Term 3, Week 6, 25 August

Upcoming Events

Principal's Update

World Youth Day Pilgrimage 2023 - Zack Bennett

Earlier this term one of our young teachers, Zack Bennett had the opportunity to be a part of the Lismore Catholic Diocese World Youth Day Pilgrimage. Chatting with Zack on his return I couldn’t help but smile as he shared the joy and faith formation he experienced during the pilgrimage. Below is a short reflection from Zack on the impact taking the time to focus on his faith and share the experience with other young people had on him. 

The World Youth Day Pilgrimage for 2023 to Spain and Portugal, led by the Catholic Schools Office as representatives for the Lismore Diocese, was an enlightening and positive experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Some of the key locations that we toured through were Madrid, Segovia, Avila, Lisbon, Fatima, and many others of religious significance. The general structure for most days was similar, which made it useful for all of the pilgrims to ease into the routine whilst being overseas. We would have breakfast as a group and pray, travel to our main destination for the day and receive a tour through the city, learning about the history of Catholicism in that certain location. After this, we would have free time to adventure the city and do things that we wanted to before returning to the bus, heading back to our hotel for dinner, prayer, and further free time prior to bed.

Two of my personal major highlights from this pilgrimage were at St. John of the Cross’ Cathedral in Segovia, as well as the two-day period where I walked to the Field of Grace for Adoration and the Papal Mass, sleeping under the stars with every pilgrim from around the world, and returned home to our residence! From the moment that I entered St. John of the Cross’ Cathedral, I felt a strong sense of spiritual connection, feeling for the first time what I believe to be The Holy Spirit. This feeling of enlightenment continued as we celebrated mass, admired his resting place, and returned to the outside of the Cathedral. Additionally, the journey to the Field of Grace was one that pushed my mental and physical endurance, and it was worth every part of the struggle. Persevering through the challenges presented over those two days, in addition to the challenges that strengthened me during the pilgrimage will be things that I will carry with me every day.

I’d like to thank Bishop Greg Homeming of the Lismore Diocese, Father Paul Gooley of the St Agnes Port Macquarie Parish, and Cath Eichmann as Principal of MacKillop College Port Macquarie, for their direct support into my World Youth Day attendance and the life-changing opportunity to see the Universal Catholic Church in action, embodied by the youth of the world! Zack Bennett (English and Mathematics teacher)

DRUMLINE SUCCESS

Last week saw great success for our Creative and Performing Arts students. We received news that our Drumline had won the National Championships for the 6th year running. They then went on to perform at the Queensland Catholic Music Festival. Below are our great results. 

National Drumline Competition:

Port Macquarie Vanguard (Division A):

1st Place Test Piece 

1st Place Own Choice 

CHAMPIONSHIP DRUMLINE 

Best Snare Section

Best Colour Guard

Port Macquarie Brumbies (Division B):

4th Place Test Piece 

2nd Place Own Choice 

2nd Place in Division B 

Queensland Catholic Music Festival (QCMF)

Drumline A Division:

Gold Award

Drumline B Division:

Silver Award 

Special Award for our Bass Drum Section

Percussion Ensemble A Division:

MacKillop Senior Percussion Ensemble - Bronze Award

WAKAKIRRI SUCCESS

MacKillop College Port Macquarie  Receives State Award in National Festival

MacKillop College has received a State Award and is being considered for a National Award for their Wakakirri performance ‘Lights, Camera, Action’. Wakakirri is Australia’s largest performing arts event for schools with over 200 taking part in 2023. Participating schools are inspired by the Wakakirri ethos ‘great stories inspire change’ to create and perform story dances that reflect students’ thoughts, ideas and aspirations. 

Wakakirri Festival Director Adam Loxley said, “The standard of performance and the stories being told by schools this year was exceptional and MacKillop College should be very proud of their award”.

MacKillop College’s story is about a young boy from the country with big dreams of becoming a famous film director. MacKillop College’s performance Lights Camera Action was described by Wakakirri Ambassador Scott Irwin  as “ A colourful and stylish trip through the career of Baz Luhrmann!”

MacKillop College received the following show awards 

Ensemble Award for Dancing and Acting 

Production Award for Overall Staging 

Creative Production Award for Overall Costume Design 

Ensemble Award for Choreography 

Production Award for Projection 

A huge congratulations to all the Wakakirri performers, backstage crew, production design team and teachers on this wonderful achievement. 

The Wakakirri Story-Dance Festival is a national program that helps schools develop student engagement and well-being through participation in the performing arts. Schools participate by creating Story-Dances which they perform in live theatres in capital cities and selected regional areas around Australia. Schools in remote and regional areas can participate via Wakakirri Video. Over 200 schools are taking part in Wakakirri 2023.

Wakakirri’s sponsors include The Victorian Government, Reconciliation Australia, and the McCusker Charitable Foundation.

Celebration of Excellence 2023 Award Sponsorship

Another year is fast approaching its end for our 2023 HSC students and we are preparing for our Celebration of Excellence which is being held on 20 September.

Students who have excelled in academic and cultural areas receive a trophy or gift voucher in recognition of their involvement and achievement in a particular area. Each award sponsorship is $50. An invoice can be provided and sponsors are acknowledged on our official program as well as in the College newsletter.

We would like to allow any businesses or families to sponsor one of the Major Awards given to our HSC students during this event, celebrating their many achievements.

Thank you to those families and businesses who have previously sponsored awards.  Your ongoing support is invaluable to making the occasion memorable for all.

Please contact Jenna O'Brien at 6583 2632 or via jenna.obrien@lism.catholic.edu.au if you are interested in Award sponsorship.

Absentee Notification & Extended Leave 
In an effort to simplify parent communication, and in conjunction with the rollout of our new Compass platform, our Schoolzine app and Newsletter platform no longer carry the ability to submit absentee notifications. 
You can submit absentee notes for your child/ren directly to the office via the compass app or alternatively email to pmac-attendance@lism.catholic.edu.au
If you know your child/ren will be absent from the college for more than 10 school days, the Catholic Schools Office requires an Extended Leave/Form 01 to be completed and submitted to the school for approval. You can find this form on our website via the following link; https://www.pmaclism.catholic.edu.au/absence-notification-forms and submit it to pmac-attendance@lism.catholic.edu.au
If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us via the attendance email and our friendly staff will do their best to assist you.

Cath Eichmann
Principal

Assistant Principal - Mission

A Reflection and Prayer

On the night of August 22 1741, a bent figure - looking older than his years - was seen to be moving slowly and unsurely along a dimly-lit street in London. The man was ill and depressed and was struggling with his life, especially as he had suffered a stroke a few years before, paralysing his right side, and affecting his walking and writing.

This was the great composer George Frideric Handel, who was the king’s chief musician. Feeling in despair he heard some words as he passed a church: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. These words of a psalm touched him deeply. He returned home and began to write some music. From this day, August 22nd, until September 14th he wrote his music almost non-stop, sleeping and eating little. What he wrote is now world-famous and is called “The Messiah”. On finishing this masterpiece, he slept for 17 hours. “The Messiah” is an opera in which singers present the life of Jesus from his birth to his death and resurrection, and so the music of Handel’s “Messiah” is often sung, especially at Christmas and Easter.

When King George II attended a performance of Handel’s “Messiah” he was so impressed and touched by the “Hallelujah Chorus” that he stood up. The audience saw the king and felt that if he stood up, then they should, too. In every performance, now, of Handel’s “Messiah”, all the audience stand up throughout the “Hallelujah Chorus”.

Handel was a committed Christian, and all performances of his music whilst he was alive were in aid of charities of his choice. The “Messiah” was first performed in Dublin, in aid of some charities which included “poor and distressed people who were in prison for debt”. Whilst talking about the time he was composing the “Hallelujah Chorus”, Handel is reputed to have said: “I thought I saw all heaven before me, and the great God himself.”

Handel was completely blind for the last 6 years of his life. He died in London in 1759, and the last musical performance he heard was a week earlier, and it was his “Messiah”.

Let us pray:

God our Father,

I thank you that many people have used their gifts well and have helped me and inspired me and brought cheerfulness and joy in my life.

May I, too, live in such a way that I bring blessings to others by my attitude and actions and my presence with them. Remain with me and lead me to that final day when I, too, will be able to say: “I see all heaven before me and the great God himself.”

Amen

Peter Murphy
Assistant Principal - Mission

Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

Compass

As mentioned in last fortnight's newsletter, our English KLA is in the process of making marks visible for the Term 3 Assessment Task. We are currently learning in this space and I would like to acknowledge the work of Clare Hayes and the English department in being the first to use the platform in this way. I encourage parents to speak to their child as the first point of contact regarding feedback, as it will be difficult for English teachers to respond to every request for feedback from parents across all of their classes. 

Year 12

Firstly I would like to congratulate Year 12 on their conduct during their recent HSC Trials. As we near the end of Term 3 it is important that all students use the feedback from their trials to work on both their strengths and weaknesses.

Year 11

As Year 11 nears the end of the Preliminary Course, they have an upcoming assessment period. All students are advised to familiarise themselves with both the exam timetable and assessment policy. They are also reminded that they will need to bring their student card to all exams.

Furthermore, all Year 11 students have been asked to log on to Students Online and update their email address to a personal email. Students will need to use their student number to do this. 

Year 10

All Year 10 students have now indicated their future pathway for 2024. Over the coming weeks, we will work towards creating lines and confirming their subjects if continuing on at MacKillop. 

In addition to this, any student who has not yet reached the minimum standard in writing will be provided with another opportunity to reach the benchmark following some intervention.

Year 8

Year 8 parents and students will have received via email a copy of the Electives 2024 Handbook. All students are encouraged to read the booklet to make an informed choice about their electives. Students will also have received a login code today which they will need to nominate their electives on Monday night. If any student has not received this code please contact pmac-learningandteaching@lism.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible.

Year 7

As we near the end of the term, I will be speaking to Year 7 about selecting electives for 2024. Further information will be distributed later in the term, via email regarding choices and the selection process. 

Christine Harmer
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

Wellbeing

This term’s character strength focus is fairness.  Fairness is something that everyone wants but is often a concept that not everyone understands.  We have all heard our own children exclaim at some point - “that’s not fair”!  When it is fair, it just isn’t the same.  It is a difficult concept for our young people to fully grasp.  According to the dictionary, fairness is “impartial and just treatment or behaviour without favouritism or discrimination” - it is not about treating everyone equally but about treating all with equity.  

A school community is the perfect place to embrace fairness as it allows all students to achieve.  Our core principle here at MacKillop is to assist every single student to achieve the fullness of life, and acting with fairness is where this starts.  I encourage you to chat about fairness at home and maybe even to use this great quote from Rick Riordan “Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need”!

In other news, last term we revisited our commitment to the Push-Up Challenge in order to raise awareness for mental health.  This activity was driven beautifully by Harmony Mitchell and Tara Mitchell.  Please read about the challenge below:

“The Push-Up Challenge is an annual challenge across schools from all over Australia helping people to understand the importance of mental health and the effects that it can have, with more than 300,000 participants joining in on average every year. This year myself and Tara in our roles as Push-Up Student Ambassadors led the challenge, getting the school involved and letting everyone know what it was about. 

The challenge ran from the 1st to the 23rd of June raising awareness every step of the way. MacKillop this year was involved like never before and raised, not only awareness but money as well. Thanks to the help of Mr Bennett for his awesome efforts of $210 and PC 712 with their crushing amount of $355 which all goes to mental health organisations directly helping young people across Australia. 

Everyone in MacKillop got so involved and supported this challenge trying to do at least 10 Push-Ups every morning during PC. Congratulations to Tara’s team on 9,844 push-ups in total, the leading team of the whole challenge. A huge shout out to the whole school community managing to achieve 41,346 push-ups in total. What a great effort!! Overall everyone did an amazing job and what a way to finish the Push-Up Challenge for 2023, lets see what we can do in 2024 and push for even more!!”          Harmony Mitchell

Have a wonderful weekend.

Lisa Kable
Leader of Wellbeing - Social and Emotional Support

Busways Update

Jonas Absalom Dr, Port Macquarie is due to reopen on Friday 1 September 2023, a closure will then commence at Ocean Dr and Pacific Dr, Port Macquarie also diverting from Friday 1 September 2023.

Please see the attached letters for more information on which services are affected.

NSW School Vaccinations

Vaccination Day is Monday 16 October 2023 for all students - YEARS 7 & 10

1. Gardasil (HPV) & Boostrix (dTpa) – Year 7s; including any catch-up/missed doses for students from Yr 8
2. Meningococcal ACWY – years 10s; including any catch-up/missed doses for students from Yr 10 & 11

If your child is in Year 10 this year, you can now provide online consent for their routine school vaccinations. In Year 10, students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine.

Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. 

How to provide consent:

1. To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations visit: https://nswhealth.service-now.com/school
2. Click the login with the ‘Service NSW Account’ button and log in using your Service NSW details. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a Service NSW account, refer to Service NSW to create one. 
3. Update or confirm your personal details in Service NSW as required. 
4. Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:  
   1. Enter your child’s personal details 
   2. Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child  
   3. Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement
   4. Provide consent  

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form directly from your child’s school.

Read a step-by-step guide on how to provide consent online. Translated guides are available in Arabic, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese.

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination.

Translated information about school vaccination is available in 27 languages, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/school_vaccination_language.aspx 

Attendance

Vinnies Winter Woolies Appeal

"Thanks so much for supporting the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Your gift of $4023.98 allows the St Vincent de Paul Society to provide more than immediate help, it provides something much more valuable - the opportunity of a better life. 

We couldn't do it without you. 

Thanks to your donation, we can provide support to Australians doing it tough"

This email was receievd from Vinnies after our fundraising efforts. The money was raised through generous donations from students, and staff, PC fundraisers, Bake sales, our "Out of Vinnies Uniform day" as our Vinnies Sleep out.
Thanks also for the incredible donations of warm clothing and blankets, which will have made a huge difference to families over the winter.

Year 7

ST MARY MACKILLOP FEAST DAY ACTIVITIES

The whole school celebrated the Solemnity of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia's beloved first saint and patron saint of our school.  Year 7 PCs came together to celebrate the day in a variety of ways including a talent show (featuring performances from some of the Year 7 PC Teachers), Trivia, Lunch and a PC touch tournament.

Approach to Semester 2

I am very proud of the way in which Year 7 has been embracing the diverse extracurricular opportunities on offer at MacKillop College. It is fantastic to see them getting involved with events such as the Wakakirri Dance Festival, Write a Book in a Day, a variety of Co-Curricular Performing Arts ensembles and of course a multitude of different sporting teams.

I spoke with Year 7 at our regular year assembly last week about the most common Compass chronicles entered since the transition to Compass. Year 7 should be commended on the number of positive merits, Leader of Pastoral Care Awards and Silver Principal Awards they have received so far with over 1700 merits being earned by Year 7 alone this year! I never thought I would complain about the number of awards I need to hand out, but Year 7 has the printer running hot.

Whilst it is great to acknowledge all the amazing things Year 7 has been doing, I also spent some time going over the negative entries as well. The most common entries are:

• Non-completion of Homework;
• Incorrect Equipment;
• Misuse of technology; and
• Disrespect to staff.

The first two points are the majority of entries I see in my role. I believe a lot of these incidents boil down to a lack of consistent organisation. I spoke to students about using their diaries to record their homework and upcoming assessments, ensuring they have the correct equipment for class whether that be books, pencil case, charged devices or a hat and the correct uniform for PDHPE Practicals. Please make the time to talk to your young person and check that they have everything they need to succeed at school.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Silver Principal Award: Jayden Atkins, Alyra Buckley, Millie Byrne, Olivia Edmund, Bethany Folkes, Lucy Giudicelli, Lucia Hurdle, Amelia Konstantas, Oliver Laundry, Manni McGrath, Amelia Pettitt, Edie Porter, Annalise Southwell, Lenny Spitzer, Mark Temple, Tyler Temporale, Evie Thomson, Aria Varghese, Melody Waller, Isabella White and Ruby Williams.

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Leader of Pastoral Care Award: Baxter Allison, Jasmine Anastas, Annabelle Ashton, Jayden Atkins, Liam Ayres, Milana Baker, Darcy Bird, Samuel Brazel (x2), Connor Bridle, Angus Browning, Alyra Buckley (x2), Isaac Buttsworth, Abigail Byrne, Grace Byrne, Millie Byrne, Patrick Byrne, Ruby Comer, William Coombes, Ruby Cramp, Noah Dowd, Harrison Ebbs, Olivia Edmund (x2), Evie Evans, Amy Fitzgerald, Bethany Folkes, Lucy Ford, Ruby Ford, Talani Fuller, Indie Gardoll-marjoribanks (x2), Lucy Giudicelli (x2), Lachlan Guy, Tahlia Hall, Samuel Hancock, Bianca Harrison, Bailey Haste, Sienna Hatch, Harrison Healey, Sam Hewens, Wilson Huang, Lucia Hurdle, Jayden Jamnadas, Talia Kapila (x2), Amelia Konstantas (x2), Jack Lacey, Oliver Laundry, Indy Lorger, Ruby Magnus (x2), Rocky Mann, Manni McGrath, Grace Morris, Tallin Morris, Charlotte Newman, Oliver Parker, Maya Perry, Amelia Pettitt, Edie Porter, Lucy Pratt, Kye Randall, Chloe Ribot De Bressac, Rocco Robinson, Oto Ryan, Lalita Sen Gupta, Sophia Sivell, Andrew Slavin (x2), Annalise Southwell, Lenny Spitzer, Tahlia Sutherland, Kalani Taylor, Mark Temple, Tyler Temporale, Evie Thomson (x2), Zoe Townsend, Liliana Vaquerisaz Canivilo, Aria Varghese, Archie Wallace, Melody Waller, Lachlan Walters, Jaysen Wei, Isabella White, Annabelle Wickham, Ruby Williams, Locke Williamson, Sophia Wilmot and Ruby Winters (x2).

Adam O’Brien
Year 7 Leader of Pastoral Care

Year 8

Our Mary MacKillop Feast Day celebrations elicited joy and a strong sense of community for Year 8. It was fantastic to witness the students’ reverence during the liturgy where they pledged a personal commitment to find happiness in making others happy and the Year 8 PC Team sang praises of the group’s connectedness and spirit of good fun at the talent show, in Trivia and during the friendly multi-sports competition. I was particularly proud of Year 8’s enthusiastic engagement, affirmation of each other and teamwork throughout the day!     

Congratulations to Daniel Zhong and Rhys Kendal who won the whole school Talent Contest. Their rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody was skilled and set a great vibe that everyone enjoyed!

Compass data this past fortnight has affirmed many student’s efforts to put into practice our core values with 361 merits being earned, yet alerted the need for attention to the consistent completion of homework tasks.  

2024 Elective Choices

Year 8 are primed to make important decisions about their 2024 electives. Parents have received an email this week with the Year 8 booklet describing the details of elective courses. It is exciting for students to exercise their voice and choice in their studies for the next two years and I urge parents to sit with their child and guide them to make the best decision that will enable them to thrive in subjects that suit their interests and needs.

Friday’s email will also outline instructions as to how students can submit their elective choices. Students must choose four subjects in order of preference (1 and 2 = most preferred). As there are limits to the number of classes able to run and class size, please help your child to be organised and ready to submit elective choices on Monday at 7.00 pm.

Year 8 Camp Preparation

So that we can prepare the logistics of the tent areas for Camp, every Year 8 student is to submit to me a tent/food group form. The tent group may consist of up to five people. Each group will need to be able to provide a tent and esky to accommodate the members. If tent group members prefer to sleep in a swag but want to plan, store and share meals with others, they need to indicate this on the form. Tent groups need to be submitted by next Friday. Please encourage your child to speak with me so I may help them with any concerns or questions.

Congratulations

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Silver Principal Award: Ethan Carey, Adam Hines, Keegan Pope, Benjamin Spencer and Lani Warren

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Leader of Pastoral Care Award:  Georgia Allan, Zeke Anderson, Ziva Balkin, Khye Bibby, Billy Brockhouse, Oliver Cairns, Ethan Carey, Lionel Carney, Jonathan Choi, Joseph Chung Jun Hock, Leeann Clint, James Cockshutt, Finn Cole, Ivy Collins, Rhyder Collins, Blaze Colthorpe, Flynn Daly, Hunter Davis, Louis Dimmers, Xavier Dunn, Rhys Evans, Luke Everson, Patrick Green, Anna Harmer, Jack Hartley, Archie Hawken, Amelia Heery, Adam Hines, Jessie James, Dylan Keane, Nessa Kinchington, Charlie Long, Amber McIlroy, Alyssa McNamara, Lucas Merrick, Jessica Moore, Lucas Morris, Danika Murray, Nathanuel Nichols, Neave O'Brien, Keegan Pope, Charlie Power, Jack Robb, Bailey Rowlatt, Elijah Schmidt, Makayla Smith, Bailey Speechly, Benjamin Spencer, Archie Spitzer, Julia Helena Streegan, Marley Thick, Imogen Thompson (x2), Lani Warren, Jaxon Waser, Luke Westman William Whicker and Isaac Woolfe.

Nicole O’Connell
Year 8 Leader of Pastoral Care

Year 9

Canberra Excursion

The lead-up to the Canberra excursion is typically very exciting and students are certainly being very proactive in discussing cabin groups and bus groups. Please be aware that when details are finalised (i.e. dorm room capacity) then students will be given the opportunity to work on refining these groups. Typically, this will occur in week 1 of next term.

Uniform

Many families have recently been contacted about making amendments to parts of their child’s uniform. Thank you for your timely support in making the relevant adjustments. We continue to work tirelessly to ensure that students present themselves with pride and your support is crucial. Whilst not limited to the following, the items outlined below are the current issues of concern in terms of uniform. If your son or daughter wears these items, could you please work with us to ensure that they are compliant with the College Code of Presentation?

Feast Day Thanks 

Thank you to Year 9 for their respectful and active participation across all of the feast day activities. It was great to see so many students involved in our celebration. A lot of preparation and organisation goes into these days and I just wanted to thank all the staff and students involved in making this a successful day.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Matthew Mizzi who has received a Silver Principal’s Award.

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Leader of Pastoral Care Award: Eligh Clout, Harrison Foster, Isobel Galvin, Kale Haese, Cohen Harris, Gabriella Horan Juzenas, Willis Jensen, Ethan Kelly, Anna Martin, Leandre Menelet, Jessica Miles, Micaela Mitchell, Matthew Mizzi, Laura Norris, Tyler Page, Mia Perkins, Austin Pettitt, Amelia Southwell, Hugo Van Den Nieuwenhof, Connor Van Der Merwe, Austin Watson, Gilbert White, Estelle, Williams, Pippa Wilson and PJ Wright.

Tom Salter
Year 9 Leader of Pastoral Care

Year 10

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Leader of Pastoral Care Award: Ethan Bakic, Sophie Bryant, Dominic Buckley, Alannah De Groot, Annabelle Eakin, Emma Galvin, Darcy Hallen, Emily Kirkpatrick, Christopher Konstantas, Tyler Morris, Rachel Nichols, Macy Partington, Ruby Payne, Kahdia Radley, Mia Szumowski, Cory Thiele and Tyra Turuva.

Daniel O’Dell
Year 10 Leader of Pastoral Care

Year 11

End of the Preliminary Course - Exams

These exams are fast approaching, I hope that all students are settling into a study routine in preparation for Weeks 9 and 10 (3 weeks to go)... It’s all part of earning that cape:

Snowed Under?

In the next few weeks, it is likely that many students will feel snowed under. Like they have too much to do, and not enough time to do it. As parents and teachers, we will need to guide them through some of these anxious times. In our quest to keep building the resilience of our young men and women, it’s not helpful to just feel sorry for them. Stress is a natural part of engaging in something difficult, and something worthwhile. Instead, we try to guide them to make good choices through this time: To be efficient when engaging in study/homework, but also to have time out for themselves, to stick to a daily routine, connect with friends like they normally would, and most importantly, to remember their goals, maintain perspective and be kind to themselves with positive self-talk.

For some students, staying in a negative mind frame for too long can start to influence their overall perspective on all parts of their life. If you, as parents, feel this is happening to your child, please reach out to the school. We are here to help guide them through this.

Congratulations

Congratulations to the following students who have received a Leader of Pastoral Care Award: Jade Bryant, Emily Galvin, Riley Harmer, Jiya Jamu, Liam Mercer, Aiden Moore-Jones, Sophie O'Keefe and Emily Woolfe.

Bruce Smith
Year 11 Leader of Pastoral Care

TAS HSC Display

This year's HSC TAS works will be on display in the Junior Library on Wednesday, 30 August between 5pm and 6:30pm. This coincides with our HSC Music Showcase in the theatre from 6pm-8pm. So come along to witness the outstanding works of our HSC TAS and Music students.

Year 12

Attendance after Trial Exams

There is a condition that many Year 12 students seem to acquire after the Trial Exams called the “Post Trial Blues”. This is the time when many Year 12 students are feeling unmotivated and flat after the stress of completing the Trial Exams and are finding it difficult to get motivated to keep going towards the HSC exams. I spoke to Year 12 this week regarding the importance of “keeping going” to the end and completing the journey to the best of their ability. Many courses have not yet been completed so students are still learning content in class, while others are working hard at revision. Past results have clearly shown that the students who achieve well in the HSC are the ones who continue to attend school and classes regularly right up until the end of Term 3. I encourage all students to attend classes and use the wealth of knowledge and experience from their hard-working teachers. 

Graduation – Thursday, 9 November

The Year 12 Graduation will take place on Thursday, 9 November at Panthers, Port Macquarie. An information note will be sent out via Compass next week outlining the procedure for buying tickets to the Graduation. Each student will be able to purchase three tickets (one for themselves and two additional tickets). Tickets will go on sale in Week 8.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at the College if you have any questions regarding the Graduation. 

Tracey Bewicke
Year 12 Leader of Pastoral Care

Music News

MacKillop College Music News

“Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.”- Martin Luther

PERCUSSION SUCCESS!

It has been an extremely busy term for our percussionists!

AUSTRALIAN PERCUSSION EISTEDDFOD (Video Entries)

DIVISION A

SAPSS Senior Drumline (Port Macquarie Vanguard) - Championship Drumline for the 6th consecutive year!

• 1st Place Test Piece 81/100
• 1st Place Own Choice 84/100
• Best Snare Section
• Best Colour Guard

DIVISION B

SAPSS Junior Drumline (Port Macquarie Brumbies)

• 4th Place Test Piece 51.2/100
• 2nd Place Own Choice 70/100
• 2nd Place in Division B 60.6/100 (and placing 9th out of 14 overall between both divisions)

Full results can be found here - Australian Percussion Eisteddfod

SAPSS DRUMLINE & PERCUSSION TOUR

Our trip away (and concert/showcase the night before) was an amazing, educational, humbling, and exhausting experience. We visited St. John Paul College in Coffs Harbour and Mount St. Patrick's in Murwillumbah, both of which have fledgling drumlines that were completely overawed by our performances, and then onwards to Ormiston State School for a truly special performance for a lovely group of kids who made the drumline members feel like absolute rockstars. It was a long day on the bus but it was hard not to feel overwhelmed with love and appreciation.

QUEENSLAND CATHOLIC MUSIC FESTIVAL (Saturday 19th August, Villanova College Brisbane)

• Drumline A Division: Gold Award & Special Award for "Entire Ensemble"
• Drumline B Division: Silver Award & Special Award for Bass Drum Section
• Percussion Ensemble A Division: MacKillop Senior Percussion Ensemble - Bronze Award

We concluded the tour with an evening performance at the Big4 Gold Coast Holiday Park in front of a very appreciative audience and one extremely enthusiastic park owner. I am not lying when I say I have never heard our drumline, not from any year, play as well as they did that night. I don't know what it was, whether it was fatigue or excitement or relief or pride or whatever, but they absolutely sent themselves off in style and I legitimately had shivers watching them shine.

Thank you to Cara Stewart, Brett Lowry and Michael Nixon who attended the tour and provided an incredible amount of support to our percussionist!

Written by

Mark Spence (SAPSS Drumline Director/ Leader of drums & percussion - MacKillop College)

Links & Forms

Music Ensemble Sign Up Form 2023

Music Ensemble Shirt Order Form 2023

Music Tuition Request Form 2023

Instrument Rental Agreement 2023

Co-curricular Music Google Classroom

Please contact Rob Denham with any questions relating to the co-curricular music program at MacKillop College.

Upcoming Events

HSC Music Creative Arts Festival Showcase

• Wednesday 30 August - MacKillop College Theatre, 6:00pm - 8:30pm, Senior Percussion Ensemble and Vocal Ensemble

Year 8 Mass

• Thursday 8 September - St Agnes Parish Church, Period 1, Collective Praise band & Singers

HSC Music Examination

• Thursday 14 September - MacKillop College Theatre, throughout the day (8am - 3pm), Senior Percussion Ensemble and Vocal Ensemble

Youth and Family Mass

• Sunday 17 September - St Agnes Parish Church, 4:15pm - 6:15pm, Collective Praise band & Singers.

YEAR 12 GRADUATION MASS

• Wednesday 20 September - St Agnes Parish Church, Period 1, Collective Praise band & Singers

YEAR 12 CEREMONY OF EXCELLENCE

• Wednesday 20 September - St Agnes Parish Church, Lunch 1 through period 3, Selected drummers from the senior percussion ensemble

Robert Denham
Leader of Co-Curricular Music

Creative Arts News

Wakakirri 2023

Throughout the year, a group of students in years 7, 8 and 9 have been working hard to be able to participate in the National Story Dance Festival, Wakakirri. Wakakirri is an education program for schools that develops student engagement and well-being through the sharing of stories and participation in the performing arts. The team has recently travelled to Sydney to perform at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts) and has received a variety of awards including but not limited to; Costume Design, Choreography, Projection (AV) and many more! 

Soon the Waka Team will be travelling to Sydney once again to be in the running to win another National Award along with our State Award! Our journey to Sydney was definitely different this time around with over triple the amount of students compared to last year - leaving us with more smiles, laughs and new friendships created. Overall we have had a great experience from getting to school at 6am to performing at the biggest acting school in the country and finally making our way home with a few Maccas visits along the way.

Our school performed a dance telling the story of Baz Luhrmann, “Lights, Camera, ACTION”.  On behalf of the Wakakirri Team at MacKillop College, we would like to thank the leader of the Creative Arts team, Mrs Adams, our fabulous principal Mrs Eichmann, Ms Montgomery (Dance), Ms Baylis (Drama), Ms Eggert (Dance/Drama/Production Manager) and a special thanks to our bus driver who would know every Taylor Swift and Katy Perry song from our singing!

Hunter Davis
Year 8

Sport Update

Year 7 & 8 Sport Term 3

Year 9 & 10 Sport Term 3

Year 9 & 10 Sport Term 4

Sports selections for Year 9 and 10 Sport for Term 4 will open on Tuesday, 29 August at 8.45am.

Students in Years 9 and 10 will make their Term 4 Sport selections during Week 7. These selections will be open on Tuesday, 29 August at 8.45am and close on Thursday, 31 August at 3.00pm.

The survey link will be emailed to student’s school email accounts with a unique code from Edval – Please do not try and use a previous term code, it will not work. If you are away on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday the survey link can still be accessed at home.

MacKillop College Sport Reports

Diocesan Junior & Intermediate Basketball Championships

9/10 Boys Team

The Year 9/10 Basketball team recently enjoyed success at the Diocesan Championships in Port Macquarie. The boys started the competition strongly, enjoying wins against Mt St Pats Murwillumbah, Woodlawn College and St Mary’s Casino.

This placed us first in the pool and put us up against St John Paul College, Coffs Harbour in the semi-final. The boys continued their strong form, getting the win and placing them in the final against Xavier College, Ballina. The boys continued their strong performance, rounding out winners 85-38. Congratulations to all the team on a great effort and being Diocesan Champions. The team now moves on to the NSWCCC finals in Sydney in Term 4. The full squad is Blake Collins, Blake Romer, Kaden Lawler, Brayden Champion, Kaeleb Morris, Lucas Scott, Malachy Kelleher, Izaiah Galea, Felix Hurdle, Cooper Hodge, Zak Hale, Zake Morris, Harley Cottom.

MVP: Blake Collins.

Ryan Adams (Coach)

7/8 Girls Team A

What a pleasure it was to coach this enthusiastic team of young basketballers.  Every game was played with enthusiasm and commitment. Throughout the day they demonstrated a love of basketball, great skills for their age and exemplary sportsmanship. Our first game against Ballina was very competitive and resulted in a draw. We managed to beat Woodlawn by 60 points in our next game but unfortunately still came second in our pool. We were beaten in the semi-final by a very tall and strong Coffs Harbour team, who ultimately won the competition.  I commend the efforts of all members of the team who all represented the school with pride. MVP: Grace Collins

Nicole Thompson (Coach)

7/8 Girls Team B

Last week I was honoured to be asked to coach the 7/8 Girls Basketball Team.

I cannot believe the difference in how the girls played from their first game on Tuesday to their last game on Wednesday! The improvement was so significant. I really enjoyed how the girls came together and persevered against some tough competition. We had such a great few days, learning and playing. 

This team ended up coming in 5th place and I was super proud of their efforts. 

MVP: Mia Zvirzdinas- So much improvement and strength! Well deserved Mia.

Team; Tori McGrath, Mia Zvirzdinas, Jessica Moore, Claire Morris, Lucia Hurdle, London Curtis, Charlotte McEntyre, Annabelle Broderick

Amy Ryals (Coach)

NSW All Schools State Touch Finals 9/10 Boys

The team travelled to Sydney after qualifying earlier in the year for the NSW All-School State Finals. Games were played at The Kingsway Touch fields, St Mary’s. On the first day, the bus travel, the accommodation and the dinner at Penrith Panthers League club were the fun and enjoyable aspects to start the trip. But the second day was all about the games.

The team was in a pool with Cootamundra High School, Ballina High School and Patrician Brothers, Blacktown. The first two matches were convincing wins for the boys. Mistake-free play and solid defence laid the foundations for the wins over Cootamundra and Ballina. At one point in these two matches, Beau Chegwidden has scored 5 straight tries. The final round game against the Patrician Brothers was a very close game, but the middle control of Cooper Lorger and Lucas Scott got the team the win.

In the round of 16 match, the team comfortably accounted for Quirindi High School and moved to the quarter-finals against St Joseph’s Regional College. Whilst it was great to play against our cross-town friends at such a high level, the result did not go our way. After a very slow start, the team was behind early on and was constantly chasing them on the scoreboard, in the end going down 4-3.

Overall the team played some great touch football. Cooper Lorger, Lucas Scott, and Beau Chegwidden led the team and were supported by every other player. All players worked hard to fulfil their role and the boys enjoyed the experience and represented the College with distinction.

MVP: Beau Chegwidden.

Warren Lorger (Coach)

U16 Boys MNC Rugby 7s

On Monday, 7 August two teams of Under 16’s competed in the MNC Rugby 7’s. Both teams were successful in all their pool games and were at the top of their pools.

This meant that they met each other and BDC in the finals to determine the winner.

MacKillop White and MacKillop Blue played an entertaining game against one another and despite White taking an early lead the Blue team struck back and took the win.

Both MacKillop teams played BDC in close matches but BDC proved to be the stronger team. It was a good day and it was fantastic to see rugby being played with great sportsmanship.

Thank you to Hudson Harmer for assisting throughout the day.

MVP for Blue was Beau Chegwidden and MVP for White was shared between Tobias Toohey and Patrick Field.

The players representing MacKillop College were Kodie Baird Moran, Beau Chegwidden, Eddie Coombes, Seamus Cummings, Patrick Field, Riley Hollis, Luke Jones, Cruz Lewis, Cooper Lorger, Hunter Mayes, Jake Morgan, Tyler Morris, Lucas Scott, Huxley Stewart, James Strahorn, Darwin Tink, Tobias Toohey. Thank you to Riley Trotter for running the water.

COACH: James Way/Hudson Harmer

U14 Girls MNC Rugby 7s

On Thursday 10 August, 7 Girls represented the school at the Mid North Coast Rugby 7’s. They played three pool games against St Columba, Kempsey and Wauchope and remained undefeated in these games. In the final, they met BDC who were also undefeated. It was an even game but in the end, we secured the win with a number of 7-point tries.

The students should be congratulated for their efforts and fair play throughout the day. It is great to see how well they support each other on and off the field. The team was London Curtis, Riley Dailey, Gemirah Fernando, Darcie Gleeson, Evie Hewens, Shannon Lusung and Lily Mosley. Thank you to Milla Swain for assisting.

MVP: Evie Hewens

James Way (Coach)

Futsal Champion of Champions Tournaments

U14 Girls Team

The under-14 girls' team was ready and raring with enthusiasm from the get-go. In game one, our opponents were Manning Valley Anglican College. First game nerves were soon overcome and the girls put together some great passes but unfortunately couldn’t find the back of the net. Manning Valley were able to capitalise on every opportunity they had, resulting in a 5-0 loss.

Game two was against Bellingen High School, our girls worked hard and were always encouraging each other. Our super keeper Emily did a superb job in goals, saving many shots that were fired her way. Poppi was on target with a great shot to get our only goal of the day. Despite the girls' best efforts, the result was a 5-1 loss.

Game three, our last-round game was played against Camden Haven High School. MacKillop girls managed to hold strong and keep the ball away from the goals for a period of time. However, a very strong opponent playing as a striker got a roll on and was able to slot away a few goals. Our girls continuously tried right till the very end, as a coach that is all we want to see, we are proud of our students, their positive attitude and their commitment to representing our school.

A friendly game was programmed to finish the day, but unfortunately, the other team didn’t show, which meant that we finished 3rd in our division for the day.  Team members: Leah Hanson, Poppi Maltman, Ava Ribot de Brassac, Lily Rowlatt, Emily Ryan, Charley McGuigan and Lacey Ryan.

MVP: Emily Ryan

Renae Bignell (Coach)

Under 19 Girls Futsal

On Wednesday the Under 19 girls competed at the Northern Champions of Champions play-offs at Port Stadium, with a bit of a mix around and nearly a whole new side as girls were competing in the Bill Turner Play Offs. We managed to gel as a team with only 3 of our original players to take the field. After settling into our first game with new players the girls took their first win against Woodenbong 4-0. While playing in a mixed division of 19s and 16s the girls fought hard only losing 1 game. Camden Haven 16’s was a blinder with a 7-1 win, then Bellingen played extremely well making the game a 1-1 draw, Our loss was against St Claire’s Taree with a late goal making it 2-3 St Claire’s way. It came down to our rival from the last competition Camden Haven 19’s, they have always fought hard against our girls leaving the last round game a 1-1 draw. The girls placed top of the table in points and brought them all into the grand final and came out on top against Camden Haven 19’s 2-1. Great effort girls you all were amazing.

MVP: Alannah Logan-Pye

Susie Coster (Coach)

Representative Sport, Upcoming Events and Registration

All registrations for MacKillop College Representative Sport teams are completed by;

1. Logging into the school Moodle page (Chrome browser).
2. Click on the Student Links tab on the left-hand side
3. Click on the Representative Sports registrations link
4. Click on the relevant sport and fill out the Google form.

Students will be notified through the morning notices of when to sign up and when trials will occur.

Click on this link to register.  Sports currently open for registration are;

• Girls and Boys Cricket (Berg, Downie & Catholic Cup)
• Girls and Boys Waterpolo

MacKillop College Events

Lismore Diocesan Events

The following sports are currently open for students to be able to sign up to or register their interest to trial. These sports have been advertised to students through morning notices over the past week.

Please click on the link below to register for the sports.

NSWCCC & NSW All Schools Events and Registration

Students MUST be registered for the event with parent and Principal or Leader of Sport approval.

Registration is through the CSNSW.sport portal. Details on how to register – Guide For Parents – Sport Registrations >>

Please note that the NSWCCC Sport registrations for individual nominations for 2023 selections are open for the following trials:

For further information, go to the CSNSW Sport website Sport pages. https://csnsw.sport/

Community Sport

If your child has achieved outstanding sporting results in their community sport, we would love to hear about it. Please email myself, or your child’s respective Leader of Pastoral Care, so we can acknowledge these achievements.

If you have any questions regarding sport at MacKillop College, please do not hesitate to contact me either by email or phone at the College.

Erin Denham
Leader of Sport

Canteen Update

To all QKR users please be vigilant when ordering. Cut off time is 8am. Orders placed after 8am are processed for the following day.
Many orders are placed for the wrong day ensuing valuable serving time is lost looking for the order.
If your child is not at school and has ordered online please contact the school to cancel the order.

Monday 28 August
Judy Ryan & Mayo Brumby

Tuesday 29 August
Julie Tipper

Wednesday 30 August
Help Please

Thursday 31 August
Judy Ryan

Friday 1 September
Renee Bullock, Ronnell Skea, Rowena Beukers & Kelly Dingle

Monday 4 September
Kate Perkins & Help Please

Tuesday 5 September
Jodie Buttsworth

Wednesday 6 September
Clarissa Morris & Peta Clancy

Thursday 7 September
Renae Maher & Lisa Hogan

Friday 8 September
Allie Tomanti, Carolyn Horan, Leanne Hatherly & Hana Smith

To order from the canteen:

1. Orders can be written out at the canteen (bags supplied free of charge).

2. Orders can be written out at home and handed in at the canteen.

3. Download the Qkr! app and order online.

All orders are to be in by 8.00 am, please.

Please ensure when ordering online that your child year group is correct

There is hot food available over the counter to purchase, however, to avoid disappointment it is best to order.

Please remind your child/children if you have ordered for them, and what their order is. 

If your child is sick and you have ordered, please phone the canteen (6583 2632) to arrange credit. 

Please note to change your child's year group when using the QKR! app to order lunch for 2022.

Now available: Gluten-free pies $5.00 and gluten-free sausage rolls $4.00; these items must be ordered.

Canteen Help Needed

The canteen is desperately seeking volunteers for one hour per month. No cooking, cleaning or stocking is needed, just serving our lovely students. Even if you can only do one half-hour shift it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you to all of our current volunteers, we appreciate your help.

Sign up and receive a Welcome Pack (coffee voucher, chocolates, voucher for your child to use at the canteen).
Please contact Maxine at the College 6583 2632 or via email at maxine.stone@lism.catholic.edu.au 

Maths Tutorials

Tuesday 7.45am-8.30am and  Friday 7.45am-8.30am

Room 12 Main College with Elizabeth Robertson

Community Events