MacKillop Catholic College Warnervale eNewsletter

Thursday 7 December, 2023

Primary Matters

Dear Community,

Second Week of Sunday Advent

“One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptised you with water; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:1-8. Advent, as we know, is a time of preparing for the birth of Christ. In this Sunday’s Gospel account, we learn about the great prophet John the Baptist. John heralded the arrival of the Messiah and paid for it with his life. Life has many twists and turns, bumps, bruises, wins and losses. What is constant and should give us all hope is that the Messiah was born on Christmas Day, a gift to us from God and for all those who believe. Prepare a way in your heart for Jesus this Christmas!

Year 6 Graduation Class of 2023

It was a lovely Mass and celebration for our departing Year 6 cohort, as they venture across the bridge to high school. The main focus of my speech to all gathered was the need for the Year 6 children to focus on Faith, Family, Friendship, Forgiveness, Finance, Fitness and Facebook (social media). These words beginning with ‘F’ were to highlight the need to live lives filled with great promise which would be enhanced if they each could reflect on how each of these words could bring meaning as the journey continues. I want to acknowledge and thank the Year 6 students for being a courageous and spritely cohort of children and give special thanks to their parents and teachers who have nurtured them thus far in their schooling years.

Step Up Day

By now all existing and new students to the school should know who their classmates and teachers are for 2024. A full list of staffing and their responsibilities are listed below.

Semester Two Student Reports

The semester two student reports will be compassed home this Friday. Please sit down with your child and reflect on the results. Give praise where it is due and gentle encouragement on the areas for improvement.

Farewell End of Year Mass

It was wonderful to gather as a whole school in the hall to celebrate the end of the school year. It was also wonderful to receive thanks for my short time here, but more importantly that we acknowledged the wonderful contribution of Mrs Deb Ferguson who has been here since the College’s opening. There is a lot to admire about Deb. She has given wonderful service to this community and to the Catholic church for so many years. I take this opportunity to join with the many well-wishers in acknowledging a wonderful educator, who always knew what it meant to live and act in a way that is akin to our patron saint Mary MacKillop. God bless you, Deb!

Awards of Excellence:

Last Friday, Mrs Kenney and Mrs Ferguson attended the NGARA Awards of Excellence at Wyong High School. This ceremony was to recognise those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have excelled this year.

Our own Mrs Broadley conducted the 2 Koori choirs in which a number of our primary students sang and played ukeleles.

5 Primary received awards in the areas of Improved application to Learning, Academic Excellence, Sporting Excellence, Cultural Leadership and Student Leadership.

Congratulations to Ava, Sari, Lucy, Charlotte and Alyssa.

Academic Awards Friday 8 December and New Student Leaders

Parents are welcome to come along and acknowledge the recipients of awards for their strong work throughout 2023.

We will also announce the new student captains and leaders for 2024.

Year 6 Crossing of the Bridge Monday 11 December

A rite of passage at MacKillop is for Year 6 students to walk across the bridge from primary to high school. This will take place on Monday at approximately 2.45 pm. Please join us for this wonderful tradition.

Last Day of School Thursday 14 December

The last official day for students is Thursday, 14 December. May I take this opportunity to thank all families, staff and students that I have worked with and for over the past four years. It has been a privilege. I wish everyone a blessed and Holy Christmas and many blessings for the years ahead.

A Thought for the Week…

“Don’t cry because it is over. Smile because it happened.” Dr Seuss.

God Bless,

Frank Cohen

Primary Principal

Little Lighthouse Playgroup - See you next year

Our Playgroup has finished up for the rest of the year. We look forward to seeing everyone in February for a fun Term 1 of activities.

For more information, please contact our Parent Engagement Coordinator, Lucy Marien

Join our Facebook group MCC Little Lighthouse Playgroup

Primary Christmas Concert with Andrew Chinn

From the Secondary Principal

Prayer: For the end of the year:

Dear God,

As we come to the end of this school year, we thank you for your faithfulness and provision. We thank you for guiding us through the challenges and obstacles we faced and for helping us to grow in knowledge and character. We thank you for the teachers and classmates who have supported and encouraged us along the way.

As we look back on the past year, we recognise our achievements and our failures. We pray that you will help us to learn from our mistakes and to continue to grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray that the lessons we have learned will stay with us and guide us in the future.

AMEN

Learning:

Awards of Excellence:

Last Friday, Mrs Kenney and I attended the NGARA Awards of Excellence at Wyong High School. This ceremony was to recognise those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have excelled this year.

It was such a joyous occasion with many performances occurring, showcasing traditional dancing and didge playing and our own Mrs Broadley conducted the 2 Koori choirs in which a number of our primary students sang and played ukeleles. They also insisted on the teachers joining in with one of the performances.

5 Primary and 5 Secondary received awards in the areas of Improved application to Learning, Academic Excellence, Outstanding Attendance, Sporting Excellence, Cultural Leadership and Student Leadership.

Congratulations to Ashleigh, Cooper, Myah, Matilda and Havaiana.

End of Year Reports for Years 7-10:

Teachers are presently writing the end-of-year reports, and they will be published on COMPASS on Tuesday, 12 December.

End of Year Award Ceremonies:

On Monday, 11 December, we will be holding very important Year Assemblies with the students; many will receive certificates and recognition for the achievements they have made this year. These assemblies are not open for parents, but students will be surprised by what we know about their various achievements, and we wish to ensure they receive certificates to include in their resumes and also to be extremely proud of their efforts. These will be in recognition of achievements in areas such as sports, cultural pursuits, community service, youth ministry, attendance and application to study.

On Tuesday, 12 December, we will be holding our Awards of High Distinction, where we will recognise our academic high achievers, our Leaders, and our major sportspeople, as well as major awards in many extra and co-curricular areas; we also have sponsored awards with monetary prizes. Our most prestigious awards in the area of citizenship, Youth Ministry and outreach are also awarded.

Tuesday’s Award ceremony starts at 12.30 pm in the College Hall, and ALL students need to attend. Parents are very welcome and encouraged to attend this ceremony.

We will advise all students who are receiving awards on that day, but all students should be present to congratulate and recognise the accomplishments of their peers and friends and also see what they might strive for in 2024.

Last Day for Secondary:

The last day for ALL secondary students is Tuesday, 12 December. This provides them with an excellent holiday break, so they MUST NOT start their holiday any earlier.

Love Bites:

Each year our Year 10 students attend a special day program called Love Bites. LOVE BiTES is a Respectful Relationships Education Program for young people aged 15-17 years. It consists of two interactive workshops: one on Relationship Violence, and one on Sex and Relationships, followed by creative workshops and community campaigns.

This year some of our students’ artworks were featured in the Seeing Through Our Eyes Exhibition. The student artworks were created as part of the Love Bites, and Name. Narrate. Navigate. programs coordinated by Coast Shelter. The themes explored in the exhibition were relationships, violence, identity, and seeking help through the mediums of photography, drawing, painting, textiles, and skateboard decks. This exhibition has been presented as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.

Dates: 25th November – late January
Location: Erina Centre Gallery (foyer of the Erina Library near The Hive - Erina Fair)

You are able to vote for your favourite artwork via QR codes in the exhibition space, and there will be a people’s choice award prize. You can also view photos of all the artworks via social media @lovebitescentralcoast.

The following artworks were selected to be featured in the exhibition: Some of these artworks were created by our students last year as well.

Charlotte -Respect

Ashleigh - It’s What You Haven’t Seen

Erica - No is a Full Sentence

Mia - It’s Ok to Reach Out

Mia - Say Something for Them

Milo - Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime

Loretto Nursing Home:

A small group of Years 8 and 9 students have participated in a local nursing home initiative called the Inter-generational Program. They have attended Loreto Nursing Home, Hamlyn Terrace, every Thursday during sport time over the past nine weeks as part of this experience.

They have enjoyed weekly activities with residents, including arts and crafts, board games and bingo.

Last week, the residents travelled to MacKillop to celebrate their time together. Our Year 10 hospitality students catered a beautiful high tea, preparing and serving scones and jam with whipped cream, as well as a selection of sandwiches.

Our guests also enjoyed the music provided by Year 10 music, especially ABBA's "Dancing Queen", dancing and singing along. It has been wonderful to watch the relationships between our students and the residents develop over the term, and we are looking forward to continuing this partnership in 2024.

Other Items:

Attendance:

It is so important that all students attend school every day to enhance their learning. Please strive for the 92% attendance that NESA suggests at least and please encourage and assist your children to be resilient. Of course, they should stay home if they are ill, but they need to be in a good routine to be able to be successful and committed to their education.

It is also important that they are at school every day, including the very last day on Tuesday 12 December.

Important Dates for T4 Week 10:

Mon- Students gift wrapping at Erina Fair for JUMP/ Year Meetings and many awards
Tues – Years 7-10 Reports released to parents / House Meetings and thank you to Pastoral Teachers / Awards Ceremony at 12.30 pm / Secondary last day

A Heads Up:

COMPASS Notification:

Parents are no longer able to download and print a hardcopy consent form from COMPASS. Instead, all parents will have to use COMPASS to both give digital permission and make any payment(s). Please refer to the Notice on COMPASS that has this information and an attachment that instructs you on how to complete these forms digitally.

Starting Dates in 2024:

Wed, 24 Jan – Office re-opens

Tues, 30 Jan – Teachers return. PL Day and no students / This week is being called Week 0.

Wed, 31 Jan – PL day and no students

Thurs, 1 Feb – Yr 7 commence / all new students in Yr 8-11 have a half day

Fri, 2 Feb – All students 7-12 return.

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

Getting to know: Julian Legge

My name is Julian Legge

My roles: Leader of Pastoral Care Year 8 and Year 10 Learning Support Teacher

My Responsibilities: As a learning support teacher I support students’ learning across several key learning areas as they journey through high school. I have worked with the current Year 10 students for the past four years and am looking forward to them entering their senior years of study. I work alongside the PDHPE faculty to teach Rock and Water to Year 9. I am heavily involved in MCC Youth Ministry and was able to experience World Youth Day 2023 as a pilgrim leader. I am also a leader of pastoral care, working with the Year 8 cohort. I strongly value the process of building positive teacher-student relationships and thoroughly enjoy being a part of the academic and personal growth of all the students I work with.

My hobbies and interests: My lifestyle includes gym training each day. I have competed competitively as a bodybuilder and am very passionate about health and fitness. I spend much of my free time with my wife and young daughter, and we are expecting our second child in 2024. I enjoy watching NRL, TV series and movies.

Hopes for the future: I look forward to my year group entering into stage 5 and continuing to follow their journey through high school. I am genuinely excited to be a teacher at MCC and hope to have an active role in shaping the future of the school

It's Time to Return Our Books

Parish Mass Sat 9 December - Cancelled

It is with regret that we must inform you of the cancellation of the upcoming Parish BBQ, scheduled to take place on 9th December. This decision has been made in response to the extreme weather conditions forecasted for the day, prioritising the safety and well-being of all our parishioners.

Weather reports indicate extreme temperatures posing potential risks to the safety of everyone involved.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter.

Thank you for your understanding

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Parish
Warnervale

Catholic Schools Broken Bay Parent Charter

Building positive relationships among all stakeholders in a child's education is the cornerstone of nurturing student learning and success. To formalise our commitment to effective communication and mutual respect, Catholic Schools Broken Bay (CSBB) has recently launched a Parent Charter, a copy of which is available on the CSSB website.

In support of this initiative, we kindly ask parents to be mindful of the following guidelines when communicating with staff at MacKillop Catholic College:

Stay Informed: Stay informed about your child's progress by attending parent-teacher conferences, reading newsletters, and checking COMPASS.
Initiate Contact: Don't hesitate to reach out to the appropriate staff member if you have concerns or questions about your child's progress, behaviour, or any other aspect of their education. Initial communications should always be with the appropriate school personnel, e.g., the classroom teacher or Year Coordinator. If further support is required, please contact school leaders as per the issue resolution process (see here for further information).
Be Respectful: Approach conversations with staff in a respectful and professional manner, as they are dedicated to helping your child succeed.
Respect Response Time: Recognise that staff have multiple students and responsibilities. Allow them time to respond to your inquiries and respect their working hours. Staff will usually respond within 48 hours.

Effective communication between parents and school staff is the key to a successful educational journey for your child. When both parties approach interactions with respect, empathy, and a shared commitment to the child's well-being, positive outcomes are more likely to be achieved.

I encourage you to read the Parent Charter document carefully and welcome your feedback. We value your input and are committed to working together to ensure that our schools remain collaborative, safe, and supportive environments.

Uniform Fittings - Book Now

Don't miss your chance; the school uniform shop online booking calendar is now open for Term 4 fittings. It is important to book for your fittings as space is limited to 1 booking per child. Please visit www.alintaapparel.com.au to register and book.

MCC Uniform Requirements

Year 7 2024 Information

Year 7 (2024) - Important Dates and Information for Parents and Carers. Please find attached information regarding the Orientation Day, Parent Information Evening, Uniform fittings and iPad requirements. Please also note the important dates for the commencement of next year.

Important Dates

Wednesday, 31 January 2024 - iPad Connections - 9 am-2 pm Library (MCC students are required to attend for 30 minutes to connect iPads to the College server)
Thursday, 1 February 2024 – First Day for Year 7 students (iPad required)

SMCCW_Minimum_Specification_Requirements_.pdf

Orientation_Day_Information_Note_Year_7_2024_.pdf

Important_dates_Year_7_2024.pdf

MCC_uniform_Booking_Information.pdf

Primary - BYODD Information

BYODD program exists for Year 5 and 6 classes at MacKillop. To help parents with children in Year 4 to begin planning for this expense, please see the attached BYODD Requirements letter.

Background Philosophy of Educational Practice:

At MacKillop Catholic College, our aim is to continually provide the most effective and relevant learning environment for our students. Student engagement with technology for learning is not optional, as it forms a vital part of relevant and high-quality education for this Century. All Primary Curriculum documents include aspects of learning with digital technology, and this is mandated by NESA.

Christmas Mass Times

Christmas Eve
Children’s Mass 5 pm (In the hall)
Youth Mass 8 pm
Midnight Mass

Christmas Day
Mass 8 am
Mass 10 am

NO EVENING MASS ON CHRISTMAS DAY

Vacation Care program for Dec & Jan- now available

CatholicCare’s vacation care service at MCC offers a wide range of activities catering to children of differing ages and interests. There is also a range of fun local excursions each holiday period to choose from.

They provide a stimulating and enjoyable environment and activities that harness the children’s interests and strengths whilst respecting their need for leisure.

See the latest program here: www.catholiccaredbb.org.au/vacation-care. Get in quick; programs filling fast!

Mary's Faithful Wardrobe and Mary's Formal Closet

Our amazing PEC (Parent Engagement Coordinator), Lucy Marien, in collaboration with our Parish, have developed a community wardrobe for families to borrow special outfits for their child's sacrament celebrations.

Mrs Marien is also starting a Formal version for our Secondary students looking for a special graduation dress or suit.

We are currently looking for donations to get the clothing library started. We are asking the community to go through their wardrobes and consider giving your forgotten good-quality items a new purpose.

For full details, please see the flyers below.

Safeguarding Office career opportunity

The Safeguarding Office (Chancery & Parishes), based in the Chancery at Pennant Hills, is seeking someone with a track record of delivering learning and development initiatives, coupled with a passion and drive in child protection, justice, compliance and community engagement for a permanent full-time role as Safeguarding Training Coordinator.

Please head to seek to find more and apply: Safeguarding Training Coordinator

Or for more information and to obtain a copy of the position description, please contact recruitment@bbcatholic.org.au.

Applications close Friday, 8 December 2023.

Term 4 Dates

Term 4 ends - Secondary - Tuesday 12 December
Term 4 ends - Primary - Thursday 14 December
Friday 15 December Staff Mass/Pupil Free Day
Monday 18 December and Tuesday 19 Pupil Free Days

COMPASS Sign-in Update

Download the app so you are always up to date with school events.

Remember to check Compass for up-to-date news, information on events, give permission and view reports.
Contact us on 7256 2116 for any other enquiries.

MacKillop Chronicles 2023 Term 4, Week 9