Magdalene Catholic High School
Newsletter Vol 19 Term: 4 Week 3 - 27 October 2017
Principal's Blog
CLAIM THE DATE
A date for Magdalene’s 20th Year Anniversary Dinner has been pencilled in at the Cube (Campbelltown Catholic Club) for the 18th May 2018. The night will be aimed at past students, parents and staff and current parents and staff. It is sure to be a wonderful occasion so pencil that date into your calendars now.
The School would love to hear from interested parents (current or ex) who would like to help out with the planning and/or coordination of this event.
HSC UNDERWAY
Our Year 12 cohort of 2017 has successfully commenced its HSC Examinations. Students are just past the half-way mark of their examinations and no doubt many students are starting to look forward to the Year 12 Formal which occurs only a couple of days after their last exam.
I would like to commend the students on their thoughtful and diligent approach to their studies over the last two weeks and I would also like to thank the team of parents and community members, led by Michelle Cornett, who are the official test invigilators this year.
YEAR 12 & YEAR 7 2018 INFORMATION EVENINGS
With one eye on the present and one eye on the future, our newest Year 12 cohort for 2018 have just had their HSC Information Evening. During the night NESA (NSW Educational Standards Authority) rules and regulations for the HSC were presented. Past student Sophie Cornett (Year 12 2016) and Jacinta Abernethy (parent of three Magdalene students including Lachlan, Year 12, 2017) spoke in regards to their tips and observations regarding the HSC. Various messages were also shared, including the importance of family support, routine, and organisation. Furthermore, the criticality of balance was emphasised; this involves the maintenance of exercise, diet and sleep patterns to help augment student wellness and study regimes.
On Monday 6 November our newest parents and carers of Year 7 2018 will have their information evening and this will cover key information about Magdalene and things that are needed before students commence High School. A few days later, on Thursday 9 November, our newest students - Year 7 2018 - will have their Orientation Day. Our newest parents/carers will also be invited to a morning tea on that day. It certainly is an exciting time of the year.
ALAN MCMANUS UPDATE
Alan McManus, our Foundation Principal, is the type of person who never wants much fuss. Indeed, he is a private man and would never want others to worry about him. However, the community does need to know that Alan is not well at the moment and is currently receiving treatments of radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
Alan is busy fighting his illness at the moment, and, so that Alan and his wife Cathy are not inundated by messages of support at a time when Alan needs to concentrate on his care, the CEO has set up an email for well wishes to be sent. The email address goodwishes2alan@dow.catholic.edu.au will allow CEO to collate messages of care and concern and pass these on at various points to Alan’s family.
Alan is well-known as a tenacious person but he is currently experiencing both good and bad days in hospital. Earlier this year Alan was recognised at our Year 12 Graduation with one of our Major School Awards being named after him: “The Alan McManus Award for All-Round Excellence”. As part of the citation for this award, Alan’s exacting standards and significant achievements pushing students towards academic excellence, were commented upon. Furthermore, his considerable work in setting up Magdalene from scratch was emphasised. It is therefore only fitting that the community which Alan helped build, rallies around him at his time of need.
May our thoughts and prayers be with Alan at the moment and I encourage you to send a message of goodwill.
PRAYER FOR THIS WEEK
I shared the following prayer with our P & F last Tuesday night. It is a prayer aimed at supporting all of our students.
Christ our Teacher,
You dwell deep within each of our students;
In those who struggle academically, and in those who excel;
In those who seek attention by acting out, and in those who remain silent and try to hide from notice;
In those surrounded by friends, and in those feeling lonely;
Give us the grace to know Your presence in each of them and to respond to their needs as You would to ours.
- Amen
PRAYER
Canteen Duty
24 Hour Fight Against Cancer
This weekend 30 Year 11 students participated in the '24 Hour Walk for Cancer Macarthur' in the team "Courageous Corey and the Magdalene Community".
This is held each year at Campbelltown Sports Stadium Leumeah. All money raised stays within the Macarthur area to aid Cancer therapy in one way or another.
The team has walked each year in memory of their dear friend Corey Lake and all those touched by cancer within the Magdalene Community.
Thank you to students who participated and the staff that assisted with the organisation on the weekend itself.
Student participants: Danielle Flood, Ben Carroll, Katelyn Beller, Charlotte Maxfield, Kaitlin O'Sullivan, Sarah Vella, Emily Fenech, Kimberley Geary, Renae Bligh, Lauren Avero, Brooke Peters, Julienne Chevalier, Judd Cosio, Jerry Beauchamp, Nicholas Ciappara, Jayden McAllister, Maddison Saysanavongpheth, Siobhan Suters, Georgia Francois, Olivia Doughty, Jarrod Brooks, Connor McFarlane, Bianca Tenaglia, Chloe Maryska, Kayleigh Reader, Alyssa Bestulic, Bianca Zepina, Emily Saysanavongpheth, Max Versteeg and Nina Malijan.
Mrs Shareen Borg
Year 11 Visual Arts Excursion
On Tuesday 17th October, the Year 11 Visual Art students attended the Artists and Practice: Visual Arts Stage 6 Study Day at The Campbelltown Arts Centre. The program introduced and inspired students to key strategies in developing bodies of work and included a focus on artists’ practice, the experience of a wide range of expressive forms and provided the opportunity to participate in a practical workshop.
The following are some of the observations from one of our students:
“For the day, myself along with my fellow art peers and students from a few other schools were given the opportunity to explore avenues of art. We were fortunate to break off into small group sessions where we listened to the artists and viewed their artworks. Previous year 12 art students, Elijah Innes and Alinta Maguire, graciously gave up their time for us and provided incredible insight on what year 12 life would be like for us next year and what we can do to use our assets to the best of our abilities! Also, we participated in an acrylic painting workshop, where our artistic skills where challenged to create a layered, meaningful art piece. Overall, it was a worthwhile experience and has motivated us to produce something as inspiring as what we saw today”.
Brianna Voulgaris Yr 11 Visual Arts, 2017
22 Strings - Local Band
AFL DIOCESAN
The 7-9 Boys and Girls AFL teams represented our school with pride at the Diocesan AFL Carnival on Friday 13th October 2017. Both teams played strong the entire carnival, which led to them both making the Grand final and taking out Second Place.
The boys had a tough battle ahead facing Mount Carmel, the same team that tested them in The MISA grand final in Term 3. Once again our boys put on a stellar performance and battled it out right up until the final buzzer, earning themselves a well respected 2nd place overall. Coach Quinn said it was unlucky to be beaten in the final as the boys performed amazingly all day and represented our school with pride.
The girls came up against St Mary’s in the final, a team which had been thriving all day beating teams 30-0. Our girls gave it all they had with the score being 2-0 with 2 minutes to go, however, missed out on the win but earned themselves a well respected 2nd place overall. Coach Koch stated how impressed he was with the standard of play from the girls who were not afraid to get in there and make great tackles.
A special thank you to our Coaches, Mr Koch and Mr Quinn and a massive congratulations to our teams for not only their efforts but their attitude in representing Magdalene. This was an excellent warm up to the 2018 Diocesan AFL carnival where I am sure we will take out the top prize.
Mrs Ashleigh Durrant
Acting Sports Coordinator
LOST PROPERTY
We have a large number of school uniform pieces in LOST PROPERTY. Parents can you please ask your child/children to check the lost property for any lost clothing, drink bottles or glasses.
Thank you for your assistance.
Magdalene Catholic High School
Email: info@mchsdow.catholic.edu.au
Website: mchsdow.catholic.edu.au
Location: Smeaton Grange, New South Wales, Australia
Phone: 02 4631 3300
Facebook: facebook.com/magdalenecatholichigh
Twitter: @mchsnarellan