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Welcome to Term 3
We warmly welcome everyone back for Term 3 and hope you had a very relaxing holiday break with family and friends. Our community safety is of the highest priority, especially during times of identified cases of COVID-19. Mary MacKillop Primary School has a COVID-19 Safety Management Plan that is updated according to Chief Health Officer and DOSCEL advice. The COVID-19 Safety Management Plan ensures we are doing everything possible to keep our community safe.
Semester One, 2021 Reports, Student Learning Portfolios and Student Learning Conversations
Semester One Reports and Student Learning Portfolios were distributed to students and parents at the end of Term 2 - Thursday 24 June. We hope you found the Semester One Report and Student Learning Portfolio valuable documents to highlight and celebrate your child’s learning journey. Please remember to return your child’s Student Learning Portfolio ASAP so your child and their teacher can prepare to share their learning, growth and achievements at our Student Learning Conversations next week. The Student Learning Conversations will be held on the following days in the Allen Hall:
- Monday 19 July from 3.40 pm
- Wednesday 21 July from 3.40 pm
It is important your child attends their Student Learning Conversation as we continue build our students’ voice, agency and ownership of their learning.
Ms Annette Scott (3AS) is on Long Service Leave for the first two weeks of Term 3. Therefore, 3AS Student Learning Conversations will be held on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 39 July from 3.30 pm in the Administration Office - Boardroom.
Student Learning Conversations – COVID-19 Restrictions
Parents received a letter via SZ App yesterday outlining our COVID-19 Safety Plan for our Student Learning Conversations. To keep our community safe, please ensure the following:
- DO NOT attend the Student Learning Conversations if you, or a member of your family is unwell or displaying the following symptoms:
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Loss or change in sense of smell / taste
- Stuffy nose
- Chills or sweats
- Shortness of breath
- Headache
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Muscle soreness
- REGISTER via the QR CODE in the ALLEN HALL FOYER upon entry and wear a FACE MASK at all times.
Term 3 - Student Free Days
Tomorrow – Friday 16 July is a student free, Staff Professional Learning Day. Mary MacKillop staff will be participating in Staff Professional Development.
FOMM Meeting Thursday 15 July
Our FOMM Team met this morning to go through fundraising ideas/events for Term 3 and the remainder of the 2021 school year. Parents are most welcome to come along to assist with our fundraising events in Term 3 which include:
- Feast Day Celebrations – Thursday 5 August
- Father’s Day Stall – Thursday 2 September
School Advisory Committee [SAC] Meeting - Tuesday 27 July and SAC AGM - Tuesday 31 August
SAC is an elected parent / staff committee that acts in an advisory capacity to the Principal. The responsibilities of SAC are to:
- Promote the Catholic ethos of the school.
- Provide feedback on and review of school policies.
- Plan for the future of the school and its ability to accommodate future enrolments.
- Provide advice on budget planning and finance related matters.
- Contribute to the selection process for the school principal.
- Provide advice on the appropriate provision of faith development and Religious Education programs.
- Promote child safety in the school.
Our next SAC Meeting will be held on Tuesday 27 July and the SAC AGM will be held on Tuesday 31 August at 7.00 pm.
Nomination forms for positions on the School Advisory Committee 2021 – 2022 are available from the Administration Office.
Student Learning in Term 3
We have a very busy Term ahead and look forward to working in partnership with you as our students focus on continuing their learning journey in the following Learning Areas and Capabilities:
- Religious Education
- English
- Maths
- Inquiry - The Humanities - History, The Humanities - Geography
- Specialist Subjects - Physical Education, The Arts - Visual Arts, LOTE - Japanese, DC - Digital Technologies and English Enrichment - Poetry.
Important dates and school events for Term 3 are listed below.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Sacramental Program
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Congratulations to Zac (4CM) who received the Sacrament of First Reconciliation at the close of Term 2. We pray he walks in the footsteps of Jesus, as he shows forgiveness and compassion.
Sacrament of Confirmation
CONFIRMATION ENROLMENT AND PARENT ONLY WORKSHOP will be held next Wednesday 21st July at 7.00pm in the Church. Parents are required to attend only one enrolment workshop. Attendance is mandatory if you wish to prepare your child for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we request only one parent attend the workshop. This is a parent only workshop and children are not required to attend. If for any reason you miss the enrolment night, or cannot make it to any other meeting/workshop, we request you to wait until the following year, as the parish is unable to offer any catch-up workshops for those who are unable to attend. An enrolment levy of $50 is payable via CDFPay https://olhc.cdfpay.org.au which will be available from 5th July 2021. For more information please refer to the Sacrament Program Booklet 2021 on the parish website www.olhc.org.au
Winter Appeal
The St Vincent de Paul Society appreciates the great support provided by schools. Participating in the annual Winter Appeal has a lot to offer our students in terms of helping to deepen their understanding of social justice – particularly with seeing the needs of people in our own neighbourhood and beyond.
Student representatives from Years 3-6 have come together as members of the MacKillop Kids Group to organise this year’s Winter Appeal – this year our Appeal will focus on essential items in particular we will be collecting wipes and tissues. Your donations can be left in collection boxes in classrooms.
The Feast of Mary MacKillop- Thursday 5th August – An invitation to families to join celebrations on our Feast Day
The following whole school event are planned to celebrate our feast day. Join with us as we:
- Dress up with clothes/costumes representing Colonial Australia
- Whole school Mass 9.00am Allen Hall
- Special Morning Tea for students and staff - Scones with jam and cream (supplied by FOMM). A permission eform will be sent via Operoo next week. Unfortunately students without permission cannot participate. Students with allergies are welcome to bring an appropriate alternative.
- Class/Level Fundraiser supporting Charity Mary MacKillop 'Today' Education was close to Mary’s heart and she knew its power to lift communities out of poverty. To celebrate Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day, our School has been registered to conduct a fundraiser in support of the charity foundation Mary MacKillop Today to give vulnerable children in Fiji access to early education. Each grade or level will conduct a fundraiser to support the charity close to our hearts.. Visit the website Mary MacKillop Today for further information about the projects.
- Each student will be supplied with a small commercially produced palm size cross made from pine ply. These are able to be drawn/painted on by students. It is the shape and the line marking on these pieces which allows students to be creative in expressing the School’s story/Catholic identity. The provided crosses may be kept at school for use during prayer times or sent home for family use.
- A school family has kindly donated an iconic blue lollipop for each student. A lollipop has been provided for each student to take home at the end of the day. The following brief story will be attached:
- St Mary of the Cross MacKillop is known for her habit of carrying sweets in her pocket to reward good effort in her students. Each child received a lollipop gift bag, kindly donated by the Vena Family, in the tradition of St. Mary MacKillop herself, who was known to dig deep into her pockets and offer sweets to the poor or orphaned children who otherwise never would have enjoyed lollies.
Term 3 Class/Level/School Mass and Reconciliation Celebrations
Attendance at the following liturgical celebrations will be dependent on Government restrictions and DOSCEL recommendations at the time. Thank you for your understanding and patience under these circumstances.
Fan the Flame - Towards Plenary Assembly One October 2021
‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’ Mark 6:30-34
Our Aboriginal culture has taught us to be still and to wait… We wait for the rain to fill our rivers and water the thirsty earth… We wait on God, too. We don’t worry. We know that in time and in the spirit of dadirri (that deep listening and quiet stillness) his way will be clear.
(Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr, “Dadirri: Inner Deep Listening and Quiet Still Awareness”, Miriam-Roes Foundation, accessed 23 April 2021, https://www.miriamrosefoundation.org.au/about-dadirri.)
www.plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au/fantheflame/
While being conscious of the work to be done, we also have much to be thankful for. There are many signs of hope in that members of the faithful persevere with the practice of the faith… and are living their commitment to love of neighbour in myriad ways.
(Instrumentum Laboris #65)
www.plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au/fantheflame/
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Mark 6:30-34
Jesus invites his disciples to rest after their ministry, and Jesus is moved with pity for the crowds who pursue them.
In next Sunday’s Gospel we learn that Jesus and his disciples also needed to find time to rest after a busy day. Jesus knew that his disciples were tired, and he wanted to spend some quiet time with them. But they weren’t able to do that on this day because the crowds kept following them. Jesus also wants to spend quiet time with us, and he invites us to do this in our prayer.
WELLBEING
How to stop sibling rivalry by Michael Grose
Question: What causes sibling rivalry? Answer: Having more than one child. This joke always gets a laugh in our parenting presentations but there is more than a hint of truth about it. If your children are constantly in competition then you’ll know how destructive sibling rivalry can be. While some rivalry between siblings is healthy, too much can have a toxic impact on family life and children’s self-esteem.
In this article, you can find out some of the fascinating insights from the popular book Why first-borns rule the world and later borns want to change it. View article attached below:
OLHC Parish
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.
PARISH BULLETIN - Click on the link below to download the weekly newsletter.
こんいちは、
This week in Japanese, students experienced a popular Japanese festival called 七夕 (tanabata) or the Star Festival. Japanese children write wishes or goals on strips of paper and hang them on bamboo. They hope their wishes or goals will come true. Mary Mackillop students experienced this tradition by hanging learning goals from the bamboo located in the Japanese garden.
