We have three weeks of the school year remaining - but our year twelve students have only five days of schooling left. We will begin Monday with their farewell breakfast and their week is then a mix of Formal, Valedictory and service activities before they embark on their next pathway. It is always a real whirlwind week for the College. I hope that this very special group enjoys every second.

Friday, before the Valedictory Lunch, the 2021 College Leaders will pass the College candle onto the 2022 College Captains - Josie McQueen and Lane Richardson. This is a tradition we started last year. The light they pass on is our light - symbolising that our College is a place of spirituality, learning, formation and inclusion.

You will have received the list of 2022 College leaders from me over the weekend. These were very competitively sought positions and I offer genuine congratulations and thanks to the students who were successful. It is also important to commend the students who were not selected. Any of the candidates could have done a sterling job of being a student leader.

The leaders are:

The year 5 cohort returned from their camp at Tallebudgera on Wednesday afternoon. A central part of this camp is the discernment of junior College leaders and this process will begin very soon.

With only fifteen school days left I imagine many in our community are already thinking of holidays, Christmas and some really well earned relaxation time. I certainly am! We have had a really productive, busy and exciting year, which will be really strongly evidenced at the College Awards Evening next Wednesday. Events like these are possibly the best part of being a Principal - having the chance to loudly and proudly celebrate our fantastic students.

Thank you so much for the way you support our work at the College.

Chris Gabbett
College Principal

Hello to all College Students, Parents and Community. 3 weeks to go!

This is a very busy term for the College in preparing end of year events such as Year 12 final week events, Awards Presentation Evening, Year 6 Rite of Passage, camps and the general day to day running of the College. Let’s all unite and enjoy these last 3 weeks of the 2021 College year. It has been another challenging year, but one with many achievements and successes to celebrate for us all as a College Community. Here’s hoping 2022 is an awesome year for us all and Covid is all behind us.

PPF News Updates

We would like to start by saying good luck again to the College Year 12 students. Their exams would all be completed by now and we are sure they have all done their very best. Next week is their final week with us all. The College has a very special week planned for them with a Valedictory Breakfast, Formal, Mass and Valedictory Lunch and Clap Out by the College community. We wish them very well in their final week and their future endeavours! Enjoy this time.

It’s been a busy term so far in the Mission and Identity space. Last Saturday night parishioners and school families joined together in celebration of the inaugural youth gathering mass. Around 170 people joined together to celebrate the works of St Mary MacKillop followed by pizza and games in the MacKillop Centre. A great time was had by all.

We also wish to congratulate all College Students across the entire College. Everyone has done their very best! Don’t forget the upcoming Awards Presentation Evening next week on Wednesday, 17 November to celebrate student achievements.

We are still seeking interest to form a Grant Writing Committee and welcome those who have grant writing experience to work alongside PPF members and College staff, in completing and submitting grants for the College’s benefit. This is a great way for you to contribute to the College gaining and improving on its resources and facilities. If you have a passion for making things happen, please contact the PPF at higppf@twb.catholic.edu.au

The PPF Volunteers Register is out! We invite you to express your interest in becoming a volunteer in 2022. Please refer to the College Email. The Register will help the PPF and the College coordinate events and thus communicate with a known band of willing volunteers when it comes to help with organising and facilitating events. The Volunteer Register will be a ‘port of call’ for when we need the generosity of our volunteers to help with events. If you have passion and enthusiasm to help out, please register your interest. We look forward to working together as a group in 2022.

Lastly, a huge thank you to all the hard work, which is being done by Mr Chris Gabbett, Ms Charmaine Cridland, the Leadership Team, all Teachers, Support Staff and Administration Staff, Cleaners and Grounds Staff during this very busy term. We know how busy Term 4 is with many events taking place and end of year preparations. Please when you see all staff, thank them for a job well done for 2021!

We look forward to welcoming you at our next meeting on Tuesday, 23 November which will be our last PPF Meeting for the year.

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.

Take care.

Shayne Cleary and Rowena Voll
Co-Chairs PPF

Next Meeting:

• Tuesday 23 November 2021
• Penola 6/7
• 5:30pm start

I want to thank all members of the College community who engaged with our consultation regarding the fee structure. The feedback was very helpful and has enabled a positive change in the way that we resource the College.

I want to particularly thank the parents who led this consultation. I am really blessed to have a group of parents who (via the Parent Partnership Forum) have volunteered a lot of time to researching other P-12 and local schools to benchmark our fee structure and to provide advice on affordability. It is an incredibly positive thing to work so closely in partnership with parents. Thank you.

This consultation was motivated by several factors.

• The most significant is to reduce, as much as possible, the fee burden on families as core elements of the mission of Catholic schools is affordability and inclusion. Although inflation nationally is low, the education sector is a bit extraordinary in that it tends to experience cost inflation of between 2 and 3.5%. This has been at a time when wage growth for many of our families has been limited and Covid has brought an additional context for many. As a result, we have seen an increase in families seeking fee concessions.

• The all-inclusive fee has some advantages – but the most significant disadvantage is that all families pay for activities that only some families access. This creates a greater inflationary pressure for these families and I want to rationalise this down to something more like a user pays model.

• The current fee model was established before we had Years 11 and 12. These grades bring a very different context to the resourcing of the College and it is necessary to look at the senior fee structure conscious of the needs of a 21st century senior curriculum.

• There was a lack of transparency and honesty in the all-inclusive structure. Many parents over the past years, particularly in the senior College, have been charged additional amounts for activities that were previously in the ‘all-inclusive’ fee schedule. This was a sign that the model itself needed another analysis to be fully transparent.

• The former fee structure allowed for only $100 for a College building fund. This would be inadequate for a fully built school to maintain buildings and ensure physical resources and we are in a building phase.

Generally, fees increase annually in line with expenses and inflation and this will no doubt happen as Covid restrictions ease and things normalise. However, the structure, categories and discounts of fees outlined in the attached schedule will remain for at least 5 years.

Our objective in reviewing fees was to reduce the direct teaching and learning expense for all families. Please note that there is one subgroup where this does not occur; families with single siblings in years 4-6. We ask please that any families who find this increase in expense challenging to contact, in the first instance, the College Business Manager.

Please find attached the fee schedule for 2022. This is also how we will communicate the schedule of fees henceforth. There is reference in the document to Scholarships and Bursaries, the concession process and an elaboration on the levies. We will also publish annually a report on income and expenses so there is transparency in the allocation of resources at the College.

Direct Debit Payment Plan

Mary MacKillop Catholic College offers a direct debit payment plan arrangement to our families to provide more payment flexibility. We offer the following payment frequencies for DD payment plans:

• Option 1: Weekly – total payment amount divided over 40 weekly instalments, January to October, commencing Friday, 21/01/2022
• Option 2: Fortnightly – total payment amount divided over 20 fortnightly instalments, January to October, commencing Friday, 21/01/2022
• Option 3: Monthly – total payment amount divided over 10 monthly instalments, January to October, commencing Friday, 21/01/2022
• Option 4: Annually – total payment amount paid as a lump sum on date within the January to October period specified by the Account Holder

Please take the time to review the updated Direct Debit Service Agreement, which can be found on page 2 of the Direct Debit Request form.

Families on a current direct debit plan with no end date can continue with their payment plan but are required to review the instalment amount and adjust accordingly by submitting a new form with the updated details.

Other options for payment include:

• EFTPOS
• Cash / cheque

All families wishing to pay be direct debit in 2022 must submit a new form.

The 2022 forms are attached and are also available on our Website here. These forms are a writable PDF and should be completed electronically, printed, signed and returned to the College Administration or alternatively scanned and emailed to highfields@twb.catholic.edu.au. Also included is a Fees Calculator to assist in calculating your instalments.

Applications are accepted at all times during the year, however, to allow time for bulk processing please return your completed form by Friday, 19 November. Please review before returning to ensure all fields are completed correctly.

If you require assistance to complete this form, please contact the Finance Department at the College or via email, accounts@highfields.catholic.edu.au.

Chris Gabbett
College Principal

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, 2021, must notify the College by no later than 4:00pm, Friday, 3 December 2021 to avoid billing of Term 1 2022 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.

Phoebe Burton
Enrolments Officer

Enrolments for Prep and Year 7 in 2022 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 2022, please contact me as soon as possible.

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!

Phoebe Burton

Enrolments Officer

This week we interviewed Mrs Charden Ruge, one of Mary MacKillop's Learning Support teachers for the Junior School. So let's see what she has to say.

Primary School: Mater Dei Primary School

Secondary School: Downlands College

How long have you worked at Mary MacKillop? 1 year

What do you like about working at Mary MacKillop?

Contributing to each students learning journey and working closely with all classroom teachers.

What are your hobbies/Interests?

I enjoy going on bike rides with my family and enjoying a coffee in the park.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns ceased fire and the armistice was signed to end the First World War. Today we remember all those who served, died - never to return to home - and all who were injured during this time. We are thankful for what these people did and so today is one way for us to show our appreciation.

Today our students participated in a liturgy to mark this occasion as well as standing to attention at the 11th hour for the Last Post, minute's silence and Reveille. The theme of our liturgy was 'A peace that has no end'. Peace is the way to achieve happiness and contentment. During the liturgy this prayer was prayed and I think it serves to remind us of God's great hope...

God of hope, you came as light into the darkness of our world. May our memory of what has been, move us to create a better tomorrow. Through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. 

These are all traditions and rituals that have been passed from one generation to the next. As those who served during this war are no longer alive, who is there to pass on these traditions and rituals? Who will tell the stories? It is important to remember what happened why it happened and to ensure that this knowledge continues. Today gives us this opportunity to tell the story for the students and allow them to appreciate the peace that we have.

As we near the end of the year, especially for our Year 12 students, we ask God to be with us all, give us strength to appreciate what we have achieved, joy to see this, and journey with us as we celebrate with each other.

I end with a quote from Mary MacKillop, 'Think of the love too deep for words to express' (1870).

Yours in God's deepest love

Paula O'Rourke
Assistant Principal Religious Education

Thank you to all of our wonderful families who have started to donate gifts and gift cards for the St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Gift Appeal. The baskets in classrooms and PCs are beginning to fill!

In our Week 4 Newsletter, a comprehensive list of possible gifts according to year level was published. Please refer to these options when considering your purchase. Also, a reminder to please gift wrap your donations (gift cards included) and label the presents with the appropriate age and gender of the recipient.

The final day for donations is Monday, November 29. Our Mini Vinnies and AMMA group are looking forward to organising the gifts in preparation for St Vincent de Paul's collection in Week 9!

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

Masses are celebrated in the MacKillop Centre on a Sunday at 8am.

Please use this link to register your attendance

Congratulations to all the candidates who participated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation last night. May you find a deeper understanding of your faith as you get to know how loving Jesus is.

We look forward to continuing your faith journey next year with Confirmation and First Communion.

As suggested in the quote above, how students see themselves as learners contributes greatly to how successful they are at school. In fact, research shows that the belief a child has about their abilities contributes more greatly to their success than actual capability. These ideas centre around self-efficacy, which is a person’s knowledge or belief about how successfully they can produce an outcome.

Children with higher levels of self-efficacy are far more likely to learn and continue to learn for life. They have a bank of strategies, dispositions and beliefs about themselves as learners that they draw on when they are challenged. They persist when things are tough and if they don’t get the answer or result they want, they draw on other dispositions or strategies and try again until they achieve success. Students with low levels of self-efficacy tend to avoid challenges and give up more easily. They are less engaged in the learning process and often don’t participate in discussions. When things are hard, they blame themselves rather than realizing it was their approach to the challenge that made them unsuccessful.

Take for example the task of solving a challenging Math problem. A child with high self-efficacy would first be curious – they could pick apart the question and ask, what am I being asked to solve? Next, they’d draw out key words and have a go at answering the question. When they check it the first time, they’d notice the answer is incorrect. Now, where a student with low self-efficacy would ‘switch off’ to learning, give up and see themselves as ‘bad as Maths’, this student would simply try another way. They know learning is hard but have a belief in themselves, as well as the tools and dispositions that they need to keep trying. So they draw on their determination disposition and re-read the question and try another way to solve the problem. They redo their working out and discover what went wrong the first time. If we can get our children to believe in themselves and use the dispositions to help them in their learning, we can make an incredible difference to how they grow academically. Good at learning, good at life!

Some tips for encouraging self-efficacy at home and school

• Remind your child often that learning is hard and that is ok!
• Talk about the dispositions with your child – ask them which one they could use when they are struggling to do something at home
• Ask your child how they see themselves as learners and encourage positive self-talk
• Don’t wait for your child to be perfect at something to praise them – praise them for getting in and having a go!

Mrs Natalie Adler
Assistant Principal Teaching & Learning: Junior

Last week, I received an email from Ashlyn Martin who was excited about getting her results for the USQ Head Start course ‘Introduction to Creative and Critical Thinking’. This is Ashlyn’s second Head Start unit. USQ’s Head Start Program is offered to high-achieving students who are motivated to commence their university studies before graduating high school.

In her email, Ashlyn included the comments made by the lecturer: “I so very VERY rarely award HD (High Distinction) levels for undergrads, and NEVER yet have I done so for a Head Start student … but this work is extraordinary in that you have used information that was sent to you. You have engaged fully with the resources in a deep way that engages your critical and creative insights.”

To complete research assignments to such a standard while still only in Year 11, is a credit to Ashlyn. To be the first Head Start student to attain a High Distinction in this course is a special achievement.

I am proud of the work our teachers are doing in preparing students academically, so they can thrive in tertiary education.

Ashlyn is a great example of all the options available that can enrich a student’s learning journey here at MMCC. Not only she is on track to attain her QCE and ATAR score at the end of Year 12, she has also completed Certificate III in Companion Animal Services, Barista Course with Aurora, and Production Management unit at USQ.

Kris Naiker
Assistant Principal Teaching and Learning: Senior

Secondary schooling in many ways is almost unrecognizable now days. Gone are the days of completing your Senior Certificate then finding a job or going on to University, if you were academically minded.

Students today not only graduate with their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE), many graduate with multiple vocational certificates proudly displayed on their resumes.

Below are just a few pathways that these inspiring young adults are forging for themselves whilst completing their secondary studies.

Cassandra Lawson

Cassie has long held a goal of becoming a teacher and has worked very hard towards this goal. During semester 3 of 2020 Cassie completed a Headstart course with USQ, giving her guaranteed entry in USQ once she completes year 12. It also reduces the subjects she has to complete once she begins her Bachelor of Education. She then applied for a School Based Traineeship with Our Lady of Lourdes where she works one day a week in the classroom as a Teacher Aide whilst completing her Cert III in Education Support. We can't wait to see Miss Lawson teaching a class in the future.

Ashlyn Martin

Ashlyn started her traineeship very early in year 10 and had it completed it and her Cert III in Companion Animal Services. Ashlyn is passionate about film and media and after exploring her options she completed a Headstart course at USQ in Semester 3 2020. But that wasn't enough with for Ashlyn she has recently completed her second Headstart course with USQ giving her two subjects to be credited off her Bachelor in Film and Tv once she completes year 12.

Dusty Dukes

Dusty commenced her School Based Traineeship at Mothercraft Childcare Centre in 2020. She is very well respected at Mothercraft and at the completion of year 12 has been offered a position at Mothercraft and aims for this to be a full time position in 2022. Dusty has interests in various industries and we can't wait receive updates from her during 2022.

Tom Oldham

Whist Tom has accepted an Early Entry offer from USQ to complete his Bachelor of Nursing he recognised back in year 10 the benefits of having a drivers range of employable skills while working to achieve his long term goals. Tom has turned his part-time job into a qualification that will support him while studying to become a Nurse. Tom now holds a Certificate III in Hospitality.

Tom Gartner

What can we say, Tom is passionate about engines. He has turned his passion into a secure career path. Tom is completing a Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology while completing his senior studies. Once he has completed year 12 his traineeship will convert into a fulltime apprenticeship. Guaranteeing him employment before he has even completed school.

Dylan Schmaling

One of our newest School Based Traineeships, Dylan, has secured himself a very unique placement. Dylan completed work experience with Reid Consulting Engineers in year 10 and loved every moment of it. Dylan made a positive impression on the business and when they had the opportunity to offer a student a traineeship they contacted Dylan. While completing a rigorous academic load, Dylan is enrolled in a Certificate III in Engineering - Technical. On completion of year 12 Dylan will continue to work for Reid Engineers while he studies at uni to become a Civil Engineer. In addition to this Dylan will also be a qualified CASA drone pilot.

Your Pathway Team
Kris Naiker, Jennifer Stevenson and Christie Richardson

Year 12 student, Jaymee has recently gained an early offer into Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus to commence a Bachelor of Psychological Science.

Reconnecting with her interest in Psychology earlier this year, Jaymee is committed to making a difference to the lives of others. Whilst initially apprehensive on applying for uni, Jaymee had the support of the College Pathway Team who helped her explore opportunities and pathways with flexible learning options to suit her needs, allowing Jaymee to control the course load and still achieve a bachelor’s degree at her own pace.

The Pathways Team continue to give our senior students the confidence and a better understanding of the opportunities available to them and meet each student at their level

The MMCC Year 7 Maths team made it through to the Regional Finals of the QAMT Maths Quiz earlier this term, having performed well in the opening round in Term 3.

They were up against several of Toowoomba's largest and most prestigious schools including Toowoomba Grammar, Fairholme College, Centenary Heights State High School, and TAS.

Harrison Wiersma, Lucas Ward, and William Cobb put in a sterling performance against tough opposition, missing out on a podium position by only a few points, finishing 6th overall.

The competition is open to team from Years 7 and 8. Next year we hope to enter a few more teams into various local Maths competition as the team seemed to thoroughly enjoy the challenge.

Well done Chaps!

Jared Nielsen
Middle Leaders: Science and Technology

Frequently the Your Pathway Team is sent vacancies for traineeships and apprenticeships within the Toowoomba region. These vacancies are sent directly to students in years 10, 11 and 12, but we felt it was beneficial for parents and guardians to be aware of the current vacancies.

We will add these vacancies, as they are advertised, to the Message board of the Mary MacKillop Catholic College Careers Portal . If your child is interested in any of the vacancies they simply need to provide the Your Pathway Team with an up to date resume and completed SBA Referral Form (attached below) prior to the closing date of the vacancy.

If you have any questions regarding school based traineeships please contact the Your Pathway Team on HIGyourpathway@twb.catholic.edu.au

Kris Naiker, Jenifer Stevenson and Christie Richardson
Your Pathway Team

On the 27th of October, Year 3 attended Pioneer Village. This was a great experience for us to see how our community has changed overtime. We got to witness damper being made in an original woodfired oven. We then got to indulge in the damper at morning tea. Some of us also enjoyed a cup of tea. 

We explored a house that was lived in by a family over a hundred years ago. We couldn’t believe how small it was and we found it quite disturbing that a family of over 6 had to bath in one small tub - one after another. Also, did you know that toilets were outside, and people had to use newspaper instead of toilet paper?! What an eye opener for us. We also explored the Fire House, Transport Museum, School and Ambulance Station. 

We took so much away from the day, and we are thankful to be living the way we do today! We’d like to thank Mrs Lopez and Mrs Samin for joining us for the day.

This week, Year 6 ventured just down the road to Camp Cooby for three days and two nights of fun, excitement, and adventure. All activities were designed around the camp’s themes – resilience, teamwork, and communication. 

We participated in many action-packed activities that pushed us out of our comfort zone and helped us to better understand our ourselves as individuals and as a collective group. We braved the heights of milk crate stacking, tied ourselves in knots to build a raft that would float on water, got lost reading maps to find key locations, screamed our way to the bottom of a giant water slide, held on for dear life ziplining through the trees, avoided ‘bombs’ on the landmine maze, balanced ourselves out on the giant seesaw all whilst reflecting on our strengths and challenges as a team. Some of the highlights of camp were the amazing food we ate and the company we kept. We were fortunate enough to be the first group to sleep in the newly built cabins that kept us dry and sometimes extremely warm. 

To top it all off, we all looked the part in our new long-sleeved shirts and hat designed specifically for camp. We were thankful for the supportive staff that joined us on our adventures – Nat Adler, Jasmin Slack-Smith, Brad Griffiths, and Sean Albion.

Check out the full gallery of images below!

Lisa-Marie Preston, Nicole Wittman & Craig Hubbard
Year 6 Teachers

Year 5 students recently had the opportunity to go on camp to Tallebudgera. This camp offers a variety of activities that challenge, build team and leadership skills as well as target life skills development such as assessing risk. 

Camps and activities of this nature are an important part of each student’s growth and development. A great time was had by all!

See the full gallery of images below.

Last year we set a goal to have more than 5 students achieve external Australian Music Examination Board qualifications.

We have smashed that with this week adding another 3 students to the 7 we had last week and are still awaiting the results of 2 more.

Congratulations to:

• Colbie Moffett-Dunn – Preliminary Piano
• India-Rose Bonham – Preliminary Piano
• Susie Bullock- Preliminary Piano
• Abigail ODea- Preliminary Flute
• Lucas Ward- Grade 2 Trombone
• Erin O'Rourke- Grade 2 Euphonium

Jess Burke
Middle Leader: The Arts & Student Engagement

It has been a pleasure talking to the outgoing Year 12s regarding their dreams, aspirations, and destinations. As difficult as it is to say goodbye to these wonderful members of the MMCC Community, it also heralds in a new group of Seniors, eager to assume their place as the leaders of our student community. I had the opportunity to chat with 2022 Sports Leader Jess Kibble about her new role and her vision for sport at the College.

Jess, please tell me a bit about yourself…

My name is Jessica Kibble, I’m in grade 11 and I’m an aspiring athlete.

What is your favourite sport?

My favourite sport is field hockey

What do you enjoy most about sport?

There are so many things about sport that I love and enjoy. For example, teaching kids how to play a sport for the first time, making representative teams and accomplishing personal goals, or just having a good time. But most of all the best thing about sport is the sense of community that comes with it. Because no matter what sport you play there is always a team and a family-like network behind you, supporting you every game or training and at every tournament both on and off the field.

What challenges you most about sport?

The most challenging thing about sport would probably be meeting your own expectations. I know that I personally want to constantly better myself and improve my skills. At times this can be challenging and feel unachievable but in the end, your work really does pay off.

What do you hope to achieve in 2022 as Sports Leader?

I believe that the school has so much potential in the sporting field and I really want to help provide as many sporting opportunities as possible for our school. The things I hope to achieve next year are:

• adding to the schools sporting opportunities
• increasing student participation in sport
• introducing new sports to the college
• hearing the collective student voice

Brad Griffiths

Middle Leader Sport

Last week the MMCC Environmental Club took on their greatest challenge yet, declaring a 'War on Waste' across the school campus!

Some of you will be familiar with this concept, if you have seen the ABC program of the same name. For the MMCC War on Waste, students collected rubbish from across the entire campus for one day, and then sorted through it to see how much of what we throw out is ACTUALLY waste, and how much of it we could divert to other, more environmentally friendly waste streams, such as recycling or compost.

Unfortunately, even one day's worth of waste was too much for our small group to sort through quickly enough before mould and maggots set in (it is certainly not a glamourous job!), but a good, representative sample provided us with the following information:

By mass and by volume, only about ONE THIRD of what we throw out on campus is true landfill! Whilst at first this might seem like a bad thing, in fact it gives us a lot to work towards - we could collectively reduce our school's waste output by as much as two thirds if we upped our recycling and composting game!

All up we sorted through just shy of three bin's worth of rubbish. Whilst everything we sorted through was taken from the landfill bins, only one bin's worth of that waste WAS actually landfill (39% of the total mass) - the remainder included material that COULD have been recycled (3/4 of a bin, 19% of the total mass), composted (1/3 of a bin, 21% of the total mass), or placed in our newly installed Containers for Change bins (3/4 of a bin, 21% of the total mass).

Sadly, we did see a lot of untouched food in the bin - entire pieces of fruit and whole sandwiches still in their ziploc bags. Students were encouraged to talk to their parents about what they'd like for lunch on last Friday's assembly, in an effort to reduce this unnecessary (and costly!) waste.

The War on Waste activity has certainly given the MMCC Environmental Club some ideas to go forward with, and a real appreciation for a topic not often deeply considered. Watch this space to see what they do next!

Rebecca Manners
Senior Teacher

The children at our service have recently been enjoying using the blocks in our room. They have been building towers, cities, castles, cubbyhouses, and racetracks. These experiences have helped build teamwork skills, persistence, imagination, and creativity. You can just see how proud they are of their work!

The Mary MacKillop OSHC Team