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CELEBRATIONS of LEARNING
Our warmest congratulations to our Year 6 students – Authors: Rehana, Sean, Sienna, Elijah, Madeline, Archie and Illustrators: Hayley, Sophie, Mikala and Vanessa on their participation in the Write a Book in a Day Competition. The students worked diligently throughout the day on Thursday 16 September (last Term) to complete an amazing story The Great Donkey Kidnap. Not only did our students have their creative and artistic talents on display, they also completed the completion online. An extraordinary team effort! A very big thank you to Reniette Joachim-Zamudio for her time and efforts in providing this opportunity to our Year 6 students. We look forward to sharing this amazing story with our students when they return from Remote Schooling.
ROADMAP out of LOCKDOWN
The Roadmap out of Lockdown and students returning to school is expected to take place in the week beginning Monday 18 October. More information will be provided closer to the date to ensure community safety during this time. The table below outlines the part-time, staggered return for students.
Many in our school community continue to face financial impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to supporting families experiencing financial challenges through our School Fee Concession programs, and encourage any parent/carer/guardian experiencing difficulties to contact us regarding fee assistance. Please contact Jacqui Meunier – 8794 5777 jmeunier@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au to explore confidential financial support arrangements or to obtain further information.
VRQA (Victorian Registration & Qualifications Authority)
As part of our year in Review, we will be undertaking VRQA on Friday 29 October. In Victoria, all schools must meet the minimum standards for school registration.
The minimum standards provide a foundation for quality schools through the following areas:
- Good governance
- Strong financial management
- Effective curriculum
- Sound teaching practices and
- Safe environments for our students
Our school website has been continually updated to reflect VRQA guidelines, including policies and updated Child Safety information.
We warmly welcome everyone back to Term 4 and look forward to building our students’ voice and agency in their learning and continuing to target our student’s learning needs. Term 4 provides our students with learning opportunities in Religious Education, English, Mathematics, The Arts, Economics and Business (Years 5 & 6) and our Specialist Subject Learning Areas. Please find below the list of events/activities and learning on offer throughout this term (subject to COVID-19 Restrictions).
'PAM' IS COMING!
At the beginning of the year we introduced a Learning Management Systems, SIMON to support staff, students and families.
In Term 1 2022 we will be launching PAM (Parent Access Module). To prepare for the launch of PAM in 2022, during Term 4 parents will be given access to PAM to set up their child/ren profiles.
PAM will provide families with access to view your child’s:
- Assessment Reports, including NAPLAN
- Attendance Records
- Class Timetable
- Sick Bay Passes
You will also be able to:
- Maintain & update your child’s medical profile
- Complete absentee forms (Parent Notified Absence) for your child/ren
- Complete permission forms for all school activities
- Access our Knowledge Bank & School Links
As we continue to develop the modules within SIMON, families will have access to further Learning Areas to support their child’s learning.
SIMON will replace Operoo and some of the functions accessed through SZapp in 2022.
Look out for information in Term 4 regarding access to PAM. Please see below our PAM Information Booklet for parents to familiarise themselves with our new Learning Management System:
The month of the Holy Rosary is October and this entire month is dedicated to the Rosary. On October 7, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the yearly feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honour Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory. The Rosary helps us to pray to Jesus through Mary. When we pray the Rosary, we think about the special events, or mysteries, in the lives of Jesus and Mary.
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB celebrated Mass at St Mary's Cathedral in Perth last Sunday to begin the first Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council. While originally hoped to meet in person, the pandemic has meant the first assembly will be a mix of in person and online delivery across the country. There will be three main groups of people attending the Council’s assemblies: Members; Advisers; and Observers.
Members of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia are those who have been called to participate in the assemblies. Some of the members are people who “must” be called to a plenary council, as outlined in Church law; others are people who “may” be called, who were chosen through a range of processes across the country. The members have, at times, been referred to as “delegates” to the Council. The language of “member” better reflects the canonical status of those called to a Council, as well as the sense that all members are there to represent the People of God in Australia, not just their local Church community. Members are the only people who can vote at the Council assemblies. It is expected there will be 278 members at the assemblies.
Advisers to the Council are people with particular expertise across a range of matters, such as theology, Scripture, governance, formation, ecclesiology (study of the Church), who can be called upon by members, individually or collectively, to provide advice on particular matters to assist with their discernment and decision-making. Advisers are sometimes called “experts” or “periti”, a latin term used to describe the experts at the Second Vatican Council and other major Church events.
Observers are people who, as the name suggests, observe the proceedings of the Council assemblies because of their particular relationship with the Catholic Church in Australia. Following the tradition of other Church gatherings, the observers are likely to include Catholic leaders from other parts of the world, especially New Zealand, the Pacific and Asia; leaders of other Christian denominations; and leaders of other faith traditions.
Bishop Greg Bennet, Fr Peter Slater, Fr Denis O’Bryan, Katherine Jelavic and myself are representing our Diocese as members and Sr Mary Olofu SON from St Agatha’s Parish Cranbourne, is representing the Order of the Sisters of the Nativity.
With the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia being an event for the whole Church, parts of the first general assembly will be livestreamed each day. The home page of the Plenary Council website is the place to go to find the livestream each day. https://plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au/
Daily News and Social Media are broadcast via the Sale of Diocese website and the Plenary Council website, Facebook page and twitter accounts. You can read my report on the first two days of the Assembly. Scroll down on the home page at https://www.cdsale.org.au/
Please continue to pray for us and all those participating in the Plenary Council.
Twenty-Eighth
Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Sunday, October 10, 2021
In next Sunday’s Gospel, we’ll hear what Jesus calls us to do with those things God has given us. Jesus calls us to follow him. He does not expect us to give up everything we have, but he does want us to make a change. He wants us to use what we have to serve God’s kingdom, not to keep what we have to ourselves by not sharing. What are some ways we can use what we have to serve God’s kingdom?
Parent Education
Girls can be a mystery to some parents, particularly when they reach the tween and teen years.
There are several factors that we need to consider when we are raising and educating girls. It is part nature and part nurture. From biological differences, such as brain development and hormones to societal differences such as gender stereotypes and expectations, raising girls presents different challenges, and equally as many rewards.
View the attached article below:
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
Spending time online can help young people learn, connect socially and relax. However, the use of digital technologies may also present challenges to our student’s wellbeing.
The eSafety Commissioner website offers many valuable resources for educators, parents, grandparents and carers. Click on the tab eSafetyparents where you will find advice for parents and carers to help children have safe experiences online.
A new webinar for Term 4 is available. Register now for eSafety's parent guide to digital technologies and mental health The webinar will explore:
- dealing with harmful online content such as suicide, self-harm and eating disorders
- using games, apps and social media to support mental wellbeing
- the pros and cons of online mental health platform
- helping young people support their friends online.
You can find more parent and carer resources at esafety.gov.au including booklets, info sheets, videos activities, COVID-19 advice and Family tech agreements.
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.
Parish-Bulletin https://olhc.org.au/parish-bulletin/
こんにちは、
Our virtual Japanese Culture Day was held on the last Friday of Term 3. MMPS students took part in a range of different Japanese activities and learnt more about Japanese tradition and culture. It was great to come together as a whole school to celebrate our Japanese learning on a virtual platform!
Welcome back to Term 4! It has been pleasing to see videos, photos and read emails about Physical Education lessons at home during our lockdown period. I have been impressed with the children’s enthusiasm and effort and I thank all parents for your support with the lessons at home. Students who have been on site have also enjoyed and participated fully in lessons here at school.
The senior level lesson this week focussed on healthy habits. It is important for all children to practice healthy habits for their physical and mental health and wellbeing. Answers the seniors gave this week included:
- Having healthy habits can make you feel, stronger, happier, help you concentrate better, give you a daily boost and help create good relationships with people around you (Mia 6MV)
- 4 ways you could build healthier habits are, Drink water, Sleep well, Get active, Eat the fruit and vegetable rainbow (Sophie 6MV)
- Sleep repairs all the things in your body, including your brain. You also grow in your sleep so getting lots of sleep helps you grow a lot. When you are sleeping you are not only resting your eyes but you are resting your brain. (Alanna 5SD)
- A healthy diet should include :Fruit, Vegetables, Lean meat, dairy, legumes and Nuts (Kiepha 5AB)
- Children should be active for at least 60 minutes per day (Archie 6RJ)
- Children should get 10 hours of sleep per night (Ava 5SD)
- 4 ways we could be healthier are, drink water instead of a soft drink or juice, buy a piece of fruit instead of a sweet from the canteen, have some salad with dinner and sleep well, keep all of your devices out of your bedroom so it can be nice and quiet. (Rehana 6RJ)
This week in Poetry the Senior students have been writing Tankas
Tankas are similar to Haikus and also originated in Japan. Like Haikus, these poems are also based on a specific number of syllables - 31 syllables altogether. They have five lines, instead of three, as in Haikus.The 31 syllables are broken up into 5 lines: 5-7-5-7-7. Topics usually covered by a tanka are Nature, Seasons or Emotions.
Here is a selection of the many wonderful Tankas written by our talented students.
