MacKillop Bulletin - Term 2, Week 4, 2022

From the Principal

As communicated late last week, we were all saddened to hear that Ms Donna Brown will be stepping down from her current leadership role as Deputy Principal – Wellbeing from the end of Term 2, 2022. 

Finding the balance between our professional and personal life is something many in our community are familiar with and I know that we will all respect and support what has been a very difficult decision for Donna.

Please know that Donna remains committed to Catholic education and that whether this sees her continuing here at MacKillop or taking up some other opportunity in Catholic education in Tasmania, Donna’s hallmark of excellence in all she does will continue to be evident in her work and Donna’s working relationships with her colleagues and the students.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and whole-heartedly thank Donna for her leadership in recent times here at MacKillop Catholic College. Be it as Director of Student Wellbeing, Acting Deputy Principal, Acting Co-Principal or in her substantive role as Deputy Principal – Wellbeing, Donna has given herself fully to each of these roles and has been one of the points of stability and consistency during a period of time of very significant growth and change for the College.

Mary MacKillop’s frequent correspondence with her community points us to the attributes and characteristics that we might look to or see in those committed to the Josephite charism today. Of all Mary’s thoughts and quotes, one seems to encapsulate Donna’s leadership – “Be calm and full of hope.” (1871)

Thank you, Donna, for all that you have done in your time as a leader at MacKillop Catholic College and every blessing on behalf of the College community for what is to come.

COVID-19 update

While the COVID-19 related safety and wellbeing needs of all in our community remains a point of priority and concern, our data from the first three weeks of Term 2 (see following) indicate a significant reduction in both student and staff positive case numbers since the end of Term 1.

Understanding the potential health outcomes for individuals, this relatively low positive case number is something to be truly grateful for.

Last week, the Premier and Public Health Tasmania announced that there would be further relaxation of a number of COVID-19 management measures. From last Saturday (May 21), event management requirements and density restrictions will no longer apply to any school-related activity. 

Catholic Education Tasmania has since contacted the College to let us know that COVID-19 management requirements will no longer apply to the following activities:

• Assemblies
• Inter-school sports
• End of year celebrations
• Student / parent functions
• School fairs and similar events
• Masses and liturgies.

Accordingly, those leading and managing our whole school assemblies, liturgies and other similar events are now planning for them to take place as per our published calendar.  As was the case before the current restrictions regarding whole school gatherings were put in place, the parents and caregivers of students with particular health concerns related to, or exacerbated by, gathering in large groups are encouraged to contact their child’s Pastoral Care Teacher to ensure that the necessary and/or appropriate arrangements can be put in place to support such circumstances.

It is important to note that all other requirements regarding the wearing of masks, personal hygiene and cleaning remain in place for all school activities.

Regards, Stephen

Stephen Hill
Principal

From the Deputy Principal

Student Uniform:  College Ties and College white collared Sports Tops

A reminder that the Uniform Shop is currently out of College ties.   Families who have been unable to source a College tie prior to the stock shortage are encouraged to pre-order this item over the phone, online or by dropping in.

We wish to apologise for the delay in replacing our College sports tops.  We are currently awaiting samples of the replacement sports top (which will be a navy collared sports top denoting the relevant House).   Realistically, this new stock is unlikely to be available until the end of the year or early 2023.  

 Those students who were unable to secure College white polo tops should be wearing plain white collared polo tops instead, as communicated to parents/caregivers earlier in the year.  Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

A busy Monday - Emergency Evacuation and a  Lockdown Drill!

As a matter of course the College conducts regular Evacuation Emergency drills and Lockdown drills across the school year in accordance with mandated work health & safety requirements.  Last Monday (May 9) a Lockdown Drill had been scheduled by the College Executive team.  What we experienced on the day was both a Lockdown Drill and a ‘live’ emergency evacuation!  

The Emergency Evacuation occurred in the morning, triggered by the previous Friday’s water damage in one part of the school.  It was pleasing to see the vast majority of students taking the evacuation seriously, arriving quickly to the Assembly point on the Oval and awaiting further instructions.

Later that same day we conducted a Lockdown Drill.  Again, it was encouraging to witness the level of solemnity with which students responded - this level of compliance is obviously of critical importance in the event that a live lockdown is required.

We have advised our students that in the event of either scenario, they should not use their mobile phones to make contact with anyone.  The role of our parents and caregivers in all of this is to give the college the required space to deal safely with these situations.  In the event of a live emergency event we will make contact with families at the appropriate time, following advice from relevant emergency services.

Student Achievements

*We welcome the opportunity to celebrate our students who are excelling in all areas of endeavour. We encourage parents and caregivers to let us know if their child/children have been involved in activities outside the College which we can acknowledge.  Please email enquiries@mackillop.tas.edu.au.  

Donna Brown
Deputy Principal – Organisation, Student Development & Pastoral Care

From the Deputy Principal

Creating Futures

Creating Futures is the College Career and Transition Program.  This program embraces many facets of career education.  It supports the young person at MacKillop Catholic College to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes through a program of learning experiences in education to make informed decisions about their pathways to post-schooling options.  A significant part of the program is in Years 9 and 10 and a highlight is the Creating Futures Expo.  This year it is on June 7 at 6.30pm.  This night focuses on supporting our students to make subject selections for the following year.  It is very important that all our students and families in Year 9 and 10 attend this evening.

Catholic Identity and Mission

Year 10 Retreats

I extend my thanks to our Year 10 Students who participated with great enthusiasm in our Spirituality Retreat during the last fortnight.

Please see below a report from our Trainee Youth Minister, Charlotte Davies.

Lachlan Marsh
Director of Catholic Identity and Ministry

Hello MacKillop Catholic College Community,

As a part of the Year 10’s Careers and Transition week the students attended a Spirituality Retreat Day at Blundstone Arena. Sessions were held on the 13th and 19th facilitated by Sam Clear who works with the Youth Mission Team of Australia and is the face of Walk4One. 

Sam is known for his walk of 29,000km around the world in 2006 promoting unity among all Christians. Sam has written a book about his journey and has worked in various positions around Australia helping to inspire and offer opportunities for all to take one step further in unifying our world. 

Sam began the day with a recount of his thrilling adventure, where he walked from South America to Spain. He was faced with various challenges, some as intense as life or death. He shared his vulnerable moments and the moments he was most proud to have overcome, all the while linking it back to the leadership focus of the day. Sam showed our students how to open their minds to the act of giving and considering personal ways in which they can be unified in their own lives. 

The feedback from students was that they walked away with so much more than the simple message of unity, but also a new understanding of how they can connect with each other and the ideas of Christ, while also appreciating their own gifts. The students were grateful for how Sam could personalise his experience and engage them, and their chippie lunch. 

Below you can find Sam's website and some comments from the students about their experience. 

Thank you! 

Charlotte Davies 
Trainee Youth Minister

Teaching and Learning @ MCK

MacKillop Maths in May

At MacKillop we use Mathspace to support our teaching and learning of Mathematics. Our Mathematics teachers frequently assign weekly check-in tasks/quizzes which are usually aligned with the classroom work and lead to the upcoming achievement standards to be assessed. However, we are also aware that like any e-platform there are many aspects that students are not always aware of. Fortunately, Mathspace recently conducted an online Parents and Carers Information webinar in which the focus was on how parents/carers can use Mathspace to support their children learn numeracy and mathematics. Topics that were addressed included the following:

• What is Mathspace and how does it work?
• How Mathspace can be used as an online digital tutor, through the hints and step-by-step feedback that students get when working on Mathspace questions. – Useful if your student is unable to attend after school tutoring.
• How Mathspace can be used to guide students to complete self-directed practice in Mathspace, based on their identified strengths and weaknesses. Particularly useful if your student has completed the teacher assigned tasks but would like to get better at Maths.

We would strongly encourage families to spend 30 minutes sitting with their child/ren and watch the recording of the webinar (link below) together. There are many valuable points mentioned.

MacKillop Maths Team

Career News

Year 10 students participated in various sessions as part of Careers and Transition Week to complement their work experience placements. These sessions began with an exploration of how to navigate career pathway options but also explored what it means to be an ‘active’ member of community. Although mostly led by teachers, we were blessed to also be supported by Andrew Blackett and Brendan Webb from Eddie Rice Camps (as well as our own Charlotte Davies), as well as Samantha Anderson and several student ambassadors during our excursions to the Sandy Bay campus of UTas.

Over the next few weeks, we will be building upon these experiences as students navigate subject selections for Years 11 in 2023. Whilst we endeavour to support our students here at school, the value of ongoing conversations and a shared journey of discovery at home is tremendous; take the time to talk about the decision-making processes at home.

And as always, below is another piece of staff advice to remind everyone that we have had our own career journeys. In fact, most of us are still travelling!

Year 10 Work Experience

While work experience can be a daunting and overwhelming situation for some students, most students are excited about the opportunity and have a positive experience. For the past two weeks, our Year 10 students have been participating in compulsory work experience.  

Students have gained valuable experience from this, building confidence and workplace knowledge.  The opportunity has been part of the Creating Futures program at MacKillop Catholic College, to provide valuable opportunities to learn about specific occupations, explore career pathways and gain insights into careers. It can also assist students in making decisions about future pathways.

In action...