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Congratulations Tyrone!
For 2 weeks in January Tyrone Fergie (10B) competed in the 2019 Australian National Youth Baseball Championships at BISP as a member of the Baseball NSW U/16 team.
They played against teams representing each state and territory in Australia.
During the pool games, they won all 7 games, scoring 75 runs and only having 18 runs scored against them.
In the finals pool they beat Victoria Blue 4-3, then Victoria White 12-2, and then Western Australia 8-1.
In the Grand Final, they came up against Vic Blue again and came from behind early to run out winners 10-3 to win the gold medal and become Australian Champions.
A fantastic achievement to go through the tournament undefeated against the best U/16 players in Australia.
Welcome back (or welcome for the first time) to the Magdalene Catholic College Community. I particularly welcome back our new Year 7s and all students and families who are new to the College in 2019.
As I mentioned at our brief College Assembly the other day, I am very excited about the coming year. We have undertaken much preparation and planning for 2019 and there are many things which we greatly anticipate introducing and/or implementing.
The College conducted a number of reviews and robust conversations across 2017 and 2018 and this led to a broad range of outcomes (and in some cases changes) to the way in which the school functions this year.
Officially Magdalene became Magdalene Catholic College on January 1, 2019. While you will need to bear with us as we alter old signage, crests and remove any mention of ‘High School’ on various documents, there will also be opportunities for community involvement as we begin to reflect on such things as our College uniform.
NEW DAY STRUCTURE
No doubt one of the things which the students are talking about is the change to the day structure. The change to the day structure – with extended lessons (now 75 minutes except on Tuesday when they are 60 minutes), Pastoral Care Classes commencing after Period 1, and fixed Assemblies on a Tuesday, allows for greater consistency for the students and more focused learning. I encourage parents and carers to look at the new day structure which can be found on the back cover of the Student Diaries.
75 MINUTE LESSONS
In a 75-minute lesson, staff can genuinely focus on ‘learning intentions’ and ‘success criteria’, they can explicitly teach material, model learning and different approaches, students can collaborate with one another and report back their learning and the list goes on. It allows increased time for practical subjects, provides greater time to check homework and allow students to show further independence. In short, it provides for a genuine focus on ‘quality learning’.
NEW CORE VALUES
2019, and the move to a College, also sees our Core Values trimmed to only four – a move which helps us to emphasise who we are.
Our new Core Values are:
Core Value One: Discipleship and Service – this connects with our Vision and Mission Statements in emphasising the importance that we, as an institution, place on our Catholic faith and on each student “making meaningful contributions”.
Core Value Two: Love of Learning – obviously it is critical that students see learning as something which is lifelong and that it is something they can be genuinely passionate about. Lifelong learning will inspire curiosity and the building of analytical skills.
Core Value Three: Quality Relationships –these are central to everything that we do. By respecting one’s self and others we are living out Jesus’ values. Quality relationships can lead to better learning outcomes and more positive thoughts and feelings about being at school.
Core Value Four: Personal Best – we aim for each student to be the best version of themselves in mind, body, spirit and action. We make no excuses for insisting on high expectations with a view to allowing students to attain their individual aims and ambitions.
I have attached the new Vision, Mission and Values document which is a fantastic summary of what we stand for at the College.
STAFFING
I also formally welcome new staff to Magdalene this year.
- Welcome to our new teaching staff:
- Miss Kathleen Angelopoulos (HSIE / English)
- Miss Sarah Manzin (HSIE)
- Mr Kip Veness (Science)
- Mrs Lauren Broady (Maths)
- Mrs Laura Hayden (Learning Support)
- Mr Tony Burden (TAS/VET)
- Welcome to our new SSOs:
- Mrs Louise McKenna (Bursar)
- Mrs Belinda Dodd (Print Room)
YEAR COORDINATORS AND STAGE ASSISTANTS
The 2019 Pastoral Care Team is a strong one.
Pastoral Care Class Teachers are the contact people for parents and carers as it is the Pastoral Care Class Teacher who meets with students each day, works with your sons and daughters on our Academic Care and Pastoral Care programme, writes Pastoral Care Class Reports and serves as a mentor for your children.
For further communication and support, the Year Coordinator is highly important. The Pastoral Care Team for 2019 is as follows:
Year 7: Mrs Rosanne Taccone
Year 8: Mrs Denise Phillips
Stage 4 Assistant: Mrs Melissa Keith
Year 9: Mr Matthew Bubb
Year 10: Ms Meaghan Tolhurst
Stage 5 Assistant: Miss Tahlia Cupillari
Year 11: Mr Matthew Dowdell
Year 12: Mrs Blair Colella
Stage 5 Assistant: Mr Alan Chapman
Of course, our Pastoral Care Coordinator Mrs Ivana Forner, works closely with our students, Year Coordinators and oversees our Pastoral Care Program; as such she is a also a vital part in the chain of communication.
With the College’s enhanced focus on wellbeing initiatives in 2019; the year is set to be a successful one.
FINAL COMMENT:
I thank you for once again placing your trust in Magdalene Catholic College and I look forward to a wonderful 2019. As always, if you have any queries or if issues arise, I encourage you to contact the Front Office and/or the relevant staff member to assist you. That stated, here’s to a great year ahead and I look forward, as all our staff do, to working with your children in the aim of providing a quality Catholic education.
THE BEGINNING OF A NEW YEAR – A STUDENT’S PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, I ask You for Your help as I begin this new year.
Allow me to experience Your presence in the many blessings that You put before me on a daily basis.
Help me to recognise the new challenges and the exciting opportunities which this new year offers.
Open my heart and my mind to new friends, new teachers and new learning experiences.
Help me to have a generous spirit so that I am enthusiastic in my studies, compassionate and kind in my dealings with others and willing to embrace new opportunities.
Help me to be attentive to my teachers and let me experience Your presence in my new friends and in the Magdalene Catholic College Community.
Jesus, inspire me to do my best this year! Amen
The first day of high school can be daunting, exciting and overwhelming and on Wednesday 30th January 2019, 186 students took on these new challenges with enthusiasm. They had information overload, a timetable to decipher and a new College to find their way around. I am proud to say each of them accepted this new adventure bravely and have made a successful transition into High School. Feedback from their classroom teachers, staff and Pastoral Team was glowing and supported the positive start that each of them has had.
The 2019 theme for the grade is ‘Make each day your Masterpiece.’ Students are challenged to make each day count and be the best version of themselves that they can be. They are encouraged to try new things, be great friends and respectful to one another and most of all take on the opportunity to love learning and know that learning is lifelong.
The Year 7 cohort will be supported by the following Pastoral Care team:
Stage 4 Assistant – Mrs Keith
7 BRUCHHAUSER – Mrs Amanda Violi / Miss Alana Di-Fillipo
7 DUNNE – Mr Kip Veness
7 HOGAN – Mr Marco Cimino
7 MOORE – Mrs Maria Eggleton/ Ms Maria Meagher
7 PATRICIAN – Mrs Alison Shortridge
7 SEDGWICK – Miss Aimee Boughton
I am so grateful to be a part of the Year 7 team and we are all looking forward to going on the High School journey with each of them.
Rosanne Taccone
Year 7 Coordinator
Edwin Powell Hubble
We would like to welcome back students and parents to the new school year. 2018 was a busy year where we saw students engaged in learning and the exploration of the world through the lens of Chemistry, Physics and Biology. This year will be no different!!
The Science Faculty would like to welcome to Magdalene Catholic College, Mr Kip Veness who has joined the team. Mr Veness has hit the ground running and very quickly establishing key relationships with the students. With some sadness we, however, have to wish all the best to Ms Samantha Gray who is leaving the Science Faculty to teach Mathematics fulltime, but luckily for us still at Magdalene.
We have been impressed by how the Year 7 students have demonstrated their enthusiasm to get started. In Term One, we will focus on the development of the fundamental Science Skills that will support them as they journey through Science 7-10 course at High School. These skills focus on how to conduct experiments safely, creatively and follow the science method.
Year 8 continue their journey by spending this term exploring the basic building blocks of life, cells. Students look at how cell work and how from the simple cell complex organisms like ourselves are made and function. The students’ dissection skills will also be developed and tested this term!
One of the biggest challenges that faces the world today, Global Warming. Students in Year 9 will investigate the fact and the fiction of Global Warming so that they can develop, and express, their point of view on how we can solve this challenge.
Students in Year 10 will don their lab coats and safety glasses in Term One to study the bubbling and frizzing of Chemistry. They will learn about the language of chemistry, write chemical equations and try to explain why their solution went purple instead of green!
For Year 11 we have a cohort of excited students ready to increase their depth of knowledge in their chosen field of expertise, now each with a new syllabus. This year we have two classes of Biology, one class of Chemistry and Physics, as well as introducing the exciting new course Investigating Science. This course provides an in-depth study of the Scientific Process and its’ application in today’s world.
After their Christmas break Year 12 Science students should be full of knowledge and understanding relating to the concepts covered in their first module of work. Their holiday homework and rigorous revision would have assisted in this process. With only three terms left before the Higher School Certificate Examination begins it is vital that school work now becomes their main priority. Surviving the HSC and the lead up to it is a little like a four-legged table. Each leg being; family, friends/relaxing, study and work. If one of the legs of a table is weak then the table will collapse or fall over so to assist your son or daughter through this stressful time, guide them to have a balanced approach.
2019 should be another exciting year full of new and exciting activities and experiments. Welcome back.
Regards
Science Department
Congratulations Tyrone!
For 2 weeks in January Tyrone Fergie (10B) competed in the 2019 Australian National Youth Baseball Championships at BISP as a member of the Baseball NSW U/16 team.
They played against teams representing each state and territory in Australia.
During the pool games they won all 7 games, scoring 75 runs and only having 18 runs scored against them.
In the finals pool they beat Victoria Blue 4-3, then Victoria White 12-2, and then Western Australia 8-1.
In the Grand Final they came up against Vic Blue again and came from behind early to run out winners 10-3 to win the gold medal and become Australian Champions.
A fantastic achievement to go through the tournament undefeated against the best U/16 players in Australia.
Congratulations Rachel!
During the Christmas holiday break, Rachel Bagot (11B) represented NSW at the FFA Futsal Nationals January 9-13 in Sydney. Her team, 17 girls Lightning, was the younger of the two NSW teams to compete in the championship for that age group. After what as a gruelling and hard-fought competition, Rachel and her team made it to the grand final against a strong Canberra team. The match proved to be a close contest with the NSW girls coming away with a win in a penalty shoot out and a very well deserved National Championship.
Congratulations to Rachel Bagot (11B) and the NSW 17 girls Lightning, the FFA Futsal National Champions.
NSWCCC Registrations are Open.
Please note: Some sports are through individual nomination (i.e. through the NSWCCC website) while others are through selection via Diocesan competition.
The attached document indicates the sports that are available for individual nomination and those that are via Diocesan competition. The NSWCCC nomination process is below and has been emailed to students.
If you are a highly accomplished sports person in any of the sports indicated on the NSWCCC flier I encourage you to nominate for selections via the NSWCCC website: www.csss.nsw.edu.au
The closing dates for each Sport are strict, so please check the closing date for your chosen sport ASAP (As soon as possible).
Note the following upcoming closing dates for nominations:
- U19 Boys Cricket; 13 February
- Boys and Girls Softball: 15 February
- Triathlon: 20 February
- Girls Cricket: 21 February
- Boys and Girls Tennis: 25 February
- Baseball: 5 March
On the NSWCCC website, the closing dates are indicated on the NSWCCC Calendar for all the whole year.
These nominations are for students who are already playing at a high level in their chosen sport (eg. district or a high grade). Also, note the age divisions. Please see Mr Kennedy if you are unsure if you should nominate.
Please be aware that supervision of students commences at 7.50am in the Top Quad. After school - students should be collected no later than 3.30pm from the student pick up area (with the exception of extra-curricular activities the student may be attending). Students should not be on the College grounds outside of these times.
Please be aware any medication supplied to the College for your student must be accompanied by the below REQUEST FOR SCHOOL TO ADMINISTER MEDICATION. Any students with Anaphylaxis and/or Asthma need a new action plan/s (to be handed into the office). Students with Asthma MUST carry their puffer on them at all times. Students with Anaphylaxis must carry an EpiPen on them at all times and also supply an Epipen to the office. Students who have not supplied new action plans or medication may not be able to take part in activities such as sport.
