04 Dec 2016

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT NEWS

Term 4 is surging ahead with a number of community events taking place simultaneously.

The Helping Hand- Homework support, sponsored by Cabra-Vale Diggers through the Fairfield City Clubgrants, has been meeting every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon in the Peace Hub. It’s facilitator, Mrs Meslon Matti, has a teaching background and knows Arabic, Chaldean and some Assyrian which helps our newly arrived students complete their assessments and homework with clear explanations in their own language.

Mrs Vivian Matti and Mrs Vivienne Hayle have been running the Seasons for Growth program for our Arabic and Vietnamese speaking parents and Sister Dorothy has assisted by looking after the toddlers whilst their mothers take part in the workshop. Seasons for Growth helps people deal with loss and trauma in a supportive and caring environment enabling participants to share their stories and work towards emotional healing.

This week the Bridge parents and Basic English class parents will begin the four – week First Aid course, run by Core Community Services.

Our parents and students have learned about nutrition and mastered simple cooking skills at Jamie’s Ministry of Food through a most generous sponsorship by Community First Step. So many of our students have had a life-changing experience! They are now eager to cook at home and are making wise and healthy food choices.

Social workers from Strong Minds of Woodville Alliance have trained our 14 captains in Teen Mental Health First Aid. Our senior leaders will now have the necessary information and skills to understand the importance of resilience in mental health, as they take on new responsibilities and challenges of leading their peers next year.

Community First Step will offer our Year 9 students a Dealing with Stress and Anxiety workshop in December. This will be a worthwhile initiative for those who are experiencing high levels of stress as they look forward to their final year of RoSA as Year 10 students.

Mary MacKillop Catholic College acknowledges that adolescence can be a trying time for the girls and their parents these days. We need to work together to make sure that our girls are developing physically and emotionally. That is why we engage the support of experts from various external agencies to help them complete their journey to young adulthood.

Mrs Natalie Gesson, Leader of Learning – Community Engagement