From the Principal – Ms Pussich

On Monday 24th May, the Catholic Church of Australia celebrates a special day for Mary the Mother of God, the Feast Day of Mary, Help of Christians, patroness of Australia.

O Immaculate Mary, Help of Christians, Queen of heaven and
earth, and tender Mother of humanity, at this time when a
pandemic threatens all your children, we entrust to you our
nation, Australia, and all who live in this country.

We commit to your intercession all the members of our
community, beginning with the weakest ones, from the unborn
to the sick, the disabled and the elderly.

We commit to you our families, our young and old, and all who
are vulnerable, those who are quarantined or anxious.

We entrust to your Immaculate Heart those who have lost their
livelihood or employment, our pastors and other essential
service workers, and our leaders at this time.

We implore your intercession especially for the protection of
doctors and nurses and those who minister to the contagious
sick in this crisis.

Reign over us, Mother of God, and teach us how to make the
Heart of Jesus reign and triumph in us and around us, as it has
reigned and triumphed in you!

from https://catholicoutlook.org/a-prayer-for-entrusting-australia-to-mary-help-of-christians/

Sydney Catholic Schools Parent Forum

Contained in this newsletter is information about Sydney Catholic Schools’ first Family Forum, Part of Something Bigger, hosted by Anthony (Tony) Farley, Executive Director of SCS. I encourage all parents / carers to join in this online event on Tuesday, 25 May 2021 at 7.00pm.

Mother’s Day Mass and Morning Tea

It was wonderful to celebrate Mother’s Day with the 100 guests (mums and daughters) who attended our Mass and Morning Tea on Wednesday 5th May. Fr Peter, from St Gertrude’s Parish, was the presiding priest and made this occasion special with his inspirational homily. As a sign of gratitude and love, the students gave their mums a red gerbera and a small gift.

Morning Tea was provided for our guests and staff in the Hospitality atrium. Thank you to Mrs Mikhael and Mrs Falzon for catering and adding those little touches that make this event special for our Mary MacKillop Mums.

Congratulations to our Mother’s Day Raffle winners:

• 1st Prize (Giant Cadbury Chocolate) – Emily Ly M3 (Year 9)
• 2nd Prize (Giant Toblerone) – Rhonda Nader M1 (Year 9)

Principal and Assistant Principal Gathering

On Thursday 13th May, we gathered at Mary MacKillop Catholic College with the Principals and Assistant Principals in our local Catholic feeder primary schools. This was a great opportunity for Mrs Christine Harding, our new Assistant Principal as well as the new Primary Principals and Assistant Principals to meet, hear about our Science, Mathematics and Technology initiatives and see our College first hand. We appreciate that they made time after school to join us for Afternoon Tea and tour our College.

Parent Advisory Group Meeting

Our Term 2 Parent Advisory Group Meeting will be held on Wednesday, 26th May commencing at 6pm. We welcome our regular committee members and invite new members to join. We will be holding this meeting both face to face and via Zoom. Please send an email to info@mmcwakeley.catholic.edu.au to register your attendance and receive the Zoom log in code.

Sydney Catholic Schools First Ever Family Forum

Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) has announced its first Family Forum, Part of Something Bigger, an exciting online event on Tuesday, 25 May 2021 at 7.00pm. This forum will bring together parents and carers from across the 150 primary and secondary schools that make up the SCS system to hear from SCS Executive Director, Tony Farley. He will be talking about the programs and major initiatives underway to build collaborative networks of excellence across our schools that will deliver on our vision, and commitment, to build thriving Catholic communities through excellence in teaching and learning.

According to Tony Farley, “We know that families of our students, and the wider community, are eager to know more about the opportunities that are available to their children.  Our new Family Forums will be run each term and are designed so that everyone can learn more about how we are equipping our students with the skills, knowledge, and opportunities they need to become active, global citizens,” he said.

We encourage everyone in our school community to register for the first Family Forum via this link: https://extraconnect.co/sydneycatholicschools/

If you are unable to join the online event, be sure to still register and you will receive a recording of the presentation post event.

While this event has been designed for current parents and carers, anyone who is considering a Sydney Catholic School as an education option for their children is more than welcome.

Open Evening with the Principal Led Tours

From the Assistant Principal – Mrs Harding

Stage 6 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews

It has been a very busy start to the term, with many learning opportunities being given to our girls on a regular basis. Our Stage 6 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews will take place on Tuesday 25th May from 4.00pm – 8.30pm.

Students will be asked to complete a reflection sheet in class prior to these interviews. Self-assessment and self-reflection enhance a student’s learning potential. By providing students with a time and place for reflection, we aim to empower them as learners and thinkers. Reflection on their studies and progress allows our students to identify areas of improvement and build skills in critical thinking that they can apply when they are problem-solving and learning on their own. Please find below an example of the reflection questions:

• Identify the skills you have developed in Semester 1 which can help you progress in Semester 2.
• Identify the positive learning habits you have applied that are allowing you to progress towards greater achievement in Semester 2 and into Stage 6.
• Identify the challenges/distractions to your academic performance.
• Identify the strategies that you need to develop, OR current skills that you already have that need to be improved, to reach your potential.
• Identify three “things” you can do in Semester 2, to improve your academic progress and show your readiness for the HSC exams or Stage 6.

Compass Student Attendance

To ensure that the College has correct attendance records for your daughter and that you are aware of your daughter’s absence, a text message (SMS) with a link will be sent to parents/carers in the primary household. Please click on the link to explain your daughter’s absence. Only one household parent needs to reply.

Using the link will alleviate the need to send a written note explaining the absence. Please respond the same day the text (SMS) has been sent as the link will automatically disappear resulting in the need for you to provide a hand written note for the absence. Please contact Grace Labbozzaetta if you require any assistance in the use of Compass.

Uniform

As of this week all students must wear the full Winter Uniform on a daily basis.  The winter uniform has the following expectations:

• All students must own a College blazer and MUST wear it to and from the College
• Regulation grey stockings are to be worn at all times.
• Any clothing worn under the College shirt must not be visible. All undergarments should be neutral in colour.
• High-collared skivvies, hoodies, beanies and other non-school attire must NOT be worn.
• The College Jumper is not part of the Sports Uniform and can only be worn in Winter under the College Blazer when travelling to or from school each day.
• Scarves must be the College scarf or a plain maroon/grey scarf. Scarves with extra fringing or of another colour are not permitted.
• College Skirts must cover the bottom of the knee-cap (ie covering the whole knee).

The College uniform is something we are all proud of as a community. It reflects our values as a Catholic school and demonstrates our high expectations of all of our students at MMCC.  We thank all parents for your support of our College uniform regulations.

What do I do if my daughter is sick?

• It is imperative that ​any girl​ with ​any​ cold or flu-like symptoms: sniffle, scratchy throat, etc, stay at home and get a COVID test. Students should not return until they have received a negative test result and are symptom-free. Students are required to submit the results of this test to the College.
• Any student who is unwell at school will be ​isolated​ in the school sick bay until they can be collected by a parent or carer.

Thank you to our parents and carers for your support of the College and I look forward to meeting many of you at the Stage 6 Parent/Teacher/Student interviews.

Around the Grounds @ MMCC

Catholic Life @ MMCC

Vinnies Night Patrol – Sandwich Making

Each month Year 12 students, led by Mr Samuel, take part in making sandwiches to support the work of Vinnies Night Patrol at Liverpool who feed the homeless and those in need in our local area. Year 12 students also donate the ingredients used to make sandwiches which are dropped off by MMCC staff members for distribution by Vinnies Night Patrol.

Tuesday Morning Mass

Each Tuesday morning staff and students gather in the Chapel to celebrate Mass. We are grateful to Fr William from Our Lady of the Rosary, Fairfield who presides over these weekly Masses. I also wish to thank all students and staff who contribute to each Mass.

We encourage all students to gather Tuesday mornings at 8:10am in the Chapel for weekly Mass.

Mother’s Day Mass

Thank you to Fr Peter Strohmayer from St Gertrude’s Parish, Smithfield for presiding at our annual Mother’s Day Mass. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate Mass with students, their Mother’s, Grandmothers, family members and carers.

Praying the Rosary during the Month of May

May is known as the Month of Mary. During this month Christians offer up to Mary homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God’s mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance” (Paul VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1).

During the Month of May students are invited to gather on Friday in the Chapel to pray the Rosary. Families too may wish to take time as a family to pray the Rosary.

The Rosary: Explained – Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney

Mrs Flanagan, Leader of Learning – Religious Education

Curriculum update

Subject Selection for Year 10

Year 10 students have begun their journey of selecting subjects for study in Year 11 and 12. The process is outlined below. The students are encouraged to seek advice from a variety of sources as well as the information they are given. The journey is not over yet as there are a few steps yet to be taken.

The process includes:

1. Viewing an informational presentation about each subject, distributed on 28 April
2. Receiving and reading the Stage 6 Subject Selection Handbooks Part 1 and Part 2 distributed 28 April and 25 May respectively
3. Students listening to subject talks from Coordinators of Learning KLA
4. Students receive Subject Level Recommendations specifically tailored for them on 15 June
5. Students accompanied by parent(s) attending the Subject Selection Expo (optional) and Information Evening (compulsory) on 16 June
6. Students with their parent(s) using the data from the Year 9 and Year 10 Reports (which provide a clear indication of your daughter’s progress and achievement to date) to inform her subject choices
7. Students, accompanied by a parent, attending Transition Interviews on 22 June which focus the student’s suitability for Stage 6 study and her subject choices
8. Students submitting their Subject Selection form by 5.00pm on 25 June
9. Finalising subject selections by the school

Subject Selection for Year 8

Year 8 have also begun the process of subject selection for their two Stage 5 electives. They will receive a subject information presentation to view next week and their subjects will be finalised early next term.

If anyone has any queries about the subject selection process, please feel free to contact me at michelle.israel@syd.catholic.edu.au

NAPLAN

This week (Wednesday and Thursday), Year 7 and 9 undertook NAPLAN examinations in Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy. It was good to see the students focused on performing to the best of their ability. All tests were conducted via an online platform.

Assessment Tasks

it is a very busy time at the moment for students doing assessment tasks both submission and in-class versions. Please remember that if there is any reason why your daughter cannot submit a task or complete one, that the process to follow is in the assessment handbooks located on the Compass portal. The process is there to assist all students, and I encourage parents to become familiar with the process.

Reports

All year groups will be receiving reports this term. I will notify parents via the Compass portal that the reports are available for viewing. As we no longer print reports, it is vital that parent contact details with the College are kept updated. There is a change of details form available from Student Services, and some details (e.g. email) can be updated via the Compass portal. Please contact Grace Labbozzaetta if you require any assistance in the use of Compass.

I look forward to meeting you at various events throughout the term.

Miss Israel, Leader of Learning – Curriculum

Sun + panels + wheels = Solar Car Challenge

Students from Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley and Patrician Brothers’ College Fairfield have been very busy over the past month working on their solar car projects and mentoring students from the surrounding Catholic primary schools to develop their own solar cars.

All that is required is enthusiastic primary school students of which there is no shortage, mentor students from the secondary schools and a bright sunny day. Students have built a model solar car with mini motors, ignitions and a solar panel for energy source. Cars were tested down a short track, then students were encouraged to modify and improve the finer details of their cars to gain a fraction of a second in speed and improve the performance of their car.

The visits took place each Thursday after lunch and proved to be a highlight for students in the STEM group as many returned to their former primary school to show off how much they have learnt and help the younger students.

Mrs Ryan, Coordinator of Learning – Technological and Applied Studies

Goolagong House Fundraiser

Goolagong House organised a great fundraising day on Friday 14 May. Students were encouraged to support their charity by wearing a jersey or green, the house colour. The best part of the day was the Staff versus Students Touch Football game. Well done to Mrs Ecarma (House Coordinator) and Sienna Carbone (House Captain).

Year 7 Timber Project

Recently, 7 TECH 3 and 7 TECH 5 completed their first timber project in the workshop. During this time, they learnt new things, were educated on safety procedures and had lots of fun constructing the bee hotels.

Each student used their imagination and made a bee hotel to call their own. The girls had a lot of fun and mastered many new skills that they can use in the future. They enjoyed sawing, hammering and were taken out of their comfort zones. They learnt how to use a disc sander and put all their effort into the task. The girls certainly had fun.

Here’s a quote from one of the girls: “It was a fun experience to make a bee hotel and learn new skills. It was great to try something new and I even got to use a scroll saw!”- Angelica Nitti

Mrs Donnelly, TAS Teacher

Senior OzTag Gala Day

On 12th May, the Senior OzTag team travelled to Victoria Park in Minto to compete in the South West Sydney OzTag Tournament. Each member of the team showed great commitment and dedication, training three times a week in preparation for the tournament. The team was extremely competitive throughout the day and demonstrated high levels of teamwork, skill and sportsmanship.

Congratulations to all students involved in the team.

Mr Carosi, PDHPE Coordinator

Year 12 Drama Excursion

Clare Downes, Drama Teacher

The Whizards of Wakeley

On Tuesday 4th May Newman Selective students from Years 8-10 went to the Sydney Writers Festival at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta with Miss Brown and Mrs Thomson. We were all excited to see the authors and were looking forward to getting inspiration for our Write a Book in a Day competition. We met four authors who spoke to us about their life and what inspired them to write their books. The authors we met were Gary Lonesborough, Michael Pryor, Leanne Hall and Zana Fraillon.

Gary Lonesborough talked about the process he took to write his book called ‘The Boy from the Mish’, which is a story about an aboriginal character going through hardships while discovering himself and all the complications that come after. He was inspired by his own life and what he had gone through when he was a teenager. The advice that he gave to the young writers was to draw inspiration from your personal experiences to ensure your writing is authentic.

Michael Pryor presented ‘The Classical Elements of Storytelling’ explaining how using these elements will always create a great story. He showed us how he uses Characters, Location and Plot to create his stories and how having a clear plan before writing can help develop a story and keep it on track. He was very humorous and entertaining and reminded us that writing can be hard work but it is always rewarding to create.

The third author was Leanne Hall who wrote ‘The Gaps’ which is one of her best selling works. She explained how the idea of ‘writing what we know’ can be hard if we have experienced hardships or trauma and that writing can be a way to reflect on personal events and move forward after trauma. Her advice is definitely going to assist us with our future writing.

Zana Fraillon is an author who finds inspiration from weird objects and incorporates them into her books. For her workshop we completed some writing and drawing activities including ‘lightning writing’, ‘random quotes’ and ‘speedy squiggles’. Zana creates base ideas for her books by either scribbling spontaneous monsters, inanimate objects and things she comes across in public or from friends. She wanted to show us how to find inspiration from random objects as well as generating ideas from our imagination. She showcased some objects she brought from her home in Melbourne, Victoria, including a William Shakespeare rubber duck, dismembered hands and feet (bones of course) and a skeleton raven which she had managed to incorporate into her stories.

We really enjoyed the day and spending time with other Newman students to learn from these authors and improve our writing skills. We thank Miss Brown and Mrs Thomson for giving us the opportunity to attend and can’t wait to put our newly learnt skills into practice.

Bianca Coates, Emily Lu and Nardeen Rafoka

Study Skills Tip For May

Set Times For Home Learning

As a general guide, students should be devoting the following MINIMUM amount of time to home learning (homework):

PARENTS: Many students come home from school and end up just waiting until they might ‘feel’ like doing schoolwork or else they drag everything out over the whole night. A much better way is each night have set allocated times for home learning.

Many students find that learning in 20-30 minute blocks works well for them. During this time students should do homework first, then work on any assignments or upcoming tests, then use the rest of the time allocated for schoolwork to complete independent learning activities such as reviewing work they find difficult, making study notes or doing practice questions to build their skills. All distractions should be removed during this time, so students learn to focus for 20-30 minute blocks of time.

It is a great idea to make a timetable of the home learning and place it on the fridge so everyone is clear when students are focusing and when they are doing other activities or having free time.

STUDENTS: Some of the benefits for students of having set times allocated for home learning are:

• You are more likely to learn at home if you know when to start and when to end.
• You will be more effective when you remove distractions and learn to focus for 20-30 minute blocks.
• In all the times NOT allocated to schoolwork you can do whatever you like without feeling guilty about it.
• Having set times stops arguments between students and parents as everyone has agreed when the time slots allocated to students will be.
• You know that you are definitely doing enough work for school.
• Keeping your home learning and personal life separate means you will be able to manage all of the distractions in your life and still complete your work for school.

Learn more this year about how to improve your results and be more efficient and effective with your schoolwork by working through the units in the Study Skills Handbook which you can find by clicking on the Favourites’ STAR on  your COMPASS page.