The P and F very generously sponsored a guest speaker this week.  Eric Bailey is a former NBL Basketball player who shares a message of positivity, resilience and right choices.  I am very appreciative to the P and F for both suggesting and funding this activity.  Every chance we get to speak with our students about good choices should be taken.

The past few weeks have been characterised by a really positive culture of participation and aspiration.  Our students have been engaged in soccer, netball and rugby, and have had some really good results.  It was wonderful to see the netball girls have a final victory against St Ursula's after what had at times been a challenging season.   The College is gaining a reputation as a dogged opponent on the soccer pitch too.  Those who were at Gold Park on Wednesday would have seen some fantastic rugby too with our younger boys narrowly missing a win and the older boys lifting the trophy undefeated.  

These sports are key to an education of the 'whole child'.  They enable growth in strength, dignity and resilience.  Thank you to the teachers, parents and students who make these events possible.  

As we grow, particularly in the senior College, there is the need for more buildings and more staff.  Alongside Ms Cridland, Mrs O'Rourke, Mrs Adler and Mr Naiker, I have been interviewing potential new middle leaders and teachers for 2021.  We have been blessed with some fantastic appointments which I am really looking forward to welcoming.  I will also be in a position, soon I hope, to announce the commencement of further buildings.

Thank you so much for your support in what we do. 

Chris Gabbett
College Principal

A reminder to any families who may be moving or relocating from Highfields, please note our Cancellation Policy. Any families intending to withdraw their child's enrolment for Term 4, 2020, must notify the College by no later than 4:00pm, Thursday, 17 September 2020 to avoid billing of Term 4 fees.

Enrolment Cancellation

Should your circumstances change and your child/ren will not be continuing at the College, we ask for the earliest notice possible. For the purposes of planning and resourcing, we require notification by the final day of the end of the current term.

Notification is defined as the date of the receipt of the Notification of Transfer form. Invoices for fees are sent in the final week of the previous term, and failure to provide this notice will result in one terms’ fee being invoiced to you.

Exceptions to this Policy are at the discretion of the Principal.

A Notification of Transfer form must be completed to initiate the cancellation of your child’s enrolment at the College.

Please contact the Enrolments Officer to discuss your intentions.

Supportive, super, strong.  Are these qualities that describe someone special in your life?  

This weekend, we celebrate the people who are compassionate, caring, supportive, sporty, generous, enthusiastic, protective, to name but a few qualities but most of all loving.  Its our fathers, dads, grandfathers or the father figure in our lives. 

I think about my dad as someone who was always there for me growing up and still is today.  He was someone who loved working with his hands but very clever academically as well.  Dad never expected me to be anything but my best and always supported me in my dreams to be a teacher and I love him for that.

Sunday is a great opportunity to go the extra mile and say thank you for everything that your dad does for you and to acknowledge him as the great dad.  Thank you to all the dads and granddads our of school for being who you are.  

We have created a virtual liturgy to mark this occasion due to the Covid restrictions at present. This has been emailed to all families, and is available via the Youtube video above and our social pages over the weekend.  Enjoy and thank you to everyone who sent photos in.  (We apologise but unfortunately not all of them could be used).

Happy Father's Day!  

Paula O'Rourke
APRE

This week, we started the season of spring but also the start of the International Ecumenical Season of Creation.  The month of September is a time to reflect and embrace the environment.  In recent years, statements from religious leaders around the world have also encouraged the faithful to take time to care for creation during the month-long celebration.  One particular leader is Pope Francis who wrote the encyclical - Laudato Si.  The season starts 1 September, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations. Throughout the month-long celebration, the world’s 2.2 billion Christians are encouraged to come together to care for our common home - our planet Earth.  

So what can we do?  Each week there is a focus on a particular environmental area so why not visit places in each theme or do something to ensure this ecosystem is its best - clean up around the stream or river near you.  While you are there, spend some time sitting in the environment, taking in God's presence through your senses - touch, feel, smell, sight and hearing.  Here are the foci for each week:

Week 1: Celebrating Forests

Week 2: Celebrating Land

Week 3: Celebrating The Outback

Week 4: Celebrating Rivers

Week 5: Protectors of God’s Gifts (coinciding with the Feast of St Francis of Assisi)

Fr Julian Tenison Woods, co founder of the Josephite Sisters with Mary MacKillop was a Catholic priest first and foremost but he also had an interest in the environment.  When he was sent to remote parts of the country as a priest he would relish the opportunity to spend spare time exploring the ecosystem with books, writing materials, a geological hammer and pocket lens tucked into the saddlebags alongside his breviary, Greek Testament and portable altar service.  He was known as a bush scientist: a amateur geologist.  In his travels around South Australia and then other parts of Australia he collected samples from the environment especially butterflies, beetles, curious stones, shells, fossils and miscellaneous curios but also soil and rock formations as well.  Due to his interest and passion for the environment and his contribution to science, he was awarded the prestigious Clarke Medal by he Royal Society of NSW in 1888.  

So throughout the month of September, lets spend some time exploring our own environment but also other ecosystems and 'celebrate God in all things'.  For those who are interested in linking prayer or to the group here is their website Seasons of Creation  

Holidays are not far away - what a great opportunity to explore!

So don't forget to smell the roses and reflect on what Mary MacKillop wrote "See the beauty of God" (1873) and go out into the spring air to enjoy our environment.

In God's love and care,

Paula O'Rourke 

 Assistant Principal Religious Education

Thank you to our Religion Department Feature Teacher for Week 6, Mrs Megan Puhakka. 

This week's Feature Teacher is our Assistant Principal Religious Education - Mrs Paula O'Rourke!

What do you teach at Mary MacKillop Catholic College?

I teach Year 7 Religion.

How long have you taught in Catholic schools?

I have taught across the Diocese of Toowoomba for 26 years.

How do you live out your faith every day?

Every day is a new day and a new way to live my life. Each day I greet people with a smile and without prejudice. I spend some time reflecting in the morning while I am walking – taking in the environment that God has created for us to look after. I also have an App on my phone that gives me a piece of scripture or a saying from Mary MacKillop that I take with me for the day. I spend some time before I go to sleep at night thanking God for my day – no matter what it was like. I take notice of the beautiful things that occur throughout each day – a particular plant flowering, the way someone smiled, people’s interactions, the sky, anything in the environment.

Why do you think Religious Education is important for our students?

Religious Education is important for students as it offers them a way to live their lives every day; it teaches them about how we should be treating each other; it gives them skills to look and critical think about the events that happen in our world that challenge us; it teaches about social justice. Most importantly, Religious Education allows students to reflect and be mindful so that they can be better people.

Which topic/s in Religious Education do you enjoy teaching most?

I enjoy teaching students about how we can make religion meaningful today. The scripture stories all have messages for us, but it's about how we engage with them to learn from them even as an ancient text. The main strand that I really enjoy is the Christian Life.

Thank you to Mrs O'Rourke for providing an insight into her career and her passion for teaching Religious Education. 

Leisa Radley

Director of Formation

Tony's Kitchen

Throughout the year, our students do things to support organisations in their role of supporting the less fortunate or vulnerable.  As part of our Feast Day activities, some students cooked biscuits for Tony's Kitchen and Rosies. Recently, we received a thank you letter from the members of Tony's Kitchen thanking us very much for our wonderful gift.  This letter is attached for you to read and find our how our gift supported their organisation.   

Rosies

Due to Covid 19 restrictions, the Rosies School Support Program will not be proceeding this year.  We look forward to 2021 where we will hopefully be able to recommence this service with Rosies.  Jim and Fay Stein have sent a message for us as well...

"A huge thank you to you all.....especially the great bakers of the beautifully presented biscuits. We know our Wednesday and Sunday patrons will be peering in the box looking to see what special treats are for their afternoon tea and that they will be reading the message sent with love from the College. We can’t tell you enough how much enjoyment this brings to their lives making them valued as a person. They always ask us to pass on their thanks for the time and effort that has gone into making the biscuits especially for them. We would really appreciate it if you could pass on this message of thanks to everyone who has gifted their time to make a difference."

Once again - Thank you to everyone who supports our school in supporting these organisations in their role in the community.

Paula O'Rourke

Assistant Principal Religious Education

It's that time again! With October just around the corner, the AMMA group is gearing up for Socktober! So, dig through those drawers for bright or crazy socks and gather your gold coins because this year AMMA have lots of great activities happening. 

Socktober - an initiative of Catholic Mission - invites schools to engage with mission in an holistic way within the head, heart, hands model: encouraging a learning mind, an open heart and hands for action. Children experience how their brothers and sisters around the world play the game of soccer, learn about life in Cambodia and other developing countries, and take concrete action with the support of their family and friends.

This year, the following activities will be running and we encourage all students from Prep to Year 11 to start gathering their gold coins.

Thursday, Week 4, October 29 - Socktober Day

This is the AMMA group's annual "Socktober Day". Here is how your child/ren can be involved:

• Wear bright and crazy socks with their regular school uniform. Don't forget to bring in a gold coin donation! Donations can go to their classroom teacher or PC teacher. (Proceeds will go to Catholic Mission);
• P-6 students can purchase tickets in a raffle which will include a variety of products including crazy socks, stationery and lollies. Tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5. (Proceeds will go to AMMA)
• Year 5-11 students can register a team in the Socktober Cup - a soccer competition which will run in the days leading up to "Socktober Day". Teams needs to be made up of 5 students and registration is $15/team (e.g. $3 per student) (Proceeds will go to Catholic Mission)
• Year 7-11 students can purchase tickets to partake in a Hundreds Board. (Proceeds will go to AMMA)

Team registration for Socktober Cup, along with the selling of raffle tickets will occur in the next few weeks of Term 3 and early Term 4. In the meantime, students may like to start organising their crazy or bright socks and also considering if they'd like to register a soccer team for the Socktober Cup (Year 5s-11s only). 

If you would like to add an additional donation to the Socktober initiative, we have a College fundraising page which can be accessed via this link: https://www.socktober.org.au/fundraising/pages/mary-mackillop-catholic-college-highfields 

Watch this space as well as your emails for more information over the coming weeks.

Together, we can sock it to poverty!

Leisa Radley 

Director of Formation 

Sacrament of Confirmation

Over the past two weeks, I have meet with the students who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation in a couple of weeks. We have reviewed topics in the book in relation to baptism and then the link to confirmation. I would encourage parents to continue to have these conversations about the sacrament and complete the booklet with your child. We look forward to celebrating with you on Wednesday, 16th September.  

Please keep these children in your prayers as they continue their faith journey by receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation:

Elke Adamski, Nash Adamski, Darbi Argus, Joseph Brosnan, Ava Franzmann, Phoebe Hohn, Kaley Jones, Joseph Kennedy, Ryan Kruger, Lexi McCotter, Olivia McMahon, William O'Dea, Connor Ryan, Lucy Ryan, Reuben Semmens, Charlie Sheath, Eliza Skewes, Charlie Usher, Deanna Verches, Emily Wann, Samantha Wann, Zoe Ward and Ashley Williams.

May God be always with you.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

The information session for parents will be held on Tuesday, 8th September, in the MacKillop Centre at 5:30 pm.  Students do not need to be present as it is an information session for you as parents.  If you haven't confirmed with the Nadine Dolan or myself about your intention to participate we are happy for you to turn up.  We will be following social distancing restrictions and ask you to sign in on arrival at the MacKillop Centre, use the hand sanitiser provided and sit 1.5m apart.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated on Tuesday, 10th November, at 6 pm (unless Covid 19 doesn't allow us to continue).  Practice will take place on  Monday, 9th November at 3:30pm.

I look forward to meeting you at the information session.

Paula O'Rourke 

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Mass is celebrated every Sunday at 8 am in the MacKillop Centre.  We would love for you to celebrate with our wider community.  Please use this link to register your attendance - Mass Registration 

Flowers for Confirmation

The Sacramental group are looking for anyone who has some red native flowers in their garden that you would be willing to share.   Please contact Trish Gall or Paula O'Rourke if you do so that we can organise to collect them.  

Thank you.

Paula O'Rourke

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Families Digital Technologies – Explore, Learn and be Inspired

The Digital Technologies Hub is a wonderful website to explore for families. There is a host of activities designed to be completed at home or in your local neighbourhood, to assist in building your child’s knowledge of the Digital Technologies curriculum. The link to the website is below:

https://www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/families/learning-at-home

What I really like about this website is that it is user friendly, the website is easy to navigate, all the information you need for each activity is provided and you don’t have to have a degree in technology to support your child’s learning.

There are activities for all ages from 5 through to 16 years and provide for a range of interests.

Prep Writing

I was fortunate to have a visit from 2 Prep students, Jackson Hughes and Dwyer Fox. Students in Prep Bilbies and have been learning about the word family, ‘en’. Both boys proudly demonstrated their ‘en’ word family list of words, which they incorporated into a book! That’s right, a book! Jackson and Dwyer read their story to me fluently and with enthusiasm. Thank you, Jackson and Dwyer, for sharing your love of writing with me.

CTJ Day

On Friday 8 September, teachers across the diocese will be participating in ‘Consistency of Teacher Judgment’ Day. At MMCC, the teachers will be moderating an English unit. What does this entail? Teachers will be required to examine an English unit and provide feedback regarding to: Planning for Personalised Learning; Alignment of the Achievement Standard (planning and assessment); Differentiation within the unit; evidence of different assessment opportunities; and moderation of assessment pieces.

It will be a big day cognitively for teachers with each year level moderating a unit of work from start to finish.

Inspire Maths

Each fortnight Rebecca Brownhall from TCSO has been providing opportunities for interested teachers to upskill in Mathematics. I commend the professionalism and dedication of teachers who are taking ownership of their own professional growth and development. These opportunities can only value add to our expertise and benefit our students.

Natalie Adler
Assistant Principal: Teaching and Learning Junior

Although, we've got one term left to go, we're in the midst of preparing and planning for 2021. Internal Assessment (IA) 1 and 2, for General English and IA1 for Essential English have been endorsed and are ready to use for our current Year 11 cohort, as they embark on Unit 3. In fact, Unit 3 work, will begin in Term 4 this year for both English and Essential English. 

We have a number of exciting opportunities in English next year, led by the introduction of Literature into Year 11. Literature follows the same course structure as General English; however, as the name suggests, there is a heavier focus on the study of  literature. There are also a number of differences in the types of assessments students are required to sit. This week, we have begun our backward mapping from Unit 4 to Unit 1 to determine the necessities of the course and to choose texts which will suit our students in our context. 

We're also very excited by the introduction of a Year 9/10 elective, Literature and Creative Writing, next year. This course will be relatively advanced, and will prepare students for the requirements of Literature and Senior English.

Of course, we still need to complete this year. Our 12 students are fully immersed in the study of Macbeth. We have completed our study of the text and are beginning to deconstruct sample questions and complete practice essays. Similarly, the Essential English students have their Common Internal Assessment in Term 4 and they too are immersed in preparing for this. All Junior classes are currently working on assessment, whilst Year 10 students are preparing for an exam on Romeo and Juliet. 

Christopher Bracken
Director of English and Literacy

For more videos on our 2021 Senior Curriculum, take a look at our Curriculum Handbooks on our website.

As you are no doubt aware, the technology landscape that today’s children are growing up in is drastically different to the one we had as children ourselves. Children in Australia now have their first online experience at 2 years old on average, and have personal ownership of their own devices by an average of 9 years old.

Whilst new technologies provide our children with wonderful opportunities, they are also having an ever increasing impact on their development, education, safety and mental health.

As a College that prides itself on preparing our students for life in the real world, we recognise that as the technological landscape continues to rapidly evolve, we too must evolve the way we support and guide our students in their online development and use of technology.

With this in mind, we are excited to announce that we have partnered with Family Zone to implement changes to our cyber safety measures at Mary MacKillop Catholic College.

Who is Family Zone?

Family Zone is an Australian ASX-listed global cyber safety provider. They currently serve over 1,800 schools, 1 million students and 220,000 parents across Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the United States by providing tools to help all stakeholders guide a child's digital journey.

What will this mean for me and my child?

The Family Zone technology is software that will be installed on each student's primary learning device and will allow the school to better maintain our duty of care during school hours by ensuring the students are safe online no matter what network they are connected to.

By default, the Family Zone App will only be active during school hours. However, all parents at the school will be given the opportunity to activate it at home.

What will activating Family Zone at home provide me?

Family Zone will provide you with tools to help you understand and engage with your child’s use of the internet at home.

It will provide you with weekly reports of how your child is spending their online time, and if you wish, tools to allow you to limit access to certain types of content at certain times of day e.g. no Netflix during ‘homework’ time.

Each family will receive multiple licences allowing you to install on other devices such as mobile phones if you wish, but the extent to which you use the tools will be entirely up to you, and your child.

Is it going to be compulsory that parents activate it at home?

No - Activation outside of school hours will be entirely optional and at each family's discretion.

However, as a school, we would strongly encourage you to support us in this cybersafety initiative.

With today's children spending as much as 50% of their waking hours online in a world with no boundaries or restrictions, we firmly believe it to be essential we apply the same guidance and support in their digital development that we offer them in the real world.

It is our strong hope that as a school community, our partnership with Family Zone will empower both us as a school and you as our parents with the tools and information we need to achieve this.

What happens next?

Over the coming weeks we’ll be working with Family Zone to configure the solution at the College. We will also be working to educate the students about the program to ensure a smooth transition.

Once we have the College set up, you’ll receive more information about the program, including details on how to activate your account and dates for parent information nights. In the meantime, to learn more about Family Zone, please visit their website.

At Mary MacKillop Catholic College we are committed to ensuring our students get the very best education in all aspects of life so they can leave fully prepared for the world they will enter in the future, and we firmly believe that this new cybersafety initiative is the best way to achieve that goal.

We look forward to your support.

Sean Albion 

Assistant Principal Wellbeing - Senior

GUEST SPEAKER

On Monday of this week, the students in years 5 and 6 had the opportunity to listen to a guest speaker- Eric Bailey. Eric, an ex NBL player, spoke to these students around the decisions and choices they make each day, that could influence their future.

Some quotes from Eric that for us all to reflect on- regardless of our age.

• Give 100% for every breath that you take
• Believe that you are worth fighting for
• You have to make things happen for yourself
• Every day you have a chance to rewrite your future- but no one can do it for you!
• Today, I am going to be better than I was yesterday.

We are grateful to the College P & F, who made this opportunity available for our students.

POSITIVE LEARNING BEHAVIOURS

At Mary MacKillop Catholic College we THINK  and LEARN with our head, heart and hands.

The positive learning behaviours are

Week 8

Prep and Year One- HEART behaviour - have a positive attitude

Years Two - Six- HEART behaviour- strive for success

Week 9

Prep and Year One- HEART behaviour - continue to have a positive attitude

Years Two - Six- HEART be passionate about self-improvement

Bridget Rillie

Assistant Principal Wellbeing: Junior

When we take care of ourselves we are in a better position to help others, and as members of the Mary MacKillop community, this is what we are all about! Our wellbeing is imperative to our effectiveness as not only individuals, but most importantly, as members of social networks who support and serve others.

For some, self care is perceived as selfish or indulgent, but we know that if we are wanting to be at our best we must prioritise efforts to take care of ourselves. Self care practices increase resilience and our capacity to bounce forward in the face of challenge or adversity - and life is full of this!

The attached calendar offers simple but effective strategies for each day of September to prompt self care actions that support wellbeing. Discussing these as a family is a great way to promote this adaptive coping strategy, and begins a narrative that highlights the need to check in with yourself, to monitor your internal experience, and to proactively consider how to refill - because YOU CAN'T POUR FROM AN EMPTY CUP.

You can also use the Action for Happiness app to receive the daily calendar actions. 

We must take care of ourselves so we can take care of each other...

Jasmin Slack-Smith & Khara Saunders

College Psychologists & Clinical Psychologists 

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone and circumstances have made it even more important for us all to stay connected and, for those who are able, be willing to support those around us.

Thursday September 10 is R U Ok? Day and students across the College will be participating in activities aligned with R U Ok?'s mission to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them and support others who may be having a hard time. 

As members of the Mary MacKillop community, we encourage you to discuss this with your children but to also consider how prepared you feel to have these conversations with people in your life. For advice around how to ask R U Ok? and more importantly, how to support someone who may be having a challenging time, R U Ok have a range of resources available here.

Kids Helpline have some tips around helping you and your child communicate well together, and Reachout.com also have some tips for having a great conversation with the adolescents in your life. 

Jasmin Slack-Smith & Khara Saunders

College Psychologists & Clinical Psychologists 

Term 3 has seen the return of organised sport across the College, with a particular focus on Senior College Rugby, Netball, Touch and Soccer. I would like to thank all staff members involved in sport and co-curricular for the time and effort they have put into their sporting activities this term (and in most cases, over the last few years). Student opportunity and engagement hinge on the input and care of staff and our students are lucky to have teachers that want our students to be able to pursue their interests.

Netball - the Term 3 competition wrapped up for Mary Mac on Wednesday Night with a win vs St Ursula's. While not making the semis, the team endured a few personnel changes due to injury, and with a predominantly young team, the future of Netball at the College looks bright. 

Summer Touch - the College has received 117 registrations for the forthcoming season. Training times and venues will be announced shortly. We are looking forward to a big presence out at Kearney's Spring as this sport continues to grow in popularity at Mary Mac. We are looking for a few extra boys in the 8 and 10 year age groups. Any boys interested (born 2014-2011), please contact Brad Griffiths via email asap.

Q Academy Touch - a great opportunity exists for Mary Mac students to attend specialist Touch football coaching next term as part of the Q Academy, facilitated by Touch Football Queensland. Please see the flyer attached to this article for further details. This opportunity is open to all students from Year 5 and up.

Soccer - boys Red Lions are due to play matches in the coming weeks vs St Joseph's and Lockyer Valley. We look forward to reporting back on their fortunes. Girls Monday afternoon competition finishes in Week 9. The Senior team had their best game of the season this week, playing a very even contest against St Ursula's before falling just short of victory. Mai (Year 11) scored a cracking goal from about 25m out, after beating a number of players. The Junior team finish their season with a game at Kratzke Oval on Monday at 4 pm.

Rugby - Mary Mac teamed up with Highfields State Secondary to win the Darling Downs Schools Cup Under 15s Final played at Gold Park on Wednesday Night. Up against a well-drilled Toowoomba Anglican School, the boys trailed for most of the match but scored a couple of late tries to lift the trophy. Our Under 13s team was narrowly defeated by St Mary's in the playoff for 3rd place. Well done to all boys involved. Your commitment to training and games was exceptional.

Brad Griffiths
Sport Coordinator

During Week 7, students and staff participated in a very busy and fun-filled week where we all celebrated the benefits of reading and the joy to be found in a book.

Thank you for your support of the 2020 Book Fair, particularly as it had to be offered in a different format for parent access. The Library certainly had an air of energy and excitement as students eagerly perused the books and kits on offer. Book Fair sales resulted in over $600 worth of new books for the Library. I would also like to thank Mrs Erica Calvert, Library Officer for her tremendous assistance during Book Fair, as it would not run as smoothly without her efforts.

Miss Miiller and I hosted the first ever Book Week Trivia Cup for Senior Students via Zoom Meeting and Kahoot (a game-based learning platform). PC groups competed furiously to be crowned the Cup Winners, with C2 emerging triumphant after a close battle.

It was wonderful last Friday to see the colour, spectacle and creativity of students and staff dressed as their favourite Book Character or in line with the Curious Creatures, Wild Minds theme. Thank you for your continued support of this initiative. 

Finally, congratulations to our winning Readers' Cup Teams for their exceptional teamwork and detailed responses in sharing their book knowledge and to our Book Week Competition Winners for their creativity in creating their own Curious Creature.

Happy reading!

We understand that some families might want to come and try us first, to see what OSHC is about and if it would suit them. So, we are pleased to offer any new families that join us, between now and the end of Term 3, their first session free of charge.

The NRL will be hosting two School Holiday Clinic’s in Toowoomba these upcoming September School Holidays.

The NRL League Stars Holiday Clinics are a three hour program for kids aged 5-12 of any gender that focuses on FUN, FITNESS and PARTICIPATION. The cost of the clinic will be $40 which includes a NRL pack per participant.