MacKillop Chronicles Term 1, Week 7

Thursday 21 March, 2024

Primary Matters

PALM SUNDAY

of the Passion of the Lord

Gospel Acclamation: 

Phil 2:3-9 “Christ became obedient for us even to death, dying on a cross.  Therefore, God raised him on high and gave him a name above all other names.”

Dear Parents and Carers,

Message from the Principal

This week, we enter into the most dynamic experience of the traditions and stories of the Catholic faith.

The events of Holy Week provide us with the pinnacle of our Catholic life. This Sunday, our students and families are invited to remember the final days of Jesus’ life. As we reenact the Passion of Jesus and other key parts of the Easter narrative, we are reminded of Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice. When we recall these events, we are reminded of Jesus’ position as King as the crowd called ‘Hosanna’ as he entered Jerusalem, to the intimacy of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, followed by Jesus’ arrest and the cruelty of Good Friday. The Easter Vigil declares for us that ‘this is not the end!’ The true message of salvation is revealed in The Resurrection.

Jesus shows us in his actions that faith is the opposite of fear, and His willingness to participate in his suffering and death provides a model for our own lives. It speaks to our personal suffering and that ‘with faith, no explanation is required, but with little faith, no explanation will ever be enough.’  Jesus asks us to be faithful in our deepest suffering, even when it is connected to pain and loss. Jesus speaks to us and says, when you are suffering, I have experienced the ultimate suffering for you, and when you suffer, I suffer with you.

Our candidates for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion begin the last stage of their preparation. First Reconciliation occurs on Tuesday, 26 March, and the First Eucharist is celebrated on Sunday, 27 April. We congratulate these students and their families on this important rite of passage.

Masses in our Parish of St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop during Holy Week and Easter:

Second Rite of Reconciliation Wednesday, 27 March, 6.30 pm.

Holy/Maundy Thursday, 28 March, 7.30 pm

Stations of the Cross, Good Friday, 29 March, 10 am

Veneration of the Cross Good Friday 3 pm

Easter Vigil Saturday, 31 March, 7.30 pm

Easter Sunday Masses 8 am, 10 am and 5 pm.

We hope you will consider participating in one or more of our Community celebrations.

NAPLAN

This week, our students participated in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). It is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Congratulations to the students and their teachers who prepared so diligently; the entire MCC community is proud of you. Please remember that this ‘snapshot of learning’ is a single method of measuring student growth and plays an important part in informing teacher planning for student success and flourishing.

Harmony Day

Harmony Day is scheduled to be celebrated in Week 9 this term. Harmony Week will culminate with the entire College celebrating our inclusive and diverse community on Friday, 5 April. The theme for Harmony Day is “Everyone Belongs”.

On Friday, 5 April, students can come to school in either their cultural/traditional dress or wear orange (the official colour of Harmony Week). During Break time students in cultural dress are invited to parade in the Primary shade area and will be joined by secondary students.

This year, the College is offering a meal deal for this day, consisting of a drink and a sausage sizzle. Orders for this promotion can be placed via the Qkr App. Qkr is available for Android and Apple through the Play and App Stores. Orders must be placed before next Thursday, 28 March.

You can also order a special Harmony Day T-shirt (purchased via Qkr also). The preorders for T-shirts close tomorrow, 22 March and will be delivered to your child before the Friday Event in class.

Vegetable Crunch

This week, I have thoroughly enjoyed speaking to our students about their favourite ‘begetables’(sic). Anecdotally, it appears that carrots and cucumbers are crowd favourites. However, some students revealed a love for broccoli and capsicum. The winning comment came from a Kindergarten student who revealed his love of lettuce… as he removes it from a burger: priceless!

Opportunities to challenge children to experience new things - even in the food they try – builds resilience and a vocabulary for expression. We are tallying the veggie count and will announce the winning House soon!

Thanks to Mrs Denneman for inspiring this initiative in our community.

Uniform

As the weather begins to change to the cooler seasons, it is time to begin planning your child’s Winter Uniform.  The changeover officially begins Term 2, Week 3, on Monday, 13 May. Please refer to the Uniform Policy (link below) for accurate information.  We ask that students wear one uniform completely rather than elements of both.

The uniform shop is open and is ready to receive orders for Term 2.

Reminder regarding student pickup

Afternoon pickup sees some Primary students collected by their parents or an older Secondary School sibling.  These students MUST wait in the COLA area, near the Library. Students are not to walk up the Admin pathway to meet their siblings or wait in the under-croft area at the entrance to the College. This will allow for the safe and effective supervision of all students. 

Mrs McGuiness will post an action on Compass to reinforce this procedure for our Secondary students.

We appreciate your support in delivering this procedure.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Our focus continues to be on intentionally attending to our actions and behaviours and how they affect others, including the community to which we belong.

Respecting ourselves and others is one of our school rules at MacKillop.

As a community, we are called to:

• Be in the right place at the right time.
• Include others and be fair.
• Use kind words and actions.
• Care for our appearance and belongings.

Blessings for a wonderful weekend,

Kerry Power

Acting Primary Principal

Primary Events

Next LL Playgroup Thursday, 28 March

PEC - Paint & Sip Thursday, 4 April

Secondary News

Dear MCC Community,

Importance of a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that one's abilities and intelligence can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and input from others.  It is the opposite of a fixed mindset, which is the belief that one's abilities and intelligence are innate and cannot be changed.

As a parent/carer, you have a responsibility to promote a growth mindset in your children because it can have a powerful impact on their beliefs and achievements.  Here are some reasons why:

• Promotes effort over innate ability: Praising children for working hard promotes a growth mindset, which sends a message that the child’s effort is what led them to success.  In contrast, praising kids for being smart promotes a fixed mindset, which sends a message that their accomplishments are trait-based and tied to something innate.

• Encourages learning from mistakes: When parents talk positively about making mistakes, kids start to think of mistakes as a natural part of the learning process.  This can help children develop resilience and a willingness to take risks.

• Increases motivation and achievement: When children learn that their brains physically change with effort, it leads to increased motivation and achievement.  They understand that they have control over growing their brains through the actions they take, which is empowering.

• Leads to greater persistence: Children tend to be more persistent when their parents have a growth mindset.  They understand that challenges and failure framed as learning opportunities can help them become smarter and that struggling and working on a challenge or setback is good for the brain’s neurological growth.

• Improves learning outcomes: Research shows that a growth mindset furnishes many lifelong advantages, such as improving learning outcomes and offsetting stress.

To promote a growth mindset, parents can give process praise, talk about the brain, accept mistakes as learning opportunities, and understand the role of emotions in learning.

Here are some specific ways parents can instil a growth mindset:

• Recognise your own mindset: Be mindful of your own thinking and of the messages you send with your words and actions.

• Praise the process: Praising kids for working hard suggests that effort is what leads to success while focusing on the process helps them see how their effort leads to success.

• Model learning from failure: When parents talk positively about making mistakes, kids start to think of mistakes as a natural part of the learning process.

• Encourage risk, failure, and learning from mistakes: Failure teaches resiliency, so it's important to encourage children to take risks and learn from their mistakes.

• Talk to youth about famous people’s failures: Sharing stories of famous people who failed before, succeeding can help children understand that failure is a natural part of the learning process.

• Encourage and model positive self-talk: Saying statements like "Mistakes help me learn better" and "I can always improve, so I'll keep trying" can help children develop a growth mindset.

Overall, promoting a growth mindset can help children develop resilience, persistence, and a willingness to take risks, which can lead to greater achievement and success in life.

Toukley Food Care

Year 8 students Rhani, Mia and Mollie attended Toukley FOOD CARE at the Neighbourhood Centre this week. 

Lakes Food Care closed at the end of last year due to increased living expenses and a significant rise in the cost of rent for the store. However, they have reopened their doors at the Neighbourhood Centre, known as the hub, and are offering their services to the community and those most vulnerable. 

Our students assisted by packaging fresh fruit and veggies and stacking items in the pantry. All items are ‘free of charge’ to all who need them. Pantry staples, dog food, non-perishables, and sanitary items are available in outdoor cupboards. This is a wonderful way to uphold the dignity of those doing it tough, especially if they feel embarrassed or ashamed about their current situation. 

You can find out about the services the Toukley Neighbourhood Centre  provides and how you can help by visiting their website: Toukley Neighbourhood Centre (tnc.org.au)

ANZAC Ceremony

The theme of this year’s service is 'The impact of conflict and overcoming adversity'. Our service special guest speaker is a former NSW Australian of the Year representative who is a refugee from Sudan. He will very generously share his story and describe how he overcame the challenges presented by conflict in his life. We are fortunate to have members from the Toukley RSL joining us once again. We would like to extend an invitation to our MCC community to attend from 12pm on Monday, 8 April, in the Hall. 

JUMP Students Intergenerational Program

Our JUMP students visited the residents at Loreto Gardens Nursing Home and enjoyed working with the CatholicCare staff to facilitate meaningful and fun activities and events for the residents. Our Lady of Loreto Gardens Nursing Home offers an extensive range of events and activities for residents, as well as specialised wellness programs. This week was BINGO. Our students got the hang of how to play very quickly and had a lot of fun with the residents during the session. 

CatholicCare is the social care agency of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Broken Bay. 

The Resilience Project Survey

Resilience and well-being are key factors to ensure a happy and fulfilling future for our young people.

We are proud to partner with The Resilience Project to assist our students in their well-being journey. To gain an accurate understanding of our student’s strengths and challenges, we will conduct a resilience survey developed by Resilient Youth Australia and the University of South Australia. In recent years, they have surveyed more than 500,000 Australian school students.

We will administer the Resilience Survey this year online in class time. Students typically take 30-50 minutes to complete the survey.

God bless,

Paul Lynch 

Acting Principal Secondary

A Word from the Office

Harmony Day - Pre-Order on Qkr

April Vacation Care

Siblings enrol now - Don't Miss Out

Australian Stem Video Game Challenge

The Premier's Reading Challenge 2024

Mary's Faithful Wardrobe and Mary's Formal Closet

Term 1 Dates

COMPASS Sign-in Update

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