Mary MacKillop Catholic College | Mary MacKillop Catholic College

As we wrap up Term one, I want to take a moment to say just how proud I am of our students and the way they have embraced everything school life has offered over these 10 weeks. When I look back on the term, one word comes to mind: fullness — fullness of learning, opportunity, effort and heart.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that he calls us to live life to the full. That message has felt very real across our College this term. Whether in classrooms, on sporting fields or in service to others, students have shown they are committed to developing not just in skill and knowledge, but in confidence, character and care for others.

In our classrooms across P-12, so many students have worked with focus and determination. At Mary MacKillop, I really celebrate that so many students push themselves to improve, take risks in their learning and aim high. Success has looked different for different students, but what has been consistent is a willingness to engage and give their best — something worth celebrating in its own right.

Sport has also been a real highlight. Participation levels have been outstanding, and the spirit with which students have represented our school has been even better. I am especially pleased to congratulate 25 students who have gained selection in Darling Downs representative sporting teams this term. It’s a record for us. It’s also a wonderful achievement and a testament not only to talent, but to perseverance, training and teamwork.

One of the most encouraging aspects of the term has been the way students have responded to opportunities to serve. Through charity events, fundraising and acts of practical kindness, students have shown a strong sense of social responsibility. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to see him in those who are hungry, in need or on the margins.

Our students have done exactly that — reminding us that service is not an “extra”, but central to who we are as a Catholic community. These experiences help young people understand that success is not only about individual achievement, but about how we use our gifts for the good of others. It has been a joy to watch students lead, contribute and act with generosity and compassion.

I wish you and your families every blessing this Easter. It is a funny time for us all in the world right now. The past decade or so has seen a rise in division, anger, polarisation and conflict.

In our Catholic tradition however, Easter proclaims hope stronger than fear. As Pope Leo recently reminded the Church, peace is born where justice and charity meet. In a world wounded by conflict, may our College community be a strong witness to the Risen Christ—choosing compassion, reconciliation and courage—so that new life, mercy and peace may flourish among us this Easter.

I wish everyone a restful and well‑deserved break, and I look forward to all that lies ahead next term. Please stay safe.

Mr Chris Gabbett
College Principal

This week marks a significant and deeply meaningful milestone for our College community with the official opening of our new Yarning Circle. What began as a simple idea shared at the beginning of 2024 has grown into a powerful and tangible expression of reconciliation, relationship, and community—a space that will continue to shape learning and connection for years to come.

The Yarning Circle was created with a clear and hopeful vision: to provide students and staff with a place to listen, share, learn, and come together in the true spirit of Mary MacKillop. As a long-standing member of our community, I believed that such a space would enrich learning, honour the cultural heritage of Australia’s First Nations peoples, and reflect our College’s commitment to inclusion, respect, and justice. Seeing this vision realised is both humbling and profoundly affirming.

In First Nations cultures, a yarning circle is a sacred space. It is a place of story, ceremony, truth-telling, and deep listening—where voices are valued equally and relationships are nurtured through respect. For our First Nations students, this space offers a safe and culturally affirming environment where identity, connection to Country, and wellbeing can be nurtured and celebrated.

At the same time, the Yarning Circle belongs to our entire MMCC community. It is a place of shared learning, where circle pedagogy encourages collaboration, respectful communication, and the understanding that every voice matters. Learning in this way invites all of us to engage more deeply with First Nations ways of knowing and being, strengthening our appreciation of the world’s oldest continuing cultures.

The Yarning Circle also beautifully reflects our College’s 6 P’s, which guide who we are and how we learn.

Passion is fostered through curiosity, creativity, and storytelling. Perseverance is strengthened as we come to understand that reconciliation is an ongoing journey that requires patience and commitment. Possibilities open when voices are heard and hopeful futures are imagined together. Practical Action is lived through listening deeply, caring for Country, and committing ourselves to justice and respect. Prayer finds a home in moments of stillness, gratitude, reflection, and faith.

Partnership is strengthened as students, staff, families, and First Nations communities learn with and from one another. Together, these values remind us that community is not built through silence or sameness, but through listening, sharing, honouring difference, and walking together with purpose.

As this Yarning Circle becomes part of the daily life of our College—used for prayer, learning, ceremony, reflection, and gathering may it continue to weave us together as one community. Grounded in respect and strengthened by story, this space stands as a living commitment to who we are and who we are striving to become.

Looking ahead, future endeavours for the Yarning Circle include the development of a culturally informed map that connects Yarning Circles across schools in the Darling Downs region with significant traditional meeting places. This project will be created in close collaboration with local Elders and other members of the community to ensure cultural integrity, shared knowledge, and respectful representation.

Using First Nations symbols and art styles, the map will reflect connection to Country and community. Once completed, we aim to present the map to local councils within the region with a proposal seeking its official recognition and acknowledgement of its cultural and educational importance for schools across the Darling Downs.

Annabelle Cowen (Teacher)
Rebecca Lopez (Teacher)

It has been a very busy few weeks for everyone at Mary MacKillop Catholic College. There have been so many amazing things happening within the College (retreats, camps, leadership days, cross country carnivals to name but a few) that have provided fantastic opportunities for our students, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank both staff and parents who give so much to enable these.

It has certainly been a busy few weeks for me as well and it’s nice to take a few minutes out to reflect on some wonderful opportunities I have been blessed with in my role as Deputy Principal. Since I last wrote for the newsletter I have enjoyed time with other Deputy Principals at our network meeting, attended the Mayoral Morning Tea for College leaders, had dinner with His Eminence Mykola Cardinal Bychok CSsR, and judged ‘Best in show’ cake decoration for the Toowoomba show - it’s not just timetables, enrolments and behaviour support you know!

On a serious note, all three of these ‘out of the ordinary’ events have one thing in common – community connection. Meeting with other Deputy Principals allows me to check my/our homework, share and learn from best practice, and builds a network of like-minded people I can call upon when stuck or just in need of some guidance. Watching our College Captains take the floor at the Mayoral Morning Tea was a proud moment and seeing them step up and take the mic was prouder still – we really are shaping some wonderful young people.

Having the opportunity to listen to His Eminence talk about the conclave, his upbringing in Ukraine, and how God came into his life was very powerful for me on a personal level but also because I was able to share it with others in the College – a shared communion and a chance to realign to the mission. And what a unique experience to be asked to co-judge the Suzie Holt Perpetual Trophy for ‘Best in Show’ cake decorating competition at the Toowoomba show alongside Suzie herself and Councillor Trevor Manteufel. It’s a long story about how I ‘landed the gig’ but at the heart of it was Suzie’s desire to (a) keep the show traditional skills alive and (b) engage the community more to understand, learn and be inspired by the incredible skills on show. It was great fun, but it was also humbling to see the stewards and decorators vying to keep dying traditions alive.

All of this makes me think about how too often we ‘look in’ when we might do well to ‘look out’. We can often be creatures of habit, focusing on our likes and norms and craving the security of the ‘normal’. There’s a great deal to be said for this of course and every one of us likes stability and safety. But there is also discovery and enlightenment to be found in the unusual and the last two weeks has highlighted the power of saying ‘Yes’ to new and extraordinary opportunities.

I hope that the Easter Holiday is kind to you and your family, and I hope that you all are able to find the unusual and unexpected at this life-affirming time of year.

Richard Coe
Deputy Principal

“The cross is not the end of the story, but without the cross there is no story.” — N. T. Wright

The cross is one of the most recognisable symbols in the world, yet its meaning reaches far beyond its physical shape. In our daily lives, we often speak of “carrying a cross” to describe the burdens, challenges or responsibilities we shoulder. A cross can represent the moments that stretch us, the sacrifices we make for those we love, or the difficult choices that shape our character. It can symbolise grief, perseverance, or the quiet courage required to keep going when the path is steep.

For Christians, the cross holds all of this and more. It stands at the centre of our story—not as a symbol of defeat, but as a profound expression of love. It reminds us that God enters fully into the human experience, embracing both its beauty and its suffering. And yet, as N. T. Wright reminds us, the cross is not the end. It is the turning point that makes the joy of Easter morning possible.

Easter proclaims that suffering does not have the final word. The empty tomb reveals that hope can rise from the darkest places, and that God’s love transforms what seems broken into something new. This message is deeply relevant for our children. It teaches them that challenges can be met with resilience, that mistakes can lead to growth, and that even in difficult seasons, renewal is possible.

As a school community, we walk alongside our young people as they learn to navigate their own “crosses”—big or small. We encourage them to see that while life brings moments of struggle, it also brings the promise of joy, healing and new beginnings.

On Thursday, our students led two moving liturgies that brought the story of Jesus’ final days to life. Through prayer, drama, music and reflection, they helped our community enter into the emotions of the Passion—its sorrow, its sacrifice and its profound love. Their reverence and leadership allowed us to walk the journey from Palm Sunday to Good Friday with fresh eyes and open hearts, preparing us to fully embrace the joy of Easter morning.

Day 30: Easter Monday ~ The Empty Tomb ...

May this Easter season fill your homes with peace, hope and the assurance that God is always at work, turning every cross into a story of transformation.

Paula O'Rourke
Assistant Principal, Mission & Identity

I just wanted to share a few words on the importance of Easter and how Jesus suffered for us, I understand that during Easter people tell you “Jesus died for you,” Jesus loves you” but I believe people truly don’t understand the significance and gravity of the situation. I truly believe that if I didn’t tell you this information, I would be doing you a disservice.

Isaiah was one of the many prophets and he prophesied approximately 700 years before the birth of Jesus about his crucifixion, and he describes Jesus’ journey to the cross.

Before Jesus was led to the cross, Pilate ordered that he must be flogged. He was first stripped of all clothing, then tied to a post with his hands above his head – stretching the skin making the wounds worse.

He was then flogged by one or two people with a whip - often called a cat-o-nine tails – which consisted of a handle with 9 leather straps about 6 or 7 feet long, and at the end of each strap was small lead balls mixed with pieces of animal bone or metal.

These would tear into the body more and more with each successive lashing, ripping into the skin and the jagged pieces of bone or metal tearing it out. As the flogging progressed, muscles, vital organs, and even the spine could often be seen openly. Huge strips of skin would be hanging from the body.

According to Jewish law, this beating had to be stopped after 40 lashes, however, the Jews made a tradition of 39 lashes just in case a mistake in counting was made.

After this some would be found unconscious or even dead, however, Jesus survived without losing conscious.

They also made a crown of thorns, placing it upon His head. They mocked Him, spat upon Him, and struck Him on the head with a reed, driving the crown of thorns into His head.

When Jesus reached the crucifixion site, His hands were nailed to the cross. Another point that most scholars and historians agree upon is that “hands” really means “wrists.” The hands could not have been nailed to the cross because they could not support the weight of a hanging man’s body. The nail would rip right out of the hand. The wrists, however, could hold a man’s weight when done properly. History seems to bear out that this was what the Romans did. The Romans had perfected this technique, driving a 5-7″ nail (17cm) between the radius and ulna bones in the wrist and directly into the median nerve. This gave maximum strength and caused maximum pain, as well as minimal blood loss.

After being nailed to the cross, he was hoisted up for everyone to see, mind you all of his weight was being felt in his wrists. This caused the shoulders to be dislocated. Jesus' feet were placed one on top of the other and nailed to cross. Sometimes a small platform was placed below the feet so the victim could push up on it.

While nailed to the cross, the victim could easily breathe in, but he could not exhale. The only way to exhale was to push up with his feet, causing searing pain in his nailed feet. It also caused his open back wounds to rub up against the rough vertical beam.

In the end Isaiah 52:14 “As many were astonished at you his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.” Jesus face and body became so disfigured that he was unrecognisable, and he did all of that knowing some of you would never even love him back, he did that knowing some of you make fun of him, just like the romans did

He did all of that for you.

So the next time you hear Jesus loves you, or Jesus died for you, just know he endured the unimaginable, so he could one day have a personal relationship with you. But until you take that step, he will continue to wait on you.

Bonnie-Rose Reisinger
Year 12 Student

At our Week 8 Junior School assembly, our Year 2B students proudly shared their learning about information texts and Australian animals, with a special focus on the much‑loved Quokka.

Quinten began the presentation by welcoming the Mary MacKillop community and explaining that the class has been learning how information texts help us understand the world around us.

Reina reminded us that information texts are not made‑up stories—they give us real facts and teach us something new. Harriett then explained some of the important features of information texts, including headings, pictures and diagrams, labels, and facts that can be proven.

As part of their learning, Vera shared that students researched Australian animals by looking at their classification, habitat, appearance, diet, and interesting facts. Marley also introduced the audience to red, white, and blue sentences, which help students know where to place commas when listing three or more items.

Harry then led the class into their chosen focus animal—the Quokka—and students took turns presenting the fascinating information they discovered.

What Year Two Learnt About Quokkas

Charlotte told us that quokkas are small Australian marsupials. They are mammals, part of the macropod family, and close cousins of kangaroos and wallabies.

Habitat

Billy explained that quokkas mainly live on Rottnest Island, with smaller populations in parts of mainland Western Australia. They prefer hiding in long grasses in wetlands and forests.

Appearance

Hope described quokkas as being about the length of an adult's arm—around 80 centimetres long. They have rough brown‑grey fur, small ears, a black nose, and a short, thick, hairless tail. Their strong back legs help them hop like tiny wallabies.

Diet

Albie shared that quokkas are herbivores, eating grasses, leaves, bark and stems. They are also nocturnal, resting during the day and becoming more active at night.

Interesting Facts

Our presenters had no shortage of fun facts!

• Eme told us that quokkas are often called “the world’s happiest animal” because of their smile‑like facial expressions.

• Sybil shared that quokkas sometimes nap like bats, resting with their heads tucked between their feet.

• Lily added that although they usually crawl on all fours, quokkas can also jump using their strong back legs—just like rabbits!

Evalyn closed the presentation by thanking everyone for listening and sharing how proud the class felt about their learning.

A special thank‑you goes to our Visual team who displayed posters:

• Olivia – Classification

• Lyric – Habitat

• Kayla – Appearance

• Paddy – Diet

• Georgia – Interesting Facts