Welcome Back!!!

What an unusual, and for some, devastating Christmas and January school holidays we have just experienced. It would appear that members of the Magdalene community ended up relatively unscathed but obviously our hearts and prayers go to those who have been adversely affected or devastated by the loss of loved ones, pets or personal possessions or property.

The harshness of the Australian summer, and the dry and increasingly warmer conditions we are experiencing, have never been so stark. Australia is a magnificent country, but our outback and bush can at times be both unforgiving and frightening. Magdalene’s own Ms Jenny Peters was heavily involved in the efforts of the RFS and we thank her for her courage and generosity of time to assist those in need. Indeed, we thank everyone in the community who has gone out of their way to help others.

YEAR 7 2020

With our largest Year 7 cohort commencing this year, I am pleased to report that they have started extremely well. I thank the large number of Year 10 volunteers who assisted the group yesterday as Peer Mentors (giving up a day of their holidays) and I commend our parents/carers on such an impressive group of children in Year 7. Polite, enthusiastic, respectful and joyful are just some of the words used by our staff to describe them and I am very pleased that they have joined the Magdalene community. Year 7 Parents/Carers = please note that there will be a welcome night for you later in the term - details to follow.

To the many new students in Years 8-11 joining us – welcome and it’s wonderful to have you ‘onboard’. With our Waiting List numbers at a record high – it is clear you are hearing good things about our College and it is great to be able to share our caring and dynamic community with you.

To our existing Year 8 -12 students we welcome you back and encourage you to work closely with your Pastoral Class teachers to develop your goals, capacity and academic approach this year.

2020 promises to be an excellent year and this follows on from the 2019 HSC cohort who achieved the third-best HSC results in the College’s history. Next week we will be delighted to host many of these High Achievers at our Opening Mass and High Achiever ceremony. Congratulations to all of Year 12 on your approach, your results and we look forward to hearing about your successes and future pathways.  More details about the 2019 HSC will be included in the next Newsletter.

STAFFING

We welcome all of the new staff members who join the Magdalene community this year: Mr Shaun Houghton (Curriculum Coordinator); Mr Kieran Wakeling (Leader of Learning – PDHPE); Mr Christopher Ferry (Leader of Learning – Science); Ms Sarah Dowswell; Mrs Yvette Dyer; Mrs Rebecca Esber (Learning Support); Ms Cecelia Hoang; Ms Rachel Labour; Miss Claire Lincoln; Miss Isabella Markoska; Mrs Karen McKneight (School Support Officer); Mrs Leonie Ryan and Mr James Potts.

They are an impressive bunch of professionals and will fit in well with our existing group of teachers and staff who care deeply about the students in our care.

Equally we wish all of Year Coordinators and Stage Assistants for 2020 all the very best:

Year 7 – Mr Manns

Year 8 – Mrs Taccone

Stage 4 Assistant – Ms Gavin

Year 9 – Mrs Phillips

Year 10 – Mr Bubb

Stage 5 Assistant – Mr Veness

Year 11 – Ms Tolhurst

Year 12 – Mr Dowdell

Stage 6 Assistant – Miss Cupillari

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

The College Swimming Carnival will occur on Thursday 13^th February. This is an important community event and the College expects full student attendance. A letter about this Carnival will be sent early next week.

While we understand not every student is a keen swimmer, it is a great chance to socialise and bond in the various House groupings and to celebrate together. Attendance at this Carnival is one aspect included on Student Semester Reports.

WE HAVE MOVED TO COMPASS (FROM SENTRAL)

This year the College, following Diocesan protocols and directions, has moved to ‘Compass’.  This is an electronic learning management system that will replace the existing ‘Sentral’ system. We are aware that there will be a period of time to overcome possible teething problems so we appreciate your patience (and the patience of your sons and/or daughters).

A letter detailing this new system will be sent to parents in the next fortnight.

FINAL WORD – COMMUNICATION:

As the year gets underway, I once again extend our hope that families, parents/carers remain in close contact with the College. There are numerous means by which the College and/or staff members can be contacted. Many of these include using the College Diary, a call to the Front Office, email, face-to-face meetings, parent/carer/student teacher interviews etc… Please talk to us if you have a query or concern. Do not assume that the College is aware of a concern you may have. Often a quick conversation can result in much better clarity and a positive outcome.

In light of the devastating bushfires, and the ongoing drought, the Australian Catholic Bishops have released the following prayer to support and be mindful of those in need:

PRAYER FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY BUSHFIRE AND DROUGHT:

Eternal God,

In wisdom and love You created our earth to sustain us and give us life.

We turn to You now in faith, hope and love, asking You to look with favour on our fire-ravaged and drought-stricken land, on our starving and displaced animals, on our failing crops and burning farms, towns and forests.

Strengthen, sustain and give new heart to our farmers and to all who are affected by drought; be with those who support them. Strengthen and comfort the victims of the fires, those who have lost family, friends, property and stock. Protect our volunteer firefighters and all members of essential services.

In Your loving providence, send abundant rain to quench the fires and to restore our parched earth.

Father of all compassion, hear our prayer through Jesus Christ your Son, in whom the promise of new life has dawned, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life: Renew Your faithful people; Renew the face of the earth.

Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Mary, help of Christians – Pray for us.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop – Pray for us.

“One of the greatest gifts adults can give – to their offspring and to their society – is to read to children.” – Carl Sagan

I know that from reading to my children that it can be easy to forget the pleasure of reading aloud to them. I remember reading the Big Red Bath so often that I can still quote parts of it and even when I can’t remember all the words, the rhythm of the words is still something that I can hear.

I would encourage you to rediscover the joy of reading to your children by participating in :

World Read Aloud Day On February 5th

If you are interested and would like to participate just follow the instructions below:

JOIN THE CELEBRATION IN 4 EASY STEPS 

Select a book 

Find a buddy 

Read aloud Share your favorite read-aloud moments on social media with #WorldReadAloudDay and be sure to tag @Scholastic, @LitWorldSays, and 3 friends so they can join, too! 

RESOURCES: For book recommendations, ideas for home and school, read-aloud research and more, visit: 1 2 3 4 scholastic.com/WorldReadAloudDay 

https://www.scholastic.com/worldreadaloudday

Mr Christopher Power

English Leader of Learning