From the Principal

Dear members of the Mary MacKillop Catholic College community,

The first two weeks of this term have been rich in experiences as you can see from this newsletter. The celebrations of learning and attendance, the respectful manner in which the students returned to school motivated and well presented and the excitement of sharing our faith across the world with World Youth Day have been a particular joy to me. We are a community blessed with richness.

This week our Year 12 students are participating in the HSC Trial exams. Teachers and students have been working diligently throughout this year in building confidence and an understanding of the growth in achievement that will come from the experience of the trial exams.

The teachers have voluntarily given of their time each afternoon to the twilight study sessions held in the IMC. I visited last week and saw energized teachers and dedicated students working together to maximize the learning in preparation for these exams. It was a relaxed and very collegial community of learners that I saw. Students were happy to ask questions and share their ideas with each other and teachers were energized by the enthusiasm of the students.

I am very proud of the staff for the partnerships they have built with our Year 12 students and of the students for their willingness to take on challenges.

I wish them all the best for their exams and look forward to further developments in the confidence and dedication that they have been demonstrating throughout the year.

God Bless,

Narelle Archer

Principal

From the Assistant Principal

Due to the movement of our Athletics Carnival to Friday 29^th July, a further reschedule of date has had to take place for the second visit of the Year 7 Vaccinations.   We have secured a new date for this 2^nd visit being Friday 5th August 2016.  As a result of these changes of date, the scheduled 3^rd visit date will also change.  At this stage we have not been advised of when this will be.

At our first assembly this term, I congratulated the 131 students who will receive an award for perfect attendance for Term 2.  However I challenged the rest of the  College community with this question:

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It is with great pleasure that we invite you to this year’s 25th Anniversary celebrations of Mary MacKillop Day on Friday 19th August 2016.  As per tradition, we start the day with a celebration of our faith with a Mass then follow the day with exciting activities promoting student talent.  We then plan to cap off the celebrations with a Carnivale.

9:30am – 11:30am  Mary MacKillop Day Mass and Awards     Ceremony (must be at the College by            9:15am)

12:00pm –  1:30pm        MMCC’s Got Talent

  1:30pm –  8:00pm       25th Anniversary Carnivale

          Food, Drinks, Rides and Information Stalls

To ensure the safety of all community members, as you enter the College you will be asked to sign in at the Front Office and wear a special tag. Parents are invited to spend the whole or part of the day with the community.  Please note that students will not be allowed to leave early unless they have provided a medical reason or an emergency has occurred.     

To ensure we can sufficiently cater and prepare for the day please RSVP your attendance to the 25th Anniversary Mary MacKillop Day festivities.  

Please note there will be NO parking onsite, and we ask that you observe all road and parking rules and respect the local residents’ privacy and property at all times.  

Please get your daughter to return the reply slip below to Student Services by 9:00am Monday 1st August.

The Athletics carnival was a great success.  A big thank you goes to Mr Gray for organising such a great community event. Some excellent performances on the track and field showcasing excellent athletic ability and talent throughout all year groups.  Congratulations to the students who have made it through to the SCC carnival later in the term.

As from Monday August 1st, students will not be allowed on the bus without an OPAL Card. There are also heavy penalties if they travel without a card. NSW Transport is cracking down on this and will be checking students on buses this week.

Can I ask parents to ensure they ask their daughters to have their OPAL card with them at all times.  Not having an OPAL card whilst using a bus service is against the law and carries heavy penalties.

The College does not control OPAL cards or applications for them.  These are handled by the NSW Government. 

Please visit the website below for further information:

https://www.opal.com.au/en/about-opal/opal-for-school-students/

The vast majority of students are always excellently dressed and groomed. However a small minority of students need to be reminded of simple uniform and grooming responsibilities and expectations.

We ask parents to ensure they check that their daughters are in correct uniform and are appropriately groomed on a daily basis. 

If you are unsure of any uniform or grooming policy, check the College diary or contact your daughter’s CLC teacher.

I leave you this week with an inspirational quote from Pope Francis and it relates to how we treat and relate to each other every day at Mary MacKillop Catholic College:

May we continue in our partnership of “Forming young women called to life to make a difference in the world.”

Mr Pablo Grana

Assistant Principal

MASS TIMES

Smithfield:

Saturday Vigil 6.00pm;

8.00 am (Italian); 10.30 am; 6.00pm

Fairfield West:

Saturday Vigil 5pm (Vietnamese); 7 pm (Spanish); 7.30am & 9.00am; 11am (Spanish); 6pm (Arabic)

Smithfield 9.15 am. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday;  6pm Wednesday 

Fairfield West Monday – Friday 7am Saturday 8am

Fr Jarek Zan, Fr Richard Green, Fr Josue Moran

Vigil: 6:00pm Sat   

Sunday 7.30am (Polish) 9.00am 10.30am 4.30pm (Vietnamese) 6pm

Fr Michael de Stoop, Fr Francisco Regala

Saturday Vigil English: 6pm Vietnamese: 7.30pm

Sunday English 8.30am, 10am & 6pm Vietnamese 6.30am, 4pm, 7.15pm Polish11.30am

Monday – Friday 7.00am, Wednesday 7.30pm Saturday 9.00am Vietnamese – Tuesday & Thursday 7pm

Fr Liem Duong, Fr Nen Dang

Monday 7.00am  Tuesday 8.00am Thursday & Friday 8.00am Wednesday 7.00pm Saturday 8.00am

Saturday Vigil 6.00pm Sunday 9:00am

Fr Jerry Prindiville

Monday-Friday:  8.30am Saturday Vigil: 5.30pm Sunday: First Mass 8.30am  

Solemn Mass 10.30am English Mass: 5.30pm

Monday-Friday: 5.30pm Saturday Vigil:    5.30pm Sunday: Solemn Mass 9.00am Arabic Mass: 5.30pm

Saturday English Mass: 5.30pm Sunday Mass: 9.00am

COMING EVENTS

STUDIES OF RELIGION

Preparation for the Trial HSC has been underway for Yr 12 Studies of Religion teachers during Term 2. Studies have had the opportunity to attend after school revision lectures on Jewish Marriage, Jewish Bioethics, Moses Maimonides and Religion in Australia post 1945. We have been blessed to have teachers willing to assist with these sessions and I appreciate the support of Mr Ndaria for presenting on Jewish Bioethics and Mrs Fetterplace for presenting on Religion in Australia post 1945, a presentation Mrs Fetterplace has conducted in many schools throughout NSW and ACT in recent years.

During the last week of Term 2, Year 12 students also attended the SOR Focus Day at Australian Catholic University, organised by Sydney Catholic Schools. On this day students attended 4 lectures of their own choice to support their revision and preparation on topics studied throughout the SOR course. Students attended lectures on Religion & Non-Religion, Christian Baptism, Christian Bioethics, Paul of Tarsus and Aboriginal Spirituality, just to name a few of the options available.

It has been the intent of the Year 12 SOR teaching team to provide students with many opportunities to support their studies and preparation for the Trial HSC and the final HSC examinations. We look forward to seeing the fruits of these efforts.

Recently the Cabramatta PCYC celebrated the contribution Fr Mac has made to the Cabramatta community and his dedication to also supporting the opportunities offered through the Cabramatta PC.

It was a great honour that our students from Cabramatta parish were invited to attend a ceremony to recognise Fr Mac and to witness the renaming of the basketball court at Cabramatta PCYC as the           Fr McAuliffe Basketball Court. For generations to come, all will be able to know the great works of Fr Mac in the local area, especially to basketball and the youth of the region.

I wish to thank all the students who volunteered to attend the day and who too were very moved by this recognition of Fr Mac.

The MMCC WYD students have arrived safely in europe, having left our shores early Sunday 17th July. They have spent the past week in Italy, visiting visiting Rome, Vatican City, Siena, Assisi and Florence. Our WYD pilgrims are now in Poland participating in WYD events, that include catechesis, prayer, reconciliation, Mass and entertainment from prominent Catholic musicians. WYD will conclude with a night of prayer at the evening vigil and the Papal Mass the next day. We continue to pray for our pilgrims. May God be ever present with them and keep them safe on their journey.

At the beginning of September, Sydney Catholic Schools will celebrate Life Week. This focuses on the sacredness of life and the dignity of the human person. This years theme focus on every Catholic answering the call to be Christ’s light to others, exemplified through the life of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a champion of the poor and a defender of society’s most vulnerable, answering the call to bring Christ to all as she helped all created in God’s image, valuing life and the dignity of all.

Students are invited to take part in Life Week by competing in the “Come, be my light” competition and have the chance to win an ipad mini. Students are asked to submit a project in the form of an editorial, magazine article, report, essay, book, play script or poster that calls Christians to “Come, be my light” and brings to life the teachings of Blessed Mother Teresa.

Quotes for Year 7 to 10 entrants

“God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be his love and His compassion to the poor” Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work” Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Quote for Year 11 & 12 entrants

“Life is the most beautiful gift of God, therefore people and nations who destroy life by abortion and euthanasia are the poorest. No human hand should be raised to kill life, since life is God’s life in us.”

For further details please refer to the information emailed to all students by Mrs Flanagan. Students making submissions, must do so to Mrs Flanagan by recess Friday 12th September, so entries can be submitted on time to Sydney Catholic Schools.

Mrs Flanagan

Leader of Learning – Catholic Life & Religious Education

SCIENCE UPDATES

The Education Perfect World Science Championships will take place from the 15 – 22 August. This is a FREE online competition and students who participate will be eligible to win a grand prize to join the Space Camp at NASA, in the United States in January next year. 

All Newman students from year 7 to 10 and Year 11 science students have been enrolled for this competition and it is optional for students to participate in this competition.

These students will receive an email from Education Perfect to participate in this online competition. All students have to do is to reply to this email, and then start to answer as many Science questions, from very easy to very hard in the week of 15- 22 August.

Students will get different levels of certificates according to how many science questions they have answered correctly. These is an enrichment science activity as students can also go through different levels of science tutorials online for harder questions if they cannot answer the question correctly the first time. 

This year 14 of our brightest Year 11 students in science will be attempting the Olympiad Qualifying Exams at school. This very rigorous exam will give them a chance to enter the State Olympiad Training in January of 2017.

The students entering the Chemistry Olympiad Qualifying Exam on the 4 August are: Cattleya Mai, Lana Balqa and Tiffanii Tran

Those who are sitting for the Biology Olympiad Qualifying exams on 8 Aug are: Lana, Olivia, Carmel, Rose Amanouil, Cindy Nguyen, Diana Al Tawel and Tanisha Balgos 

Those sitting for the Physics Olympiad Qualifying exams on the 10 Aug are: Cynthia Trang, Cattleya Mai, Jenny Nguyen and Tiffanii Tran

Good luck to these students.

Mrs Mathieu

Coordinator of Learning – Science

SYDNEY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS PRIVACY POLICY

Parents and guardians are reminded that, from time to time, we are required to provide student details and background data provided through the school Enrolment form to government agencies. 

This is particularly important to note at Census time and for both the August Special Circumstances applications to be submitted to the Australian Government Department of Education and Training and student background data provided to the Australian Curriculum & Reporting Authority (ACARA) post August census. 

Parents and guardians are able to access the SCS Privacy Policy – Standard Collection Notice on the SCS public website through this link. 

http://www.ceosyd.catholic.edu.au/About/Documents/privacy-collection-notice-standard.pdf

BOOK WEEK EVENT

CARNIVALE