Dear Members of the Mary MacKillop Catholic College community,

The first couple few weeks of term have been rich in experience, as is usual at MMCC.

Professional Learning

We commenced the term with a very successful combined Professional Learning Day with the staff of patrician Brothers Fairfield where the teaching staff further explored ways of improving the literacy of all our students. Teachers participated in workshops and shared their expertise and successes with the goal of further enriching the classroom practices, which have led to such growth in the academic performances of all our students.

On this day the support staff of both schools enjoyed a seminar and workshop on working with the wider community and teamwork. The role of our support staff is such an important one as it is these people who are the face of the school and the engine room that keeps everything running smoothly. I joined this group for quite a while and I must admit was having great fun listening to their stories of the joy that is their work.

Thank you to our Leader of Learning; Professional Learning, Clair- Marie Simpson and Carolyn Yates from Patrician Brothers for their excellent work in planning theteachers workshops with our Colleagues from Sydney Catholic Schools. Thanks also go to my Personal Assistant, Pina Varano for her coordination of the support staff seminars.

A huge thank you goes out to Patrician Brothers’ College Fairfield for their provision of the venue, coffee machine, lunch and camaraderie that helped make the day the success that it was.

We look forward to many more combined experiences such as this as we ensure the best learning for our students.

NAPLAN Preparation

Last week saw our Years 7 and 9 students with their NAPLAN tests and I noticed a real sense of confidence in our girls throughout the process. In the lead up to NAPLAN the College ran several after school workshops (NAPLAN Bootcamp) in preparation and these workshops were very well attended with in some cases students packed into the rooms on the floors. We are very proud of the efforts of our girls in this.

A more detailed account of the success of these workshops can be found on our website: http://www.mmcwakeley.catholic.edu.au/achieve/academic-achievement/naplan/

Funding of Catholic Schools

Below you will find a letter from our Executive Director, Dr Dan White, explaining the discussions that are going on with the Federal government at present. This letter reassures us that Catholic School fees will not rise in the immediate future and that discussions are under way to ensure that we maintain our quality, low cost education for families.

God Bless,

Narelle Archer

Principal