Father Michael - our Parish Priest (Our Lady Help of Christians)

Thank you all for your ongoing prayers for Father Michael. As he continues to make progress with his health, we ask for your continued prayers.  I was in one of the foundation classrooms on Tuesday morning and students spontaneously prayed for Father Michael - they know who he is and this is because he is so present and visible in our school, as is Father Ajin. We are very lucky to have both men in our Parish and our schools.

Mary MacKillop Pilgrim Walk (Thursday 7 August) and Feast Day (Friday 8 August)

Next week we have both the Mary MacKillop Pilgrim Walk on Thursday and our Feast Day on Friday. Please come along to share in these events. I would like to thank Mrs Lize Privitera who has put in many hours in the planning and preparation for these days. They are going to be wonderful school community events. Please see further in the newsletter for more details.

5 Sleeps to go! Year 6 Camp

Our Year 6 students are currently very excited about heading off to Year 6 camp on Monday for two nights. They are going to The Ranch (in Mornington) for two days of fun and adventure, working together in teams to face challenges (by choice) and/or embrace activities like the Giant Swing and Mountain Boarding. A very big thank you in advance to the staff (Joshua Kippen and Marg Vlajankov) who have put many hours into the planning and preparation for camp.

Australian Mathematics Competition

Next Thursday all students in Years 3-6 will participate in the Australian mathematics competition. This is a great opportunity for students to show what they know in Maths. This is also another way in which Mary MacKillop students are given the opportunity to excel.

Welcome Interviews 2026 Foundation Students

Next week I begin the process of meeting 50 new Foundation students for 2026. I am very much looking forward to this. If you are a current family and you haven’t yet booked in please do so as soon as possible.

Parent Evening - Raising Kids in a Digital World Thursday 11 September

Just a reminder to please keep this evening set aside - we have a link to enable you to register for this event. As it is quite costly, it will not proceed unless we have enough parents registering to make it worthwhile. Please see the poster further in the newsletter to register.

Student Feedback

A message of appreciation was received from a Parishioner from OLHC Parish:

"Please pass on our thanks to the Teachers and the Prep Students who prepared and decorated Pope Benedict XVI's Grandparents Prayer."

Your beautiful work on the prayer was noticed and valued. Thank you for the care, creativity, and effort shown in preparing something so special for our community.

Great work Year 4 on solving Area and Perimeter problems. You are showing you recognise the need to check your working out.

Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop – School Family Mass & Celebrations

As part of our 2025 Feast Day celebrations, families have received a detailed information-letter/invitations/permission notes, outlining upcoming events, including our School Family Parish Mass, Mary MacKillop Pilgrimage Walk, Whole School Mass, and Kaboom Sports Day. These special occasions are central to honouring the legacy of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, our Australian saint and school foundress.

We warmly invite all families to join us for our School Family Parish Mass on:

Saturday 2nd August 2025 @ 6:00pm
Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Narre Warren

This beautiful celebration of faith provides meaningful ways for students and family members to be involved — including readings, the entrance and offertory processions, choir, and reflection.

We also look forward to gathering as a school for our Whole School Feast Day Mass on Friday 8th August at 9:00am, held in our school hall followed by Kaboom Sports events.

KABOOM SPORTS DAY – Friday 8th August on the small oval beginning at 11.30am. Students can wear their school sports uniform. Parents and families are welcome to come along to spectate and stay for a picnic/subway ordered lunch beginning at 1.00pm. Bring your own chairs, lunch, etc.

Let us come together in faith, unity, and gratitude as we celebrate the Feast Day of Mary MacKillop in our 30th Anniversary Year – as Pilgrims of Hope.

A big thank you to all students and families for your generous support of our recent Beanie Day! Through your gold coin donations, we raised $252. Your kindness and participation are truly appreciated!

The Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated at OLHC Parish next Friday and Saturday. Please refer to the Confirmation Celebration and Rehearsal Schedule below.   We keep all our Confirmation candidates in our prayers during this special time and encourage them as they take this important step in their faith journey.

 CELEBRATION MASSES                                    REHEARSALS                     

Friday, 8th August 2025 at 7.00pm                      Tuesday, 5th August at 5.00pm

Saturday, 9th August 2025 at 2.00pm                  Wednesday, 6th August at 6.00pm                     

Saturday, 9th August 2025 at 6.00pm                 Wednesday, 6th August at 7.00pm

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Sunday, August 3, 2025

Luke 12:13-21
A person's life does not consist of possessions.

In this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 12:13–21), Jesus challenges us to remember that the goods of the world are meant to be shared, not stored away for ourselves. The rich man in the story isn’t necessarily bad—he's portrayed as a smart planner—but his mistake is thinking only of his own comfort and security, ignoring the needs of others.

This is what we call a sin of omission—failing to act when others are in need. At Mass, we reflect on this in the Confiteor, when we ask forgiveness not only for what we have done, but also for what we have failed to do.

As a family this week, take a moment to pray the Confiteor together, and reflect on how to notice and respond to the needs of others:

Confiteor:
I confess to almighty God, and to all the angels and saints, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what has been done and in what has been failed to do...

Let us live with hearts open to share, serve, and love generously.

3-CN Prayer Cloth

'Be full of forgiveness, hope and love'

Why did we choose this quote?   

We chose the quote because, as a classroom, we wanted to be full of forgiveness, hope and love. So we could follow in the steps of Jesus. 

The art work on our prayer cloth 

The picture of people holding hands, represents the people in our classroom and the school community, as one of our school values is to be compassionate. 

The Aboriginal cloth 

We chose to place squares around the outside of our cloth, to represent the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, as they were on the land first. Respecting their culture and significant ties to the country and land.

Our Year 3 students have wasted no time getting straight back into learning for Term 3. 

In English, we have been exploring how to write historical narratives. Students have been busy researching famous historical figures and significant events to help them understand how to bring the past to life through storytelling. This research is helping students create well-structured and engaging historical reports, where they combine facts with creative writing to produce imaginative and informative texts.

In Mathematics, our focus has been on measurement, especially measuring length. Students have been learning about the different units we use to measure length, such as millimetres, centimetres, and metres, and discussing when each is most appropriate. We’ve also had lots of hands-on fun using rulers and tape measures to measure real objects around the classroom, which has made the learning both practical and meaningful.

For our Inquiry unit on History, we’ve been learning about our local community, the City of Casey. We’ve started exploring how the community has changed over time, especially through advances in technology. Students are discovering how these changes have improved daily life, from transport to communication, and are beginning to understand the ways communities grow and evolve.

CAMP AUSTRALIA

INFORM AND EMPOWER - SEMINARS FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

RAISING KIDS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

We are a Happy Families School!

Our school is subscribed to the Happy Families School Membership! Owned and run by Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s leading parenting experts, the membership offers a wealth of parenting education and resources.  We will regularly share resources available through our membership with you, including Insight Articles and Live Webinars.

Insights Articles

A new Insights article is released weekly during the term and we will include these with the school newsletter. Insights articles are written by Dr Justin Coulson and provide parenting education and support for a wide variety of traditional and contemporary parenting challenges.

Here is your weekly Insights Article Parenting Through The Pushback

ANSWERS with Dr JUSTIN COULSON is a live webinar series for all schools across Australia. Each term, Dr Justin will tackle a hot-button parenting issue, providing your parent and teacher community with timely and relevant support.

Upcoming live webinar:

Wednesday 20 August, 2025    7pm AEST   Anxious: Helping Your Child Navigate a World of Worry

It’s heartbreaking to see our kids struggling with anxiety. The statistics paint a stark picture: anxiety disorders are on the rise, affecting approximately one in seven primary school children and one in four adolescents. We see our kids burdened by fears and worries, their confidence fading, and sometimes even experiencing panic attacks. As parents, we desperately want to help but often feel lost or unsure of what to do.

Anxious: Helping Your Child Navigate a World of Worry offers a lifeline. In this presentation, Dr Justin Coulson will unpack what anxiety looks like in children and provide you with simple, practical strategies that are both clinically proven and easy to implement at home.  Empower yourself with the knowledge and tools to support your child’s emotional wellbeing and help them build resilience in the face of anxiety.  PERSONAL ACCESS Individual Sessions $49 each

Positive Partnerships National online sessions

Positive Partnerships is once again providing on-line information webinars regarding autism. There are also sessions for Parents/Guardians/Carers.

Parent Carer (PC) online sessions- registration through links below (seperate registration for each session):

• Tuesday 19 August 12:00-1:30pm(AEST)- Session 1 – Diversity of Autism
• Tuesday 26 August 12:00-1:30pm (AEST)- Session 2 – Sensory Processing
• Tuesday 2 September 12:00-1:30pm (AEST)- Session 3 – Understanding Behaviour
• Tuesday 9 September 12:00-1:30pm (AEST)- Session 4 – Working Together

School TV

Sibling Relationships

Sibling relationships are often a child's first and longest-lasting social connection. These bonds can offer companionship, support and opportunities to develop important life skills such as empathy, negotiation and conflict resolution. However, like all close relationships, sibling dynamics can be complex. Differences in temperament, age, needs and parental attention can all contribute to tension or rivalry. It's not uncommon for children to compete for attention, especially during times of change or stress.

As a parent or caregiver, your role in shaping the tone of sibling relationships is vital. Creating a home environment that celebrates each child's unique strengths and avoids direct comparisons helps reduce rivalry and fosters mutual respect.

By listening without judgement, teaching emotional regulation, and supporting each child's individuality, you can create a family culture where siblings feel secure and valued. This edition of SchoolTV offers insights to support young people in developing positive, lasting sibling bonds that can remain strong well into adulthood.

Here is the link to your Edition: https://marymacnarre.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sibling-relationships-au

Child Safe Standards

Our school is safe, student centred and animated by our school values.  

We aim to Inspire Hearts and Minds.

"Children are the future of the human family: all of us are expected to promote their growth, health and tranquillity." Pope Francis 2021

At Mary MacKillop Primary School, we believe that ensuring the safety of the students in our care is an integral part of who we are as a Catholic faith community. We adhere to Victorian Child Safe Standards and Ministerial Order No. 1359.  We embed a culture of child safety and the matter is taken very seriously.

MMPS Child Safe Standards

Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV)

The updated CECV Statement of Commitment to Child Safety - A safe, nurturing and empowering culture for all children and young people in Catholic schools, is attached to this newsletter.  This statement has been updated in light of the revised Child Safe Standards coming into effect from 1 July 2022 and the supporting Ministerial Order No. 1359