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Celebrations of Learning
There have been many and varied learning activities on offer this week with photos in the newsletter capturing our students learning in the following areas:
- Water Safety - Life saving sink or swim incursion for Senior students
- Market Garden produce from paddock to plate - sold at our MacKillop market - thank you for your support in purchasing our varied produce
- Discovery Centre learning - binary numbers in Seniors and Data in Juniors.
- Visual Arts creations
- Creative poems on colour
- Origami animals in Japanese
As part of our commitment to our students’ safety and the Water Safety Certificate, next week our Year 3 students will undertake their intensive swimming lessons at Paul Sadler Swim School. The intensive lesson structure will include lessons on how our students can stay safe in aquatic environments, at the beach and around pools.
Welcome to our 2022 Foundation Students (On-site Orientation Session 2)
On Wednesday we held our second on-site 2022 Foundation Orientation Session. We are really proud of our Transition program which includes a range of Google Meets and on-site sessions for our newest students to become familiar with their Foundation teachers and classmates. We warmly welcome our 2022 Foundation students, parents and family members to our school and look forward to working in partnership with them on their child’s educational journey.
Student Leaders Process – Year 5 students
Our Year 5 students are preparing for their 2022 student school leaders speeches. The following positions are available for our Year 5 students to apply for:
- School Leaders (x 2)
- Faith Leaders (x2)
- House Leaders (4 x 1 per House)
- Learning Leaders (x2)
- Environmental Leaders (x2)
Our student leaders play a very important role in our school community. They are ambassadors and role models for our school and participate in many and varied activities from leading assembly each week, guided school tours, Mass Ministries, sporting events, growing and selling garden produce. Our current Year 6 school leaders have been exemplary role models to all students in our school community. We are very proud of the leadership potential and development of our students and the school values they display in their interactions and leadership roles.
Year 6 Mass and Graduation
Our Year 6 students will be celebrating their Year 6 Mass on Thursday 9 December at 6.00 pm at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, Princes Hwy Narre Warren. Parents/adults will be required to show their vaccination status on entry to the Church. Please ensure you arrive in time have your vaccination status viewed by a staff member.
On Tuesday 14 December at 5.30 pm, our Year 6 students will be celebrating their Graduation Dinner and Ceremony. The format of the evening will be as follows:
- 5.30 pm - Students and Staff Graduation Dinner in the Allen Hall
- 6.00 pm - Parents and family members arrive via the Lomas Gym. Parents and adult family members will be required to show evidence of their vaccination status for entry to the Graduation Ceremony.
- 6.30 pm - Parents and family members to join Year 6 students in the Allen Hall for the Graduation Ceremony.
Please note - All parents and family members entering the school grounds must comply with Government vaccination requirements - vaccination status will need to be viewed before entry to the school
2022 Teachers and Classes
2022 planning is well underway and we are in the final stages of allocating teachers and classes. We hope to publish this information to parents over the coming days. In 2022 our Specialist subjects will be expanded to include Music. Music is currently being offered to students via their Term 4 Performing Arts Inquiry. Moving forward will continue to offer The Arts in Term 4 incorporating Dance and Drama. Music will be offered in Semester Two, 2022 as part of our students’ Specialist learning area. Other Specialist subjects for the 2022 school year includes Physical Education, LOTE - Japanese, Discovery Centre - Robotics, Coding and The Arts - Visual Art (Semester One) and The Arts - Music (Semester Two).
SIMON Learning Management System – Reports
Hard copies of Semester Two Reports and Student Learning Portfolios will be distributed to students and parents on Monday 13 December. Reports will also be uploaded to PAM for families to view electronically. We hope you find the Semester Two Report and Student Learning Portfolio valuable documents to highlight and celebrate your child’s learning journey.
PAM – Parent Access Module
Information about PAM, with detailed instructions, was emailed via Operoo to parents last week. If you did not receive the email - please ensure you check your ‘junk’ folder. PAM will begin at the beginning of 2022. PAM will provide families with a one stop place to submit and view the following information:
- Parent Notified Absences (replacing SZApp Absentee e-forms)
- Student Medical Profiles (replacing Operoo)
- Permission Forms (replacing Operoo)
- Parent Teacher Interviews (replacing PTO)
- Sick Bay Notifications
- Student Attendance
- Access to your child’s Assessment Reports (Semester One and Semester Two)
- Student Learning Awards
- Daily Messages and upcoming events
- Student Timetable
- Student Permission eforms
If you require support to set up or access your PAM account, please contact frontdesk@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au
Return of Student Chromebooks and Family Charger
Student Chromebooks and family chargers will need to be returned on MONDAY 6 DECEMBER, 2021 to ensure they are packed away in their charging carts over the Summer Holiday period. Repacking the Chromebooks and chargers back into their carts takes several days and your co-operation in returning them on 6 December is very much appreciated.
School Advisory Committee Annual General Meeting (SAC AGM)
The School Advisory Committee Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 23 November in the Staffroom. As a school community we warmly welcome Stephanie (mum of Charlotte FSL) to the School Advisory Committee as a new parent representatives for 2022 – 2023. The role of the School Advisory Committee in providing recommendations to school events and policies is most valued and appreciated. We are most appreciative of the opportunity to work in partnership with the SAC and value their insights, perspectives and recommendations. Our sincere thanks to Maya Giampa (Chairperson), Jamie Vena, Lynette Bell and Sarah DeKoning (Staff Representative) for their commitment to the School Advisory Committee over the past year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jamie Vena and Lynette Bell (retiring Parent Representatives). Jamie and Lynette are to be commended for their tireless efforts on SAC, their feedback and the many and varied events they have participated in over their years at Mary MacKillop. We are very fortunate to have their commitment and dedication to our school. We also acknowledge the time, effort and commitment of Maya Giampa who will be taking a year of leave from the Chairperson role to undertake new adventures with her family. We wish the Giampa family all the very best with their travels interstate and look forward to welcoming Maya back in 2023.
We warmly welcome our 2022 - 2023 School Advisory Committee:
Advent
Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, which is also the first Sunday of the new liturgical year. The Advent season includes the four Sundays that precede Christmas. Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord. In this season, we recall two central elements of our faith: the final coming of the Lord in glory and the incarnation of the Lord in the birth of Jesus. The key themes of the Advent season are watchful waiting, preparation, and justice.
Each week a grade level will lead the school in prayer. Thank you to the middle level students and their teachers who will lead tomorrow’s Advent liturgy, focussing this week’s prayer celebration being called to be prophets of Christ, who announce by our lives the coming of the Lord, as John the Baptist did.
First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C Sunday, November 28, 2021
Luke 21:25-28,34-36
Jesus teaches his disciples to be vigilant so that they will be ready when the Son of Man comes in glory.
In next Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us about the things that will happen when he comes again. Some people will be afraid. But Jesus tells us we don’t need to be afraid. Jesus tells his disciples that they can stand tall because he loves them and has saved them. We can trust Jesus. He loves us and is with us, no matter what kind of day we are having. We can tell God about our day and our feelings in our prayer. He always listens to us. He gives us strength and courage to get through hard days.
Christmas Appeal supporting St Vincent de Paul
There are only 30 days to Christmas! Each year at this time the MacKillop Kids group get together to facilitate the Christmas Appeal. This year has been a challenge for many families and organisations like St Vincent de Paul seek support from Parishes and schools to give generously to the 2021 Christmas Appeal. Donations of suitable new toys for children aged 5-12 years would be appreciated for parents to give gifts they know their children dream of. Please place gifts in classroom collection boxes. The Appeal will run through to 10th December.
We hold in our prayers the students who have recently received and those receiving the Sacrament of First Eucharist during mass celebrations to be held this weekend, with the final First Eucharist celebration on the week end of December 4th.
Lord Jesus Christ, bless the children coming forward to receive Holy Communion for the first time.
May this day be the step toward a life-long love of the Eucharist. May the strength of Jesus' love
and the joy of this holy day remain forever in your hearts.
Child Safety and Wellbeing
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. 870. We embed a culture of child safety and the matter is taken very seriously.
“Children are the future of the human family: all of us are expected to promote their growth, health and tranquillity,” Pope Francis 2021
Resources to support parents and carers:
Parent self-care matters - Taking care of their own wellbeing will help parents become the best parents they can be, providing real-life examples for their children to follow. View the article below:
Our Lady Help of Christians Parish Information
Mary MacKillop Primary School is one of the three Parish Primary Schools belonging to the Parish of Our Lady Help of Christians, Narre Warren within the Diocese of Sale. Fr Brendan Hogan is our Parish Priest and Fr Isuru Weliwatte is our Assistant Priest. We are grateful for their ongoing prayers, involvement and support of the students, families and staff of Mary MacKillop School.
Click on the link below to download the weekly Parish newsletter.
Year 5 & 6 Life Saving Victoria ‘Sink or Swim’ Incursion
The Year 5 and 6 students participated in the Sink or Swim Incursion on Wednesday - we had fun and learnt a lot! We can’t wait for our practical swimming session for the Victorian Water Safety Certificate soon.
こんにちは、
This week in Japanese, Senior students created Totoro origami. They also watched ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ in Japanese. Junior students learnt a japanese folktale called ‘The Rolling Rice Ball’. They retold the story using origami and drawings.
This week in Discovery Center, Foundation students looked at chance and data. They created bar charts to display their findings.
Year 5 and 6 students have been learning about the binary number system and how computers use this system to represent data in different ways. Last week students used the binary system to represent pixel images.
The Middle and Senior students have been writing Colour poems based on their favourite colours - thinking of how this colour relates to their five senses. Here are a few examples of their creativity:
As this Term and year is coming to an end, our students have completed many different tasks which demonstrate skills in both drawing and creating pieces of art. Below are some examples of students work throughout the term from all levels. Congratulations to all students for all you efforts in the Arts this year. In the last couple of weeks of the term we will be creating some Christmas decorations and pieces of art that the students will be able to take home.
