Term 4, Week 5, 13th November
| Week 6 | ||
| Monday 16th November | Day 6 | Year 7 Immunisation Day (Year 8 & 10 catch up) |
| Tuesday 17th November | Day 7 | |
| Wednesday 18th November | Day 8 | |
| Thursday 19th November | Day 9 | Year 9 (9MST1) Marine Studies Excursion, Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters, Anna Bay |
| Friday 20th November | Day 10 |
Year 10 YMO Reflection Day Year 7 2021 Orientation Day |
| Week 7 | ||
| Monday 23rd November | Day 1 |
Year 9 Mathematics Pathway 3 Exam, Periods 3 - 4 Year 10 Mathematics Pathway 3 Exam, Periods 5 - 6 |
| Tuesday 24th November | Day 2 | |
| Wednesday 25th November | Day 3 | Year 10 PASS First Aid Practical Assessment Day |
| Thursday 26th November | Day 4 | Year 10 Writing Enrichment Day with Hayley Lawrence |
| Friday 27th November | Day 5 |
Year 8 Drama Task, Periods 1-4 HSC Music Lunchtime Concert, 12.50pm, Senior Campus |
NAIDOC Week
NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each year to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. Here at MacKillop College, to celebrate our Indigenous culture, students have had the opportunity to view the movie “The Sapphires”. The movie is about four Yorta Yorta Indigenous women, who are discovered by a talent scout and form a music group named The Sapphires, travelling to Vietnam in 1968 to sing for troops during the war. The College has also hosted a Write an Essay, Poem, or Song competition focusing on the significance of NAIDOC and the theme Always Was And Always Would Be. Students have also been able to participate in the Artwork competition by creating an art piece that represents stories and totems of Birpai.
Below, is the winning artwork. Congratulations to Abigael Murfitt from Year 7.
Student Success
The HSC concluded on Wednesday to the joyful cheers of the final group of students as they sat the Drama exam. It has been lovely to watch the students' expressions of joy and gratitude as they completed their final exam over the past week. I have no doubt students have celebrated this significant lifetime moment with family and friends and I look forward to celebrating with them and their families on Friday evening at the Graduation Dinner. Special thank you to Mrs Jo Stuart and the team of HSC supervisors who ensured the exams ran smoothly for our students.
A massive congratulations and thank you to all students and families who contributed to Jake’s fundraising ‘Red and Green’ day last Friday. Special mention to our Year 11 students, just 140 of them, who raised nearly half the student contribution bringing in their childhood money boxes and own money earned from part-time jobs. With the student, staff and some very generous additional parent donations the College was able to raise $7500 for Jake and his mum to help cover costs.
Meet the Leaders
Welcome to the introduction of some of our 2021 College Leaders.
Today I would like to introduce Student Representative Council members, Emily Currey and Vaughan Lickley.
Emily Currey
Name
Emily Currey.
Character strength and when/how you use it?
Love. I use this trait in building relationships with others!
Favourite Netflix series/song in 2020?
Greys Anatomy.
What hobbies do you have that help you relax?
Play sport.
What times of the day or the week are hardest for you?
Monday mornings for sure.
What's the most generous act you've seen recently?
People paying for others’ coffee in the morning.
What's giving you hope right now?
That Christmas is nearly here.
What's the best thing that happened to you this week?
Retreat.
Who or what inspires you?
My mum.
What do you need more of? Less of?
More days of the weekend.
What is your all-time favourite book?
Cat in the Hat.
What's something new you've learned lately?
How to backflip.
What new skill would you like to master?
To learn a new language.
For me, the three most important things in the world are...
Family, being happy, friends.
Describe yourself in three words.
Grateful, organised, dependable.
If I could be, do, have everything in the world, I would...
I would travel around Europe.
Favourite subject at school?
Legal Studies.
Post-school plans?
A gap year and travel to New Zealand hopefully.
What hidden talent do you have?
I can juggle.
If you could have one super power, what would it be?
Time Travel.
What do you look for in a friend?
A sense of humour.
What makes you laugh the hardest?
Rebel Wilson.
Vaughan Lickley
Name
Vaughan Lickley.
Character strength and when/how you use it?
Love - towards my family and friends.
Favourite Netflix series/song in 2020?
Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
What hobbies do you have that help you relax?
Being outside, particularly at the beach.
What times of the day or the week are hardest for you?
Last two periods (2:00pm-3:15pm).
What's the most generous act you've seen recently?
Gerard Sutton's departing gift for Cameron Smith.
What's giving you hope right now?
Holidays.
What's the best thing that happened to you this week?
Retreat.
Who or what inspires you?
Nick Vujicic.
What do you need more of? Less of?
More free time; less homework.
What is your all-time favourite book?
Phillip Hughes’ biography.
What's something new you've learned lately?
How to conduct a break even analysis (Maths).
What new skill would you like to master?
To play guitar.
For me, the three most important things in the world are...
Family, friends, having fun.
Describe yourself in three words.
Friendly, humorous, happy.
If I could be, do, have everything in the world, I would...
Stop global warming.
Favourite subject at school?
Timber.
Post-school plans?
Good question.
If you could have one super power, what would it be?
The ability to fly.
What do you look for in a friend?
Easy to talk to, friendly, humorous.
What makes you laugh the hardest?
The Betoota Advocate.
Meet the Experts
This week's Meet the Expert is Mathematics teacher Scott Schumann.
Name: Scott Schumann.
What subject(s) do you teach?
Mathematics.
What high school did you attend?
Macintyre High School (Inverell).
What university did you attend and what course(s) did you do after finishing school?
University of New England (Armidale) - Bachelor of Arts (Pure Mathematics and Psychology majors).
What or who inspired you to become a teacher?
My high school Maths teacher was very influential.
What would be your proudest teaching moment in your career to date?
Any time a student says that I've helped them to understand something Mathematical!
What are you reading at the moment?
Hunt for the Skinwalker.
What quote best describes your approach to teaching?
Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Favourite non-work related hobby?
Playing the guitar and watching the Roosters win premierships.
What do you love most about your work?
I love it when a student tells me they understand and I can tell that they have found a tiny bit of self-belief.
Principal
Year 9 Shine 2020
Last Friday, our Year 9 Youth Ministry class attended the SHINE “Called to Greatness” day.
This event was facilitated by our St Agnes’ Parish Youth Ministry Officer's, using the program created by the CSO Lismore to give the students an opportunity to encounter God and come together as a community.
Father Paul celebrated a beautiful Mass, where students were invited to stand at the altar as he made the connection between a shared meal and the Eucharist.
The students enjoyed various activities and small group discussions, and took away from the day a greater sense of their own faith and the importance of their class as a community in Christ.
St Agnes' Parish Christmas Hamper Appeal
"Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.” (Isaiah 58:10)
Imitating the compassion of Jesus and being a Christian example to others, MacKillop College will provide a total of 23 Christmas Hampers as part of the St Agnes’ Christmas Hamper Collection to help families celebrate Christmas.
Please click here for information on this year's Christmas Hamper Appeal.
A reflection on the reading from Mass this Sunday;
Leader of Evangelisation
PC Quiz Competition
Here are the much awaited answers from last week…
- 15
- Rome, Italy
- Vitamin D
- quatsch= nonsense
- vase/candlestick
- Dog
- Curling
- True
- Crash
- 49
I hope you found this interesting and a way to connect with your child. Students had fun trying to work them out as a group!
Police Liaison Officer
This week Senior Constable, Steven Jeffery joined us to speak to students about the law surrounding online communication, face to face dialogue and the repercussions of negative words that harm or incite harm for another. It was a very worthwhile experience for students in my point of view, however, the power really comes from the follow up conversations that happen at home, in PC, and even amongst friendship groups. I spoke to a student this week who was brave, confident and lived out the words of our Patron Saint, 'seeing a need and doing something about it', standing up for what was right and stopped a negative interaction between their peers. I encourage all families to have a conversation with their child, reminding them to conduct themselves in a way that makes them feel good, as well as do good in the world.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Lourdes Obeid who has received a Silver Principal’s Award.
Congratulations to the following students who have received a Pastoral Coordinator’s Award: Sophie Bryant, James Campbell, Niah Evans, Rachel Nichols and Lourdes Obeid.
Area Health Immunisations – Monday, 16th November
A reminder to all parents and guardians of Year 7 students that North Coast Area Health Service will hold an Immunisation Clinic at the College on Monday, 16th November as follows:
All Year 7 students – Prior consent has been given for immunisations.
HPV dose 2
Any Year 7 student who has returned their Consent Form and who missed their Boostrix and HPV dose 1 at the clinic in March, 2020 may attend for these immunisations. These students will then receive their HPV dose 2 at the Year 7, 2021 Immunisation Day.
Year 8 students who may have missed HPV Dose 2 in 2019.
Year 10 students who may have missed their Meningococcal vaccine in July.
All students to receive immunisation are asked to wear their sport uniform for ease of administering the immunisation.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact Lindsay Lucas at the Public Health Unit on 0429 046 229. A record of immunisation will be kept by the Area Health Service and a copy will be provided to the vaccinated student for their records on the day. No records in relation to immunisations are kept at MacKillop College.
Year 7 Leader of Pastoral Care
Online Behaviour and Online Safety
On Wednesday this week the Police School Liaison Officer, Senior Constable Steven Jeffrey, presented to Year 8. The focus of his presentation was Sexting, Cyberbullying and Cybersafety.
The presentation introduced new and different resources to address many areas previously addressed with our students.
Students were reminded that:
- possession, creation or sharing of images of people under the age of 16 is considered child abuse material. This is an illegal offence;
- nothing placed on the net is private. All data moves through servers and will be stored on these servers for at least two years;
- any person asking for naked images does not care about you;
- images online can do you great personal harm;
- sexting can damage your reputation, make you a target for bullying
- the average 14 year old has 452 online friends. A simple click can take a private image out to this number of people. If any of these people share, the number of people with the image increases exponentially;
- police can access images on your phone, even if deleted;
- images online can do great personal harm;
- naked selfies on your own phone are considered child abuse material;
- video of a schoolyard fight is child abuse material and is an offence;
- the average age of an online gamer is 32. Some of these people are actively involved in grooming for sexual contact;
- the consequences for involvement with child abuse material can be:
- Official warning
- Good behaviour bond
- Criminal Charge
- Imprisonment (if imprisoned, a person is placed on the Child Protection Record and will be excluded from many jobs and professions);
- cyberbullying is a criminal offence. It can result in anxiety, depression, school refusal, self-harm and suicide;
- a cyberbully may have an AVO taken against them. In the school situation, this could prevent this person attending the school; and
- cyberbullying not only affects the person targeted, but also their family and friends.
Targets of cyberbullying should take screen shots of any material received.
Targets of cyberbullying should take information to the Police.
Officer Jeffrey asked each boy and girl to consider the following question before ever posting online.
‘What is this image saying about me?’.
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following students who have received a Pastoral Coordinator’s Award: Seppe Beeckmans, Johan Meertens and Hayley Purkis.
God bless.
Year 8 Leader of Pastoral Care
Upcoming Dates
Permission forms for activities have been emailed, please ensure forms are completed by Monday, 16th November 2020.
|
Week 9 |
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DAY |
ACTIVITY |
LOCATION |
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Monday 7th December |
Final day of formal classes for Year 10 |
MacKillop College |
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Tuesday 8th December |
Retreat OR below |
Francis Retreat, Bonny Hills |
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Wednesday 9th December |
Love Bites / All My Own Work OR below |
MacKillop College |
|
Thursday 10th December |
Adulting 101 OR above |
MacKillop College |
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Friday 11th December |
Mass and celebrations |
North Brother Mountain, Laurieton |
|
Week 10 |
||
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Monday 14th December |
Community day |
Pilot Beach, Dunbogan |
|
Tuesday 15th December |
Christmas Mass and Year 7-11 Major Awards |
MacKillop College |
|
Wednesday 16th December |
Year 10 Excellence and Application Awards Final day of attendance |
MacKillop College |
Year 10 Leader of Pastoral Care
Drama Production - Jasper Jones
Pauline Cain
Drama and English Teacher
Kirra Pendergast is a leading Australian expert in ‘Staying Safe on Social Media’ and works with schools and the E-Safety Commissioner to provide updated information about the evolution of social media apps. The following is her review and warning:
So what is 'Snapchat My Eyes Only'?
This feature of Snapchat is a secure storage folder where an account holder may keep Snaps and Stories of a more personal nature. The logic behind this is to prevent embarrassment should another person be using your Snapchat and to prevent them viewing such Snaps.
When this feature was launched in 2016 – there was something of a collective feeling that Snapchat had admitted the existence of sexting, and as a result created this section where more risqué images could be kept. By and large, this prediction seems to have held the course – and commentary about the content of individual My Eyes Only content on other platforms confirms this.
(The folder is not exclusively used for sexting images, and nudes; and individuals also keep images of important moments in this space.)
My Eyes Only is only able to be accessed by a password, different to the Snapchat login. And should an individual forget this, there is no legitimate way to access the folder anymore.
The Snapchat team are unable to assist in password recovery, are very clear about this and the only solution is to reset the My Eyes Only password; which will wipe the content saved. This makes this content quite secure for a social media app.
Risks
Be wary of hackers offering to access this account when you have forgotten your password.
Young people have posted queries online, looking for a workaround when locked out of this folder, and often get responses from strangers online. They should be very wary.
The information necessary to share would provide such a person with access to their Snapchat account, contacts, images and other details. This, plus the content of their My Eyes Only folder (should they be able to hack it) may well be used against them by sextortion, identity theft or online bullying.
If they do forget their password – they need to accept that they have lost the contents of this folder and their images are gone.
- As a teenager, if they are storing intimate images of themselves and/or a partner in this folder they should familiarise yourself with the laws in Australia surrounding images of people under the age of 18 years that may be considered inappropriate. Possessing such imagery, distributing it, and even creating it can be against the law. The younger they are, the more likely this will be the case.
- Be very careful about the location of the “Save” button for My Eyes Only and its proximity to the “Add Story” button on Snapchat. They are side by side, and if the image is a particularly personal one; they do not want to accidently post it to the wrong location.
- Consider using their phone camera storage roll for family and friend images. Should they forget their password to My Eyes Only these will be lost permanently.
- Keep their password private at all times, both their Snapchat login details and your My Eyes Only access.
- Always use the latest version of Snapchat. Snapchat has been the target of a number of cybersecurity challenges, and updates will include additional protections and improvements.
- Do not accept strangers into their Snapchat…ever.
Parents, please be aware that this folder exists if you are in the habit of checking your child’s activity online. The folder is located via the Memories section of Snapchat. This is accessed by swiping up in camera mode, then swiping left to My Eyes Only. You will not be able to view the content without the consent of your child and the provision of their password.
This link is to Snapchat’s information section on My Eyes Only.
Leader of Pastoral Care: Wellbeing
“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
Marching Band Update
Marching Band rehearsal resumed last week. Wind players are NOT required to attend rehearsal for Marching Band during weeks 3 to 5. Full rehearsals will resume week 6 and 7.
Music and Dance Awards and Showcase Presentation
Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions it is not possible to hold a Music and Dance Awards assembly this year. We will still be acknowledging the skill and commitment of our students by presenting awards at lunch on Wednesday, 18th November. Here photos of award recipients will be taken for publication in the newsletter and digital media. In addition, a 5 minute video presentation featuring audio and video ‘snippets’ of ensemble performances and recordings from throughout 2020 will be shared with students through google classroom at the end of week 7. This presentation can be downloaded on student devices to view. Complete recordings of ensemble work from the year can be shared with individual students on request via USB storage.
Award recipients will be notified by email and invited to attend the theatre on Wednesday, 18th November to be presented with their award. Unfortunately, family will not be permitted to attend.
Rehearsal Schedule Week 6
Upcoming Events
Year 7 2021 Orientation Assembly
- Week 6; Friday, 20th November, 8:45am - 9:15am, Junior Percussion Ensemble, College Hall
HSC Lunch Concert
- Week 7; Friday, 27th November, 1:00pm - 1:30pm, HSC Music soloists, Lochinvar Centre
Percussion Fever Lunch Concert
- Week 8; Tuesday, 1st December, 1:10pm - 1:40pm, Junior Percussion Ensemble, Outdoor amphitheatre
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
Year 7
Year 7 continue the Swim and Survive course. Students will be required to bring a towel, hat, swimmers (no bikinis) and shorts to swim in. MacKillop will provide high visibility School rash shirts to swim in.
If students cannot participate due to injury or illness, they need to provide a note to their Sport Teacher outlining their inability to participate in Sport. If this is an ongoing issue, a Doctor’s Certificate is required.
From Weeks Five to Eight students will participate in a Basketball and Touch Football program run in conjunction with Sporting Schools Australia. The boys will participate in a Touch Football program while the girls participate in a Basketball program delivered by local coaches.
Click here for Year 7 Sports details - Term 4
Year 8
Year 8 continue with their elective sport taster lessons. Students will be required to bring a towel, hat, swimmers (no bikinis) and shorts for SUP, Learn to Surf and Beach Games. MacKillop will provide high visibility college rash shirts to swim in.
If students cannot participate due to injury or illness, they need to provide a note to their Sport Teacher outlining their inability to participate in Sport. If this is an ongoing issue, a Doctor’s Certificate is required.
Click here for Year 8 Sport details - Term 4
Year 9
Year 9 continue their Surf Survival Certificate for the remainder of the term.
If students cannot participate due to injury or illness, they need to provide a note to their Sport Teacher outlining their inability to participate in Sport. If this is an ongoing issue, a Doctor’s Certificate is required.
If you have any questions regarding this course please do not hesitate to contact Erin Denham via email or by calling the College.
Click here for Year 9 Sport details - Term 4
Year 10
Click here for Year 10 Sport details - Term 4
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
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 by email 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
Maths Tutorials with Mrs Robertson
Tuesday - Friday
7.45am - 8.30am
Room 12 Main College
MacKillop College Canteen is offering online ordering with the Qkr! app.
Please note that orders from the junior and senior student menu's need to be completed prior to 8.45am.
Please see below for instructions on how to download the app.
Term 4 Daily Specials $3
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.
Canteen Coordinator