Term 2, Week 8, 11 June

Upcoming Events

School Holidays 26 June - 12 July

Principal's Update

THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS (Feast Day June 11 2021)

Today we celebrate the Feast (Solemnity) of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Heart of Jesus is a symbol of Christ’s love and mercy for all, as well as a symbol of our own hearts and our capacity to be loved and to love others. At MacKillop, ‘Love of Others’ is at the core of how we want to treat our friends, classmates, teachers and college staff. 

The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is a well-known image and a wonderful source to many as a reminder of God’s great, unconditional love for each of us and furthermore of our own capacity to love others with kindness and compassion.

CONGRATULATIONS ADAM KELLY

It is with both excitement and sadness that I let parents and students know that Adam Kelly, our Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching has been seconded to the Catholic Schools Office to take up the position of Student Information System Specialist - Subject Matter Expert 7-12. Adam will take up the role from July 26 2021 and return to the College for the commencement of the 2024 school year. 

I am extremely excited for Adam as he has been recognised for his expertise and understanding of the secondary school context.His appointment is a well deserved opportunity for him to develop his professional skills further and to work collaboratively with system leaders and the eleven Lismore diocesan secondary schools. 

At the same time I feel a touch of sadness losing someone of Adam’s professionalism and talent. Adam is very much a part of the fabric of MacKillop College having been an ex-student and teaching here since 2001. He is a much-loved leader by students, staff and parents and we will miss him dearly for the two and half years.

MEET THE EXPERTS

Each week throughout the year I will introduce to you some of the expert staff we are so fortunate to have working with your children here at MacKillop College. This week I would like to introduce Cara Stewart. 

Name
Cara Stewart.

What subject(s) do you teach?
Music, Religion. 

What high school did you attend?
William Clarke College, Kellyville.

What university did you attend and what course(s) did you do after finishing school?
Sydney Conservatorium of Music for a Bachelor of Music Education.

What or who inspired you to become a teacher?
My high school music teachers Mrs Dorn and Mr Peachy, and my band conductor Mike Butcher.

What would be your proudest teaching moment in your career to date?
Mrs Dorn went on to become a University Supervisor of practicum students. I was mentoring a prac teacher and she came to do an observation. It was a full circle moment.

What are you reading at the moment?
A Marian Keyes one.

What quote best describes your approach to teaching?
Not so much a quote but an image - all the animals (including an elephant and fish) are lined up and the teacher states "for a fair selection everybody has to take the same exam: Please climb that tree".
I approach each class as a collection of individuals.

Favourite non-work related hobbie?
The gym.

What do you love most about your work?
Watching students enjoy learning.

CATH EICHMANN
PRINCIPAL

Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

You may recall that parents of our school have exclusive access to Elevate Education’s Parent Webinar Series for 2021. 

 Their most recent webinar was on Exam Preparation, and took place last week. Elevate has kindly extended access for us so that parents who missed the live event can watch it on replay.    

 Watch the Exam Preparation webinar replay here.   

 Download your resources here to help you turn these skills into habits with your child.

Their final webinar for Term 2 will be on Wednesday, 16 June and will focus on Stress and Wellbeing to help you recognise your child’s stress symptoms and help them develop positive habits to enhance confidence and wellbeing. If you have not yet registered, you can do so here.

The webinar is run live  online from  7:00pm – 8:00pm , where the presenter will share Elevate’s key research and strategies, and will conduct a live Q&A so you can ask them questions directly. 

ADAM KELLY
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL LEARNING AND TEACHING

Evangelisation

THROUGH OUR EYES (an Intergenerational Reminiscence Initiative)

We have 44 students from Year’s 10, 11 and 12 who have volunteered time to be part of this wonderful ministry, spending time with 21 lovely people from our St Agnes' Aged Care facilities: Maryknoll, Mt Carmel and St Agnes' Village.

In the project, two or three students meet with their older friend for an hour each week during Term 2, inviting them to share their life story. The project culminates in the students creating a published memento of their friend’s story. These mementos will be given to them, their family members and friends in a designated time early in Term 3.

It has been beautiful to watch the interactions between the students and their older friend, taking the time to listen to their story and encouraging them in sharing stories they may not have thought about for many years. This program offers our students the opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills, learning from the life experiences of their older friend and developing an appreciation of the generations who have gone before them.

It has been so lovely to see the joy on the face of the resisdents as they chat with their young friends.

A huge thanks to Justine Worner, who has coordinated the program on behalf of St Agnes' Care of the Aged, and to Karen Faichney, who has communicated with students and their families with the logistics of the smooth running of the program each week, and in creating the momento for their older friend.

MARG GOBIUS
LEADER OF EVANGELISATION

Year 7

SEMESTER 1 AWARDS

Parents and Carers are invited to celebrate the achievements of Year 7 students at our Semester 1 Awards.

The Awards will be held as follows:

Time:     9:00am

Date:      Friday 25 June, 2021

Venue:   College Hall

Students are required to wear formal school uniform on this day.

Please note normal classes will run on this day and thus Year 7 will return to classes after the Awards for the remainder of the day, and will need to have their books and equipment for Periods 2, 3, 4 and 5.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Cooper Beukers who has received a Silver Principal’s Award.

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Leader of Pastoral Care Award: Cooper Beukers, Ryan Campbell, Roxy-Skye Eyles, Emily Giudicelli, Charlotte Weatherley and Elliot Williams.

ELLEN MCKELL
YEAR 7 LEADER OF PASTORAL CARE

Year 8

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Matilda Jones and Alexander Toth who have received a Leader of Pastoral Care Award.

SEMESTER 1 AWARDS

Parents and Carers are invited to celebrate the achievements of Year 8 students at our Semester 1 Awards.

The Awards will be held as follows:

Time:     10:00am

Date:      Friday 25 June, 2021

Venue:   College Hall

Students are required to wear formal school uniform on this day.

Please note normal classes will run on this day except for the lesson where their Semester 1 Awards occur.

DANIEL O'DELL
ACTING YEAR 8 LEADER OF PASTORAL CARE

Year 9

4 WAYS TO RESPOND TO KIDS WHO LOVE THE LAST WORD

I spend many hours in the Pastoral Leader’s role addressing situations between teachers and students that have escalated way beyond the initial issue that needed to be addressed by the teacher. The following reflection and insights from Michael Grose may just help teachers and parents in diffusing a conflict situation rather creating a greater conflict where everybody is the loser.

 “Don’t do it!”

I sat in the back of the classroom and I saw a 14 year old student taunt his teacher in a way that only young adolescent boys can do.

The teacher asked the student to get back to work and stop disturbing others, reminding him that his behaviour was out of order.

The student grudgingly resumed his task. But just before he put his head down, he threw out a comment about it being a stupid piece of work that he had to do.

This young fella’ threw down an ‘imaginary rope’ (the last word, a taunt, a jibe, a joke) for the teacher to pick up.

“Don’t pick it up! Just let it go!” I thought as I sat in the back of the room. He was getting back to work. This was the boy’s way of saving face in front of his mates.

The teacher picked up the imaginary rope and began a tirade of abuse that was extremely personal.

I detected the slightest grin on the student’s face that said “Gotchya!” The teacher’s remarks were like water off a duck’s back. He revelled in them and I watched as his status amongst his male peer group just went up a number of notches.

Okay, so what’s the point?

The hard part of dealing with kids, whether you are a teacher or a parent, is to ignore some of their ‘last wordedness’ and the verbal comments they throw our way.

I am not suggesting that we ignore all taunts or rude remarks but there are many occasions when we should just leave the ‘imaginary rope’ where it lies. Usually when we ‘pick up the rope’ we turn into a child!

‘Throwing the rope’ is so effective as behind most conflict between kids and adults are the deeper issues of

• power (“I want to make you do this”),
• position (“I’m the adult so you should listen to me”) and
• prestige (“I want others to think I’m doing a good parenting job”).

Arguments, last-wordedness or comeback lines, which are often about kids saving face, threaten our position or prestige as parents or teachers. “You can’t say that to me, I am the adult,” is the type of thinking that brings us undone every time.

They are also a way of kids saying that I will acquiesce to you but on my terms, which is about power.

Four alternatives to picking up the rope are:

• Stop, smile, ignore and walk away.
• If the issue was important, choose the right time and place to talk to your child about their behaviour.
• If it’s not important, let it pass. Some kids just value the fight so don’t fight.
• Use humour to diffuse the situation. Self-deprecating humour works well; sarcasm doesn’t work.

Next time a child ‘throws the rope’ by having the last word or using a quick throw-away line, identify what is happening. Look at the imaginary rope, smile and refuse to pick it up. That is the adult thing to do.

It's hard work, but essential if we are going to be successful at bringing out the best in kids’ behaviour.

SEMESTER 1 AWARDS

Parents and Carers are invited to celebrate the achievements of Year 9 students at our Semester 1 Awards.

The Awards will be held as follows:

Time:     11:35am

Date:      Friday 25 June, 2021

Venue:   College Hall

Students are required to wear formal school uniform on this day.

Please note normal classes will run on this day except for the lesson where their Semester 1 Awards occur.

PETER MURPHY
YEAR 9 LEADER OF PASTORAL CARE

Year 10

SEMESTER 1 AWARDS

Parents and carers are invited to celebrate the achievements of Year 10 students at our Semester 1 Awards.

The Awards will be held as follows:

Time:     12:35pm

Date:      Friday 25 June, 2021

Venue:   College Hall

Students are required to wear formal school uniform on this day.

Please note normal classes will run on this day except for the lesson where their Semester 1 Awards occur.

GLEN LITTLER
YEAR 10 LEADER OF PASTORAL CARE 

Year 11

The last few weeks of Term 2 are busy weeks for Year 11. The students have been working hard and completing their assessment tasks. Many are ‘hand in’ assignments, which are a culmination of work over a number of weeks and many are ‘in class’, where students sit in exam conditions and answer questions under time pressure. Both forms of assessments are great experiences for Year 11 students.

Often under exam conditions we learn how we react under pressure. It is in learning about these reactions that we then learn how to manage them. Pressure comes in all forms, and is unfortunately something we have to contend with in life. Knowing how we react under pressure and how we can get the best out of ourselves is very important. If you feel that you don’t react well under pressure, then talk to your teachers or myself and we can suggest some strategies that can help you.

When we deal with pressure, it is important to incorporate the notion of self-care. For you, this may mean time with friends, family or by themselves. Perhaps it's doing something you love or treating yourself to a few hours of relaxation.  However it looks for you, it is important so that you can rejuvenate, replenish and go again. So in preparing for your assessment tasks, always schedule in a bit of time for self-care. 

Perhaps I should suggest the same for the parents and carers of our students too. You are often so busy looking after everyone else, it's easy to forget to take care of yourself. If you can, take some time for yourself this weekend, guilt free! You deserve it!

Enjoy your long weekend.

YEAR 11 SEMESTER 1 AWARDS

Parents and Carers are invited to celebrate the achievements of Year 11 students at our Semester 1 Awards.
The Awards will be held as follows:

Time:     2:10pm

Date:      Friday 25 June, 2021

Venue:   College Hall

Students are required to wear formal school uniform on this day.

Please note normal classes will run on this day except for the lesson where their Semester 1 Awards occur.

LISA KABLE
YEAR 11 LEADER OF PASTORAL CARE

Wellbeing

SRC

This week, SRC invited students to participate in a 4-way volleyball game. 

The challenge was to practise self-regulation as a team as mistakes resulted in a loss of points until the team was eliminated. 

It was great to see the number of students who readily accepted the challenge and the vibe was extremely positive. Most notable was the teamwork, enthusiasm and positive mindset demonstrated by participants, especially amongst senior students.

Thanks to all who joined in and supported this SRC event and earned participation points for their house for Fr D’s House Cup! Results will be published at our next assembly.

NICOLE O'CONNELL
LEADER OF WELLBEING

Music News

“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

JUNIOR MUSIC LUNCH CONCERT

Well done to all students who performed at the lunch concerts last Thursday in the COLA on the junior campus. Performances by Year 9 and 10 elective music students, The Collective and a guitar solo from Gilbert White in Year 7 entertained the lunch break audience.

MUSIC AND DANCE SHOWCASE

The music and dance showcase concert is scheduled for Thursday, 15 July (Week 1 Term 3). This is the major performance event for the year. All ensembles will be working hard in Term 2 to prepare repertoire for this concert. It is therefore important for students to commit to rehearsal, practice and attendance throughout Term 2.

UPCOMING EVENTS

RIDE THE WAVE FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE

• Week 9: Saturday, 19 June 10:30am - 12:30pm, Town Beach Skate Park: SAPSS Marching Band, Drumline and Colour Guard.

CO-CURRICULAR MUSIC & DANCE SHOWCASE

• Week 1: Thursday, 15 July 6:00pm:  All Ensembles including the SAPSS Marching band, Drumline and Colour Guard.

NATIONAL PERCUSSION EISTEDDFOD

• Week 2: Friday, 23 July - Monday 26 July, St Stephen’s College Gold Coast, SAPSS.

Please contact Rob Denham with any questions relating to the Co-Curricular music program at MacKillop College.

ROB DENHAM
LEADER OF MUSIC

Sport News

IMPORTANT NOTICE YEAR 7, 8 and 9 Sport Week 9 and 10.

Springloaded have decide to cease our Sport Program with them mid-term.

Planet X have been fantastic and picked up these sport timeslots at short notice for Years 7, 8 and 9 for the remainder of the term.

If you have any queries regarding this change please do not hesitate to contact me on 6583 2632.

YEAR 9 and 10 TERM 3 SPORT SELECTIONS

Students will be selecting their elective sport for Term 3 over the coming weeks. Parents please be advised that your child will be unable to choose a fee-paying sport in Term 3 if their previous sport bills have not been paid in full.

MACKILLOP COLLEGE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Our Annual College Athletics Carnival is on Friday, 11 June. This carnival is a compulsory day for all students in Years 7-12 and is a real highlight of our sporting calendar. It is an opportunity for students to embrace their House spirit by dressing up in house colours and getting involved in all events whether it be the competitive or novelty events.

If students are unable to participate due to injury or illness a note outlining this needs to be handed to Erin Denham. Often these students can still positively enjoy the carnival by offering assistance at the events.

The canteen will operate with a BBQ, sweets and drinks on the day. Bring your money along, you will not be able to order from the app.

We welcome all parents and guardians of our students to come along and support their children at this event and also welcome any parents that can give any assistance on the day. Please email Erin Denham if you are able to assist on the day.

MACKILLOP COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVE SPORT

If your child registers for a Representative sport at any level (School, Diocesan, NSWCCC) and can no longer attend can you please notify the relevant person so our attendance records are accurate.

• MacKillop College – Erin Denham (Leader of Sport) erin.denham@lism.catholic.edu.au
• Diocesan Team - John Coociola (Leader of Sport Lismore Diocese john.cocciola@lism.catholic.edu.au
• NSWCCC Trial or team – Robert Rush or Ann-Marie Miranda (CSNSW Sport) Robert.rush@csnsw.catholic.edu.au

HOW TO REGISTER FOR A MACKILLOP COLLEGE SPORT TEAM

To register to trial for a MacKillop College sport team follow the steps below.

1. Log into the school Moodle page.
2. Click on the Student Links tab on the left hand side
3. Click on the Representative Sports registrations link.
4. Click on the relevant sport and fill out the google form.
5. Listen to notices and check your emails for relevant trial information

Sports currently open for registration/ trials are:

• Boys and Girls Hockey

Click on this link to register.

NSWCCC Sport Registrations 2021 for Pathway Sports

Registrations are via the CSNSW.sport portal.

For instructions on how to register go to – Guide For Parents – Sport Registrations >>

For further information, go to the CSNSW Sport Website Sport pages.

https://csnsw.sport/

UPCOMING EVENTS:

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 either by email or phone at the College.

ERIN DENHAM
LEADER OF SPORT

Lost Property

There is currently a large number of unlabelled items in our College lost property. Items include the following:

Pencil cases, water bottles, earphones, umbrellas, glasses, towels, bags, ten school caps, three pairs of school shoes, nine school jumpers, one school shirt, one pair school shorts, one school jacket and one pair of sneakers.

Please collect items from the College office if you recognise any of the items pictured below. Items that not claimed by the end of the term will be donated.

Canteen

Tuesday 15 June 

Vanessa Wilson, Sandy Green and Anthea Romer 

Wednesday 16 June 

Heather Sheers and Judy Ryan

Thursday 17 June  

Jaci Sarno and Stuart Ward

Friday 18 June

Debbie Ward and Kristine Fallon - HELP PLEASE

PLEASE HELP

If you can spare one hour once a month to help at the canteen it would be greatly appreciated, please follow the link below, or ring Canteen Coordinator Maxine on 0432 179 365. 

Help is needed from for service from 11:00am till 11:30am or 1:35pm until 2:00pm.

To order from the canteen:
1. Orders can be written out at the canteen (bags supplied free of charge)

2. Orders can be written out at home and put in at the canteen

3. Download the QKR! app and order on line.

ALL ORDERS TO BE IN BY 8:30AM PLEASE

Please remind your child/children if you have ordered for them, and what their order is. We are currently having our volunteers spend quite a bit of time searching for students who have not collected their lunch orders.
If your child is sick and you have ordered, please phone the canteen (6583 2632) to arrange a credit. 

School ties are available to purchase from the canteen for $20.00

Homework Hubs

Homework Hub - Senior Campus

From the Mathematics Vault

Welcome to our weekly Maths Vault! 

We will provide a mathematics problem for solving, with the answer published the week after underneath a new problem. Good luck!

Community News

JHI offering Short Courses

Interested in working with people in need of care and prefer to work hands on?

If you want to learn the skills involved in this type of role JHI are running a number of nationally recognised short courses in June 2021 through which you gain the theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to take on person-centred support roles.

View the available courses and express your interest here: Courses – John Henry Institute