Year 12 Visual Art students enjoyed a trip to the Art Gallery NSW (AGNSW) whereby they heard from student artists from 2022 who were selected for ArtExpress; an exhibition of exemplary works from past HSC students. They were also taken on a guided Learning Tour by one of the art educators - Lina, who discussed the practices of some key post-modern artists whose works were commissioned for the new North Building. This was an inspiring and highly valuable experience for our senior VA students!
Important Dates for Week 9:
Mon - Tues: Year 12 Frozen Week
Tues – Harmony Day / P6 Years 9 & 10 ‘Smashed Alcohol” Talk
Thurs: MCC Cross Country / ‘Red Earth” Immersion Session 2
Fri: NSWCCC Swimming
Sun: Palm Sunday
Final Word
If you have any questions or concerns always, please contact the College.
Remember to check COMPASS, our website and, our Facebook pages for information.
God bless.
Debra Ferguson
Secondary Principal
CatholicCare Vacation Care
CatholicCare coordinates MCC OSHC for our families and this school holidays they have a fantastic schedule of activities. Head to our website for information regarding their service and download the schedule.
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