Learning Highlights
Feast of Mary MacKillop
Recently, the whole College celebrated the Feast of St Mary of the Cross (MacKillop), with a special liturgy.
This marks 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.
Getting a taste of life at MacKillop!
We welcomed Year 5 students from Corpus Christi Catholic School and John Paul II Catholic School, as they spent a day at the College to see what may await them when they commence in Year 7 at MacKillop.
With some amazing science experiments, groovy dancing skills, fun on the oval, designing their very own MacKillop Monsters in art and even a BBQ lunch, it was certainly a wonderful day.
World's Greatest Shave at MacKillop!
A group of students (and even a few staff members!) recently made the brave decision to shave or cut their hair in the name of raising money for blood cancer research.
With a large crowd of their peers gathered to cheer them on, it was wonderful to see so many students supporting a very worthy cause, even if it involved a few bad haircuts.
You can support their fundraising efforts here, https://www.worldsgreatestshave.com/.../mackillopcatholic...
Helping to Fight Period Poverty in Timor-Leste
Pearl (Year 10) is part of the next group of students heading across in the MacKillop Catholic College immersion program to Timor-Leste.
Pearl is passionate about ending period poverty in developing countries, setting up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to purchase period underwear for the girls the College will be visiting during their trip.
In Pearl’s words, "in Timor, girls in rural areas have limited access to sanitary products and have to resort to confronting and uncomfortable ways of dealing with menstruation, such as rags. Period underwear is a great way to tackle this problem as the underwear is cost-efficient, eco-friendly, reusable, and hygienic. This provides a solution that will continue to support girls in Timor to receive a better education and live their lives unrestricted by their menstrual cycle".
Pearl has raised an amazing $2000, with 100% of the money going straight towards supporting girls and women in Timor. Well done Pearl! What a fantastic initiative.
Creating new coaching skills with the Tassie Devils!
Recently, our Vocational Education and Training, Sport Coaching class, travelled to Ninja Stadium to experience a day with the Tasmanian Devils Football Club.
What a wonderful event in our MacKillop partnership with the Tasmania Football Club Academy of Sport and Leadership.
Book Week fun!
Today, students (and even a few staff!) enjoyed the chance to dress up as a character from their favourite book as part of the Book Week festivities.
This year's Book Week theme of 'Book an Adventure' inspired characters from all around the world and even some from medieval times! It was wonderful to see students engaged and excited about the opportunity to celebrate all things books.
What a brilliant showcase of imagination, creativity, and the enchanting power of reading!
AFL success for Year 9/10!
Recently our Year 9/10 Boys AFL team defeated Hutchins 46-38 in the SSATIS Year 10 Boys AFL Grand Final out at Geilston Bay.
This amazing feat marks the first time that MacKillop has won this particular league, with the team's efforts earning them a place in the final playoff before the winner progresses to the Hawks Cup in Launceston.
Well done team!
We Think, Therefore We Are: Philosothon 2025
In Week 5, students George Fraser, Logan Elliott, Keely McGrath, Lucas Burdon, Noah Capaci, Marli Sowter, and Piper Shadwick joined students from a range of other Catholic secondary schools at Sacred Heart College in New Town to compete in the annual Philosothon.
The Philosothon is a unique event that combines ethical issues, teamwork, and public speaking. Students are put into teams with others from different schools and have 45 minutes to prepare a speech to present their stance on one of three ethical issues. This year, students could discuss the moral obligation to ensure rights for future generations, the implications of buying unethically produced goods, or the relationship between the mind and soul.
Participating students stated that they particularly enjoyed getting to meet and hear the opinions of people they hadn’t met before. Working as a team to create a speech can be challenging, but getting to pick each other's brains can lead to both heated debates, and interesting consensus.
Congratulations to George Fraser and Piper Shadwick who were key speakers in the winning team and took home the Philosothon 2025 medals. Thank you to Mrs Sandric for organising the team, and to the gracious hosts at Sacred Heart College. Keep an eye out for an opportunity to join the team next year!
Cameron Quinn, Teacher and Co-Learning Extension Coordiantor
Japanese Senior Speech Contest 2025: Student View
On the Friday 15 August, students from Years 9-12 attended the Annual State Senior Speech Competition for Japanese. The competition took place in the Rosny College Auditorium. We joined students from many other schools from across Tasmania came to participate in the competition. The day started like any other, before our team departed the school during Period 4. We were loaded onto the bus and shortly arrived at our first destination, the sushi train restaurant in Eastlands for lunch. Our thoughtful 先生 (sensei) gave us an allowance of $20 to spend on our meal. We all thought thoroughly about the available meals and carefully planned out our budget. Over all, we can say that the food was とてもおいしかったです。（It was very delicious.). But then right after we replenished our energy, the real challenge began, thecompetition!
Prior to the speech competition we had all been practicing for weeks. We felt very nervous, but knew that after all our studies and effort, we were prepared and ready to compete. During the afternoon we practiced our answers together while we waited, before nervously heading off to our interviews. After presenting I felt relieved and felt that I had done a pretty good job. Looking at other teammember’s faces I think they felt the same. It was challenging and tiring but a truly valuable experience. After successfully responding to the judge’s questions, I feel like I can actuallyspeak Japanese!
Eamon Genys and Joshua Li Year 9
A Very Proud Japanese Team
I would like to thank and congratulate all members of our MacKillop College 2025 Japanese Speech Contest team. Their commitment was truly outstanding. It was, as always, wonderful to hear our students speaking Japanese so beautifully. Thank you all for so clearly "being your best". It was a pleasure for both myself and Ms Rowlands to work with you in this endeavour. It is lovely to be the recipient of compliments and praise for not only the language competency, but also the beautiful manners exhibited by MacKillop students throughout the event. Special congratulations go to the following members of our team.
Oolikirra Sands – First Place – Senior Tokubestu Sanka Category
Marli Sowter - Honourable Mention – L3 Category
Pascal Tilyard - Honourable Mention – L3 Category
Noah Capaci - First place - Year 10 Extended Category
Ella Lennon - Second place - Year 10 Extended Category
Olive Frey - Honourable mention - Year 10 Extended Category
Sofia Smith Honourable mention - Year 10 Extended Category
Eamon Genys - Second place - Year 9 Category
Catherine Sullivan
Bunnings Sausage Sizzle for Timor
Thank you to the school community who have helped in various ways throughout the term. One of our final fundraising events will be a sausage sizzle at Bunnings in Mornington on Saturday August 30. Please come along and buy a sausage to support the Timor Immersion Program.
