MacKillop Chronicles 2023, Week 2 Term 2

Thursday 4 May, 2023

ANZAC Pride

Ellis D 2G was one of our many amazing MCC students who participated in our ANZAC Day march last Tuesday. She was so proud to be marching with her College peers and wearing 3 generations of medals.  She was wearing the following medals to honour her family's past services to our country: Her great-great-grandfather served in WWI, her great-grandfather served in  WWII and she wore her pop's Army Service medal. Thank you for marching and sharing this story with us Ellis.

Family reading and pizza night

Little Lighthouse Playgroup at MacKillop

Primary Matters

Dear Community,

5^th Sunday Gospel Account

“Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14: 1 -12 This is a famous quote from John’s Gospel. Essentially it means that there is only way to God and that is through faith and belief in Jesus Christ. He is the light and the way and the truth. For those who believe in him will be saved and live forever. For the word of the Lord is truth and the truth is light to show us the way. For a whole host of reasons which includes our own church and the way it has been run for many years, there are many who have turned their backs on the word and the truth and the light. For some, they invest time and money into earthly possessions and interests minus having a faith. None of us will get out of living alive. As sobering and in some respects depressing as that is, it means we must make a conscious decision about what life is all about. For me personally, I am a believer of the Easter message. To dedicate attention only to material things always leaves us empty and shallow. Our purpose is to be the best we can be and use our God given gifts for good. But it also to believe and rejoice in such wonderful knowledge.

Parent Meeting Wednesday 10 May @ 6:30 in the library

Mrs Ferguson and I as joint College Principals invite all new and old parents across the college K – 12 to come and be involved in a discussion on what is possible with parental involvement moving forward for our school. As you are aware up until this year the school was served by a college principal and a parent board. Both of which have now been relaxed. Covid and leadership model changes have left us in a position where we can now re-imagine and design a system that works for our college.

This may mean a parent steering committee, class parents, fundraising and social groups, information and education groups etc. We are only limited by our imagination, time and energy. The current enrolment interviews have confirmed for us that our school does enjoy a good reputation and we want to strengthen this further through strong parental inclusion and participation.

We expect to see parents that are always involved, but we really want new parents to come along and see what is possible. We are providing some light refreshments for the evening so please register that you are coming at https://forms.office.com/r/10EA9taUnK

Family Background Language Online Survey

If you have not spent 5 minutes completing the online language survey, could you please do this ASAP? We want to know the language background of all families for the purpose of potentially attracting more funding for the school. As our cultural footprint is changing, we need to capture fully who are the students and families that we serve. Our census data needs to be updated to reflect the families we have and at present, we do not have a full picture which as a consequence we are not capturing the necessary government funds to cater for all our diverse students.

Please complete the survey here: https://forms.office.com/r/6Fb8Ggu9XC

Compass Calendar for All Families

From time to time we hear grumbles from parents that our communication of dates and events is not as strong as they would like. Fair enough! However, communication is a two-way street which means when dates and events are published, we can hardly be held responsible if parents do not properly engage with the communication channels set up to alert everyone to what is happening. On your compass app, there is a calendar of the term and year events. Coming up are several events which include such things as the Year 2 – 6 Athletics carnival @ Mingara on Wednesday 10 May and the Mother’s Day mass, BBQ and assembly on Friday 12 May.

Class teachers will send out the overviews this week which will also contain dates and events for individual classes for such things as camps, excursions, masses, sacraments and incursions. If in doubt contact the school, but there is an expectation that all families have the Compass app and have up-to-date contact details.

Mother’s Day Events

A special Mother’s Day stall for children to purchase gifts will be run on Thursday 11 May. Gifts are $5 each and students can purchase a maximum of 2 gifts. We suggest for younger students place their money in an envelope with their name, class and number of gifts on it. On Friday 12 May, a hot BBQ and tea/coffee will be provided between 7-8:45 am for all mums, grandmas and significant women in our lives. At 7.30 am a special mass will be held in the church to celebrate mums which will include a photo presentation (send images to Mr Snelling via email as a jpeg to be included). At 8:45 the choir will perform and then there will be open rooms for mums and grandmas to go and listen to the children read or undertake a joint class task.

Kindergarten Enrolments for 2024

We genuinely are getting close to being full for kindergarten in 2024. Please alert others that if they are seeking an enrolment at MacKillop for next year then the enrolment forms need to be returned as soon as possible. We are aware there are some siblings who have not yet returned their forms, so please do so ASAP. Interviews are being held now and offers are being made.

Little Lighthouse Playgroup Has Commenced.

Our very first morning of playgroup has started at MacKillop. Please come along and join in with other Parish/School families for a morning of activities and getting to know other parents. Our playgroup will be held every Friday morning in the multipurpose room which is located near our primary basketball court. Let other mums and dads with pre-schoolers know we exist!

A Thought for the Week …

“Love who you are and what you are and what you do. Laugh at yourself and at life, and nothing can touch you. It’s all temporary anyway. Next lifetime you will do it differently, anyway, so why not do it differently now?” Louise Hay

God Bless,

Frank Cohen

Primary Principal

The First Scientist reading with Corey Tutt

EALD Survey

Secondary News

Prayer for Peace:

Last week we remembered those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom and those who continue to serve.

Grant all servicepersons who sacrificed health and life for the good of all, the gift of your deep peace. May we who inherit the freedom for which they fought become instruments of your peace in our homes, workplaces and world. We ask this prayer through Christ our Lord.

AMEN

Learning:

We would like to congratulate some outstanding achievements from students at our College this week.

Anvin G, Year 9 Kincumber has been announced as a finalist at "The Your World Your Way Photography competition" by the Central Coast Council. Anvin has been showing interest in photography for the last few years and is fascinated by the natural beauty of the Central Coast.

Joshua B, 11 Visual Arts won the People Choice Award for the Central Coast- Your World Your Way Photography Competition.

Charlie P, Year 10 was chosen as a finalist for the Young Archie Competition at Lake Macquarie Arts Museum. 

Finally, we congratulate Cohan S, Year 9. This year he will be attending the World Dwarf Games in Germany where he will not only be the youngest Australian in this team but also compete in 2 sports - basketball and soccer. This is an amazing achievement!

Heads Up for Events this term:

Parent-Teacher Meetings:

Just a heads up that Semester 1 Reports will be sent later this term and then Parent-Teacher Meetings will be held on Thursday, 22 June from 1.30 pm to 8 pm and all-day Friday, 23 June from 8.45 to 3.30 pm. Information will come out shortly about how to make bookings on COMPASS as we did last year.

Staff Training in June

All staff in our Diocese have to undergo Safeguarding Training this year. For the Secondary Staff, this has been organised by Catholic Schools Broken Bay on Thursday 8 June from 1-3 pm. Therefore, there will be no Sport this Thursday and all students, 7-12 will be able to go home at 1 pm. We will have supervision for those who cannot arrange to leave at this time.

Mother’s Day Mass and BBQ

We invite all our Mothers and Significant maternal figures of our students to attend our Mother’s Day Mass at 7.30 am on Friday 12 May in our Church and to our BBQ which commences at 7 am and concludes at 8.45 am.

Student Leadership

This term is very important for all those students who wish to be part of Student Leadership. On Monday Mrs Ferguson and other Exec members spoke to Year 11 about nominating for College Captains, Portfolio Leaders and House Leaders. Nomination forms are available from the Office and in Week 7 all who nominate will speak at our assembly.

For our Juniors we will be speaking to them in a P6 assembly about nominating for leadership and this will be decoded by the end of this term.

Some students know they wish to lead and be part of creating a student leadership group where the student voice can be heard by the teachers to create an even better college community. However, others would love to apply but are too nervous or shy, so we ask parents to encourage their children to apply.

Year 7, 2024 Taster Day

On Tuesday we had over 160 students attend our Year 7, 2024 Taster Day where students learnt more about our College, who Mary MacKillop was, met other Year 6 students and many of our Student Leaders and Peer Support students. They also had a tour of the College and attended 2 classes to experience what it is like to be in a secondary lesson in HSIE and Creative and Performing Arts. In the afternoon they were able to mix more with other students by participating in a number of sports including rugby, basketball and gymnastics.

A big thank you and congratulations to our Transition Leader, Mrs Black and to all the staff who assisted with the day.

Year 7 Camp

Year 7 are presently at Tea Gardens at the Great Aussie Bush Camp. This is a wonderful opportunity for the form to bond more closely and for them to spend time with their teachers outside a classroom. We know that they have had a wonderful experience and this has been a great opportunity for them to get to know each other, their teachers and their Pastoral Leader, Mr Rickards.

EAL/D Survey (English as an additional language or dialect)

A survey has been sent home to all our families K-12 so that we can identify any students whose first language is a language or dialect other than English and who need support in developing their proficiency in Standard Australian English (SAE), both conversational and academic. It is important that all families complete this survey so we have accurate information for our College and to attract funding for those students who need support.

Catholic Schools Broke Bay collate all the information from the survey and then apply for the funding from the government.

Winter Uniform

Just a reminder that we commence Winter Uniform on Monday, Week 3 of Term 2 to allow for the heat that sometimes accompanies the beginning of Term 2.

So, on Monday, 8 May every Secondary student must be in full Winter uniform.

The Girls Year 7-12 in blue tights / The Junior boys in their chambray button-up shirts and long College blue trousers / all students in the College Blazer / if a Jumper is needed it must be the College blue jumper for Juniors and the red jumper for Seniors.

No undershirts or hoodies or any foreign jumpers.

Blue, red or white scarves can be worn. No beanies.

Please check blazers now for dry cleaning or replacing.

New Phone System

At the end of Week 4, we will no longer have phone lines with our provider and will be moving to using our Microsoft Teams Lines where all calls come through our server. This has been the decision of the Catholic Schools Broken Bay Head Office for all the schools within our diocese.

Our phone numbers will change, and we will be sending out all the information for this to you by the end of Week 4. We expect there may be some teething problems, so we ask for your patience when all this occurs.

Parents and Friends Restructuring

What does a parent-representative group look like at MCC K-12?  It’s time to review our parent advisory group and we wish to work in partnership with our community to establish a strong parent body that meets the needs across our diverse K-12 school.

We would like to invite all interested parents who would like to be involved in assisting us to set up a viable and supportive Parent Group to a meeting on Wednesday, 10 May in the Library at 6.30 pm.

This night will allow parents to have an important voice in this formation and the naming of our parent group.

No one will be obliged on the night to take up any responsibilities other than to voice their opinions. As a result, we truly urge as many parents as possible from K-12 to attend this meeting so that we can ensure all our parents can feel connected and supported here at MCC.

We also wish to ensure that we create a close-knit community where we may all work together for the best outcomes for our students.  So bring a friend along and be a part of our MCC community.

If you plan to attend it would assist us if you complete the quick registration form.
https://forms.office.com/r/10EA9taUnK

Important Dates for Term 2 Week 3

Mon 8 May   – Winter Uniform commences /  Japan Trip information night, 2024 6.30 pm

Tues 9 May – CSBB Cross Country

Wed 10 May – P&F reimagining at 6.30 pm  

Thurs 11 May – MCC Athletics Carnival

Fri 12 May – Mother’s Day Mass at 7.30 am and BBQ 7 - 8.45 am. / HC Assembly for Years 7-11 and Year 12 Academic Awards at 12 noon. All parents welcome

Sunday 14 May – Mother’s Day

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

Photo Permission Forms

Safe On Socials - Consent of children

2024 Enrolments

Year 7 and Kindergarten 2024 are almost full. Let your family and friends know that applications are closing soon. Enrolling at MacKillop – MacKillop Catholic College (mccwdbb.catholic.edu.au)

Our Team thanks you!

Our Front Office team want to thank you all for using our new number and being patient while we are in transition to this permanently.

Our old number is being redirected until the end of Week 4. From Week 5 you will only be able to contact the school via our new number 02 7256 2116. 

MCC community we make a great Team!

Go4Fun