Mackillop Reflection

In between SACCSS and cluster sports, beginning social justice and legal units, the bees producing CRC Gold, the development of the new citrus grove and studying, the MacKillop Cluster has acquired some of the responsibility of looking after the school’s newest pet, Bella.

Bella is an Australian terrier; she is friendly, playful and ready to learn. The best thing about Bella is the smiles she brings to the students and staffs faces when they see her. Bella is only a puppy and is still in training. We have been fortunate enough in VCAL to spend time with Bella, we all completed the Responsible Pet Ownership certificate and we have been researching animal welfare agencies such as the RSPCA and Lort Smith Animal shelter. Bella will continue to be a part of both the school community and the MacKillop cluster the smiles she brings to the faces around our community mean that her presence amongst us has a positive effect on us.

Students in MacKillop have been focusing their attention on social justice and the legal system. We have recently had an excursion to the Magistrates’ Courts in Melbourne where students got to observe active court sessions with cases that ranged from driving on a suspended license to current prisoners making an appearance due to drug trafficking charges. This was an eye-opening experience for students to see real-life implications for the actions of illegal activities, with some students even getting an opportunity to discuss specific cases with police prosecutors once the cases were finalised.

Excursions have been a popular activity for the MacKillop Cluster as we have managed to plan and ex an excursion to Melbourne in the event that students work on mapping their own way to specific areas in the city. MacKillop also had students plan and organise excursions to an archery centre and also planned a fishing excursion so that all students could enjoy the outdoors. Utilising their planning skills, they were able to use this as one of their projects for their classes whilst also adding an element of fun and relaxation at the end. Another example of project development through excursions has been through M6 as they created sports lessons on basketball, volleyball and European handball. These students then went and taught the lessons to grade 6 students at Emmaus Catholic Primary School to prepare them for their upcoming Interschool Sports.

MacKillop students have been working hard to plan and develop a Citrus Grove in the Maintenance area of the school. The grove will include around 100 citrus trees with an irrigation system supplied by rainwater. The whole project is managed and run by students who will gain experience in communicating with suppliers and co-ordinating with different people such as bobcat drivers and horticulture specialists. Students are excited that a project of this scale is starting to take shape and the benefits will bare fruit for many years!

James McKay

Mackillop Associate