Learning Highlights

Last Day of Term 4, 2025

And that's a wrap on the 2025 school year!

Students from Years 7, 8 and 9 enjoyed a fun day of activities ranging from movie magic, board games, fun in the College Gym and more.

 What a wonderful way to conclude the year. 

Kicking off Term 1 at MacKillop!

Recently, we welcomed back to the College our Year 11 and Year 12 students, with their brand new Senior Jackets that identify them as Senior students at MacKillop. 

Alongside our new Year 7 students, who filled the grounds with a bustle of activity and chatter, finding new and old friends as they excitedly began their first day as students at MacKillop.

Each Year 7 student was presented with a House Cap that identifies them as a member of their House, a new initiative that aims to foster a strong sense of House spirit and connection to the wider College community from their very first day.

Last First Day!

Congratulations to our Year 12 students who celebrated their 'Last First Day' at MacKillop with a beautiful sign created by the cohort. We can't wait to continue to celebrate the Class of 2026 as the year progresses.

Athletics Carnival Fun

With plenty of house spirit and colours students celebrated the annual MacKillop Athletics Carnival at the Domain Athletics Centre. 

It was wonderful to see students from across Years 7-12 getting involved with a variety of events as they cheered on their peers and tried their best to win points for their house. Decked out in red, orange, yellow, blue, purple or green there were costumes galore and plenty of smiles as the entire College enjoyed a day out in the sunshine.

A big well done to all students who participated, and thank you to all staff for their efforts in making this event run so smoothly for our students. 

New Computer Lab Opens to Support Learning Across the College

The College is excited to announce the opening of our new computer lab, a modern learning space equipped with 25 brand‑new desktop computers. This purpose‑built lab will support a wide range of subjects, including Digital Technologies, Media Arts, and Computer Aided Design, giving students access to powerful tools that enhance creativity, problem‑solving, and technical skill development.

The space has already come to life with classes making the most of the upgraded facilities. Featured in the accompanying images are some of Mr Littlejohn’s Certificate II students, who have been undertaking their practical tasks for the Maintain ICT Equipment unit. Their work has offered a hands‑on introduction to diagnosing, cleaning, and maintaining computer hardware—skills that are essential for future study and careers in the ICT industry.

This new lab is an exciting addition to the College’s resources, strengthening our commitment to providing students with high‑quality learning environments. With improved access to digital tools and industry‑relevant technology, students are well supported as they develop the skills needed for both senior schooling and beyond.

Chris Littlejohn

Student Leader JJAM Conference

This week College Captain, Saskia, and Deputy College Captain, Isabella, travelled to Sydney to participate in the Student Leader JJAMM Leadership Conference. 

Students from Josephte schools travelled from across Australia and New Zealand to participate in this exciting opportunity. Where they had the chance to discover more about the history of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, and develop their leadership skills in collaboration with leaders from other schools.

Pancake day fun!

This week we celebrated Shrove Tuesday to mark the day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The term 'shrove' means to obtain from absolution of one's sins, by way of confession and by doing penance. 

Students had the opportunity to purchase pancakes, with all proceeds raised going towards Project Compassion for Caritas. 

A big thank you to our Vinnies and Mission students for their assistance today.

For many years, Jayne Daniels has kindly donated pancakes for our fund raising for Project Compassion. This year, Jayne's daughter Maggie will graduate Year 12. We thank Jayne for her support of our community during her time as a parent at MacKillop Catholic College. 

Ash Wednesday

Recently, we celebrated Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of the Lent season. 

Students learned about the importance of using this liturgical season of Lent as a moment for reflection in a liturgy with their Pastoral Care Group. These ashes were placed on each student's forehead and were made from the palm branches used in last year's Palm Sunday services.

New Building Works

During the school holidays, our amazing Maintenance Team were working hard to prepare the College grounds and complete a range of building works across the campus.

With exciting new art installations, demountable classrooms and the highly anticipated unveiling of the brand new Julian Building for our Senior Study space.

Hosting Opportunity: Welcome a Japanese Exchange Student

We are looking for a host for Soma, a friendly Japanese boy in year 10 wanting to join our College community.

An amazing chance to build a lasting friendship and learn more about Japan.

Why:

• Hosting offers an amazing opportunity for all family members to build global awareness, develop empathy, and gain a "member/ brother" from across the globe.
• Educational Adventure: Learn first-hand about Japanese culture, traditions, and language. 
• Fresh Perspectives: Explore your own culture and community through the eyes of someone seeing it for the first time.
• Lifelong Connections: Hosting provides a chance for participants to form friendships that last a lifetime. The connections built during the hosting period remain long after the student returns home.
• Make a difference: Help a young visitor grow, learn and thrive in our school and community.

A note from Soma

Hi, my name is Soma Sasaki. I am from Fukuoka in Japan. I'm currently studying in my school’s International Department Global Program (a program based around getting students like me into international universities). I like speaking English and would like the opportunity to speak more.

I am a big fan of football. I really like the Premier League, and one day I want to study in England with the aim of becoming a football coach in the future.

When I first meet people, I may appear relatively quiet - but once you get to know me I open up. I do like to make people laugh. I am really looking forward to meeting you!

Duration: 

Soma will stay with us for 11 weeks. He is looking forward to joining us at MacKillop once we have found his host family/ families.

Families can offer to host Soma for his whole stay or shorter periods.  

• Soma loves English. He is studying in a special English program, designed to prepare Japanese students to study at Universities in English speaking countries once he graduates from high school.  Families do not need to speak Japanese to host.
• He is keen to make new friends and learn about your family. 

What you provide: 

• a bedroom with a desk;
  • meals; and 
  • an opportunity for Soma to develop connections, practise his English and experience Australian life.

Host families will have full support from the College Japanese Team.

Please contact Cathie Sullivan if you are interested in discussing this hosting opportunity.  

We thank you for your continued support of the College Japanese program and our on-going exchange with Fukuoka Daiichi High School in Japan. csullivan@mackillop.tas.edu.au 

Japanese Language Proficency Test

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test is only held in major cities, meaning we had to travel interstate to partake. Tickets, only around 100, are sold months in advance, and sell out within a matter of minutes. 

We took our test in Sydney in early December, travelling with Sullivan Sensei, and an ex-Mackillop Japanese teacher, Hardman Sensei. They took us around Sydney—to Circular Quay, Manly, and a Japanese book shop called Kinokuniya.

The test itself took place in a lecture hall on the UNSW campus. It is split up into three sections: Language Knowledge; Reading; and Listening. We were given allocated times, 20 minutes for some to an hour for others, for each section, taking a break in between each one. The whole test took around three hours to complete. The reading section was my favourite, because I was able to just fly through it like I was reading a passage in English - always validating as a language learner - and the listening section challenged me the most out of all three.

Pascal Tilyard (Year 12)

The N5 trip/exam was an incredibly fun and worthwhile experience. After 2 years of dedicated study in-class as well as participating in the afternoon N5 practice at school, Pascal, Ooli and I were all able to successfully pass the globally recognised Japanese exam. The exam itself was quite chaotic, but overall, we all enjoyed ourselves (especially as we got to hangout in Sydney for three days). I highly recommend the program and encourage any and all students interested to go for it.

Noah Capaci (Year 11)