Our Explicit Improvement Agenda

Student Voice and Agency

Planning for improved student learning

Celebrating Student Learning

Over the past week our students in Year 2, Year 5, Year 3 and Year 4 have participated in excursions to support their History Inquiry Learning.  Year 2 students visited Como House in South Yarra last week, Year 5 students visited Coal Creek, Korumburra yesterday and Year 3 & Year 4 students went to the Melbourne Museum today.  We are very excited to be able to offer our students these hands on learning experiences outside the classroom now that COVID-19 restrictions have eased.  We look forward to the students sharing their learning reflections in the newsletter and in their Student Learning Portfolios.

Father’s Day Celebrations

Our school community is very much looking forward to celebrating our Father’s Day Breakfast on Friday 2 September.  Information regarding the breakfast was emailed to families via PAM on Tuesday this week.  We ask all families attending the breakfast to RSVP by Thursday 25 August so we can adequately cater for everyone attending. On Thursday 1^st September, all families who RSVP'd by the due date will receive a Father’s Day Breakfast ‘ticket’ via their eldest child.   Please ensure that you bring this ticket with you to the Father’s Day Breakfast on 2^nd September. 

The timetable for the morning of the breakfast is as follows:

• Father’s Day Breakfast - serving bacon and egg rolls from 7.30 am - 8.30 am
• Time in classrooms with your child - prayer, Father’s Day activity from 8.35 am - 9.00 am
• Father’s Day Special Assembly - in the Allen Hall from (including Father’s Day School Community Raffle) 9.00 am - 10.00 am approximately 

Our Father's Day stall will be held on Wednesday 31st August.  All gifts are $5 plus we have a limited number of 'mystery' gifts priced at $2.  

We look forward to celebrating this very special time with our dads.

Planning for 2023 School Year

2023 Class Placements

Teachers will begin planning for our 2023 classes at the end of Term 3.  We respect and value parent input and ask that you email me – ejones@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au, or put in writing, if you have information about your child that could impact on their placement for 2023.  Please ensure your request is sent by Friday 9 September, 2022.  Parents please be mindful of the following:

• Requests should be based on individual student needs. 
• Requests are forwarded onto staff when placing students into their 2022 classes. 
• Staff use a range of information to ensure an effective balance within classes across the level and to provide an optimal learning environment for all students. 
• Please be aware that your letters of request are not a guarantee, they provide an opportunity for your input and assist us in the process of class placements. 
• Please note that requests made in previous years are not necessarily considered in the process, so previous information provided by parents regarding their child’s placement will need to be re-submitted if the concerns expressed in previous years are still relevant for consideration in 2023.

School Advisory Committee [SAC] Meeting - Tuesday 30 August

The next SAC Meeting will be held on Tuesday 30 August at 7.00 pm in the Staffroom.  Our SAC comprises of the following members:

• Chairperson - Liz Jones
• Parish Priest - Fr. Brendan Hogan
• Parent Representative - Danielle Davis (Secretary)
• Parent Representative - Julie Gubbels
• Parent Representative - Stephanie Miller
• Parent Representative - Marina Valladares
• Staff Representative - Helen Fourna
• Staff/Parish Representative - Lize Privitera

ACARA - NAPLAN Trial

Our school was selected by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) to participate in this year’s ACARA Item Trial, to be conducted using the Online National Assessment Platform.  The Item Trial is a component of the National Assessment Program, an agreed national education requirement. The aim of the Item Trial is to evaluate NAPLAN test items that are under consideration for inclusion in future tests.  The trial, in Reading and Numeracy, was conducted on Tuesday for our Year 3 and Year 5 students in 3RJ and 5SD.

Thank you to all students, their families and staff for supporting Mary MacKillop today. A total of $396 was raised and forwarded to the charity of the Sisters of St Joseph. Thank you for your efforts in the spirit of Mary MacKillop supporting Mary MacKillop today’s vital works.

Sacrament of Confirmation masses will be celebrated later this afternoon and evening.

Congratulations to the candidates who will reaffirm the promises made at Baptism. These candidates remain in our prayers as they are called to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to continue their participation in the ministry and mission of Jesus, and that they are strengthened to follow Jesus more closely.

       Aiden,  Jasmine, Jeda, Katelyn, Memphis, Sienna, Summer, Zachary, Alanna, Ava, Billie, Miccah, Natalie P, Olivia & Scarlett  

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Sunday, August 21, 2022

In next Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us a parable about people who arrive at a house too late. Jesus teaches about the need to pay attention, to stay focused, and to take advantage of the opportunities we have to grow closer to our Lord.

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 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. 

Click on the link below to download the weekly newsletter.

https://www.olhc.org.au/parish-bulletin/

CBCA BOOK WEEK

2022 CBCA Book Week theme is 'Dreaming with eyes open...'

This year, students and families are invited to celebrate books, and Australian authors and illustrators. Students are invited to participate in a dress-up day on Wednesday 24th August: what better way to celebrate stories, than becoming the characters in them! Students can dress up as their favourite character from a book or wear their pyjamas and gowns as they enjoy reading a good book before they go to sleep.

All students are encouraged to get involved with Children's Book Week and celebrate the joys of reading at our school!

The Year 1 students have been very busy learning about the phoneme /er/ represented by the grapheme ir, ur and er in Little Learners Love Literacy. We have explored many different objects from our sound box that have this sound such as, river, monster, thirty, shirt and bursting. We have also been learning about ‘Persuasive Writing’ and how to use convincing language to express our reasons for or against a particular topic. 

In Maths, we have been learning about division. We have been practicing sharing collections of items into equal groups. We read the story ‘The Doorbell Rang’ which tells the story of Sam and Victoria, who were just about to sit down and enjoy fresh cookies when two friends arrive and the four children divide up the cookies four ways. Soon, the doorbell rings again, and then again, and each time the number of cookies per person dwindles. The Year 1’s had lots of fun modeling the sharing of the cookies between all of the visitors and noticed that each time the doorbell rang and more visitors arrived they all got less cookies. 

To celebrate Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day and raise funds for ‘Mary MacKillop Today’ the Year 1’s had a disco! We saw lots of cool moves and had a lot of fun playing games with balloons and dancing to our favourite songs! 

On Wednesday 17th August, the Year 5 students went on an excursion to Coal Creek. We left at around 9:00am to get on the bus. It was a one hour drive. Our excursion was about looking at the colonial times and what life was like for the settlers. When we arrived we ate our snack and went straight to our activities. We were split up into three groups, each one with a different teacher; Miss Brent, Miss De Koning and Mrs Privitera. 

Each group rotated between three activities. One of the activities was looking back at the olden day schools and we were taught like the children from the colonial times. We also looked at the olden day buildings, houses and shops. We looked at the differences from the buildings and shops back then to buildings and shops now. 

We want to say a special thank you to all the teachers that helped organise the excursion. We had a lot of fun!

Kate (5-SD) and Annabelle (5-AB)

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

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.

Child Safe Policies

Child friendly version of Child Safe Policy (updated June 2022)

Congratulations to our Year 6 Student Leaders on their creation of the student friendly version of the Child Safe Policy.  This policy has been uploaded to our website  Child Safe page and can be found in the following link https://www.marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au/child-safety-standards

Child Safe Standards and Parent use of Mobile Phones, Privacy Laws

We ask all parents to be mindful of their mobile phone usage, child safety and privacy laws when visiting our school.  During such times as morning Prayer time, Mass, Assemblies and school events/gatherings, we ask parents to turn off or put away their mobile phones and to respect the privacy of all students.  Photographs and video footage cannot be taken of students without parental permission.  Reminders of safe mobile phone usage will be shared with the school community at morning prayer times and assemblies.  On special occasions such as student awards at assemblies or student graduations, space will be made available for parents to photograph their child in a child safe way.  We thank you for working in partnership with us to respect the privacy of all our students, including when working as a volunteer on school excursions.  Please see the school expectations for Volunteers below:

Child Safe Resources to support Students, Parents/Carers

• eSafety Commissioner https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents.
• CCYP - Commission for Children and Young People https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/
• School TV https://marymacnarre.catholic.schooltv.me/category-latest-newsletter
• Bravehearts https://bravehearts.org.au/
• Parenting Ideas
  • We teach water safety and road safety to the children in our care, but too often ‘Body Safety’ is left in the ‘too-hard basket’. And yes, it is a difficult…           
  • View the attached article

Timbarra College P-9 offers a wide variety of options for secondary school.  Please see the flyer below for further information on their instrumental, music, STEAM and Sports Programs: