This coming week, on Tuesday 8th August, we celebrate the feast day of Australia’s first and only saint, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Known for her commitment to making education accessible to all children in Australia, St Mary MacKillop devoted a great deal of her life passionately advocating specifically for the education of underprivileged children and those from rural and remote areas. Founder of the Josephite Sisters, St Mary MacKillop passed away in 1909 at the age of 67. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. 

God of compassion, God of all people, 

we praise you for your servant, Mary MacKillop, 

who gave her life to serve you in the poor and oppressed.

As she is honoured in our world, 

may we continue to learn to share her vision.

Help us to recognise, as she did, that the poor of our time 

will hear the gospel in the way we serve them. 

Be with us as we strive to follow her 

and carry out our mission of service and care. 

Amen

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Pray for us

Earlier today, a large number of students and staff gathered in the College Chapel to celebrate Mass with Father Victor. This Mass marked the beginning of a newly introduced fortnightly opportunity for students to gather and celebrate the Eucharist alongside Fr Michael and Fr Victor. Despite the many demands on the time of our clergy, we are exceptionally grateful to them for prioritising this opportunity for our students and staff to come together on a regular basis. The next Friday Mass will be celebrated in two weeks time and all students have been invited to join us in the College Chapel at the start of lunch. 

As most within our community would be aware, students in Year 12 commenced their Trial HSC earlier this week. These exams mark the final assessment block prior to the actual HSC exams which commence early next term. As a College, we could not have been prouder of how well the students have approached this significant period of time and I remain confident that their diligence, determination and hard work will serve them well not just throughout the second half of this Trial period, but in the weeks ahead as they continue their HSC preparations. I also take the opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding work of our teachers and support staff who have prepared them so well, with many even giving up a significant amount of their recent holiday period to run extra classes to further prepare the students for these exams. 

A reminder to all parents that the Term 3 P&F meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th August in the College library from 7pm. All parents and carers are welcome to join us to share your ideas and meet with other members of our Magdalene community. 

Finally, a reminder that we will hold our first Staff Development Day for Term 3 this coming Friday 11th August. I thank the parents and carers who will be making alternate supervision arrangements on this day so that all staff can participate in worthwhile professional development activities. 

Wishing you all the best for the week ahead, 

David Cloran

On the Friday 21 July, the College celebrated our Annual Magdalene Feast Day. This was a very successful day, in which all facets of the College community were involved and responsible for the success it was. Magdalene Feast Day offers an excellent opportunity to build College culture and the vibe around the College was very positive with excellent participation from students.

I would like to first thank all the parents and carers who provided their time and support on the day. Your participation was greatly appreciated and the day would not have been the same without you. As a College we pride ourselves on our partnerships with parents and carers and are very thankful for the ongoing support provided. Thank you also to any parent and carer who may have made a donation for the day. I would also like to thank any local businesses who supported Magdalene for Feast Day, one special mention to Event Cinemas who donated over $1000 worth of movie vouchers.

I would also like to praise the amazing staff we have here at Magdalene. The tireless efforts of so many individuals allowed for the day to be such a great success. The staff were integral to the running of the day and supporting students in a great range of stalls and rides.

Lastly to the students of Magdalene. It was great to see so many students volunteer their time to assist with Feast Day. From students coming in early Friday morning to help set-up, running stalls on the day and even supporting St Clares students. Student participation was excellent and the students who were involved were role models to others and great ambassadors to our school.

As I mentioned earlier this truly was a community effort and we look forward to building on this experience for future years.

Mr Matthew Bubb

Pastoral Care Coordinator

August 4th is the feast of St John Vianney (also known as the Curé d’Ars) who died in 1859. He had very little education and was not good at school. When it came to being ordained as a priest he decided to learn one scripture passage only and this, on the day of his exam, turned out to be the passage that the examiners asked about. It may seem that he would not make a good priest but he is, in fact, the Patron Saint of Parish Priests today. He possessed a rare gift in that, when hearing someone’s confession he could name their sins and give them advice about their lives even before they told him the nature of their sins. This caused him to become very popular and people traveled vast distances and waited for days to see Fr John Vianney for the Sacrament of Confession. 

Through love and obedience the Curé d’Ars was able to help many people reconstruct their lives and their relationship with God. Is it possible that God would choose to use us to lead others towards him, even through the ordinary activities of our lives?

Prayer:

Lord, may we, like St John Vianney and Mary Magdalene be faithful disciples and witnesses to the life-giving power of your death and resurrection.

Mary Magdalene

Pray for us

Amen

12 Construction got their hands dirty this week when displaying and refining their Concreting Competencies to create a gazebo project at the College. They worked with local business UltraFinish Concrete, who ran the day, taking the students through professional standards and finishes used in the industry, along with tips and tricks when completing Concreting Tasks.

HSC TRIAL MUSIC PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS

West African Music Workshop – Year 8 Students

On Tuesday 25 July all Year 8 students participated in a West African Music Workshop with professional presenters and musicians. Each student was provided with their own djembe and experimented with a variety of dynamics and expressive techniques. The students also learnt and sang a traditional West African song and provided their own accompaniment both in unison and with some improvisation. 

Student Feedback:

Helen Al Morani

I appreciated the music workshop since it taught us vital concepts about Africa, its culture, and its essential elements. The djembe was a fascinating instrument since it showed my peers and I how to interact with various pieces or play freely. The programme gave us a better understanding of African culture and taught us how to do various things. It became so important to us because it has been a vital component of West African spiritual and ritualistic life for many generations.

Isaac Athanassiou

I enjoyed the workshop yesterday as it gave me an insight of cultural instruments used in parts of Africa.

Cooper Clare

I enjoyed the African Music Workshop workshop very much, it was very interactive and enjoyable to play the Djembe and learn the culture from which it had originated. It was a memorable experience and helped me understand the importance of African Music to society.

Sienna Harley

I really enjoyed the African workshop! Both instructors were extremely engaging, cooperative and talented. I learnt not only how to play the Djembe drum, but the different parts of the drum and the African culture. I love how they incorporated us (the audience) into their teaching - getting us to sing and play!

As part of our 25th Anniversary celebrations, Year 12 2023 will be selling commemorative pavers that will be placed in a new garden area near the hall.
Each family/child is invited to participate in this lasting commemoration of their time at our school.
The pavers will cost $50 each and will be engraved with the name/names and year(s) of attendance.
If you would like to be included in this commemoration garden, please complete the Opt-in Event on your parent Compass Portal.

Money raised through this fundraising will go to improvement of the chapel (Year 12's project for 2023) and paying for the landscaping of the new garden.
We thank you for your support.

School Fees - Tax Deductibility of the Building Fund

Tax deductibility of the Building Fund comes down to the ATO guidelines governing Deductable Gift Recipient Funds.

As the CEO School Building Fund Fees are a compulsory component of our School fees overall, (as opposed to a voluntary contribution of an amount of your choice) therein lies the difference, as far as the ATO is concerned. 

Therefore, families cannot claim the Building Fund fees as a Tax Deduction on their Tax.

You are invited to a special evening event on 28 August 2023 in Campbelltown with Robert Falzon from menALIVE, as he unpacks practical advice and shares stories that are powerfully important, informative, and instructional for fathering in today’s world. 

In an age where there is training to do almost everything, there are so many fathers who are in desperate need of tips and tools to do one of the most important and impactful tasks on earth – Fathering! – and this evening will be a source of great formation and encouragement for dads.

Details:

Speaker: Robert Falzon: Fathering from the Front Line
Topic: Fathering from the Front Line
Date: Monday 28 August 2023
Time: 7 - 8.30 pm
Location: Level 1, Micah House Resource Centre, 35A Cordeaux Street, Campbelltown 
Cost: Free