Thank you so much to the fathers and father figures who joined us today at the College for breakfast and liturgy. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces. To hear that one guest said, 'This is my favourite day of the school year' was really wonderful. Thank you also to the students who prepared a wonderful liturgy.

I am seeking for next term a number of community members (no more than 4) who can support in a renewed analysis of traffic management. We last did this in 2021, and the significant growth in the community makes it essential. Whilst I know that almost everyone will have an opinion, I would particularly welcome parents or community members who have experience of logistics/operations management, change management or members of the Police service.

If you are able to support, please email highfields@twb.catholic.edu.au.

I hope all fathers have a really lovely day Sunday.

Mr Chris Gabbett
College Principal

A reminder to families should your circumstances change and your children 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, please note our Cancellation Policy.

Any families intending to withdraw their child's enrolment at the end of Term 3, 2023, must notify the College by no later than 4:00pm, Friday, 15 September 2023 to avoid billing of Term 4 fees.

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 Enrolment officer to discuss your intentions.

Phoebe Burton
Enrolments Officer

Thank you to all of the families in our College who joined us for our Father's Day Breakfast and Liturgy today. It was wonderful to see so many fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers and significant male role models enjoying time with their children and grandchildren. What a fantastic sense of community! We hope that those who attended enjoyed the delicious breakfast boxes–thank you Café team–and coffees, and that you were wowed by Mr Dean Young and The Voll Sisters whose musical talents provided a lovely atmosphere during breakfast. Well done to the students who contributed to Liturgy; it is affirming to work with young people who are so keen to be involved in these events.

For obvious reasons, St Joseph is an important part of the Josephite story–he was a significant figure who guided Mary MacKillop's life and mission. In Matthew's gospel, the Angel of the Lord visits Joseph in a dream and tells him not to be afraid because Mary will give birth to a son who Joseph should name Jesus; a son who will save his people from their sins. When Joseph awakes, he does what the Angel of the Lord asks of him and takes Mary home as his wife.

Of course, this is not the only time when Joseph is obedient to God. Later in Matthew's gospel, an Angel of the Lord appears again in a dream to Joseph, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.” Without even questioning God's command, Joseph gets up and takes Jesus and Mary during the night and flees to safety in Egypt.

In 2020, a year that Pope Francis declared the "Year of St Joseph", he reflected on the qualities of Joseph whom he described as a strong working man, a beloved, loving father, an accepting, obedient and “creatively courageous” person. Joseph was courageous in taking on the responsibility of becoming the husband of Mary and the legal father of Jesus and all that those two roles entailed. As we follow Joseph in the Gospels, we see how he could turn a difficulty into a possibility with his blind trust in God.

Joseph may be a working man–a carpenter by trade–but in his heart we see great tenderness, a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, compassion and, indeed, love. Pope Francis reminds us that through the narrative of St Joseph, foster father of Jesus, we come to understand that “fathers are not born but made. Whenever a man accepts responsibility for the life of another, in some way he becomes a father to that person”.

This Sunday, as we celebrate our fathers, grandfathers and significant father figures, let us reflect on the qualities that they share with St Joseph: their courage, humility, protectiveness, unwavering love, and the great tenderness they have for their children.

I leave you with Pope Francis's prayer for St Joseph, the beloved Father:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil.
Amen.

Leisa Radley
Acting Assistant Principal Religious Education

I had the pleasure of travelling with three of our senior school students (Elise Scrivens, Will Connolly, and Lucy Hutchison) to Sydney last week for the 'Risk and Dare' conference organised by the Sisters of St Joseph. This conference brought together approximately 90 students from Josephite affiliated schools throughout Australia. Landing around lunchtime on Wednesday we spent time at Circular Quay, sightseeing and sharing a meal at a harbour-side Italian restaurant. This was a great chance to stop and discern our hopes for the conference.

Thursday marked the beginning of the conference which focused on advocacy and social justice related issues. Students heard the stories of first nations people, refugees, and advocates from government and social service organisations. This hope-filled day showed students how their voice and values can serve them in roles working to make a positive change in our world. 

The second part of the day focused on workshops on specific social issues. Issues such as climate change, worker rights, sustainability, human trafficking, Timor Leste and West Papua, and asylum seekers were explored in intensive sessions where students were able to collaborate and share ideas for advocacy and change. Perhaps the most powerful part of Day 1 came at the conclusion, with the Treehouse Theatre troupe presenting '13 Suitcases.' This theatre troupe was formed of young refugee and asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. As a form of truth telling and group healing these young people shared their powerful stories of loss, trauma and dislocation from their home countries.

Day 2 focused on the practical ways which young people can plan, organise and lobby government to make their voices and votes count when it comes to political policy change. Politicians from the NSW Labor, Liberal, and Greens parties were present to answer questions and engage in dialogue regarding issues that the assembled young people felt strongly about. To end the day students were asked to reflect on how they wanted to embrace their 'new reality' post RAD Conference and in what ways they were called to act. This gave us much to talk about on our journey home and planted the seed for further advocacy and service within our region.

A quote from author and poet Mary Oliver was presented at the beginning of the RAD Conference posing the question 'What Will You Do With Your One Precious And Wild Life?' I felt drawn back to this quote when writing this article as I most certainly feel that Elise, Will and Lucy will all do great and noble things with their 'precious and wild' lives. Their shared social conscience has them developing many initiatives that should influence social change in our school and wider community. It is through our youth that we come to experience a fairer and more compassionate world.

Ryan Cavanough
Teacher

Our Year 9 cohort has recently returned from a 3-day camp at the beautiful Burleigh Heads. Students participated in activities such as surfing, giant paddle boards and tubing as well as enjoying long beach walks free from technological distractions. Camp providers, Burleigh CYC, commented on the great behaviour of our students.

National Child Protection Week is all about the ways that we can all work together to build communities that support children and families.

Children are safest when they are listened to, respected and believed.

All adults can play a part by ‘tuning in’ to children in everyday situations about small worries; then they are much more likely to feel comfortable telling us if something big is wrong.

Talking with children about safety (NAPCAN, 2023):

Support children to identify trusted adults (both within the family and outside) they can talk to, if they are worried, upset, or don’t feel safe. Make sure these adults know they are on your child’s list.

Remind children that they can talk to you or a trusted adult about anything, no matter how big or small their worry might be.

Talk to children about how they know when they feel safe or unsafe. Help them to listen to their early warning signs (how their body feels), and to trust their feelings and instincts.

Use everyday activities as opportunities for conversations (e.g., preparing meals and snacks, going for walks, playing, shopping). If children are used to having lots of communication, it can make it easier to talk when big or tricky issues come up.

Be open to talking about all kinds of feelings, including anger, joy, frustration, fear and anxiety. This helps children to develop a ‘feelings vocabulary’.

This year during National Child Protection Week we are encouraging students to think of themselves as 'upstanders'. An upstander is a person who speaks up, or acts, when they recognise that something is wrong. As adults, we play an important role in modelling these behaviours when our children are watching us manage conflict that may arise in our everyday lives.

When things are difficult, there are many great organisations that can help support families to remain safe. These include:

National Child Protection Week is a great time to start conversations with children and families about feeling safe

Leah Moffett 
Guidance Counsellor

2023 Book Week at Mary MacKillop College was certainly true to the theme of Read, Grow and Inspire. Students read lots of new and favourite books, grew their knowledge and understanding through reading (and their own libraries through the Book Sale) and inspired with costumes, classroom door decorating and collaboration during the Book Week quizzes.

The Library was bursting at the seams throughout the week with students browsing and purchasing at the Pre-Loved Book Sale. We also had a steady stream of parents visiting and purchasing on Tuesday afternoon, in between Parent Teacher Interviews. Thank you again to parents who donated books to the sale and to the wonderful Mrs Putland who provided the majority of the books. It was heart-warming to see students excited about purchasing their favourites (and receiving change) and parents finding well-loved stories from their childhood which they could share with their children.

Dress Up Day was a whirl of colour and fun, with the majority of students dressing as a book character, even though they had the option of dressing in green to suit the theme. This was a huge effort, only made possible by the support and efforts of parents. It is always fantastic to see the Senior students and Mary Mac staff display their creativity and Particular mention must be made of year 6 who dressed as the Little Miss and Mr Men characters and showed fantastic leadership with their enthusiasm and participation.

This year Junior classes were invited to decorate their classroom door to match the Book Week Theme and students and teachers worked hard to produce some very creative results. It was very difficult to make the final decision, but in the end 2B and 5C were judged the winners.

There was also fierce but friendly competition demonstrated during the Book Week Kahoots (online multiple choice quizzes) where teams of students from Prep to Year 12 worked together to answer questions about the 2023 short-listed books and book trivia.

Thank you for your support of Book Week.

MMCC Library Staff

Check out the article below about the students who recently represented our College and attended Wakakirri.

In the weeks leading up to this newsletter I have been  supporting the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery to showcase the Darling Downs South West Creative Generation Regional Art Exhibition. This week the team at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery have had an extremely busy time installing the submissions from emerging artists throughout the region and the result is nothing short of spectacular. I was fortunate to participate in the installation process and the complexity of putting an exhibition of this size together cannot be understated.

We are privileged in this region to have the support of such an amazing team to professionally present the work of our young artists. This has been a mammoth and at times frustrating task but we have made it safely to the opening this Saturday. 

Naturally my bias warrants explicit mention of the spectacular works by Ava Knihinicki and Noah Gunders who were selected to exhibit this year.

Ava's artist statement  best contextualises her entry.

My fascination for the Venus figurines resulted in drawings of figurines from a variety of cultures and time. My passion for printmaking is influenced by Japanese printmakers and I was immediately stunned by the beauty of the Jomon Venus, a female shaped figure from the Jomon period (3000 – 2000BC). My early drawings of the Jomon Venus informed the development of the print for this series. She is accompanied by other figurines, ‘The Venus of Willendorf’ looms behind her while others surround and support. Not alone, she is a member of a community of women. The activated, grattage backgrounds stimulates the viewer visually while the figures reside comfortably, safely within the composition. The work is both exciting and calming . These attributes embrace key ideas of womanhood both literally visually and non - literally emotionally, and the audience is invited into consideration of the duality of this while also embracing the importance of standing strongly together in our contemporary context.

Noahs work in contrast is deeply personal and focusses on emotion and a desire for self expression that demands perfection. His work explores the diverse emotions of adolescence and their impact on the psyche and senses. Noah produces authentic self portraits that seek to bridge the gap between societal expectations and individuality.

The exhibition opens to the public this Saturday, September 2 and I would encourage everyone to find the time to stop in over the next few weeks to view the exhibition prior to the awards event in October. 

If you are keen to attend the awards evening please get in touch and I will find a way to secure you an invitation.

Matt Chivers
Teacher & Regional Coordinator

The 2023 Qld Catholic Schools Music competition saw 597 ensembles, 14000 student performers from105 schools and colleges from all over Qld and interstate.... and our MMCC Contemporary Rock Band received a GOLD!

Mary MacKillop Catholic College Contemporary Band was established in 2022 by a group of enthusiastic friends and musicians. The ensemble learns their parts to chosen songs and then individualise them to create sounds that suit their own personalities. They have just started to write their own song which we hope to share in the near future and are looking to enter Rock Fest to round out the year.

Vocalist Georgianna recently was in the stage production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a lead character as well as features as soloist in College and Community choirs and ensembles. She is currently studying Senior Music and hopes to study Musical Theatre at the Con. 

Backing vocalist and pianist Adele excels in music theory and composition along with her performance excellence. She gigs at private functions and events as well as on stage. Archie on guitar and Noah on drums both recently performed solos in the Toowoomba Eisteddfod plus feature in more than 3 other College ensembles. Bianca on bass majors in violin but thought she’d have a go on bass to only excel on this also!

Congratulations to these talented students!

Jess Burke
Middle Leader - The Arts

Three of our most outstanding young musicians have been accepted to participate in the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University 2023 State Honours Ensemble Program Primary 2023.

A massive congratulations to Sophilee Condon and Audrey Little on their selection for voice and Louisa Philp for clarinet!

Jess Burke
Middle Leader - The Arts 

Student Profile- Georgianna Reisinger (grade 11)

Lead vocalist of the College Rock Band, Georgianna excels at all things Arts. She recently was in the stage production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a lead character as well as features as soloist in College and Community choirs and ensembles. She competed this year in the Eisteddfod in voice and on flute as soloist as well as a member of smaller ensembles. Georgianna has just been accepted in the Qld State Honours Program and will perform as part of the Jazz Vocal Ensembles in October at the Qld Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane. She is currently studying senior music and hopes to study Musical Theatre at the Con after graduation. Georgianna has started to compose her own works which we hope to hear in the near future! 

Congratulations Georgianna!

Congratulations to Week 7 Award Recipients!

Our Spring Vacation Care Program has now been released! There are so many exciting activities planned these school holidays such as two excursions; one to The Strand to Watch the new movie Teenage Kraken, and the other to Cobb & Co Museum to walk through history, creating fortresses out of cardboard boxes than having a Nerf Gun battle, riding around the school on our bikes/scooters/rollerblades, colouring shirts/socks in with Tie Dye, creating our own Teddy Bear Pillows, then filling in their birth certificates, and so much more! 

Email us at TCKC - OSHC to secure your spot now so you don't miss out!

Garth Rochford
Coordinator