MacKillop Bulletin - Term 1, Week 6, 2022 -
From the Principal
Ash Wednesday - the beginning of the season of Lent.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. (Luke 4: 1-2a)
The opportunity to gather recently as a community to mark the beginning of the season of Lent with our Ash Wednesday liturgies reminded us that Lent is the time to examine our actions and habits. To look at all we do and to consider the difference between the person we are, and the person love calls us to be. That is,
- Do my actions give life and joy to myself and those around me?
- Am I responding to the beauty of God’s gift?
- Do any of my habits leave me unhappy?
- Are those habits a source of sadness for the people I have contact with?
I would like to thank our Director of Catholic Identity and Mission, Lachlan Marsh, members of the College’s Mission and Outreach Team and all other College staff who contributed to and supported our House-based liturgies and to acknowledge Lachlan’s leadership of the events that were part of this important week in the Church’s liturgical calendar.
May the grace of God bring the season of Lent fully alive to the community of MacKillop Catholic College.
Confirmation of the 2022 Term Dates and Pupil-Free Days
As all in our community know, the 2022 school year will be a significant one for MacKillop Catholic College marked by the preparation for the introduction of Year 11 classes from the commencement of 2023 and, over the course of the remainder of the year, occupancy of the extended and refurbished Tenison Wing.
To ensure that we are able to achieve these two significant goals, the following details the updated 2022 School Year Term Dates and Pupil- Free Days:
2022 Term Dates:
- Term 1 ends Thursday 14 April
- Term 2 commences Monday 2 May
- Term 2 ends Friday 8 July
- Term 3 commences Tuesday 26 July
- Term 3 ends Friday 30 September
- Term 4 commences Tuesday 18 October
- Term 4 ends Friday 9 December (Years 9 and 10 students finish)
Tuesday 13 December (Year 7 and 8 students finish) #
Friday 16 December (Teaching staff finish).
# subject to confirmation of the Tension Wing occupancy date
2022 Pupil-Free Days:
- Monday 25 July (beginning of Term 3).
- Friday 21 October (2022 whole-staff formation/spirituality day).
- Monday 17 October (beginning of Term 4).
- Wednesday 14 December (Final preparation for 2023 and occupancy of Tension Wing)
- Thursday 15 December (Final preparation for 2023 and occupancy of Tension Wing).
Stephen Hill
Principal
From the Deputy Principal
“MEAN” BEHAVIOUR – HOW CAN WE SUPPORT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO RESPOND MORE POSITIVELY WHEN THEY ARE IN CONFLICT WITH OTHERS?
Our Pastoral Care team spends a great deal of time supporting students to navigate friendship issues. It is not unusual for the team to be conducting restorations with various students from different Houses or year levels on a daily basis.
We could bemoan the pervasiveness of ‘meanness’. But this would be an inaccurate representation of how our students treat each other. Rather, many students simply struggle to cope with the normal levels of conflict that occur in their relationships.
So how can we as staff, teachers, parents and guardians support our students to do better and feel better when they are challenged by friendships, particularly their close friendships during these difficult teen years?
Our Pastoral Care team spends a great deal of time supporting students to navigate friendship issues. It is not unusual for the team to be conducting restorations with various students from different Houses or year levels on a daily basis.
We could bemoan the pervasiveness of ‘meanness’. But this would be an inaccurate representation of how our students treat each other. Rather, many students simply struggle to cope with the normal levels of conflict that occur in their relationships.
So how can we as staff, teachers, parents and guardians support our students to do better and feel better when they are challenged by friendships, particularly their close friendships during these difficult teen years?
Here are some ideas that our Pastoral Care team employs when working with students. Parents and guardians might find these ideas useful to reinforce when and if you become aware that friendship issues are affecting your child.
- Conflict in a friendship is normal: if your child is in conflict with a friend, it might pay for them to ask, “Is our friendship bigger than this fight?” If they decide that it is, they might need to be willing to reach out and apologise if necessary. It is absolutely crucial that any apology is done face to face and without an audience (i.e. not online, where tone and intent is so easily misconstrued).
- Have high standards around the behaviour of friends: Maya Angelou said that “You teach people how to treat you”. When young people are treated badly, it is important they develop the skills to respectfully call others out and to be explicit about what standard they expect from their friends. For example, “I like hanging out with you but when you (ie. call me “xxxxx”), it makes me feel horrible and I don’t like it” or “I know you think this is just a joke but it hurts me when you (i.e. ‘drop” me every lunchtime to sit with XX and YY)”. Again, these conversations need to be face-to-face and private – this is definitely not something that should take place online and/or be witnessed by others.
- Personal conflicts outside a friendship group should be addressed: If your child is in conflict with someone who is not a friend, encourage them to approach their House Leader for support. With the gentle intervention of Pastoral Care staff (who use restorative practice strategies to work with all parties) relationships that have been damaged, including those damaged through bullying, can be worked through and potentially repaired.
- Be “friends with some, kind to all”: Everything we do at MacKillop Catholic College reflects our shared commitment to our Vision Statement: We are a Christ-Centred learning community fostering excellence, compassion and service. We support and promote high standards of excellence, compassion, and service in our students through clearly articulated behavioural guidelines for all. Our community thrives when we care for those who are hurt, disengaged, disadvantaged and lost. This does not mean we need to be friends with everyone. This does mean that we strive to be respectful and kind to all. Each one of us has a responsibility to be a community member who contributes positively to this vision.
Donna Brown
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - ORGANISATION, STUDENT DEVELOPMENT & PASTORAL CARE
- [online] Available at: <https://rebeccasparrow.com/the-mean-behaviour-has-to-stop/, 2019> [Accessed 9 March 2022].
From the Deputy Principal
Art and Science of Teaching
Mackillop Catholic College has introduced respected educational researcher Robert Mazano's, The Art and Science of Teaching (ASOT) as a pedagogical framework to support and develop teaching and learning standards within the school. Our teaching staff has begun comprehensive professional learning to start to use learning goals, scales and rubrics to assist students and staff to track student progress. This tracking enables all involved to identify the areas of achievement and growth.
The Art and Science of Teaching is based on developing quality teaching through balancing evidence-based practices to help understand the individual learning differences of students. ASOT is designed to help teachers examine and develop their skills in the ways students learn.
The Art and Science of Teaching propose ten Instructional Design Areas to guide teachers as they plan and put their knowledge into practice in the classroom.
- Providing and communicating clear learning goals.
- Using agreements
- Conducting direct instruction lessons
- Conducting practicing and deepening lessons
- Conducting Knowledge application lessons
- Using strategies that appear in all types of lessons
- Using engagement strategies
- Implementing rules and procedures
- Building relationships
- Communicating high expectations
Over the coming months, our teachers will continue to engage in professional learning necessary to adopt The Art and Science of Teaching as the College's pedagogical framework.
Yours in Christ,
Lorraine Wolffe
Deputy Principal - Learning and Teaching; Staff Development
Catholic Identity and Mission
Dear MacKillop Catholic College Community
It has been a very busy and rewarding fortnight in the Ministry work of the College. I commend to you the words below from our Trainee Youth Minister, Charlotte Davies who has been working hard to support all the initiatives that bring spiritual life to a Catholic School.
I also acknowledge our Campus Minister, Daniel de la Motte whose guidance and wisdom has done much to enrich the prayer life of our staff and students.
I pray that this Lent will offer each of us an opportunity for renewal and repentance as we journey toward the great celebration of Easter.
Mr Lachlan Marsh
Director of Catholic Identity and Ministry
Hello MacKillop Catholic College Community,
We hope you’ve had a wonderful start to the year, we certainly have had our fair share of events in our Ministry department, and it’s only week 5! Last Tuesday signified the journey out of Ordinary Time into our 2022 Lenten journey. To welcome Lent I’d like to include this quote from Pope Francis in 2017.
“Lent is the road leading from slavery to freedom, from suffering to joy, from death to life. The mark of the ashes with which we set out reminds us of our origin: we were taken from the earth, we’re made out of dust. True, yet we are dust in the loving hands of God, who has breathed his spirit of life upon each one of us. He still wants to do.”
What’s Been Happening…
Commissioning Liturgy for Project Compassion and Shrove Tuesday
Thank you to Sophie Bonnitcha and Jerome Pollard for volunteering to attend the Caritas’ Project Compassion Launch last Tuesday (1/03). The Liturgy was live streamed for Covid safety purposes. You can follow the link below to watch the ceremony.
The Caritas Team also held their first fundraising event in selling pancakes served with jam and cream for Shrove Tuesday, all proceeds made went to Project Compassion.
Ash Wednesday - The Beginning of Lent
Our Ash Wednesday House Liturgies signified the beginning of Lent in the Church Year. As a part of the service, students and staff received ashes on their foreheads as a sign of repentance. We commend the House leaders and the students who helped lead the liturgy. Please follow the link below to hear the reflection from our Campus Minister, Daniel de la Motte.
World Day of Prayer
The MacKillop Catholic College Choir travelled to Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Bellerive last week to lead the singing for the World Day of Prayer celebration. The World Day of Prayer is an international ecumenical Christian laywomen's initiative. The movement aims to bring together women of various races, cultures and traditions in a yearly common Day of Prayer. The students sang beautifully and joined in prayer with other Christian denominations from around the Eastern Shore.
Coming Up…
Vinnies Group
We have some fundraising opportunities coming up quite soon. Apart from our usual Vinnies breakfast on Tuesday mornings, where donations are appreciated but not a must, we will also be endeavouring to start our Hot Bevs and Crossed Buns events every Thursday for a gold coin donation. Look out for an announcement later this term. All these proceeds will go towards Vinnies and help us buy a new toaster for our usual breakfasts.
Saint Patrick’s Day
Our Caritas Group will be running a Saint Patrick's Day free dress event on Friday 18th of March. We encourage all staff and students to wear green as there is a prize up for grabs for most green items worn.
Saint Patrick’s feast day is also being celebrated this year by four students who will be participating in a Pilgrimage to Colebrook. The students will start at St John's Church in Richmond and over two days walk to 39km Saint Patrick’s Church for a concluding Mass service.
“Tasmania lends itself to pilgrimage. The Island State is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, and a rich Catholic heritage,” said Archbishop Julian.
Grade 7 Theology and Spirituality
The Grade 7 Theology and Spirituality classes have been visiting the Josephite Mission and History Centre. The students have been learning about how MacKillop Catholic College came to be. Four out of the seven classes have enjoyed their time experiencing the old schoolhouse and exploring the historical building.
Pastoral Care in the Chapel
Pastoral Care in the Saint Joseph's Chapel began this week with Fitzroy house pastoral care groups starting their days in Prayer. Each pastoral care group over this term and the beginning of next will have an opportunity to join us in reflection and to feel more connected to the Catholicism of our school community.
Charlotte Davies
Youth Minister Trainee
Pastoral Care and Student Wellbeing
Our Year 10 Student Leaders have decided on a focus of ‘Spirit and Community’ for 2022.
They have been regularly meeting and working on ways they can promote House Spirit and a Sense of Community.
This kicked off with a House v House, Dodgeball Competition which happens on Friday during Lunch. 8 students from each Year Level (32 students per house), participate in a game during lunch, supported by their fellow House members. The roster will run for 5 weeks, with the winning house, playing the teachers at the end of term. Points will go towards the Sport Shield at the end of the year.
The Leaders are also looking into House Fundraisers for Project Compassion, in which they can get students involved and find ways to generate funds for people less fortunate than ourselves.
The Leaders have also been lucky enough to attend the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation – International Women’s Day Breakfast – which was truly inspiring hearing from incredibly successful, dedicated, passionate and hardworking female leaders – Kathrine Morgan-Wicks and Donna Adams.
Finally, the future structure of Student Leadership at MacKillop Catholic College has been on the agenda, with the team looking into other structures and working on a plan for our College moving into 2023 and 2024. This is incredibly exciting – watch this space.
Aaron Davey
Director of Pastoral Care
From the Directors of Schools
Every Second Counts
Attendance every day at school is critical to your child’s success. Research has proven that there is a high correlation between school attendance and academic performance and success, while absence from school is often the greatest single cause of poor performance and achievement. While we completely understand that at times all people become sick and need time to recover, it is essential that this time be reserved for significant illness requiring medical attention.
Why is it so important to attend every day?
- Learning is a progressive activity; each day's lessons build upon those of the previous day(s).
- When a child misses school for one day, it takes two days to catch up.
- Reading the material and completing work independently does not compensate for the loss of insight gained during class discussion or the loss of competency acquired through explanation or supervised drill.
- Many classes use lectures, discussions, demonstrations, experiments and participation as part of the daily learning activities, and these cannot be made up by those who are absent.
Two missed days a month may not seem like much to some, however over time, two missed days a month means your child has missed half a year of schooling by Year 4. The below graphic indicates how quickly absences can build up and what impact that can have.
1 or 2 days absent a week…… | |||
If your child misses… | That equals… | Which is… | And over 13 years of schooling that’s…. |
1 day per fortnight | 20 days per year | 4 weeks per year | Nearly 1½ years |
1 day per week | 40 days per year | 8 weeks per year | over 2½ years |
2 days per week | 60 days per year | 16 weeks per year | over 5 years |
3 days per week | 120 days per year | 24 weeks per year | nearly 8 years |
How about 10 minutes late a day? | |||
He/She is only missing just…. | That equals…. | Which is….. | And over 13 years of schooling that’s….. |
10 mins per day | 50 mins per week | nearly 1½ weeks per year | nearly ½ year |
20 mins per day | 1hr 40min per week | over 2½ weeks per year | nearly 1 year |
30 mins per day | half day per week | 4 weeks per year | nearly 1½ years |
1 hour per day | 1 day per week | 8 weeks per year | over 2½ years |
This is why we care so much about your children, our students, attending school at every opportunity. So be mindful of the impact every absence from school has and remember when it comes to education, every day counts.
Andrew Pritchard
Director of Junior School
Learning and Teaching
Learning Extension news
High ability students at MacKillop are supported both in and out of the classroom. Here are some of the co-curricular extension opportunities happening in Weeks 6 and 7.
Debating preparation sessions are starting after school this Wednesday in readiness for the 2022 debating season.
Geography Competition preparation is being held Wednesday during lunchtime for any students who have signed up for the April Competition. Students are being guided through old papers, learning some great geography skills.
N5 Japanese extension is on every Monday after school for students aiming to sit the Japanese Language Proficiency Test at Level 5.
Pi Day (3.14) is almost upon us and students have begun memorization.
The Senior Ethics Olympiad Team has been formed and 5 students are working hard to study ethical cases for the Olympiad in May.
A team of mixed year-level students have become roving reporters for Spirit magazine.
Squadrilaterals are a group of maths students who have begun to meet regularly to improve their mathematical applications.
Jacqueline Hardman
Learning Extension Key Teacher
Towards 2023
An important part of developing our Year 11 and 12 curriculum is networking with other Catholic Colleges in Hobart. We are very blessed and grateful to have the support of the Guilford Young College (GYC) staff to share their experiences as Senior Teachers.
Our Learning Leaders and teachers are attending P23 Teacher Support Meetings throughout the year at GYC. Our first meeting was held last week with a focus - What knowledge is needed to prepare for delivering senior secondary TASC courses? During the afternoon our staff was led through syllabus materials and resources to assist in the development of the Year 11 and 12 subjects at MacKillop Catholic College.