LENT IS HERE!
This week, the College celebrated Shrove Tuesday with a number of events including a staff-v-students match and the selling and consumption of Pancakes. Wednesday was obviously much more sombre as students took part in a liturgy and received ashes on Ash Wednesday, the official commencement of the Church’s season of Lent.

Lent is an important time in which we can reflect on turning back to the Lord and be the best people that we can be.

At the recent Opening Mass, I reflected on the messages that the Season of Lent gives us, and I spoke about the importance of self-discipline, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. All of these serve as a form of penance and we ‘make penance’ in memory of the passion and death of the Lord; as a sharing in Christ’s suffering; as an expression of inner conversion and as a form of reparation for sin.

A number of things have changed since I was a boy in terms of how Penance can be observed but I have included here the latest “penitential obligations over Lent” for you to consider:

CARITAS AND CARITAS LAUNCH

Our College has a strong tradition of supporting works of charity and it was only fitting that our student Justice and Mercy Councillors and students were involved on Tuesday in the initial events to raise money for CARITAS.

The 2020 CARITAS theme is: “go further together” and, accordingly, this year funds will continue to support social justice and goodwill programs abroad - to support those in need.

At the most recent College Assembly our Justice and Mercy Councillors outlined where and who our fundraising efforts would go towards and therefore I encourage all students to help out wherever they can.

The Bishop and our Year 10 SRC (Reece Smit, Skye Peterson, Mia Warby & Jye Versteeg)

Thank you to Mr Collins and Mrs Forner for being present and taking our Year 10 SRC students to the Diocesan Caritas Launch last Tuesday.

The launch officially marked the commencement of the Diocesan Appeal to support CARITAS. Both Bishop Brian and our new Director, Mr Peter Hill, spoke about the importance of reaching out to those in need – something which is identifiably Catholic.

WELCOME DINNER

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Diocesan Welcome Dinner for staff either new to teaching or new to the Diocese of Wollongong.

Key staff from CEO Wollongong spoke on the night and it certainly was a warm welcome for all of our new Magdalene staff who have recently joined us.

PRAYER

The following daily Lenten Prayer is from the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and focuses on the notion of personal choice as to how we can act throughout Lent.

Daily Lenten Prayer 

Today Lord, I choose life,
I choose your love and the challenge to live it and share it,
I choose hope, even in moments of darkness,
I choose faith, accepting you as Lord and God,
I choose to let go of some part of my burdens,
day by day handing them over to you,
I choose to take hold of your strength and power ever more deeply in my life.
May this truly be for me a time of new life, of change, challenge and growth.
May I come to Easter with a heart open to dying with you
and rising to your new life, day by day.

AMEN

We have had a very good start to the year and the students are all engaged with their learning. Overall the students are wearing their uniform well, however some students are struggling to meet the uniform expectations, in particular:

• Piercings – female students only are only permitted to have piercings in the lower lobe of the ear.  Both male and female students are not to have any other visible piercings.
• Hair – female students must have their hair tied back at all times and male students are to wear their hair neat and tidy and in line with the College policy.  Specifically, boy’s hair is to be well above the collar, nor should they have extreme hairstyles such as undercuts or mullets.
• Jewellery – some students are wearing an excessive amount of jewellery.  They are reminded to read the College uniform policy in the diary.

Students who are in breach of the uniform policy will be placed on a uniform detention on either Monday, Wednesday or Friday.  If your child is issued with a uniform detention you and your child will be notified via Compass. 

The College prides itself on its uniform standards and does its best to ensure that all students meet the expectations of the Uniform Policy and we appreciate the support of all college families.

Mrs Ivana Forner

Pastoral Care Coordinator

Last Friday, February 20th, the Year 11 and 12 Visual Arts classes had the opportunity to experience a selection of contemporary and historical artworks over a number of gallery spaces. We ventured early in the morning into Circular Quay, Sydney, visiting the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). Here we openly viewed, imaginatively discussed and awkwardly responded to a variety of thought-provoking contemporary artworks. The group then made their way through the Botanical Gardens, arriving at the AGNSW (Art Gallery of NSW) just after lunch to view the ART EXPRESS exhibition. ART EXPRESS is an annual exhibition featuring a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the artmaking component of the HSC examination in Visual Arts in NSW. Students viewed and were inspired by the vast collection of resolved Major Works and Visual Arts Process Diaries of the 2019 HSC year. 

On Wednesday 19 March the Year 11 and Year 12 Music classes went to see the performance of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It was such a great honour to see such talented and professional musicians perform on the evening, whilst marvelling at the opulence of the Sydney Town Hall. The senior music classes were able to observe how musicians of different genres perform and how us as students, can better ourselves in rehearsal techniques and performance presentation. Listening to music with other musicians enables discussion and a sense of community, which motivates us to practice and play our pieces with more inspiration and musicality than before. Special thanks to Mrs Curtis and Mr Mäe for accompanying us on the evening.

MISA DANCE 2020

It was that time of year again when an audition was held to select representatives for our MISA Dance Team. MISA Dance has always had an enormous amount of interest and this year was no different. 

On 11th February we saw an enthusiastic group of 61 students turn up and trial on the day. With the help of current year 12 student Georgia McCann, the students were taken through a warm-up, technique consisting of turns, jumps and leaps and a commercial jazz style combination.

The students worked hard and definitely made the decision harder than imagined and I selected a very energetic and personality filled group of 42 dancers ranging from years 7 to 12. I want to congratulate both the successful dancers and everyone who took the time to trial and anyone who stepped out of their comfort zone or decided to try something different.

The MISA Dance team will be performing at various events throughout the year, starting off with our Open Afternoon on Monday 9th March. Be sure to catch them at Magdalene Shines and the Annual MISA Dance Showcase held at The Cube during Term 2. Term 3 will also deliver a competition with selected dancers and performances.

I am looking forward to working with such a talented bunch of Dancers at our College this year. 

Miss Tahlia Cupillari

Dance Coach

2020 SCHOOL FEES

School Fee Statements have now been emailed to all families. If you haven’t received your Statement please contact the Finance Office.

In accordance with the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy, School Fee Statements are now issued as an annual invoice which is due 30 days from the Invoice date. 

2020 School Fee Agreement Forms

The School Fee Agreement Form shows the College a frequency of payment plan for your School Fees. You may pay by Bpay, Credit Card or Cash at the College Office. 

To access payment flexibility, that is, to pay your School Fees in instalments, families must complete a yearly School Fee Agreement Form and return it to the College Office by Friday, 27th March 2020 or email to finance@mchsdow.catholic.edu.au 

School Fees with a School Fee Agreement in place must be finalised by Friday, 4 December 2020. Please ensure that your instalment amount covers the total amount of Fees owing.

(for assistance in working out payments, a School Fee Calculator is available on the College website)

The Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and all Finance Forms in relation to Fees are available on the College Website, under the Enrolment Tab. 

YEAR 12 SCHOOL FEES - 2020

Families of Year 12 students are required to have all of the Year 12 School Fees or the Year 12 portion of the School Fee Account (if you have siblings attending the College) finalised by Friday, 25th September 2020 - (end of Term 3).

If you are experiencing financial hardship and are having difficulty paying your school fees, we ask that you do not ignore your fee statement and please contact the Finance Office to discuss options that are available to you.

FINANCE OFFICE HOURS: Monday to Friday 7.30am to 2.45pm

Contacting the College

The College has undergone recent phone line upgrades, this work is now complete.  Our College contact number is 4631 3300. 

Uniform Shop

Opening days are Monday & Friday from 7.50am to 8.15am. 

We welcome all donations.

St Mary Mackillop parish at Oran Park have a youth group known as MY (Mackillop Youth). MacKillop Youth is a place for young parishioners to share a meal, have fun, form their spiritual lives and grow in their call to be missionary disciples of Jesus. The groups are run by committed young men and women from our parish. If you have any queries please contact Kevin Wright via the parish office on 4648 2226.