On the Feast of the Annunciation, 25th March, Pope Francis prayed to Mary for a path to peace. Below is an excerpt from the Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to Our Lady:

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross,
Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26).
In this way he entrusted each of us to you.
To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27).
Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history.
At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and,
through you, to consecrate itself to Christ.
The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.
Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate
ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.
Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love.
Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.
The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace.
We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more.
To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family,
the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Amadeus Music Education Program

The Amadeus Music Education Program is an initiative of Sydney Catholic Schools which provides equity of access to music education for all students. SCS has developed this program because a large body of research indicates that music education influences language development, executive function, social and emotional development.

MMCC commenced the Amadeus Music Education Program this year. The program offers small group instrumental tuition and instrumental ensemble lessons to students in Years 7-8. Through this program the students are issued with either a String instrument (Violin, Viola or Cello) or a Concert Band instrument (Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax, Trumpet, Trombone, Baritone or Tuba) which then learn to play at school. 

Year 7 students have been issued with their instruments and are enjoying learning their instrument from their MMCC Music Teachers and recently employed Music Tutors.

Enrolling Now

Sydney Catholic Schools have moved to an online enrolment process. Applications for Year 7 2024 close on Friday 8 April 2022. Please inform students in Year 5 who you know intend to enrol at Mary MacKillop of this deadline. Limited places are available for enrolment into Year 7 2023.

Please contact our Enrolment Officer, Rosemary Gerardis by email rosemary.gerardis@syd.catholic.edu.au or phone 9725 4322 for information.

Parent Advisory Group Meeting

The Parent Advisory Group met on Tuesday 15 March via Zoom. We shared information about our 2022 Annual Improvement Plan, 2021 HSC results, changes to the College Diary, Assessment Calendars, the bathroom upgrade, COVID update and the 2022 Theme – United in Faith and Learning. We discussed some issues regarding Lockers and College Caps.

Thank you to the parents who attended: Meagan O’Grady (mother of Hannah, Year 9), Mrs Magy Silva-Giuliano (mother of Sara, Year 11), Mr Abdullah Naqqar and Mrs Maryam Eeshoo (parents of .Farah Naqqar, Year 7). Thank you also to Mrs Harding for her input.

Open Day

Holding Open Day in the afternoon was a great success with lots of interest in our College. Thank you to our student tour guides, student helpers, teachers, support staff and the College Leadership Team for their contribution to the event. A special thank you to Mrs Harding for her overall leadership of the day. Please enjoy some photos of Open Day included in this newsletter.

As we end the term, I thank the community for the positive contribution made towards the success of the College. I wish the staff and students a restful, safe and enjoyable break and look forward to Term 2.