Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley

Students celebrated at Youth Community Service Awards

Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) students have received a hat-trick of NSW Youth Community Service Awards for the second year in a row.

Three SCS students were among only 26 in the state presented with the 2023 awards, which recognise exceptional community service by a Year 11 or 12 student, in honour of their mentoring, volunteer and advocacy efforts.

The awards are held annually by the NSW Branch of the Order of Australia Association and were presented by Governor of NSW Margaret Beazley at Government House on 7 September.

Asteer Salem from Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley, Erica Chau from Freeman Catholic College Bonnyrigg Heights, and Archibald (Archie) Kingham from Marist College Eastwood were acknowledged at the ceremony with a certificate and medal.

Asteer gave the vote of thanks at the end of the ceremony.

Archie, in Year 11, said he felt humbled to receive the award.

“There were some incredible candidates with superb contributions to their community,” he said. “I believe that everyone has a duty to support others less fortunate than themselves.”

“The greater the privilege and opportunity we have the more reflective and supportive we should be.” – Archie Kingham

Marist College Eastwood Principal Silvana Rossetti said all three students were a credit to their schools and the communities they served. She said Archibald lived the Marist characteristics of presence, family spirit, and love of work each day.

“I am extremely proud of Archie who shows genuine concern for the wellbeing of others,” she said.

“This is exemplified by his involvement in organisations both in and out of school that have as their core value the wellbeing of those less …

jaderamirezsydcatholiceduauSeptember 27, 2023|

HSC 2022: Nine students place First in Course

Nine students from Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) have received First in Course honours in the 2022 HSC.

In a feat that highlights SCS’s comprehensive curriculum, the nine students placed first in a diverse range of subjects and represent seven schools from across the Sydney Archdiocese.

Marist College Kogarah student Mario Baroud placed first Mathematics Standard 2, Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley student Suzi Coates placed first in Studies of Religion I, and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College Kensington student Otylia Pilat placed first in English Extension 1.

Clancy Catholic College West Hoxton student Daniel Michael placed first in Investigating Science, Good Samaritan Catholic College Hinchinbrook student Katarina Chalfa placed first in Food Technology, and Marist Catholic College Penshurst student Anna-Maria Parissis placed first in Modern Greek.

St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove student Clara Medanic placed first in Croatian Continuers, while La Salle Catholic College Bankstown students Danny Nouseir and Verica Minovska placed first in Arabic Extension and Macedonian Continuers continuers respectively.

The nine were among the 126 students from 83 schools in the state who topped their HSC courses.

The students were acknowledged this morning in a ceremony with Sarah Mitchell, Minister for Education and Early Learning.

“Congratulations to our students on what is truly an impressive accomplishment,” SCS Executive Director, Tony Farley, said.

“We hope that together with their teachers and families, they see this achievement as a just reward for their hard work and dedication throughout a testing few years.”

Mr Farley said the success of the nine students is reflective of SCS’s excellence focussed approach to learning and the efforts of the system’s teachers and educators.

“To have nine students, from schools right across the Archdiocese take …

domenictrimboli01December 14, 2022|

Joëlle L’Aiguille: Our Youth Ministry Coordinator

Meet Joëlle L’Aiguille, the 2022 Youth Ministry Coordinator at Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley.

French and Religious Education (RE) teacher, Joëlle L’Aiguille, joined Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley a year ago.

She was formally inducted as a Youth Ministry Coordinator of Sydney Catholic Schools during an Archdiocesan meeting held earlier this year.

JOELLE’S FAITH JOURNEY

Joëlle has been a teacher for 16 years, and was heavily involved in youth ministry in her local parish in Mauritius before arriving in Australia.

This, coupled with her RE teaching experience, stood her in good stead for her new role as a Youth Ministry Coordinator.

“I think youth ministry made me the teacher, human being and Catholic that I am today” – Joëlle L’Aiguille

Joëlle said she was drawn to teaching because she believed she could “really have an impact” on her students.

She attended World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, in 2005 in her first year of teaching. It was an experience that “really changed” her life.

“Youth ministry has really helped me develop my relationship with Jesus but also to want to bring Jesus to the world and to be more involved in my parish, more involved in my community,” Joëlle added.

“I’m really lucky to be in a school where people are into their faith” – Joëlle L’Aiguille

“It’s important to be genuine with them (the students) and to show that you care for them and to bring them along on the journey, to help them to have a personal relationship with Jesus,” Joëlle said.

“Further to that, you need to yourself be a disciple and have a true relationship with Jesus yourself.” …

Isabell PetrinicOctober 25, 2022|

Trio honoured with NSW Youth Community Service Awards

Three Sydney Catholic Schools students have been recognised for their exceptional community service in the 2022 NSW Youth Community Service Awards.

Kardina Batti, Aimee Blackmore and Neethu Siril were among 26 recipients from across NSW recognised at a ceremony at Government House on Friday, 2 September.

Recipients of the 2022 Youth Community Service Award.

The students from Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College Kensington and Freeman Catholic College Bonnyrigg Heights, respectively, were presented with a trophy and certificate of commendation by The Honourable Andrew Bell, Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court.

“None of the students sought recognition for their actions, but we honour them with the highest recognition available to NSW high school students” – Order of Australia Association NSW Branch Chairman, Jim Mein AM

Gilda Pussich, Principal of Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley, praised Kardina’s pure, generous nature.

“Mary MacKillop once said ‘Let us try to keep God with us by charity of thought, word and act’. Kardina, who is a caring, compassionate and selfless young woman, lives by these words,” Ms Pussich said.

A modest Kardina said: “This award isn’t only mine, it is for all of us because if my loved ones and those in need were not here, who would I have done all of this for?”

“I work on improving our community in most of my free times” – Kardina Batti

About the Award

The annual award of the Order of Australia Association (NSW) Branch is given to students across NSW who are exemplary community role models.

Principals from 1,017 secondary schools nominated one Year 11 or 12 student each for the Youth Community Service Award in …

Isabell PetrinicSeptember 7, 2022|

Seeing double: Wakeley school welcomes six sets of twins

Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley has welcomed six – yes, SIX! – sets of Year 7 twins this school term.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is the first time in the college’s 30-year history that there have been so many twins in the one year group.

“It is very unusual,” Year 7 coordinator, Maria Messina, said.

“Our history and culture has always been that twins and siblings stay in the same [vertically streamed] house group, but we won’t put them in the same homeroom,” Ms Messina said.

“We explicitly made that decision so that they can become empowered young women and develop their own identity.”

TRANSITIONING TO HIGH SCHOOL

Ms Messina said Year 7 students go on a camp in early Term 1 to help them forge strong relationships with their peers and teachers. Kindness is a key currency at the school, and getting to know the students as learners is a priority for staff.

“Coming into high school, life is very different,” Ms Messina said.

“You no longer have one or two teachers. You have up to nine teachers, and you’re always moving around the school according to the subjects you are studying.”

“It’s actually a huge transition, from big fish to little fish” – Maria Messina

“In high school it is about collaborative learning, being flexible, experiencing multiple things at the same time,” Ms Messina said.

“There are a lot of co-curricular opportunities: music programs, eisteddfod, dance, sport, musicals.”

MEET THE TWINS

While only two sets of the new twins are identical, the group reflects the culturally diverse community they have joined – they are of Iraqi, Aboriginal, Croatian and Samoan …

jaderamirezsydcatholiceduauFebruary 8, 2022|

Solar Car Challenge: Students ready to race

Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley students embraced a stellar opportunity to build their mentoring and problem-solving skills in a multi-school Solar Car Challenge.

As part of the challenge, close to 50 Year 7 to 10 students from the college helped pupils from four Sydney Catholic primary schools design and build a car using solar power that can follow a 20-metre track of plastic conduit.

“Problem solving is one of the key skills” – Robert Hennessey

The regional STEM initiative – run ahead of the University of NSW’s Sunsprint Challenge – asks students to examine the factors that affect the speed of a solar car in two-hour sessions across 10 weeks. STEM is short for Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Patrician Brothers’ College Fairfield hosted a race day to end the challenge after also mentoring primary school students through the building process.

Mary Mackillop STEM teacher, Robert Hennessey, said students tested gear ratios and soldered electrical circuits as part of the challenge.

“Trying to keep their car on the track and improve its performance each week was a constant challenge,” Mr Hennessey said.

“Time management was also an important skill as the students had to test and trial the car with various components, such as wheel size and angle of the solar panel, to gain the most voltage” – Robert Hennessey

Year 8 students Maryam Baji and Andriana Issa said they enjoyed mentoring Year 5 students through the challenge, sharing their knowledge and skills.

Andriana said one of the best parts of being a mentor for the solar car challenge was “feeling like we are part of something bigger than our school.”

“A highlight was ruining our car and rebuilding it,” laughed Maryam. “We learnt how to work in …

Isabell PetrinicMay 28, 2021|

iLight2020: Virtual Carols

Welcome to Sydney Catholic Schools #iLight2020 Virtual Carol Choir.

We have now reached the end of the snapshot of how to prepare for Christmas using the Jesse Tree with your family. It is hoped that you continue your journey towards Christmas in this way through prayer, symbol and song. Today we have the Virtual Carols Night which showcases our schools.

To toggle through the songs, use the menu bar in the top right corner of the video player, otherwise the songs will play one after the other.

Enjoy the light of our students shining brightly for all to see.

Schools featured in the virtual choir:

AdminDecember 9, 2020|

HSC 2022: Nine students place First in Course

Joëlle L’Aiguille: Our Youth Ministry Coordinator

JOELLE’S FAITH JOURNEY

Trio honoured with NSW Youth Community Service Awards

About the Award

Seeing double: Wakeley school welcomes six sets of twins

Solar Car Challenge: Students ready to race

iLight2020: Virtual Carols

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which our schools and offices now stand. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.

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