WELCOME BACK TO OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF!

It has been great to see so many smiling faces back this week!

As you know, Weeks 3 and 4, have been designated as part of a transition period for
students to return to school from Remote Learning from home to (mostly) Remote
Learning at school on certain days.

Our Year 12s have returned to greater traditional schooling this week and those
involved in Major Works have been able to access the various facilities available.

At present, the current schooling arrangements will continue next week (Week 4). The community will be contacted early next week (Week 4) about the arrangements for Week 5 and beyond. However, at this point, while not confirmed, it is highly likely that Year 11 will also return each day from Week 5 (but we are obviously heavily guided by Government and Diocesan bodies).

I wish I had greater certainty in this newsletter, but we are making decisions with many different stakeholders in mind and we obviously have to consider the safety of students and staff.

PHYSICAL/SOCIAL DISTANCING

I would like to thank the great majority of our students who have taken physical/social distancing very seriously in this past week at school.

Technically, physical and social distancing does not apply to students, however, at
Magdalene, our students are continuing to be encouraged to consider their own
physical space and maintain their self-hygiene very seriously. Students do need to
continue to bring their own water bottles, use their own bags (not accessing lockers),
bring their own hand sanitiser and ensure food scraps are disposed of properly (and
absolutely no chewing gum). The fact that additional cleaners have been employed to clean and sanitise surfaces is important to note, but social and physical distancing still applies to our staff and so we need our students to respect the personal space of our staff and be very aware of their own actions. Safety is paramount.

I do thank our parents/carers, staff and students during the past couple of months. I
continue to invite families to communicate with the Office if we can be of assistance – financial or otherwise at this time.

NEW UNIFORM 2021

As we communicated last year, our new College uniform (Academic and Sport) will be
available from Day One, 2021.

The new uniform will be available to our new Year 7 2021 students and our new
Seniors, Year 10 2021 and Year 11 2021.

Students in our current Year 9 and 10 groups will be spoken to in the coming weeks
and some students will have the opportunity to trial different garments.

I thank the Uniform Consultation Committee for their work thus far and I am very excited about the different styles and fabrics that our new Uniform Company Noone
(pronounced noon) have presented thus far. More details to follow.

HSC Timetable

Please note that the Year 12 2020 HSC Timetable has now been released.

Our Year 12s will commence their exams in Week 2, Term 4.

The timetable can be found here:

https://www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/key-dates-exam-timetables/hsc-written-exam-timetable

PRAYER

I would like to thank Mr Collins and the various students who have been preparing
“Magdalene reflections” each school day during this COVID-19 crisis.

There are many families (staff and student) who have gone through trying and difficult circumstances over the past 6 months and we continue to hold them firmly in our thoughts and prayers.

The following is part of the “Magdalene reflection” for May 15:

Dear Father, 

I thank You for who You are. 

I pray that You give strength to the weary and increase the power of those who are weak right now, whether they are struggling emotionally, physically or spiritually.

Lord I pray that they lean not on the way they feel, but instead trust You because with You they can be made whole. 

I thank You Lord for hearing my prayer right now, I have faith that You will deliver, Amen.

It has been nice to hear the sound of student noise and energy back in the College this week. Each morning I have had the opportunity to speak to each year group before they commenced the day. We began by praying our College Prayer together as we acknowledged the excitement of returning to school and seeing friends mixed in amongst feelings of concern and uncertainty. I was very pleased with the level of attention and response from the students during this time. 

I also had the opportunity to give some messages and reminders to each year group about safe practices and to ask that these are being followed by everyone:

• No chewing gum at school at all (including upon entering or leaving the College)
• Be responsible for putting your own rubbish, food scraps, fruit peels etc. in the bin.
• Wash your hands with soap and water.
• Don’t wait for your friends in the Bathrooms.
• Don’t congregate in the walkways or corridors.
• Keep some space between you and your friends.
• Don’t share food or drinks. 
• Practising responsible hygiene and safe distancing helps all of us. 

I know that the students took every opportunity to catch up with their friends each day, with many going home feeling quite tired after a full day at school. No doubt they are looking forward to returning again next week.

On a separate matter, many families are currently struggling to purchase uniform items from Lowes and/or the College Uniform Shop due to limited stock. As the College looks at possible ways of addressing this, I ask families to have a look through your wardrobes and see if there are any unwanted uniform items that could be donated to our College Uniform Shop. Perhaps you know other family or friends where children have finished at the College and you could ask them. 

In particular, we are short on the following items:

• Blazers
• Girls' Cardigans
• Sports Jackets and Pants
• Girls' junior Tab-ties

Please note that all donated items must be washed and placed in a bag prior to donating these to the College via the Front Office.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Keep safe.

Jenny Foldes

Assistant Principal. 

Remote Learning has had many implications on the College community, one of which is not being to able come together as a College community to celebrate student achievement.  

The students have been learning remotely for approximately six weeks and in that time students have worked diligently.  The teachers have acknowledged student achievements using the Merit Award System on Compass.  The following students have received either a Year Coordinator Award, Bronze or Silver Award in recognition of their perseverance, diligence and application with online learning.

Year Coordinator Awards 

Year 7

Bronze Awards

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Silver Awards

Year 9

Year 10

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. Not attaining the NMS in any domain does not prevent students from completing HSC examinations or attaining an ATAR. 

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 3. Students who do not achieve a Level 3 or 4 result can attempt the tests again 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.

Students in Years 11 and 12 who have yet to attain the NMS in any domain will be supported by specialist Mathematics/Numeracy staff. These students will be encouraged to complete practice tests to ascertain areas needing improvement prior to further test attempts. 

More detailed information regarding Year 10 testing will be communicated closer to the test period. A flyer from NESA has been attached for further information. For sample tests, 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

Year 8 is a critical year in secondary education as it is the time when many learning skills and habits are formed. To support students in developing effective habits to extend learning, all Year 8 students will be completing the online course, Study Skills Kick Start.

During Terms 2 and 3, students in Year 8 will have access to this online programme. Study Skills Kick Start is run through Elevate Education and aims to introduce and develop critical skills such as note-taking, dynamic reading skills and mind mapping. The programme is divided into seven modules which each take approximately 90 minutes to complete, using a combination of videos and student-directed tasks. Students will be able to complete this course at their own pace during pastoral lessons and will have access to a range of study resources through the remainder of the year. 

Students will receive information regarding access in the near future. 

Miss Stephanie Phillips                                     Mrs Rosanne Taccone

Leader of Teaching and Learning                        Year 8 Coordinator

In the Covid-19 world where there are no large Sunday masses and the death toll in some countries climbs to scary heights, wreaking havoc with victims and families, it is good to remember that we recently celebrated Easter. I wonder what the apostles though when they saw Jesus nailed to the cross like a regular criminal. All of their hopes gone. Little did they suspect that the tide was about to turn. The greatest even in history, the death and resurrection of Jesus, is now a foundational belief for all Christians. Jesus paid f or all of humanity to be able to go to heaven and to experience a new closeness to God, even in this life through the Holy Spirit and Baptism. That resurrection awaits all of us, to live in heaven with Jesus and the saints (including our families and friends). For every Good Friday there is an Easter Sunday – sooner or later. As Julian of Norwich said: “All will be well”.  During these trying times, when we are even kept away from the churches, let us build our own faith through prayer and scripture reading and draw closer to Jesus. 

You may also want to check out this episode of Compass from ABC, which focusses on Fr Rob Galea and the Australian Catholic Youth festival that some of our students attended in Perth last year. I’m sure I saw at least one Magdalene student near the end of the documentary.

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/watch/compass/

Mr Stephen O'Neill

Leader of Religion

The change to online learning in HSIE has presented many exciting opportunities for staff and students as there are a variety of interactive site studies and fieldwork resources for us. 

In Year 7 History, we have been studying the lives of people in Ancient Egypt from how they organised the society through to mummification and preparation of tombs for the afterlife. Our current assessment task involves analysing two primary sources and preparing a pitch to have one included in the upcoming Magdalene Virtual Museum of Egyptology. Also in stage 4, students in year 8 Geography are starting an investigation into Place and Liveability with the initial focus on scales of living spaces and perspectives of space-  from their own bedroom (micro scale) to childrens’ bedrooms around the world (macro). 

Our stage 5 History students are investigating Australians at War (Year 9) and Rights and Freedoms (Year 10). The incredibly passionate Year 9 History Elective students have just begun a study of Medieval Europe, specifically students are currently examining the Crusades and the impacts that these had on the peoples of various Medieval European nations.

Year 10 History Elective class have been researching their family history. This includes interviewing family members to look at change and continuity over time. Many students are discovering new information about their ancestors.  This will all be put into a presentation that can be passed onto families in the future. Students are also keeping a daily diary of our experiences of 2020. It has been such a big year, with fires, floods, and now COVID-19, our students are producing a primary source document for future researchers. The State Library of NSW has a similar opportunity for everyone- if you are interested in contributing, visit https://dxlab.sl.nsw.gov.au/diary-files where you can read different people’s experiences of life in Australia during COVID-19- we are living History!

In Commerce, Year 9 are beginning to look at what it takes to be an entrepreneur. They have conducted research and written a report on an entrepreneur of interest, focusing on how they have taken advantage of an opportunity, the factors that have contributed to their success and what role failure has played in their success. Our Year 10 students have commenced their Law and Society unit which provides an insight to court structure and the role of juries. 

We have had interesting and entertaining challenges in our HSIE lessons recently. Here are the results of our recent Year 7 History challenge to dress like a pharaoh using household items- well done to all students who attempted this challenge!

Carolyn Said

Leader of HSIE

During Term 1, Year 10 Visual Arts have been exploring Historical and Critical studies of the Human Form in Sculpture. The students practical learning activities with this topic have included a range of drawing and sculptural methods. The artwork below, by Elana Richardson, successfully conveys personal feeling and technical accomplishment.

Congratulations Elana on such a fine piece of art.

National Success, International Ambition

In March, Magdalene’s F1 in Schools team, Edge Performance, headed over to Melbourne for the Australian National Finals, going against 25 other teams from across Australia. The competition was extremely close, with Edge Performance excelling in numerous fields such as marketing, graphic design and engineering, achieving overall 5th within Australia. 

Edge Performance is delighted to announce that we will be collaborating with Frontier Racing, 4th in Australia, and will be working towards the F1 in Schools World Finals in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2020. 

Celestial will be the all NSW collaboration team from Magdalene Catholic College and Pacific Hills Christian School. 

We are extremely excited and proud to be representing our school, our state and our country later this year, and we will be sure to keep everyone updated on our socials @celestial.aus on Instagram and Facebook, and @celestialaus_ on twitter. 

Please see the link of the new combined name and logo.

https://youtu.be/B6WNpRKXU04

Term 2 Week 3

All students are encouraged to access the Physical Activity and Sport website during this time of online learning for a range of ideas and information to participate in for Tuesday Afternoon Sport. These are only suggestions and some students may already have activities they are using. 

The link for the website is below and is also on the student section of the Wellbeing for Life Hub. Please contact Mrs Andruschko if there are any questions relating to sport.

https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/physical-activity-and-sport-te/physical-activity-and-sport

Jodie Andruschko - Leader of Sport

MESSAGE FROM THE UNIVERSITY ADMISSION CENTRE

If you have not yet had the opportunity to hear from the University Admission Centre, there are a few more virtual events over the coming weeks.  

VIRTUAL CAREERS EXPOS

Year13

UAC will be a part of the Year13 Digital Careers Expo during National Careers Week next week, May 18-22.
The Expo will feature a series of webinars for students to attend. UAC will have their own virtual booth, where you can explore information on SRS (Schools Recommendation Scheme), EAS (Educational Access Scheme), and the ATAR. Students can enquire with us and ask us any questions they may have through a live chat system.

Students can mark themselves as attending the Year13 Digital Careers Expo now to stay in the loop with announcements and updates. Register here: https://year13.com.au/expo

InspirED HSC and Beyond

Online Wednesday 27 to Sunday 31 May and Wednesday 24 to Sunday 28 June

Please register via the attached link https://inspired.edu.au/hscbeyond/

Visit virtual booths from over 80 University and Higher Education providers!
- Access faculty-specific information.
- Ask live questions or book a video chat with student advisors.
- Attend a live stream lecture — Early Admission information, scholarship applications, and other relevant topics.

 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT NEWS

 “Let’s Chat” is a series of short videos by the Community Engagement Team at UAC. This series of short videos has a few new additions and will be added to every few weeks on topics such as Adjustment factors (replaced the bonus points scheme), medicine, and subject selection for Year 10 students. 

 Please click the link to see their short video series: 

 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1s0OQdLq16Ee3mwajbhfhA

NEXT WEEK IS NATIONAL CAREERS WEEK.  18th – 22nd May

National Careers Week is a time to reflect on much more than jobs – it is about how to live your life!

The canteen is open daily for lunch orders and counter service.

The second-hand uniform shop is open Monday and Friday from 7:45-8:30am