I am so appreciative of the way our students engaged yesterday with the Feast Day of our Patroness, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.  I was so proud with the way that they conducted themselves in Mass, and the way that they engaged with all of the activities.

Older students – particularly those in the Senior College – THANKYOU.  It makes me so incredibly proud to see the way that you have walked alongside the younger children in our College to help them enjoy their activities.  

I explained to the students at the end of the day that we were now building a P-12 legacy, and that what we plan for now will become simply our College's muscle memory in the very near future.  It is a daunting but also a really exciting thought.  In Toowoomba, we are surrounded by many schools with really rich histories, and it is humbling to know that we are building to join them.

Over the next few weeks, I will be writing to parents to inform them of a few developments.  We will be in a position to start advertising the elective and senior subject pathways for senior soon, which is another key step.  The evening we held last week promoting our subjects was heavily subscribed, and it was tremendous to see students from years 4-11 identifying their personal interests and pathways to success.  

I will also be seeking a deeper consultation into e-learning in the Junior College.  We have some great action research happening with Surface Go devices in year four, and if these continue to be as successful as they have been we will seek to phase out the iPads.  Please, until you hear from the College leadership, do not purchase a device for year 4 next year.  

Next Thursday is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is a Holy Day of Obligation.  We are very fortunate that Fr Brian will be saying Mass in the MacKillop Centre at 7:30am for the Parish.  Any staff, parents or students who want to attend are welcome.  

Thank you very much for the support you as parents and community members have given the College over the past two weeks.  As I said to the Parents' Forum this week, the College's role is to assist you in educating your child, not the other way around, and your presence, witness and support offers such amazing impetus to us.  It is greatly appreciated.  

Last week, the Traffic Management Committee met to discuss ways that we can keep the College site safe as we grow. It is worth stating that we are in the fortunate position of being viewed as a very good example of school traffic management! There is no crisis to fix, but we do know that we are getting bigger as a community and methods that worked well when only a two-form entry primary school are now starting to creak a little.

One interesting comment made recently by a parent relates to community and accountability. It was said that when the College was a small, two-form entry primary school, most parents knew each other well and there was an expectation of mutual accountability. As the College has grown and there is less immediate connection between the parents, it has become more necessary to re-state expectations and improve processes.

To that end, please read below and contact the College if there are any queries.

The Committee’s focus is, in all cases, ease of movement (ie, flow) and student safety.

Ease of movement:

• When you are using a pickup zone, it is be used like a quick-moving taxi rank. Please remain alert to other vehicles and children in the vicinity and do not leave your vehicle.
• The greatest pressure for traffic flow is in the Junior College. To ensure ease of movement, can parents who park at the College after 2:50pm please only park either in the permanent parking spaces facing the flags (note, not the drop off areas near prep), or in the staff carpark.
• Please do not park against the wall abutting the day care centre, or in the car parks opposite them. By parking only in the staff carpark and the area beside it, we can ensure that only one avenue can break the flow of traffic from Uluru and cars can clear the site quicker.

Student safety:

• In the interest of student safety the internal road in Junior will be closed at Junior Reception from 8:45am – 2:45pm. This will enable maximum safety for students travelling around the College. We ask please that parents time their pickup to coincide with these times. For clarity, if you are on site before 2:45 please park your car in a designated zone, go to the administration building and sign in.
• If parking in the car park opposite Uluru remember you need to walk over to collect students. Please do not just call them over as cars are still travelling in both directions and this is a risk to their safety.
• Can drivers using the Kratzke Rd entrance please ensure that all pedestrians are allowed Right of Way.
• All visitors to the College must report to Administration or Junior Reception and sign in. Recent visitors will have seen that we have enhanced security measures with photographic visitor badges to better support student safety. To ensure you don’t interrupt learning time please do not go directly to classrooms during school time for any reason.

We are truly blessed to have enjoyed fine weather, a beautiful Mass,  great food and fun activities on our Feast Day yesterday.

The feast day celebrations began with a whole College Mass in the MacKillop Centre with Fr Brian as presider. We were fortunate to have our Toowoomba Catholic schools Director, Dr Pat Coughlan in attendance for the special feast day Mass.

Across the College the students participated in a range of sporting and service activities during the day culminating in a House Tug O War competition after second break.

The Parents and Friends Association were front and centre at the event - providing not only food and drink at break times but also a fabulous Feast Day cake.  Again, via a kind donation by the P and F, every student received a House Badge and memorial card.  It was really wonderful to see the Senior College working hard after Mass designing shields for the Houses that incorporate the Totems that were established a few years ago.  In the Junior College, the year 6 sport leaders worked with younger classes in helping them affix their badges and explaining the story of the House.  It was our amazing community in action.

Also today's activities saw the inaugural Bianca Cavilieri Cup Netball Game (thanks to Lucy and Annabelle who set this up). It is envisaged this will be an annual event in future, occurring in term 4 and based upon Houses.  

By end of day, every student across the College had opportunity to experience an aspect of the Mary MacKillop charism or Josephite values in some way. This was evident in the beautiful coloured ribbons  displayed across the the fence line of both Highfields and Kratzke Roads.

The P and F President, Leanne Andrews, was really pleased to contribute to the day.  She said, 'The P and F is really proud to help to develop traditions at Mary MacKillop.  Greater House identity will really support every child, so it was wonderful to be able to provide them".  

We will hope to have an even greater celebration in August 2020.  I hope that the children had a really fantastic day.  Please do look at the photos and the video on social media - they really capture the day.

A massive THANK YOU to our entire College community for the response to our Care Pack donation request for Service activities for our feast day. We have been overwhelmed with donation of toiletry items for the Rosie’s Van Care packs, which was one of the service activities across the College yesterday. There are enough items in reserve now to run another Care Pack session later in the year.

This morning John and Fay, Manager and team Leader from Rosie’s van Toowoomba visited the College to collect the baking from the Healing Hands group as well as the care packages which had been put together by students in service group activities yesterday. They were delighted with the generosity of our College community and the support that the work of our students will give to Rosie’s outreach activities across Toowoomba.

Rosie’s van is one of the Catholic Agencies only established in Toowoomba 5 Years ago. The outreach program which offers friendship and hospitality to local homeless and marginalised people relies on donation for many of the goods it shares in its weekly outreach program.

What Rosies Does

Rosies reaches out to those most in need, those people who are abandoned, marginalised, socially isolated within our communities.
 
On The Street Volunteers are asked to commit to 4 hours once a month to outreach. Each volunteer is assigned to a team and each team goes out on to the street once a month. The location is always the same so that our patrons, friends on the street, know where they will be and when.

The team meets at the branch base at the designated time and over the course of an hour they catch up with each other to develop the sense of community and family that we take on to the street. They prepare the van, share relevant information and review recent street reports so they know what has been happening on the street. The Team Leader conducts a simple reflection with the team and leads the Rosies prayer, then the team travels to the outreach location together in the Rosies van. The team spends two hours on the street sharing friendship with a simple drink and a bite to eat. After two hours the outreach is concluded and the team travels back to base together in the Rosies van. The team, unpacks, cleans up and has a debrief before leaving for home.

Our 2020 Prep classes are filling fast! To find out more about all we have to offer your child in Prep, visit us for our Open Morning or call us on 07 4698 7777. REGISTER ONLINE.

You're invited to our College Race Day!

Parents, friends and family of Mary MacKillop Catholic College are invited to join us for our 2019 Race Day on Saturday, 14 September 2019.

Together with our major sponsor, Toowoomba Plastics, we will be hosting an event to Build Community Together at Clifford Park Racecourse, Toowoomba.

Tickets include:

Entry to the exclusive event in the Clive Berghofer Grande Atrium
Welcome Drink
4 Hours of Canapes & Charcuterie boards
Live Band
Private trackside courtyard to all 7 races
Great raffles prizes
This is a cocktail style event, so no table reservations are required.

To book your tickets go to Trybooking.com and follow our Facebook Event page.

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We are running another competition to WIN 2 FREE TICKETS to the Mary MacKillop Catholic College & Toowoomba Plastics Race Day

✅✅How to enter:
1. Purchase a minimum of 2 tickets to the event before midnight Thursday, 15 August.

If you are on Facebook, go to this post

2. Share the post.
3. Tag your friends to remind them to get their tickets!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS!
👉https://www.trybooking.com/BDQQJ

All tickets purchased (minimum 2 tickets per transaction) up until midnight on 15 August will go into the draw to win their tickets back in cash!

*All ticket purchases of 2 or more that have already been made, will also be entered into the draw!

This competition is open to all ticket purchases (including parents, staff and community members).

______________________

Thanks to the following sponsors for their generous contributions:

Platinum Plus – Toowoomba Plastics
Platinum – BBC Queensland
Gold – Channel 9 Darling Downs
Silver – Scrivens Haulage
Bronze – Fred Voll Plumbing & Gas, Southern Energy Services and Quadtech Solutions
Impact Lighting Co.
All profits will go towards classroom technology upgrades across the College.

Please see attached flyers from the Department of Transport and Main Roads regarding road safety.

National Science Week is happening next week at your Before School Care / After School Care service at Mary MacKillop Catholic College between the 12th and 16th of August.  

Highfields and District Little Athletics 2019/2020 Season Sign On

Where: Kratzke Road Ovals, Highfields

When: Friday, 16 August

Time: 5.30pm - 7pm

Offering athletics competitions and coaching Saturday mornings for Tiny Tots to U17s.

For more information, see our facebook page or website; www.highfieldslittleathletics.com

Learning to spell is a highly complex business. Some children learn to spell effortlessly – most get there in the end, but too many find the process of learning to spell arduous. Spelling must be made fun, enjoyable and interesting. Children learn to spell in different ways.

Visual

"Does it look right?" Writer responds to the shapes of words and the patterns of the letter-strings within words.

Auditory

"Sound it out!" Writer recognises the relationship between sounds and letters or groups of letters, and analyses words in these terms.

Kinesthetic

"Let the spelling come out of the end of your pencil!" Spelling as a grapho-motor skill: writer is accustomed to making specific hand-movements to produce particular words or letter strings.

Linguistic

"Why is it spelt like that?" Writer is aware of relationships between words or parts of words, based on meanings, syntax, derivations, etc

All children have a preferred learning style and by offering them activities which suit this, they can learn more quickly and effectively.

Visual: By looking at the letter/word as it is said or written, a visual link is created to the manual, oral and auditory channels.

Auditory: By listening to the phoneme/word as it is said and written, an aural link is created to the manual visual and oral channels.

Oral Kinasethetic: By saying the letter/word as it is viewed or written, an oral link is created to the manual, visual and auditory channels.

Manuel Kinasethetic: By writing/creating/modeling/tracing the letter/word as it is viewed or spoken, a manual link is created to the oral, visual and auditory channels.

Learning Strategies for Spelling

Sounding out Eg. C-a-t, Sh-i-p.

This is the most popular method for teaching spelling. Ask the child to spell out or "segment" the word they want to spell, then write the constituent sounds. Children use pure sounds.

Syllabification Clap out and say each of the syllables. Eg. Re–mem-ber

Analogy Making families of words Eg. Night, fright, sight, slight

Root E.g. bi (two) cycle (circle) = bicycle

Prefixes and suffixes E.g. Dis-satisfied Rules E.g. "i" before "e" except after "c"

Word ending in Y such as fairy/fairies (consonant +y = ies) Donkey/donkeys (vowel +y = ys)

Referring to the family words that articulate the ambiguous letters E.g. Definite – finite, final, infinity Muscle – muscular

Sounding out words as they are spelt Eg. Wed-nes-day

Words within words Eg. There is a rat in separate

Mnemonics Big Elephants Can Always Upset Small Elephants

Glossary of Terms

Consonant – any letter of the alphabet which is not a vowel.

Digraph – Two letters which together make one unit of sound, e.g. sh. th, ee, oa.

Grapheme – The written representation of letters which represent the sounds.

Homophone – a word which sounds the same as another word but is spelt differently and has a different meaning, e.g. hear and here

Phonetics – system of spelling words by representing sounds with syllables

Phoneme – the smallest unit of sound in a word, e.g. c/a/t, sh/o/p, t/ea/ch/er.

Prefix – small addition to a word made by joining on one or more letters at the beginning, e.g. pre, anti

Plural – a plural word refers to more than one thing, e.g. books

Segmenting – means hearing the individual phonemes within a word – for instance the word "crash" consists of four phonemes: "c-r-a-sh". In order to spell this word, a child must segment it into its component phonemes and choose a grapheme to represent each phoneme.

Singular – the name referring to one thing or a group of things, e.g. man, book, flock

Split digraph – two letters, which work as a pair, split, to represent one sound, e.g. a-e as in cake, or i-e as in kite

Suffix – a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to change the way you use it, e.g. coward – cowardly

Syllable – a combination of one or more vowels and consonants which can make one short word or part of a longer word, e.g. won-der-ful

Trigraph – three letters which together make one sound but cannot be separated into smaller phonemes, e.g. igh as in light, ear as in fear and tch as in watch

Vowel – there are 5 vowels in the alphabet - aeiou

As always, if you would like to know more please contact your child's classroom teacher.

Tom Gartner, Dylan Schmaling, Lucas Paynter, Lane Richardson, Dylan Baryla, Clayton Pearson, Declan Pearson and Lachlan Mayes represented the College at the Willowbank round of the QLD HPV Super Series  on Wednesday 1st August.  They competed in the Junior restricted class 4 hour race, doing extremely well to pass the chequered flag in 4th position.  The boys had a fantastic day competing against a number of prominent Queensland schools.  The highlight of the day being the chance for the students to test their speed down the famous Willowbank dragway.

On Tuesday July 30, the Senior Subject Showcase was held at the College. Targeted sessions regarding structure of Senior School, elective subjects, the new QCE system and ATAR and external examinations were provided for the parents and students. Parents and students also had the opportunity to see and discuss the range of subjects offered at the College.

The Mary MacKillop Centre was a 'buzz' as enthusiastic teachers shared their passion for their subject and attempted to convince the students to choose their subject.

Further information will be provided regarding the final processes for students to choose their subjects for 2020.

Thank you to all those parents and students that attended this event. As teachers, we value in forming positive relationships with the parents so we can work together to draw out the best in our students.

If you could not attend and would like information presented, please contact the College.

On Tuesday 6th August, pastoral care groups, Penola 1 and 3, hosted a bake sale and raised $205 for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. 

The money raised was double the original fundraising goal and will go towards supplying two older Australians with warm clothes. 

This initiative was run as part of the College's Catholic Education Week celebrations and embodied the theme 'Many voices - One spirit' by allowing the students to demonstrate charity to those who are less fortunate. 

Thank you to the parents who supported the bake sale which provided our students with the opportunity to give back to our wider community. 

On Thursday, 1st August our 9.2 debating team completed against Centenary Heights State High School in the quarter-finals of the Queensland Debating Union competition. Unfortunately the team was unsuccessful in defending the topic ‘That we should only teaching Australian literature, film and music in schools.’ The girls represented the College well and have improved their confidence and ability in public speaking throughout the season. Well done to Sarah Coster, Amity Boston, Bronte Gillett and Lily Hayes. We will begin preparation for the 2020 season during Term 4 so any students across current Grades 6 to 11 should make contact with Mr Ryan Cavanough to indicate their interest in competing.

As we near the start of Book Week (17-23 August) it is timely to reflect on the importance of promoting  the enjoyment of reading and sharing stories with children.

Reading with babies and young children helps your child's development in the following ways:

•    helps children to become familiar with sounds, words and language
•    learn to value books and stories
•    spark your child's imagination and stimulate curiosity
•    help your child's brain, social and communication skills to develop
•    help your child understand change and new or frightening events and also the strong emotions that go along with them.
•    promotes bonding and helps to build your relationship

Choose books that are the right length for your child and that match their interests. Even reading for a few minutes a day is effective - you don't always have to finish the book. 

Research suggests that we should not stop reading with our children just because they have learned to read independently. We should continue reading with our children until they no longer wish to share reading with us. By ensuring that reading together is an enjoyable experience we can influence children’s future attitudes toward reading, as well as building their confidence and competence as readers. It is worth the effort to find time to share this experience with our children in the early years and beyond.

Please see below a reminder about our Book Week celebrations:

• P-6 Book Character Dress Up Parade and Readers' Cup Competition - Wed 21 August
• MaryMac Quidditch Cup (Year 6-11)  - Wed 21 August
• Book Fair in the Junior Library (see below table)

Yesterday, we gathered and gave thanks to God for St Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first Saint and our College patron.

Mary MacKillop is also known as Mary of the Cross. She was an extraordinary Australian woman who devoted her life to caring for the poor and defending the rights of all people. Mary had a dream that poor children in rural Australia would be able to go to school. In 1866 she opened her first school in Penola in South Australia. Many women wanted to help Mary in her work and the group that gathered to help her teach and care for the poor was called the Sisters of St Joseph.

Mary and her sisters faced many hardships doing their work for God. Her tireless dedication and trust in God still inspire Australians and people throughout the world. It had long been a dream of the Sisters of St Joseph that our Church would recognise the work of Mary MacKillop. As a result of their advocacy and in a very special way Mary MacKillop was canonised on Sunday, October 17, 2010.

As a College community we thank God for her life and the gift that she was and is to Australia. We especially pay tribute to the vision and guide that she continues to be for us as the patron saint of our College community….

As a College community, we seek to espouse the values and qualities of Mary in our everyday faith and actions by - Engaging minds, Igniting hearts and Serving others. The students know and refer to this as our 'heads, hearts and hands'.

At Mass yesterday we placed these symbols as a reminder of the significance Mary has on what we do and how we do it every day at Mary MacKillop Catholic College, Highfields.

• a photo of St Mary of the Cross to help us to remember all we know about her. This photo was gifted to the College in 2004 by the Sisters of St Joseph (heads)
• a candle to remind us to let our light shine like St Mary of the Cross did. (Hearts)
• a wooden holding cross. Mary MacKillop was known as Mary of the Cross. (hands)

The great leadership of Year 6 students who led MJR Peer Support last term has left a lasting impression on our younger students. Lots of great experiences have been happening across the College in the past few weeks as students and teachers endeavour to make Jesus known. 

Prep students have been ‘colouring their world with kindness’. Year 4 students have been delving in to how, when we ‘meet, great and speak’ to people we should be reflecting Jesus’ Spirit in all our interactions and 4 Bunya and 2 Argyle have taken on a ‘kindness challenge’. Year 1 have reflected on what they are grateful for. They made fabulous ‘Thankful Glasses’ and learnt to dance the ‘Gratitude Dance’. A couple of the Year 1 students Hi-5 me as they walk past me in the playground and I am constantly reminded that Jesus is alive in everyday interactions and happenings in our lives.

An invitation is extended to any Highfields district children in Year 3 or older, who wish to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Please contact Fr. Brian on 4696 7094 or Beth McCormack on 0412 018 177 before Monday, August 12 if you are interested.

A parent information session will be held on Monday, August - 5:30 to 6:30pm in the Junior Library at Mary MacKillop Catholic College.

Parents only need to attend. Please bring a copy of your child's baptismal certificate as well. 

The Reconciliation Ceremony will be held on Thursday, 19 September at 6:00pm.

Activities for Child Protection Week (1-7 September 2019)

 The safety and wellbeing of students is something that we care about deeply. As part of Child Protection Week there will be a number of activities occurring in our school, as well as other schools across the Diocese. These include:

• Lessons from the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum for students in Prep – Year 9
•  Presentation of a 4-minute video that was filmed with students from our Catholic schools, called “It’s OK to Speak Up”. This video encourages students to tell someone about any worries they may have.
• Display of Child Protection Week poster.
• Some schools will be randomly selected to participate in a survey of staff, students and parents about student protection matters. This state-wide project is being coordinated by the Queensland Catholic Education Commission and 17 of our schools will participate.

After receiving an overwhelming expression of interest from parents of female students in years 8-10, the Resilience Skills Program commenced Thursday 25/7/19 with 15 participants securing a place in the group. This program was organised in line with MMCC's commitment to supporting the development of a resilient and engaged community, and the Wellbeing team's focus on skills building and prevention. The program is delivered after school, will run for 10 weeks, is facilitated by USQ Clinical Psychology Masters Students and is overseen by the College Guidance Counsellor. 

Mental health and wellbeing is more than the absence of illness. The World Health Organisation defines wellbeing as “the state in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her own community”.

The program is equipping students with the following skills: Emotion regulation for managing intense feelings; Distress tolerance for difficult situations; Interpersonal effectiveness for healthy relationships; and Mindfulness. These skills will support our students to develop adaptive coping strategies that will increase resilience, promote healthy relationships with peers and empower students to navigate the challenges of adolescence.

Click here for more information about resilience.  

On Tuesday August 6, the Senior girls participated in their first ever Red Lions Soccer Competition at Highfields Sport and Recreation Park. Despite losing the first the three games, the students continued to improve each games and demonstrated outstanding enthusiasm and determination. In our final game, we managed to draw against Concordia Lutheran College. It was a great way to finish the day.

Coaches and parents from other schools commented on how they loved seeing the positive attitude displayed by our girls.

Another comments which I thought was fantastic was that, 'Mary MacKillop Catholic College is popping up everywhere’. It is great that not only are we visually present in the community, but our students are displaying character traits that we can be so proud of.

Thanks to all the senior students who were part of this team. The momentum and passion that these students displayed, will inspire other students to represent Mary MacKillop Catholic College with pride.

This morning at Assembly, students were awarded Age Champion and Age Champion (runner-up).

Overall the winning house from the College Athletics Carnival was: TENISON

Congratulations to the following students:

A great start to the Term 3 Friday Sport season for MMCC. We have teams playing Football (Soccer), Rugby League, Netball and Hockey. Many thanks to the staff involved. Week 1 saw us travel to a number of venues around Toowoomba and return with some impressive results across all codes.

A reminder again that buses will likely be back at school after 3pm, so alternative arrangements need to be made for students who are impacted by this.

The Mary MacKillop Catholic College rugby union season was launched last week.  Mr Faessler, Mr Griffiths and Mr Coren have been working very hard to increase participation in both rugby 7s and 15s, and we are set for some quality outings this term and next.  

We were very excited to be visited by Cassidy Holland and Jannicke Ijdens for the launch.  Mr Holland is the current coach of the AON University of Queensland 7s team, and has coached the Australian 7s Development and the Queensland 7s teams.  Ms Ijdens is captain of the Netherlands rugby team, and also captain of the UQ side that will compete in the AON competition this Spring.  I was very fortunate as a younger man to play alongside Cassidy in the Gold Coast Premiership, and it is clear that he brings  the same passion and intensity to his coaching as he did to his playing.  

It is an incredible honour to have coaching of this calibre at Mary MacKillop.  I hope that the students found it insightful and beneficial.  We will also be following UQ closely in the AON comp and hoping for another national victory.  

The launch concluded with a sausage sizzle, raffle and presentation to Cassidy, Jannicke and David.

The students are currently preparing for the Term 4 South West 7s competition and competing in the Darling Downs Super Schools Cup.

Thirty MMCC students traveled to Oakey last week to contest the Inner Downs Athletics Carnival. On a beautiful winter's day, there were some admirable performances. The focus of this carnival is changing next year and the focus will be on school vs school competition, rather that qualification for Darling Downs. In a great team performance, Mary Mac placed 2nd in both the overall points score and the aggregate percentage trophy (based on enrolment numbers). Next year, we will look at pushing this event as a great way to represent the College. Some of our standout performances are as follows:

Thank you to the students who attended the day for their exemplary behaviour, Mrs Sheldrick for her organisation and the parents who traveled out to support the team.

As part of Catholic Education Week, MMCC sent Year 5 and 6 students to participate in a Catholic Schools Touch and Netball Gala Days. In both sports, we contested the Year 6 Competitive division and the Year 5 Non-competitive. In both sports, our students competed admirably and enjoyed wins, losses and draws on the day. Most importantly, they experienced a carnival type atmosphere and had the opportunity to interact with other students from around the Diocese. Many thanks to Miss Carroll, Mr Hubbard, and Senior School students Ella Carlish, Lara Fitzgerald, Christiana Reisinger and Lily Merritt for their organisation and assistance on the day.