In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-5,9-14

As Catholics, we celebrate the joy of Christmas. Christmas is a time for hope with the birth of Jesus, the Word made flesh. It is a time for peace, a time for love and a time for family. My hope is that our students appreciate the season and spend some special time with their families.

 

End of Year

We ended the year with a number of significant events:

• Year 12 completed the year with their Formal at Dockside in Cockle Bay and a HSC lunch on Thursday 15 December. Congratulations to Year 12 on the completion of their schooling and their HSC results and ATARs. We thank them for their community spirit, commitment to the College and dedication to their studies. We wish them a joyful and successful future.
• With the a renewed focus on celebrating success, on Wednesday 7 December we held our Awards Evening which focused on achievement over the entire year and we held Awards Assemblies which focused on achievement for Semester 2. We congratulate our students who received awards for First Place (Year 11 only), Principal’s Honour Roll, Academic Excellence, Special Awards, and for Academic Achievement and Academic Application in each subject. A list of awardees is included in this newsletter.
• Year 7 to 10 students enjoyed a great day out at Aquatopia and marked the end of the year with a Christmas Mass focused on the coming of Christ, gratitude for the year and generosity for those less fortunate. Thank you to the parents that sent items for the Vinnies Christmas Hampers. The girls that attended on the last day enjoyed a Christmas singalong with the highlight being our staff performing Mariah Carey’s, All I Want For Christmas is You.

Thank you to the many staff who made these events possible, especially Mrs Harding, Mrs Flanagan, Mrs Lowe, Mr Andrejev, Mrs Toohey, Miss Krasic, Mr Carosi, Mr Zammit, Mr Moore, Mrs Labbozzetta, Miss Phetrasi, Miss Coluccio, Mrs Gerardis and Mrs Varano.

 

HSC 2022

Congratulations to our Class of 2022 who received their HSC results on Thursday 15 December. We are very proud of the students for their outstanding performance both throughout their school life and in their HSC Examinations.

Here are some of the highlights for our 2022 HSC Results:

Dux of College 2022  Emily Cao ATAR 98.90

10% of students achieved an ATAR > 90 2 students on All Round Achievers List – Emily Cao and Lauren Alzamora 3 students on Top Achievers List: 1st in State for Studies of Religion I – Suzi Coates 4th in State for Community and Family Studies – Emily Cao 4th in State for Arabic Extension – Amjad Nafea 5th in State for Mathematics Standard 2 – Lauren Alzamora 3 students 1st in Archdiocese of Sydney: for Community and Family Studies – Emily Cao for English EAL/D – Maryam Alnaqar for Studies of Religion I – Suzi Coates

RANK School Rank in State = 134 Highest ranking school in the local area (Daily Telegraph: Prairiewood HS = 168, Cerdon College = 221, Fairvale HS = 364, Westfield Sports HS = 442, Fairfield HS = 482, St Narsai Assyrian Christian College = 482) School Rank in Archdiocese of Sydney = 14

62 Distinguished Achievers Nominated for ENCORE – Joanna Ghossain – HSC Music 1 Nominated for SHAPE – Janeleena Inthavong – HSC Design and Technology

78% of Courses above State average Course Name = Number above State average Physics = 15.85 Chemistry = 7.64 English Studies Examination = 7.56 Music 1 = 6.95 English EAL/D = 6.27 Mathematics Extension 2 = 6.17 Society and Culture = 6.04 History Extension = 5.93 Biology = 5.48 Studies of Religion I = 4.58 Personal Development, Health and Physical Education = 4.40 Legal Studies = 4.26 Mathematics Extension 1 = 4.21 English Standard = 3.79 English Extension 1 = 3.21 Hospitality Examination (Kitchen Operations) = 2.44 Community and Family Studies = 2.25 English Advanced = 1.98 French Beginners = 1.88 Ancient History = 1.53 Studies of Religion II = 1.10 Modern History = 1.01 Retail Services Examination = 0.35 Mathematics Advanced = 0.34

 

You might enjoy this article on our HSC performance printed by the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday 17 December – Schools that punch above their weight in HSC results

 

Year 7-10 Principal’s Academic Honour Roll

It was my privilege to introduce a new, highly prestigious award for students in Years 7 to 10. The award places the student on the Principal’s Honour Roll and is bestowed on the highest performing students in Years 7 to 10.

The following students received their award on Wednesday 7 December:

Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10
Lana George	Amanda Dawoud	Jacinta Bui	Sarah Kamy
Johanna Johnson	Alanah Kwok	Cassie Chen	Sarah Lee
Rosemarry Tong	Min Tseng	Angelina Isaac	Selina Lim
Mary Tran	Margret Zheng	Angelina Pham	Melanie Ngin
		Nardeen Rafoka	Veronica Sako
		Sophie Tran	Mirna Tawadros
			Melanie Wu

 

 

SCS Champions

Congratulations to our Junior Volleyball team and their coach, Mr Khem, who firstly were the winners of SCS Conference 4 and then beat the other conference winners to be outright champions. Our students received their trophy and gold medals immediately following the finals on Tuesday 6 December.

Junior Volleyball Team with Mr Khem

 

Congratulations also to our Intermediate Volleyball team and their coach, Mrs Jeffrey, who were the winners of SCS Conference 4. They competed hard at the SCS Championships but unfortunately were beaten by the SCS Conference 3 winners.

Our students received bronze medals immediately following the finals on Tuesday 6 December.

Intermediate Volleyball Team with Mrs Jeffrey

 

 

Homerooms 2023

In 2023, we will change our homerooms from vertical in Years 7-10 and horizontal in Years 11 and 12 to fully vertical, that is, all homerooms will have students from Years 7 to 12. Students will remain in their House, however, their Homeroom will change.

The decision to change the structure was made in consultation with staff, parents and students. The main reason for moving in this direction is to build a sense of community and belonging that students felt was lost due to the disconnection that occurred when Year 7-10 students were separated from Year 11 and 12 students.

Staff Farewells

We farewell and thank members of both our teaching and support staff who are leaving this year:

• Our Teachers: Mrs Lowe, Mr Rooney, Mrs Pedavoli, Mr Hennessy, Mrs Cox, Miss O’Regan, Ms L’Aiguille, Mr Viana, Mrs Governatori,  Mrs Floyd, Mr Kumar, Miss Valdivia
• Our ILS Teachers – Mrs Mezher, Mr Rainert, Miss Tran
• Our Support Staff: Mrs Carbone, Miss Berqodian, Mrs Dzierzak, Miss Chirenian, Miss Keo, Miss Sleiman, Miss Truong, Miss Tran

Some will be taking up positions closer to home, others have secured permanent contracts and others are pursuing careers outside of the field of education. We wish them well.

A huge thank you to staff who we also farewell and who have been instrumental in shaping our College during many wonderful years of service:

Mr James Rooney	Mrs Maria Pedavoli	Mr Robert Hennessy	Mrs Carol Cox
26 Years	24 Years	23 Years	20 Years

Extending Mathematics Expertise and Excellence

The Mathematics teachers at Mary MacKillop have been engaged in the Extending Mathematics Expertise and Excellence (EME&E) Program for 2 years. The program is designed to effect change to teaching and learning in the Mathematics classroom. Congratulations to three of our teachers, Mr Moore (Instructional Specialist), Mr O’Brien (Coordinator of Learning – Mathematics) and Mrs Orlando (Mathematics Teacher / Coordinator of Learning – Year) who have been recognised as Highly Accomplished in the EME&E Program.  

In addition, Mr Moore and Mr O’Brien were invited to speak at the UNSW Mathematics Conference about what our Mathematics teachers have been doing. Dr Christine Mae (SCS Specialist: Mathematics and Numeracy K-12) acknowledged their work and their presentation, “Congratulations on the practice and knowledge that you have developed in Mathematics teaching in your schools and for the powerful ways in which you were able to communicate what you do to a wider audience at the UNSW Mathematics conference. It is exciting to see leaders of Mathematics in SCS presenting ideas and examples of practice that can inspire others and shift beliefs and actions in mathematics classrooms through high expectations for all students”.

 

Meg Languages

In 2023, we will trial a new platform for delivering languages in Year 8 called Meg Languages. Meg Languages (meglanguages.com) offers Mandarin and Spanish language programs for all year levels from primary to secondary school. Our Year 7 students were surveyed and Spanish was overwhelmingly their preference.

Students will learn their compulsory Stage 4 language in an online live and interactive form from a bilingual native Spanish speaking teacher. The Spanish teacher will lead the lessons with the support of a Mary MacKillop teacher. We hope this model will give students exposure to a wider range of languages.

 

Thank you

Thank you to our parents/carers, teacher and students for a successful year at Mary MacKillop. Without your trust, commitment and kindness we could not have such an amazing school. Best wishes to all members of our community for a joyous Christmas and a wonderful new year. I wish the best for all those who are leaving us this year and look forward to seeing most of you again in 2023.

Gilda Pussich
Principal

 

Mary MacKillop Catholic College, in keeping with the spirit and rich vision of the Sisters of St Joseph,
acknowledges the living culture of the Cabrogal-Gandangarran people,
the traditional custodians of this land on which this college stands.
Respect is also paid to the Elders both present and past of the Darug nation.