Newsletter29 14 DECEMBER 2018 Term 4, Week 9 Meeting the educational needs of girls

Next General P&C Meeting: Wednesday 6 March 2019

EMAILING THE SCHOOL - Please use our [email protected] email address for correspondence DEDICATED SMS NUMBER - Please text 0427 459 133 before 9am to advise late or absent students

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE -

Dear Parents, Staff and Students

Presentation Day - Our Annual Presentation Day in the School Hall took place at 10.00 am today. Parents, family and friends were warmly invited to this occasion where the Mackellar community showcased its many areas of excellence and acknowledged student achievement.

Staff changes for 2019 - There are staff members who will not be with us next year as they move forward in their career or into retirement. Judy Isles, Visual Arts teacher is retiring after 42 years at Mackellar. She has consistently been dedicated, hardworking and very creative. Sue Saunders has been teaching PE at Mackellar for 29 years, and her expertise and commitment to her students have been greatly appreciated. Sue has decided it’s time for a change in schools. These highly professional teachers have made big contributions to the school and they will be very sorely missed.

Michelle Royston has been a School Administrative Officer in the kitchens for seven years and is retiring. Her highly organised, thorough and meticulous work has been greatly appreciated.

On behalf of the school community, I wish them all the best in their new ventures, and wish them good health and happiness in the years ahead.

I wish to acknowledge the dedicated and professional job that our teachers do in working with our students to provide the best possible education. Your daughters have been provided with innumerable opportunities and activities to develop further, both in achievements and personally.

Staff and Community Recognition Awards - For the past 14 years, the Northern Beaches Secondary College has acknowledged the fantastic service of school staff. Mackellar Girls recipients for 2018 are Zoe Beale, Roslyn Berry, Alecia De Angelis, Julijana Joldzic, Tsomo Jorchuk Tsang, Cassandra Morrison, Janet Ribeiro and Heidi Warne. Our school is indebted to these people and all others who continue to do a fabulous job to support Mackellar to provide the best possible education and school that we can.

Schools Spectacular - It was the 35th anniversary of the Schools Spectacular last week. What a truly fantastic event of amazingly talented students from NSW public schools performing to an audience of 15 000. I was really touched by such talent, such participation of over 5 000 students, such dedication from teachers to give students this opportunity and such pizzazz! It was an incredibly professional show that truly showcased how amazing public education in NSW is. Ross Milne received a special award, the Mary Lopez Medal, at a special ceremony for his 35 years of commitment to Schools Spectacular as a creative force.

I want to sincerely thank Narelle Beard, Desiree De Bono, Clare Goetze, Laura Hawes, Elle Maxwell and Ross Milne who were part of the team of dedicated teachers who contributed to the night and gave our dance and choir students the opportunity of a lifetime to be part of Schools Spectacular.

If you have never been to Schools Spec, I recommend that you get tickets next year. You will see NSW public education at its finest.

Reading at School - The following National Survey supports the importance and value we place on students’ reading. We engage in Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) twice a week, have multiple book clubs, book fairs, a wonderful library and of course our spectacular Book Parade to support the development and love of student reading.

If there is one thing parents and teachers can do to ensure the scholastic success of children, it is this: encourage them to read.

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 Manly Vale Director General’s Award for Excellence in Aboriginal Programs Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Pacific Islander Programs

A national survey, the Scholastic Australia Kids & Family Reading Report, confirms the importance of independent reading time at school and of reading books aloud at home. It also urges parents and teachers to allow children the freedom to choose the books they want to read.

"We know there is a strong link between independent reading and success in education," Scholastic Australia's head of education, Christine Vale, says. "Interestingly, the Kids & Family Reading Report also verifies that principals can have a great deal of influence over children's attitudes towards reading enjoyment and frequency by creating a culture within the school that embraces independent reading.

"The survey found a direct correlation between children whose principals actively encourage reading for fun and children who love to read."

The survey, conducted in conjunction with YouGov, sought insights from a nationally representative sample of 1748 parents and children aged 6-17. The report found only 44 per cent of children said they have an opportunity to read independently in school as a class or school.

Key findings showed that just over one-third of children surveyed identified as frequent readers, with kids in the 6- 8 years age bracket being the most likely to read on five or more days a week.

The top predictors of reading frequency were how often children are read books aloud, and the child's enjoyment of reading. For younger children, additional predictors included where they read books for fun, parental involvement, and how early they started being read books aloud.

"We heard from kids that they overwhelmingly love read-aloud time with their parents and that many parents are reading to their children," Vale says. "Still, we are concerned that key messages around literacy are not being disseminated evenly across all demographics, centralising learning difficulties amongst lower-income families." Marty Marshman, Board Member and Secretary of ASLA (Australian School Library Association) says students would benefit from school book fairs or book clubs, as well as time set aside for independent reading.

Principals have a "crucial" role, he says, in encouraging children to read as much as they can for pleasure. This encouragement would benefit from being formalised and systematic, he says.

Start of 2018 -  Teachers return on Tuesday 29 January  Years 7, 11, 12 and peer support leaders return on Wednesday 30 January  Years 8 -10 return on Thursday 31 January  All new enrolments in Years 8 -12 are to come on Wednesday 30 January

I ask parents and students to make sure that the wearing of the correct school uniform continues from Day 1 next year. We expect high standards in the wearing of our uniform.

I want to particularly remind parents to ensure that their daughters wear their uniform at a correct length – short skirts and dresses are not part of our uniform. Skirts and dresses should be just on the knee. It is important for safety reasons that correct shoes are worn – black leather shoes with black laces. Ballet shoes are not uniform as the foot is not protected.

I want to remind parents to ensure that makeup, jewellery and body piercings are not worn and hair is not brightly coloured.

I also want to remind parents of the importance of getting 2018 fees paid so the new year can start with a clean slate for students.

Congratulations for high achievement to:  Rachel (Y12) for her 1st in Subject for HSC Japanese Beginners in NSW  Sara and Emma (Y12) for their selection for ARTEXPRESS, the exhibition of the best HSC Visual Arts Major Works  Bella (Y7) for her winning the Junior National Indoor Netball U14 Championships in the NSW team and winning the State Water Polo Championships  U15 Water Polo team for winning the NSW CHS Knockout Championships  Cassandra and Sarah (Y10) for their selection in the Regional Water Polo team  Chelsea (Y9) and Tallulah (Y8) for their selection in the Regional Softball team  Stella (Y10) and Robyn (Y8) for their selection in the Regional Cricket team  Charlotte and Amelie (Y9) for their being awarded a Premier’s Reading Challenge Medal and Ella (Y7) a Gold Award  the school for receiving the Royal Lifesaving Society Aquatic Club trophy for the highest point score in NSW  Eloise (Y10) for her performances in the Children’s Choir

I wish everyone a restful holiday, a very merry Christmas and a happy festive season filled with peace.

C Del Gallo, Principal 2

YEAR 7 - It has been an incredibly exciting year with many fun, rewarding and sometimes challenging events. Apart from the mainstream subjects, students have been involved in many of the school’s extracurricular activities including Band, Vocal Ensemble, Book Club, Book Parade, Sport, Dance Ensembles, Drama Ensemble, the School Musical, the Quilting Group, Zonta Club and School Spectacular.

The highlight has been the Great Aussie Bush Camp where the students went away for three days and participated in group activities that were aimed at allowing the students to get to know one another and build friendships. Other important events the students engaged in this year include the Peer Support Program, High Resolves, “InRhythm”, Literacy and Numeracy Workshop, Beach Safety and Multicultural Day. All students also took part in a fabulous workshop to help them learn some skills and strategies to support their social-emotional wellbeing. The URSTRONG workshop was presented by Dana Kerford who spoke to the girls about friendship facts, recognising healthy and unhealthy friendships as well as taking the girls through some steps to help them put out their Friendship Fires. One of Dana’s most important points was to accept that the only person you can control is you. You can help your daughter develop her self- efficacy by reminding her of this.

Our chosen charity for the year was ‘Wrap with Love’. We were so proud of the perseverance shown by the girls in learning how to knit so they could contribute to the charity. Many staff also helped to complete the 28 squares required and Mrs Maconachie did a beautiful job putting the squares together. Wrap with Love is an organisation that works with national and international aid agencies to ensure the wraps are delivered directly to people in areas of trauma and need.

The W@M program has been a great success throughout the year. The program provides an array of short activities and strategies that serve to provide opportunities for students to reflect on experiences that were positive for them but also how to deal with situations that don’t go their way. As Martin Seligman (founder of Positive Psychology) puts it, “hunting the good stuff” on a daily basis is a simple strategy that can help you put things in perspective, become accepting of events and practice being resilient.

The final activity for the year saw the students make a ‘jar of love’, which they thoroughly enjoyed and hopefully you were the recipient of.

The students are to be commended on their dedication, attitude and application to their studies not just for their first Yearly Examinations, but throughout the year, and we look forward to welcoming them back next year as Year 8 2019.

Mrs Karandonis, Mrs Lombardo & Mrs Maconachie - Year 7 Advisers.

YEAR 8 - These last few weeks have been incredibly busy for our Year 8 cohort. Activities students have undertaken include the School Spectacular Event, White Ribbon Day Breakfast, making breast cushions for cancer patients, Lifesaving, Band Tour, School Danceworks Evening, Multicultural Day, GAT Enrichment Day and a school picnic. Not to mention the wide range of extracurricular sporting activities that the students undertake outside of their normal school hours. The Touch team placed 1st in the NSW All Schools State Finals and 3rd in the National Schools Cup in Queensland. We are incredibly proud of your daughters who have shown their willingness, strength and enthusiasm to not only participate in a wide range of extra school events, but for most who have achieved excellent results in their Yearly Report. The number of students being awarded Gold and Silver Merits for achieving their Personal Best was impressive, which reflects the strong work ethic and commitment to personal excellence.

The students are very excited about undertaking Elective courses for the first time and beginning Wednesday afternoon sport next year, which will be new and enjoyable experiences for them. We are sure that they will embrace their newfound independence and enjoy the variety of choice available to them.

Have a safe, happy and relaxing holiday and we look forward to seeing your daughter(s) return to Mackellar as the Year 9 cohort for 2019.

Ms Biswell & Ms Joldzic, Year 8 Advisers

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YEAR 9 - First of all, we’d like to congratulate our year group on what has been a fantastic year. Our students have shown incredible maturity and resilience over the year. At the beginning of the year, we decided our year group motto should be ‘Be Kind’ – it was important to us that our Year 9s show care towards each other and support each other through the ups and downs of high school. We have been continually impressed with the way our students have worked together, been caring, and showed compassion for both students in the year group and the wider school. At our last year assembly, Year 9 gave us suggestions for what they’d like to focus on next year, so watch this space for our 2019 motto!

This week was our Year 9 picnic, which is a fun event planned to allow our girls to celebrate the year they’ve had. They had a wonderful time! It’s exciting to think that we’re heading into Year 10, which comes with so many exciting opportunities to lead, work together and grow personally.

On another note, Year 10 also comes with increased academic responsibilities. It’s important that everyone practises effective study habits in order to develop skills for senior school. Getting off on the right foot is important, and we know our students will begin next year with the correct attitude and mindset to set them up for senior school. Plus, new uniforms!

Congratulations and thank you to the parents of our year group, it’s been a wonderful year. We are looking forward to next year and the real beginning of senior school!

Laura Hawes & Samantha Coles, Year 9 Advisers

YEAR 10 - Congratulations, Year 10, on another outstanding term at Mackellar! You have shown yourselves to be ambitious, resilient and altruistic individuals by enthusiastically embracing the various activities offered in Term 4, including the Year 10 Project, Crossroads and Elevate incursions, Schools Spectacular, Peer Support Training and Multicultural Day. As Year Advisers, we found it a pleasure to read your reports and hear that so many of you are working to your personal best in all your subjects. The feedback on your involvement in Australian Business Week and work experience placements has also been overwhelming positive, with mentors reporting that students were enthusiastic, punctual, and resourceful.

It seems like only yesterday that you arrived at the school as eager Year 7 students and now you are about to embark on the next stage of your schooling journey, working towards the completion of the Higher School Certificate. We wish you a happy and restful break, and we look forward to seeing many of you return to the school in 2019 as mature and motivated seniors.

Miss Robertson & Mrs Peachey, Year 10 Advisers

YEAR 11 - We cannot believe Term 4 is nearly over and the girls are one quarter into their HSC course. We commend the girls on their focus, maturity and determination to work to their personal best in their final year of schooling. In addition, we would like to congratulate Danae Matthews who has achieved equal first placing for French Beginners (Preliminary course) at NSW School of Languages (formerly Open High School). She attended a special presentation assembly in Week 8 to receive her certificate of achievement.

In Week 8, some of the girls volunteered their time to visit and spend an afternoon with the residents of Manly Vale Aged Care facility. The girls have thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon sharing tea and conversations with the residents in the lead up to the festive season. We would like to thank Ms Griffin for the organisation of this valuable experience for the girls.

In Week 9, the girls participated in the school’s annual Multicultural Day. Not only did they support our Prefects in the organisation of the day, they also volunteered their time in the running of the stores and participated in the cultural performances. As a year group, this begins one of the ‘lasts’ that the girls will experience together in their final year of school. As Year Advisers, we would love the girls to seize every opportunity of these ‘lasts’ school events to make it a memorable experience for all.

The Year 12 jersey will be issued to the girls on the last day of school (Wednesday 19 December, Week 10). The girls are expected to attend school every day including the last day.

Lastly, we wish you and the girls a relaxing and happy holidays.

Miss Reeves & Miss Leung – Year 11 Advisers

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MUSIC NEWS

BAND TOUR - The Performance Band and the Vocal Ensemble had an extremely successful band tour to the Mid-North Coast performing at Warners Bay PS, Soldiers Point PS, Tomaree PS and two concerts at Harbourside Haven Age Care facility in Port Stephens. Our students were proud to spread their love of music to the wider community and they worked very well as a team. Most of the schools we visited are not as lucky as ours to have a band program. The primary students were thoroughly engaged and excited about our performances. We were also extremely proud to be performing to the aged care residents who are not able to leave their facility to see or hear music events. The specifically chosen repertoire we played evoked long time forgotten memories for the residents and they were immensely thankful for our visit.

Congratulations to all our wonderful, busy musicians!

Congratulations to the Concert Band for fabulous music at Orientation Day, to the Stage Band and Big Band for wonderful entertainment for Multicultural Day, to the Big Band for the Year 10 Assembly, to the Orchestra for their Orchestra and Friends Concert, the Vocal ensemble for their performance at Hardi Aged Care facility and finally to the Performance Band and Orchestra for Presentation Day assembly.

2019 Rehearsal Schedule: Changes for 2019 – The Big Band will rehearse on Monday morning before Performance Band rehearsal.

MUSIC CAMP for 2019 - Week 2 Term 2

I wish all the Mackellar community a fabulous break and look forward to wonderful music making in 2019.

Vanessa Patterson, Band Director

Ensemble Day Time Location Musical Director PERFORMANCE BAND MONDAY 8:15am – 9:30am Performance Space Ms Patterson BIG BAND MONDAY 7:15am – 8:15am Performance Space Ms Patterson STAGE BAND TUESDAY 7:20am - 8:35am Hall Ms Patterson CONCERT BAND 7:20am - 8:35am WEDNESDAY Performance Space Ms Patterson and Lunchtime SENIOR JAZZ MONDAY LUNCHTIME B3 Ms Patterson IMPROVISATION BEGINNER JAZZ TUESDAY LUNCHTIME Music Studio Ms Patterson IMPROVISATION ORCHESTRA FRIDAY 7:45am - 8:45am B3 Mr Fisher VOCAL ENSEMBLE FRIDAY 7:45am - 8:45am Hall Ms Hawes

WEDNESDAY Performance Space/ MUSICAL 3:15pm- 5:00pm Ms Hawes Terms 1 & 2 B3

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TI TREE School -

Mackellar donated our Coles Sports for Schools vouchers collected from the staff and students and donated them to Ti Tree School which is a remote school in Central Australia.

We were delighted to receive the following letter from the Principal at Ti Tree School, Geoff Gillman -

On behalf of the students and staff at Ti Tree School I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the students and staff of Northern Beaches Secondary School - Mackellar Girls Campus for your assistance in gathering Coles Sports for Schools vouchers for Ti Tree School.

Your vouchers contributed greatly to our overall effort. We have recently received the sporting items and made them available to our classes. This year we decided to use the Coles Sports for Schools credits to upgrade resources for the teaching and learning of athletics as pictured. Some of the items we ordered included sets of junior hurdles, discus, egg and spoon race kits, stop watches, and, equipment to support our perceptual motor program in our Preschool.

Once again, many thanks to you and your school community for your support to our small, remote school in Central Australia.

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Native Speaker Parent Volunteers -

A big end-of-year thank you to our Native Speaker Parent Volunteers. Nathalie LaCroix, Dagmar Roesner and Nikki Curtin have been a great help this year. Our students benefit enormously from the support and expertise of the volunteers who assist with speaking and writing practice, classroom support, and native expressions and pronunciation. We are very grateful for the time given to the languages students.

If you would like to be a Native Speaker Parent Volunteer in 2019 please do not hesitate to contact Ms Bianchin (Head Teacher Languages) or any of the languages staff for more details.

SPORTS NEWS -

TOUCH FOOTBALL - On Friday 16th November our Year 7/8 Touch Football team travelled to Penrith to compete in the NSW All Schools State Finals. The team made it all the way through to the Grand Final undefeated and came up against Orange HS who were also looking very good all day.

It was a great game, as NSW Touch have published “the Mackellar Girls scoring the first touchdown, to which Orange replied - Mackellar scoring the next two touchdowns and Orange trying to salvage their game scoring again. The score ended up 3-2 to NBSC Mackellar Girls Campus who remained undefeated the entire 7 games they played. Player of the Final was awarded to Zara from NBSC Mackellar Girls Campus.”

It was a big year for our girls who have trained hard and earned their title as the best team in the state. M Beeby, Teacher

KNOCK OUT WATER POLO - Congratulations to the Mackellar 15 and Under Knock Out Water Polo team who were undefeated throughout the year. They won the State KO Water Polo final 4-3 on Tuesday 11 December against . The girls played throughout the tournament with enthusiasm, skill and determination. Also a huge congratulations to Cassandra who won Female Player of the Tournament. Amazing work girls!

E Adams, PDHPE

Duke of Edinburgh Award News -

Congratulations to students who have actively engaged in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Program this year. It is a significant accomplishment alongside academic responsibilities.

Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards will continue to be signed off into 2019 as sections are completed.

Year 9 students in 2019 are encouraged to come along to a Bronze Information Evening at at 5.30pm Wednesday 13th February 2019.

Year 10-12 students can attend an evening outlining the progression steps to Silver and Gold at 5.30pm on Thursday 14th February 2019.

Ms Vicki Busse NBSC Duke of Edinburgh Award Leader

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Library Update -

Another year has passed and we have had an amazing four terms here in the library! The library has seen blind dates with books, some bathtubs and some fantastic student work on display.

As we are wrapping up the term, it is a good opportunity to reflect on the successes and triumphs of the year. The girls were asked “what went well?” and we were delighted with their responses. It is great to see students contributing and celebrating a range of things that have stood out for them. Some girls wrote about passing exams and being happy with their assessment task results. Others wrote about new friends and social groups that they became a part of this year. Great food and experiences were also top priorities for many.

On display in the library currently is a collection of Year 7 Picture Books. The girls were required to produce them in their English classes and they are wonderful! The books demonstrate how creative energy and hard work can come together to produce great results.

While the library shuts down over the summer holidays, the reading never ends! We have a great summer reading challenge, and all students are encouraged to take part. Sheets can be found on the circulation desk in the library. Cross off each item and hand in your sheet at the beginning of the term in 2019. You’ll go into the draw to win some great prizes!

Thank you to everyone who has used the library in 2018. We love seeing everybody using the resources, working on class research projects and most importantly, reading.

Have a safe and happy holiday. We will see you in 2019!

Mrs Reed & Miss Langford

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News from the Canteen -

The NEW 2019 canteen roster is ready and looking fresh with a number of new Mums and Dads who will be joining us next year.

For those of you who would like to do shorter slots, please check out the following Sign up Genius link at :go/70A0C4AA4A62EA3FB6- https://www.signupgenius.com/canteen

The 2019 Term 1 dates have been added!! Sign up and help out if you haven’t already done so. Your daughter will get an opportunity to see you in her learning environment and might get a hug from you as well!

We have price increases happening next year. We have kept these to a minimum and not everything is increasing.

Toast $1.00 Nutri Grain cereal cup $1.50 Hot Chocolate $1.50 Milkshakes $3.00 Half Pizza $2.20 Pizza Sub $2.20 Garlic Bread $3.00 Hot Cheese Roll $3.00 Sausage Roll $3.50 Pie $4.20 Hot Meal Tubs $5.00

Finally we are after donations of clean unwanted food tech aprons that you may have lying around at home that you no longer need. We would also like big Tupperware style containers with sealing lids.

All the very best for a happy and safe Christmas break from the canteen crew!!

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UNIFORM SHOP NEWS -

The year is coming to an end and we still require help in your school uniform shop. Please advise if you can help out on any of the following days/times:

Saturday 15 December 9.30am-11am or 11.30am-2pm Monday 17 December 9.15am-11.15am or 1.15pm-2.15pm Wednesday 19 December 9am-11am or 11am-2pm

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers so very much for all your help and support this year. I quite simply could not operate the shop so smoothly without you all.

A very big thank you to those of you that have continually helped in our uniform shop weekly and on Saturdays. I know how busy you all are, so really appreciate the time you have given up to help me.

Please continue to drop off unwanted school uniforms as all profits raised go directly back into Mackellar Girls Campus.

We will no longer be supplying shopping bags so please bring along your own.

Last day for the shop to be open in 2018 is Wednesday 19 December from 9am-2pm. The first day open for 2019 is Thursday 10 January from 10am-2pm, then Wednesday 30 January from 8.30am-2pm.

Please also see the school website for all other shop opening hours.

Hope you all have a fabulous Christmas break and may 2019 be happy and healthy.

Leigh McPherson, Uniform Shop Manager, [email protected]

Mackellar Girls Campus

OPEN DAY 2019 – Tuesday 19 February 2019 OPEN EVENING 2019 – Thursday 21 February 2019 ACADEMIC TEST for 2020 – Thursday 21 March 2019

Term 4 Monday 15 October - Students and staff return Wednesday 19 December - Last day for students

Term 1 Tuesday 29 January – Staff Development Day (no students) Wednesday 30 January – Y7, 11, 12 return Thursday 31 January – Y8, Y9, Y10 return Friday 12 April - Last day for students

Term 2 Monday 29 April – Staff Development Day (no students) Tuesday 30 April – students return Friday 5 July – Last day for students for Term 2 2019

Term 3 Monday 22 July – College Development Day (no students) Tuesday 23 July – Students return Friday 27 September – Last day for students for Term 3 2019

Term 4 Monday 14 October – Staff and Students return Wednesday 18 December – Last day for students

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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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