From the Principal – Ms Pussich

All Saints Day

On All Saints Day, 1st November, we pray the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-10). Jesus teaches us that if we live according to the Beatitudes, then we will live a blessed and happy Christian life.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean in heart,
for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

All Souls Day

On All Souls Day, 2nd November, we pray for those dear to us who are no longer with us.

At Mary MacKillop College, we keep the departed family members of our students and staff in our prayers.

We also pray for MMCC staff members recently deceased, Fr Patrick (Mac) McAuliffe and Mrs Teena Mayer.

We pray that the souls of all the faithful departed be forever in God’s care and may they rest in peace.

Fr Patrick (Mac) McAuliffe (24 October 1930 – 24 April 2020)

Fr Mac served as Parish Priest for over 40 years at Sacred Heart, Cabramatta and was loved by both parishioners and the citizens of Cabramatta. It was wonderful to read a tribute to Fr Mac in the Fairfield Champion, that included the naming of the indoor basketball court at Fairfield-Cabramatta PCYC and a plaque being placed on a bench at Cabravale Memorial Park in his honour.

https://www.fairfieldchampion.com.au/story/7478777/no-worries-in-cabramatta-council-unveils-father-mac-tribute/

At Mary MacKillop Catholic College, Fr Mac will always be remembered as our unofficial chaplain. He was inspirational in the founding of the school 30 years ago. From our College’s beginning, Fr Mac answered the call by Bishop Gilroy to minister to us. He regularly visited us, providing us with opportunities for Reconciliation and Mass, inspiring Religious Education classes and speaking with the “Young Ladies” about their aspirations for the future. He always reminded our students and staff that God is always beside them and if they ever needed anything, to call on God. He always enjoyed sharing a yarn and had a wicked sense of humour. As a tribute to Fr Mac, we have named our College Hall after him.

COVID Safe Return to School

It was wonderful to have Year 12 students return in Week 3 and Year 11 (AKA Year 12 2022) students in Week 4. We look forward to the return of Years 7-10 and CIEC students on Monday 1 November.

To support the safe return of our students we will provide them with a MMCC mask, only have fully vaccinated staff onsite, have staff wear masks indoors, provide enhanced cleaning (e.g. toilets, high-touch areas and other hard surfaces, door handles, lockers, light switches and handrails), keep the uniform shop and canteen closed and limit parent and visitor access; only have parents drop off in the tear drop and pick up outside the school.

It is vital that no one attends school if they have COVID-19 symptoms (fever, headache, cough, sore/scratchy throat, difficulty breathing, runny nose, fatigue, loss of taste or sense of smell), however mild, rather they should get tested, self-isolate, inform the school of the result and only return following a negative result or medical clearance.

Please support us by contacting the College immediately if your daughter tests positive for COVID-19 or is deemed a Close Contact.

Unfortunately coronavirus is still in NSW and so the challenge for all schools is to take a safe and measured response. Please follow the NSW Government advice for schools:

• If your daughter tests Positive for COVID-19, she can return to school once she has completed her isolation, has been medically cleared and has been provided with a medical clearance notice by a medical practitioner or a registered nurse. Your daughter should only return to onsite learning if she is well and not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.
• If your daughter is deemed a Casual Contact, she can return to school when she leaves isolation after receiving her first negative COVID-19 test. All casual contacts need to follow the NSW Health advice, attend for a day 6 test and only return to school if well.
• If your daughter is deemed a Close Contact and:
  • is fully vaccinated and has returned a negative day 6 test, she will generally be able to return to onsite learning after leaving isolation after day 7. She will need to show proof of vaccination upon her return to school. Your daughter will still be required to test on day 12 and should continue to monitor for symptoms during this time and only return to school if well.
  • is unvaccinated, she can return to school after she has received a negative day 12 test result and finished her full isolation period.
• I encourage all students to get vaccinated: Years 12-15 Vaccination venues link Years 16+ Vaccination venues link

Parent Advisory Group Meeting

Our Term 4 Parent Advisory Group Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 9 November commencing at 6pm. We welcome back our regular committee members and invite new members to join. Due to COVID restrictions regarding parents and visitors onsite, we will be holding this meeting via Zoom. Please send an email to info@mmcwakeley.catholic.edu.au to register your attendance and receive the Zoom code.

Parent Advisory Group (PAG) Meeting Invitation

From the Assistant Principal – Mrs Harding

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope this letter finds you and your family well. I would like to thank all our families for your continued support of the College during remote learning. I am proud of the way many of our students have worked hard, remained motivated and engaged in remote learning over a long time period. From 1 November we welcome back and look forward to the return of Years 7-10 for face to face learning. All students are expected to wear the summer school uniform with pride and ensure that they rectify before they return any grooming issues (nails, eyelashes, excessive jewellery, make-up etc). Students are expected to follow their regular timetable every day.

As per NSW Health guidelines, the following will be put in place for the return of students:

• Students are expected to wear a mask (compulsory) indoors at school and on public transport
• It is recommended that students wear a mask outdoors
• Students are required to physically distance, 1.5m apart where possible and keep desks in single file
• The canteen will be closed to minimise the mixing of year groups
• Teachers will keep a class seating plan for contract tracing purposes
• Teachers will keep doors and windows open to improve ventilation
• If a student attends sick bay, they are required to wear a mask and sanitise before entering
• Morning Homeroom will be conducted in House classes to minimise the mixing of year groups
• The library will be open to Year 11 only during lunch and recess to minimise the mixing of year groups
• Playgrounds will be in year groups to minimise the mixing. The playgrounds are:
  • Year 7 – Netball Courts
  • Year 8 – the seating and grass area near the Netball Courts
  • Year 9 – bottom end of the Central Courtyard (near Front Foyer)
  • Year 10 – top end of the Central Courtyard (near Chapel)
  • Year 11 – CIEC tennis court
  • CIEC students – CIEC tennis court
• School sport is permitted from 1 November
• Year 11 will undertake On Target (HSC and Study Skills) during periods 5 and 6 on Thursday
• Students are expected to practice COVID safe hygiene including regularly washing /santising hands, not sharing food, no hugging

Vaping 

The laws on supply and possession of nicotine vaping products changed at the beginning of October 2021. In brief, all Nicotine vaping products are now regulated under Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 as Schedule 4 (prescription only) medicines in the Poison Standard. A prescription will be required from a medical practitioner to purchase nicotine vaping products from pharmacy or when importing from overseas websites.

As this is a Schedule 4 drug, there will be increased consequences where students are caught vaping at school or selling vapes.

Term Dates 2022

Planning is well underway for many activities and events for 2022. I would like to remind families that if you are considering taking extended leave next year it is best that this is confined to holiday periods as much as possible.  Also, if you are considering taking leave that an application for leave form must be completed and signed by the College Principal.  These forms are to be completed well in advance and are available from the Student Services.

The following are the term dates for 2022:

Please contact the College if you require any assistance with your daughter returning to school.

Mrs Christine Harding

Upcoming Events

Term 4, 2021

Term 1, 2022

MMCC Welcomes Back Year 12

MMCC Welcomes back Year 11

Catholic Life @ MMCC – Mrs Flanagan

All Saints Day – 1st November

All Saints’ Day is a day the Catholic Church celebrates annually on November 1. The day is dedicated to the saints of the Church, the “great multitude which no man could number” ( Rev 7:9) of saints in heaven, including saints who are recognised by the Church and those who are not. The feast also serves as a reminder that all the baptised are called to the fulness of love and holiness.

The feast of All Saints Day has a long history starting in the early Church.The first saints to be honoured liturgically were the martyrs, including of course the apostles. At the beginning of the fourth century the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each one, so the Church established a common feast day for all the martyrs who had no proper celebration. In Antioch this feast was celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost. At the end of the fourth century, both St Ephrem and St John Chrysostom mention the feast.

In the West too, St Maximus of Turin in the fifth century preached in honour of all the martyrs on the Sunday after Pentecost. At first only martyrs and St John the Baptist, whose sanctity was proven, were honoured by special feast days. But then other saints were gradually added.

The first mention of a feast to honour all the saints on November 1 seems to have come during the pontificate of Pope Gregory III (731-741). In 732 he consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St Peter dedicated to ”all the apostles, martyrs, confessors, and all the just and perfect who are at rest throughout the whole world” and fixed the anniversary for November 1.

A century later Pope Gregory IV (827 844) extended the celebration on November 1 to the universal Church. The feast was so important that from the beginning it was celebrated with a vigil and, from the time of Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84), with an octave. The vigil, or liturgical celebration on the day before the feast, came to be known popularly as Hallowe’en, hallowed evening, until 1955 when both were suppressed.

The feast of All Saints Day has a long history, from the eighth century to the present day, in response to the desire of the Church to commemorate all the saints, especially those who have no proper feast day of their own.

Extracts from https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/when-did-we-start-celebrating-all-saints-day/

November – The Month dedicated to all Souls

All Souls’ Day is a day for the commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptised Christians. In the West, the tradition of setting aside a day of prayer and commemoration for the dead dates back to St. Odilo of Cluny, who established it at his abbey in France in the 10th century. From there, the practice spread until it was officially adopted in the 14th century.

Traditions associated with the feast include placing the names of those to be remembered on the altar at Mass, and visiting the cemeteries where dead loved ones lie.

The month of November is dedicated to the Souls in Purgatory, whose feast is celebrated on November 2. The entire Month of November in the last portion of the liturgical year represents a time of pilgrimage to heaven during which one hopes for reward. During the month of November it is good to hold those who have gone before both as objects of mercy and of reverence. To mourn as a Christian is to hold both the fullness of loss and the promise of restoration at once. And the promise will be fulfilled: “Blessed are those who mourn,” says Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, “for they shall be comforted.”

Daily Prayer For The Holy Souls

Immortal God, holy Lord, Father and Protector of all You have created,

we raise our hearts to You today for those who have passed out of this mortal life.

In Your loving mercy, Father of all, be pleased to receive them in Your heavenly company,

and forgive the failings and faults they may have done from human frailty.

Your only Son, Christ, our Saviour, suffered so cruelly that

He might deliver them from the second death.

By his merits may they share in the glory

of His victory over sin and death.

For all the faithful who have died we pray, but in particular for those dear to us,

parents, relatives and friends. nor do we forget all who did good to us while on earth,

who helped us by their prayers, sacrifice and example.

We pray also for any who may have done us harm,

and stand in special need of Your forgiveness.

May the merits and prayers of our Virgin Mother,

Mary, and those of all the Angels and Saints,

speak for us and assist them now.

This we ask in Christ’s name.

Amen.

Sunday Mass

St Gertrude’s, Smithfield https://www.stgertrude.org.au/

• 6pm Vigil Mass- Saturday Night
• 9am Italian Mass- Sunday Morning
• 10:30am English – Mass Sunday Morning
• 6pm English Mass- Sunday Night

Sacred Heart, Cabramatta http://www.sacredheartcabramatta.org.au/

• 6pm Vigil Mass- Saturday Night
• 7:30pm Vietnamese Vigil Mass- Saturday Night
• 6am Vietnamese Mass- Sunday Morning
• 8:30am English Mass- Sunday Morning
• 10am English Mass- Sunday Morning
• 11:30am Polish Mass- Sunday Morning
• 4pm Vietnamese Mass- Sunday Afternoon
• 6pm English Mass- Sunday Evening
• 7:30pm Vietnamese Mass- Sunday Evening

Our Lady of the Rosary, Fairfield  https://www.olrfairfield.org.au/

• 7:30am Polish Mass – Sunday Morning
• 9am English Mass- Sunday Morning
• 10:30am English – Mass Sunday Morning
• 4:30pm Vietnamese – Mass Sunday Afternoon

Syriac Catholic Church https://www.syriac-catholic-church.org.au/

• Please register via the wbsite for the following masses
• 9:30am – Sunday Morning Mass @ Our Lady of Mercy Church, Concord
• 6:30pm – Sunday Evening Mass @ St. Therese Church Fairfield Heights
• 12:00pm – Sunday Midday Mass@ St Anthony Church Austral

St Thomas the Apostle, Bossley Park  https://www.stthomaschaldean.org.au/

• 8:30am Chaldean Mass – Sunday Morning (Raza Rabba)
• 11:00 Arabic Mass – Sunday Morning
• 11:00 English Mass -Sunday Morning (Hall)

Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney – Sunday Mass and Daily Masses, live streamed https://www.sydneycatholic.org/live-masses/

The Catholic TV Network – Sunday Mass and Daily Masses, live streamed The Catholic TV Network

Weekly Reading & Reflection My Catholic Life: Daily Reflection on the Readings of the Day

The Catholic Weekly https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/

Catholic News https://cathnews.com/cathnews 

St Vincent De Paul & Sisters Of St Joseph

Utilise your children’s Creative Kids Voucher to help those in need.

Support children in our local area (SVDP) and through the House of Welcome (SOSJ) with resources to develop their creativity or provide essential items needed for school.

If you have access to the Creative Kids Voucher for your own children and do not plan to use the voucher this year, consider claiming the voucher to purchase art, science, drawing or journaling packs that can be distributed to children in need through SVDP and SOSJ. By claiming the voucher through services NSW and utilising the voucher to purchase items (suggestions below) you can bring joy to a child and help a family in need. All donations can be left with Mrs Flanagan (Leader of Religious education) at school, these will then be passed onto SVDP with the Christmas Hampers and the Sisters of St Joseph.

Important Links

• Creative Kids – Services N
• Claim your Creative Kids Voucher

Creative Kids Pack Suppliers (examples)

From the Leader of Teaching & Learning – Ms Genovese

The teachers and staff at MMCC are very excited to welcome back all of our Year 7 to 11 students as they return to their normal school timetable and face to face learning. Students are to be congratulated for the way in which they approached remote learning over Term 3 and 4 this year. Although we are heading closer to the end of the year, I want to encourage all students to remain diligent in their learning up to the end of Week 10.

Students should take advantage of the final weeks of the year to seek feedback from their teachers and to ask them questions in order to seek clarification for challenging areas of content or skill that arose during the period of remote learning. Skills and content that are addressed in subsequent years are built upon and rely on every students’ foundational knowledge and understanding from the years before.

Learning Catchphrases for each Year group

Currently under development is the establishment of a ‘learning catchphrase’ for each year group. This mantra will follow the year group through their secondary schooling as a source of motivation for students as they strive to reach their end goal, that being the completion of their HSC. I have commenced a process of collaboration with the Senior Learning Portfolio Captains as representatives of the student body and the Year Coordinators throughout this brainstorming process. A few weeks ago Year 7 were introduced their catchphrase. Progressively over the next few weeks the remaining year groups will be finalised and promoted also. Stay tuned for more information to come.

The Wonders of Design 2021 – Mrs Ryan

Design’s main purpose is to solve a problem,
but if you can solve the problem and create something that looks amazing at the same time,
you have truly created a good design.

Year 12 Design & Technology

Year 12 students have solved their problems with style and presented some amazing major works for 2021. The boutique class of five students worked diligently under onerous circumstances to produce their projects that demonstrated a high degree of problem solving, design thinking and a range of very different techniques.

Congratulations to the Design and Technology class of 2021 who should be very proud of what they have achieved.

Caitlin: A luxury dog house that included a solar powered fan for the warmer months.

Helen: A scaled model of an outdoor learning space for students at Mary MacKillop Catholic College, made from reinforced concrete with a desk ledge for students to complete their school work comfortably in the great outdoor grounds of the College.

Marwha: A high visibility cyclist jacket with extra protection for elbows and shoulders. The jacket incorporated lights in the lower lumbar area so when riding in the night the cyclist can be very easily seen.

The rayon knit fabric ensured a comfortable fit and easy movement.

Lorin: A bespoke handbag for everyday social outings that boosted a laser cut personalised butterfly tag and matching buckle decoration. Made from durable faux leather, not only does the back look good but it has internal lights that can be switched on to see the contents of the bag in bad lighting.

A must for all of those who shop all day and return home at dark only to find it impossible to find the house keys.

Year 11 Design & Technology

Year 11 were finally able to show off the projects they had made earlier in the year. The project was to design and create a storage device for the bedroom using timber as the base material. A vast array of projects were designed and created by the students who are eager to finally get them home. Artistic shelving, a wall hanging desk, tissue box cover, specialty boxes, computer hiding foot rest and very unique pouffes were some of the projects presented. Good luck to the students as they begin their major design projects for 2022.

VET Hospitality

As we welcomed back Year 12 2022 students to the College this week. The VET Hospitality students were straight back into the swing of practical lessons in the kitchen. They have been completing their Task 3 – Sandwich Brigade competencies, where they learn to make different types of sandwiches for different occasions.

We would like to thank our class for all their hard work and dedication throughout remote learning.

Mrs Davis and Mrs Donnelly 

Whiz-ards of Wakeley – Miss Brown

Remote Learning Challenge

During Remote Learning, our Newman Selective Gifted Education students were challenged to complete 10 activities which required them to use their creativity, problem solving and critical thinking skills.

The challenges were:

1. Recreate a famous artwork using household items
2. Brain Teaser
3. Create a Trick Shot video
4. Interview a person on their experiences with remote learning or remote working
5. Design a natural mandala
6. Create a song using household items
7. Mega Sudoku Puzzle
8. Write a creative writing piece about remote learning
9. Cook a meal for your family from a culture other than your own
10. Read a book for fun!

Congratulations to Malii of Year 7 who completed 6 challenges and Adau of Year 8 who completed all 10 challenges!

It was great to see many girls take up the challenge and here are some of the completed challenges.

IMC Library – Mrs Devine

Online Research Tips

One of the great benefits of the internet is that we have an enormous amount of information at our fingertips. We can type any question into a search engine and at the click of a button there can be millions of sources just waiting to be explored.

No doubt, for many of you, the internet has been an invaluable resource during lockdown when you have not been able to access the library and have needed  information for class activities and assessment tasks. However, while the internet does indeed provide a wealth of information, the question still  remains…

How do you know that this information is reliable and accurate?

Let’s face it, anyone can make a website and include any information they want on it. There are no reviews or regulations to keep websites accurate, so this is where we need to ensure that our research skills are helping us to be critical in our search for knowledge. Just because you know how to access the internet, doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to use it correctly for research purposes. Here are some steps to help you in your future research projects…

6 Steps To Successful Online Research

Enrolling Now Year 7 2023

We have begun enrolling for Year 7 2023 and also have very limited spaces in nearly all year groups for 2022.

If your daughter has not yet enrolled, please contact the College for an enrolment package. Please let your family and friends who are interested in having their daughters attend MMCC to contact the College.