Principal's Update

Why I Love My Job!

Last week whilst on playground duty I got to sit back and admire how wonderful it is to watch 36 Year 7 and 9 boys enjoy a game of two-handed touch football. No teacher refereeing, no officials, just 36 boys able to play together.

At the end of the game I called the boys in and congratulated them on their cooperation and sportsmanship. I also acknowledged the inclusion and leadership of the Year 9 boys.

Student Success

Congratulations to Year 12 student Jack Page who has been awarded a Football (soccer) scholarship in Manchester. 

Jack attended some trials over the course of a few months and because of this Jack was awarded a fully paid football (soccer) scholarship in the UK which includes his return airfare, accommodation, all meals, all training, gym membership, nutritional classes, transport to and from training and games etc. Jack will fly out of Sydney to Manchester in November after his HSC and will be based just outside of Manchester. 

Congratulations Jack, the College is extremely proud of you.

Feast Day and Big Day Out Celebrations

Congratulations to all students and staff for their efforts and involvement at the Feast Day Celebrations during Week 5. A great day was had by all and it was lovely after the past two years to be able to come together to share in some fun activities. Special thanks to Marg Gobius and her team for preparing a beautiful Mass, celebrating our Patron Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Thanks also to Erin Denham and the Big Day Out coordinating team for their organisation of the activities and to all staff and students for their preparation and participation. 

The day began by celebrating Mass together to remind us about the importance of caring for others and being kind. Mary MacKillop lived by the mantra 'never see a need without doing something about it'. The Big Day Out is underpinned by values of love, compassion and kindness. All monies raised from the day go towards our Mary MacKillop fund to help others less fortunate. 

In the past, the funds have supported our Cultural Immersion Program and have been donated to our sister school Visale High School in the Solomon Islands. Students and staff over the past seven years have journeyed over to the Solomons to build a very special relationship with the beautiful Solomon Islanders creating lifetime memories.

Our projects have included refurbishing the library, refurbishing the classrooms, donating teaching resources, water tanks, library books, iPads, musical instruments and sporting equipment. Most importantly, the trips involved sharing our cultures and learning from each other. 

We proudly raised $15,000 last week which will contribute to projects in communities within Australia that will benefit from our help. Sincere thanks to all of the students that embraced the Big Day Out and had fun. To our Big Day Out committee and staff that made sure the day was a success by providing fun and engaging activities, thank you for going above and beyond. 

We are extremely fortunate to have a great culture at MacKillop that values looking after others. Well done everyone. Thank you to the following businesses that generously supported the event:

• Bakers Delight
• Meltique Beef
• Norco
• Dominoes
• The Zimmerman family 

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Parent Partnership

Unfortunately, I have been informed by some parents that a very small number of MacKillop parents are not honouring the agreement below as signed upon student enrolment: 

The parent/guardian agrees not to engage in social media or allow children to engage in social media that disparages or brings the College or its employees into disrepute. Further the parent/guardian acknowledges the right of the College to suspend or terminate an enrolment in the event that social media statements are made that defame or disparage the College, employees, the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools Limited or the Roman Catholic Church.

I remind all parents that the best way for us to work together, and resolve concerns, is to have direct communication, not via social media. I remind parents if you have concerns please contact your Child’s PC teacher or Leader of Pastoral Care in the first instance, or one of the College Assistant Principals or myself.

COVID-19 Policies

We would like to remind you of some COVID safe practices we have implemented to continue to keep our school community and families safe.

If your child is showing cold or flu symptoms, or any symptoms of COVID-19, they must remain home until no symptoms occur. If your child returns a positive test the College must be notified in writing, and they must isolate for 7 days as required by NSW Health. Registering your child’s positive RAT with Service NSW is a requirement of the Public Health Order and helps NSW Health track COVID-19 in schools, and address any public health issues early on if required.

Please also note that if your child presents to school with cold and flu like symptoms, the College office will call and ask them to be collected, and they are to remain at home until no symptoms occur. 

Some key measures for safety include:

• encouraging mask-wearing indoors for all students and staff.
• rapid antigen testing (RAT) of students and staff who have COVID-19 symptoms or are identified as household/close contacts.
  
• encouraging regular hand washing.
  
• supplying of hand sanitiser in classrooms and offices for staff and students. 
• assessing risk and applying appropriate safeguards across activities and events.
  

Students and staff who are identified as household/close contacts and have no symptoms can attend school if they follow certain agreed NSW Health guidelinesExternal linkExternal link:

• they must notify the College if they are intending to return under this provision.
• they should conduct a daily RAT and return a negative result each morning before attending school for 5 school days.
• they must wear a mask indoors except when eating or exercising. 
  

Tell Them From Me Partners in Learning Survey

Parents and carers were sent an email recently inviting them to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at MacKillop College.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. If you did not receive the email and would like to complete the survey, you are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below: The survey closes on 31 August.

http://tellthemfromme.com/mackillop2022

Cath Eichmann
Principal

Assistant Principal Mission

Mission Professional Development

On Friday this week all staff meet to continue to discern a set of MacKillop College Core Values, this will be a continuation from our Professional Development day on 27 May. We will analyse the data collected in May as well as consider the core values of our three overarching ogranisations – Diocese of Lismore Catholic Education, St Agnes’ Parish, and St Agnes’ Parish Secondary Schools. By the end of the day, we hope to have a recommended set of core values. Some of the work in 2023 will involve creating a definition for each of the values, linking each value to a scriptural quote, and outlining the attitudes and behaviours that demonstrate the value. We really want all at the College to know how each of the values is lived and breathed.

Staff will further consider how each of us represents the face of Jesus. They will be given opportunity to determine at least one action whereby they consciously choose to be the face of Jesus. A collage of Jesus’ face, made up of the faces of all members of staff will be present as a constant reminder of our role as the face of Jesus.

Staff will also analyse and interpret Year 12, 2021 exit survey data. This will help inform our response when considering the most important traits we wish for our graduate students.

The Lord’s Prayer

Too often we say prayers by reciting the words without even thinking of the meaning or commitments of the prayer. We simply ‘do the prayer’ without raising our minds or hearts to God.

Earlier this week, I prayed The Lord’s Prayer as a breath prayer with a group of Year 8 students. To achieve this, the words were all changed to modern English in order that they might be more accessible and better understood. Next the prayer was separated into five pairs (shown below). In this approach, the prayer is prayed silently and slowly. The phrases shown in red are prayed on the inhale and the phrases shown in blue are prayed on the exhale. You will notice that each pair is complementary.

The prayer has not been changed. I hope that for some, at least, this approach may open new meaning to a very well known prayer.

Our Father in Heaven

Holy be Your Name

Your kingdom come. Your will be done

On Earth as it is in Heaven

Give us this day

Our daily bread

And forgive us our sins

As we forgive those who sin against us

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

God Bless
Peter Murphy
Assistant Principal Mission

Evangelisation

Ecumenical Soup Kitchen

Throughout Term 3, students from our Year 10 Ministry class are spending time before school each Tuesday, helping with the set-up of the Ecumenical Soup Kitchen held at the Masonic Hall in Burrawan Street. The Soup Kitchen serves people from the Port Macquarie area who are struggling with homelessness or looking for support and company. Each week the group prepares a solid meal and dessert for those who are looking for assistance, as well as offering other supplies and some clothes to assist them.

Our students have been assisting in setting up tables and the preparation of food, in readiness for the arrival of the ‘friends’ who are served during this ministry.

St Agnes' Parish Street Retreat in Daily Life

We had a very successful 'Street Retreat' here in Port Macquarie with Year 11 students from both MacKillop College and St Joseph’s Regional College, serving those who are less fortunate in various ministries. We began with our opening ceremony and a small Mass on Wednesday morning, praying for our participants and those people they were to serve during the time.

Students assisted in cooking the BBQ, serving meals and chatting with ‘friends’ whose lives are not as blessed as their own, working with the Port Outreach and the Hastings Homelessness Committee in their travelling Road shows. The majority of their work was completed during National Homelessness Week (1-7 August).

We had our concluding event in the Chapel at St Joseph's Regional College, where students reflected on the ministries they had been involved in, and those they had served.

Year 9 Mass - St Agnes' Church

On Wednesday, 10 August our Year 9 students joined together to celebrate Mass in the St Agnes' Parish Church. Thanks for the students who volunteered to assist in any way during the Mass, and to all the students who were very respectful and attentive during the celebration.

Vinnies Winter Appeal

Our Vinnies Winter Woollies Appeal will come to an end this weekend as we had our 'Op Shop' themed Out of Uniform Day on Thursday, and our St Agnes' Secondary School Sleep Out on Friday night. Thankyou to all involved for a very successful campaign this year. 

Some people were very generous with giving clothes and blankets to our warm clothing appeal and we have raised some much needed funds to be given to St Vincent de Paul to assist in their important work within our community.

We are asking for a gold coin donation for the Out of Uniform Day and a $10 donation from our Sleep Out students.

Mary MacKillop Feast Day Mass

On Tuesday morning to begin our Mary MacKillop Feast Day celebrations, we held an all school Mass in the Hall where we remembered the work of Mary MacKillop and the fact that she set up schools to educate those who may not have had access to school in her day.

Her legacy remains today in the schools which were subsequently founded by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, to educate Catholic students, including our MacKillop College.

Thanks to the wonderful volunteers who assisted in making the Mass a wonderful celebration of the life of Mary MacKillop.

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Shine

Shine is a two-day event combining elements of praise and worship, inspiring keynote speakers, student testimonies, small group discussions, interactive workshops, prayer, Eucharistic Adoration and Mass.

Over 550 Youth Ministry students from Parish Secondary schools across the Diocese of Lismore joined together on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 August. 60 students from the MacKillop College Year 9 and 10 Youth Ministry classes, and some of our Year 11 and 12 Senior Youth Ministry Team attended and had a wonderful time with their peers from throughout the diocese.

It was a great pleasure to travel with these students and to spend time with them during the events of the two days.

Marg Gobius
Leader of Evangelisation

Year 7

Feast Day and Big Day Out Celebrations

And what a big day it was! Year 7 students enjoyed a wonderful celebration of Mary MacKillop Feast Day, along with our fundraising event aptly named Big Day Out. It was great to witness the many students who assisted and participated in our Mass, cooked and served at food stalls, assisted in the running of an activity and participated in various ventures around the College in the spirit of good fun. The day was a resounding success in bringing students together to raise funds for the benefit of the community. On behalf of the Year 7 team, I thank all families who supported their son or daughter’s contribution and thank all the students involved who continue to remind me what a blessing it is to know these fine young people. 

Upcoming Year 7 Assessment Task

Week 7, Friday 2 September - History: Evidence of Learning

Congratulations

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Silver Principal’s Award: Tori McGrath, Declan McWhirter, Lucas Morris and Marley Thick.

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Leader of Pastoral Care Award: Lucas Boath, Annabelle Broderick, Samantha Carr, Louis Dimmers (x2), Peter Field, Sarah Gleeson, Quinn Hancock, Anna Harmer, Caitlyn Hucker, Dylan Keane, Tori McGrath (x3), Declan McWhirter, Lucas Merrick, Darcy Middleton, Jessica Moore, Lucas Morris, Keegan Pope, Marley Thick, Summer Waite and Lani Warren.

Nicole O’Connell
Year 7 Leader of Pastoral Care

Year 8

Feast Day and Big Day Out Celebrations

What a fun day! After years of disruptions the College finally had the opportunity to celebrate with the 'Big Day Out'. We celebrated the Solemnity of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia's beloved first saint and patron saint of our school.  

The day began with a Mass and for the remainder of the day students joined in the various activities being run, similar to a festival-like atmosphere. It was so much fun. The water in the dunk bucket was a bit cold!!!!

All funds raised will be donated to help others access education in indigenous communities as part of our Cultural Immersion Program. 

A special thank you to parents for your support of your child’s efforts and contributions to their PC activity, and for helping with the purchase of tickets and fun on the day. 

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Camp

Our annual compulsory Year 8 Camp will be held in November. We will be spending three days and two nights at South West Rocks to expand on, and put into practice, the learning in the PDHPE Outdoor Recreation unit.

Date: Wednesday, 2 November to Friday, 4 November 2022

Venue: Trial Bay Gaol Camping Area, South West Rocks

Departure Time: 9:00am from MacKillop College junior campus bus bay on Wednesday

Return Time: 3:00pm to MacKillop College junior campus bus bay on Friday

In the coming weeks students will be asked to form tent/food groups for the camp. Further information will be given during PDHPE lessons and more information on what to bring will be provided closer to the camp date. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at the College by phone or email. 

Year 8 Catch the Wave

Incursion Info: Year 8 students will enjoy a retreat day, in line with the Year 8 Mary MacKillop quote ‘Find happiness in making others happy’. This day, hosted by the YMO’s and assisted by Year 9 and 10 Youth Ministry students, will be filled with prayer, laughter, games and small group discussions, with the focus on finding joy in being together as a group.

Following on from the retreat, students will be invited to decide whether they would be interested in joining the Youth Ministry class in Year 9. Interested students need to submit an expression of interest to be a part of this class that focuses on Youth Ministry.

Date: Tuesday, 30 August. Students are required to wear their sports uniform for this day.

Man Cave

Please see the email sent regarding the program for Year 8 boys – Man Cave. The first session is on Friday, 9 September.  This is an exciting upcoming event for our Year 8 boys.

We're looking forward to having The Man Cave come work with our Year 8 students.

The best way we can support the boys is by also ensuring the community around them is supported too. Please visit the link below as preparation for you to support the boys during this time:

https://academy.themancave.life/pre-workshop

Winners are Grinners

The Year 8 group have been having a great time at sport this term with loads of off-site activities. None more evident than the smile of Ethan Kelly’s face wining a prize at Aqua golf this week. Well done Ethan.

Greg Finney
Year 8 Leader of Pastoral Care

Year 9

Year 9 Mass

Thank you to Year 9 for their respect, reverence and participation in the Year 9 Mass. It was great to see so many students involved in our celebration. We are blessed to have such a spiritual place to hold our mass and to be able to all come together. A lot of preparation and organisation goes into these days and I just wanted to thank all the staff and students involved in making this a successful morning.

Service to the Community

When a staff member approaches me and has taken the time to record student’s names, write out merits and explain the situation to me, it deserves recognition. Congratulations to the following students for service to the community. These students were identified as being respectful and considerate to members of the community while at sport: Jenna Bryan, Emma Burge, Isabella Campbell, Blair Carroll, Kiara Hawkins, Ruby O’Bryan, Macy Partington and Layla Stewart.

Feast Day and Big Day Out Celebrations

Unfortunately, COVID got me last week and I missed our Big Day Out. From all reports it was a huge success. If you have not done so already, please check out the MacKillop College Facebook page for more photos of the day.

Daniel O’Dell
Year 9 Leader of Pastoral Care

Year 11

Feast Day and Big Day Out Celebrations

Last week we saw our Year 11 students really step up and be leaders of our College at the Big Day Out. Multi-tasking was on full display as Year 11 spent the day running the cake stall, BBQ, soft drinks stand (with Year 12) and even the snow cone stall when the younger students needed a break. I was really impressed by the way our students made the effort to help out on the day. There was plenty of fun to be had and money to be raised for those less fortunate. Yet again it was another example of our students living the Mary MacKillop theme of 'Never see a need without doing something about it'.

Extended PC Activities

Extended PC was time for some fun and games for Year 11. The activities were run by two of our SRC Representatives, Lenny Jensen and Tia McGrath. Another great example of leadership by our students who stepped up to run the fun and games for their peers. The activities included a tug-o-war competition, skipping challenge and relays. The competition was fierce with both 11PC8 and 11PC7 coming out on top of the table.

Preliminary Courses

As our students move towards the end of their Preliminary Courses at the end of this term, it is an important reminder to keep working hard in all their subjects. Some students have been heard saying “I am going to drop …so I don’t need to do anymore work”. It is important to remember, students are required to keep working hard in all their subjects until the end of the term and most importantly until they have sat their final Preliminary Exams in Weeks 9 and 10. Students are advised not to make any final decisions about subjects until they return in Term 4 and receive their final exam marks.

Congratulations 

Congratulations to Tess McWilliams who was selected in the NSWCCC U16’s Rugby League Team. This is an outstanding achievement for any student. Well done Tess.

Tracey Bewicke
Year 11 Leader of Pastoral Care 

Year 12

With the final school based assessment complete, Year 12 students are focussing on two very important things!

Enjoying the time we have left together

The SRC have created a baby guessing competition which should bring a few giggles, planning for the end of year celebrations and some other fun games and challenges along the way. We have a couple of out of uniform days remaining and in terms of outfits, I am sure there is plenty of talk about formal attire, hair, makeup and transport arrangements both at home and in the playground.

Preparing for the HSC 

Time in front of teachers is incredibly important over the next few weeks as we finalise content and fill any gaps that we may have discovered in the students' knowledge. I encourage students to not be tempted to take time off, make appointments in class time or arrive late to school as every moment will count in ensuring each child feels prepared, confident and ready for the HSC exams when they arrive. The HSC is not the most important thing in the world but it is the thing we have been working towards for the past two years so it is important to maintain our rhythm and motivation right through to the end.

Students will be receiving their trial results which could go either way in terms of how they feel about the exams, themselves and the HSC to come. It is important to take the positives out of the results:

• You are now experienced in sitting a 3 hour exam.
• There will be plenty of things you can learn from this experience including how to manage your time, how to better prepare yourself as well as identifying any gaps you may have in your knowledge or skills.
• It is a learning experience and please remember mistakes are a part of life and they are only bad if we don’t learn from them.
• Don’t forget to ask your teachers for help. 

Congratulations

To the Year 12 CAPA students and teachers who put on a wonderful display at the Year 12 Showcase on Monday night. I absolutely LOVED watching all of the performances and marvelled at the artworks. As parents you must be so proud. As their teacher I was in awe of their talents! A huge thanks to the families and friends who came to watch and a special mention to the other Year 12 students who came to support their peers. 

Andrea Huxley
Year 12 Leader of Pastoral Care

Parent Webinar

Wellbeing

Working “With” our students

The best teachers are doing their best work in schools by being firm and fair. This is an element of a restorative practices culture. Consider the restorative operating domains below. These domains are relevant in both a school and home setting and sometimes, as teachers and as parents, we can get it wrong.

• When the firmness is in place, but not the fairness, we find ourselves doing things TO our students. Especially as they reach adolescence, this is a dare to students who are becoming more chemically inclined to resist orders from authority figures.
• When we’re all fairness but there’s an absence of firmness (rules, boundaries, limits) we find ourselves doing things FOR our students. In other words, we do all the heavy lifting.
• When we’re neither firm nor fair then, frankly, we’re NOT doing much at all.
• But when we maximise both the firm and fair aspects of our work we find ourselves working WITH our students. There’s an inclination to co-design, collaborative problem solving, ownership and responsibility for all involved.

With many secondary schools tackling any number of student conduct challenges – think vaping, homework, uniforms and mobile phone use – it is timely to remind you that solutions with the highest potential for impact are likely to be devised and implemented WITH your students, both at home and at school.

Without student involvement and effort, where you might be doing to all either TO them or FOR them, parents and teachers are going to be responsible for all the work therefore allowing students to have no responsibility or accountability.

This concept is restorative practices in action and can be implemented at home as well as school.

Warren Lorger
Leader of Wellbeing - Behaviour Support

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

Feast Day and Big Day Out Celebrations

Well done to all ensembles and student musicians who performed on the Main Stage at Big Day Out 2022! The College Junior and Senior Bands, Junior and Senior Percussion Ensemble, Collective Praise Band and Singers and a number of soloists and smaller elective music ensembles performed on the day. It was a wonderful line up that provided entertainment to a large crowd for the majority of the carnival.

Thank you to all students involved for contributing to the culture of our school and for keeping everyone entertained throughout the day!

Junior Instrumental Recital

The annual junior instrumental recital will take place in the theatre on Wednesday, 31 August from 6:00pm - 7:30pm. This recital is an opportunity for students taking tuition on an instrument either at the college or privately at home or elsewhere in the community, to perform to family and friends. The recital is free to attend and has a relaxed and supportive atmosphere and is perfect for beginners through to advanced musicians.

In addition, the recital will feature junior instrumental ensembles that include the junior band, junior percussion ensemble and saxophone ensemble.

If your child has been invited to perform at the recital and is unable to attend, they are to advise the recital organiser, Cara Stewart cara.stewart@lism.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible to allow arrangements to be made that will ensure the smooth running of the event.

Any specific information relating to particular ensembles or soloists will be provided to students in rehearsal or in person over the coming weeks.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Links & Forms

Music Ensemble Sign Up Form

Music Tuition Request Form

Co curricular Music Google Classroom

Senior Band STILE PAGE

Junior Band STILE PAGE 

The Collective Pop & Rock Praise Band STILE PAGE

Saxophone Ensemble Google Classroom

Musical Theatre Company Google Classroom

Upcoming Events

Youth Mass

• Week 6 - Sunday 28 August, meet 4:15pm at St Agnes' Church for a 5:00pm start. Mass concludes at 6:00pm. Collective Praise Band & Singers

Year 8 Mass

• Week 7 - Tuesday 30 August, Period 1, College Chapel. Collective Praise Band & Singers.

Junior Instrumental Recital

• Week 7 - Wednesday 31 August, meet 5:30pm for a 6:00pm start. Recital concludes at 7:30pm. Junior Percussion Ensemble, Junior Band, nominated soloists.

Youth Mass

• Week 8 - Sunday 11 September, meet 4:15pm at St Agnes' Church for a 5:00pm start. Mass concludes at 6:00pm. Collective Praise Band & Singers

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

Robert Denham
Leader of Cocurricular Music

Sport Update

Year 12 Sports Awards

Our annual Year 12 Sports Award ceremony will be held on Wednesday, 14 September from 9:00am in the College Theatre.

This event is where we come to celebrate the sporting achievements of our Year 12 students during their last year of school. If your child is a recipient of an award you will receive a letter prior to the ceremony inviting you to attend.

Year 9 & 10 Sport Selections Term 4

Students in Year 9 and 10 will make their Term 4 Sport selections during Week 7. These selections will be open on Tuesday, 30 August at 8.45am and close on Wednesday, 31 August at 3.00pm.

The survey link will be emailed to student’s school email accounts with a unique code – please do not try and use a previous term code, it will not work. If you are away on Tuesday or Wednesday, the survey link can still be accessed at home.

You can view the options below; 

Representative Sport

Rugby League

Well done to Briana Anderson and Tess McWilliams who last week trialled for the NSWCCC Rugby League Team. The girls had a fantastic experience with Briana scoring a try, and Tess being named Most Valuable Player in one of the games.

Congratulations to Tess who made the NSWCCC Rugby League team – Tess has now made the NSWCCC Rugby League team and the NSWCCC Rugby 7s team. This is an outstanding achievement Tess.

Bill Turner Girls

After being crowned Area Finalists in Round 4 against St Clare's Taree, our girls came up against All Saints College Maitland in Round 5 of the Australia-wide Bill Turner competition. 

We knew that we were up against strong opponents with the opposition having players that play for the Jets Junior development programs. This did not deter our girls and they instantly had ASC on the back foot in front of their home crowd.

Arliah Morris kicked a screamer of a goal to take the lead 1-0. ASC were quick to counter attack with several shots on goal.  Alanah Logan-Pye was brilliant in goals and we went into halftime level 1-1.

Our defence once again was so strong, not giving ASC much room to move. Our midfield were able to clear the ball on several occasions with Arliah once again finding the back of the net, taking the lead again 2-1. 

Fatigue started to set in and ASC were starting to find gaps levelling the score 2-2. The game was on a knife's edge with Charlee Bailey making some cracking saves in goals to keep ASC out. Unfortunately, an unlucky bounce off the crossbar put ASC in front 3-2 with only 6 minutes left on the clock. Our girls were unable to advance the ball with ASC winning the game.

The self-belief, grit and determination that the girls demonstrated was outstanding. I am so proud of what really was a team effort by all the girls; to have gone this far in the competition is a credit to your skill, talent and competitiveness. For the opposition to say that we were the first team to challenge his girls was a true reflection of the ability on the team. 

Congratulations to Arliah Morris who was named Most Valuable player for the match. 

Representative Sport

All registrations for MacKillop College sport teams will be completed by students via logging into the school Moodle page. Go to the Student Links tab on the left hand side and click on the Representative Sports Registrations link. Click on the relevant sport and fill out the google form.

Students will be notified through the morning notices of when to sign up, and when trials will occur.

Click on this link to register.

Lismore Diocesan Events and Registration

Please note that the following sports are currently open for students to be able to sign up to or register their interest to trial. These sports have been advertised to students through morning notices over the past week.

Please click on this link below to register for the sports.

NSWCCC Events and Registration 

Students MUST be registered for the event with parent and Principal approval (or Principal delegate).

Registration is through the CSNSW Sport portal. Details on how to register:   csnsw.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/2/article/198901765?src=584134009

Registrations are via the CSNSW.sport portal. For instructions on how to register go to:  Guide For Parents – Sport Registrations >>

Please note that the NSWCCC Sport registrations for individual nominations for 2022 selections are open for the following trials:

For further information, go to the CSNSW Sport Website Sport pages. https://csnsw.sport/

NSW All School Events

The selection for these events are a result of the NSWCCC events.

Community Sport

Football (Soccer)

Congratulations to Jack Page who recently attended football trials over the course of a few months and was subsequently awarded a fully paid football (soccer) scholarship in the UK which includes his return airfare, accommodation, all meals, training, gym membership, nutritional classes, transport to and from training and games.

Jack will fly out of Sydney to Manchester in November after his HSC and will be based just outside of Manchester. This is a three-month scholarship with the option of extending six months to a year. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Jack and a great reward for the many hours he has spent over the past few years training and playing football at a high level. Well done Jack.

Port Saints Leopards

In 2022, the Port Saints Football Club Under 15 Leopards team has 13 of its 14 players in Years 8 and 9 at MacKillop College.

After 2 years of COVID-19 disruption to the winter Community Football (Soccer) competitions, persistent rain around the Mid North Coast impaired commencement of pre-season training and early games during the 2022 season. Furthermore, this season was additionally challenging with the Leopards being a younger age team in a combined Under 15/16 bracket competition of 10 teams.

To lift spirits, a team building activity was arranged at Mid North Coast Paintball and fortunes have turned around for the lads. The team has found their mojo in recent weeks with two wins against Camden Haven Redbacks and Maclaey Valley Rangers.

The team would like to thank their supporting parents, carers and families, especially their indefatigable Coach, Marcus Brockhouse, Port Saints Club sponsors including St Agnes' Parish Schools, and school friends who have regularly cheered at games in the cold on Friday nights. The last round game is on 9 September.

Rugby League

Congratulations to the Angele Field who has made the Mid North Coast Bulldogs U17s Girls Lisa Fioala Cup team. The team will be playing at the Tuggerah Sporting Complex on the 27 September. This is a great opportunity for Angele – enjoy the experience.

Tennis

Well done to Noah Pociask who won the tier 2 division at the Open Country Tennis series tournament recently. Noah continues to achieve great results in various tennis tournaments and was very excited about his prize money.

Whitewater Kayaking

Congratulations to Hamish Teasdell who recently received his qualification in Whitewater Rescue Level 2. Paddle Australia is the peak governing body for paddle sports in Australia and provides education and accreditation amongst other things. Hamish is a member of Paddle Australia, and of the club for our region which is Big River Canoe Club.  

Hamish’s Rescue 2 qualification required that he demonstrate a depth of knowledge and competency that includes white-water trip planning, preparation and risk assessment; constant, ongoing risk assessment throughout trips that covers himself and his craft, as well as keeping abreast of the abilities and status of the other paddlers in his group, and changes in the environment: river heights, hazards, weather changes etc., along with rescue equipment and its use including knots, ropes  and pulleys, and various methods of effecting rescue (and being rescued) in different conditions.

The assessment process involved a number of requirements including a weekend-long course of theory and practical sessions in rapids, a written exam, practical assessment and completion of a logbook demonstrating that over the past year he’s met the criteria of a certain number of white-water trips above a particular grade of difficulty.

Hamish will also compete in the Whitewater Kayak event coming up in two weeks’ time. This is all very exciting for Hamish. Good luck Hamish we look forward to hearing about the event.

Rugby Union

Congratulations to Tess McWilliams and Evie Hewens who have received the Steve Taylor Spirit of Rugby award.

Special mention to Grace Davies who played in the U17s Women's Premier Football League for Mid North Coast last week with a broken finger which happened during the game. Grace made her debut in first grade as goal keeper and played a full game with her injury. What a trooper! Well done Grace!  

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

Canteen Update

Monday 29 August
Paul Atkins & Chris Jourdant

Tuesday 30 August
Anthea Romer & HELP PLEASE

Wednesday 31 August
HELP PLEASE

Thursday 1 September
Ronnel Skea, Renee Bullock, Kelly Dingle & Rowena Beukers

Friday 2 September
Jo Sexton, Mel Carroll & Leanne Hatherly

Monday 5 September
Mayo Brumby, Sue Moore-Jones & Jodie Burge

Tuesday 6 September 
HELP PLEASE

Wednesday 7 September
Kate Perkins & Peta Clancy

Thursday 8 September
Heather Sheers & Chris Jourdant

Friday 9 September
Ali Tomanti, Caroline Horan & HELP PLEASE

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 handed in at the canteen.

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

All orders to be in by 8:00am please.

Please remind your child/children if you have ordered for them, and what their order is. 

If your child is sick and you have ordered, please phone the canteen (6583 2632) to arrange a credit. 

Please note to change your child's year group when using the QKR! app to order lunch for 2022.

Now available: Gluten free pies $5.00 and gluten free sausage rolls $4.00; these items must be ordered.

Canteen Help Needed

We are in need of some parent assistance for canteen. For more information and requirements on volunteering in the Canteen, or if you are able to volunteer, please follow this link. 

Homework Hubs

Maths Tutorials

Tuesday 7.45am-8.30am and  Friday 7.45am-8.30am

Room 12 Main College with Elizabeth Robertson