During the last School Holidays, I was blessed to be a part of a CEO delegation studying evangelisation and being part of a pilgrimage to England and Italy.

Our final destination was the town of Assisi, a beautiful town and also the location of the Basilica of San Francesco. Assisi is the place where St. Francis strengthened in his love for God, found a fellowship and also developed a deep connection with the world around him.

Those of you who have been to Assisi (I would recommend visiting) would know just how gorgeous it is – not just the buildings – but its natural features and beauty of its natural environment.

Pope Francis has written often of Saint Francis’ ‘love of nature’ and key features of this have been found in the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si (http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html)

In this document, Pope Francis reminds us that our common home (our Earth) is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us.

There are numerous and important ideas which are contained within this document. By way of summary, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops recognises key features which Pope Francis emphasises. These include:

• “A Moral and Spiritual Challenge. The ecological crisis, Pope Francis writes, is a summons to profound interior conversion—to renew our relationships with God, one another, and the created world.
• Care for God’s Creation. God created the world and entrusted it to us as a gift. Now we have the responsibility to care for and protect it and all people, who are part of creation. Protecting human dignity is strongly linked to care for creation.
• We are All Connected. We are connected to the rest of the human family, to the created world, and to those who will come after us in future generations.
• Impact on the Poor. People in poverty have contributed least to climate change, yet they are disproportionately impacted by it. As a result of excessive use of natural resource by wealthy nations, those who are poor experience pollution, lack of access to clean water, hunger, and more.
• Called to Solidarity. We are one human family and have a shared responsibility for others and for creation. Wealthy countries have a responsibility to reduce consumption of non-renewal resources and should help poorer nations develop in sustainable ways.
• Technological and economic development must serve human beings and enhance human dignity, instead of creating an economy of exclusion, so that all people have access to what is needed for authentic human development.
• Supporting Life, Protecting Creation. Concern for nature is incompatible with failure to protect vulnerable human beings, such as unborn children, people with disabilities, or victims of human trafficking.
• A Time to Act. Pope Francis calls for a change in lifestyle and consumption. We can make important changes as individuals, families, and communities, and as civil and political leaders.
• Hope and Joy. ‘Injustice is not invincible’ (no. 74) and we act knowing that we seek to live out God’s vision of renewed relationships with God, ourselves, one another, and creation.”

A deep love for and connection with nature is something which we would hope all students at Magdalene aspire towards having. We are blessed to have our beautiful grounds at the College, and we should be thankful for these. We now encourage students to express this gratitude and thanks in the way they care for their environment both at and beyond the College.

I particularly commend our Duke of Edinburgh students who have included Environmental Stewardship as part of their service component within this programme.

YEAR 12 GRADUATION EVENTS AND FINAL WEEK

I spoke to our Year 12 students of 2019 this morning and thanked them for being such an impressive cohort. We are all very excited about the events of the coming week but I have stressed with students the need to really show their “A Game” across the week to really finish the academic year well (before the HSC commences in Term Four).

Mr Matthew McMahon

Principal

The following prayer is in keeping with this love of the environment and ties in with the key themes of Laudato Si.

Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate You in the beauty of the universe,
for all things speak of You.

Awaken our praise and thankfulness for every being that You have made.
Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined to everything that is.

God of love, show us our place in this world as channels of Your love
for all the creatures of this earth, for not one of them is forgotten in Your sight.

Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak,
and care for this world in which we live.

The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of Your Kingdom of justice, peace, love and beauty. Amen.

Excerpted from “A Christian prayer in union with creation,” in Laudato Si’, no. 246

A new Consent for Use of Student's Works/Images Form was sent home with students several weeks ago. It is important that these are returned as soon as possible. It is now required that the College must receive permission on an annual basis.

Unfortunately, if the form is not returned we are not able to display, publish, publically acknowledge or "use" any of your student's works or images. This includes but is not limited to our newsletter, social media, newspaper articles, Yearbook or in College displays/Open Days/Showcases (Magdalene Impressions, Office Displays), Diocesan publications or Catholic Education Office Publications.

Please see below if your child has misplaced their form.

From the 2021 HSC and beyond, all students are required to attain the National Minimum Standard in Numeracy, Reading and Writing. 

Current Year 10 students will be required to complete a short online test in each of the above domains and must attain a level 3 or 4 result in order to obtain the National Minimum Standard and be eligible for the HSC qualification. A sample task from the National Minimum Standard - Writing test has been included below.

Students who attain the NMS in each domain have the skills to perform tasks such as:

• Follow safety instructions in equipment manuals
• Understand a mobile phone plan
• Complete a job application
• Create a personal weekly budget.

Through the completion of Stage 5 Mathematics and English courses, students develop the skills necessary for the successful completion of NMS tests. All Year 10 students will complete National Minimum Standards tests in Numeracy, Reading and Writing at the beginning of Term 4. Students who do not achieve a Level 3 or 4 result can attempt the tests again during Term 3 and may work with teachers on learning interventions if necessary. Learning Support adjustments are available for eligible students. Further test attempts can also be made through Year 11 and 12.

More detailed information about these tests and College arrangements for their completion will be communicated closer to the test period. For sample tests and information, please visit the NESA website:

https://www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-minimum-standard/online-tests

Miss Stephanie Phillips

Leader of Teaching and Learning

During Week 10, students in Years 7 and 9 will receive their NAPLAN results. Copies of individual results will be distributed to students in their pastoral classes. 

The College would like to take this opportunity to commend our students for their performance in these tests. For staff, NAPLAN data provides further information about student skills and supports quality teaching and differentiation.

From the HSC 2021, NAPLAN results are no longer connected to the National Minimum Standards Tests students are required to undertake in order to attain the HSC credential. 

Miss Stephanie Phillips

Leader of Teaching and Learning

The following students were recognised by their peers for assisting others with their learning.

Gathering with Bishop Brian Mascord

We are excited that we have been given an opportunity to partake in a Maths Pathway Trial for Year 7 during Term 4.

Maths Pathway is an online program that provides a personalised learning plan for each student. It uses real-time data to differentiate the learning of each student. It gives an opportunity for students to find their gaps and work at resolving them. The trial comes at no cost to parents.

We will be holding an information evening during Term 4 to reflect on the success of the trial and implementation in 2020. We value your opinion on this trial, so please contact your student's teacher with any feedback once the trial has commenced.

The following video explains how Maths Pathway works.

Mrs Renee Pickles

Mathematics Leader of Learning

Last week the Year 12 Design and Technology students had their Major Design Projects and Support Documentation assessed by external markers. This cohort of design students have worked extremely hard, applying significant time and energy into their projects, both at home and at school. A wide variety of creative project concepts were produced including: -

The projects have been on display in the LRC for the past week for all students and teachers to view.

Congratulations to the Design and Technology students for their studious effort.

- Mrs Gemma Brislane and Mrs Vivian Rixon

On the 3rd of September, Year 9 were fortunate enough to be a part of a new initiative by the Australian Olympic Committee and the NSW Government. This initiative aimed to inspire and motivate young Australians and evoke the Australian spirit within.

Magdalene were provided with this amazing opportunity in which Alex Almoukov, a past Olympian, lead a presentation for our Year 9 students. Alex spoke of his past experiences both personal and professional in an attempt to inspire the passion in our students to be the best they can be. Year 9 learnt of the sport Biathlon and the amazing inroads Alex had made in the sport and records he still holds as an Australian competing in the sport.

Not only did Alex speak of himself but also posed questions to the students to question their passion and motivation in life. This prompted the students to think about how can they get more out of each day and work towards their passion.

Year 9 were very appreciative of this rare opportunity to meet an Olympian and took a lot away from the experience. 

Kind regards,

Mr Matthew Bubb

On Wednesday the 11th of September, myself and a team of Magdalene students represented the College in the annual MISA Golf Tournament. With the sun out and clear skies, it was the perfect day for a game of Golf. As we teed off, our elite golfers competed in the intense MISA Cup competition, while our amateur representatives competed in the Misa Plate tournament. The day was an absolute pleasure to participate in and I could see everyone involved had an enjoyable experience no matter what their results were. While we are never as good at Golf as we would like to be, I would like to commend the skills of all the students that participated in the event. It was truly amazing to see such a range of skilful players in attendance. Overall the day was a success for Magdalene Catholic College, with Lillian Kremmer winning the Open Girls Cup event and Brady Polkinghorne taking out the Open Boys Plate. I would personally like to thank Mr Chapman, along with the convenors that helped out on the day, allowing the event to take place.

Jack Scettro.

Left to right: Brandon Vella, Mark Bligh, Jack Scettro, Liam Yabsley, Brady Polkinghorne, Lilliam Kremmer.

Ryan Grillis (9h) and teammates from Macarthur Association Youth League U/14s won their grand final against Sutherland (4-3 after extra time) on Saturday 14 September at Valentine Park, Glenwood.

How active are our Magdalene students? How often do they participate in physical activity?

Did you know Australian school children rank among the worst in the world when it comes to their physical activity levels. To tackle this problem, National Health and Physical Education Day on the 12th September was designed to raise awareness of and advocate for a greater focus on physical education in our school communities.

Most of their waking hours are spent sitting at school in the classroom and at home - watching netflix, playing games or finding the latest youtuber to watch, so it’s important for them to become more active

The 2018 Active Healthy Kids Australia Report Card showed a similar story in 2014 and 2016, in that Australian school children were given a D- for overall physical activity levels. 8 in 10 children and young people are not active enough for good heart health and will take years off their life because of it.

For Children and Young People (5 to 17 year olds), being physically active every day can have: 

• Social benefits like helping to develop cooperation and teamwork skills. 
• Emotional and intellectual benefits such as help with management of anxiety and stress and improved concentration. 
• Health benefits such as improved physical fitness, including coordination and movement skills and strong muscles and bones.

The hardest part is making a commitment to being more active and then sticking to it. The good news is that there are small ways which can add up to the necessary 60 minutes of daily activity. This is where Magdalene can help our students. Participating in their allocated 75 minute PE lesson and participating in sport and physical activity on Tuesday afternoons for at least 60 minutes hits the daily recommended levels of physical activity for young people.

So what did we do for Health and Physical Education Day? 

We ran activities over two days for our students to engage in physical activity during lunchtime on both the Thursday 12th September and Friday 13th September. 40 of our Magdalene students participated in the beep test and we saw Emily Predl take out the champion female and both Matthew Georgievski and Jacob Simpson took out the champion male.

On Friday, over 70 students participated in either an oztag game or soccer game on the back oval. The students participated well and had a great time. Their participation on either day went towards our house points system and each student were given the option to enjoy a zooper dooper after the activities.

I encourage everyone to keep the conversations going around participating in physical activity. Keeping active can help our students stay physically fit and mentally healthy.

Miss Tahlia Cupillari

PDHPE Teacher