From the Principal – Ms Pussich

Last week marked the start of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, Fr Peter held a liturgy for each year group where they received the ashes. The Ash Wednesday Gospel reading focused us on the three aspects of Lenten Penance as expressed in Chapter 6 of the Gospel of Matthew – Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting:

Concerning Almsgiving

“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Concerning Prayer

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Concerning Fasting

“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Fr Peter encouraged us to get rid of those things in our lives that distract us from God, rather he suggested that we find opportunities, especially in the season of Lent, to fast, give and pray. He provided the students and staff with some simple ways to do this which connected the three aspects of Lenten Penance. For example, if we enjoy chocolate, we can fast from it during Lent, give to Project Compassion what we would have spent and pray for those who struggle to get a meal, OR if we enjoy a daily takeaway coffee, we can fast from it during Lent, give to Project Compassion what we would have spent and pray for those who struggle to get a fresh water to drink.

Welcome

At the start of the school year, we welcomed Year 7, and few students from other groups, to Mary MacKillop Catholic College.

Year 7 seemed to have started their secondary schooling well. Their first day at MMCC, focused on them as they were the only students at school. They spent some quality induction time with their homeroom teachers and their homeroom student leader. They also met with their Year Coordinators, the Assistant Principal and me. As part of the Year 7 student welcome and induction, a special ceremony was held during our Opening Mass, a welcome evening was held for them and their parents, they attended a computer bootcamp and last week they attended their 3-day camp “Building Supportive Connections” at The Tops Conference Centre.

Staff 2020

We welcome new staff to MMCC:

• Anthony Moore – Leader of Teaching and Learning (Acting)
• Elaine Hornas – Coordinator of Learning: Science
• Belinda Malakovski – Coordinator of Learning: PDHPE
• Monica Herrera – Coordinator of Learning: Mathematics (Interim)
• Nicholas Carosi – Sports Coordinator (PDHPE/Mathematics Teacher)
• Dominic Fricot – House / Assistant Year Coordinator (PDHPE Teacher)
• Tiana Krasic – Visual Arts Teacher
• Joseph Zia – RE/HSIE Teacher
• Saly Zora – Science/EALD Teacher
• Daniel Sciberras – Science Teacher
• Anthony Shewan – HSIE/Music Teacher
• Maria Mezher – HSIE Teacher
• Christina Donnelly – TAS Teacher
• Ross Patterson – Maintenance/Groundsperson
• Cathy Cerovac – Teachers’ Aide
• Mary Ann Nesnas – Teachers’ Aide
• Fate Al-Faris – Teachers’ Aide

Communication Channels

Communication between home and school is vital for the success of our students. Parents are encouraged to contact their daughter’s homeroom teacher or subject teacher if they would like to discuss matters to do with their wellbeing or learning. I have included the list of 2020 Positions of Responsibility to assist you in locating the best person to assist you with your enquiries:

Leaders of Learning (College Leadership Team)

Coordinators of Learning (College Middle Leaders)

Assistant Coordinators of Learning

House Coordinators

Other Positions of Responsibility

Office/Support Staff:

Primary School Visits

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting four of our feeder primary schools: St Gertrudes Smithfield, Our Lady of the Rosary Fairfield, Sacred Heart Cabramatta and Sacred Heart Villawood. It was wonderful to meet the Principals, teachers and Year 4, 5 and 6 students and share with them the wonderful learning opportunities that MMCC has to offer. I was accompanied by ex-Students of the primary schools who are now students of MMCC. Thank you:

• Pamela Madoro Year 11
• Cecilia Le Year 11
• Ester Ghossian Year 11
• Emma Bonora Year 11
• Joanna Ghossian Year 10
• Mia Kassardjian Year 8
• Savrine Hakim year 8
• Kaitlin Ha Year 8
• Christine Doan Year 8
• Rachel Jacob Year 8

Open Day

We are currently enrolling for both 2021 and 2022. Enrolment packages were distributed during the Primary School Visits and can also be accessed by contacting MMCC or visiting on Open Day.

Open Day will be held on Wednesday, 11 March 9.30am to 12.30pm. The day is an opportunity for parents and prospective students to see the College in Action. The day will include school tours with classroom visits and an information session with speeches from students, a parent and the principal. We hope you can attend.

Parent Advisory Group

The first meeting of the Parent Advisory Group will be held at 6pm on Wednesday 18 March in the College Boardroom. We hold one meeting per term and parents who attend get the opportunity to hear about the latest happenings in the College and provide valuable input and feedback. We welcome existing and new members to join us.

MMCC Open Day 2020

From the Assistant Principal – Mr Grana

Welcome to our New Year 7’s

A big Mary MacKillop Catholic College Welcome to our new Year 7 students who had the special opportunity to spend their first day on their own before the rest of the school came back to start the year. Our College community is very happy to welcome you and we hope the next six years are full of life long learning.

Our New Year 7’s had an opportunity to meet with Ms Pussich and I who went through an intensive induction session that covered topics such as:

• Catholic Life
• Respect
• Receiving Communion
• Learning Culture
• Bullying
• Kindness
• College Diary
• Classroom behaviour
• Acceptable use of ICT Devices
• Attendance
• Uniform and Grooming
• Being Inclusive

Important Reminders to Begin the Year

Our whole College community began the year with an Administration based day ensuring students were presented with very important aspects of their expectations before they started their classes. The presentations were centred around:

• Learning Management: All students were reminded of their rights and responsibilities of being a member of the Mary MacKillop Catholic College Learning Community.
• Attendance: Ensuring all students are clear on the expectations of attendance for academic success.
• Diary: Clear understanding of the importance of the diary being the central form of communication and organisation between school and home.
• Uniform: Clear guidelines regarding grooming, jewellery and expectations for their school and sports uniform.

A huge thank you to the Homeroom Teachers who have worked very closely with your daughters in ensuring they began the year well informed and ready for learning.

Swimming Carnival – Postponed until Monday 9th March

Due to inclement weather conditions, a decision was made to postpone the College Swimming Carnival. As a result, the carnival will now be held on Monday 9th March, 2020. 

The College Swimming Carnival is a normal school day and attendance is compulsory. Students will be taken to and from the venue via bus, and no student is permitted to be dropped off or picked up from the venue. In the event that a student is required to leave early due to medical reasons, they should have already returned an explanation note to their Homeroom Teacher.

All students will participate in a variety of pool and land events within their year group.  These activities will cater for all levels of swimming. The details of the event are:

• Venue: Prairiewood Leisure Centre (Prairie Vale Rd & Moonlight Road, Prairiewood) 
• Date: Monday 9th March, 2020
• Transportation: Students will be transported to and from the venue via bus
• Assembly Point: Mary MacKillop Catholic College
• Assembly Time: 8.30am
• Return Point: Mary MacKillop Catholic College
• Return Time: 3.05pm
• Dress Requirements:   Full College sports uniform and swimming equipment, sunscreen and hat
• Food: Students should bring their own food for the day

Compass App

Compass is our Student Information System where parents can communicate and receive communication from the College. Compass can be accessed on your mobile phone or computer. It is essential that every parent has access and keeps their password private.

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:

1. The app store: gl/9FHGg6
2. Google play: gl/iSmC64
3. Browser: https://mmcwakeley-nsw.compass.education/

College Diary Enhancements and the Merit System

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 tasks to complete over the weekend.

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 which is 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 Homeroom 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 Reminder

To ensure continued safety for students in regards to mobile phones during the school day, we 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. Below are the highlights of the policy:

• All mobile phones are to be out of sight (in the school bag or locker), switched off or on silent as soon as the student enters the College front doors of a morning.  
• Mobile phones can only be used on College grounds once students have been dismissed out of their classroom by their teacher after the end-of–school-day bell rings.  
• If a mobile phone is sighted on school grounds from the moment the student walks into the College front doors, for any reason, they will have it confiscated immediately by staff. 
• Refusal to give a confiscated phone to a teacher will automatically result in a Thursday Afternoon RAP detention.
• Continued abuse of this policy or ICT policy can result in further consequences.
• The school accepts no responsibility for replacing mobile phones that are lost, stolen or damaged whilst on school premises.
• If students require to contact their parents/carers they are to go to student services and request to use a phone.
• If parents/carers require to contact their daughters they are to call the College reception on 9725-4322 and a message will be passed on to their daughter.

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.

College Photo Day – Friday 27th March 2020

By now you would have received the photo ordering envelopes for our upcoming College Photo Day on Friday 27th March 2020.  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 – only Christian cross, inside their blouse may be worn
• 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.

More information has been provided through Compass by Mr Thomas.

Traffic Safety Information

MMCC Excursion to France

On 1st January 2020, twelve students studying French, Visual Arts, History and/or Extension English, along with Mr Thomas and Ms Pavisic, said goodbye to our families and departed for a two week excursion to France, unaware of the journey that laid ahead of us.

From the moment the trip began, we were able to experience the eye-opening French culture, which left us amazed and brought us closer together as a group. We travelled our way through the various regions of France; posing graciously at La Tour Eiffel, staring in awe at the beauty of La Sainte-Chapelle and exploring the beautiful streets (and shops!) of Avignon to name a few highlights. Mr Thomas and Ms Pavisic encouraged us to step outside of our comfort zones by attempting to converse in French with the locals, along with exposing us to traditional French delicacies, ranging from the world’s most delectable bread to frogs’ legs (les cuisses de grenouille) and snails (les escargots)!

Each day was a new adventure and a new opportunity to discover the beautiful architectural views and what France had to offer us. Everyday was a new learning experience that allowed us to broaden our experiences and knowledge about the French culture and language. To say this was an experience of a lifetime is definitely an understatement. This excursion taught us many valuable lessons (including how to use a cheese shaker) that we would never be able to learn inside the classroom, and allowed us to create unforgettable memories that will last a lifetime.

On behalf of all the girls on the trip, I would like to once again sincerely thank Mr Thomas and Ms Pavisic for providing us with the opportunity to experience the beauty of France! 

Diane Tran & Fiona Nguyen

2019 Religious Education Test

Exceptional Results Achieved in the  2019 Religious Education Test

On Wednesday 16 October 2019, schools throughout the Archdiocese of Sydney, as well as dioceses throughout NSW, participated in the annual Religious Education Test. Each year, students from Year 8 and Year 10 participate in this test. In 2019, two students from our Newman Selective Gifted Education Program had exceptional results which we are extremely proud to report.

Congratulations to Emily Cao (currently in Year 9) who placed 1st in the Archdiocese of Sydney and Suzi Coates (currently in Year 9) who placed equal 3rd.

                   Emily Cao                                               Suzi Coates

These are fantastic results for these two students and we would like to recognise them on their exceptional achievement. 

Leah Brown Newman Coordinator of Learning       Jacqueline Genovese Leader of Teaching and Learning

College Photo Day

Patrician Brothers’ College Fairfield Open Day

2020 Lenten Penance

Mass Times

Coming Events