MacKillop Bulletin - Term 2, Week 6, 2022

From the Deputy Principal

Creating Futures Expo

Tomorrow Night!

Tomorrow night marks the start of the subject selections for 2023, with students currently in years 9 and 10 looking forward to ever-increasing opportunities to develop their pathways to post Year 12. 

To assist students and parents/caregivers in understanding the various options that will be available, our annual Creating Future Expo will be held tomorrow night (Tuesday 7 June) commencing at 6.30pm.  Learning Leaders, Senior Subject Teachers and relevant personnel involved will be on hand to present and talk to individual students and their families.

As well as wandering around the expo, there will also be a dedicated presentation for each year level.  There are two options to attend:

Either 6.30 pm or 7.15 pm

Year 10 will be held in the Drama Room and Year 9 will be in the Library.

The Expo will be held in the Gym and will be ongoing from 6.30 - 8.00pm.

Having correct information for subject planning is critical.  These presentations will provide this important information to ensure that students select the correct subjects to support their future.  We look forward to working with our families over the forthcoming weeks to support our MacKillop students.

Yours in Christ
Lorraine Wolffe
Deputy Principal - Learning and Teaching; Staff Development

From the Deputy Principal

Esafety Free Webinars

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) is Australia’s independent regulator for online safety. eSafety's free webinars provide parents and carers with the knowledge, skills and tools to work in partnership with schools to support children to have safe, positive online experiences. Each month, they present either a new webinar topic or a video with simple tips to keep young people safe online. Click on this link for a schedule of upcoming events:

For further information on the wide range of services the eSafety Commissioner provides.

Coal River Coaches – Information for Families

Coal River Coaches operate the 2485 contracted service between Orielton to Mornington, as well as the 2484 service between Campania and Rose Bay both via MacKillop Catholic College in the morning and afternoon Monday through Friday.

The cost of a single trip ticket is $1.90, or value 10-pack of tickets can be purchased at $1.52 a ticket ($15.20 per bundle) with cash whilst on board from the coach driver.

Coal River Coaches are currently rolling out a cashless Smartcard TransportMe ticketing system aboard their school coaches. This will allow students to board faster, go cashless and track their coach prior to departure on their services.

Families can apply for TransportMe cards by using the online application form at coalrivercoachestasmanianschooltransport.com.au. These can be topped up using Visa or Mastercard online, or with cash onboard the coach – and will be distributed to students by the coach driver.

For further information on the 2484 and 2485 services please contact Coal River Coaches direct on  coalrivercoachestasmanianschooltransport.com.au or (03) 6272 2645.

College Ties Stock

College ties are now back in stock at our Uniform Shop!

Student Achievements*

Bailey Shead (Year 9, Sion House)   Bailey was recently selected to represent Tasmania in the upcoming U15 National Indoor Cricket Championships.  Well done, Bailey!

Prahlad Dev (Year 8, Fitzroy House) Prahlad recently participated in a statewide Open squash tournament on 21-22 May 2022 held in Kingborough Sports centre.  Prahlad won the Runners Up medal in his division.   Congratulations Prahlad!

Shakoda Oswin (Year 7, Rice House) Shakoda plays club netball and also competes in the U13 STiNgAs team, a development group that includes selected players from the southern-based netball clubs.  She plays U13 (Div 2) with her club and as part of her STiNgA’s representation, is regularly playing against U15 Div 1 teams.  Shakoda was recently selected for STNA and will travel to Launceston on July 3 to play against teams from all around the State. We wish Shakoda all the best in Launceston – we hope to see you playing for the Diamonds in years to come!

Ryan Long (Year 9, Sion House) Ryan has accomplished much already in the world of martial arts (Judo).  Ryan trains at the Clarence PCYC dojo and recently started additional training at Seishin Martial Arts and Hobart University Dojos. In October 2021 Ryan participated in his first international competition where he took the bronze medal in his division.  More recently Ryan competed in the state titles and again brought home the bronze.  At club level, Ryan has been recognised by being awarded the Sidney Douglas Holloway perpetual trophy for Commitment and Judo Spirit.  Of great note also is Ryan’s commitment to helping train other students as well as his strong interest in the “no limits” form of judo, which caters for young people with intellectual disabilities.  Ryan has formed strong bonds and friendships with many students in this area.  We are proud of you, Ryan!

Staff Achievement (we couldn’t let this one go!

Miss Jennifer Rider (Teacher and House Leader – Sion)

Long-time staff member Miss Jen Rider was recently selected as a state representative to compete at the Hockey Australia Women’s Masters Championships in Cairns, which will be held in late September.  Congratulations Miss Rider – you are a legend!

*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 Director of Pastoral Care

The Rite Journey ‘Departure’

On Tuesday 17^th May, many Year 9 families took the opportunity to spend some time with their sons/daughters and celebrate their childhood as well as receive some gratitude.

Seeing the various photos, teddies and sentimental pieces that families cherished, all with beautiful stories and memories were fantastic.

With the Gratitude Letters, we know that these improve both the happiness of the person delivering and the person/people receiving. Giving that opportunity to give thanks and show appreciation is critical, especially during the formative years of High School when relationships can be tested.

Here is some feedback from a family.

I just wanted to provide some feedback about the session yesterday. I had been dreading it, and I knew it would be an emotional experience for --- and myself. But we actually found it opened us up to talk about a whole host of different things that had happened during ------- childhood, which continued well into the night, after we had gotten home, we kept talking about it. It was so lovely to hear the things that were important to her. Life is so busy that we often don’t have time (or make time) to talk about things like that. Thanks for the opportunity.

We hope this event can continue to grow in years to come and families continue to make the effort to attend such rituals that can have long-lasting effects and will become memories in their own right.

Thanks

Aaron Davey
Director of Pastoral Care

The Rite Journey - Departure

Learning Extension News

Inaugural MacKillop Megamind Cup (M&M Cup)
To celebrate Gifted Awareness Week (GAW), representatives from the 6 Houses competed in the first-ever M&M Cup. Rice House was victorious on the day. Each round of questions was particular to an area of learning at the College and the questions were provided by Learning Leaders. The teams of 10 shared a picnic lunch before the event and also participated in some team-building activities over lunch and between quiz rounds. 

Ms Jakki Hardman
Program Leader:  Learning Extension

M&M Cup

Teaching and Learning @ MCK

What’s Happening in HaSS in Term 2 for Year 7 and 8?

Term 2 is a busy time for students in HaSS.  In Year 7 we have started learning about how ‘to do’ History.  All students completed a source identification task, where they looked at various artefacts and other evidence, to determine whether each item was a primary or secondary source.  They will be focussing on Ancient History – in Australia, China and Rome.  They will also be participating in a virtual classroom experience with the Chinese Migration Museum, a digital cultural adventure where they will learn about ancient Chinese inventions and other aspects of Ancient China.

The entire Grade 8 cohort went to the Tasman Peninsula for a Geography excursion in Week 3, as part of the Landscapes and Landforms unit.  There, students used fieldwork skills to learn about coastal landforms were created and how humans, value these landforms.  

Year 7 and 8 HASS Activities

Towards 2023...our building projects are progressing

We are getting very excited as we are near the end of Phase 1 of our building project.  Here's a little peak.