Week 10, Term 2, 3rd July
Week 1 Term 3 | ||
Sunday 19th July |
16th Sunday of the year Last day of School Holidays |
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Monday 20th July | Day 1 | Students return for Term 3 |
Thursday 23rd July | Day 4 |
Year 11 & 12 College photos, PC - P2, Lochinvar Centre Year 10 visit to Newman Senior Technical College 9.00am - 12.00pm |
Week 2 | ||
Sunday 26th July | 17th Sunday of the year | |
Monday 27th July |
Year 7 catch up immunisation Year 10 immunisation |
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Tuesday 28th July | Newman Senior Technical College Year 11 2021 Virtual Information Night, 6.00pm - 8.30pm | |
Wednesday 29th July | English Event: Steven Herrick Poetry Performances for Year 7 and 11 |
Academic Awards - Half Yearly
MacKillop College has a long and proud history of academic excellence. Having witnessed the commitment and dedication of the staff and students during the last few challenging months, I have no doubt as to why we receive those accolades.
Today we celebrated and acknowledged student effort and achievement.
Academic success can be for excellent results, for being an A student, but achievement is more than that. At MacKillop College our motto ‘Striving for Excellence’ means striving for one's personal excellence. Therefore here at the College, we also recognise those students who give their personal best. Many students today received awards for their academic achievement and/or their application to doing their best.
All award winners in each Year group will be emailed to parents this afternoon.
Below is a list of those students who received our coveted GOLD award for Outstanding Achievement. To achieve this award students had to display academic high achievement and outstanding application in the majority of their courses.
Gold Award Winners – Semester 1 2020
Year 7
Adam Bryant
Belinda Bugler
Miya Freeman
Milly McGrath
Liam Poppleton
Max Robb
Year 8
Ross Aird
Lorelai Champion
Emily Chan
Amy Hatherly
Euan Hoffmann
Lara Inman
Jiya Jamu
Melesse Mallyon
Harmony Mitchell
Shayla Mitchell
Tara Mitchell
Brianna Moloney
Aiden Moore-Jones
Sienna Taylor
Sally Temple
Year 9
Mika Coetzer
Finnian De Groot
Monique Fonyodi
Tia McGrath
Tess McWilliams
Jessica Michell
Marney Noonan
Lottie Wilson
Elliott Worner
Year 10
Cameron Aird
Alice Barnaby
Ruby Berryman
Billie Brennan
Josie Campbell
Olivia Cotovich
Alys Davies
Mia Dawson
Sally Edmonds
Andrea Gutierrez Valverde
Auraiha Hewens
Hayley Kable
Lucy Kay
Emily Moloney
Maddison Reed
Harley Sirovica
Juliana Soto
Lilly-Lee Sprague
Dominica Toohey
Amelie Wagner
Callie Warren
Year 11
Sarah Hatherly
Kashia McGrath
Half-Yearly Reports
This afternoon Student Learning Profiles will be uploaded to the Schoolworx Parent Portal.
I encourage all parents to sit with their child(ren) and discuss the report and what goals the student might set for Semester 2.
Happy Holidays
I would like to wish all staff, students and families a very restful and enjoyable break. I am sincerely grateful for your support and pray that each of you stay safe and healthy in the coming weeks.
God Bless
Principal
Parent Portal
These reports will take on a slightly different look to those in the past. The reason for these changes are to better align with the expectations of the Catholic School Office and Federal Legislation in the delivery of a Standards Referenced Approach to the Common Grade scale.
To remain compliant with the governing bodies mentioned above all reports must include: -
- A common grade scale
- A common grade (A-E) awarded for each key learning area (subject)
- A student’s attendance for that semester/ year
The following components have been recommended to include in reports, however individual schools can determine the format:
- Indications of performance for components/strands/learning statements for each Key Learning Area (these are our academic outcomes)
- Indications of effort in each Key Learning Area (these are our approaches to learning)
- Staff have also been asked to make reference to a student’s engagement and participation in the blended learning environment that all students were exposed to this Semester.
And finally, the components below are not to be included in the report:
- Student rankings
- Course marks and course averages
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:25)
As we head into these much-needed holidays, it is nice to remember that when things seem too big, too hard or just too exhausting we can trust that Jesus is keen to offer us much needed rest.
I invite you to reflect:
- What burdens do you carry that you struggle to let go of?
- Do you trust that Jesus can take on these burdens and support you?
So how do we access this amazing gift? Just by having faith that He is there for us and asking Him for His help.
Jesus, I place my exhaustion and burdens into your keeping and pray that you teach me how to truly let go of these things so that I can be the person you hope for me to be.
I ask this in your precious name.
AMEN
Leader of Evangelisation
Student Representative Council – SRC 2020
Last period today the Year 7 SRC 2020 will be announced. It is with gratitude that I note the following students whose nominations to represent their peers were accepted.
William Abell, Charlee Bailey, Ronan Barltrop, Adam Bryant, Sophie Bryant, Emily Butt, Falyn Carle, Joseph Carrick, Siena Crisafi, Miya Freeman, Hailee Frost, Emma Galvin, Cooper Hodge, Freycin Hostettler, Ollie Hudson, Isabel Johnston, Emily Kirkpatrick, Cooper Lorger, Milly McGrath, Kaeleb Morris, Tyler Morris, Zake Morris, Makayla Mott, Lourdes Obeid, William Oliver, Liam Poppleton, Erin Rapley, Max Robb, Ella Ross, Cooper Sheldon, Tobias Toohey, and Alexander Toth.
The following students were placed on the ballot, based on the number of nominations, to be voted by both Students and Teachers to work as part of the Year 7-12 SRC, working with students and staff in a myriad of ways including enhancing cooperation and communication within the school and encouraging school spirit.
Adam Bryant, Siena Crisafi, Freycin Hostettler
Kaeleb Morris, Zake Morris, Erin Rapley
It is an honour to be part of our College SRC, requiring great commitment and responsibility and we congratulate those students in advance that are successful in their strive for positions on the council.
Community Service
We are very proud of students who receive Community Service Awards as we recognise the hours of service in both the home, school, neighbourhood, community based and wider community based activities that many students have engaged in.
Semester 1 Awards
Semester 1 Awards were held this afternoon via ZOOM with students in their PC classes. A booklet has been emailed to parents to recognise and congratulate the recipients of the awards.
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following students who have received a Silver Principal’s Award: Ronan Barltrop and Belinda Bugler.
Congratulations to the following students who have received a Pastoral Coordinator’s Award: Aidan Archer, Macey Arkinstall, Ronan Barltrop, Sophie Bryant (x2), Belinda Bugler, Emily Butt, Samantha Carlton (x2), Blake Collins, Evie Dailey, Patrick Field, Miya Freeman, Hailee Frost, Grace Hartley, Georgie Healey, Matilda Jones, Kaden Lawler, Gabbi MacCullagh, Libby Matthews, Noah McIlveen, Imogen McNeil, Daniel Nelson, Rachel Nichols, Lourdes Obeid, Tobey Pol (x2), Byron Preston, Ella Ross, Sophia Speers and Cory Thiele.
As Term 2 comes to an end, I thank all families for their ongoing commitment to working with us to assist Year 7 students to settle into high school and begin to strive for personal excellence at our College.
Year 7 Catch Up Immunisation
Area Health were unable to complete immunisation for all of Year 7 in Term 1 due to circumstances beyond their control. Those students who have returned signed Consent Forms and were not immunised in Term 1 will receive their immunisation at our Year 10 immunisation Clinic on Monday, 27th July, 2020.
Area Health will send a reminder SMS to families of the Year 7 students who are to receive their catch up Immunisation on this day.
Year 7 Leader of Pastoral Care
Heaven
To the disciple who was obsessed with the thought of life after death, the Master said, “Why waste a single moment thinking about the hereafter?”
“But is it possible not to?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“By living in heaven here and now.”
“And where is this heaven?”
“It is here and now.”
One Minute Wisdom, Anthony de Mello, S.J.
Jesus used images of birds, flowers, harvest, sun, lightning, rain, wind, fish, sheep, salt, mustard seeds, fruit and other images of nature to share his image of a loving God dynamically present in the world. He encouraged people to have eyes that see and ears that hear the movement of God. Jesus was passing on to his listeners what he had discovered about God’s reign in the natural things around him - God in the world.
The Apostle Paul (whose shared Feast Day we celebrated this week) maintains that Jesus Christ has ushered in a new creation. Mark’s Gospel proclaims, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” The Messiah would bring about a reign of justice. For Mark the Kingdom of God was here and now.
The continuing challenge for us today is to work to bring about the kingdom in the ‘here and now’. One way of doing this is to show reverence for all people and all of creation. At MacKillop, our rule of ‘respect for persons, property and all things’ attempts to encompass some of our duty to nurture and care for each other and for the whole of creation.
Semester 1 Awards
Semester 1 Awards were held this afternoon via Zoom with students in their PC classes. A booklet has been emailed to parents to recognise and congratulate the recipients of the awards.
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following students who has received a Pastoral Coordinator’s Award: Shaun Baillon, Emily Chan, Emily Galvin, Lara Inman, Shayla Mitchell and Abby Wagner.
Wellbeing
Follow the link to see an opportunity for student voice.
I wish all students a restful and enjoyable holiday break.
God bless.
Year 8 Leader of Pastoral Care
With the end of another term, I think we can all agree that we have never experienced a term quiet like this. Getting our head around Zoom meetings, then adjusting to Zoom meetings while still at school, changing our work habits and routines along with many other aspects that each and every one of us have never experienced before. As I mentioned before students and staff should be commended on their huge adaptability and flexibility in these difficult situations.
A reminder, this is not the holiday break to get extra piercings, because they will not heal in time for you to take out when you return to school nor is it the time to get an extreme haircut. It is a time to get your uniform sorted and make sure that you have the correct shoes as well as other parts of the uniform for when you return.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Ellie Fallon who has received two Pastoral Coordinator’s Awards and a Silver Principal’s Award.
Semester 1 Awards
Semester 1 Awards were held this afternoon via ZOOM with students in their PC classes. A booklet has been emailed to parents to recognise and congratulate the recipients of the awards.
It was pleasing to see so many students receiving awards even during this difficult time. Well Done.
I hope everyone has a well-earned break from their studies and use this time to evaluate how you went this term and keep up the good work or make those adjustments so you can move forward in Semester 2.
Wellbeing
Follow the link to see an opportunity for student voice.
Year 9 Leader of Pastoral Care
Six months down, six to go! Many discussions have been happening about what to do in 2021. Some students know exactly what they are doing next year but the majority are still unsure and rightly so.
Teachers and students from Newman Senior Technical College came and visited MacKillop on Wednesday morning. Information booklets were handed out and Mr Mark Nunan (Principal), Mr Andrew Bannon (Assistant Principal) and two ex-students who graduated from Newman College, spoke to Year 10. The ex students spoke about their pathway to get to where they are now and how Newman College differs from MacKillop College. Newman pride themselves on getting young men and women work ready and offering courses that promote employability.
Please continue to have the discussion with your child and contact me at the College if I can help in anyway.
Semester 1 Awards
Semester 1 Awards were held this afternoon via ZOOM with students in their PC classes. A booklet has been emailed to parents to recognise and congratulate the recipients of the awards.
It has been a pleasure working with Year 10 again this term. Have a restful and enjoyable break.
Wellbeing
Follow the link to see an opportunity for student voice.
Year 10 Meningococcal Immunisation
Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommenced by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program.
North Coast Area Health Service are holding an Immunisation Day at MacKillop College for Year 10 students on Monday, 27th July.
All Year 10 students will receive the following vaccine;
Meningococcal ACWY
A Parent Information Kit will be sent home with Year 10 students on the first day of Term 3 for this immunisation. This kit contains a consent form, information sheet and privacy statement that details how personal information will be collected, stored and utilised.
To consent to the immunisation of your child, parents/guardians are advised to:
- Read all the information provided;
- Complete the Consent Form and sign;
- Return the completed Consent Form to the Area Health Nurse on Vaccination Day; and
- Ensure that your child eats breakfast on the day of the school immunisation clinic.
Please return the signed Consent Form to the Area Health Nurse on Immunisation Day. Immunisation will not be administered to students without a signed consent form. Verbal consent is NOT SUFFICIENT.
A Record of Immunisation will be provided to each student immunised. Parents/guardians should ensure that this record is kept for further reference and should not assume that their child has been vaccinated if they do not receive this Record of Immunisation.
Please note that MacKillop College does not keep any records of these immunisations. If you have any questions or concerns, please rcontact Lindsay Lucas (Public Health Unit) on 0429 046 229.
Students are asked to wear their sport uniform on Immunisation Day for ease of access for their immunisation.
Acting Year 10 Leader of Pastoral Care
I congratulate my Year group on surviving their first semester of their senior schooling years!
Today the students will have received their reports and awards, and a booklet has been emailed to parents to recognise and congratulate the recipients of the awards.
Everyone's results will be unique, however the emotions that accompany these reports will be varied.
There will be elation, happiness, disappointment and frustration. I encourage those who are elated and happy to take some time to bask in the glory of these results and I congratulate them for achieving what they set out to do, or even exceeded their expectations. For those of you among our Year who feel disappointment or frustration, it is not a time to despair or give up. You need to take the results you are unhappy with and use them as an opportunity to grow, to set new goals and think about how you can improve upon your process. We want you to be satisfied when you receive your end of year report and know that you have given it your best - it's only a term away!
As teachers and parents we must remember that these young men and women have never received reports like this. They have a mark, a ranking and a comment from every teacher. It can be quite confronting to learn that you are at the bottom of your cohort or that your mark is below the average of a subject. I did speak to students about this and the advice that I gave to them was to ask themselves, 'have I done the best that I can do?'.
If they can honestly answer yes to that question they should be happy with their result regardless of their cohort placing. However, if that answer is no, then they need to take the information on the report and learn from it. What can be changed for them to do the best that they can do? Sometimes the answer is obvious and sometimes it is not. If your child needs help or guidance after receiving their report please encourage them to speak to myself, their PC, or subject teacher.
The holidays are a time for rest, fun, recuperation and should be enjoyed. Within that holiday period though, your child will need to set aside approximately three - four days to complete homework and work on assessments. Doing this towards the beginning of the holidays is always preferable as it then allows for complete relaxation without the thought of schoolwork hanging around. Any student who does not do this will find themselves madly scrambling the weekend before school returns and will not start the term off on the right foot. To give the best chance of academic success, good mental wellbeing and obtaining a healthy school - life balance, being organised and on top of the workload is the key. I believe in each and every one of my students and know that they can do it.
There is no doubt that we have a lot of talented people in our Year group. One of these people, you would have seen mentioned in our newsletter before and recently in the Port Macquarie News, is Alani Cockshutt. Alani is a talented, resilient young lady who at a young age was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukaemia). She is now 10 years free of cancer and is forever grateful to many of the people and organisations who helped her through that difficult time. One of these organisations is the Starlight Foundation.
In order to give back to those who helped her she has joined the Starlight Tour De Kids Cycling Challenge in September which involves riding 1,000kms in 21 days. In conjunction with this she has added to the challenge (for extra degree of difficulty) - cycling the equivalent elevation of Mount Everest on Zwift (virtual cycling training) in a continuous ride. This will take approximately 12 hours of continuous riding covering 400kms. Upon completion Alani and one of her good friends will be the youngest Australians to complete this and the youngest ever to complete it virtually. This will be broadcast live on social media with guests and music.
Alani's fundraising goal to help children battling cancer is $10,000. She is already almost half way to achieving that goal after a few short weeks.
Her donation page is https://tourdekids.org.au/alanimonty
Any support that you can give Alani in her quest to help those who helped her would be greatly appreciated. She truly embodies our Year groups' Mary MacKillop theme "Never see a need without doing something about it", and I wish her all the best in this endeavour.
Also, please see below for information on Year 11 and 12 College photos next term.
Above all, I hope everyone enjoys having their children home for two weeks and I look forward to seeing them all in the new (and final) Preliminary term.
Year 11 Leader of Pastoral Care
Year 12 Athletics #notreallyathleticsCarnival
The smiles on their faces say it all.
Also, please see below for information on Year 11 and 12 College photos next term.
Year 12 Leader of Pastoral Care
Year 12 Food Technologists have been studying contemporary nutrition issues and have developed diets and menu plans for groups with specific dietary considerations. Students prepared a range of meals suitable for pregnant and lactating women, adolescents, middle aged men living alone and the elderly.
Students also enjoyed a presentation from an elite athlete on the dietary considerations for this specific group – cyclists.
Hospitality Teacher and VET Co-ordinator
College photos for Year 11 and 12 will be taken on Thursday, 23rd July (Week 1 of Term 3).
Please see below for information on pricing and packs, the students will be issued with photo envelopes during PC on Monday, 20th July.
“Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul;
it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”
- Martin Luther
Term 3 Changes
Please note that there will be some changes to the ensemble rehearsal schedule in Term 3 as outlined in the table below.
The Collective moves to Monday lunch.
High Brass Tuition will take place during PC on Wednesday mornings. This is open to ALL trumpet players in the Ensemble Program.
Low Brass Tuition will take place during PC on Thursday mornings. This is open to all trombone, euphonium and tuba players in the ensemble program.
These tuition sessions will be directed by Mr Denham and will focus on developing technique on brass instruments whilst revising Concert Band and Marching Band repertoire.
In addition, students will begin to prepare repertoire for the return of the College Jazz Band in Term 4. Students who have not as yet expressed interest in participating in these tuition sessions are to inform Mr Denham as soon as possible.
Due to the continued COVID restrictions with regard to external audiences, the focus for ensemble rehearsals during Term 3 will be on developing repertoire to audio and video record. These recordings will be shared with families later in the term.
SAPSS Marching Band
If you are interested in joining the Marching Band but were unable to attend the open rehearsal on Wednesday 1st July please contact Mr Denham as soon as possible.
Upcoming Events
Strike a Chord (Musica Viva Ensemble Competition)
Term 3, Week 6: Thursday, 27th August - Senior & Junior Percussion Ensembles
HSC Lunch Concert
Term 3, Week 7: Friday, 4th September, 11:30am - 2:00pm - Senior Campus, HSC soloists.
Junior Instrumental Lunch Concert
Term 3, Week 8: Wednesday, 9th September, lunch time, theatre - junior percussion ensemble, junior band, flute, clarinet, saxophone, brass, string ensembles and selected junior soloists.
Year 12 Graduation Mass
Term 3, Week 10: Wednesday, 23rd September, 9:45am - 10:45am, St Agnes' Parish Church, Collective Praise Band and Year 12 music students.
Year 12 Celebration of Excellence
Term 3, Week 10: Wednesday, 23rd September, 11:45am - 1:15pm, college hall - Choir and Concert Band.
Please contact Mr Denham with any questions relating to the co-curricular music program at MacKillop College or visit the college website and click on the Creative Arts tab.
Leader of Co-Curricular Music
Term 3 Sport
Year 7
Tennis – Goodwin Tennis at School | Multi Sports – at School | Planet X – Off site
Year 8
Each class rotates to a different sport each week (approximately 25 students in each class).
Year 9
Year 10
Communication
All information regarding sport can be accessed through the MacKillop College Moodle page and also through the weekly newsletter.
Representative Sport
To stay up to date with the latest changes in the school representative sport pathway click on the following links.
Diocese of Lismore Sport https://sport.lism.catholic.edu.au/
Catholic Schools NSW Sport https://csnsw.sport/
Community Sport
Congratulations to Ryan Binskin who has not allowed COVID to deter him from still kicking goals in the sporting arena. Ryan placed 3rd overall male in the Athletics Australia virtual 5km run challenge with a time of 15.36. Not only is this an impressive placing the time is lightning quick, well done Ryan.
If your child has achieved outstanding sporting results in their community sport, we would love to hear about it. Please email myself, or your child’s respective Leader of Pastoral Care, so we can acknowledge these achievements.
If you have any questions regarding sport at MacKillop College, please do not hesitate to contact me either by email or phone at the College.
Remember to stay active and healthy.
Leader of Sport
Our College offers two homework clubs for any extra time our students may need during the week.
Years 7 - 10 Homework Club is located in the Main College Library on Monday - Thursday: 3.15pm - 4.30pm
Years 11 - 12 Homework Club is located in the John Mullin Centre on Monday - Thursday: 3.15pm - 5.00pm
Canteen Helpers
In the current climate, Canteen volunteers will not be required until further notice.
Thank you for your understanding and take care.
Uniform Pool
Keeping with Covid regulations, if you wish to access the Uniform Pool, please phone the college canteen (via the college office) to check on the availability of the items you may require.
School ties
School ties are available for purchase at the Canteen for $20.00 each.