Dear Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College Community,

Welcome back to Term 4. It has only been two weeks, but it has already been a busy time as you will discover in this Newsletter.

A Prayer for all those who are in the midst of Oppression, Violence, War, and Injustice.

This time last year I shared the prayer below, sadly our prayers are still required today.

Bring Justice and Peace

God of all creation, bring justice and peace to our world.

Teach us to be peacemakers. Guide us in our pursuit of

justice and the common good. Inspire us to welcome all, forgive

all, and love all. Direct us as we walk in the shadow of Jesus: the

Way, the Truth, and the Life. Inspire us to perceive the world

through your eyes, that we might find hope and joy each day,

supportive of each other, for the sake of your Kingdom.

- Author Unknown

Farwell Class of 2024

Wednesday, 16 October was the final day of formal classes for our Year 12 students and on Thursday, 17 October they attended their last College Assembly. To celebrate the Class of 2024’s time at Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College we have had a number of events.

These included a Netball game on Tuesday between the Year 12s and the Staff. The Year 12s eventually won.

On Wednesday, the Class of 2024 planted their Graduation Tree on the driveway leading up to the school. This relatively new tradition began in 2019, and each tree is marked by a plaque that includes the College's annual theme, which this year is “Be faithful in little things: All will be right with time and a little patience.”

Thursday, 17 October the students commenced at 7.00 a.m. with a breakfast prepared by staff, followed by the cohort gathering to share memories and acknowledge each other. A moving and joyous whole school assembly followed this event. The Year 12s entered Pioneer Hall and danced and celebrated on the stage to the applause of the staff and Years 7 to 11 students. The highlight of the assembly was each student being called individually to be acknowledged by the community and to receive a commemorative gift.

That night, the students gathered for the last time. First at the Graduation Mass at St Joseph’s, Wonthaggi, and then at the Silverwater Resort in San Remo for the Valedictory dinner.

Below is an edited version of my address to the students at the College assembly on Thursday

To the graduating class of 2024, I say on behalf of the Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College community that we are proud of you. We want you to know that you have done so well this year, and I hope you are proud of yourselves for your achievements over the last 13 years of primary and secondary education.

You have faced challenges, taken up opportunities, been of great support to each other, and are genuine role models with a strong sense of community

It may be a cliché to say this because everyone does, but it remains true, you have left the College a better place for you having been here.

So, we have two hopes for you.

First, we hope that you continue in your life to be the epitome of the key elements of our College Vision, Mission, and Strategic intent as you journey into the wider world, and these are:

Be a person who is welcoming to others;
Strive to keep learning throughout your life;
Be guided by the inspiration of St Mary of the Cross, MacKillop, and the Jospehite charism, particularly that challenge to “Never See a Need Without Doing Something About It”; and to
Live out our motto Sapientia Domini Docet Nos, The Wisdom of the Lord Teaches Us, by remembering the past, honouring the present, and inspiring the future of all those you love and work with throughout life’s journey

Second is that you heed the advice from Mary Mackillop which you chose as our theme this year:

“Be faithful in little things; All will be right with time and a little patience.”

MotCM 1873

Another way of understanding Mary’s exhortation is to realise that any sustainable great outcome is not achieved with one single action. If there are any examples otherwise they prove to be the exception and not the rule due to their infrequency.

Achievements of any worth and duration are the result of persistently, taking one step after another over many years towards our goals.

If you’re not sure of this I ask you to consider that your capacity to be here today with us being recognised as the Class of 2024 is a genuine witness to the theme you chose.

Please remember that everything in your life has led you to this moment now and I am sure it has not always been easy, but you did it, so great work!!

So, as you go forward from here: be patient and persistent; ask for and accept help; celebrate successes; realise mistakes are an opportunity to learn and improve; be kind and gentle to all you encounter on the way; and all will be right in time with a little patience.

Finally, I again congratulate you our graduates of 2024, and thank you most sincerely for your contribution to our school. All of us here wish you every blessing, and the best of success Remember that you are welcome here and we will be delighted to hear how you are succeeding in achieving all your hopes for your future.

God bless and go well class of 2024.

College Captain Selection Process for 2025

Last term we commenced our selection process for College Captains and Vice Captains as well as other leaders at our Year 11 Retreat.

Students were asked to nominate to be considered for student leadership roles following the Retreat and those seeking to be considered for our Captain and Vice-Captain positions submitted a detailed application.

The interest was strong and all candidates’ submissions were of high quality. Following discernment by senior staff, 12 students were invited to present themselves to the community to give a speech, which took place on Wednesday, 16 October. Our senior student leaders for 2025 will be chosen from: Taylor Atyeo-Peters, Diesel Bonaddio, Gretchen Clarke, Taine Lowe, James Montgomery, Alexis McGuire, Jack Parker, Eleanor Pedlow, Campbell Reid, Anna Rowe, Max Sheahan, and Patrick Wilson.

All presented themselves well and I have no hesitation in writing that all of the students will be outstanding representatives of Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College.

Voting by students and staff was then completed immediately after our assembly.

We are now in the process of calculating votes and will be able to announce the successful students very soon.

Thank you to Scott Blencowe and Nicole Dudman for their work with this process to date.

SSV News

I am proud to announce that Mary Mackillop Catholic Regional College won the 2024 Don Hislop Award, which is awarded to the school with the best adjusted for school size aggregate achievement in the three major sporting carnivals – Athletics, Cross Country and Swimming – in the School Sport Victoria – South Gippsland Division.

As a College, we had strong results across all the combined competitions and this was the key reason for our success.

Thank you to Travis Newton and all our coaches for their support of our students. A wonderful achievement.

Building Works

Over the term break, we completed a number of projects and commenced work on a significant one as well. Works completed included:

Oval Renovation (see next section for details)
Installation and upgrade of CCTV cameras (please see the section headed CCTV regarding other details related to this)
College Captain honour boards have been mounted in the Student Reception
Upgrade of the Chapel’s Audio-Visual equipment has commenced
Concreting unpaved area leading to the oval between the canteen and Year 7 & 8 Building
Completion of new Counsellor offices
General upkeep of grounds including clearance of trees due to storm damage
Signage Audit
Hall Floor Maintenance

Oval Renovation and Water Storage Project

It will be hard to miss, but we have commenced the renovation of the main oval.

This will put the oval out of use until late term 1 next year. This time frame is required to ensure the new grassed surface can be fully established.

The rationale for the Project includes:

To improve the surface for safe use by students and external groups.
Ensure, as much as possible that it is available for purposeful use for learning, school sporting competitions, and external users throughout all times of the year; and
Improve water capture and storage to provide significant long-term benefits in reducing our current watering costs and provide future storage to maintain the upgraded oval.

Completion of these works will ensure that the oval is a safe, usable, sustainable, and functional resource for our students and community.

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)

Over the term break, we upgraded current and installed additional CCTVs around the campus to cover: all entry points; car parks; all external areas within the internal fencing perimeter of the grounds; the perimeter of maintenance sheds; and the outdoor court area.

Our CCTV Policy is on our website and it clearly outlines the use of footage and who can access it.

Finally, Mary Mackillop Catholic Regional College and the Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited (DOSCEL) are committed to providing safe environments for all employees, students, and visitors. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) is an effective crime prevention tool that can assist with improving risk management controls and personal safety.

We recognise the need to ensure a balance between the individual’s rights to be free from invasion of privacy and the duty to promote a safe environment for all employees, students and visitors, and the protection of property.

World Teachers Day

This year World Teachers Day (WTD) falls on Friday 25 October. The week leading up to WTD provides an opportunity to celebrate teachers and all school staff across all schools for the work they do in educating, inspiring, and supporting our children and young people.

To hear from Paul Velten, which includes clips from a number of schools, thanking teachers in the Sale Diocese please click the video below:

A Prayer for Teachers

Lord Jesus, we bring all teachers into your loving presence. As they plan and prepare classes, fill them with creativity. May their lessons capture students' imaginations and cultivate a love for learning in their hearts.

Grant our teachers wisdom as they impart knowledge and serve as role models. When the challenges of teaching weigh them down, renew their strength, and give them joy in knowing that their hard work is shaping the next generation is never lost or in vain.

Grant them hearts full of compassion and understanding for those entrusted to their care. May your light shine through them every day!

In your holy name, Amen.

The prayer is from the “ECSI Catholic Dialogue School Newsletter 01 October 2024".

Staffing News

This term we welcome:

Gerard Gordon who has returned from leave
Maydia Parry who has returned from maternity leave
Jenny and Robert Damon have returned from long service leave
Joel Dickason who is teaching Music and Drama
Ali O’Connor who is teaching Unit 2 Business Management, Careers and Industry, and English

Sapientia Domini Docet Nos

John M Freeman

Parish News