MacKillop Bulletin - Term 3, Week 6, 2022

From the Deputy Principal

Students achieving their best

Teachers at MacKillop Catholic College are focussed on all students achieving their best and continually improving as they progress through their schooling.  This requires students to have a growth mindset.  To be engaged in a growth mindset is challenging when students are struggling.  It is important to continue to work on their skills in class and at home, rather than considering they can’t "write that essay", "learn that language" or "get that mathematics equation".   Teachers are there to help and support students during these times.  Students and parents/carers are encouraged to communicate with their teachers.  Students must remember the importance of asking questions.

Students achieving their best occurs when students are in the classroom.  Learning occurs in the classroom where the teachers teach and the students learn.  In each lesson, MCK teachers clearly state to students what they will be learning that lesson and what achievement looks like.   Regular checks for understanding occur and students are monitored for growth in their learning.  

Students achieving their best occurs when teachers and students are working together in their classrooms.

Student Free Day

This Friday, 2 September, is a Student Free Day.  During this day, our Staff will be participating in professional development especially partaking in the TASC Moderation.  This is a very important opportunity for our staff as we move towards the introduction of Year 11 next year.  I encourage our students to use this day to study and prepare for all upcoming assessments.

Our College Office will be closed for our College staff to engage in Professional Learning also.

Father’s Day

On Sunday, 4 September we celebrate and honour our fathers.  Happy Father’s Day to all our MCK fathers and the father-figures in our lives. So, on Father’s Day, take some extra time to let your Dad, or a father-figure in your life, know how much they mean to you.

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle’s flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it … Dad

Source: www.CatholicPrayerCards.org

Yours in Christ 

Lorraine Wolffe
Deputy Principal - Learning and Teaching; Staff Development

From the Deputy Principal

Embracing Failure and Growth Mindsets 

One of the things that have struck me so far this term is how well everyone has settled in and has gotten straight back into the classroom routine and into learning. Everyone has returned with a positive mindset, ready to try their best. This reminds me of a lesson I had previously taught a PDE class about failure. No that is not a mistake we actually had a lesson learning all about failure, because learning about and understanding failure, and embracing it rather than fearing it is actually a key to success.

We need to teach students how to fail better and that learning happens through failure, effort, and hard work. Fear of failure can be crippling, where students begin to avoid challenging work, and tasks and reduce their motivation towards wanting to achieve. This results in poor outcomes all around. Students need to be taught that failure is actually the precursor to success and a necessary component of learning. The only way to succeed with tasks, assignments, exams, physical activity, sports, and life, in general, is through true grit, persistence, and embracing learning from failure.

How is this achieved? It is achieved through the development of a growth mindset. This is something we will be fostering and developing in our PDE classes this year and from now on.  A mindset is a series of self-beliefs people hold about themselves; they determine our behaviour, outlook, and mental attitude. A growth mindset is where students believe they can learn and develop their intelligence through dedication and hard work. They see failure and setbacks as opportunities to learn and improve. This is opposed to a fixed mindset, where students believe that traits such as intelligence or talent are fixed and cannot change. People with a fixed mindset will avoid challenges, or when faced with failure, make excuses justifying why they failed.

GROWTH MINDSET

•  35% Ability with 65% Effort
• ‘I can’t do it, YET!’
• A growth mindset is where people believe they can learn and develop their intelligence through dedication and hard work
• People with a growth mindset see failure and setbacks as opportunities to learn and improve YOU can learn to develop a Growth Mindset
• Many famous people have only become successful through great persistence, after many setbacks
  and failures.

Famous Failures:

Albert Einstein: His teachers called him ‘slow’. He didn’t learn to speak English until he was 7 years old.

J K Rowling: Her Harry Potter books were rejected by 12 publishers

Oprah Winfrey: Oprah was fired from her first TV Job and told she was ‘unsuitable’ for television.

Colonel Sanders: Now a famous KFC fried chicken recipe, Sanders was rejected 1008 times before a
restaurant accepted the recipe and began making fried chicken.

It is possible to change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. We need to teach ourselves that failure is just the first step to success. That all feedback is good feedback, as it gives us the ability to take those lessons and constantly improve and grow. I look forward to us exploring these concepts further in the years ahead.

From the Director of Pastoral Care

Personal Development Focus: Be Share Aware

The relationships, that young people form, are a key part of their experience during adolescence. As a Catholic community, it is our hope that students will develop positive relationships that are life-giving, collaborative, and respectful. Young people also share this desire to have healthy, happy relationships where all involved are respected and respectful. At times, with the many pressure of growing up in a complex, connected world recognising and respecting the line can be confusing for young people.

While we often have conversations with students about respect around the College, if we want students to develop respect for others and importantly themselves beyond their time at MacKillop we need to explicitly teach this. 

This term in personal development Year 7 and 8 students will be involved in a 50-minute session facilitating positive conversations about being share aware. 

• A is for APPROPRIATE: You need to consider if what you are about to share is APPROPRIATE. Is the content suitable to be shared online? Is it illegal?
• W is for WHO: WHO could see what you share? Are you sharing it just to your real friends and family or could anyone see it?
• A is for ACCURATE: Is what you’re about to share ACCURATE? Is it real and true or is it a rumor, fake or pretend?
• R is for RESPECTFUL: Is your post RESPECTFUL? Will someone be hurt or upset by what you share?
• E is for ENVIRONMENT: Think about the ENVIRONMENT of the post you are about to share. Is it a photo with a background that may indicate your location, or your school or home address? Is it from a confidential or private conversation?

This will build students understanding and awareness of the risks and possible consequences when they share online. 

As parents and educators, we have an important role in young people’s lives as influences. While they may not like to admit it, adolescents learn their behaviors from the adults around them. Thus, it is imperative that we challenge young people by having conversations about being responsible online.  

These conversations are never easy and it is often hard to know where to start. If you would like to find out more or would like to continue the conversation at home the following is a valuable resource. In most instances, these have been created with parents and adolescents and feature a section for parents and for young people.

Regards

Phillipa Coward

Director of Senior School

Year 11 2023 Course Confirmation

In the next three weeks, all students who are returning to MacKillop Catholic College will be having a course confirmation meeting with Senior Staff members. We warmly welcome for both parents/guardians and students to come to these thirty-minute sessions. The meetings will be run within school hours and out of school hours, dependent on the family’s availability.
Throughout the session we will discuss the students course plan, their courses for the next two years, study timetables, and of course their strengths. The education of all students at MacKillop Catholic College is a partnership and one which requires students, families, and teachers to work together to help the student reach their potential. Therefore, we strongly recommend coming to these sessions to understand the pathways, courses, and possible outcomes of Senior year studies.

Routine and Consolidation of learning

As any student becomes older, their routine is crucial for success in both their academic
and social aspects of life.
Below are some examples of the variety of homework that can be undertaken, along
with the benefits of each:

• practising skills and revising content that they’re learning in class, this can assist with
  their understanding and retention
• Be prepared for the next day’s work by looking into SEQTA, this can make them feel
  comfortable and confident in the class
• Discuss work and progress on research, projects, or novels, this can assist in their
  deep understanding of the topic and different perspectives

Below are some strategies to assist them to remain focused throughout Homework time:

• Create a study planner or even better get them to create it and take ownership
  
• Be realistic about how long they can concentrate on tasks. Start with a 15-minute
  timer and then allow a brain break or even better, they may be on a roll and want to
  keep persisting with the task. Over time the 15 minutes can increase in increments
• Make sure their study space is organised and has good airflow
• Remove items that may cause distractions during homework time, such as
  phones, electronics, etc.

Regards

Jennifer Crowden

From the Director of Catholic Identity and Ministry

JJAMM Week

This special week during the year is a perfect opportunity for all of our community to connect and grow a stronger bond with those who created the spiritual foundation of our school, Joseph, Julian (Tenison Woods) and Mary MacKillop. We hope all our community had a wonderful JJAMM Week and enjoyed seeing the MacKillop College events, activities and competitions, such as student vs staff soccer games, jelly eating competitions, talent contests and much more. 

Catholic Education Week Mass

On the 18th of August, MacKillop Catholic College attended the Catholic Education Week Mass, an annual celebration that brings all Catholic schools together in the south. Archbishop Julian Porteous led Mass at Corpus Christi Catholic Church where all primary and secondary schools joined together to celebrate being a part of the community in Tasmania. Thank you to the MacKillop College leaders for representing the school with pride and to the college choir for leading confidently the Corpus Christi Church in song. 

Vinnies Group Sleep Out

Also on the 18th of August, we had our Vinnies Group volunteers participate in the annual Winter Sleep Out. Students stayed over in the Brother Tony Smith Centre (Gymnasium) and braved an uncomfortable night of sleep. The group participated in activities, shared a soup dinner together, were visited by Elle from the St Vincent de Paul Foundation who also brought the Louis Van, and finished their experience with prayer and reflection in the St Joseph's Chapel the following morning. The group participated authentically and received a lot from this vulnerable event. We thank all staff and students involved, our external supporters such as Elle from Vinnies and my family who made the soup. We also thank all those in the community who supported our students by donating. If you’d like to make a donation our link is still open which you can find below. 

https://www.givenow.com.au/cr/mackilloptas

From the Trainee Youth Minister

Upcoming Dates…

AJASS Tasmania Immersion 11th - 14th September

Students from AJASS (Association of Josephite Affiliated Secondary Schools South-East Cluster schools will be touring Tasmania with students from MacKillop College.

Year 8 Spirituality Retreats 12th - 14th September

Facilitated by the College Ministry Team at Blundstone Arena. 

Regards
Charlotte Davies

Our New Parish Priest

Dear Parish Family,

As you would all be aware, Archbishop Porteous has appointed me as parish priest of the Bellerive-Lindisfarne Parish.  My appointment came into effect last weekend, 21/22 August.  However, due to a number of pre-existing commitments (not least among them are my annual holidays and my mother’s 90th birthday), I will not be taking up residence in Bellerive until the beginning of November.  In the meantime, a number of priests, mainly from the Cathedral Parish, will be supporting the pastoral activity of the parish by celebrating the Masses and other sacraments.

For me, there is a certain sense of joy in being able to exercise my ministry in the Bellerive-Lindisfarne Parish.  My first permanent appointment after Ordination was to the then Bellerive Parish with Fr Denis Allen and Fr Robert Kennedy.  I am confident that, all these years later, I will be nourished and strengthened by the deep faith of the members of our parish.  I hope that I can be generous and courageous enough to nurture this faith so that all of us together can come closer to Christ, and make Christ known in our wider community.

I very much look forward to being part of the Bellerive-Lindisfarne Parish community. 

Please pray for me so that, among other things, I might heed the wisdom of today’s first reading: be gentle in carrying out your business (Ecclesiasticus 3:17).

 Fr Mark Freeman

Learning and Teaching News

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT 

Multiplying Maths at MacKillop

The number of Mathematics opportunities for students over the past few weeks has been multiplying magnificently.

Twelve students entered the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking competition recently, and of these seven received Achievement Certificates of Credit. Most notably, Dylan MacGill achieved a Certificate of Distinction. Congratulations Dylan.

A fantastic one hundred entries were received for the Australian Maths Competition, which was held in Week 2 of the term. While the students studying the Maths Methods course in Years 9 and 10 competed, it was very pleasing to note that a further twenty-five students competed from other Mathematics classes. The results of this competition will be released later in the year.

The last week of this term will see the State Mathematics Relays being held. ‘Tryouts’ for the teams will be held over the coming weeks with MacKillop set to run with both a Junior and Senior team.

Finally, Year 9 General Mathematics classes completed a task in their 3D Geometry unit whereby they were asked to find a non-perishable item to donate to Vinnies Winter Appeal which was a 3D prism. Before donating, they were required to look at the Maths – 3D drawing, net, total surface area and volume. Thank you to those students who completed the task, but more importantly who donated to the worthy appeal. 

Regards
Sandra Doyle

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT 

As usual, things have been very busy in the Science Department. We are looking forward to getting into our newly developed labs but until that time we are trying to keep things as engaging as possible.

Our Year 10 Biology classes went on a fantastic excursion to kunyani/Mount Wellington. While we learned about the different natural values of dry and wet eucalypt forests. Students now need to consider how we manage the mountain based on these values. They will argue points based on a variety of different topics such as bush fire management, urban development, development of a cable car or development of recreational walking and biking trails. 

This addresses the Science as a Human Endeavour strand of the National Curriculum. Students learn about the different values that affect the decisions that are made about the management of our natural environment. The students will have to consider economic, recreational, cultural, social values and the role that science plays in the interplay between these systems.  As our young people move through life science will play a role in their lives whether they become scientist or as members of our democratic society and we hope this excursion will provide them with some of the skills necessary to partake in these roles.

We also had a big week with Science Week last week. We had fantastic participation in the Science Week Quiz and students tested themselves on questions such as “Who is the father of pasteurisation?” or “What is the largest part of our brain known as?”. Congratulations to the grand prize winner Elliot Stee and runners' up Hayden Woods and Brianna Batchelor. 

We would also like to congratulate Baily Radunz and Jacob Hall for winning the paper airplane competition. Bailey had the longest flight time with an impressive 5.88 seconds and Jacob’s plane flew nearly the distance of the gym at 22.05 metres. Congratulations to runner ups Abel Harris, Leeah and Will Seabourne.

These are just some of the activities we are working on, and all of our students are busy with engaging projects in Science.

Our Biology, Physical Science and Science Extended students are working on Independent Investigations. During this time students plan and carry out an experiment that is of interest to them. We have had some excellent questions being asked and answered. Do some hand lotions have heavy metals in them? Yes they do. Does skim milk have more electrolytes than a sports drink? Yes it does. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to push themselves in areas that interest them.

Our Year 7 students are currently working on how to design experiments with the goal that they will be able to carry out their own independent investigations in the future. They are currently working on how the angle of the sun affects the amount of light the different hemispheres of the Earth get and how this affects the seasons. Our Year 8’s are learning about energy transformations are having a great time playing with marble tracks as they learn about potential and kinetic energy and our Year 9’s are learning about our body systems and the diseases that affect us.

There are few aspects of our lives that are untouched by the discoveries made in Science. We hope these opportunities will provide our young people with the opportunity to think about the impacts of science and the capacity to use Science to understand the world.

Regards
Fred O'Leary
Learning Leader:  Science

Career News

ATAR is a widely used acronym for the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank. It is not uncommon for ATARs to creep into media and news items in the final trimester of the academic year. Whilst students should be aware of the importance of ATARs and how they impact upon the realisation of tertiary
education, a recent article by Explore Careers reminds us that it is just one part of a much larger puzzle for what your future holds and how students can pursue academic pathways after Year 12. I encourage all students and parents to read the article to confirm their understanding and allay any fears.

Whilst on the topic of tertiary education it is a good time to remind everyone about the UTAS open day in September.

There are many reasons that open days are a valuable part of future planning, including:

 Getting advice
 Touring facilities
 Chatting with lecturers and current students
 Confirming options or removing them from your list
 Deciding if a university is right for you
 Checking out the student support services
 Finding out what you don’t know. 

And finally, I share some valuable pathway advice from Mrs Chasemore:

Nina Dobie
Program Leader: Career Pathways