Mackellar Girls Campus Newsletter 22 NOVEMBER 2019

Term 4, Week 6 Meeting the educational needs of girls

P&C Annual General Meeting Wednesday 4 DECEMBER 2019

Director General’s Award for Turning Potential into Performance Director General’s Award for Excellence in Girls Education

Director General’s Award for Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education Director General’s Award for Excellence in Aboriginal Programs

Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Pacific Islander Programs

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Dear Parents, Staff and Students Presentation Day Our Annual Presentation Day in the School Hall will take place at 10.00 am on Friday 13 December 2019. Parents, family and friends are warmly invited to this significant event where the Mackellar community is able to showcase its many areas of excellence. Students are to be dressed immaculately in full school uniform. At the conclusion of the Presentation Day Ceremony, Years 7 – 9 Yearly Reports will be distributed. Our fabulous School Administrative Support Staff (SASS) This newsletter regularly records the triumphs and achievements of the students and teaching staff. Here I would like to impress on our community the significant contribution our school administrative support staff makes to our successful school. The long list of innumerable key jobs that are carried out so professionally and graciously, and with such patience, are integral to the functioning of our school. HSC examinations Year 12 has now finished the HSC. Ms Susan Van Gils, the Presiding Officer in charge of the examinations, reported that she was delighted with the most exemplary manner in which the students applied themselves to their work with due diligence and behaved impeccably. Our students should feel proud of themselves and their commitment to their studies. RYDA Year 11 was sponsored by Rotary to attend the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness program. It is a marvellous program that presents students with information about driving, from car maintenance to braking distances, the effect of alcohol and drugs on driving and first-hand stories of severe injuries resulting from dangerous driving. Our students impressed the coordinators of the program with their manners and mature approach to the day. The school continues to be most grateful for the wonderful work that Rotary does, the productive relationship between Balgowlah Rotary and us, and the generosity and support we receive. Schools Spectacular Each year I look forward with great anticipation to attending the Schools Spectacular, at the Qudos Arena at Sydney Olympic Park. It is one of the most outstanding displays of public education at its best, involving over 1 000 students from secondary and primary schools in NSW. It is very exciting that our students are involved as part of the choir, band and as featured and ensemble dancers. Tickets for Friday and Saturday nights, 22-23 November, are available from Ticketek.

EMAILING THE SCHOOL - Please use ONLY the nbscmgirls-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au email address for correspondence. DEDICATED SMS NUMBER—Please text 0427 459 133 before 9am to advise late or absent students

Freshwater Community Bank is the proud Community Sponsor

of Mackellar Girls Campus Manly Vale

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World Vision and Fiver For A Farmer Mackellar girls are extremely community minded and often display their humanity in giving generously to charities. Each year, World Vision is one of the charities that the girls embrace. This year, Mackellar Girls has raised $11 100 for World Vision,. This donation will certainly facilitate many worthwhile projects in villages and communities to assist people fight hunger. We had Jack Berne from the 'Fiver for a Farmer' campaign address the school about the serious plight that our farmers face due to the prolonged drought. Jack is a wonderful young, local primary school student who initiated this charity and is inspirational. Our girls generously donated over $1 700 to the farmers. Early Leave for Students Important learning for students in the classroom continues until the end of the school year, as students continue towards finishing the year’s teaching curriculum. The year’s syllabuses are not finished when yearly examinations are held; they must be completed after the examinations. It, therefore, is important that parents organise their family holidays in holiday time, not school time. If students are taken out of school early, as some parents have expected, for family holidays it greatly disrupts students’ learning. I am not able to approve lengthy leave of absence for early holidaymakers. School Fees All outstanding school fees should be paid by the end of the school year. A number of students urgently need to get things up-to-date in their elective subjects – these fees cover the cost of the materials that students have used this year. Parents and students should be aware that most elective subjects carry additional fees. They may only be chosen to be studied by students if the associated fees are paid, unless discussed with the Principal. Congratulations for high achievement to: Jasmine, Amber and Kelly (Y12) for their nominations for Shape, the exhibition of the best HSC

Design and Technology Major Projects Charlie and Rebekah (Y12) for their nominations for ARTEXPRESS, the exhibition of the best HSC

Visual Arts Major Works Ruby (Y8) for her selection in the Australian U14 Futsal team Mia (Y10) for her selection into the Australian Aerial Skiing Squad Mali (Y9) for her 1st places in 3 events at the NSW All Schools Athletics Championships and the Australian

record in the U16 200m Mackellar Girls for being awarded the Convenor’s Cup for being the Champion School and Champion

Girls School at the NSW CHS Athletics Championships Mali (Y9) for being awarded Outstanding Performance by a Girl Athlete with Disability at the NSW

CHS Athletics Championships Alexandra (Y11) for her selection for the National Schools Constitutional Convention in Canberra in

2020 the Open Futsal team for their 3rd place in the Australian Champion of Champions Championship Jade (Y11) for her qualifying for the Trampoline and Tumbling World Age Group Championships Bella (Y8) for her selection in the Indoor Netball NSW State Team Stefanie (Y9) and Jessie (Y10) for their Sydney North Regional Blue Award Emily (Y10) for her selection in the Regional Water polo team the Mackellar Water Polo team for reaching the NSW CHS Finals Leela (Y7) for her selection in the Sydney Northern Beaches Interbranch Surf Lifesaving team Emma (Y10), Erin (Y7)and Mimi (Y8) for their competing in the Cheerleading Nationals Competition

Christine Del Gallo, Principal

P&C NEWS - Dear Parents and Carers, The P&C Annual General Meeting is on Wednesday the 4th December at 7.30pm. It will be held in the Staff common room in A Block, just through the main entry in the administration block. Everyone is welcome to join us. For any enquiries, please contact Sally Gee pandcmackellar@yahoo.com Cristina Anderson - P&C Regional Representative

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W@M Report For the Prefects, Term 4 not only marked the beginning of the HSC course, but a plethora of leadership opportunities, events to organise, and community activities in which to participate. In week 2, we attended a Northern Beaches Secondary College Leadership Day, where we worked with the other four campuses to brainstorm new initiatives that we hope to develop throughout our time as Prefects. The day was an invaluable experience and taught us the importance of communication, team-work and collaboration in leadership. In Week 5, Bianca, Sarah, Keely and Bella attended the James Griffin MP School Leadership Afternoon Tea at NSW Parliament House where they spoke to Mr Griffin about his role in Parliament and expanded their knowledge of the importance of leadership both at school and beyond. This experience, coupled with leadership evenings with Prefect teams from other schools, has strengthened our understanding of leadership, problem-solving, commitment and hard work in achieving our goals as a Prefect body. The Prefects are currently busy organising Multicultural Day, an annual Mackellar event that brings the school community together to celebrate culture and diversity. It is a day filled with fun, food and performance and encourages us to expand our knowledge of different cultures. Jojo and Tara have also been working with the council to refine plans to bring compost bins to Mackellar - an initiative we feel very strongly about and are excited to work on. We are lucky enough to further our involvement with the council through our participation in the “Northern Beaches says NO to Domestic Violence” walk in Week 6. This issue is very important to the Prefects and we feel it is pertinent to raise awareness of domestic and family violence within the local area. We look forward to walking with the SRC and Zonta girls, as well as the rest of the community, in supporting this important cause. Another charity the Prefect team are getting involved in this term is the Water Safety Vietnam charity that aims to help people in Vietnam learn to swim. We encourage students to donate any swimmers or swimming gear to the tubs in A Block. The Prefects were humbled to join the community to pay our respects to our fallen soldiers on Remembrance Day. On Saturday the 3rd of November Bella delivered a Remembrance Day address to the Balgowlah Seaforth Clontarf RSL Sub Branch and Charli, Tara, Saphron, Lilli and Bella attended the Remembrance Day Service in Manly. We also congratulate Alex on her selection for the National Constitution Convention, Piper for her interview at the Young Leaders of 2020 exhibition, Bianca for her achievements at Teen Connect Public Speaking and Bella for her participation in the UN Youth Young Leaders Summit. The Prefect Body is looking forward to the term ahead and we are excited to continue to give back to the school and the community.

SRC NEWS: Dear Parents and Carers,

The SRC will be holding a clothing collection drive through weeks 7 and 8 of this term. The clothes will be collected and donated to Sustainable Students, a clothing collection campaign run by the company SCRgroup.

“Sustainable Students is a fun, simple and educational fundraising program. This program supports Australian pre-schools, schools and clubs to raise thousands of dollars each year while diverting reusable items from landfill and providing global communities with affordable clothing and employment.“

The items will be collected during the girls’ DEAR classes on Tuesday 26th November and Tuesday 3rd December. We will also have collection points set up in A Block and at the library, for those clothes that were unable to be collected during DEAR sessions. We ask that you bag up the items, and label them with your daughter’s DEAR group. The DEAR class from each year that contributes the most will receive a reward.

What can be collected? All clean, wearable children’s and adult’s clothing, shoes, hats, handbags, belts, accessories, toys, towels, sheets, pillowcases and doona covers. What can’t be collected? Wet, dirty, torn items, doonas, pillows, books, DVDs, CDs and household items. What happens to the clothes? Clothing collected is sorted for reuse and recycling. They are distributed in Australia and globally to maximise their reuse and recycling potential, providing employment, affordable clothing and improving livelihoods in developing countries.

Thank you in advance for your donations.

The SRC

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 Dear Parents/Caregivers, On Monday 2nd of December 2019, Mackellar Girls Campus’s annual Multicultural Day will be held. Multicultural Day is aimed at bringing together our extensive community and recognising the diverse range of cultures we have at Mackellar. Participation in the day brings the school community closer and heightens student awareness and acceptance of the different cultural groups that surround them. The day will consist of students from different cultural backgrounds and those interested in those backgrounds, hosting different stalls showcasing traditional foods from the culture they represent, as well as performances and a traditional costume display. Students will be able to participate on the day by purchasing food and drinks from stalls and taking part in traditional cultural practices. Students will be able to buy tokens for the purchase of food and drinks. Tokens are valued at $1, $2, and $5 and will be available for purchase from the front office from the 25th of November. Tokens will also be available for purchase on the day at the front office. These tokens are not refundable and lost tokens will not be replaced. Normal classes will be held during periods 1a, 1b and 2a. Thank you for your support of this valuable event. Regards, Ms C Del Gallo Principal NBSC Mackellar Girls Campus The Mackellar Prefects 2019-2020

MUSIC NEWS - Thank you to the VOCAL ENSEMBLE and BIG BAND for fabulous performances at Mona Vale Market Day, Village Park Mona Vale on Sunday 3rd November. The girls are to be congratulated on their professional performance under interesting weather conditions and for adding a wonderful atmosphere. Congratulations to the Big Band for their amazing performance at Big Band Boom at Pittwater RSL on Sunday 10th November. The afternoon gig was in a relaxed setting, performing for parents and other musicians from the Northern Beaches. 13 Big Bands performed from both school and community groups. Gigs - Please mark Calendars

Vanessa Patterson, Band Director

Tuesday 19th November Volunteers Night Stage Band, Jazz Im-prov.

Arrive at 5:45pm Finish 7:30pm

Friday 29th November 29th CAPA Assembly Big Band, Mackellar Singers plus smaller ensembles

Morning

Tuesday 3rd December Orientation Day Concert Band Morning

Wednesday 4th December Zonta Breakfast Long Reef Golf Club

Mackellar Singers 7am

Wednesday 9th December Multicultural Day Stage Band, Big Band During Day

Thursday 12th December Year 10 Assembly Big Band 9:30am

Friday 13th December Presentation Day PB, Orch., VE (Including Year 10 students)

10am performance

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LIBRARY UPDATE - We hope everyone is having a great Term 4 – we are half way through! Over the past few weeks, exam period came rushing upon us. The Library was a bustling hub during this time. It was great to see the girls engaging in their studies; quizzing each other or reading through their notes. The exam period may have finished, but there is still important learning to be done. Our Biggest Borrower competition is in full swing. There has been rush of Year 7 and 8 students borrowing books, particularly from our Manga and Fiction range. We cannot wait to tally the results and reward these avid readers. There is still plenty of time for students to get involved! The Library has recently added some new toys! Our collection is now home to 5 BBC Micro Bits and Grove Inventor kits. Micro Bits are pocket-sized programmable computers used to introduce coding skills to students. They have LED lights, motion sensors, buttons and can be hooked up to a range of different technology to play songs, power cameras and play games. The Grove Inventor kits have a range of parts to connect to and further Micro Bit capabilities. We are both very excited to begin Coding classes, open to all students, to help develop and extend 21st Century skills for our students.

Ms Reed and Ms Langford

LANGUAGES: Le Toussaint The Year 11 French Continuers got into the spirit of la Toussaint (Halloween). Upon entering the lesson they found themselves in the midst of a crime scene and each had a role of investigator, Chief of Police, innocent witness, murderer and Police Officer. By asking questions and communicating en français, the students each had to come to a conclusion. Who did it? Qui était le/la coupable?

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UNIFORM SHOP NEWS - Please remind any Year 7 2020 students that you may know to come in and purchase their uniforms early as queues will be very long a er Christmas. Please see website for opening  mes.  

We s ll require help on the following days/ mes:   Monday 25 November 9.00—11.30 and 1.15—2.15pm Wednesday 27 November 12.00—2.00pm Tuesday 3 December 7.30am onwards Please email if you can help out on any of the days above.

You can order your uniforms online through Mackellar Shopify. Go to the school website and follow link to order online. Create an account with Shopify and start your order. Your order will be ready for collection from the uniform shop on a Monday or Wednesday.

Leigh McPherson — Uniform Shop Coordinator Email: uniformshop@mackellarpandc.com

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