And so we reach the end of our 'short' term. Even though students commenced late from P-10 and we have had a number of cancelled events as a result of Covid, I can see that many in our community are very weary and are very much welcoming the Easter break.

One Gospel story that has appealed to me for a long time is from Luke, when Jesus calls his first disciples. I love this because it is a story of resilience and will. The apostles had been fishing all night and caught nothing. But Jesus offered some unsolicited fishing advice (which was pretty cheeky because his trade was carpentry) and said they should 'cast out their nets again'. Even though Simon Peter resists a bit, he does as advised and there is a huge catch.

There is nothing the slightest bit extraordinary about Simon Peter and his fishing partners. They are simple fishermen, and they are simply doing what they did every day. They are minding their own business, cleaning their nets after a long, particularly discouraging night of work, when Jesus comes along, enters into their utterly normal, mundane lives and changes everything. The pivot of the change was, even though they were exhausted, the decision to listen to advice.  The decision to not give up. The decision to try again.

As a College community but also as a wider community we have endured a fair bit of challenge over the past four years. In broad order - drought, fire, pandemic, flood, more pandemic... but our own challenges and duties remain. We need to keep modelling strength, resilience and great steadfastness as we move on.

I hope that all in the community do whatever they need to re-fill their tanks and come back on 20 April ready to thrive. I am fortunate to lead a really wonderful College and I thank you very much for the way you as families support that.

Talking to your child about Covid-19 vaccines

I hope you have a really relaxing break.

Mr Chris Gabbett
College Principal

Our College Admin team will be taking a well earned break over the Easter school holidays and will operate on reduced staffing at the Senior Admin building. Please call 4698 7777 and leave a message and one of our helpful team members will return your call. Alternatively, the senior admin reception will be open between 9am and 2pm daily excluding the public holidays.

Kirsty Gillett
Business Manager

A reminder to families who may be moving or relocating from Highfields, please note our Cancellation Policy. 

Any families intending to withdraw their child's enrolment at the end of Term 1, 2022, must notify the College by no later than 4:00pm, Friday, 1 April 2022 to avoid billing of Term 2 fees.

Should your circumstances change and your children will not be continuing at the College, we ask for the earliest notice possible. For the purposes of planning and resourcing, we require notification by the final day of the end of the current term.

Notification is defined as the date of the receipt of the Notification of Transfer form. Invoices for fees are sent in the final week of the previous term, and failure to provide this notice will result in one terms’ fee being invoiced to you.

Exceptions to this Policy are at the discretion of the Principal.

A Notification of Transfer form must be completed to initiate the cancellation of your child’s enrolment at the College.

Please contact the Enrolments team to discuss your intentions.

Phoebe Burton & Nikole Ballai
Enrolments Team

Mary Mac Meals are freshly prepared meals from our College Chef, perfect to take home and feed the family after a long day at work!

Please click on the below link to see our menu, and place your order!

This fortnight, we have chosen Nikole Ballai for our staff profile, Nikole is our friendly face you first see when visiting our Senior admin building.

Here is what Nikole had to say...

Primary School attended: Charleville State Primary School

Secondary School attended: Charleville State High School

What do you like about working at Mary MacKillop? I like how wonderful and welcoming the staff and students have been since staring at MMCC.

What are your hobbies/Interests? I love being outdoors, taking my kids to the park, going walking/hiking or being out in the garden.

Other interesting facts about yourself or anything else you would like to share with the MM community: My family are originally from Brewarrina in NSW which is traditionally known as Ngemba country, where one of the oldest human made structure’s in the world was built by my elders, “The Brewarrina Fish Traps or traditionally known as Baiames Ngunnhu. The fish traps are over 40,000 years old! and they work by using stone walls to guide fish swimming upstream into holding ponds where first nations peoples traditionally caught them with their bare hands or by using spears. The Fish Traps have always been a sacred site and hold great spiritual connection to our people.

This year in the Junior school I am teaching an hour lesson in each classroom across a fortnight. This lesson is based on unpacking scripture and allowing students to make new connections to it, today, so recontextualising it for and with them. As the term draws to close, I thought I would share some of the work from these lessons.

Prep - students have been looking at the bible and how to look after it, plus listening to some stories from it.

Year 1 - students have been looking at the Golden Rule and events of Lent and Holy Week.

Year 2 - students have been looking at God's covenant with the prophets, how this covenant impacts us today and how to be a steward.

Year 3 - students have been unpacking the 'Beatitudes' - Matthew 5:1-12 & Luke 6:20-26. Matthew records Jesus teaching to a large group of people about how they should be treating each other especially the marginalised. In Jesus' time 'it is important to understand that for many who were poor and lacked basic material necessities, life was extremely tenuous and hazardous. Women, particularly those who were widowed, were in a particularly vulnerable situation. As in many societies, minorities were often marginalised and even at times actively persecuted.' (https://catholicidentity.bne.catholic.edu.au/scripture) Students unpacked this and then looked at who are these people in our world today. From there they wrote their own Beatitude statement which we put together for each class.

Here are some of the statements from 3C:

• Blessed are our parents, for they always look after us.
• Blessed those who have died, may they rest in peace.
• Blessed are the people who don’t have any food or water, may they find help.
• Blessed are the people who have lost their home, may they find shelter.
• Blessed are the people who have cancer, may they meet God.
• Blessed are the people who were in the floods, may they be safe and dry.
• Blessed are the people who mourn, may the find happiness.
• Blessed are the people who have no home from Covid, for they will be comforted.
• Blessed those who sacrifice themselves for our country, may they survive.
• Blessed are the Ukrainian children that got separated from their parents, may they survive to find them.
• Happy are the people who are poor, may they find a place to sleep at night.
• Blessed for those people who are killed in Ukraine from Russia, may they be sent to Heaven.
• Blessed those who are blind or deaf, may they be cared for.
• Blessed those that do not have a job because of Covid, may they find a new job.
• Blessed those who are poor and sick, for they will be comforted.

Statements from 3A:

• Blessed those who have disabilities, may they have care for them.
• Blessed the people who are homeless, may they have support.
• Blessed those people who are broken, give them riches.
• Bless the people who murder, for they can get help.
• Blessed are the poor, may they find happiness.
• Blessed all that don't have friends, may they find friends.
• Blessed are the people who are homeless, for they be comforted.
• Blessed are the people who are sick, for they will be healed.

Statements from 3B:

• Happy those who are blind for they well be loved.
• Blessed those who don't have friends may they find friendship.
• Blessed the children who are disabled for they will be blessed.
• Blessed are those people who have cancer may they find peace.
• Blessed the people who get bullied teach them to be brave.
• Blessed are the homeless people that they will find shelter.
• Blessed those people who have cancer for they will be healed.
• Blessed those who have disabilities may they have care shown to them.
• Blessed are the people who steal for they shall learn to respect others.
• Blessed the people who are deaf for they can get hearing aids.
• Blessed are the people who steal for they shall learn to be kind.
• Blessed are the people who murder for they can get help.
• Blessed they who have deafness may they be comforted.

Year 4 - students have been looking at bible referencing, locating stories in the bible and unpacking the creation stories.

Year 5 - students have been using various bible tools to understand two gospel writers - Matthew and Luke. 

Year 6 - students have unpacked scripture stories about faith and how faith has been shown in Jesus' times in readiness to look at how they can show faith today.

I think the students have captured those who are marginalised in our society today but also what is happening currently in our world. Well done to all students.

This holidays and Easter I wonder who we notice around us? What can you do to support the marginalised?

Huge thank you to our College for the great Caritas fundraising that has occurred over the last four weeks. Our goal was to reach $5000. I will confirm next term how much money we raised. If you have any money in your project compassion boxes at home, please return them to the College after Easter to be collated with our fundraising!

Lastly, this holidays is a time to renew and refresh ourselves. With Easter at the end of the holidays we look forward to these celebrations across the various faiths and parishes. Please join in the celebrations as they are a high point in our liturgical journey (times are published under Holy Week & Easter Celebrations).

Have a safe holiday and happy Easter.

Paula O'Rourke
Assistant Principal Religious Education 

The Actioning Mary MacKillop Advocacy (or AMMA) group’s first contribution to giving back to the community this year was donating $300 to Caritas in support of Project Compassion. Currently, our College is aiming to raise $5000 from Prep to Year 12 this Lent.

AMMA is a school community-based advocacy group which holds fundraisers throughout the year and takes great pleasure in giving back to the community. Mary MacKillop Catholic College has supported Caritas, specifically Project Compassion, for many years and we, the students of AMMA, felt this a valuable cause to contribute to as it encompasses our motto (and the words of Father Julian Tenison Woods), “Never see a need without doing something about it”. This $300 contribution will promote justice and provide basic living standards to many families, here and abroad.

Importantly, this is just the start of AMMA's 2022 projects! In Term 2, we will host our annual Blanket and Jacket Drive – the proceeds of which will go to Tony's Community Kitchen and St Vincent de Paul Society. We will also support Catholic Missions' Socktober appeal in Term 3 and 4 and round out the year with the AMMA and Mini Vinnie's Christmas Gift Appeal. Throughout the year, AMMA will often hold sausage sizzles and bake sales to raise money for a variety of causes or to simply give back to our community.

AMMA is always open to new advocacy ideas and we openly welcome new members. For more information contact Mrs Radley Leisa.Radley@twb.catholic.edu.au, or students can drop me an email at higscrivee@twb.catholic.edu.au.

Thank you for your continued support of AMMA!

Elise Scrivens 
AMMA Group

All folders and information have been sent home now. The holidays presents a great opportunity for you to spend time as a family going through the preparation booklet.

Can you please complete the payment with all the information so that we can confirm all our arrangements for the sacrament on 9 June by the beginning of Term 2? If you have misplaced the information here is the link below:

We ask our community to pray for the students who are continuing their faith journey this year with the Sacrament of Confirmation, may they know they are supported not only by their families but also our whole community.

Paula O'Rourke
Assistant Principal in Religious Education

Our local parish will celebrate Holy Week and Easter in the following way:

6 April - Combined Lenten Reconciliation liturgy

• 6:00pm at St Theresa's Parish Centre

10 April - Palm Sunday

• 8:00am at the MacKillop Centre

14 April - Holy Thursday

• 5:30pm at the MacKillop Centre
• 7:00pm at St Theresa's Parish Centre

15 April - Good Friday

• 10:00am Ecumenical Stations of the Cross at Peacehaven Park, Highfields
• 3:00pm The Passion at the MacKillop Centre

16 April - Holy Saturday Easter Vigil

• 6:00pm at the MacKillop Centre

17 April - Easter Sunday Mass

• 8:00am at the MacKillop Centre

Please come along and celebrate the events of Holy Week.

As it has done for many of our College events over the past few years, COVID postponed Penola House's service initiative this term. Fortunately, the wheels are back in motion and the World's Greatest Shave is scheduled for Week 7 of Term 2!

Penola House Captain, Dylan Schmaling spoke to the Senior College students last week to promote the event. Here is what Dylan had to say to the Year 7 to 12 students:

Did you know that every day over 50 Australians are diagnosed with a blood cancer? Although research is improving survival rates, sadly an Australian loses their life to blood cancer every 28 minutes.

Penola House is hosting the World’s Greatest Shave this year and we need you in our shave squad!

Here’s how YOU can do something amazing to help families facing blood cancer and to help scientists who need more funds to find better ways to diagnose and treat blood cancers such as Leukaemia.

If you want to be part of the MMCC 2022 team this year, here are your options:

Girls: if your ponytails are longer than 20cm, you have the power to donate your hair. Did you know, it takes 20 ponytails to make just ONE wig? That’s why every ponytail matters. If you’re super brave, you can also have your head shaved.

Boys: you can have your head shaved and even have your legs waxed! Girls, you can have your legs waxed too, but let’s be honest – it’s pretty entertaining watching the hairs get ripped of a male’s legs!

Since Dylan spoke to the senior school, many students have already returned their permission slips. For those who may be considering the chop, there's still time to collect a slip from the Office and start fundraising.

Of course, for those students who just want to support their mates, they can donate to their friends or share their fundraising page. Or, students and their families can simply make a donation to the MMCC 2022 team fundraising page.

Last year, MMCC raised over $7000 for the Leukaemia Foundation. Let's get behind Penola House, the students and staff who are shaving, waxing or getting the chop and raise the bar in 2022!

Staff & Students
Penola House

There are hundreds of fake news items that we come across every day on the internet or social media. How do we know what is fact or fiction? Or how do we interpret an angry friend’s needs to give the required support? Or how does a writer organise ideas for the plot of a story? When preparing for a job interview how does the applicant explain their skills and experiences? There are hundreds more examples I could give, but the answer to these questions is the ability to think critically and creatively.

Critical and creative thinking is a lifelong skill which we all need to master in a world full of white noise and prepare for jobs which do not yet exist.

The Australian Curriculum is constructed to give students opportunities to develop capability in critical and creative thinking as they learn to generate and evaluate knowledge, clarify concepts and ideas, seek possibilities, consider alternatives and solve problems.

Critical and creative thinking involves students thinking broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas at school and in their lives beyond school.

Thinking that is productive, purposeful and intentional is at the centre of effective learning. By applying a sequence of thinking skills, students develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the processes they can use whenever they encounter problems, unfamiliar information and new ideas.

In addition, the progressive development of knowledge about thinking and the practice of using thinking strategies can increase students’ motivation for, and management of, their own learning. They become more confident and autonomous problem-solvers and thinkers.

Dispositions such as inquisitiveness, reasonableness, intellectual flexibility, open- and fair-mindedness, a readiness to try new ways of doing things and consider alternatives, and persistence promote and are enhanced by critical and creative thinking.

The explicit teaching and embedding of critical and creative thinking throughout the learning areas encourages students to engage in higher order thinking. By using logic and imagination, and by reflecting on how they best tackle issues, tasks and challenges, students are increasingly able to select from a range of thinking strategies and use them in a range of learning contexts.

Critical and creative thinking can be encouraged simultaneously through activities that integrate reason, logic, imagination and innovation; for example, focusing on a topic in a logical, analytical way for some time, sorting out conflicting claims, weighing evidence, thinking through possible solutions, and then, following reflection and perhaps a burst of creative energy, coming up with innovative and considered responses.

Our Annual Action Plan target is to ensure curriculum planning reflects an aspiration towards the 21st century learner – Critical and Creative Thinking is one element of this.

Next time you’re scrolling through social media, turn the news on, reading the newspaper or trying to comfort an upset child, consciously focus on the skills and processes you use to make an informed decision or choice.

Natalie Adler 
Assistant Principal Teaching & Learning Junior

Our role within the school environment is to work very closely with teachers to ensure all students have access to the Australian Curriculum. To allow this to happen we follow a Planning for Personalised Learning framework which allows differentiation to occur for each student.

Another part of our role is to liaise with external professionals, for example, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and psychologists. We encourage open communication with these professionals to ensure we are providing relevant adjustments for students who may have a barrier accessing the curriculum. If your child is currently accessing one of these professionals in the community it would be appreciated if you could notify your child’s classroom teacher and provide any reports you may have on file.

At Mary MacKillop Catholic College we thrive on building positive partnerships with our families where we can communicate openly, so we encourage you to reach out to your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions about your child’s learning journey.

Claire Clapham - Director of Pedagogy
Naomi Goddard & Chardon Ruge - Learning Support Teachers Junior School

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) is a yearly count of students by all Australian schools across the country. The aim of the NCCD is to provide the Australian Government with information about the number of students with disability in Australian schools and the type of adjustments they need in order to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students.

What Is The NCCD?

Mary MacKillop Catholic College is proud to once again partner with local company integratedSTEM to continue hosting after-school STEM workshops in Term 2!

integratedSTEM's brand new 'Battle Bots - 3D Design Challenge' program will inspire your child to discover the science behind robotics and modern-day design processes.

Key Details:

• When: Mondays in Term 2, starting in Week 3 (3:15pm - 4:15pm)
• Dates: 4 May* (Week 3) to 20 June (Week 10). 

8 sessions total.

• Where: Mary MacKillop Catholic College - Grevillea classroom
• Age: Grade 4 - 6 students
• Restrictions: Max of 20 students (be quick or miss out!)
• Cost: $20 per session (Total: $160)

*The Monday of Week 3 is Labour Day. The workshop for this week will take place on Wednesday, 4 May. All other sessions will run on Mondays 3:15pm - 4:15pm.

Registrations will close at the end of Week 2 in Term 2.

All enrolments and payments will be handled by integratedSTEM. They are the primary provider of the workshops. Mary MacKillop is acting as the host school. A staff member from Mary MacKillop will be present at the workshops.

After School Robotics Program Flyer

Jared Nielson
Middle Leader Science & Technology

For students that don't have a part time job, this could be their first visit to a workplace, exposing them to employer expectations and the world of work. Studies reveal that real-life exposure to work has more impact on a resume than some degrees or training.

Work experience allows students the next step to develop soft skills, such as people skills, time management, communication skills, team work and self-motivation just to name a few. The development of these skills supports our students who are applying for their first job and increases their self-understanding, maturity, independence and self-confidence.

Work experience gives students the opportunity to see the practical application of what is being delivered in the classroom, resulting in them engaging with curriculum better. It provides them an opportunity to explore possible career options and enhances their opportunities for part-time and casual employment.

At Mary MacKillop Catholic College we are very grateful for the immense support that we have received from the following businesses that have provided our students placements.

Any student over the age of 14 can complete 30 days of work experience in a 12 month period. If you would like further details please email the Your Pathway Team on Higyourpathway@twb.catholic.edu.au

Jennifer Stevenson & Christie Mastin-Richardson
Your Pathways Team

What I loved most was how each day every task gave you hands-on experience, and I especially loved being sent out into the community to gain more knowledge and help in multiple situations. No day was boring or repetitive and we were included in every aspect possible.

There was no limit to what we were allowed to know or learn. I learnt that I overly enjoyed being a part of the patrol and scenes of crimes units. Being able to go to specific jobs and reassure those involved through presence alone was super rewarding, and you were able to use specific skills to further the investigations. There was also a wide variety to what I was able to experience, from patrol units to prosecutions.

The scenes of crimes and detective work is a career path I'm sure I'll find myself following in the future.

I would 100% recommend this work experience placement to not just anyone looking to involve themselves in the police service, but anyone unsure of their future career. It provides a lot of clarity and offers a variety of jobs to investigate and try out. There's something to suit everyone in the QPS. And, at the very least, it's a rewarding and fun-filled week to experience.

Lucy Hutchison
Year 10 Student

Please take a moment to listen to Jasmin, one of our College Guidance Counsellors, in relation to the 'Squash it don't spread it' campaign across the Senior School.

Sean Albion
Assistant Principal Wellbeing

Following on from National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence, I wanted to speak further to the idea of Bravery. Bravery is one of the 24 character strengths we all possess, and alongside perseverance, honesty, and zest, sits within the virtue of Courage. From our previous communication around character strengths, you would know that all strengths come with a volume dial and what is most important is that we aim for the optimal use of our strengths. When the volume is too low, we underuse our strength and when it’s turned up too loud, we are overusing it. In each of these scenarios, we want to develop the awareness and then the capacity to change the volume and aim for optimal use; the right volume for the specific situation.

Bravery is defined as our ability to face challenges, threats, or difficulties. It involves valuing a goal or conviction and acting upon it, whether it’s popular or not. It is important to note that a central element involves facing, rather than avoiding, fears. Bravery is not fearlessness, in fact, the experience of fear and acting despite this, is bravery; without fear we cannot be brave!

This is important for our young people to know. We are quick to identify with physical bravery and think of soldiers, firefighters, or people who are tough and never back down from a fight! Whilst physical bravery and persisting with something despite fear of injury or harm is one element of bravery, it is not the only part! Today I want to speak more to the concepts of psychological and moral bravery, as these are the elements of this specific character strength that we draw upon when navigating interpersonal stress and bullying behaviours, but they are also really important to our ability to learn, persist with difficult tasks, and to take risks in the classroom. And each of these factors are imperative for our ability to achieve to our capacity, but also to develop a sense of independence and responsibility for our learning behaviours.

Psychological bravery is all about facing our fears and painful aspects of ourselves (e.g., our limitations and challenges) and moral bravery is standing up for what’s right, even when it’s unfavourable among others, and most importantly, even if no one is watching!

These aspects of bravery are often overlooked, and our young people can have difficulty identifying moments when they have expressed these, because bravery is not often fun – remember, it involves fear, so in the moment it is challenging and can be scary to be brave – so we often don’t feel good or recognise that we are being brave in the moment. Bravery is only acknowledged with hindsight and after we have managed to get through the situation and achieve the outcome. For this reason, our young people need to take time to reflect, and they also need our support to spot their use of bravery. This is the most effective way to build this strength.

So, I would encourage you to support your young person to reflect on their use of bravery, specifically the psychological and moral elements of this valuable character strength.

How did they face their fears in the classroom today?

• Did they ask a question even though they were worried everyone else knew the answer already?
• Did they take deep breaths and calm their body as they completed their oral assessment and spoke in front of the class, despite their fear or embarrassing themselves?
• Did they persist with a task, even though they couldn’t get the answer right? Did they keep trying different ways of working it out despite their fear of failing or not being good enough?
• Did they ask a friend to stop distracting them because they really wanted to focus on learning even though they were scared their friend would make fun of them, or get angry?

In what ways did they demonstrate moral bravery?

• Did they tell someone not to speak unkindly about a peer even though everyone else was in on it and they were scared they would be judged negatively for speaking up?
• Did they say no to something they weren’t comfortable with, and they knew was wrong despite worrying that their friends would make fun of them or stop asking them to hang out?
• Did they report their concerns about a friend to a trusted adult because they were worried about their safety, even though everyone told them not to in case they got in trouble?
• Did they advocate for someone or something because it is important to them, even though none of their friends were interested or thought it mattered?

These elements of bravery are important and should not be overshadowed by the physical element, only. Bravery and courage support learning and social capacity, and we need to reflect on it and most importantly, spot it and appreciate it when we see it!

Khara Saunders & Jasmin Slack-Smith
Guidance Counsellors

Friday, 25 March the College came alive with the language of kindness, bravery and courage as we acknowledged the National Day of Action Against Bullying. A sea of orange lined our fences as students tied a ribbon to acknowledge the importance of having the skills and strategies to be kind to others and how to respond if need be. Students in years 3-6 also learnt about the character strength of bravery. Bravery to use the High 5 should they feel unsafe or bullied, either face to face or online. A reminder to parents, to refer to the High 5 should your child come to you to discuss a problem.

Bridget Rillie
Assistant Principal Wellbeing Junior

The Year 6 formation day this term focused on students utilising the College Pastoral Plan, quality of kindness. The main focus was being a kind and safe person whilst online, and knowing how to respond to unsafe or unkind actions/behaviour. The students also looked at the concept of 'kindness' through the lens of the 6's P's outlined in our College Strategic Plan- passion, perseverance, possibilities, partnership, practical action and prayer. 

On Formation Day, Year 6 students spent their time in the MacKillop Centre learning about online safety. The students learnt about bravery, social intelligence, and kindness as the most important traits for online safety. We did plenty of fun activities, some required teamwork, others required everyone’s thoughts, and others just required an answer. My favourite part of Formation Day was getting to know my weaker traits and knowing what to try and improve on. I think Formation Day is helpful for people to get to know themselves better and to develop traits that need improvement.

Deanna Verches
Junior Student

I am pleased to announce the outstanding young musicians that have been accepted to participate in the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University State Honours Ensemble Program. This is the highest number of students accepted to participate yet at MMCC!

Jess Burke
Middle Leader Art & Student Engagement

Congratulations to the Under 14 Girls Touch Football Team who wrapped up their season this term. The season kicked off in Term 4 2021, and it was wonderful to witness the girl's skills, knowledge of the game, and ability to work together as a team develop. The team was made up of both experienced and players who were new to the game.

The girls were a credit to themselves and to the school, finishing fifth on the ladder, narrowly missing out on a semi-final spot in the final round game. It was a pleasure coaching the girls this term and I would encourage the girls to return to the competition in Term 4!

Rebecca Morgan
Senior Teacher

MMCC Drumline were again requested to perform as part of the entertainment at the Toowoomba show. The 24 students aged from prep to grade 11 roamed sideshow alley, pavilions and main streets of the show entertaining the crowds.

There was more entertainment provided by Mary MacKillop Catholic College students with the Voll sisters performing three sets on stage of their vocal brilliance.

Great to see Arts students representing their talents in the local community.

Jess Burke
Middle Leader Art & Student Engagement

Adele Adams took out the major championship prize at the Toowoomba show. She also received first prize in the black and white drawing and screen printing sections.

Isabelle Preston received a 3rd in the Youth Photography section.

Lachlan and Nicholas Adams also received a number of prizes.

• Handwriting competition - 1st place for Nick.
• Mapping competition - 1st place for Lachlan & 2nd place for Nick.

Jess Burke
Middle Leader Arts & Student Engagement

Hello to all students, parents and the community. We hope everyone is well and you are all looking forward to your holidays. Everyone deserves a well earnt break.

This term has been very busy for the College. We thank all the students for doing their best throughout this term. We also wish to thank the College leadership team and teaching staff for creating a safe environment for our students to learn. We wish to thank Mr Chris Gabbett for his remarkable leadership during this very hectic and busy term which has brought some real stability for us all and particularly the student body.

A great event was the Welcome Liturgy and Clap In for all new students to the College. This was a wonderful welcoming event and to see all the students create a guard of honour and the bag pipes playing to welcome the students to the College and ringing the school bell for the very first time.

This term has brought many achievements for our students in education and sporting achievements, and most recently the Toowoomba Show and the College drum line. Well done for representing the College and doing a great job.

We are all looking forward to some wonderful events in Term 2 such as a Welcome Event for the parent and student body and many more things to come.

Thank you everyone for helping each other through this tough and uncertain time early in the term. We all supported each other.

The PPF hopes Term 2 will have a wonderful start and we can all get together as a group and celebrate the College’s success and discuss ways we can support the College and our students.

The PPF wish everyone a safe and wonderful holiday. Get some well-deserved rest.

Take care and safe traveling if you are going away.

All the best from the PPF

If you have a topic or matters for discussions, please send through to the PPF email higppf@twb.catholic.edu.au and we can add it to our Meeting Agenda after our AGM.

Next Meeting:

Next meeting for the AGM will be notified early in the Term 2. We look forward to seeing everyone again

Room : Penola 6/7. Time: 5.30pm start.

Shayne Cleary & Rowena Voll
Co-Chairs PPF MMCC

We are gearing up for our vacation care program here at Mary MacKillop Outside School Hours Care. We have a fun filled program your kids will love, while they grow, learn, and have fun in a safe environment these Easter Holidays. We have some new excursions, much loved reoccurring incursions and activities, and some Easter themed experiments, craft, and activities ready to go!

 There are still some places available, so to enrol your children please visit Toowoomba Catholic Kindergartens & Care (schoolzineplus.com) or contact us at HIGcare@tckc.qld.edu.au or on 0408160891.

Thinking about giving rugby union a go this season?

Highfields Redbacks Junior Rugby Union are encouraging interested boys and girls to join us for an amazing 2022.

Enquire today about our wonderful family friendly club. Competition starts on Saturday 23rd April.

Contact us today and come along for a trial training session with one of our amazing Junior Coaches and Teams in the U/6 - U/11.

 Please share and tag anyone you know that might be interested!

#rugbyunion #highfieldsredbacks