OUR VIRTUAL SCHOOL – TERM 2, 2020

Our MacKillop Catholic College as a school community will be operating in Term 2 as a Virtual School Community with the inclusion of onsite attendance of children whose parents are from essential services or if parents have no other option to support their children. This will be a big challenge for everyone: All students from K-12, our teaching staff, our Office and Support staff, our Parents and for our Parish community and the entire Diocese of Broken Bay. The following is a profile aimed at offering all members of our MacKillop family an overview of how we can continue to be a leading school in our area and for the reputation we have as a SAFE, HAPPY and COLOURFUL School. Each area of this MacKillop Catholic College, Warnervale Virtual School community profile endeavours to encourage and support each and every member with information and connections to establish and maintain a positive connection with everyday school life. It is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination and our College leaders are hoping and trusting in the imaginative and creative energies of everyone. It would not be too hard to accept that some of these changes may lead to permanent ways of being a more agile school in the future. Only time will tell when we look back and can both see and weigh up what is best for our College community. Please have a close look at this model and allow yourself to trust in what can support you and others for how we continue to be the MacKillop Catholic College family. VIRTUAL SCHOOL MODEL

A. WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE LIVE & HOW WE CONNECT!

Here is a map of where all our MacKillop families reside around the Central Coast. We can continue to connect via social media platforms to keep that important relationship going. Whilst living and learning apart we are still connected as the MacKillop family.

MacKillop Catholic College proudly sits on Darkinjung Land here on the Central Coast, and we continue to pay tribute to elders both past and present. We acknowledge there is a deep history to our Land and we continue to grow in appreciation of our First Nation People. We are also a community that respects all cultures and, as a Catholic School we live out our mission to continue following the Gospel through our College motto of ‘Christ Our Light’, with a Josephite heart by responding to the ministry and example of St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop. How we keep our connections going will be via the College website, our COMPASS platform and via such online links as Google Classrooms, Facebook, Zoom Meetings and the College App. The details for ensuring you are connected can be sourced via your own devices. There are safety and wellbeing expectations in place to protect your engagement with only our College community. The respectful and appropriate relationships we have will be important to us all. Please remember that our staff are friendly but, they are not your friends and, so it is about keeping those boundaries appropriate at all times. B. SO, WHAT DOES THE TERM 2 CALENDAR HAVE IN STORE FOR US? Our College website as well as via the COMPASS platform will be continuing to host the College Calendar and whilst some events such as excursions, camps, sports, group performances, retreats, awards ceremonies and assemblies cannot be held in the normal mode, we are exploring creative ways to offer replacement activities and other engagements that will continue to promote our MacKillop spirit. We will update you each week for what is being planned and what can be sourced by you at home. Some ideas here might include - to send in your artwork, designs or even record yourself singing as if you are at an assembly. Did I hear someone say HOUSE Trivia contest, or dress up as a House Mascot? Hmm, over to you! Our College leaders and staff will be sending out details about replacement activities/events. We encourage positive engagement in these opportunities and experiences. C. OUR HOME-BASED LEARNING PROFILE What has already been achieved in this area has been very impressive. There are issues around workloads, completing work, accessing lesson details, viewing videos at other times, handing in assignments and assessments and for our Yr 12 students, what the HSC now looks like. All of these issues are being addressed in the most appropriate way from not only our leaders and teachers but, also by authorities such as NESA (NSW Educational Standards Authority). Whilst, our Primary students have been working in learning blocks for each day, our Secondary students and staff have continued to follow the existing Timetable. There are issues around the need to be more flexible with learning blocks and further details will be communicated to students and parents by our teaching and support staff. So, it is important for students, staff and parents to be aware of what each day and week’s learning block looks like and how you can access this information. The Learning Profile from Kinder through to Yr 10 will require understanding of the following:

- What does my Learning block look like? - What learning tasks do I have? - Can I access successfully the online learning platform? - How can parents continue to act as supervisors and advisors? - What do I do with my completed tasks? - How do I submit an assessment task? - Can I get additional support or access other resources?

For Yrs 11 & 12 students there are important steps to follow for ensuring that you are continuing on a successful path towards completing either the Preliminary Year or the HSC Year. NESA are very keen as is our College for ensuring that the HSC qualification will be issued by the end of the year. This pathway will need to be adjusted with assessment tasks schedules and for the completion of major works and with performances. The details for how we are supporting senior students for getting through this year will be a major focus for the start of Term Two. Updates across all of these areas will be a major focus of all our teaching staff. Our Learning Support and Aboriginal students are also a priority with continued support. Our Learning Support staff, and Aboriginal Education Officers will be making sure that they are in continuous contact with students and parents offering the necessary support and assistance to each student.

We are also pleased to inform you that our College Library will still be operating to support students’ learning across the College. There will be Library staff onsite in Term 2 and they will be making arrangements for students and staff to access resources.

D. OUR MISSION, FAITH & SPIRITUALITY Vital to our identity are the nurturing aspects of Faith, Ministry and Spirituality. To keep this valued cultural identity going, we will continue to offer:

- A rich prayer life especially as Easter People - Aspects of our journey as a Catholic community with a Josephite spirit - Youth Ministry connections - How we can gain JUMP hours at home - Continuing our House System with points - Connections with our Parish & Diocese (Links are being shared by our Parish &

Diocese) - Sr Marea & Sr Jennifer’s support network

E. OUR ADMINISTRATION, SUPPORT STAFF & CAMPUS PROFILE Our College Campus will still be operating on a daily basis with a number of staff engaged in various aspects for continuing the general operation of the College. This covers the Main Office, the Finance Office, Photocopying room and the Maintenance/Grounds areas. In general, we are requesting that any enquiries be made by phone or by email: Phone 4392 9399 Email: smccw@dbb.catholic.edu.au The Main Office will remain a focal point for parents, visitors and for deliveries. The Main Office and Finance Office windows will remain closed with separation requirements in place for social distancing. Parents can collect Primary learning packages via the Main Office where tables have been set up for collection. Please follow the processes with hand sanitising in this area. Our grounds and maintenance staff will also be in attendance to ensure the general cleaning, gardening and repairs are being kept in appropriate order. F. ENROLMENTS, TOURS & APPOINTMENTS Enrolment packages will still be available for collection from the Main Office but, due to the restrictions with social distancing, we ask that a phone call or an email be forwarded to our Office Manager & Enrolments Officer, Janine Silver before collecting a package from the Office. An updated online process will now be launched in Term 2 for competing enrolments at the College and any application will be followed by a phone call from the Enrolment Officer. Phone Interviews will be conducted in the Primary by the Primary Principal, Frank Cohen, and in the Secondary by Secondary Principal, Deb Ferguson. School Tours will not be available except by the virtual tour that will be available via the College website. Acceptance letters and other information will be sent via the post to parents. The closing dates for Kindergarten and Yr 7 enrolments for 2021 will be extended to the end of Term 2. Appointments with Principals and other staff can be made via the Main Office either by phone or email. G. OUR WELLBEING PROFILE As COVID-19 has had a very dramatic effect on the wellbeing of everyone, we are very keen to offer the best available support we can offer students, staff and parents. Parents experiencing financial difficulties at this time should make contact with the College’s Finance Office for assistance. The Catholic Schools Office via our Finance Office are available to assist any parent who finds themselves in difficulties with the management of school fees. All student enrolments are guaranteed and maintaining the continuity of learning is vital for each and every student. The following are aspects of ongoing support for Wellbeing:

- Our Class Teachers in the Primary and our Pastoral Coordinators in the Secondary will continue to offer support to parents who have issues on a range of matters that are directly affecting their children.

- Check-In Calls – The College’s staff will be looking at checking in with all families over the first half of Term 2 to ensure students and parents are managing the change of circumstances with learning. These will be courtesy calls and may come from a variety of staff members.

- School Counsellors are making every effort to maintain contact with students who have open cases. Both of our School Counsellors are trained Psychologists and they are prepared to respond to any student or parent enquiry for support. There will also be Wellbeing updates for students as we are most mindful of the fallout from these very testing times.

- Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Students - we are blessed to have two support officers here in Marilyn Fraser and Cindy Noah who will be contacting all our indigenous families to support any needs that students may be encountering with being off site in Term 2.

- Our FLO, Natalie Tunstead will be continuing her support of parents via Facebook pages, email and by phone calls.

- Parish & Diocesan Connections – Both our Bishop of Broken Bay, Anthony Randazzo and our PP, Fr Vince Casey will be offering both ministry support as well as for general support to our entire community. At present, Churches are closed but faith and spirituality can have other avenues. We look forward to those connections during Term 2.

- Student Leadership Teams – we are blessed to have very engaged student leaders at our College. College Captains, Lexi Walker & Ryley Small will be sending video support clips to all students to encourage them to maintain their learning capacities, as well as offering personal support to all our students and College community.

H. PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA MacKillop has always endeavoured to keep our community informed across a number of communication channels. We are blessed to have a very resourceful Media Officer in Alyssa Chilvers. It is our plan to keep parents and our community in the loop over Term 2 via weekly news feeds and with updates across our comprehensive website, via our MacKillop App and by continuing the Term publication of College Matters. The Term 2 College Matters will look very different than past issues, as we use this publication as a retrospective on key events and happenings across the College. Past College Matters publications are available on our website and they are the source of much celebration and recognition of our College family. Our hope is that a new look College Matters for Term 2 will be all about HBL with recognition of students, staff and families who have offered creative and supportive pathways for our virtual school. Photos, reports and reflections from a variety of sources will help shape this publication. The proposed Term 2 College Matters publication may well become a real collector’s item as School will never be like Term 2, 2020 (well let’s hope so). Keep in touch everyone & blessings for Term 2