DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

College Community Expectations

Our College Community Expectations set out the way we conduct ourselves in our school setting. They are based on the values of our school and reflect also broader values of society. These expectations articulate not only the ideal, what we wish for,  but what we expect, what we anticipate will be the way each of us behaves in community with each other. We state these as expectations because we believe that if we uphold them as a community then every member of our community will be treated with respect and dignity and that our learning environment will be rich, full of vitality and provide opportunities for growth. 

In such a community we promote the expectations that  we are responsible for our own behaviour. A simple interpretation of this would be to say that we own up when we know we have made a mistake and we don’t try to blame it on others. Yes, that is part of it certainly but being responsible for our own behaviour is also being accountable for the choices we make, the effort we put forth and the contribution we make to our community. We have a responsibility to do our best, to try even when things are hard and to use our talents and skills. Being responsible for our own behaviour is about making choices for ourselves, good choices, because quite often these choices have an impact on others. At St Mary MacKillop College every day we all have the chance to behave in a way that builds rather than blocks, that promotes rather than diminishes, that welcomes rather than excludes. What we do and what we say matters and we need to take responsibility for it. 

Winter Uniform 

All students should now be wearing winter uniform. A reminder that the winter jacket cannot be worn without the school (maroon)  jumper. We understand that Clarks have experienced some problems with ordering the jumpers and encourage students who are missing one to borrow one from our Pastoral Care Centre. These can be cleaned and returned when your order comes in from Clarks. 

Some students have been coming to school in PE uniform when they are missing an item of uniform such as a tie, shoes or a winter shirt. The preference is for students to wear the winter uniform even if it is incomplete as a temporary measure, rather than wearing PE uniform to school. We are encouraging students to continue to wear our uniform with pride. It is something that shows our collective identity to our community and it creates cohesion, leveling out the playing field because everyone is expected to wear the same uniform.  

Thank you to the many students who continually wear their uniform with pride, it is appreciated and you are making a tangible contribution to our community identity.

Lost Property in Pastoral Care

We have many, many unclaimed items of clothing in Pastoral Care – blue winter jackets, PE jumpers and tops, etc with no names to indicate to whom they belong!!! If your child has lost/misplaced/left behind an item of their uniform please ask them to come to Pastoral Care and we will do our very best to replace it.

Punctuality

This fortnight the House Leaders and Homeroom Teachers will be focussing on punctuality, especially to Homeroom. There are students arriving late to Homeroom and this is becoming a habit for some.  Homeroom is the first thing we do together in the school day and it is vital that all students are there on time. The Homeroom prays together, the Bulletin is read and the Homeroom Teacher distributes the notices for the day. Additionally, this short time together at the beginning of the day is an opportunity to strengthen relationships, to foster belonging and to build interpersonal skills. I hope that all our students make the effort to be on time to Homeroom.