PINK STUMPS DAY

A heartfelt thanks goes out to the Magdalene community for their collaboration and passionate commitment to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. COVID-19 has made it extremely difficult to raise funds and so it was wonderful that the community was able to raise over $3500 to go towards funding nurses for breast care patients. The Magdalene community’s commitment to alleviate human suffering highlights our collaboration and unique gift to raise others up when life conditions are challenging.

I particularly thank Mrs Taccone for her organisation of the day, all staff involved, and students who were involved in cricket, coin lines, the BBQ, accessorising in pink, getting involved and purchasing scrunchies and doughnuts. She won’t like me mentioning it, but I also thank my wife Joanne who made and donated over 200 pink scrunchies for students to purchase.

Furthermore, thank you to students, staff and all employees for the pride and dedication to the way in which they have approached the beginning of the school year. Attention to the little things such as dress, interactions with others and work efforts to achieve personal best exhibit how Magdalene can meaningfully and positively impact the quality-of-life experience. As a close friend of mind, often reminds me: “it’s the small things that matter and make all the difference.” So, students’ polite warm greetings to one another, the following of uniform and grooming guidelines, volunteering to help others, getting involved in community events and recognising that commitment to study including homework are great learning behaviours for living out the Magdalene Way.

Thank you also needs to go to our parents and carers. It’s fair to say that the ebb and flow of our daily activities can be challenging at times, and the variety of things that occur in our lives can be viewed as simultaneously exhausting yet remarkable. However, what comes from this is the true beauty and significant impact you have on raising young people of heart and character … and this matters!

May the spirit of Mary Magdalene continue to be embraced and lived out so that we can build and support a truly caring society in which we live.

MAGDALENE CATHOLIC COLLEGE PARENTS AND FRIENDS (P & F) ASSOCIATION

Thank you to the parents and carers who, on Tuesday night, attended our first P & F meeting & AGM for the year. I congratulate Mr David Cornett (President), Mr Pablo Medina (Treasurer) and Mrs Angela Young (Secretary) on their respective reappointments. Each has a real love for Magdalene and wants the very best for both our College and our students; I therefore thank them for their work and efforts in 2020 and look forward to what can be achieved in 2021. A range of issues were discussed on the night and we continue to encourage all families to attend future evenings and support the P & F wherever possible.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

I am excited that the College Swimming Carnival for 2021 will still go ahead. Unfortunately, we have had to make significant changes to the way in which it will be run this year, but I’m glad that many students will still get to enjoy the day.

Thus, due to COVID-19 restrictions, and our desire to have a COVID-19 friendly and safe event, the decision has been made to limit the number of students who will attend. As such, Years 12, 11 and 7 will all attend as well as competitors in other year groups.

It will be a relatively normal school day for non-competitors in Years 8, 9 and 10 back at school. Work will be set on Google classroom for students to complete in various classrooms around the College.

PRAYER

This week we have two prayers.

Firstly, a prayer for all of our Magdalene students, staff and families.

Lord, thank you for the blessings of life that the Magdalene community desires to commit to each day.

May, through a compassionate lens, we fully live out our personal best, knowing that our contributions create a place of peace, calm, positivity and prosperity.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing our community with a family that embraces the ‘I can’ attitude which brings so much personal joy into our daily life experiences.

May we ask for continued blessings into our future and the lives of all students who come into our care.

Amen

Secondly, in light of Sunday being Valentine’s Day (a day initially in honour of Saint Valentine, the Christian martyr) I offer the following Saint Valentine’s Day Prayer ‘with a twist’ and a focus on our Lord:

Welcome back to Magdalene, in particular welcome to Year 7 Students and to all new students who are joining us for the first time.  We have had a great start to the year, students and staff have come back relaxed and energised to learn.

The 2021 Pastoral Care Team is comprised of a dynamic group of Year Coordinators and Stage Assistant Year Coordinators who are all passionate about and embrace the Wellbeing for Life Pastoral Care Vision. Pastoral Care at Magdalene is founded on the values of dignity, equity, belonging and justice and it aims to provide a safe and supportive environment whereby students can develop quality relationships, share their faith, focus on their learning and experience a sense of community.

School Fee Statements have now been emailed to all families. If you haven’t received your Statement please contact the Finance Office via finance@mchsdow.catholic.edu.au. 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. 

2021 School Fee Agreement Forms –(please find attached to be filled in and returned)

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, 26th March 2021 or email to finance@mchsdow.catholic.edu.au 

School Fees with a School Fee Agreement in place must be finalised by Friday, 3 December 2021. 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 - 2021

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, 17th September 2021 - (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

An Open Afternoon for prospective Year 7 2022 students will be held on Monday 1 March. There will be three sessions available, with pre-registration essential. The links for booking can be found on our website.

www.mccdow.catholic.edu.au

The sessions will take place as follows:

Session 1 3:45 - 4:45

Session 2 5:15 - 6:15

Session 3 6:45 - 7:45

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, bookings will be limited to one adult and one potential student.

Magdalene Catholic College celebrated our inaugural Pink Stumps day yesterday the 11th February. Pink Stumps Day is a day to embrace pink, have fun and fundraise for the McGrath Foundation – all while showing support for people in the community experiencing breast cancer. 

Students were encouraged to support this great cause by accessorising the College sport’s uniform with pink. They had the opportunity to purchase a pink scrunchie, pink socks or enjoy a sausage sizzle and pink Krispy Kreme Donut. 

The College spirit and sense of community was incredible as the students enjoyed their purchases while watching the main event, the Staff Vs Students Diamond Cricket match. The game was a fast-paced version of cricket as the senior students started off fielding and pulled off some brilliant catches and run outs. Thankfully the staff had undeniable skills led by Mr McMahon who demonstrated the perfect batting technique. The Staff made some incredible catches and were able to sneak victory by one run with a final score of 46-45. 

The day was truly special and the atmosphere was contagious. It was a genuine reflection of the true spirit that is Magdalene Catholic College. With the combined effort of Staff, Students and families the College raised an amazing $3561.13. This fantastic achievement will be donated to the Mcgrath Foundation to continue to support their wonderful cause.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the day in one form or another. Students from Year 12 were excellent ambassadors for the College through their planning, setting up of the day and enthusiastic involvement. I also wish to thank all other students who were involved and the whole student body for their support and encouragement of the initiative. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the support of Magdalene’s teachers, their support, encouragement and enthusiasm helped make the day memorable. 

Lastly, we would like to recognise those individuals and families in our community affected by breast cancer and keep them in our minds, our thoughts and in our prayers.

As a College, we are looking forward to the many sporting events to be held throughout Term 1. Please see below all the details for the different events taking place.

Tuesday Afternoon Sport

Tuesday Afternoon Sport at the College has commenced with all students involved in a variety of sporting activities as outlined below:

• Year 7 - Participating in sports of soccer, touch football, AFL, Flag Grid Iron and OzTag.
• Year 8 - Participating in indoor sports of gymnastics, indoor soccer, martial arts and fitness activities.
• Year 9 - Participating in sporting clinics conducted by Netball NSW, Football NSW, Cricket NSW and AFL NSW/ACT.
• Year 10 and 11 - Participating in a range of elective sports such as tenpin bowling, walking, ultimate frisbee, yoga, boxing for fitness and gym.

For the College sports program to be effective, the following information is important.

• All Tuesday afternoon sport permission notes for Years 7 to 11 must be returned by Monday 15th February. Year 12 students participating in the MISA competition must also return a permission note.
• All students are required to attend their allocated Tuesday Sport. If unable to attend due to injury, a note needs to be given to Mrs Andruschko before recess on the Tuesday.
• All students must have the College hat, water bottle and any required medical equipment with them to participate in the sporting activities. In addition to this and in accordance with NSW Government regulations, all students and staff are required to wear a face mask when traveling on a sport bus to a venue. Students must have their own face mask for Tuesday sport.
• All students have been given access to the Sport 2021 classroom page. This page will contain information about Tuesday Afternoon Sport, Sporting Trials, Diocesan sport information and CCC selection trials. The classroom code is jm6go7r.

MISA Term 1

Round 1 of the MISA competition commences on Tuesday 16th February. Current restrictions do not allow spectators at the venues and we wish all teams good luck against the following schools:

Diocesan Events

Diocesan sporting events for the first weeks of Term 1 have been listed below.

https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/events-secondary/

• Trials for the Girls touch football teams will be held in Week 4, with students needing to sign up if they wish to attend the trials.

NSWCCC

Please contact Mrs Andruschko to find out further details on the NSWCCC Trials for the sports listed below. Registrations opened on Monday 1st February, with all registrations for individuals sports being completed online.

Further information, including closing dates can be found at the CSNSW Sport website - 

https://csnsw.sport/ and an information sheet has been attached to assist in the registration process.

Revised Dates are listed below for the following sports:

College Carnivals

The College Swimming Carnival will be held Monday 22nd February - Week 5 at The Gordon Fetterplace Aquatic Centre, Bradbury. Due to the current restrictions, changes have been made to the swimming carnival this year and this has been outlined below:

Years 7, 11 and 12

All students in Years 7, 11 and 12 will attend the swimming carnival on Monday 22nd February. Transportation will be provided by bus.

Competitors only - Years 8, 9 and 10

Students in Years 8, 9 and 10 will attend the swimming carnival on Monday 22nd February if they are competitors only. These competitors must complete the google form to nominate the events they wish to participate in. For all other students in Years 8, 9 and 10, it will be a normal school day at the College.

Spectators

In addition to this, unfortunately parents/carers or any additional spectators will not be permitted at the carnival and all students in attendance will be seated on the grandstand side of the pool.

Information about the College Swimming Carnival will be sent out at the start of week 4.

Please contact Mrs Andruschko if there are any questions or information about Sport at the College. The sport email is mcc-sport-list@dow.catholic.edu.au

Magdalene Catholic College is proud to boast a multicultural student population, and we welcome families from many different backgrounds. The Diocese of Wollongong introduced a Language Background Survey as part of the Literacy Policy in 2019. This survey aims to understand how many students are lucky enough to speak, or understand, another language. 

Bilingualism has long been recognised as having many benefits for students, such as increased cognitive reflexes, greater global understanding of the world, and improved employment prospects. With this in mind, Magdalene will be rolling out the Language Background Survey to our Year 7 students as well as other students who have enrolled at the College this year. For Year 7, this survey will be completed as part of their laptop training programme. 

Any student with a language background other than English who requires additional literacy support will be identified through the process of phasing, involving samples of their writing being read against a set criteria to identify any specific areas needing improvement. 

If you have any questions about this process, please contact Miss Stephanie Phillips at phillipss01@dow.catholic.edu.au.

Stephanie Phillips

Leader of Teaching and Learning