I would like to thank staff, students and parents/carers alike if you were involved in any way with the recent CEO Cyclic Review which the College recently undertook. Whether you were interviewed, had a class visited or even if you completed a survey - your contribution is valued.

As previously indicated, each Diocesan School in Wollongong is reviewed at least once every five years to explore how it is fairing across many different dimensions. A team of external experts then considers the documentation and visits the school. This year they visited Magdalene for 2 days and then shared verbal commendations and recommendations to help guide the College’s subsequent strategic plan in the years that follow.

The official report will be received in due course; however, the Preliminary Report has seen the College roundly commended across numerous areas. These include:

• the quality of our students and the love of the College exhibited by them
• the positivity which students exhibit regarding their teachers
• the physical environs of the College (and the merits of future building plans)
• developments in literacy (including IDEAL and current literacy initiatives)
• Learning Support processes and practices
• the College’s newly refined Vision, Mission & Core Values
• the hard work and strategic directions of the Leadership team

While areas for future enhancement are of no surprise and are in keeping with the existing College Strategic Plan, they do provide us with confidence that we are headed in the right direction. Such areas include:

• ensuring newly revised Value statements are known by all in the community
• continuing the work stemming from the document “Students at the Centre” to ensure focused and strategic staff Professional Learning
• strengthening various staff role descriptions
• narrowing the College’s priorities
• continuing to build a collaborative and supportive academic culture which sees all community members promoting and anticipating high expectations for students.

As always, if there are any issues which you would like raised with the College, we encourage you to contact the College office; our Office Staff can then direct you to the most appropriate person.

Year 12 Gathering with the Bishop

On Wednesday our Year 12s travelled to John Therry for the annual gathering with the Bishop. Year 12 Students from St.Gregory’s, Chevalier, John Therry and Magdalene gathered to hear from and meet Bishop Brian Mascord.

A range of activities – from song, liturgy, a Kahoot, to moving speeches (including addresses by our Kirsten Burgess and our own Lauren Dady) and a Q and A Session in which key ethical and theological issues were spoken about regarding our Contemporary Church, all occurred on the day.

As you would expect, our Year 12s were immaculately behaved and entered wholly into the occasion. They are to be commended. Photographs of the event are included here.

UNIFORM SURVEY

A survey regarding the current College Uniform has been emailed to parents/carers.  Please spare 10 minutes and have this completed by Wednesday 28 August. 150+ responses have already been received over the past three days! Thank you!

Mark in his Gospel, writing about Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, speaks of the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus “like a dove”. Indeed, the image of the dove is referred to at least on three separate occasions in the Gospels and reminds us of how the Holy Spirit can bring peace and solace to us in our often-hectic lives.

The Holy Spirit is a major component of Christ’s presence within us and within His Church. The Holy Spirit helps us to be present with and connected to Jesus and allows us to enter into a meaningful relationship with the Lord and the world around us.

The following  prayer combines a number of these ideas:

                                           Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth. 

Lord, 
by the light of the Holy Spirit 
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit 
help us to relish what is right 
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

                                                               - Amen.

On the 21st August 2019, Year 12 engaged on a special day with Bishop Brian at John Therry College. In collaboration with the other schools of Chevalier College, John Therry, and St Gregory's college, Year 12 Magdalene students listened to their peers, leaders from other schools and respected leaders of the catholic community, share their opinions, personal experiences, and values on the catholic church. I personally took away ideas about the importance of young Catholics in upholding the traditional values of the church and working together to respond to controversial social issues such as the topic of Euthanasia. After discussions and speeches from the wise Bishop, Year 12's were able to deepen their understanding on how the Catholic Church can respond to these issues or view them in an evolving society, which is critical for the survival of the religion. The day concluded with a fun lunch with subway and the Youth Ministry Band playing music for all the year 12's.

By Gemma Nelson

Thanks to Year 12 and the teachers for a great day with the Bishop, not to mention all the behind-the-scenes work by the College Office Staff. I must also commend Zach Gunner, Monica Rixon, Shaun Rafferty, Lauren Dady and Kirsten Burgess for their roles in the Bishop’s liturgy. Kirsten and Lauren both gave wonderful speeches that were perfectly suited to the audience. Thanks also to Gemma for writing her article and to Mrs Collella, Mr McMahon, Mr Manns, Mr Beh and Mrs Treloar who accompanied us on the day. As a College community, we can all be very proud of our Year 12 students.

Mr Steve O’Neill

Religious Education Coordinator

This week in Science Year 10 have been learning about DNA in their genetics topic. Students will apply their understanding of DNA and inheritance to understand the concept of evolution later this term. Classes completed an experiment where they extracted DNA from strawberries. The experiment entailed students completing a series of processes to break down plant cells and extract the DNA from the cell nucleus. A photograph below shows the strawberry solution and the DNA in the alcohol layer above (seen as a white mucous-like substance). 

In Year 9 this week, students are learning about basic chemical reactions with a focus on metal and acid reactions. A number of investigations have taken place to determine the most reactive metal to the least reactive. 

While in Year 8, students have been working on properties of metals.

Year 7 have been persisting with the challenging concept of ‘density’ in their classes this week. Students learned how to calculate the density of both regular and irregular shapes in their practical lessons. Students then explored how heat can affect the density of liquids in an experiment where they had warm water sit in a layer on top of cold water. The results were great and can be observed in the photograph below.

Up and coming events.

Next week Magdalene is celebrating Science week.

Year 10 have an exam block in week 7- it is a 2hr exam plus an online component known as the PAT-S test. Notifications will be out next week.

Year 11 will be preparing for their exams wk 8-10. 

MISA SPORTS NEWS 

MISA RESULTS TERM 3, ROUND 3, 2019

Magdalene Boys v  St Benedict’s 

Girls Softball v Macarthur

U15s Rugby League v Wollondilly

Your Next Step Dance Challenge 2019

The MISA Dance group have been working hard over the last 5 weeks to learn, finish and polish three fresh dances for a local Dance competition. Your Next Step Dance Challenge is a competition that has been developed to offer all public and independent primary and high schools the chance to compete with their school dance troupes, in a fun, friendly, positive and encouraging environment.

The Dance Challenge is the first Dance competition Magdalene Catholic College have been involved in. The students are all buzzing with excitement and are looking forward to putting their talents on display in a supportive atmosphere and of course to engage in something they love. 

A strong group of 32 dancers will be involved in either one, two or three dance performances on the day. You will see a Jazz dance which will showcase just how Unstoppable these students are. A contemporary piece which has dancers in a Land of Confusion and the Hip Hop dancers you ask, well they be lurkin’.

Parents are most welcome to come along and attend the day so they can witness all the hard work that goes into each performance. Please find the details below.

What: Your Next Step Dance Challenge

When: Wednesday, 28th August 2019

Where: Camden Civic Centre

Time: 10am-3pm (see below for scheduled times for our sections)

Cost: To gain entry and be a spectator on the day

          Adult $15 

          Child 6-18 years old $5

          Children under 6 FREE

Schedule of the day 

Section #2 - Lyrical/Contemp: 10:10am start (Magdalene is competitor #8)

Section #5 - Jazz: 12:20pm start (Magdalene is competitor #6)

Section #8 - Entertainment (Hip Hop): 1:25pm start (Magdalene is competitor #5)

Awards and presentation - 2:30pm

I am looking forward to an incredible day of Dance with such talented and enthusiastic students! Look out for my next entry regarding the participation of the students, results from the day and some pictures.

Miss Tahlia Cupillari

Dance Coach