Last Sunday’s Gospel reading recounts the story of Jesus denouncing the Pharisees and scribes.  In this reading we learn that leadership, whether it be student, teacher or community, is earned and given by a system.  The best leader is one who does not rely on his or her position, one who does not demand respect, but rather earns it through humble service and devotion.  The message for us here is to serve humbly, without selfish ambition, and value others above yourselves.

Over the last month, the Year 12 Class of 2023 were in the midst of their HSC Examinations and they finally came to an end last Friday.  The students completed the examinations with integrity and commitment.  With the support of their teachers, the students prepared for their examinations to the best of their ability and we look forward to celebrating their results at the ATAR morning tea on Thursday 14 December.

Whilst we wish the Year 12 Class of 2023 the best for their futures, the incoming Year 12 Class of 2024 have begun their HSC Course.  At the beginning of the week Mr Shaun Houghton, Leader of Teaching and Learning,  Mr Chris Ferry, Acting Curriculum Coordinator, and Mrs Taccone, Year Coordinator, presented an Assessment Information Evening in order to prepare the students for their upcoming HSC Courses.  The purpose of the evening was to provide clear information about the HSC Assessment Procedures with a focus on wellbeing and study techniques.  The evening was well received and I encourage all students to visit the curriculum google site.

This week we had our first College assembly for the term and it was a great celebration of student achievements.  Students received Bronze and Silver Principal Awards in recognition of their commitment to their learning.  I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them all for their achievements.  I would like to make special mention of one particular student, Madeliene McGuire in Year 10, who received a Gold Principal’s Award.   

A reminder to all families that next Friday, 17 November, is a designated Pupil Free Day and there will be no supervised classes running so that teachers can continue with their preparation for 2024.  

Wishing you all the best for the coming weeks

Last week we celebrated All Saints Day, where we recognise all of the saints who have gone before us, which includes family and friends and long lost ancestors that are now with God in Heaven, as well as those official saints that the church has canonized. The very next day we celebrated All Souls Day, where we pray for people that have passed away, that they may rest in heaven with God. The Catholic Church teaches the concept of purgatory, a temporary state of being where the dead are purified as they enter heaven, if they need to be purified. We do not know what it would be like to be in purgatory but I think it may resemble what was described by St John of the Cross’s great spiritual work: The Dark Night of the Soul. Many saints, including Mother Teresa experienced something similar. They know they are getting close to God but they feel further away. Mother Teresa experienced 50 years of feeling that she was not close to God, and yet it would seem that she was very close to God for all of that time. Maybe purgatory feels like that. I don’t know. But I do not think the afterlife is something to dread. God’s love for us is more than we can possibly imagine with our tiny brains - and the proof of that is in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. 

Prayer:

Jesus, help us to recognise how mighty is your love for us and that your compassion and mercy is beyond our understanding. We pray for all those who have passed on to the next life: Our family members, our friends, our workmates, and all those who have died in tragic circumstances, including the recent deaths in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.

May we, like Mary Magdalene, bear witness to your life, your death and your resurrection by the way we live our lives and the way we love others.

Mary Magdalene,

Pray for us

Amen

Year 7 have been learning about Medieval times during our History lessons. Last week we put our knowledge into practise by designing and making our own medieval style castles.

Each castle had to have all the elements of defence expected from this time period, like crenulations, arrow slits and murder holes. We had a great time using lots of different things like Lego, paddle pop sticks, plasticine and paper to make our own castles.

We are blessed to announce our new Creative and Performing Arts Councillors for 2023/2024. They have been asked to introduce themselves to the community, and encourage you all to join us for our annual Art exhibition; Magdalene Impressions.  

Please welcome Emilia and Myah;

Hello Magdalene! My name is Myah Donohue, and I’m the other half of your Creative and Performing Arts Councillors for 2023/2024. I have always held a strong passion for the creative and performing arts, and I hope to inspire students at Magdalene Catholic College to express themselves through song and dance, visual arts and/or performance. I cannot wait to tell you all about the upcoming events Emilia and I, as well as our amazing creative and performing arts teachers, will be organising throughout the coming year!

Hello everyone! My name is Emilia Leopardi, I am one half of your Creative and Performing Arts Councillors for 2023/24. I applied for this role to help increase the love for the creative and performing arts here at Magdalene. I am so excited to be able to share my passion for the performing arts with the College community, by introducing new events and continuing traditions throughout the coming year.

We invite you all to join us for the Magdalene Impressions Art Exhibition on Wednesday the 15th of November in the Alan McManus Hall at the College. 

The doors will open at 6.00pm for a pre-viewing of the exhibition, and a special guest will officially open the exhibition at 6.30pm.

Magdalene Impressions is a celebration of all artworks that have been created by the students over the course of this year, from the creative minds of Year 7 to the amazing works of senior students. The evening will have music, food and awards that will be presented on the night! Family, friends, and loved ones are all welcome! It’s an amazing experience to see these incredible art pieces displayed in an art exhibition hosted at our College, in support of our students by celebrating their achievements in the Visual Arts. 

Tickets are available via payment through the opt-in compass event, for $5 per family.

We are so excited for the many creative and performing arts events that will be presented throughout the coming year! We hope to see you all at Magdalene Impressions! 

Oh and one last thing! We hope to continue seeing Year 7 and Year 8 at Drama Club in PA3 every Monday at lunch. We are having so much fun helping our teachers run this!

Thank You;

Emilia & Myah

The Year 7 Challenge Cup has continued in Tuesday afternoon sport with rounds 3 and 4 being played in the last two weeks. Students have been representing their houses proudly and participation has been to a very high standard. 

In round 3, we had the girls of Brucchauser take on the girls of Hogan in a close game of Soccer. The Hogan girls took a close win 2-0. Chisholm and Dunne girls played Touch Football, Chisholm winning 12-0 in a dominant performance. In Netball, Moore girls had a good win 21-3 against Patrician. 

For the boys, we had Bucchauser take on Sedgewick in Lacrosse. In a back and forth game, both teams scored 3 points and ended in a draw. In NFL flag football, Chisholm boys won against Dunne 22-3. In the final game, Moore and Patrician battled it out in Basketball. In a close encounter, Moore took the win 30-20. 

MVP's for Round 3 include: 

Lila Barnett - Hogan

Cooper Fabian - Chisholm

Olivia Pulling - Patrician

Lachlan Dunlop - Dunne

Zack Savage - Moore

In round 4 for the girls, we had Patrician play Hogan in Lacrosse. In a tightly contested and see-sawing affair, Hogan won 6-5. Dunne took on Moore in NFL Flag Football. Moore were just too strong in the end, winning 11-6. Sedgewick and Brucchauser were the final girls match in Netball. In a close match, Brucchauser took home the chocolates, winning 13-7. 

In the mixed game of the week, we had the Chisholm girls take on the boys from Dunne. Due to the Volleyball courts being used for MISA sport, the teams played a hybrid game called snake Volleyball. In an enjoyable and high scoring affair, both teams drew 70 all. 

On the boys side of the draw, we had the Brucchauser team play Sedgewick in Basketball. Brucchauser were too strong on the day, winning 23-14. Moore and Hogan played each other in Touch Football. Moore took an early lead and maintained it throughout the game, winning 8-2. In the final match, Chisholm and Patrician went head to head in Soccer with Chisholm winning in a tight contest, 3-1. 

Well done to our MVP's for round 4!

Jorja Halse - Hogan

Mia Kapczuk-May and Lio Kremmer - Moore

Georgina Marek and Max Xuerub - Brucchauser

Lincoln Orton - Dunne

Cooper Fabian and Thomas Gow - Chisholm

After 4 rounds of the Year 7 Challenge Cup, Moore house is our overall leader on 16 points. Chisholm is in a close second on 15 and Hogan in third on 13 points. Big congratulations to all year 7 students for their excellent participation in the 2023 House Challenge Cup and good luck for rounds 5 and 6 in the coming weeks. 

On Thursday, 2nd November a group of year 8 students travelled to Camden Civic Centre to view Mater Dei’s Annual School Performance titled ‘School of Rock N Roll’. This allowed our Magdalene students, along with primary and secondary schools in the area, to enjoy some very entertaining musical performances which had us rocking along.

Here’s what a few of our students had to say about the experience:

The Mater Dei concert was a truly amazing experience. All the acts were outstanding with exceptional courage and talent displayed by each of the performers. Who could forget all the catchy tunes and choruses? An added bonus was that I got to share this phenomenal experience with my friends. It was a sensational event that I will recall for many years to come.

- Tomas Slater

Thursday's excursion was great fun. The fact that we got to see Mater Dei perform was amazing. I personally really enjoyed it because it was nice to see one of our "cousin schools" put in a lot of time and effort to perform in front of multiple schools.

- Giuseppina Vecchio

The presence of a supportive community made the experience heartwarming for everyone involved, including the students at Mater Dei. Being one of the students who got to attend and take in the entertaining speeches, loads of enjoyable songs and dances, and every moment in between made me feel privileged. I will always look back on this day and tell everyone how great it was since it was an amazing experience .

- Indianna Keegan

The year 8 students who attended the day represented Magdalene exceptionally and it is wonderful to see how thankful each student was for the opportunity to attend the day.

Miss Tahlia Cupillari

Year 8 Coordinator

Alternative pathways to higher education

If you are considering university studies but think that you won't qualify for entry, there are a range of support programs and different pathways available to you.

University entry has historically been achievable by successful completion of year 12 and gaining an ATAR score at the minimum level or above for a particular course. While this pathway continues to be an effective one for many, it is not the only way to access further education at university.

You may have:

• not studied the prerequisite subjects for your chosen course
• not achieved an adequate ATAR score for entry
• left education early and want to return to studies
• not studied for a long time (eg due to family duties) and want to return to studies.

New alternative entry points have recently been developed and are available to assist a broader field of applicants such as you to access university level education. Most universities within Australia are developing and offering a range of 'alternative entry pathways'.

8 alternative entry points to higher education

1. Enabling courses

Enabling courses can be used to develop entry level skills for university studies. These courses can provide foundational skills for successful university careers.

Enabling courses are often offered over one semester and are administered in smaller, highly supported groups that help you to acclimatise to the university environment and develop skills in academic studying and writing. Successful completion will often guarantee entry to your course of choice, including credit for one unit.

2. Enabling outreach courses

Some larger universities are now offering outreach services, similar to the enabling courses above, but with more assisted learning and smaller groups. You may be interested in these courses if you want to enter tertiary education using a highly supported entry point. Some universities work with community organisations and job search agencies to deliver the courses in more accessible locations.

3. Bridging courses

Similar to enabling courses, bridging courses give you an opportunity to further develop skills in prerequisite areas (eg science) before you enter your chosen course of study.

4. Special Tertiary Admissions Test

If you are 'mature age' (in many states, over 19 in the year of application) there are further options. You can sit a Special Tertiary Admissions Test, which is usually done in one day and which includes a general intelligence element and an essay. You will get a score that can be used instead of an ATAR in applying for a university course.

Local colleges often offer preparation courses to assist you to understand the test format and reduce anxiety in sitting the test.

5. Vocational education and training (VET) and TAFE pathways

Many universities and TAFEs have an agreed pathway arrangement where you can start a course at Certificate III or IV, continue to diploma level and transition into a specified university level course.

For many learners, this is a preferable process, as it offers short-term goals, an opportunity to re-enter study for a shorter period and an opportunity to gain confidence, while building skills and benefiting from clear progress points along the way. Sometimes a university will give credit for work (usually at diploma/advanced diploma) level and advanced standing into your course of choice, reducing your overall time in study.

6. Credit for recognised learning (CRL)

CRL (previously RPL or recognition of prior learning) is another approach if you have previous study or work experience (paid or voluntary), and can demonstrate certain skills in an area. Each institution has its own preferred method of applying CRL and should be contacted directly.

7. Portfolio entry

Whether you are a school leaver or mature entry candidate, portfolio entry allows you to apply for a place using a combination of courses, vocational education course results, training, endorsed programs, an introductory letter, resume and letters of support.

8. VET in schools

In high school, you may choose not to work towards university entry through an ATAR. Some students' learning styles are better supported in the Vocational Education & Training (VET) system. VET programs offered through your school may help you gain entry to your chosen field of study. For example, you may choose a VET course in Certificate III Health Services. After years 11–12, that could be followed by a Certificate IV in Preparation for Nursing, then a Diploma of Nursing. That could then create a pathway to university and there may be an opportunity to apply credits to a nursing course.

Ready to start learning?

If you are interested in any of the above options, it is important to talk to someone who can help you.

Contact your local TAFE, Registered Training Organisation or university directly, ask your school course counsellor, or discuss your needs with a professional career practitioner, who can assist you to identify your best pathway to success.