MacKillop Chronicles Term 1, Week 4
Thursday 23 February, 2023
The Mini-MacKs had their first meeting of the year on Monday where they took time to reflect on why they decided to join the Mini-MacK's this year. Forms went home last week to students in Years 4, 5, & 6. If your child(ren) is interested in being part of this volunteering group please return this form as soon as possible. Mini-MacK's meet every Monday, during Recess time outside of the MacKillop Church.
Next Monday 27 February we are asking all Kindergarten students and new students of other Year groups to have an individual face shot taken to be loaded onto our COMPASS system.
Primary will be holding their first Year 6 Graduation Fundraiser Mufti Day next Wednesday 1 March. Teams and Tutus Day is the theme, please get into the spirit and have your Child(ren) bring in a gold coin donation.
If your child loves coding the 2023 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is coming up. The goal of the competition is to design and create an original video game, registration is open to students in Years 4 -12. See Mrs Crowe in the library or register your interest https://forms.gle/ePy1DjuUaiqb7J6e6
The Deadly Didge Group will start up again next Thursday 2 March, in the Japanese Kitchen from 8 - 8.30 am with Mrs Fraser. All boys are invited to come to learn the didgeridoo and be involved in performances throughout the year, the first being our Open Day.
Open Day 2023 afternoon is coming up on Wednesday 8 March with tours, demonstrations and performances from 4 - 6 pm. Families wanting to enrol for 2024 in Kindergarten and Year 7 are then invited to stay and find out more information regarding this process. Registration is available via our website https://bit.ly/3GZO2B9
Photo Permissions are now open in COMPASS please log in and update your preferences. We respect your family's privacy but we are also very proud of our student's achievements, completing this form ensures we know what you are happy sharing with the greater community.
Kinder Connect will be held the morning after Open Day, Thursday 9 March. This is a fun playgroup event for families with preschool-aged children. There will be plenty of activities to keep little hands and minds busy and a chance for parents to connect with the MCC community. Registration is not required and everyone is welcome!
Remember to check Compass for up-to-date news and information on events and contact us on 4392 9399 for enquiries.
Primary Matters
Dear Community,
First Sunday of Lent Gospel Account
“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." Matthew 4: 1 – 11. We are all striving for meaning to this life and along the way how to experience joy, comfort, and hope. We can get all of this through Christ’s love and kindness. It is through this nourishment the church leads us to experience Jesus as the bread of life. Our spiritual and mental development is through believing in Jesus. Only then can we experience the true meaning of life!
Students are asked to do three actions during Lent.
Almsgiving is offering food and money to those who are less fortunate than us. We do this through Project Compassion and give money to support our local Catholic Charitable works. Praying for those who are experiencing hardship of one kind or another. The people of Turkey and Syria where over 45000 people died is an example of where we should dedicate our prayer at this time. Forgiveness of those who hurt us but also asking for it when we have done wrong to another. This is especially important to those students who are bullied or bully others. Please reinforce the three actions all of us are asked to do during this time of Lent.
Krystal Lees aka ‘Dolphin’
Congratulations to Krystal Lees (Year 6) who has qualified for Broken Bay in all events & won Female Swimmer of the Meet for the CCC Carnival. She will be presented with this award at the beginning of the Broken Bay Carnival on 14 March. Essentially, Krystal is the fastest girl on the Central Coast from our Catholic schools. Way to go Krystal keep powering through the water girl!
Mufti Day in Wellbeing Week
It is time to hunt through your wardrobes and dress up boxes, because next Wednesday 1 March is ‘Teams and Tutus Day!’ As part of our college tradition, we hold unique events throughout the year to raise money towards the school celebration of the graduation of our Year 6 cohort. This year there will be one Mufti Day per term. On this day students do not need to wear school uniform. Instead, they will wear themed clothing for a gold coin donation. Our first one will be next Wednesday, 1 March. The theme is “Teams and Tutus.” Children can wear any team clothing items, or a tutu if they prefer. Please note that a hat is required, shoulders must be covered for sun safety (no crop tops) and shoes must have a closed toe (no thongs).
NAPLAN Ranking
One of the sad realities of modern-day economics is the need to rank and create league tables on who is the best and not so best on anything that can be measured. NAPLAN, we (educators) were told was a tool to be used to look at a student’s results and then value add by designing programs to meet the next step in the learning challenges for each child with literacy and numeracy. Sadly, Rupert Murdoch got hold of it and started using it as a tool to rank schools on their performance. At MacKillop, we are, in the eyes of Rupert, a success story as we are one of the high-performing schools as measured through NAPLAN. So I as the principal should be gloating loudly about how good we are, but to be honest it is a terrible idea to rank as not all oranges are oranges and when you compare you open a can of wiggly worms. For example, did you know that some schools do not take on enrolments of children with problematic needs and what they deem to be low IQ students if it means the NAPLAN results would be compromised? Did you also know that many schools do nothing but just teach to the test and deny children opportunities in art and sport and creative pursuits?
We need to ask ourselves what is the purpose of schooling? Why do we exist?
At any rate know that our school does well in academics, but I for one am not a fan of ranking as some schools are often left with low ability students or limited resources and by ranking them as under performing does nothing to fix them. We all should be concerned about that!
NAPLAN 2023 for Year 3 and 5 students will be held between March 15 – March 27.
Photos for Kindergarten, New Students to School
On Monday 27th February all Kindergarten students and new students of other grades will have an individual face shot taken to be loaded onto our COMPASS system. If this is your child, please make sure they come into school looking their best.
Sacrament of Reconciliation ParInformationtion Night and enrolment tonight 7 - 8 pm in the church.
Primary Cross Country Carnival
Students from Years 2 – 6 will walk to Hamlyn Terrace Sporting Field on Friday 3, March and participate in the school’s annual cross-country carnival. Parents are most welcome to come along and cheer the children on.
Open Day March 8 and Kinder Connect March 9
It is that time of year again when we begin the enrolment process for 2024. Spread the word that any child wishing to start kinder in 2024 here at MacKillop our Open Day afternoon is on Wednesday 8, March, between 4 pm – 6 pm. Following this, I will deliver a Principal’s talk in the library 6 - 7 pm and the next morning children wishing to come to our school can participate in a fun-filled Kinder Connect morning on Thursday 9, March, between 9:15 - 10:45 am. Enrolment packs can be collected from this day. If you or someone you know is wanting to have their child attend MCC in 2024, to avoid disappointment or being placed on waiting lists, please come along.
Absences at School
Next week we will be sending out COMPASS letters to parents to chase up on absences that have not been explained. If your child is absent you need to register their absence within 7 days. When absent days are unexplained this will be reflected on the Semester report. Please ensure you register your child’s absence on COMPASS and if you are unsure, please contact the front office.
A Thought for the Week…
“Love is letting go of fear.” Jampolsky
God Bless,
Frank Cohen
Primary Principal
Welcome Mass
The MacKillop College and parish community celebrated our Welcome Mass on Sunday 19, February. This was a celebration to formally welcome the new Kindergarten and Year 7 students, as well as all new families to our MacKillop Catholic community. It was wonderful to see so many new members of our community in attendance.
This was a fantastic opportunity for the College student leadership teams to work together to make our new students and parents feel welcome at MCC. The students were busy performing the various ministries in the mass, as well as organising the pizza, snacks and drinks for after our celebration in the COLA. We are so blessed to have so many young people who are willing to make these events to special.
From the Secondary Principal
Prayer:
This Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday and Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. This is a prayer for Ash Wednesday.
Gracious God, today begins a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love. Amen.
Learning:
As stated in earlier Newsletters, all students are completing their learning goals for Semester 1. Each student is then sitting with a teacher going through these goals. It has been an interesting process. We have found that our students have high aims but find it very difficult to state how they will manage to reach their goals. Their teachers have been encouraging all the students to try and plan how they will reach their wanted improvements in their learning.
Each student will be shown this week where to find their yearly calendar showing when their assessments are due. We suggest each family prints these out and have them visible to be able to plan so that all assessments are submitted on time and completed well.
Most of our students are now bringing into every Pastoral their charged devices, pencil cases and a novel and are using the 30 minutes each day to enhance their learning. Please keep an eye on COMPASS for information if your child s struggling with this.
In Weeks 5 and 6 all our students will be instructed on Cornell Note Taking, during Pastoral, which is a very effective way of summarising notes for study purposes and preparing for assessments.
Open Day:
Our Open Day K-12 will be held on Wednesday in Week 6, March 8. This will commence at 4pm with many rooms in the College open with displays and demonstrations culminating with a showcase in the Hall.
Parents are asked to register if they will be attending. Details on our website.
On the day all families will be asked to register or have their names ticked off at the Office and students will then escort parents on tours answering questions and informing parents about our College. There will also be performances throughout the afternoon and snacks provided by our talented hospitality students.
At 6 pm, in the Hall, will be an Information Night for Year 7, 2024 students but all new families interested in attending this meeting for all year groups in secondary are welcome.
Enrolment forms will be available on the night and accepted from March 10 till the end of May.
JJAMM:
Our College Captains attended JJAMM 2023 last weekend. On Friday, our Captains, Tessa and Ryley, started the JJAMM experience at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney. This is a 4-day conference whereby College Captains from across 25 Josephite schools from Australia and New Zealand collaborate about important social justice issues and work on their leadership.
They began with a tour of the museum, followed by sharing the story of their school and its connection to Mary MacKillop.
Saturday started with a beautiful Mass, as well as looking at their leadership gifts and talents before they headed to Kincumber later that evening.
Mrs Baxter, who attended the conference with the captains, explained it was great connecting with so many Josephite schools and especially local Central Coast College, St Joseph's, East Gosford!
We look forward to our captains telling us all at assembly about their 4 days and what they have planned for the school this year to help others in need.
Welcome Mass:
Last Sunday Night we welcomed all our families to the MacKillop community. A special welcome was for all our new families and especially our Kinders and Year 7 students. We also welcomed our new staff.
Fr Philip celebrated a beautiful Mass and we thank him as well as Mr Snelling and Mrs Price, our RECs, for all their hard work preparing this. Thanks must also go to our 2 hardworking AP’s, Mrs Kenney and Mrs McGuinness, and to our Youth Minister, Mrs Tenev. The Mass was made more special due to the musicians, and we thank them for all their hard work and talent.
Thank you to our Year 6 Student Leaders and the Student Parliament in secondary that assisted on the night, and I am sure everyone enjoyed the pizza dinner after Mass.
The Kinders loved their MacKillop teddy bears that they received and the Year 7 students received a MacKillop key ring for their lockers.
Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday:
Last Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter – was traditionally a time of fasting so they would eat all the food they had in a feast in preparation for this. As there was often milk and flour, pancakes became a traditional Shrove Tuesday meal. In honour of this and for some fun, our JUMP volunteers with Mrs Wells and Sr Jiji served free pancakes to all students. For special toppings, the students paid a gold coin, and this money will go to Project Compassion. The students raised $173 on the day...Well Done!
Ash Wednesday:
Ash Wednesday is a solemn reminder of human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God and marks the beginning of the penitential Lenten season leading up to Easter. It is commonly observed with ashes and fasting. It is also the official launch day of Project Compassion. Yesterday we celebrated our Opening School Mass on this very special day in the Hall. All students received their ashes on their foreheads, and we also celebrated a beautiful Mass to pray for a safe and successful year for our wonderful community.
Swimming Carnival:
Next Friday is our first Swimming Carnival not affected by COVID since 2019. We are all looking forward to this day as it is always so much fun. Some information about this day:
- A compulsory school day. The morning consists of races for those who wish to compete. The rest of the day has novelty races for those who wish to get wet but not race. Students who do not wish to go in the pool need to be present to support their House, and their peers and there will be plenty of jobs for which they could volunteer.
- Year 11 and 12 with licences may drive to and from the venue (Wyong Pool) but must arrive by 9 am and may not leave till 2.30 pm
- All other students are to meet in the Science area by 8.45 am in full sports uniform including the College hat for EVERY student. A roll call will occur
- All students are to bring a gold coin to go to Project Compassion.
- When students arrive at the pool, they can change into House colours and costumes. Big House points for best dressed. (no zinc cream or streamers- banned by the pool)
- Students are to wear suitable swimmers for swimming and a school carnival. All 2-piece swimmers are to be covered by a long t-shirt.
- Students need to bring water bottles, sunscreen and food. The canteen will be open but not all day.
- Parents are welcome but please do not ask to take students early. The big House Cheer Off will be around 2 pm and students will not be dismissed till 2.30 pm.
- Students are to sit in their House groups, not with their parents.
MAY THE BEST HOUSE WIN.
Traffic:
This has been an issue since the college opened and we are still experiencing delays.
Some suggestions:
- Secondary parents do not arrive till 3.30 pm. By then the Primary have all departed and the traffic will flow.
- If you arrive earlier, please park in the Student Carpark so there is not a traffic jam.
- Pick your children up outside the College - this may be down in Minnesota Road or Hiawatha Road.
- Let your children experience some independence and let them catch the school buses.
- All parents follow the road rules. There is often some very poor role modelling and rage that reduces everyone’s dignity and safety.
Important Dates for Week 5:
Mon – Fri – Wellbeing Week for the Staff
Mon – Photo Day for Kinder, Year 7 and all new students.
Tues and Wed – Year 7 Spirituality Days
Thurs – Year 7 ‘The Amazing Race of Faith”
Fri – Swimming Carnival
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