I hope the recent Easter Break was a peaceful, happy and holy time for you.

Over the vacation I came across Father Antony Kadavil’s “Easter Life Messages” sermon and I found it most profound. Father Kadavil is a retired American Priest whose sermons (not surprisingly) have found widespread acclaim – even of late from the Vatican.

His Easter “Life Messages” are essentially seven aims to which we should aspire:

1) We are to be a Resurrection people

2) We need to seek our peace and joy in the Risen Jesus

3) We are to be transparent Christians

4) We need to live new, disciplined lives in the Risen Jesus 

5) We need to remember Easter in our Good Fridays: 

6) We are to be bearers of the Good News of Resurrection power. 

7) We need to be Easter people:

Given our close affinity with Saint Mary Magdalene, I found the sixth of these to be particularly relevant. Allow me to include Father Kadavil’s words on this here: “We are to be bearers of the Good News of Resurrection power. Resurrection is Good News, but at the same time, it’s sometimes painful because it involves death. Before the power of the Resurrection can take hold in our own lives, we’re called to die to sin, to die to self. We may even have to die to our own dreams so that God can do what He wants to do with our lives. Resurrection is about seeing our world in a new way. Early that Easter morning, Mary Magdalene did not find what she was looking for, the dead body of Jesus. But she found something better than she could have imagined: The Risen Jesus. Sometimes, the things we think we want most are not granted to us.  What we get instead is an experience of God’s new ways of working in the world. That’s the power of the Resurrection. When those moments come, we must spread the news--just as Mary Magdalene did: We have seen the Lord!”

Indeed, as the saying goes, the Spirit can move in mysterious ways and, as such, we are all encouraged to be open to new opportunities and/or ways of helping others or even looking at things – experiences of “God’s new ways of working in the world”

ANZAC DAY:

With ANZAC Day officially occurring in the Holiday Break, the College commemorated ANZAC Day on Wednesday this week as a whole community. Commemorating ANZAC Day obviously continues to be very important for us as a nation and locally it is pleasing to see the Magdalene Catholic College Honour Roll* continuing to grow.

(*NB: This Honour Roll is a list of Australian Service people who have fought or served in various conflicts, Emergency or Peacekeeping Operations who are connected in some way with the College – parents/carers, grandparents or relatives of staff and students).

I would like to thank Mrs Viv Rixon and the various Magdalene students who attended and represented the College at the Camden ANZAC Day Service last week.

TERM TWO:

The year is progressing very quickly. In the coming weeks, Years 7 and 9 will engage on NAPLAN Online and from Years 7 - 12 staff will turn their attention towards the writing of College Reports. We will also see a new term of MISA Sports, various Diocesan Competitions will occur and our Debaters and Public Speakers will also commence in their respective Competitions. We commend our students for their ongoing participation and wish them very well in their endeavours.

UPCOMING ELECTION:

With the Federal Election looming large, I have included in this Newsletter up-to-date information about Catholic School Funding. This is an area which is often grossly misunderstood.

It is quite common for systemic Catholic Schools to be regarded as Independent Schools but this is not the case. As such, funding provided to systemic Catholic Schools like Magdalene is not sufficient to adequately support the needs of our students. Given this, I would encourage you to be particularly aware of the issues pertaining to Education as the various political parties speak about their policies and Election promises. Please read the attached information.

Mr Matthew McMahon

Principal

As they work through the “Burgerlicious” Unit, the students are developing their knowledge of nutritional food requirements for adolescents, as well as getting hands-on experience in the safe preparation of food and the growing of a vegetable garden.

Wonderful community spirit Year 7,  we cannot wait to see the delicious burger designs you come up with! 

Miss Di-Filippo and Mrs Brislane

"Year 10 Textiles Technology have just completed their first assessment “Fabric Scrapbook” Task. The girls have pushed themselves creatively to design and construct fantastic artistic expressions of a theme of their choosing. Here is a sneak peek of some of our favourite pages from each book. What a wonderful job girls, we are immensely proud of your hard work.

Miss Di-Filippo and Mrs Violi

During the lunchtime on Cross Country Day, Year 11 held a BBQ to raise funds for our Year 12 formal and school gift. We were overwhelmed with the number of Magdalene students who purchased a sausage sizzle item on the day and we are pleased to announce that we made $1400 in profit to contribute to our initiatives. Keep a lookout for future fundraising from Year 11!

Firstly, we would like to thank all of the Year 11s who helped out with cooking, set-up, advertising and serving, as well as the students who donated to our BBQ. On behalf of Year 11, we would like to extend a special thank you to Mrs Susan Pernia for providing us with the delicious sausages, Mt Annan Central Shopping Centre and Mount Annan Quality Meats and Deli who also donated sausages and other food items for our BBQ. It wouldn’t have been a success without your help!

Mr Matthew Dowdell

Yr 11 Coordinator

2019 Cross-Country Age Champions

On Thursday 11th March, the School Cross Country was held on the school grounds. While the Cross-Country event was running, students were able to participate in recreational activities and mixed Homeroom competitions on the Front Oval. Students enjoyed a great day of activities along with the challenge of our Cross-Country Course.

Congratulations to our “Age Champions” who were recognised immediately after the last event.

Our “Age Champions” will also be recognised at our end of year Sports Assembly where they will receive their official Cross Country Medallions.

Our Age Champions and runners-up are as follows:

Mr Chris Kennedy

Sport Coordinator

Students in Years 7 & 9 will be completing NAPLAN questions in short quizzes between now and the NAPLAN test in Week 3. These questions are tailored to each student's previous achievement band and students will progress through these bands as they demonstrate success. Please support your child with their homework in these questions, such as comparing their answers to the correct solutions as well as accessing videos with “how-to” information for each question.

Miss Stephanie Phillips

Teaching and Learning Coordinator

COLLEGE FEES

In accordance with the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy, College fee accounts are now issued as an annual invoice which is due 30 days from the Invoice date. If you do not have a School Fee Agreement in place with Magdalene Catholic College your fees are now Overdue.

To access payment flexibility, that is, to pay your School Fees in instalments, families must complete a School Fee Agreement Form and return it to the College Office. School Fee Agreements need to be renewed yearly and they show the school a frequency of payment plan for your School Fees. You may pay by Bpay, Credit Card, Cash and Direct Debit.

School Fees with a School Fee Agreement in place must be finalised by Friday, 6 December 2019.

Please note the School Fee Agreement Form is not a Direct Debit Form.

The Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and all Finance Forms in relation to Fees are available on the College Website, under the Enrolment Tab. https://tinyurl.com/y2qwph65. The School Fee Calculator on the website can also assist with the calculation of the payment required to meet your commitment by the due date.

YEAR 12 SCHOOL FEES

Families of Year 12 students are required to have all the Year 12 Fees finalised by Friday, 27 September 2019.

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

Please be aware that supervision of students commences at 7.50am in the Top Quad. After school - students should be collected no later than 3.30pm from the student pick up area (with the exception of extra-curricular activities the student may be attending). Students should not be on the College grounds outside of these times.