Edition 4,
13 May 2022

A very warm welcome back to Term 2. I hope that you had a relaxing Easter break and I look forward to catching up with students and families throughout the term.

On our student free day, staff planned and prepared lessons for the rest of the semester. We also planned for the possibility of remote learning, and so far we have managed to keep our preferred mode of face-to-face learning on track. I appreciate the challenges that many families and staff have had in dealing with students who have been close contacts or unwell due to COVID-19.

We welcome the following new staff to the College:

• Angelika Portolesi, Future Pathways Coordinator
• John Capurso, ICT Manager
• Virginia Arter, English and Humanities & Social Sciences Teacher
• Isabella Silvestri, Italian and Humanities & Social Sciences Teacher
• Joshua Dunstan, Marketing & Communications Intern
• David Bentley, Physical Education and Science Pre-Service Teacher

Kate Casciano is now on leave and Mary Lepore is the Acting Year 7 Pastoral Care Coordinator.

We also welcome back Matt Gilliland from his leave.

As you are aware masks are still required to be worn by staff and students for the next two weeks and restrictions are being eased so that gatherings can take place indoor from next week. Year 8 students are looking forward to their camp next week and we know that they will have a wonderful time.

We made a number of technology updates during the term break with new screens and Vivi installed in several classrooms. Already teachers and students have been enjoying the new features and capabilities. We will continue with these updates throughout 2022.

The winter sport season starts this Saturday and I look forward to seeing the girls participating and competing in their favourite winter sport. Go MacKillop! I understand that beanies and scarfs will be arriving soon to keep us all warm as we stand on the sidelines cheering.

Our building project is on track and very soon I hope to be able to share with you images and drawings of our new building!

Kath McGuigan
Principal

Resurrection Liturgy & Academic Assembly

Week 1 of Term 2 saw our first ever Mary MacKillop College live stream as we gathered virtually for the Resurrection Liturgy & Academic Assembly. Our inability to gather indoors as a school community was a challenge easily overcome with the support of Old Scholar and Co-founder of LifeSketch Creative Marie Pittman, nee Paul (Class of 2008) who ensured that students, staff and families could be part of this important celebration.

Our Year 7 Dance class, led by Mrs Rachel Scott were moving in their performance piece, playing an important role in the liturgy. Our Leaders spoke with reverence and poise as they reflected with deep insight and guided our community through the resurrection of Jesus.

We also took the time to celebrate the girls in our community who achieved at the highest level among their peers in terms of academic excellence in Term 1 as well as our highly regarded Know More, Do More, Be More award recipients. We congratulate the following award recipients:

Principal’s Academic Excellence Award Recipients

Year 7

Chiara
Allegra
Olivia
Liliana
Sienna
Hazel

Year 8

Lucy
Kaysii
Judy
Mikayla
Eliana

Year 9

Alessia
Jessie
Angelique
Jennifer
Amy

Year 10

Ava
Amelia
Scarlett
Isabella
Sukhreet
Mahan
Imogen
Talia

Year 11

Brooke
Charlotte
Liana
Emily

Year 12

Anida
Tara
Alexis
Alexandra
Ella
Stella

Principal’s Know More, Do More, Be More Award Recipients

Year 7

Daniella
Amelie
Savannah
Elisa
Chloe

Year 8

Zara
Eliana
Scarlett
Amelie
Judy
Alana
Mikayla
Emily

Year 9

Stefania
Jennifer
Sophie
Poppy
Allegra
Anisa
Jenna
Zarah

Year 10

Piper
Caitlyn
Sukhreet
Chantel
Imogen
Ella
Kahlea
Alexandra

Year 11

Tayla
Gracy
Hailey
Jessica

Year 12

Tara
Anida
Alyssa
Jamie

For those families unable to join, but still keen to view, the recording is available on our YouTube channel.

Morning Tea with the Sisters of St Joseph

Earlier this week, we gathered at Bethany to celebrate our connection with the Sisters of St Joseph and the role they play as significant women in the lives of our girls. Our Wellbeing Ambassadors rose early to prepare a special morning tea as a way of strengthening our connection with the Sisters and to express gratitude for their vocation, commitment and presence to the Mary MacKillop College community. The girls embraced the opportunity to learn from the Sisters and relished in the chance to hear about their lives, faith and service. After a long two years of COVID-19 restrictions, it was wonderful to be able to spend time with them and we look forward to many more opportunities throughout the year. Year 10 Leaders, Lily and Kahlea offered a vote of thanks and I have included their heartfelt words below, which capture so eloquently, how much the SoSJ mean to our community.

Hi, we are Kahlea and Lily, and are Year 10 students.

Last Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day around the world in recognition of the significant women in our lives. Whilst it was a lovely day to celebrate with biological mothers and grandmothers, it was also a time to reflect on role models, adopted mothers, surrogate mothers and those who stepped in to fill the void. We acknowledge those women in our lives who listen, who console, who nurture hopes and dreams, who provide refuge, who encourage hope, who support and most importantly, those who care. When we look at you, Sisters of St Joseph, we see all of these things and more.

Through your work in teaching children and spreading Christ's love, you have been mothers to all of those whose lives you have touched. We wish to recognise you as significant women in our lives. Thank you for everything you have done for our school, and everything you will continue to do in the future

We also just wanted to say that we really appreciate that you're taking time out of your day to sit with us and build a relationship. When we gathered for our first well-being meeting this year, we all decided that we wanted to do something to build a connection with you wonderful ladies and we're so delighted that we got the opportunity to do so. We felt that we wanted to meet with you because you're such an inspiration to us girls as you have dedicated your life to serve others and follow in the footsteps of Mary MacKillop.

We try every day to be kind but sometimes we stumble but seeing how you are so generous and faithful really encourage us to be our best selves. We know you've touched the lives of many, and we know after today you would have touched our hearts too. Thank you again and we hope over the years our relationship with the Sisters can only grow and we're extremely lucky that our school is so close to this wonderful space! We hope you enjoy the food, and we hope we were able to brighten up your day even just a bit. Thank you!

Kate Kilpatrick
Acting Deputy Principal

During Term 2, students in Years 7 and 9 will participate in the annual NAPLAN Online tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential to progress through school and life.

The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance. NAPLAN also provides teachers with information about how teaching and learning programs are working and whether students are meeting important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

NAPLAN Online is tailored (or adaptive) testing, where the test automatically adapts to a student’s test performance. The test presents questions of higher or lower complexity, depending on a student’s performance. Tailored (or adaptive) testing is designed to assess a wider range of student abilities and to measure student achievement more precisely. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions more challenging than usual. They may be taking a more complex test pathway. A student’s overall NAPLAN score is based on the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly.

Students have used the demonstration site in class before the test window to help them familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in the NAPLAN Online tests.

Jasmin Eckert
Director of Teaching & Learning

To start Term 2, the Year 10s set off on an excursion to the Careers & Employment Expo on Friday 6 May. This year the expo hosted over 120 organisations and employers with various career opportunities available for consideration. At first, the students were unsure where to start and what to ask, but in no time they found their voice and started making the most of the day. Students took in all that they could, stopping and asking as many questions they could in regards to the career and education opportunities available to them. Many taking the time to even look at career paths they had never thought of previously.

Year 10 Students' summaries:

“Our favourite part of the day was getting to learn about all the different career options that are available to us after school. Some of these included; pharmacy, construction, landscaping, nursing, creative arts, engineering, Australian Defence Force, disability support and mining. We were able to talk to many different people from these industries and learn about their jobs and the importance they play. The universities were a particular highlight as we were able to get an idea of the different courses that might interest us. The insights that the people manning the stands provided was helpful in pointing us in the right direction. We loved receiving all the goodies and had a fun-filled day.”

Kahlea, Imogen and Eloise

“Going to the Careers & Employment Expo provided me with a deeper understanding of the fields I am interested in, and it highlighted new potential pathways.

We loved the opportunity to be able to talk with people who are experienced in fields that we are interested in. Attending the expo gave us a human experience to what we are interested in, making us feel more guided, and validating that we can pursue a specific career.

And an added bonus was the little goodies and brochures to remind us of our time at the expo, and the areas that we visited.”

Scarlett, Reet, and Jaymie

“I liked how the day helped me expand my knowledge on how many different career paths are available when I finish school. Being able to see all the different universities and talking to people there that are currently studying gave me a better perspective.

Another highlight was talking to the pilots and getting into a real-life plane, as well as seeing the police and hearing about their lives and stories. Let us not forget getting all the free stuff too.

Overall being able to interview different people and hearing about their life and all that they have accomplished was inspiring.”

Kayla

“A highlight of the Careers & Employment Expo was that I was able to ask the presenters questions to better understand the jobs that I am interested in and know how I can prepare before university.”

Lily

“The people at the stalls were very friendly and it was refreshing talking to new people. They were extremely knowledgeable in their field and were able to answer most questions I had in a way I could understand. I even discovered careers and pathways I didn’t know existed!”

Erin

Dimitra Thomas
Year 10 Pastoral Care Coordinator