Dear Members of our Community of Faith, Our school performance ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is on this coming weekend! Tickets can be purchased at the door for both the Friday 7:30pm show and the 1pm matinee on Saturday. A huge thank you to Mr Williams, Miss Costello and the students involved for the countless hours of work involved in putting this production together. It has been a joy to see the SMMC community working together and offering their time and talents to assist. Thank you to all those who have contributed in any way! The photos below of the students putting together the walls for the house epitomise the team spirit they have shown.
School Survey The annual Parent Survey was emailed out to all parents last week. Please take the time to fill in this anonymous survey as we appreciate your feedback on the various aspects of the college. Book Stall We have the Cardinal Newman bookshop visiting this Friday 24th of November after the 9.20am Mass. This will be set up in the Library and you are very welcome to come along and purchase some quality literature.
Swimming Primary students have enjoyed their intensive swimming program across this week, with the weather being perfect for it. Secondary students enjoyed a day at the pool today and will have one more session on Wednesday 6 th December.
Albury Show SMMC won the school garden bed competition at the Albury Show recently. A vertical garden was donated to the school if we entered a box of produce with a theme. We chose 'Science and Nature Working Together' as the theme. A power point presentation on the practices in the garden is now entered in the Sydney Royal Agricultural Show. Thank you to Mrs Tingle and her able gardeners. Well done! Lost Property The lost property bin is overflowing! We will endeavour to return any named items, but all unnamed uniform will go into the second hand uniform at the end of the term. See you at the Production over the weekend! God Bless, Luke Burton (Principal)
Week 7, Term 4 Wednesday 22nd November 2017
Saint Mary MacKillop College 197 Urana Street Jindera 2642 Phone: 02 6045 9422 Website: http://smmc.nsw.edu.au Email: [email protected]
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
– Saint Mother Teresa
2017 Dates for your diary…
Extra-Curricular Activities
Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes– Library Open for all students
Wednesday lunchtimes – Martial Arts training in the Hall with Mr Williams
Monday Lunchtime –Secondary Reading Club with Miss Costello
Tuesday after school – Legion of Mary Term 4 – Tuesday 10th October – Thursday 7th December
Fridays 24th Nov and 1st December – 2018 Kinder Orientation 9:15am – 12:00pm
Friday 1st December – Orientation Day for any students beginning at SMMC in 2018
Monday 20th November – Friday 24th November – Primary Swimming Program
Wednesdays 22nd November and 6th December – Secondary Swimming 1:45 – 2:45pm
Thursday 23rd November – P&F AGM 7:30pm
Friday 24th 7.30pm and Saturday 25th November 1pm – SMMC Production of Fiddler on the Roof @ St John’s Jindera
Tuesday 5th December 7pm – School Presentation Night, outdoors at SMMC!
Saturday 9th December – Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser. Helpers will be needed! 2018 Term Dates for students
Term 1 – Tuesday 30th January – Friday 13th April
Term 2 – Tuesday 1st May – Friday 29th June
Term 3 – Tuesday 24th July – Friday 28th September
Term 4 – Monday 15th October – Thursday 6th December
Curriculum Corner – Mr Mathieu Couture
Stage 4 Music Choir
The Stage 4 Music class learnt to sign a harmonised Mass setting called Mass in Re. They
worshiped God in full song during a Friday Mass along with other chant and hymns. Being very happy with the sound, we recorded the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus dei from Mass in Re and the Slavonic hymn Sub Tuum (links to the files inserted). It was the first time many of them sang in polyphony, which can be difficult to get used to! The pressure of singing for
Our Lord at Mass with new music was a great learning experience for them.
LIVING OUT THE FAITH IN FAMILY LIFE
On Motherhood
Modern feminist women seek to destroy God's creation of the loving mother. They seek to emasculate
women by taking them out of the heart of the home and giving them worldly and monetary success
in the workforce. I read a story once about a Christian couple who had left their young children to be
babysat while they were out 'proclaiming the good news'. When they returned home they found that
the baby Jesus had gone missing from the nativity set. On asking their daughter where he was they
were given a lesson they weren't prepared for. She replied, “Oh the Three Wise Men are babysitting
baby Jesus over here, while Mary and Joseph go off evangelising!” Our blessed Mother teaches us
about the importance of the hidden life of Nazareth. She, who is the greatest creature to have ever
lived was a simple Jewish mother in a rural locality.
Mothers are close to the mystery of life. Mothers are graced by the divine touch when the soul of her
child is created within her body. (Alice Von Hildebrand) What an honour that a new soul created to
exist for all eternity dwells within her body. This closeness to life makes women more vulnerable to
suffering. Saint Teresa of Avila speaks of a woman's role being to 'love and to suffer'. A mother's
vocation is to love and the greater the depth of love the more a woman is vulnerable to suffering. In
loving their children they share in their joys and sufferings. One of the greatest sufferings a Catholic
mother can have is for her children to lose the precious gift of their faith, which they have tried so
hard to pass on to them. As mothers we have our children with us for such a short time but our hearts
are forever entwined with theirs.
Women have a unique role to play in family life in being person centred. Relationships mean a lot to
men but to women they are everything. To mothers this means that they are essential to caring and
nurturing each of their children. A mother's heart expands to hold each of her children. Each child
being to their mother a work in progress. The work of educating and perfecting them on earth,
preparing them for eternal life. The Roman matron Cornelia was asked one day by a high born Roman
woman to view her jewels. Cornelia returned with her two sons, “these are my jewels”. After her
death a statue was erected in her honour, it was marked 'Cornelia, Mother of the Grachi.' A man may
build many buildings and make much money but for a mother the dedication to home and family is
where her greatest achievements lie.
Fr Robert J Fox spoke of his mother on her death.
“A mother's love is special for each one of her children. A mother has room for every child in her
heart. She loves each one as a unique individual and sees in each child what only a mother can
comprehend. A true mother has no favourites, except to favour everyone of the children God has given
her, and show no special considerations, unless it be to the one who hurts at the moment. Such was
our mother. Such was her love, her concern, until her last breath.”
Virtue for the Month – Faith
“You are great, O Lord, and to be praised...You have made us for Yourself and our heart is restless
until it rests in You.”(Saint Augustine)
Mother/Daughter Camp 2017 Howmans Gap by Lucy von Marburg
During the weekend of the 10th to
the 12th of November the Mothers'
and Daughters’ camp was very
enjoyable. It was my first
experience of one and it lived up to
and exceeded expectations.
Following a day of journeying via
either the Brookfield Maze or the
Bogong Village we launched into
the high ropes. This was a great
way for the girls to bond with their
mothers. Many of the daughters
were “belaying” the support ropes
for their mothers and vice versa.
There was still plenty of energy left
over for a most competitive game
of trivia that night!
On Saturday following an early
morning Mass and talk by Fr
Murphy we all set off from camp.
The walk to Wallace's Hut was
most enjoyable and the alpine
scenery was spectacular. Nearly
every single girl had a jaunt in the
snow that was still in large patches
on the southern slopes. The
afternoon was spent with a series
of talks and activities for all.
The talent night was most
entertaining. No one will ever
forget Catherine Stewart acting as
Julie McCormack in charge of all
the mums pretending to be
members of the 5/6 class. Mrs
McCrohan stood on a chair to
make sure she was the correct
height for Dominic, her son. Many
other talents were show cased and
will be reflected on for years to
come.
The 2017 camp was a great
bonding experience and a
wonderful fun weekend spent with
friends.