From the Assistant Principal
Welcome to our New Year 7s
A big Mary MacKillop Catholic College welcome to our new Year 7 students who got an opportunity to spend their first day on their own, enjoying and getting to know their new school, before the rest of the school came back to start the year. Our College community is very happy to welcome you in and hope the next six years are full of life long learning as you journey into becoming “young women called to life to make a difference in the world”.
Year 7 and New Parents of Year 8-12 2019 Making Connections – Welcome Evening
Tuesday 19th February 6.30pm – 8.00pm
At Mary MacKillop Catholic College we value communication by forming effective and genuine partnerships between parents, College staff and your daughters.
As per the paperwork provided to you last year, The ‘Making Connections’ evening will commence at 6:30pm on Tuesday 19th February with a brief welcome in the hall including a parent training session with our Compass Information System, followed by a “Meet the Teacher” small group session with Connected Learning Circle (CLC) teachers in CLC classrooms. Here, your daughter will introduce her parents to her CLC teacher. You will be provided with important information about the upcoming camp, College procedures and tips on how you can support your daughter at home in this educational partnership. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions. The evening will conclude at 8.00pm.
An Arabic and Vietnamese Community Liaison Officer will be available, if you have any questions for them.
As such, parent and student attendance on this evening is required and is an integral part of your daughter’s transition into secondary school. We see this as vital in setting a solid foundation in establishing a learning partnership with you. We also ask that your daughter attends in her full summer uniform for the evening and brings her College Diary.
Important Reminders to Begin the Year
Our whole College community began the year with time for administration and learning. The time for administration, ensured all students were presented with, and hence aware of, four very important aspects of their expectations before they started their classes. The four presentations were centred around:
- Attendance: Ensuring all students are clear on the expectations of attendance for academic success.
- Learning Management: All students were reminded of their rights and responsibilities of being a member of the Mary MacKillop Catholic College Community.
- Uniform: All students were given clear guidelines regarding grooming, jewellery and expectations with their sports uniform.
- Diary: Ensuring all students have an understanding of the importance of the diary being the central form of communication and organisation between school and home.
A huge thank you to the CLC teachers who have worked very closely with your daughters in ensuring they began the year well informed and ready for learning.
Ensure you have Compass installed on your mobile device
Don’t forget to ensure you are accessing Compass regularly to update absences for your daughter, access reports and receive messages from the school. Here are some helpful links below:
- The app store: gl/9FHGg6
- Google play: gl/iSmC64
- Browser: https://mmcwakeley-nsw.compass.education/
College Diary Enhancements
Your daughter’s diary has been improved once again. All enhancements were the product of student feedback.
The daily organisation page has been updated to student specifications and allows students to have a list of asks to complete for the week.
As always, parents are asked to check their daughter’s diary each week and sign in two places, both the weekly page and Commendations and Matters of Concern page, located in the communications section (as seen below):
Commendations and Matters of Concern
The College is committed to communicating with parents on a constant basis. Parents have faster access to information on how your daughters are progressing on a week-by-week basis. Teachers will be giving students Commendations or Matters of Concern and recording these at the back of the diary (Communications TAB) at the back of the diary. Parents are required to sign this page on a weekly basis.
Commendations: Students can earn a commendation at any time, both in and out of class, based on the listed criteria. Once your daughter has reached six (6) commendations, she will receive a merit card from her CLC Teacher. These merit cards form part of our overall merit system (please refer to the diary for more information).
Matters of Concern: Students can receive these at any time, in and out of class and indicate that a change of behaviour or attitude are required. When students receive 5 matters of concern, a phone call will be made to the parent by the CoL (Year) or CoL (KLA) to alert you of the fact that if they receive any further matters of concern will result in a Thursday Afternoon RAP detention.
6 Commendations = 1 Merit Card
6 Matters of Concern = Thursday Afternoon RAP – 3:00pm – 3:50pm
Mobile Phone Policy Update
After careful review of our updated 2018 mobile phone policy, we have made one further amendment to ensure continued safety for students in regards to mobile phones during the school day. We also remind parents and students that the purpose of this policy is to promote appropriate and safe use of mobile phones within College grounds and encourage interaction and communication without distractions.
The amendment (addition) is as follows:
- The use of a Smart Watch for messaging, calling, taking video or images, also constitutes the use of a mobile phone and will be confiscated immediately.
While it is OK to wear a smart watch and use its timing and other functions, when it is used as a supplement to a mobile phone, this is where the policy is enacted. We remind parents/carers to have a conversation with their daughters regarding appropriate use of mobile technology particularly ensuring that it is safe and responsible.
College Dress Code
The students began the year in a tremendous way when it comes to their uniform and grooming. We thank parents for their support in ensuring that your daughters started the year excellently dressed and groomed, respecting the College’s high expectations. To continue our commitment to high standards in presentation, a reminder of the dress code related to jumpers:
- The College Jumper cannot be worn during Terms 1 and 4. If the weather is cool, students wear the College Blazer.
I thank you for your continued support of our College uniform and grooming policies.
Traffic Safety in and Around the College
Each year it is crucial that we remind all parents regarding traffic safety in and around the College. As a result please read below some very important reminders regarding traffic safety to ensure your daughter and all members of our community are kept safe:
Speed Limit – A reminder that during the times listed on the school zone signs, 40km/h speed limits apply. We ask all parents to ensure you are vigilant with your speed and stick to the speed limit within our school zone all times.
Safe drop off – Please observe the road and parking rules to ensure you are dropping off or picking up your daughter in the correctly marked zones. Parents are not permitted to park or stop at any time in a No Stopping Zone. Particularly in Carnarvon Street as this blocks buses from entering of an afternoon preventing our students from getting home at a reasonable time.
Pickup and Drop Off Zones – A reminder that these zones can only be used for a quick pick up or drop off only. The following applies:
- maximum stop time is two (2) minutes
- driver must remain in or within a vehicle
- vehicle must not be left unattended
- zone applies only during hours of operation
Morning Drop Off inside the College – We ask parents to move their car to the furthest point of the drop off zone to ensure as many cars as possible can come into the College ensuring traffic flow is not stopped or interrupted. When parents park their cars nearest the gates this causes traffic jams on Hamilton and Bulls roads. Please also check your mirrors when leaving to prevent any collisions and stick to the 10km/h speed limit within College grounds.
Police and Council Rangers regularly patrol the area around our College. Please ensure you observe all road and parking rules. These reminders are in place to ensure the safety of all members of our College community. We thank all parents for your continued support and care of our students. Please contact the College if you have any questions or concerns.
College Photo Day – Wednesday 20th February
By now you would have received the photo ordering envelopes for our upcoming College Photo Day on Wednesday 20th February 2019. We take this opportunity to remind parents to ensure that your daughters adhere to our daily uniform and grooming expectations. We ask that you take note of the following specific reminders:
- makeup of any kind is not allowed (including eyeliner, eye-shadow, mascara, foundation)
- necklaces – Christian cross, inside their blouse
- other than a simple pair of studs or sleepers (Gold or Silver), one per ear in the lower lobe, there is to be no other jewellery present
- Hair tied back for all hair below shoulder length (i.e. a ponytail or similar. NOT to the side, no bows/flowers or clips). Students with incorrect hair (balayage, ombre or other banned hairstyles or cuts) will not be allowed to take their photo.
- Simple elastics in College colours
- Blouse pockets must be empty
- Year 12 students must bring their blazers with them for the Year 12 group photo.
If your daughter is not following the above regulations (which are the daily expectations of any student), then we will not allow the photo to be taken.
Students are reminded to bring their envelope with correct money (no change given on the day), or payment must have been made via electronic funds transfer/credit card before the day. We take this opportunity to thank you for your support in ensuring your daughter is ready for photo day.
Parent Evening – Dr Wayne Warburton – Screen Overuse
We have a great opportunity for parents/carers to hear from an expert in Screen Overuse/Addiction in Children and Teens. This information evening is being held on 25th February between 6:30pm and 7:30pm at Patrician Brothers College, Fairfield. Please refer to the handout within this newsletter for more information regarding this very important opportunity.
It is open to all parents of students at Sydney Catholic Schools. To Register Please send an email to andrew.maher@syd.catholic.edu.au by 21/02/2019 with the number of guests attending.
Important Note: This is a presentation for Parents only, not suitable for students to attend.
I wish all students a great start to 2019.
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
