Community Council

This week we had our first Community Council (SCC) meeting for the year. This year marks the beginning of the implementation of the new Community Council Guidelines. We had Sarah Meier from Catholic Education come and speak to the SCC about the new model and what it means for us as a school community.  There are new features of the SCC going forward, the most exciting being that every parent and carer in the school is effectively a member of the SCC. This gives parents and carers the opportunity to be on working parties which are interest and skills based and are for both short and long term projects. The plan for the year will be decided at our next meeting at the end of the term. A date and invitation for all parents and carers to attend a general meeting early next term will be set and sent out to the community after that meeting on Monday 25 March.

Swimming Carnival

Our swimming carnival last Friday was a successful and fun day for our students. The carnival featured a series of tightly contested races and activities, with students giving their all in each event. Alongside the serious swimming everyone had a chance to enjoy the novelty events. We saw true house spirit with the cheering and encouragement for the swimmers. Our overall house winner was Cooleman. Our Kinder and Year 1 students didn’t miss out as they enjoyed a water fun day here at school.

A number of our students will go through to the Tuggeranong regional carnival, and we will advertise and celebrate those students when we hear who got through. 

A huge thank you to all the parent volunteers and spectators that came along, and to the staff that went above and beyond during the carnival to make it a memorable day for everyone.  A particular shout out goes to Miss Laura Vandenbroucke, our newly appointed Sports Coordinator. She did a tremendous job of organising the carnival, her first of many.

St Mary MacKillop Opening Mass

Yesterday two of the Student Representative Council (SRC) members accompanied me as we attended this beautiful Mass. It was impressive to see over 1200 students in the Tuggeranong Basketball Stadium all seated in silence and showing such reverence.  At the end of the Mass we attended the morning tea where Olivia and Matthew got to meet two former students of St Thomas the Apostle School, Harry Angus (College Captain) and Connor McDonough. I was proud to see how these former students who I remember to be exemplary students, had grown to be such articulate and outstanding young men. I was also proud of our two students and how they conducted themselves both at the mass and the gathering afterwards.

I did look out for other former students of St Thomas the Apostle School who have gone on to MacKillop. I was sent this photo by one of our parents, it’s of many of the Year 7’s who were at St Thomas’ last year.  They look so grown up!

School Fees

I understand that the school fees will be sent out early next week.  As you would be aware, school fees have been centralised through Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn (CECG) and are no longer sent out directly from the school. They will appear through your Compass parent portal. Fees will be sent to your registered email address as recorded in Compass. Please ensure all your details are correct. Families who have applied for a fee concession, please note that applications cannot be processed until after the fees have been sent out. My apologies for the delay.

The Resilience Project (TRP)

We have started the implementation of “The Resilience Project” across the school and already we are feeling the benefits of the awareness of the virtues of Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy. Our intention is to keep parents and carers fully informed of what we are doing with TRP and what you can do at home as a family.  Susan Chant will be putting articles and information in the newsletter on a regular basis. I encourage you to be an active part of TRP. It will have such a positive effect on our school and family lives as well.

NAPLAN 

Year 3 and 5 students will participate in NAPLAN between 13 March to 22 March (Week 7 and Week 8, Term 1). We will let parents know the days and schedule of tests when the timetable is sorted.

What is NAPLAN?

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9, and is the only nationwide assessment that all Australian children undertake.

It’s a measure to see if our young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

If you would like your child to be withdrawn from NAPLAN testing or have any concerns about your child's participation, please contact Susan Chant on susan.chant@cg.catholic.edu.au

There is a public demonstration site that can be accessed by students and their parents. The demonstration site has tests which can be used by students to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and related functionalities available in the online NAPLAN assessment. You can access the public demonstration site at the following link:

Working Bee

We have 12 families signed up for the Working Bee next Friday evening and I am sure that there are many of you who just haven’t had a chance to do that yet. Please see the link below with all the details.  I know there will be plenty of work to do, but there will also be fun to be had, along with some good conversations, pizza and drinks as a reward at the end.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Canberra Show if you are going along.

Yours in partnership,

Ursula Jamieson
Principal