Newsletter 12 MAY 2017 Term 2, Week 9 Meeting the educational needs of girls P&C Meeting - Wednesday 7 JUNE at 7.30 pm

EMAILING THE SCHOOL - [email protected] TEXTING THE SCHOOL - Dedicated SMS NUMBER for absences & late arrivals only - 0427 459 133

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE -

Dear Parents, Staff and Students

Term 2 School Development Day On the first day of this term, staff engaged in professional development activities to continue the constant improvement of curriculum delivery and care of our students. The day focused on preparing teaching programs and resources for new syllabuses in Years 7-10 and the new HSC courses.

Anzac Day Dawn Service Our school was represented at a wonderful Dawn Service organised by The Manly Warringah Remembrance Trust at Manly Dam where a wreath was laid on behalf of the Mackellar community. I commend this very special service to all families to attend next year as a truly wonderful experience. Our students also did outstanding jobs and played a major part in the Anzac Day ceremony at Manly Corso. Our students carried out their roles with confidence, respect and solemnity, and brought great credit to themselves and our school.

The Zonta Club of the donated a collection of books to be laid as a living wreath during our Anzac Day Service at school. We are greatly appreciative of this.

NAPLAN The national testing of literacy and numeracy of all students in Years 7 and 9 occurred this week. These tests measure each student’s skills and knowledge in these fundamental areas of learning, and enable schools and parents to focus on the areas that are being achieved above the benchmarks and areas where students may need extra direction and learning.

NAPLAN assesses skills that are developed over time through the school curriculum. NAPLAN is not a pass or fail type test, but rather shows how individual students are progressing in numeracy and literacy skills against national standards for all Australian children.

Teachers highly value the diagnostic information on individual students that NAPLAN provides to schools. This is quite different to the incomplete and often misleading information that will appear later in the year on the MySchool website.

Students in Year 9 this year (Year 12 in 2020) are the first group to be affected by new regulations for the HSC. All students who achieve Band 8 or above in their Year 9 NAPLAN reading, writing and numeracy tests will be considered to have demonstrated a high enough standard of functional literacy and numeracy to achieve the Higher School Certificate in 2020. Those who do not achieve this level will sit further tests during Years 10 – 12.

School Musical June is our annual school musical time. ‘Rent’ starts its run on 21st June. There are four evening performances on Tuesday 20, Wednesday 21, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 at 7.00pm in the Performance Space. The cast, backstage crew, technicians, musicians, producers and directors are all putting enormous time and talent into making this our best. I encourage you to bring your family along and have a great night. Tickets will go on sale in Week 5.

Winter Uniform Students have now moved into winter uniform for Terms 2 and 3. If you are unsure as to the requirements, the

Director General’s Award for Turning Potential into Performance Freshwater Community Bank is Director General’s Award for Excellence in Girls Education the proud Community Sponsor Director General’s Award for Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education of Mackellar Girls Campus Director General’s Award for Excellence in Aboriginal Programs Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Pacific Islander Programs

uniform is listed in the student’s diary. Each girl must wear full school uniform every day.

Our uniform is one way we indicate to the community the pride girls have in being a Mackellar Girl. And rightly or wrongly, the community judges how good a school we are, in part, by the way our uniform is worn by our students. It is important, therefore, that students present themselves neatly, wearing a uniform that is uniform. Part of that uniformity is the length of the skirts. Skirts that are short are not part of our uniform. All skirts must extend down to the top of the knee, with hems sewn. The lengths of the skirts at purchase are the right length – they are not to be taken up or rolled up at the top. Makeup and jewellery are not part of our uniform.

Subject selections for Year 10 In Weeks 5 and 6 Year 10 girls will be selecting their subjects that they will study in Years 11 and 12 at Mackellar. These decisions are important ones to lay the foundation for senior study and further education beyond. It is of the utmost importance that students make informed and wise subject selections – to select subjects that they will enjoy, be engaged with, are matched to their ability and interests, keep their options open for the future and are beneficial to each student’s career path. I ask parents to have an active interest in assisting your daughters to seek and take advice from the school, and make these important subject selection decisions. Mackellar girls are extremely fortunate to have such an extensive subject choice available to them, teachers of enormous expertise in their subjects and HSC marking experience and senior staff dedicated to providing expert guidance in the best study patterns for different career paths.

Congratulations for high achievement to:

 Charlotte (Y9) for her National Swimming Age Championship results – 15 yrs 2nd100m Backstroke, 4th 100m and 200m Backstroke, 3rd 200m Individual Medley, 10th 50m Freestyle11th 100m Freestyle, 13th 100m Butterfly  Rowena (Y11) for her 2nd in the 4 x 400m relay at the Australian Athletics Championships and qualifying in two other events, and her selection for the Australian Athletics team for the Oceania Games  Karolina (Y12) and Gabrielle (Y10) for their 6th in the Australian Open Floorball Championships  Mya (Y10) for her selection in the NSW All Schools Softball team  Sienna (Y10) for her selection in the NSW Water Polo Squad  Talia (Y10) and Mia (Y8) for their selection in the NSW CHS Diving team  Khiiahla (Y8) for her selection in the NSW CHS Touch team  The NSW All Schools Swimming Championship qualifiers – Nadine (Y12), Claudia (Y10), Charlotte, Sarah (Y9), Alex (Y8) Piper, Emily (Y7)  Darcey and Sophie (Y10) for their selection in the NSW Gymnastics team - Sophie’s results; 3rd overall, 2nd in floor, 3rd in bars and vault, 4th in beam  Petra (Y7) for her selection in the NSW Rhythmic Gymnastics team - Results: 1st in overall group exercise, ball and rope and individual event, and 2nd in hoop and freehand  Jade (Y9) and Samara (Y11) for their selection in the NSW Trampoline Gymnastics team  Georgia (Y8) for her 1st in NSW Gymnastics and Trampolining U15 Tumbling  Susan (Y12) for her competing in the Australian, NSW Secondary Schools and CHS Sailing Championship  CHS Swimming results: relays - 15yr 1st, All Age 2nd, 13yrs, 16yrs, Medley 4th, 14yrs 7th, Nadine (Y12) 4th in 100m Breaststroke, Claudia (Y10) 8th in 16yrs Breaststroke, Mali (Y7) top 10 in the Multi-Disability Breaststroke, Backstroke and Freestyle  Katelyn (Y12) for her selection into the Regional Basketball team  Kailey (Y10) for her selection in the Regional Soccer team  Sascha (Y10) for her selection in the Regional Touch Football Team  Lily (Y8) for her 1st in the Regional Junior Surfing  The U15 Netball CHS knockout team for reaching the State Finals  The Yrs 7 & 8 Netball team who won their division at the NSW Netball School Cup  9/10 Touch team who have reached the State finals  CHS Knockout Touch team who reached the Regional semi-finals  Emily (Y12) for her being Youth Speaker at the Manly Anzac Day Commemoration  2017 SRC: Laura , Madeline , Andie and Abbie (Y11), Leilahni, Jamaica, Alexandra and Sascha (Y10), Charlotte, Keely, Chloe, Ella and Emily (Y9), Tenzin, Alyssar , Annette and Ella (Y8), Rachel , Charlotte , Camille , Taylah and Arabella (Y7)  The students selected for the Year 7 Gifted & Talented Project Showcase: Erin, Elana, Holly, Rosie, Anna, Mia, Eva, Taylah, Rosita, Olivia, Yindi, Poppy, Kendra, Elinor and Charlotte

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 Piper (Y10) for her student exchange to Italy  Chloe (Y8) for competing in an international dance competition in USA  Rachel (Y7) for her 1st place in the NSW Cecchetti Ballet Medal Junior Section and 2nd at Nationals  Tallulah (Y7) for qualifying for the National Little League Baseball Championships  Alicia (Y9) for her invitation to attend the AIS for gymnastics

Christine Del Gallo, Principal

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Notification for Parents and Carers

From 2015, all Government and non-Government schools across have been required to participate annually in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD).

All Australian schools will collect data on their students who are receiving adjustments to meet additional learning and support needs in accordance with their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Disability Standards for Education 2005. This data will be provided to the Australian Government to assist in the development of a consistent, national picture of the education needs of students with disability.

The data provided to the Australian Government by the NSW Department of Education and Communities is provided in such a way that it cannot be used to identify any individual student or school.

General information about the national data collection can be found on the Australian Government Department of Education and Training website at http://education.gov.au/fact-sheets-nationally-consistent-collection-data-school- students-disability.

Privacy Protection

The NSW Department of Education and Communities follows the requirements of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002. Schools will collect, record, store and use data about individual students in line with these requirements. Data security and protection is a priority and students’ personal details will be kept confidential.

Under Clause 52 of the Commonwealth Australian Education Regulation 2013, data collected by the NSW Department of Education and Communities for the NCCD must be provided to the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. This includes the number of students at each level of education, the number in each category of disability and the number at each level of adjustment. The information is provided to the Commonwealth as a series of number sets that cannot be used to identify any individual student or school.

The Australian Government Department of Education and Training follows the requirements of the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 when handling any data provided by NSW Department of Education and Communities in connection with the national data collection. A privacy notice has been developed to by the Australian Government to provide students, parents and carers with important privacy information in relation to the data collection. This notice is available on the department’s website at http://education.gov.au/notices

If you have any questions about the data collection please do not hesitate to contact Kate Farrell, Learning and Support Teacher at the school on 9949 2083

C Del Gallo Principal 10th May 2017

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Term 2 W@M Report 2017

YEAR 7 - It is lovely to see our Year 7 students refreshed and excited for another term. To help with the work demanded of them at school please encourage your daughter to make use of her school diary. This will assist her to be organised with upcoming assessment tasks and activities. In W@M lessons (an acronym for Wellbeing @ Mackellar) topic areas discussed include the ‘Bucket Philosophy’, Neuroscience and PERMA. The foundation of the positive psychology centres on Martin Seligman’s work and aims for a thriving and flourishing well-being. Skills learnt include:

- self-awareness: recognise and manage emotions - social awareness: develop care and concern for others - responsible decision making: understanding and applying decision making skills - self-management: handle challenging situations effectively; take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing - relationship skills: establish positive and respectful relationships and build trusting adult relationships.

Congratulations to the following students on achieving the VALUE OF THE MONTH EXCELLENCE: Rachel, London, Camille, Hayley, Koby, Chloe , Zoe and Urja.

A reminder to the girls, if they have any queries or issues they need to discuss, see their Year Advisers.

Ms Biswell & Ms Joldzic, Year 7 Advisers

YEAR 8 - This term Year 8 will be attending an event as a year group called 'Stand Tall'. This event is designed for high school students in years 8-12 and inspires them to make positive choices in their time at secondary school. Three key things that we hope the girls will take away from this day and bring back to the school community are:

- Self-belief and hope that they can enjoy a successful future - The power of resilience and how not to let the past dictate the future - How to take a stand against bullying and other dangerous behaviours and become leaders

Year 8 also recently participated in their Language Day at school. This was a very productive and beneficial day complementing their language electives. We are looking forward to another successful Term for Year 8.

Miss Hawes & Miss Coles, Year 8 Advisers

YEAR 9 - A warm welcome back to Year 9! This term is set to be a busy term for the girls. They will be participating in a range of in-school and extracurricular activities, including the School Cross Country Carnival, the Mackellar Music Camp, the Duke of Edinburgh Award program and examinations for History and Geography.

Year 9 sat their NAPLAN Literacy and Numeracy tests this week.

In Weeks 4 and 6, Year 9 students will be attending Sleep Workshops designed to ensure that students are well- rested and maximising their potential at school.

Finally, it is wonderful to see that so many Year 9 girls have begun the term in immaculate winter school uniform. As the days grow cooler, girls may wear navy stockings and either navy, white or red scarves.

Miss Robertson & Mrs Peachey, Year 9 Advisers

YEAR 10 - The term has already been a busy one for Year 10s. Some of our girls are involved in the Project Penguin mentorship project with local primary schools and another group of girls is participating in the Girls in Property Week in Week 5. It is important for you to check with your daughter to ensure they are managing their studies and have established a regular study routine to minimise panic and stress.

We have already begun the process of subject selection for Year 11, 2018. We encourage you to discuss this with your daughter and encourage them to discuss it with their teachers so the subjects chosen are appropriate for their career choice. A parent information session will be held on Tuesday 30th May (Week 5) at 7pm in the Hall with the selection form being issued on the night. The subject selection form must be submitted to the Deputy Principal on 1st June.

As the weather is getting colder, we would like to remind the girls that correct winter school uniform must be worn. Hooded jumpers are not part of the school uniform and therefore should not be worn to school.

Miss Reeves & Ms Leung, Year 10 Advisers

YEAR 11 - Year 11 have had a fantastic start to Term 2 and have settled into their roles as senior students in an exemplary manner. Year 11 Half Yearly examinations are in Week 5 and it is vital that students take an organised

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approach to their study to ensure that they achieve to the best of their ability. We would like to encourage Year 11 to take advantage of the meditation sessions which are offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays in E1 to help them to cope with the added stress of upcoming exams - meditation has been proven to reduce stress and improve sleep and thus is a very beneficial practice for students. Students are also encouraged to visit the portable classrooms and the seminar rooms in the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays to utilise the expertise of the teachers who are there to assist senior students.

Good luck in your exams Year 11. Maturity, diligence, resilience and a positive attitude will help you to achieve to the best of your ability.

Ms Griffin & Ms Maxwell, Year 11 Advisers

YEAR 12 - Year 12 have been busy with their Half-Yearly Examinations as well as processing results and feedback. It is a good time for reflection on where students have done well and areas for improvement. Workload tends to increase during Terms 2 and 3 and making a study timetable is essential to facilitate good organisation. Physical activity is an important part of good health, as is good nutrition and time for relaxation, so these elements should be included in the study timetable.

Year 12 has continued to enjoy the skills learned in their W@M (Well Being at Mackellar) sessions. DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) is also available as a choice in this time and Ms Erskine (Careers Advisor) is available in the Library as well, ready to answer questions about University courses and future careers.

Yearbook and Formal organisation are in full swing!!

Ms Reed & Ms Saunders, Year 12 Advisers

HOSPITALITY NEWS -

On Friday May 5th our Year 12 Hospitality Specialisation students visited the Novotel Manly Pacific. We were warmly greeted by the friendly Talent and Culture Coordinator, Christelle, who told us about the scope of her duties within the hotel and also about her career path.

The General Manager, James, also welcomed us and spoke to the girls about the many wonderful opportunities available in the Hospitality Industry and how through his work in the industry he has met a huge range of interesting people, such as Barrack Obama, Elton John and many other celebrities.

The very experienced Food and Beverage Manager gave us a fantastic overview of his career path and then explained the key points about customer service. He discussed the many facets of serving food and beverages and using Hospitality skills effectively.

Finally, we toured the Front Office and Housekeeping Departments where we gained an insight into the diverse range and large number of customers who visit the hotel.

Overall, the girls thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the Novotel Sydney Manly Pacific and the knowledge they have gained will put them in good stead for their upcoming final Hospitality Industry Work Placement this term.

Donna Halford, Hospitality Teacher

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JAPAN CULTURAL STUDY TOUR 2017

During the last April school holidays, nine lucky students from Mackellar Girls Campus had the experience of their lifetime in Japan. Over ten days these students toured the cities of Tokyo, Nagano, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji and Hiroshima to see first-hand what life is like in the Land of the Rising Sun.

To get a real taste of Japanese home life, students took part in the homestay program in Nagano. For two nights, students got to experience authentic Japanese home cooking, enjoy Japanese television shows and appreciate Japanese hospitality. Such an experience allowed students to gain a better understanding of Japanese traditions and culture, as well as develop their language skills.

Other exciting activities included travel on the bullet train, visits to World Heritage Listed temples and castles such as Kinkakuji and Himejijo, a day trip to Tokyo Disneyland, a visit to Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park and a tour of Hiroshima Peace Museum, just to name a few.

Throughout the whole tour, the students acted as great ambassadors. Their maturity, open-mindedness and willingness to enjoy the adventure are what helps to make a more tolerant world.

Special thanks to Ms De Angelis for volunteering her holiday time to help make this a successful tour. Also, thanks to parents, Ms Del Gallo and other staff members for their support.

Ms Kaz Hayasaka, Teacher of Japanese

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Japan in April this year. The experiences we had were one of a kind and will stay with us forever. From making our own soba noodles from scratch to buying hot drinks out of a vending machine, Japan provided us with new knowledge and memories we will never forget.

Throughout the course of the trip we were able to apply the language skills we had learnt in the classroom to the real world, conversing with as many people as we could in Japanese. We were able to see things we had learnt all about at school in real life and take our understanding to a new level. We were immersed in the Japanese culture in every aspect and we loved every second of it; we cannot thank our teachers and everyone involved enough for allowing us to have this amazing opportunity and we cannot wait to go back in the future.

Jacqueline, Year 9

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What’s been happening in the Z club at Mackellar?

We have had an exciting start this term. The Z club members with the assistance of the Year 11 cohort organised a very successful Birthing Kit Assembly day on Thursday 4th May with students taking less than two hours to assemble 2000 Birthing Kits. The students raised over $1600 before the Birthing Kit Assembly day by coordinating a cake stall to help support The Birthing Kit Foundation.

This is the sixth year that Mackellar girls have been involved in packing Birthing Kits. Last year the Birthing Kits assembled at Mackellar were sent to the Congo. In previous year’s these kits have been sent to countries in remote regions of Papua New Guinea, India and Pakistan.

The idea of the Birthing Kit originated with Dr Joy O’Hazy, a member of the Zonta Club of the Adelaide Hills. In 1995 at the 5th World Health Conference in Beijing, Joy heard Sally Field, the actor, speak on how these small kits that cost less than a dollar can save a life. In 1999 the Australian ZONTA club turned an idea into a reality by organising the first assembly day, making the first 100 kits which were sent to PNG. Mackellar Girls is the only Z club in Australia that fundraise and assemble these Birthing Kits with the assistance of the Northern Beaches ZONTA club.

On the Birthing Kit Assembly Day Dr Lorna Scott, a local GP, spoke to students about the challenge of young girls and women giving birth in underdeveloped countries. Dr Scott indicated each day “almost 800 mothers die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth. One third of total global deaths are in two countries; India (50,000 per annum) and Nigeria (40,000 per annum). This means that on average, 1 woman in 27 dies from pregnancy- related causes; 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Almost all of these deaths occurred in low-resource settings, and most could have been prevented. For every woman who dies in childbirth, another 30 women incur injuries and infections – many of which are often painful, disabling, embarrassing and lifelong”.

So what’s in a kit? - The birthing kit addresses the 7 cleans needed for a safe delivery. The kits are basic with 6 items - a plastic sheet, soap, 2 gloves, 1 sterile scalpel blade, 3 cords and 5 gauze squares. These items are assembled into a small bag at an Assembly Day.

A special thank you to … Dr Lorna Scott who gave an informative presentation which was well received by the students, the Northern Beaches ZONTA club women who volunteered their time to make this happen, Ms Del Gallo for her wonderful support and OVER THE MOO!, a company in Newtown who donated kilos of dairy free, lactose free and vegan ice cream as part of our fundraiser. Try it! ... the ice-cream is incredibly delicious!

ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME TO JOIN OUR Z CLUB. Please see Ms Biswell in TAS.

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SPORTS NEWS -

2017 Regional Swimming Carnival - Once again our Mackellar Girls caused a big splash in the pool at the Sydney North Swimming Carnival this year. Mackellar was represented in every relay event, as well as the mixed relay where our 6 fastest swimmers competed with the 6 fastest swimmers from Balgowlah Boys and placed 2nd in the Region.

Our 12 years and 17 years teams were pipped at the post and narrowly missed a place on the podium! Our 13 years, 14 years, 16 years and Medley relay teams narrowly missed the Gold, however Silver and Bronze were still amazing achievements.

Our 15 years relay team once again showed the Region that Mackellar Girls is the best and not only won Gold but broke a record that was made in 2011!

Congratulations to all our swimmers, particularly Charlotte from Year 9 who won all her individual events qualifying in 12 events at the CHS carnival. Also a special mention of Mali in Year 7 who also came 1st in 3 of her events in the Multi-Disability races. Mali will represent Mackellar in the Para-Athletes events at CHS.

A special mention of thanks to Ms Brettell, Ms Ward and the amazing swimming parents who accompanied the team to Homebush.

We had 24 girls attending the State Combined High Schools Carnival in April.

Ms S Waterhouse, PDHPE Teacher

2017 CHS Swimming Report - “Mackellar Girls can do anything” and this was proven at this year’s CHS Carnival.

- Our 13 Years relay missed out on a place in the final by 100th of a second! - Our 14 Years team placed 7th in the final! - Our 15 Years WON GOLD!!!!! - the fastest 15 year old team from all state schools in NSW! - Our 16 Years relay team came 4th – missing a bronze medal by 2 milliseconds!!!!! - Our Medley Relay narrowly missed a spot on the podium. - Our all age relay team won SILVER!!!!!

Claudia in Year 10 and Nadine in Year 12 produced some of their best swims in the 100m Breaststroke, both making the finals. Nadine placed 4th in the 17’s and Claudia 8th in the 16’s.

Charlotte made the tough decision to pull out of her individual events on day 2 as she was unwell. However, she pulled out of them to give her enough energy to swim with her 3 relay teams that day! This is why Charlotte is so well respected by her Peers and should be commended on putting her team first. Charlotte swam on day 3 and had 3 podium finishes—Gold in the 200IM and Bronze in the 400IM and 100m Backstroke.

Mali in Year 7 represented Mackellar in the Multi-Disability events in Breaststroke, Backstroke and Freestyle. Mali placed in the top 10 in the State for all 3 of her events. An amazing achievement!

Olivia and Emily of Year 7 both swam in individual events and made us proud.

Progressing to the ALL SCHOOLS Swimming Carnival will be our 15 Years relay team, our all age relay team and a 15/16’s medley relay.

Stay tuned for the final instalment of our progress in School Swimming after May 12th!

Thank you to all the amazing parents for supporting these girls and our school team!

Gymnastics - Congratulations to Georgia in Year 8 who competed at the NSW State Gymnastics and Trampolining competition in April and came 1st in the state for tumbling in the under 15 division. She will now go on to compete at Nationals at the end of May. A fantastic achievement Georgia.

Touch Football - Mackellar has made a great start to the year in touch football. Our Opens Knockout team made it through to the Sydney North Regional Finals which was played at Bill Sohier Park, Ourimbah on 27 April. The girls played really well throughout their round games and progressed to the semi-finals. In our semi-final match we played a tough opposition in Freshwater Senior High School.

Freshwater, boasting quite a few of Mackellar’s ex-stars got a real shock from Mackellar’s youthful team. The score was 2-1 for most of the game (to Freshwater) with Mackellar displaying phenomenal defence until Freshwater crossed for two late tries to leave it at 4-1. Freshwater went on to win the event. A special mention to the Year 7 and 8 players who stepped up throughout the Knockout Tournament!

On Tuesday 2 May our Year 9/10 team competed in the Manly Regional Gala Day. The girls played well all day and made the grand final against Sports High School. The game was all tied up at full time and went

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into a ‘drop off’. The drop off was very intense and it went down to four players on four, with the girls putting their bodies on the line for the win. Unfortunately, we came off second best. However, due to Narrabeen being a specialist sporting high school, Mackellar still progressed to the State Finals!

Knock Out Volleyball - Congratulations to the Knock Out Volleyball team who made it through to Round 4 of the Sydney North Knock Out competition. The team did so well to get this far but unfortunately lost to Concord in their last game. It was an impressive season and we look forward to next year!

School Cross Country Carnival - The Cross Country Carnival held on Passmore and Nolans Reserves on Wednesday the 3rd May was unfortunately a little stormy. The results were impressive as usual with the following girls gaining age champion: 12 years – Zara; 13 years – Kahli; 14 years – Alice; 15 years – Piper; 16 years – Teagan; 17 years – Alyssa and 18 years – Madison .

The Zone Carnival is coming up on Thursday 25 May with the top 10 competitors from each age group competing. A heads up for the Zone Athletics Carnival on Friday 2 June. All notes should be handed in next week for these two carnivals.

Elite Performer Program Congratulations -

Charlotte in Year 9 competed at Nationals for swimming during the holidays. These are her amazing results: 2nd 100m Backstroke; 3rd 200IM; 4th 100m and 200m Breaststroke; 10th 50m Freestyle; 11th 100m Freestyle; 13th 100m Butterfly

Sophie in Year 10 competed at the State Gymnastics Championships during the holidays. She placed 3rd overall and came 2nd in floor, 3rd in vault, 3rd in bars and 4th in beam. She has now qualified for Nationals.

Kailey in Year 10 made the Sydney North Soccer Team and will be competing in the CHS Girls State Soccer Championships this term from 6-8 June.

Kiiahla in Year 8 and Sascha in Year 10 made the Sydney North U15s Touch Football Team and competed in the CHS State Touch Competition in Mudgee. Their team came away with the Gold Medal. Kiiahla made the NSW CHS Team.

Sienna in Year 10 is attending a USA/Canada CHS Tour during the July school holidays for Waterpolo.

Alicia in Year 9 has been invited to attend the AIS for a Gymnastics training camp later on in the term.

Wednesday Sport - Year 9 and 10 are taking part in a range of activities for Wednesday Sport this session including Yoga, Pilates, Rock Climbing, Fitness and Self Defence. Grade Sport kicks off next week against

Willoughby Girls High School. We wish all the teams the very best of luck in the North Shore Zone competition.

Rhonda Williams, Head Teacher PDHPE

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MUSIC NEWS -

MUSIC CAMP 2017 - 107 students attended the annual Mackellar Girls Music Camp at Narrabeen Sport and Recreation Centre at the start of Term 2. Students in all bands, the Orchestra and the Vocal Ensemble worked hard at their musical development and on repertoire for both upcoming eisteddfods and the end of camp concert for parents. The Camp Item, where all students sang together “Dreamer” by Supertramp was a real highlight and an activity where all students came together to make great music. Thank you to all music staff for their assistance in making this camp a success and to non-music staff Ms Biswell and Ms Macdonald for giving up their time to help supervise at night.

SYDNEY EISTEDDFOD - The Performance Band, Concert Band and Orchestra are performing in the Sydney Eisteddfod. All performances are at The Concourse Chatswood and detailed notes will be sent home to students and parents. Full attendance is necessary for a polished performance. As the events are outside school hours, students will be required to get to venue themselves.

PERFORMANCE BAND - SUNDAY 28th May 3:00pm - Entrant number 4 Event 295 Division A Secondary School Premium Concert Band (Highest section). Estimated arrival approximately 2:30pm at Chatswood Concourse.

CONCERT BAND - MONDAY 29th May 6pm - (Estimated start time for our division as the section is very large and starts earlier) - Entrant number 11, Event 296 (Division C) Secondary School Intermediate Concert Band.

ORCHESTRA - WEDNESDAY 31st from 7pm.

NORTHERN BEACHES INSTRUMENTAL FESTIVAL - The Concert Band, Performance Band and Stage Band are participating in the Norther Beaches Instrumental Festival. Events are organised in sessions where all performers are to stay for the duration of the session as the valued audience. Arrival no later than 15 minutes prior. Please mark diaries for these events.

Concert Band – Friday 16th June Session 1: 5:00pm – 6:35pm, High School Performance Band – Friday 16th June Session 2: 6:45pm – 8:20pm, Pittwater high School Stage Band - Sunday - 13th August, Harbord Primary School

OTHER DATES FOR YOUR DIARY - - Monday 5th June 7pm – Term 2 Music Night - All ensembles - Sunday 23rd July - NSW School Band Festival - Concert and Performance Bands.

Vanessa Patterson, Band Director

Dance News -

Congratulations to Hayley, Chloe, Imogen, Hanako and Alisha who were selected to be part of the Sydney North Senior Dance Ensemble. Ensemble rehearsals are well under way and students are working hard towards the upcoming Sydney North Dance Festival running from June 19th- June 30th at the end of Term 2.

The Mackellar Junior, Intermediate and Senior Contemporary ensembles have been accepted to perform at the Sydney North Dance Festival. The dates and times for the selected performances of these items will be advised in the next few weeks as well as ticket sale information.

The Mackellar Jazz Ensemble is preparing to perform at the Extreme Dance Competition on 3 June at Shore Grammar School as well as City of Sydney Eisteddfod at the Sydney Opera House. This will be a great experience for our Jazz Ensemble.

Years 7, 8 and 9 Elective Dance students will be attending an excursion to see Sydney Dance Company’s production of ‘Orb’. We are very excited to view the world premiere of ‘Ocho’ by Artistic director Rafael Bonachela and ‘Full Moon’ by Taiwanese choreographer Cheng Tsung-lung. Desiree De Bono, Dance Teacher

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UNITED NATIONS NSW YOUTH STATE CONFERENCE –

From the 17th – 19th March I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the UN Youth State Conference held at the Collaroy Centre. This year’s theme was ‘Multiculturalism in a World of Change’ which is a topic that has become especially prevalent in recent years, with a focus on the discussion of national identity, cultural cohesion, conflict, and personal beliefs. The conference consisted of roughly 200 other high school students from in years 9-12, with a diverse array of backgrounds and opinions, allowing for many insightful discussions.

The workshops consisted of group work, discussing various topics such as the true meaning of a ‘multicultural society’ and Indigenous representation within Parliament; issues that are not only faced by Australia, but the entire international platform. There was a speaker panel in which we were able to pose questions to a panel of lawyers, community leaders and NGO representatives, and receive thought-provoking answers (that generally led to more questions). On the Sunday, we travelled to Sydney University to commence our Committee debates and General Assembly debates. We had all been assigned a country and had to do prior research about foreign policies, allies, conflicts, demographics and trade, in order to be able to represent our countries as realistically as possible. Our resolution revolved around ‘The Question of the Middle Eastern Refugee Crisis’ in which we had to minimise the impact of the conflict on citizens, refugees and neighbouring countries. It was a very fast-paced debate and with much negotiation, we amended the resolution in order to assist in the protection and wellbeing of refugees. Aside from the seriousness of the workshops and assemblies, there were also a trivia night and disco which were great opportunities to form new friendships with other delegates.

Overall, the weekend conference was an insightful and mind-opening experience that has allowed me to learn about, and appreciate, the many varying opinions and experiences of other like-minded young people. I strongly encourage other Mackellar girls who are currently in years 8-11 to consider participating in next year’s conference.

For more information please visit: https://unyouth.org.au/programs/#local-programs

Alyssia, Year 12

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From the library

It has been a busy few weeks at the library. At the end of last term we bid a fond farewell to Mrs Beyer who has retired after 11 years at Mackellar. Under her leadership the library has developed into a busy and vibrant 21st century learning hub. She has created a warm and inviting environment that inspires learners to explore, collaborate and create.

We’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Alice Brennan to the library team as our new teacher librarian. Alice brings a wealth of experience to the role with her experience teaching research skills and her passion for reading. Her enthusiasm and dedication to the role will open up new opportunities for the students within the library.

Newspapers - Our newspapers have gone digital! Your daughters now have access to the Sydney Morning Herald, The Financial Review and The Age online while on campus. The search features and availability of back issues will make this a valuable research tool for our students.

The green screen - There was a great buzz in the library last week as the Year 8 Languages students utilised our brand new green screen. The students were excited to record their own music videos in their target language. The screen is proving popular and will be a great asset to a variety of projects across a number of faculties going forward.

Referencing - Referencing is an essential part of any research assignment whether your daughter’s in Year 7 or Year 12. EasyBib is an excellent online bibliography tool that is easy to use and it’s quick to set up a school account. Our user guide can help your daughter to produce a full and correct bibliography using APA 6th style referencing. The details and instructions can be found on the library website in the referencing tab.

Audio and Ebooks - We provide access to an exciting range of ebooks through ePlatform by Wheelers. We also have access to their audio book collection this term. To access these resources jump on the library website and click on ebooks or download the app. Your daughter will need her school internet login to access the collection.

Bec Reed & Alice Brennan, Teacher librarians

On any given night in Australia, 1 in 200 people are homeless, 44% are female, 27% are children under the age of 18. Family violence is the number one reason people present to homeless services with 55% of females citing this reason.

As an organisation, Share the Dignity oversees a number of initiatives that give back to Australian women and children in need, with a particular focus on victims of domestic violence. Our services range from collecting sanitary items for homeless women and those fleeing domestic violence, to funding the funerals of domestic violence victims.

The year 11 Community and Family Studies classes, are again asking our school community to help give dignity to those in need at a time they need it most by donating a pack of new pads and/or tampons at our collection point in the allocated box in A block. This initiative will be running throughout the month of May.

Thank you for your kind support of this important initiative.

Mrs Alecia De Angelis and Mrs Katie Verkerk, Yr 11 CAFS Teachers

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UNIFORM SHOP NEWS -

Please find below the volunteer roster for the remainder of MAY 2017 -

Monday 15 May Nathalie Richardson, Annie Gaal, Felicity McEvoy, Jenny Buck Wednesday 17 May Tenzin Cheogyal, Nathalie Richardson, Pam Roddick Monday 22 May Maxine Bronier, Anthea Hronopoulos, Annette Ryan, Nicola Bird Monday 29 May Nicola Mackee, Anthea Hronopoulos, Nathalie Richardson, Jenny Buck Wednesday 31 May Rochelle Iwakura, Tenzin Choegyal, Pam Roddick

The cold weather has arrived and we have in stock:

- girls scarves (red, white or navy) for $8.00 - half finger navy gloves for $6.00 - Mackellar Girls School Jumpers (wool or cotton) for $75.00 - navy 70 denier tights, small, average, tall, extra tall 3 for $25.00 - navy retractable umbrellas for $12.00 (normally $20) - winter check hair bows packet of two for $10.00

If you cannot make your rostered day please contact myself at school on 9949 2083 Mondays & Wednesdays, or email [email protected]. Thank you.

Leigh McPherson, Uniform Shop Manager, [email protected]

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CANTEEN ROSTER - Thank you to our volunteers who are able to provide such a valuable service to the school. The canteen is desperate for more help and if you have any spare time on the days where help is needed, please call the canteen on 9907 6751.

CANTEEN ROSTER - TERM 2, 2017 – NBSC Mackellar Girls Campus

WK MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 Michelle Thomas Julie Harvey Fiona Arneill Kadie Wegenaar Lorena Monforte 4 Catherine Sweeney Kirstie O’Donnell Suzanne Lemlin Kate McPhee Diana Russo James Sue Wratten May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 Tina Castle Emma Palmer Jinty Ainsworth Rody Handcock Anna McKay Ana Robinson Sue Milner Melissa Lovell Linda Rowley Gerri Gustafson

5 Carolyn Maras Sue Anne Davis

May 29 May 30 May 31 Jun 1 Jun 2 Sallie Warde Lisa Rourke Fiona Aarneill France Hines 6 Meredith Dickson Jenny McCredie Suzanne Lemlin

Jun 5 Jun 6 Jun 7 Jun 8 Jun 9 Deborah Murdoch Pam Roddick Annette Gaal Vicki Tarrant-Foder Tara De La Motte Caroline Jane Joana Mendes Harley Gush Mel Erskine Sandra Scriven

7 Kylie Anthony Michelle Jenkinson

Jun 12 Jun 13 Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun 16 Queen’s Birthday Annette Ryan Ali High Kadie Wegenaar Melanie Gillam 8 Holiday Donna Zammitt Carmel O’Dwyer Kate McPhee Lorena Monforte

Jun 19 Jun 20 Jun 21 Jun 22 Jun 23 Jaqui Fishpool Leslie Miller Fiona Arneill Rody Handcock Anna McKay 9 Sue Wratten Suzanne Lemlin Linda Rowley Gerri Gustafson Catherine Sweeney Sue Anne Davis

Jun 26 Jun 27 Jun 28 Jun 29 Jun 30 Tina Castle Emma Palmer Jinty Ainsworth Vicki Tarrant-Foder France Hines 10 Ana Robinson Sue Milner Melissa Lovell Mel Erskine Margaret Bishop Carolyn Maras

TERM DATES 2017 -

Term 2 Staff Development Day - Monday 24 April (no students) Students return Wednesday 26 April Last day for students & staff - Friday 30 June

Term 3 Staff Development Day – Monday 17 July (no students) Students return – Tuesday 18 July Last day for students and staff – Friday 22 September

Term 4 Students and Staff return – Monday 9 October Last day for students – Friday 15 December Last day for staff – Tuesday 19 December

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Giant Book Fair 19th to 21st May 2017

St Augustine’s College Sydney Cnr Federal Parade West & Alfred St Brookvale (next to Brookvale Oval)

Friday 19th May 4pm -- 9pm Saturday 20th May 9am -- 5pm Sunday 21st May 9am -- 2pm

Please note we accept Visa & Mastercard and also have EFTPOS facility available - (Entry by gold coin donation very much appreciated)

There will be thousands of good quality books, at bargain prices, in many categories, including a wide range of children's books suited to all ages. For the enthusiast/collector we have a large number of award winning and collectible books. In addition to all the books we also have a wide selection of puzzles, jig saws, games, CD, DVDs, vinyls, etc so there’s something for everyone!

All funds raised support the activities of Lifeline Northern Beaches which, in addition to the crisis line (13 11 14) with a focus on suicide prevention, provides a lot of other services to our community, including 24 hour counselling, bereavement support, anger management and problem gambling to name but a few. Your support for our Book Fairs goes a long way in generating the funds required to continue providing these services to our community

Most importantly – the Sea Eagles are not playing at home that weekend so access to the Book Fair will be very easy! Hope to see you there!

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If you email us at [email protected] we can email the school newsletter directly to you. It can also be accessed online at www.mackellargirls.nsw.edu.au Director General’s Award for Turning Potential into Performance DirectorDirector General’s General’s Award Award for Turning for Excellence Potential in into Girls Performance Education Director General’sDirector Award General’s for Excellence Award forin Gifted Excellence and Talented in Girls Education Director General’sDirector General’s Award for Award Excellence for Excellence in Gifted andin Aboriginal Talented EducationPrograms DirectorSecretary’s General’s Award Award for Excellence for Excellence in Pacific in Aboriginal Islander Programs Mackellar Girls Campus Campbell Pde Manly Vale NSW 2093 T: 9949 2083 F: 9949 3028 E: [email protected] W: www.mackellargirls.nsw.edu.au

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