PASSING OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Magdalene Catholic College expresses its sadness on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Regardless of one’s sentiments on Australia becoming a Republic in the future years, our College recognises that the Queen was a much beloved figure who had a strong connection with Australia over many years.

We extend our sympathies to her family and the people of the United Kingdom.

PUBLIC HOLIDAY CHANGES TO YEAR 12 PROGRAM

Following the announcement of the Public Holiday on this coming Thursday 22^nd September, the College has had to alter our Final School Week plans and Graduation event schedule for our Year 12s.

Obviously, this is something which we did not want to do – but this has become unavoidable. I thank our students and their families for their understanding and flexibility at such a late stage in the proceedings.

We very much look forward to providing fitting end of Year 12 events for a fabulous Year Group.

CONGRATULATIONS NATHAN SECHENY – DIOCESAN VET STUDENT OF THE YEAR

Yesterday the inaugural CEO Wollongong RTO VET awards took place in Wollongong.

The VET awards recognise achievement in various VET subjects across Diocesan Systemic and Congregational schools. There is a broad range of subjects covered under the umbrella of VET and it was wonderful to see a range of talents represented across our schools.

I’m pleased to announce that the VET Student of the Year Award for Hospitality: Kitchen Operations was awarded to Magdalene Year 12 student Nathan Secheny.

Nathan has been an impressive student completing multiple VET subjects at TAFE and through our College. He has been committed to his VET studies and has been noted to meet industry standards to a very high level. His VET trainer Miss Di-Filippo was delighted that Nathan’s talents could be recognised and commended publicly. It is also testament to the quality of student that Magdalene produces. A representative of MWLP Macarthur presented the award to Nathan as well as Director of Schools, Mr Peter Hill. It was great that his family and members of staff could be with him yesterday.

Fred’s Push & the 24Hr Fight Against Cancer Macarthur

Today a range of students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 12 heard from representatives supporting the 24 Hour Fight Against Cancer Macarthur. 

Magdalene staff member Paul Borg’s father, Fred Borg OAM, (Shareen Borg's father-in-law) was the founder of this event and details about the Big Blue Walk at Campbelltown Athletics Stadium on Saturday 8th – Sunday 9th October 2022 were provided to our students.

Paul Nunnari, a popular Macarthur Paralympian wheelchair athlete was one of the speakers who spoke to raise awareness about the community fundraising work done by the 24Hr Fight Against Cancer Macarthur.

In previous years we have had Magdalene students participate in the walk in memory of Corey Lake who passed away in October 2013 when he was in Year 7 at Magdalene. Many of Corey's friends and classmates have walked with Shareen Borg since then. Corey's brother Reece graduated from Magdalene in 2016 and his sister Mackenzie is now in Year 7 at Magdalene.

As such, students have been encouraged to get involved – wherever possible. Information about participating on the 8^th /9^th October or donating can be found at: www.24hrfight.org.au

PRAYER - For the repose of the soul of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Almighty God,
You are the author and sustainer of all human life;
grant that your servant, Elizabeth our Queen,
to whom you granted a long and happy reign
as Monarch of these lands
may be forgiven her sins and rewarded with that eternal life
promised to all those born again
in the water of baptism and power of your Spirit.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit
God, for ever and ever.

– Amen.

Various students in Year 12 have been participating in a program known as ‘Golden Achievers.’ As a participant myself, I have been privileged to have been selected, due to my demonstration of an aptitude to learning. Students for this program were deliberately selected to receive additional supportive experience that aimed to enhance learning for those capable, if provided necessary tools to exceed academic expectations. 

Through this time we have considered our study habits, our learning strengths, ATAR predictions, and how to action feedback to increase these whilst effectively managing our wellbeing during examination periods. 

For our final session, Mrs Cuomo generously dedicated her time after school to run art therapy. Students engaged in a paint pouring exercise, producing a cluster of colour gradients that immersed the eye in aesthetically pleasing pieces of work. Through this, students were able to collaborate with each other, and develop a sense of tranquillity, pivotal to managing stress during the HSC.

Further, Mr Bubb had worked with students to relieve their stresses, hitting boxing gloves to get their HSC related frustrations out whilst considering the paramountcy for the maintenance of our physical wellbeing. 

I would like to recognise the exceptional efforts of Magdalene staff in establishing this program, and to recognise high achieving students who are now able to achieve their full potential. On behalf of the Golden Achievers, we thank Miss Phillips, and Mr Ferry, as well as all others who have had an input throughout the program.

Antonius Suitz

Academic Counsellor

Due to the Year 12 Farewell Assemby, the College Office will be closed between 10:15am - 11:45am on Tuesday 20 September.

Due to the recent announcement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that Thursday 22 September 2022 will be a public holiday for the National Day of Mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, all schools in the Diocese of Wollongong and the Catholic Education Office will be closed on this day.

Missions and Outreach

WINTER SLEEP OUT

Early this term we held our Annual Winter Sleep Out supporting the work of the "St Vincent de Paul Society" and "We Are Community".  Both organisations work to support those in our local community who are experiencing homelessness. Our Sleep Out program focused in particular on those who are experiencing homelessness as a result of domestic or family violence. Students and staff learnt much about this important issue and how as a community we can support those facing these circumstances. In particular our Winter Appeal was launched where, led by the Justice and Mercy Councillors, the College Community was encouraged to work together to put together emergency care packs to support those fleeing family violence. The packs are aimed at restoring and maintaining the dignity of those in crisis. A massive thank you to all the staff that made this event possible. A special thanks to the Justice & Mercy Councillors - Hayley, Emily and Charlize for their efforts in bringing this event together.

WINTER APPEAL

The Winter Appeal has seen the community come together to collect donations of toiletries in order to put together emergency care packs for those experiencing homelessness and domestic or family violence. So far the College has collected enough donations to put together over 100 emergency care packs for our local community. An amazing effort! Thank you again to all the families, students and staff who have contributed donations and raised awareness of those in crisis in our community. These donations will make a huge difference in the lives of  many in our local community. The Appeal will wrap up on Tuesday of Week 10.

CEDOW SOCIAL JUSTICE DAY

Last week, four Year 10 Students: Olivia, Molly, Chloe and Ben, travelled to Corpus Christi High School with Mr Collins for the annual CEDOW Social Justice Day. The students worked with Year 10 students from across the Diocese to unpack the Australian Catholic Bishops Social Justice Statement for 2022 - 2023. The Statement shines a light on the impact and trauma associated with Domestic and Family Violence and calls on everyone to work for Respectful Relationships in all areas of society. Through the witness and experience of extraordinary guest speakers and open and honest dialogue students were able to see how conversations, attitudes and actions can help shape Respectful Positive Relationships, even in our own College Community. These students will have more to share on this important issue with the College Community in the future.   

Youth Ministry

LIVE FESTIVAL

Each year, Catholic Youth Ministry Wollongong (CYMW) holds a LIVE festival in which young people from schools around the Diocese can come together and celebrate their faith in a festival experience. This year, the festival was held in Wollongong from 10am-8pm and a group of Magdalene students had the opportunity to attend the event, consisting of singing, praying, games, inflatable obstacle courses, workshops, food and so many opportunities to enhance our connection with God in a fun manner. Students were provided the opportunity to meet religious leaders including the Bishop, learn about vocations in life, undertake reconciliation, talk with others and connect to genuine people within the diocese. Students had a great time and gained much from the experience. A special thanks to the teachers who supported the Magdalene Students who attended - Ms Barrilario, Ms Boughton, Ms Labour, Mr Sligar and Mr Collins.

ACTIVATE

On Friday the 9th of September, a group of student Youth Ministry Leaders went to St Paul's Catholic Primary school in Moss Vale to support the Primary School Activate Fire day for Southern Highlands Catholic Primary Schools. The Year 6 students participated in a range of activities and were supported by the Magdalene Students, who led them through the activities designed to strengthen their faith. We had an enjoyable time listening to stories, praying, singing, and playing together with the Primary School students from St Paul’s, St Anthony’s, St Thomas Aquinas and St Michael’s. We had the opportunity to lead students in small group activities as role models and to teach them about their upcoming Sacrament of Confirmation. 

Throughout Term Three, Year 8 science classes have worked collaboratively on their SRP (Students Research Project) in class.

Each group chose between one of four topics to research, design, and complete anexperiment upon. They then discussed the results and drew conclusions.

Students began by discussing and outlining their aim, hypothesis, variables, and materials.

Then, they drafted a method and identified the possible risks when conducting their experiment.

After conducting the experiment, groups collected their data and worked separately to draw graphs and write their reflections and conclusions.

This SRP required students to utilise their scientific skills to build upon their knowledge and create reliable, valid and accurate scientific reports. Furthermore, students learnt how to apply their knowledge and skills to everyday challenges and class tasks—gaining valuable experience working with peers and communicating effectively.

Indi Spagnolo – 8.1 Science

Science Extension Major Project - Ryan Gill

Recently I completed an Extension Science HSC major project looking into the effects of microplastics on the growth and health of Coastal Rosemary (Westringia fruticosa), a hardy Australian native plant. I have always been interested in the impact that human life has on the environment and the world around us. I hold grave concerns about what the future holds and what will come from mistreating our natural environment. It was for this reason that I was inspired to complete this study. The presence of microplastics in waterways and the food chain are well-known areas of concern. On further investigation though, I found there was very limited research into the effects of microplastics in the soil and the flow on effects to plants. I decided to investigate this further. There was no data from Australia on microplastic in plants further directing my investigation.

The experiment was conducted over a 14-week period and analysed at the end using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient to show any significance. Five concentrations of polyethylene microbeads in the potting mix were prepared and separated into 15 pots (3 per concentration) with coastal rosemary in each. Plant growth in height, width and mass are good indicators of health and were measured in this research every week for 14 weeks. At the conclusion of the experiment, the plants were removed from their pots and donated to the school with the microplastics removed.

After the 14-week trial, it was found there was no significant correlation between the mass, height and width of the plants and the microplastic concentration. This result was surprising given some of the international results found in other studies overseas, using similar methods showing significant links. The insignificant correlation of my results could be explained by the short duration of the trial or the size of the plastics being used were too large to cause direct toxicity.

Throughout this course, I learned extensive skills in scientific writing, research and experimentation beyond the level normally attained in high school giving me a better foundation for university. This subject was a highlight of my senior experience and I strongly recommend this course to anyone who has a passion for Science, the world around them or current real-world issues.

I intend to further my studies in this field and I am pleased to have received an offer of early entry into the University of Wollongong studying a double degree in Environmental Science and Computer Science. This course has given me the confidence and tools to better my university experience.

Ryan Gill

Below is a snippet from Ryan’s Scientific Research Report. In Term 4 you can find his full report in the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) for browsing.

The effect of polyethylene (PE) microplastic concentrations in soil on the growth and health of Westringia fruticosa with extrapolations into the future.

Abstract 

Microplastics are an emerging environmental contaminant in soil that has inconsistent conclusions about the effects on plants (Rillig, 2019).  The effects of soil microplastic concentrations on Australian native plants specifically is unknown. This research aimed to determine if there is a relationship between the concentration of 2mm polyethylene (PE) plastic microbeads in soil on the health of plants by measuring the growth in mass, height and width of Westringia fruticosa. Five concentrations of PE and soil were prepared with a Westringia fruticosa. The initial and final height, width and mass were measured. The average change in (Δ) height, width and mass were calculated at the conclusion of the investigation and were statistically analysed for significance using a Pearson's correlation coefficient. There was a statistically insignificant correlation, with height and mass being negatively correlated and width positively correlated. The null hypothesis, a difference in the concentration of polyethylene microplastic beads in the soil will have no effect on the growth in mass, height and width of Westringia fruticosa were accepted. Future studies using finer microplastics over a longer period of time may show correlations of significance.

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