Learning Highlights

Enjoying a well-deserved break on Retreat!

Last Term our Year 11 and 12 students had the exciting opportunity to come together with their peers to enjoy a range of activities on Retreat at the Spring Bay Mill and Spring Beach Youth Camp.

With campfire songs, a Texas rodeo, gardening and plenty of team-bonding activities, this was certainly a highlight of the year for our Senior Students. A big thank you to all staff who helped make these events such a success.

Ember fun at MKC!

Recently, we held our biennial Ember festival, a celebration of a semester of fiery learning and creativity at MacKillop. It was wonderful to see members of our College Community coming together to enjoy a delightful evening with delicious food and a wide range of artistic talents on display. 

A big thank you to all staff and students for their contributions in making this event such a success.

A special visitor!

Last Term, students in the Learning Hub got the exciting experience of a 3-week-old lamb visiting the classroom. Ruby (Year 12) shared her impressive farming and sheep knowledge with students, telling stories of her family's farm called Yerberton. It was certainly an inquisitive learning experience that left no one feeling sheepish. 

Connected through identity

Recently, the College purchased a beautiful piece of Indigenous artwork titled 'Connected Through Identity' from artist Reuben Oates, following his work with the MKC Mob. The artwork explores how strong communities are built by embracing individuality while recognising the values that bring people together.

Reuben shared that his hope for this artwork is that "every student, teacher and visitor can see themselves within this story and leave with the understanding that our greatest strength comes from embracing who we are, supporting those around us and giving back as much as we receive."

A big thank you to Reuben for sharing his artistic talents with us. What a wonderful piece that students of MacKillop can enjoy for generations.

An Enchanted Winter Evening

Students in Year 11 and 12 enjoyed our inaugural Winter Ball recently, celebrating the end of mid-year examinations and enjoying the chance to come together as a cohort. With the Tasmania Golf Club adorned with snowflakes, twinkling lights and candlelight, it was certainly a wonderful evening for students to kick up their heels and dance the night away.

A big thank you to all staff who contributed towards the success of this event. We look forward to continuing this tradition for many years to come.

Future artists in the making!

MacKillop is proud to have several talented Year 7, Year 8 and Year 10 artists exhibiting in the 2026 Clarence Open Art Prize, which officially opened recently at The Rosny Schoolhouse and The Barn.

With more than 200 artists taking part, the exhibition is a wonderful celebration of creativity and imagination. How exciting to see our students’ work on display, showcasing their talent and allowing the community to celebrate the remarkable young artists emerging from MacKillop Catholic College.

Congratulations to all students whose work has been selected for display. 

Southern Tasmanian Dance Eisteddfod 2026 

What an incredible event for our MacKillop dance community! On Thursday 9 July, more than 60 students took to the stage to perform 15 routines. Every performance brought so much energy, and it was wonderful to see students supporting one another throughout the day. We are so proud of how students represented the College, both on stage and off the stage. Well done to our dedicated dancers!

A special mention to some standout results from this event:

Groups:

• 2nd place: 7/8 Dance Troupe
• 2nd place: Year 9
• 3rd place: Year 10 
• Highly Commended – Year 11/12 

Duos:

• 1st place: Scarlet (Year 11) and Phoebe (Year 12)
• 1st place: Stella (Year 10) and Tilly (Year 9)
• 2nd place: Ned (Year 8 ) and Chloe (Year 7)
• 3rd place: Lacey and Lola (Year 10)
• 3rd place: Hayley and Asha (Year 7)

Highly Commended:

• Lena and Macy (Year 8 ), Celia and Harriet (Year 9), Maddy and Montana (Year 10)

Building connections across the globe

Timor-Leste exchange program

We are thrilled to welcome two students from Colegio Santo Inacio de Loiola in Dili to Australia for an eight-week hosting program, the first initiative of its kind for MacKillop. The College annually send students to visit communities in Timor-Leste where they are hosted by the local community and continue a tradition of practical, relationship-based support.

The two students will live with host families from MacKillop from late July to September, attending classes, joining school life, and experiencing Australian family and community life firsthand. 

Abdul Abdullah Workshop

Year 10, 11 and 12 Visual Arts students at MacKillop College were recently treated to a day with contemporary Australian art royalty.

Abdul Abdullah, who was in Hobart to judge the Hadley's Art Prize, presented students with an engaging talk about his artistic practice and creative journey, followed by a hands-on practical workshop.

Originally from Western Australia, Abdullah has built an extensive body of work spanning photography, performance art and painting. His work is held in numerous Australian and international collections, he has been selected 7 times as a finalist in the prestigious Archibald Prize, and is a judge on the ABC television series Portrait Artist of the Year Australia. As an Australian-born artist of Muslim heritage, Abdullah's work explores themes of identity, belonging, and the experience of being perceived as 'the other', challenging stereotypes and examining issues of race, religion, nationalism and cultural prejudice in contemporary Australia.

Students gained valuable insights into the evolution of his practice, from his early years as a high school art student through to his current creative collaborations and career as a highly successful practising artist. Following a rich and thought-provoking Q&A session, Abdullah guided students through a charcoal drawing warm-up exercise where he focused on the tradition of portraiture.

Like magic, he transformed a simple egg-shaped oval, complete with sausage lips and circles for eyes, into a stunning tonal portrait, demonstrating a masterful understanding of proportion, tonal value and structure. Students then watched as Abdullah demonstrated how to create a versatile palette of skin tones using only primary colours and white. Applying these mixes to his own portrait painting, he captivated the audience by showing how layers of mid-tones, highlights and shadow can be built up to create form, depth and realism.

Students spent the remainder of the day immersed in painting portraits of themselves, friends and family members, with Abdullah generously providing personalised feedback, advice and encouragement throughout the process.

As a school, we feel incredibly fortunate to have shared this experience with such a respected figure in the Australian and international art world. We are confident that this inspiring opportunity will have a lasting impact on our students, enriching their understanding of contemporary art practice and encouraging the continued development of their own creative journeys.

Lincoln Beddoe, Teacher

The inaugural Wind Symphony Tour!

Recently, the Wind Symphony Band travelled to Sydney to participate in a series of workshops, combined rehearsals, community performances, and to compete in the Australian Schools Band and Orchestra Festival.

Students enjoyed a tour of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a special combined band rehearsal with Reddam House North Shore, Sydney, and the chance to perform at Verbruggen Hall.

We are thrilled to announce that the group received a silver award for their performances. We are so proud of their efforts and for representing the College with pride. A big thank you to all staff who supported them on this trip.

Feast of St Mary of the Cross (MacKillop)

Recently, the whole College gathered together to mark a very important day in the liturgical calendar here at MacKillop Catholic College. 

We are reminded of Mary MacKillop's enduring legacy and the profound inspiration she provides to the entire MacKillop community. We pause to reflect on her dedication to serving others and how we can implement this in our own lives.

Staff v student netball

The staff v student sporting rivalry was showcased again recently with some fierce netball competition in the College gym. Students retained their winning streak with a score of 9-7. It was wonderful to see so many students joining in on the fun as spectators and cheering on their peers. 

Well done to all who participated and better luck next time to the staff.

AFL success!

Congratulations to the Year 7/8 Boys Division 1 AFL team who recently won their Grand Final against Hutchins with a score of 22-14. 

A big well done to the team for their efforts throughout the season and for representing the College with pride.

Jam donuts galore!

Recently, every student received a delicious jam doughnut as part of our JJAM Week festivities. These treats have become a highly anticipated part of Joseph, Julian (Tenison-Woods) and Mary MacKillop (JJAM) Week, and are part of a longstanding tradition here at MacKillop. 

What a wonderful way to end the week! 

Tourism and Cookery Visit to Mona

Tourism, Hospitality and Cookery students toured Mona’s Hospitality facilities to see behind the scenes at the second most popular man-made Tourist operation in Australia. Having this amazing attraction on Hobart's doorstop provides our students with the opportunity to experience all aspects of Tourism. Students visited all three kitchens, showcasing Tasmanian products and in particular keeping with the Mona concept of sustainable local game meat varieties. Being introduced to the front and back of house facilities showed the teamwork and diverse opportunities available within the industry. 

A big thank you to the staff at Mona in particular Stefan and Kaz for supporting our VET program, not just in opening our eyes to what the public get to see, but also their willingness to take some of our vocational placements.

Sue Howard

Head of Learning - Vocational Education

Year 8 Robotics Sumo Challenge

To conclude a fantastic Term 2 of learning in Robotics, our Year 8 students put their engineering and programming skills to the test in an exciting Robot Sumo Challenge. Using their LEGO Spike Prime robots, students designed, built, and refined robots with one goal in mind: to push their opponent out of the circular arena.

The competition showcased impressive ingenuity, creativity, and problem-solving as students experimented with different designs, attachments, and strategies. There was plenty of excitement, laughter, and friendly rivalry as robots battled it out for supremacy.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate the students' hard work throughout the term, with great fun had by all and many memorable matches along the way.

Chris Littlejohn - Teacher

Artistic succes!

A big congratulations to Chelsea (Year 10) who has been announced as the Honourable Mention recipient for the Hadley's student art prize.