I hope you are all well.

It is this stage of the year where I finalise the College's Annual Action Plan for the next year. Last Tuesday, I presented the 2023 Annual Action Plan to the Parent Engagement Network, and outlined the areas of focus for our activities for next year. This is often a really enjoyable time, as I can describe to parents how the College strategic plan is being enacted and parents can see (and inform) the work that will make a difference to their children.

One of our two significant priorities for 2023 is about our presence as an authentically P-12 College. Although we have a number of intentional activities that are rich, exciting and offer a chance for our students to engage from senior to junior and vice versa, in many ways, we are two different schools on one campus.

The primary/secondary division has less to do with actual learning and more to do with history. For many years, the mandatory age for completing compulsory education was 12 years old, which is one of the reasons we have Primary Schools in Australia.  Of course, this meant we then had to have separate secondary schools and both institutions built their own customs and traditions.

The biggest advantage of a P-12 College is the ease of transition. Changing schools is one of the most nerve wracking things a child does. Moving to secondary school can be really frightening. With everyone on the same site, transitions are easier at Mary MacKillop, but my vision for the College is that they be seamless and stress-less.

We will be doing a lot of work over the next year to enact this more complete P-12 model. A College committee will convene very soon to discuss and recommend the best leadership structure from 2024. We are already doing a lot of our curriculum and teaching planning based on junior-middle-senior structures rather than just primary and secondary. The College community will also soon receive a letter outlining the expansion of Pastoral Care groups to encompass year 6 from 2023. These are all ways that we can overcome that traditional primary-secondary divide and create a genuine and authentic P-12 culture.

I pray that you are moving healthily to Christmas. Thank you so much for your continued support.

Mr Chris Gabbett
College Principal

Congratulations to our Business Manager, Kirsty Gillett who was awarded the Excellence in Education Support Award at the recent Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Awards.

Reforming the financial operations of the College over the past four years, Kirsty has been instrumental in building College leaders’ financial acumen.
 
Facilitating, consulting and educating, Kirsty has built strong processes and a team that is focussed on stewardship of resources and knows the importance of budget management.

In the last 4 years, Kirsty’s work has led to a cultural change across Mary MacKillop, with a shared responsibility for the stewardship of resources and budget management now a part of staff conversation.
 
Through a restructure of the grounds, maintenance and  administration staff, better value for money and service has been achieved. Alongside this, her leadership of a College fee restructure, has placed the College on a surer financial footing.

Kirsty has also been a strong support for principal, Chris Gabbett, and has, in his words, ‘engaged him in difficult conversations that have strengthened his financial management skills’.
 
Sharing the newly established processes and her thinking with other Business Managers across the Diocese is also building capacity across other schools.

Kirsty, we congratulate and thank you for your contribution to Mary Mac and beyond.

Please be mindful of traffic directions around our site when bringing children to the College or collecting them. Toowoomba Regional Council Traffic Enforcement officers have been present outside the College this week.

Take Care
Chris Gabbett
Principal

Your official role at the College:

Year 5 Teacher plus relief teacher

What does a typical day really look like:

On a Wednesday I teach an incredible group of students in 5C.

On any other day I could be teaching anything from Preps to taking a Year 12 Biology class or running around the soccer oval playing AusTag in Year 10 HPE. My days are full of adventure. I never know who or what I may encounter.

Primary School attended:

Proston State School

Secondary School attended:

Kingaroy State High

What do you like about working at Mary MacKillop?

I love the variety I have teaching as a relief teacher but am also blessed to teach my amazing Year 5 students who have wide and varied talents. The staff at MMCC are incredibly supportive and uplifting. In particular I could not be without my incredible Year 5 teaching partners who support, encourage and value each other.

What are your hobbies/Interests?

I love to swim, bike and run for hours on end. I have completed 2 Ironman triathlons which involve swimming 3.8km, cycling 180km and running 42.2km, and I have just completed my first 50km trail run. I have a passion for having a go at activities which take me beyond my limits and prove that anything is possible. You might see me regularly running around the streets of Highfields trying to avoid attacking magpies.

Other interesting facts about yourself or anything else you would like to share with the MM community:

I have lived in a number of places around Australia due to my husband being an Officer in the Army. We have lived in Highfields for 6 years and my 2 children attend MMCC. We love the area and the beautiful community of people within it.

Carmen Campbell
Year 5 Teacher

A reminder to any 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 4, 2022, must notify the College by no later than 3:00pm, Friday, 2 December 2022 to avoid billing of Term 1 2023 fees.

Should your circumstances change and your child/ren 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 me to discuss your intentions via email or phone 07 4698 7777

Adelle McQueen
Enrolment Officer

Enrolments for Prep and Year 7 in 2023 are filling fast and spaces are limited. Further to this, there are only 3 weeks remaining to secure an entry interview.

If you have any children that are not currently enrolled at the College in Prep - Year 12 for 2023, please contact me as soon as possible via email or by phoning 07 4698 7777.

We are really grateful for all the referrals we receive from our parent community, and word of mouth will always be our best form of advertising. Thank you for your continued support!

Adelle McQueen
Enrolment Officer

As we near the end of the school year please remember to collect your child's medication before the holidays begin.

Please also check the expiry dates before bringing medications back to school after the holidays in 2023.

Jayne Tyrrell
WH&S Coordinator

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!

Last night fourteen young people received the sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time with their family members. We now continue to pray for them as they can come to know God more through the act of forgiving and forgiveness.

Next year this group of children will receive the last two sacraments of initiation - Confirmation and First Eucharist. Please continue to pray for these young boys and girls as they look to grow in their faith.

Huge thank you to the Fr Brian and the sacramental team for the work that you do to prepare the families for these important milestones in their faith journey.

Paula O'Rourke
APRE

Recently I attended a professional day with presenter Professor Brother David Hall, titled Human Flourishing - God's Way to a Good Life. Across the day, Br David lead the group of leaders from our Diocese through a series of presentations and reflections to unpack this idea of God's way to a good life.

Human flourishing truly means (I believe) that every human person is able to be their best and be the best in this world. How do we do that? We need to be formed as a person, not only physically, but spiritually and intellectually. As educators in Catholic schools we are given the best position to form the children who pass through our gates. Education is formation both academically and physically but spiritually as well. It is through education, that every person is also able to experience growth that enables them to participate in the world that they live in. What we want at the end of a person's education, is for them to be able to contribute positively to the world and do it in a way that each person flourishes. This is an ideal but something we all try to strive for. And this is our CHALLENGE as educators!

As part of the day, we were asked to reflection on a different texts extracts. The one that has stayed with me is an extract from Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta:

"People are often unreasonable and self-centred.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It was never never between you and them anyway. "

Voices and Visions, ACU La Salle Academy - A Simple Path. Lucinda Vardy, Rider,1995.

When you read this what word/s stand out for you? Is it the word 'anyway'? We need to do the good things in this life as it is God's way and we should be choosing to do it the way that supports other humans to flourish not only ourselves. If everyone did this then think how great the world would be. Lets just doing it, anyway!

If you recall, Jesus Christ, challenged the 'way' of the Jewish people and their rules several times. Jesus' actions demonstrate what he was preaching - love your God and love others. He is our example that we look to for guidance as we journey along life's path. Love others anyway!

As we journey towards the end of another school year, we need to breathe and reflect about the impact we have had on each other. Next week is the final week for our Year 12 students - so I wonder what impact our College has had on them but also what impact they will have on the world into the future.

And so I finish with a quote from St Mary MacKillop, "Love one another, and let charity guide you in all your life." 1909

Paula O'Rourke
Assistant Principal Religious Education

During Semester 2, a group of students from Penola 2 in the Senior College ran their very own car wash as a service project for Tony's Community Kitchen. For the past few months, this dedicated group, led by PC Teacher, Mr Matthew Chivers, gave up lunchtimes, two or three times per week, to wash willing staff and Year 12 students' cars for a worthy cause!

Tony's Community Kitchen runs "Sponsor a Day" which calls for donations from the local community, schools and business to contribute $260 to cover the cost of running their kitchen for one day.

Last Friday, Penola 2 students spoke to the Senior College about their service project, which raised $270. Rachel Williams, Year 10 student and member of Penola 2, told students: "We have proven every time we wash a car, that we can create change, and that motivates us to do our best. We encourage others to engage in service. It doesn’t take much of your time, and the money donated helps someone else. Thank you, teachers, and seniors, for offering up your dirty cars for a wash, and generously donating $20 to our cause. It is much appreciated."

Well done to Penola 2 students and Mr Chivers for living the mission of MMCC!

Leisa Radley
Director of Formation and College Culture (7-12)

Vinnies Christmas Gift Appeal

The St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal is about bringing joy and festivity to families and individuals who may be in need of some extra support. For 2.2 million Australians, including families and 750,000 children living below the poverty line, Christmas can be a time when meeting their most basic needs, like putting food on the table, giving a gift, or finding a place to call home, is a real struggle. Before the school year winds up, we are again inviting you to join us in making this Christmas one filled with joy and happiness for families across Queensland.

Last Friday, Mrs Trisha Gaul from our Parish and the local St Vincent de Paul Conference, spoke to Senior students at assembly about the importance of this justice initiative. Mrs Gaul reminded students about the importance of seeking out the vulnerable in our community and supporting those who may be struggling during the Christmas period.

The Mini Vinnies and AMMA Christmas Gift Appeal is just one way for our students to assist those who need a bit of extra help this year.

A reminder that this year's collection concludes on Monday, 21 November (Week 8). Students from Prep to Year 6 are invited to bring their labelled gift-wrapped presents or gift cards to their classroom basket. Similarly, students in Year 7 to 11 are asked to donate their gifts or gift cards to their PC basket. Please note: a detail list of suggested gifts, organised via age groups, was emailed to families earlier this term.

From Monday, Week 8, the Year 5 Mini Vinnies and AMMA Group members will sought your generous donations and St Vincent de Paul will collect them during Week 9 for distribution to their patrons.

Thank you to all families who have already donated a gift-wrapped present or a gift card in support of this worthy cause!

AMMA Group's November Outreach

Timor-Leste is one of Australia's closest neighbours but is one of the world's poorest countries, having been ravaged by invasion, war and occupation following the vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

Through a connection with Michael Reiken, owner of Excel Power in Toowoomba and member of Master Electricians, the AMMA group have been invited to connect with the young women who living in the Cova Lima Province of Timor-Leste. The area has very poor socio-economic conditions, little to no education, malnutrition, high maternal and infant mortality rates, lack of water and sanitation, very difficult terrain and poor infrastructure. Very few villages have running water or electricity.

Sister Gilbert, a Mercy sister in charge of The Theresa Orsini Maternity clinic has called for recreational equipment, stationery and sanitary items for the young girls who reside in the Hostel in Maucatar.

This week, the AMMA group purchased various sanitary items, notebooks, pens and pencils for the young women who reside in Maucatar. As electricity and Wi-Fi are installed in future months, the Friends of Teresa Orsini Clinic, a registered charity which operates in this Province, have asked whether our students may like to use Skype or communicate via hand-written letters to connect with the young women–many of whom are the same age as the members of AMMA. We are excited to see where this connection with the Friends of Teresa Orsini Clinic will take us!

Mrs Leisa Radley
Director of Formation and College Culture (7-12)

The Your Pathway Team is very proud to announce that 21 students from years 10, 11 and 12 have now completed their Certificate III in Aviation (remote Pilot). These students are to be commended on their commitment to this achievement. It is an impressive qualification for students to add to their resume as early as year 10. One of our year 12 students, Dylan Schmaling, has chosen to move on the next level of this qualification and is currently completing his Remote Pilot Licence, which will see him qualified to operate a larger drone. Dylan has received an early offer from UniSQ for the Bachelor of Engineering and feels this qualification will be very beneficial to him in this field.

On Friday of week 4, a small group of students that had previously expressed an interest in the agricultural industry were invited to the TSBE Agricultural Industry Lunch held at Burke and Wills Hotel. This was a great opportunity for students to hear firsthand of the vast career opportunities that can be found in the agricultural industry. Representatives from RDO Equipment, Tracetech, Kialla Pure Foods, Cotton Australia, Mort & Co, Namoi Cotton, Grain Corp, Elders, McLean Farms and more, spoke to students about the pathway they had taken to their current position and what they loved about working in the agricultural industry. Students commented on how interesting it was that agriculture had something to offer both ATAR and non-ATAR pathway students. Thanks again to TSBE for continually offering our student a chance to connect with industry.

"It gave me more knowledge about the Ag industry and potential future careers" Eleisha M Year 9

Your Pathway Team
Jennifer Stevenson and Christie Richardson

Earlier this term some of our parents and students attended sessions run by Adair Donaldson, after these sessions TCSO has put together some key information to support parents as their teenager becomes more involved in risk taking behaviour.

At this time every year parties and school leaver activities can be an important part of a teenager’s social life. Many school leavers will be attending Schoolies events and it is a good idea for parents and young people to talk about alcohol, drugs, and parties.

Schoolies

Whilst Schoolies is about fun, drugs and alcohol can result in diminished fun and potential harm to young people during this time. Ideally school leavers will avoid alcohol and drugs to create good memories instead of bad ones.

Parents are encouraged to discuss with their young people :

The plan for the week - find out about activities before leaving home.

An activity plan that doesn’t have a focus on alcohol and drugs.

The legal ramifications of alcohol and drug use - legally, young people could face fines for possessions and/or trafficking if found in possession of a ‘trafficable quantity’ of drugs.

Future safeguarding - having a criminal record can restrict future opportunities in life.

Driving - young people on their learners or probationary driving licences must maintain a zero blood-alcohol level. Never travel with a drinker.

Drugs - during Schoolies young people may come across synthetic drugs which mimic the effects of common illegal drugs. These are often ‘pushed’ to young people as ‘herbal’, ‘party pills’, ‘bath salts’. Far from being benign, these are often more unpredictable than the illegal drugs and should be strenuously avoided, as should illegal drugs.

Drink Spiking – avoid sharing drinks and vigilantly watch drinks to avoid the risk of spiking. If there is a suspicion that a drink is spiked just leave it.

Physical safety - report all threats of violence to police and trust your instincts about physical safety.

Energy drinks - don’t mix energy drinks and alcohol.

Water safety - don’t drink and swim.

Being an upstander - plan for the safety of self and friends. Don’t hesitate to call an ambulance if anyone looks like they have had a bad reaction to any substance – call 000.

Help friends make good decisions and avoid risky situations. Plan activities that can be done together.

Mental health – drugs and alcohol can exacerbate mood disturbances. Have a plan to support your Schoolie’s mental health while away.

Stay hydrated, but don’t drink more than 500ml of water in an hour.

Consent – pressuring someone into having non-consensual sexual activity is sexual assault and illegal.

Hosting a teen party:

From a legal perspective a parent or adult who hosts a party for teenagers will be the person responsible if something goes wrong. Therefore, many parents will be concerned about alcohol, cigarettes, vaping and other drugs being used by teenagers at parties and will benefit from the following information about how to safely host a teenage party.

Registering your party

It’s a good idea to register your party with local police 6 weeks before the event. Police can provide safe partying tips, let you know of noise regulations, and help out if the party gets out of control. Police will provide a party safe poster and wristbands.

Register via Party Safe

Policelink 131 444

Other considerations

Alcohol use – In Qld it is an offence to supply a minor with alcohol at a private place unless the person supplying the alcohol is the young person’s parent, guardian or responsible adult. The responsible parent/guardian/adult must only supply alcohol to the minor in a way which is consistent with reasonable supervision. In other words, things to consider would be the young person’s age, whether the adult is intoxicated, whether the young person is intoxicated, the amount of liquor consumed and other factors relating to the circumstances.

Obtaining alcohol – it is an offence for a minor to falsely represent their age to obtain alcohol, or for someone to help a minor make or provide a fake ID to obtain alcohol.

Smoking and Vaping – consider whether smoking and/or vaping will be allowed at the party? If so, how will it be managed?

Transport – consider how guests will get safely to and from the party. Make sure no-one has to walk home by themselves. If people will be staying, think about where they will sleep, to ensure everyone’s safety?

Out of limits areas – decide on areas that will be off limits to guests, and ways to mark these for clarity.

Adult supervisors – ensure that there are sufficient adult supervisors available for the number of expected guests.

Emergency planning – ensure that emergency vehicles and/or police can readily access the location if required.

Illegal drugs – develop a contingency plan in case someone attends with illegal drugs. Have a plan to ask them to leave and for the appropriate authorities or parents to be informed. If you are having a big party, you might consider hiring security.

Guests – discuss people that should not be invited, and ways for those invited to rsvp so that numbers can be predicted. If you invite people via text, email or through social networking you will have less control. If you do use Facebook, make sure the event page is private and invite-only. Gate crashers can be a problem – to assist with this have one entrance to the party and secure other points of entry.

Safe Party planner – use this Safe Party Planner to guide the conversation with your teen.

If your child is attending someone else’s party

Contact the host and ask about the ages of the attendees, whether there will be supervision, whether food will be provided, whether alcohol will be at the party and whether you give permission for your young person to drink alcohol or not, when the party will start and end, and what the plans are to prevent gate crashers.

Sean Albion
Assistant Principal Wellbeing Senior

There have been so many events happening in and around the College in Term 4. It's wonderful to see students of all ages embracing the opportunity to try new things:

Primary Touch Football - Mr. Hubbard and Miss Preston lead our Mixed Primary touch football team to a fantastic result at last week's Queensland Primary All-Schools tournament in Brisbane. The team has been preparing for months and their performance reflected this dedication. After losing only one game on Saturday, the team fought their way into the semi-finals on Sunday, going down by a single try in the semi - a truly fantastic result for the College.

Rugby 7s - a record number of boys and girls across the College have participated in Rugby 7s this term. Our first ever Primary team competed in an Under 11 Boys tournament and did fantastically well, playing 6 games across 2 Wednesdays and only losing twice. Thanks to Mr. Faessler for mentoring these aspiring young footy stars. In the Senior College, our 13 Boys and Girls teams as well as our Open Boys team wrapped up their season on Monday. The Open Boys finished particularly well, winning both of their games to claim the Plate that was on offer. This team was a combination of Mary Mac and Highlands College boys, and we will look to foster this relationship in future years. Our 15s Boys and Girls concluded on Thursday with results unknown at the time of writing. The 15 Boys contested the 3 v 4 playoff for the Bronze medal. With a number of new players this season, the boys have done an outstanding job to make it that far up the ladder in a very competitive age group - well done lads. A big thank you to parent Mr. Logan for lending his expertise to this team and to Mr. Faessler for his work with all of our teams this season.

Brad Griffiths
Middle Leader - Sport

Australian Music Examination Board qualifications provide a national benchmark and are recognized across Australia and internationally. The below students sat their external AMEB Theory exams recently and gained Honours or High Distinction results. Gaining this full range of skills supports their overall music education creating successful musicians and giving them the tools required to develop into well-rounded, professional players.

Jess Burke
Middle Leader - The Arts

A massive congratulations to year 11 student Charlotte Dobson on achieving a commended in her Southern Federation of Dance - Level 9 Jazz exam!

In Queensland, the QCAA recognises courses of study that represent a range of learning that may contribute to a QCE. Higher level examinations in the SFD syllabus are awarded QCE credits in the Complimentary category of learning. Charlotte is now able to add these credits towards her QCE.

Congratulations to Charlotte for this achievement and.....Keep on Dancing!

Jess Burke
MIddle Leader - The Arts

Last week I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to fly to Cairns and participate in Navy work experience at HMAS CAIRNS. I had no idea what to expect but I loved every ounce of it.

I did some amazing things that I probably won’t ever do again until I join the Navy. I got to participate in a PT session with the Navy, have a tour on the HMAS MELVILLE (a hydrographic surveying ship), steer a boat, ride on a RIB, plug holes in the flood simulator with wood pieces, do a safety swim and open a life raft, do a safety jump and jump off a 10m diving block.

Safe to say it was definitely my highlight of the year and I’m so grateful to have the opportunities and resources to experience it. I now have figured out that I will be applying for the Navy when I’m 16 1/2 years old to go to recruit school after I finish year 12.

Belle Berry
Year 10

Eliza Skewes (grade 6) auditioned for the production of 'Sleeping Beauty' by Toowoomba Ballet Theatre two weeks ago.

We are thrilled to announce that Eliza has been accepted to perform as a member of this production!  Eliza will be performing in this production on pointe, this is a big step in her dance career as she has only been dancing on pointe since January.

Eliza will be involved in an intensive ballet production schedule over two weeks from 10 - 22 December and then performing on 22-23 December just before Christmas at the Empire Theatre.

We are very proud of Eliza and her commitment to her artistic endeavours.

Tickets are available for purchase for this event at the Empire Theatre

PEN UPDATE

Hello to all our Mary Mac Families, Students, Parish and Community members from the Parent Engagement Network (PEN).

We have made it to week 6, only 3 weeks of the school year to go!

Final 2022 PEN Meeting Update – 1st November

Our final meeting for the year was held last Tuesday, 1st November. It was a great night to catchup and discuss recent events, and the College’s recent achievements and results. We heard from Mr Chris Gabbett on the AAP (Annual Action Plan) for 2022 conclusion and also targets which were met and areas which require ongoing improvements. We thanked Mr Gabbett and all College staff for a wonderful job through the past year. We have achieved many goals along the way and met many targets in the AAP. The College prides itself in developing and excelling across many areas for the betterment of our students.

World Teachers Day – 28th October

On October 28th, we celebrated World Teacher’s Day at the College. A big thank you to Kat’s Creations for supplying handmade cupcakes for our wonderful teachers and support staff on this very special day. Also, thanks to ‘Caffeine’ for supplying a hot beverage for our teachers and staff. It was a wonderful morning of celebrations with an early start Trivia Morning for our teachers with lots of fun and laughter. The PEN also participated with a team of parents in the Trivia morning, taking out the overall winner prize! Thank you again to all of our teachers and support staff. We appreciate you all!

Youth Gathering Mass – 5th November

This was a great Mass and was celebrated by many Parishioners and College Families. Thanks to all student participants and staff for making the Mass a lovely family event. The gathering was celebrated afterwards with pizza, music and good conversation. Thanks to Paula O’Rourke and Emma Ehrlich for making this happen for the Parish and the College.

2023 College Captains

Congratulations to Charlotte Voll and Jezziah Berry who were recently announced as the 2023 College Captains for next year. We sincerely thank Josie McQueen and Lane Richardson for their exemplary leadership and commitment as College Captains for 2022. We are also excited to hear in the coming weeks, our Senior and Junior Leaders for Formation, Cultural, Academic and Sport, along with House Leaders for 2023. Next year is going to be so exciting!

Event updates for the remainder of Term 4: -

Year 12 Graduates

We congratulate our 2022 Year 12 cohort for their outstanding effort over the past few weeks as they have been sitting their External Exams. The countdown for our Year 12 students to graduate from the College is well and truly underway! The Year 12’s will have their final day of school here at the College on Friday 18th of November. If you see our Year 12’s around, please make sure that you take the time to wish them the very best for their future endeavours! We will miss them all.

Mango Drive

Thank you to all those who were able to purchase mangoes in the College’s Mango Drive. The funds raised will support the STEM resources across the College. Please expect correspondence later in the term regarding collection of your mangoes in late November/early December.

Christmas Ham Drive - Bannock Brae Meats

Don’t forget your Christmas Ham orders. Refer to email sent out to College families on October 24th. The PEN is fundraising to support the purchasing of STEM resources for the College.

The Hams are: -

Traditional wood smoked hams

• 100% Australian pork

• Full and half legs available

• Bone in or boneless available

• Regular, Nitrate free and salt only options available

Note: Orders must be in by the 18th November 2022. Please support this great fundraiser for our College. To Order, please refer to link: Christmas Ham Drive - Order Form

College Awards Evening

This year we are looking forward to celebrating and acknowledging all Academic, Sporting and Arts achievement’s, improvement awards and other achievements. This is going to be a great evening on Wednesday 16th November. We look forward to seeing you.

Coffee Catchup at The Café – Every Tuesday morning 8am till 8.30am.

To all College Parents, students and staff. Please don’t forget to join us for a chat with the ELT (Executive Leadership Team) to discuss any College matters or general questions which you may have, or just a check-in with each other on how everyone is doing. This is a great opportunity for us all to meet. We always welcome existing and new families to attend. We’d love to see you there!

Grant Writing to support of College –PEN Resources Team

Does this interest you? We are still in need of assistance in this area. If this is of an interest to you, please make contact via the below email. There are many grants available and we need your help!

Future Fundraising Possibilities – IDEAS NEEDED!!

Looking to run some more fundraisers soon for resources for students at the College. Please reach out if you have any ideas. Refer to our email address below for any feedback or areas which you feel may need attention throughout the College.

Principal’s Morning Tea for our College Volunteers

We wish to thank our College volunteers who have helped throughout the College this year. Last week, Mr Gabbett sent an email to College Volunteers who have assisted the College throughout the year for events such as Arts in the Park, the College Musical, Discos, BBQs, transporting students, assisting in the Café or supporting our classroom teachers, Sporting Teams and Performing Arts events throughout the past year.

The College invites all volunteers, to enjoy a Thank You Morning Tea at the College Café, Mary MacKillop Catholic College, at 9.30am on Wednesday 22nd November 2022.

We wish to thank all of our Volunteers. This event is a small token of Mr Gabbett's appreciation of all volunteers who have gone above and beyond to support the College mission this year. The College has been absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity and calibre of our volunteers – you have had a huge impact upon the success of 2022. We look forward to this Morning Tea!!

We wish the College students from P-12 the very best for the remainder of this term. May everyone continue to enjoy this term and we look forward to the success and celebrations which will occur in coming weeks.

Thank you to Mr Chris Gabbett for his strong leadership, our ELT, our wonderful teachers for their unwavering efforts thus far and all remaining staff across the College.

There are no further PEN meetings for this year.

Our next PEN Meeting will be on the 7th February 2023 for our AGM. All parents and the student body are always welcome to attend.

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

Take care.
Shayne Cleary and Rowena Voll
Co-Chairs PEN

Next Meeting for 2023:

1st Meeting (AGM) for year 7th February 2023 (Tuesday evening)

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

Are you Ready Darling Downs 

Diamond and Firebird Ruby Bakewell-Doran , and Firebirds Mia Stower and Macy Gardner,  are coming to the Downs with Skills and Specialist Sessions for 7 - 16 Year olds

Sunday 4th December 2022

7-11 Years Skills 830am-1030am www.trybooking.com/CDYWF 

12-16 Years Skills and Specialist Positional 11am-3pm www.trybooking.com/CDYWH

Clinic will be held at Highfields Sporting Precinct, all players welcome. Darling Downs Netball Region

Are you good at talking and listening? From a First Nations background? How’s your sense of balance?

You just might be made for the First Nations Police Liaison Officer role currently going in Toowoomba.

Police Liaison Officers (PLO) occupy a special niche in the Queensland Police Service (QPS), forming a link between police and their community.

To apply click here

Our service is gratefully accepting donations of used books, toys and games from families and the local community. If you are doing a clean out of your children’s room and find things you would like to donate before Christmas, we would love to be the grateful recipients of any books, toys and games suitable for Prep-Year 6 ages. The children attending our service will love and appreciate different books, toys and games to engage in while at before school, after school, and vacation care. Thank you in advance!

Elissa Chapman 
Mary MacKillop OSHC