Our Explicit Improvement Agenda

Student Voice and Agency

Planning for improved student learning

As we conclude another Term of learning, we congratulate our students on their efforts, creativity, dedication and commitment to their learning.  During Term 2 our Inquiry focus centred on Design & Technology and Science.  It was wonderful to see the many and varied designs and experiments students created and shared with their peers.

A very big thank you to Mary MacKillop Staff for their teamwork and support throughout the term.  As we continued to learn to live with COVID, a gastro outbreak and the flu, our staff worked together to pick up extra duties and classes, missed release times and specialist classes to ensure we did not end up in Remote Schooling.  Lize Privitera did an outstanding job in covering sick staff each morning so that student learning continuity, on-site at school, remained our number one priority.  These upcoming school holidays will certainly be a welcome break for all in our school community.

Staff Updates

Mrs Claire Giles (F-CG) will be commencing maternity leave from the beginning of Term 3 - Monday 11 July, 2022. We warmly welcomed Ms Gabriella Di Biase to F-CG this week to meet F-CG students and to work with Mrs Giles.   We wish Claire and her husband all the very best as they plan to welcome their little bundle of joy into their family.

Miss Tania Van Dam, our COVID-19 Tutor Teacher will be finishing the Tutor Program at the end of this Term.  Tania has been a valued and important member of staff this Semester, supporting our students through the COVID-19 Tutor Program, in addition to filling in for staff covering sick leave, COVID-19 and close contact leave.  We are most fortunate to have Tania employed in this role throughout Semester One and we wish her all the very best as she continues on her teaching journey.

SIMON Student Semester One Reports

The Semester One Reports were uploaded into PAM on Tuesday 21 June, 2022.  Parents are able to access their child’s digital report via PAM with the option to download and print or to view as a pdf document. Your child’s Term 2 Student Learning Portfolio will be distributed in the first week of Term 3 on Wednesday 13 July.  We ask parents to bring the Student Learning Portfolio to their child’s Student Learning Conversation on either Tuesday 19 July or Wednesday 20 July.  Student Learning Conversations will be held face to face in the Allen Hall.  We hope you find the Semester One Report and Student Learning Portfolio valuable documents to highlight and celebrate your child’s learning journey.

We have again attached instuctions on PAM below - page 7 has details on how to view student assessments.

Each year, schools complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability.  Students who received additional adjustments because of a disability (as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992) are counted in the data.  Students who may require support with their learning such as specific learning disability, reading disability, health problems, physical disability, vision/hearing loss and social-emotional issues are some examples of students with disability.  Teachers use knowledge of the learning progressions, student progress and data, letters and/or diagnostic statements/reports from health professionals, evidence of learning adjustments/support in the classroom and/or on the playground to support whether a student is counted in NCCD.  NCCD data is collected in August each year.  Please find attached the NCCD Information Sheet for parents for further information.

Important Dates and events

Thursday 23 June - last day of Term 2 for students - school finishes at 3.15pm

Friday 24 June - Student free day (Staff Planning Day)

Monday 11 July - Term 3 begins at 8.45 am

Wednesday 13 July - Term 2 Student Learning Portfolios shared with parents

Tuesday 19 July - Student Learning Conversations (Parent Teacher Interviews)

Wednesday 20 July - Student Learning Conversations (Parent Teacher Interviews)

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Jesus resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem

In next Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus talks about what it means to be his follower. Jesus tells the three disciples that following him means making the choice to put him first, above all else. Following Jesus means making God the centre of our lives. When we have a choice to make, we choose to put Jesus first, even when it’s hard. We think about what Jesus has taught us and make a good choice. Which action do we take to put Jesus first and be a good disciple?

Save the Date - Sacrament of Confirmation

The final enrolment and Parent only workshop for Confirmation 2022 will be held on Thursday 23rd June, TONIGHT. Please arrive by 6.45pm for a 7pm start. Parents have to attend only one of these information nights. Attendance is compulsory if your child is preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this year. Children should be baptised in the Catholic Church and should have received the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Eucharist prior to 2022.

A prepayment of $50.00 must be made via olhc.cdfpay.org.au and this will open on Wednesday, 8th June at 10am.

Term 3 Class Mass and Class Reconciliation Celebrations

Parents and friends are most welcome to join classes in celebrating the Eucharist and/or Reconciliation. The schedule for Term 3 is published below. As the school or classes celebrate Mass could we please ask visitors in the sacred spaces to switch off mobile phones and refrain from taking photographs or videos during the celebrations. Your assistance in these matters is appreciated.

Save the Date – school family mass celebration at OLHC on Saturday 6th August, 6.00pm Parish Mass

All families are invited to attend Mass and join together celebrating the Feast of Mary MacKillop. Further details in early Term 3.

World Meeting of Families

Over several days June 22-26, delegates from around the world will gather in Rome with Pope Francis for the World Meeting of Families. But it’s not just an event for the select few in Rome. The Pope has also encouraged local families to celebrate the occasion in parishes, dioceses and small groups. The 10th World Meeting of Families (WMOF)—organised by Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life along with the Diocese of Rome—is intended to highlight family love as a vocation and as a way of holiness, to understand and share the profound and salvific meaning of family relationships in daily life.

CathFamily is pleased to offer a free printable handout for use by parishes and schools exploring the official theme of the event - Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness.

Please see attachment below:

Watch the Pope's message for the 10th World Meeting of Families. Click on the link:  Pope's message for the 10th World Meeting of Families  

SCHOOL TV SPECIAL REPORT: Celebrating NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of indigenous communities.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of range of traditional and contemporary activities.

NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. NAIDOC week is an opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.

This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

Here is the link to your special report https://marymacnarre.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-naidoc-week

Parent Education 

Parenting introverts and quiet kids

The world is skewed toward extroverts. Parenting introverts can be a challenge particularly if you are an extrovert yourself.

Read the attached article:

OLHC Parish

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 Ajin Albarnas is our Assistant Priest. We are grateful for their ongoing prayers, involvement and support of the students, families and staff of Mary MacKillop School. 

Parish Bulletin Click on the link below to download the weekly newsletter: Parish-Bulletin

Our Lady Help of Christians Lady's Day  

The parish is planning to organize a fun day for the ladies in the parish on Saturday, 30th July 2022 from 11.30am.   The day will begin with prayer led by the ladies from The Emmaus Spirituality Centre in our Diocese, followed by some fun activities, games, music and dancing and perhaps some craft activities.  On the day, we will also host ‘AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST MORNING TEA’ to help Cancer Council raise much needed funds. Tickets for the event will be $10.00 per person and will be available from the last week of June. The money collected from this event will be donated to the cancer council Australia.  If you are unable to attend and would like to support this worthy cause, you can do so by donating online at https:// www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/fundraisers/olhc   We invite all exceptional bakers and cooks to please bring a plate of morning tea. Sign-up sheets are available at the Welcome Desk by the end of June.

The group of girls from the Senior Level are to be congratulated on the way they organised and managed their student led fundraiser for their chosen charity. A huge thank you to the students and their families for your interest, support and participation. 

Royal Children’s Hospital - Angelina, Valentina & Taysha

Thank you so much for donating towards the Royal Children's Hospital. We have raised $391.50 all thanks to you.  We are sure the Royal Children’s Hospital will appreciate your help.  

Variety, the Children's Charity - Annabelle Iacoban

Hello. My name is Annabelle Iacoban and you may have heard of me from your children or from the previous newsletter paragraphs regarding the fundraisers going on at school. I have cut 38cm of my hair. As I said, it was going to happen on the 17th of June. My hair got donated to a charity called Variety Hearts Children's Charity and from there it was made into a wig professionally.  Now I am very happy to say that a child who is experiencing a medical disadvantage of losing their hair, is wearing my hair right now. I would just like to say a big thank you to all of you who donated. I would like to tell you that outside and inside of school I raised $1000 ($199.40 from MMPS) which will be donated to the same charity. With the help of you all, a child who does not have what they need to live life at the fullest can now have.  Thank you again to parents who allowed their children to donate to my fundraiser. 

Smith Family - Natalie, Olivia & Phoebe 

Hello everyone, as most people know Natalie, Olivia and myself (Phoebe) held a fundraiser last Friday. We did a lucky dip to raise money for the Smith family, a non-profit charity helping kids have a better education. We wanted to say thank you for everyone who participated and helped us raise money. In total we raised $344.00! We appreciate all the support and we hope that everyone who participated enjoyed what they won! Thank you so much for supporting us to give kids a better education. Thank you Mrs Privitera and Ms Jones for allowing us to do this fundraiser!

The end of Term 2 sees our Visual arts program come to an end for the year. In Term 3 and 4 we will be beginning our new Music program. 

It has been a very productive few weeks where all levels have been learning about different forms of sculpture such as construction and modelling.  Many classes have used paper to construct plagrounds, bugs, hats and buildings. They have also used a range of modelling materials such as plasticine or clay to make people, monsters or roses. 

Soccer Clinics

All classes have now participated in Soccer Clinics run by Absolute Soccer over the last 2 weeks. Our children have been outstanding with their effort, skills and behaviour which has been most pleasing to see.

Senior Winter Lightning Premiership

This event will now take place on July 27 with a reduced number of schools. Details will be sent home in the first week of Term 3.

こんにちは、

This week in Japanese, Grade 2’s made traditional style concertina books to retell a Japanese folktales. Grade 4’s used their maths and language skills to create Pokemon Flextangles.

This week in Discovery Centre, Foundation and Grade 1 students held a Cubetto Dance Party. They used algorithms such as loops to make Cubetto dance. Students made special maps for Cubetto to move on. They also created some fun costumes for Cubetto to wear. 

It was a wonderful end to our Robotics and Algorithms unit.

It has been a very exciting time in the Discovery Centre over the last few weeks as we have been learning about Algorithms using robots. 

The Year 4 students have been using their knowledge of block coding to program the Dash and Dot robots. They have been able to create sequences with various different types of block codes, such as loops (repeat), events and conditionals (if statements).  On example was getting Dash to run away IF it saw Dot. 

Year 5 and 6 students have been using their knowledge of block coding to program Sphero Robots. They used  loops and angles to code the robot to make a variety of shapes, such squares and triangles with some challenging themselves to make a hexagon.