19 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal's Report

On Wednesday morning, our Year 12 students attended Mass with Fr Yacub and were then given the responsibility of distributing ashes as part of our Ash Wednesday liturgy to the rest of the College community. This was a very special event to mark the beginning of Lent – which is such a significant time in the liturgical calendar reminding us of the great sacrifice of Christ as we prepare for the celebration of Christ's death and resurrection at Easter. Thank you to Ms Abihanna and Mr Ward for their organisation of our Ash Wednesday liturgy.

Below is a quote from Pope Francis’ Lenten message for 2021 which is a beautiful message for us all:

“Dear brothers and sisters, every moment of our lives is a time for believing, hoping and loving. The call to experience Lent as a journey of conversion, prayer and sharing of our goods, helps us – as communities and as individuals – to revive the faith that comes from the living Christ, the hope inspired by the breath of the Holy Spirit and the love flowing from the merciful heart of the Father.”

During Lent we give something up as an act of penance and to represent Jesus sacrifice when he went into the desert to pray and fast for the 40 days. During Lent this year, with so many suffering across our planet due to the pandemic, injustice and poverty, I encourage students to also look for ways to give to others, to do good deeds, to spread God’s love and to pray for those suffering in our world.

Students are also encouraged to make regular donations to Caritas throughout Lent in Homerooms. Each year during Lent, Caritas holds their Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice. For more on Project Compassion, please see Ms Abihanna's section in this newsletter below and to donate please visit https://lent.caritas.org.au/  

There will also be no meat sold at the Canteen on Friday’s during Lent.

I encourage all our families to engage with your local parish during Lent and over the Easter period.

200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia

2021 is a very special year for Catholic Schools as we celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. Our College will be marking this significant event on Wednesday, 24 February with a special presentation in Homeroom connecting the 112-year history of Marist College Kogarah with the 200-year celebration of Catholic Education in Australia.

Visit the link below for more information.

Beginning Teachers Opening Mass

On Tuesday, 16 February our first-year teachers attended Sydney Catholic Schools Opening Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral and received a blessing from Archbishop Anthony Fisher. It was a splendid occasion and we wish our first-year teachers, Mr Herbert, Mr Ziegenfusz and Miss Yianoulatos a wonderful year at the College.

Parents & Friends’ Meeting

Our first P&F meeting for the year will take place next Wednesday, 24 February commencing at 7.00 pm in the College Library. The College Leadership Team will be introduced to parents and we will present our major goals for 2021. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the total number of parents who can attend is limited to 30. An invitation to sign up to the meeting will be sent through Compass.

2021 College Fees

The Annual fee statements were sent out last week. Please contact the College on 95873211 (Option 3) or by email to accounts@mckogarah.catholic.edu.au if you have not received them.

If you have any other questions regarding College fees, please contact our Business Manager, Mr Paul Frazer.

May God bless all staff, students and families.

Mr Simon Ghantous
College Principal

Assistant Principal’s Report

Year 7 Parent Check-In Evening

On Tuesday, 23 February at 6.00 pm Year 7 Parents/Caregivers are invited to a Year 7 Check-in Zoom Meeting. Unfortunately, due to current restrictions, the College is unable to conduct a Year 7 Information Evening in person. In due course, all Year 7 Parents/Caregivers will be forwarded a link to enable you to join this event.

Year 11, 2022 Subject Information Evening

As with Year 7 above, at this time of the year the College would normally conduct a Year 11, 2022 Subject Preference Information Evening. This is a significant event for the current Year 10 students and a separate letter and package containing further details will be forwarded next week.

The College had hoped to hold this evening face to face but unfortunately will now be required to conduct it via Zoom. In due course, a link will be forwarded to you. All Year 10 parents and students are strongly encouraged to participate in this Zoom meeting, as extensive details are provided regarding Year 11 Subject Selection.

COVID-19 Update

Some key reminders are as follows:

• Parents are still not permitted to enter the school grounds unless it has been pre-organised, such as for scheduled meetings with teachers or to purchase uniforms.
• If you have a pre-arranged visit to the College scheduled, please use the Service NSW COVID-19 Check in QR code located at the College gates or in the front office.
• Students are not to attend school if they are unwell, even if they only have the mildest of symptoms. Those who have been unwell, are required to return a negative COVID-19 test (which must be provided to the College) and be symptom-free before returning.
• All students should bring a mask with them to school. Any student aged 12 or over must comply with the Public Health Order when travelling to and from school via public transport and during transport for school excursions, sport or other activities.

Panadol Request

The College is not in a position to provide Paracetamol to students. Should you wish your son to self-administer this type of medication while at the College, you will need to provide him with Paracetamol.

2021 Update to Medical Action Plans

A reminder that parents are required to notify the College in writing of any changes to their son’s Medical Action Plan.

In addition, it is the responsibility of Parents/Caregivers to ensure that they are aware of the expiry date of any medication provided to the College.

Mrs Catherine Roebuck
Assistant Principal

Religious Education Co-ordinator

Project Compassion 2021

Caritas Australia’s annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal is an extraordinary, ongoing demonstration of the faith, love and generosity of the Catholic congregation and caring supporters throughout Australia to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

Project Compassion theme this year asks us to: “be more” for our world.

Starting with Ash Wednesday on 17 February, we at MCK are sharing stories from people in Bangladesh, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Indonesia and Australia. Their stories humble and inspire us, and show how your contributions to Project Compassion help people build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities.

Money for Project Compassion will be collected in homerooms on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, from Monday, 22 February to Friday, 26 March 2021. Thank you in advance for your support of this great initiative.

Pancake Tuesday

On Tuesday, 16 February, the College commenced its annual Caritas Lenten fundraising appeal, Project Compassion with a pancake morning. Traditionally on the day before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of the Lenten Liturgical season), people would gather all their rich food ingredients such as eggs, butter and sugar to make pancakes as Lent was associated as a season of fasting.

Students were encouraged to make a $2 donation for a delicious pancake, or $4 with a hot beverage, with all proceeds going towards the extraordinary work of Caritas overseas in the Asia-Pacific regions and at home in Australia.

Done in a Covid safe way, we raised $898.60! An exceptional amount demonstrating the College’s support for solidarity.

On behalf of the College community, I would like to thank all the families, teachers and students involved in this fundraiser!

Ash Wednesday

On Wednesday, 17 February the College celebrated Ash Wednesday. We began the season of Lent with Mass in the College Chapel at 8.00 am. Fr Yacub commissioned the Year 12 students to facilitate the distribution of ashes in liturgies in all homerooms. The Distribution of ashes looked a little different this year to Covid 19, ashes were sprinkled on the top of students' heads, an old ancient practice that was adopted by the Universal Church.

The Year 12 students were outstanding. They were reverent and wonderful examples of faith filled young men.

Ash Wednesday began the season of Lent. During this time in the Church’s Liturgical Calendar, we are called to pray, fast and give alms. The Church encourages us at this time, to reflect on our attitudes, values and actions. Lent is a time of the year wherein we prepare ourselves spiritually for Holy Week and commemorate the death of Jesus and celebrate His resurrection.

Ms Lauren Abihanna
Religious Education Co-ordinator

Sydney Jewish Museum

Last Thursday, our Year 12 Studies of Religion 2 class had the privilege of visiting the Sydney Jewish Museum in the city. The excursion was a great opportunity to add to our knowledge of the Jewish faith, as part of our study of Judaism for the HSC.

We spent the morning learning from Sandy Hollis, a staff member at the museum teaching us about topics relating to our HSC studies of Judaism and the faith in general. Her insights and explanations of our course topics and questions we had were not only clear, but extremely useful for our studies.

We then had the privilege of meeting and talking with Jack Meister, a Holocaust survivor from Poland. Hearing about the Holocaust from someone who experienced it first hand, was an entirely different experience from learning about it in the classroom. His recounting of his experiences and feelings from 80 years ago was incredibly insightful and added a different perspective to our understanding of the Holocaust.

In the afternoon we were able to briefly tour the museum and its exhibits on Jewish history in small groups, which was equally interesting and sombre.

Thomas Arthur
Year 12

Leader of Teaching and Learning

2020 HSC High Achievers

Congratulations to our 2020 Year 12 HSC cohort on their wonderful results. Some of the HSC highlights include:

• 100% of Extension courses studied were above State average
• 92.3% of Standard courses studied were above State average
• 24 students scored an ATAR above 90
• Top ATAR 98.35
• Student ranked 1st in the Diocese in Software Design and Development
• 87 mentions on the Distinguished Achievers List (Band 6 or E4 result in a course)

Visit the link below for all the details of our HSC High Achievers

‘Three heads are better than one’
Collaborative Learning

Collaboration is a key ingredient to student success in today’s global society. Collaboration encourages learners to work in a joint effort to find solutions to problems, to create and design new products, to deliver projects and to accomplish an end. With the growth of technology and the increasing value society places on the ability to work in teams, collaborative learning has become an effective teaching practice.

Collaboration drives excellence, student-centred inquiry and deep learning. A culture of collaboration within and across the College, provides a learning environment in which our teachers are committed to creating a variety of activities in the classroom that assists students to practice in more authentic ways, and also build confidence and social networks for learning.

Research suggests that the benefits of purposeful collaborative learning include:

• opening the door for learners to actively engage with peers.
• exposure to diverse viewpoints from people with varied backgrounds.
• flourishing in a social environment where conversation between learners takes place.
• being challenged both socially and emotionally through listening to different perspectives, and articulating and defending ideas.
• the development of higher-level thinking, self-management and leadership skills.
• an increase in student retention, self-esteem, and responsibility.
  (MacGregor, 1992)

Mrs Kylie Watson
Leader of Pedagogy

From the College Counsellor

Teach your teenager to be resilient

"Setbacks, problems and failures are an inevitable part of life. As your teen matures and takes on more challenges, they will experience more frustrations and complications. Teaching your teen resilience – the ability to recover, adapt and keep going – will help them excel in life, both personally and professionally...”

You might like to read more of this article from Reach Out including information about what resilience looks like, why it is important and tips to help you support your teen develop their resilience.

Ms Amy Martin
College Counsellor

Senior PDHPE

On Thursday, 4 February, our senior PDHPE students participated in a College seminar aimed at formative assessment through the module of Health Priorities in Australia (Core 1). A student’s voice assists us in understanding what is important to our students, that is to engage, model and build critical thinking skills. In this capacity, we structured this seminar in a highly visual manner. Students were engaging in a dual process of completing timed formative quizzes which also served as posters to be displayed across the classrooms.

We encourage our students to understand that assessment is not simply just evaluating performance and not just about good grades. Assessment can be a part of everyday practice and a means of providing learning opportunities and a chance to reflect on their progress. Students participated in this activity in small groups, where collaboration was key and ensuring each member participated actively by having clearly defined roles- necessary skills to prepare them for 21st century workforce life.

Mr Alex Sinadinos
PDHPE Co-ordinator

Sport Report

MCK Swimming Carnival

In some welcome news for the College, the MCK Swimming Carnival will be held as planned next Friday, 26 February at Botany Aquatic Centre. This is always a fantastic day for all involved, with the Marist culture on show from all of our boys. It is one of those days that our students really look forward to each year and the student participation levels emphasise this point.

In keeping with COVID-19 restrictions, however, unfortunately parents and guardians are unable to attend the Carnival, with the College having exclusive use of the Aquatic venue. If any student is feeling unwell or is displaying even the mildest of symptoms, they are encouraged to stay at home and get tested. Also, organised chanting from our students is also not allowed. Despite these restrictions, I have no doubt that this Carnival will still go down as one to remember for all.

Students will travel to and from the venue by bus and therefore all students must have their own mask to wear while travelling on the bus. Students will be dismissed from the College on return at approximately 2.00 pm.

Mr Chris MacDougal
Sports Co-ordinator

Under 14’s Touch Football

The U14s Touch Football squad started the 2020/2021 season a little slower than normal, due to a lot of rookies being recruited this year, but have finally started gaining some momentum. Although the team sustained some heavy losses in the first few rounds to Randwick and Ryde, the boys’ enthusiasm for the game did not diminish and still they begged their coach to train twice a week. It was only after the Christmas break did all their hard work finally pay off.

The MCK boys faced off against De La Salle Ashfield in their opening game for the New Year, cruising to a victory, including a hat trick from Anthony Jubian. This win gave the squad some much needed confidence when they had to face a strong Marist North Shore side last week. Back and forth the teams ran, both defending and scoring on either side. Neck and neck the game continued until the last 5 minutes and we were down by 2 tries. Within 2 minutes Luca Pirrello quickly finds the line, and the whole team cheering but tense...we need to get the ball to have a shot at drawing the game. One minute left and the team forced an error from the opposition, quickly scooping up the ball and attacking with everything we’ve got. It was again the quick stepping of Anthony Jubian that got that ball over the try line on literally the last play of the game! Six all draw!

The team goes into the last 2 rounds in high spirits, with Lewisham and La Salle Bankstown left to face. The 16 man squad has shown good enthusiasm and true grit to get to where they are now and can only get better from here. Good effort 14s!

Mr Robert Almeida
Under 14’s Coach

Under 15’s Touch Football

The U15's Touch Football team continued their great run of form with a strong victory over North Shore last Thursday. After a slow start and a halftime result of 2-2, the boys showed great focus and ability to turn the tide and come home with a 7-3 win. Battling with a few players absent, a couple of solo efforts from Hunter Mckay, Marat Nahas and Jacob Fong as well as solid defensive decisions from wide players Sam Duncombe and Darcy Flood ensured the two points returned to Kogarah. Currently undefeated, the victory puts 15's Touch just behind Lewisham at the top of the table due to point’s differential. It has been great to see the commitment to training from the squad and if things continue down this path it looks like a very promising end to the season ahead!

Mr Jake Gallagher
Under 15’s Coach

B Grade Touch Football

Last Thursday the MCK MCC B Grade Touch Football side travelled out to Heffron Park to play North Shore in a must win match in order to have a chance at playing finals football in the coming weeks ahead. The B grade side was very enthusiastic after a great training session that morning and this showed in the first half with Dean Sozomenou and Massimo Lavorato both crossing for early tries to give the side a 2-0 lead. After back and forth exchanges of solid driving sets between each team and a late error leading to a North Shore try, the B grade side took a 2-1 lead heading into the half time break. Unfortunately, a few errors crept into the sides game in the second half which led to a few North Shore tries and the boys went down 5-2 by the full time siren. This score line does not illustrate the improvement that this side has displayed in 2021 after coming back from the Christmas break. Special mention to Massimo Lavorato who not only scored a try in the first half but made two miraculous try saving touches throughout the match. Well done B grade!

Mr Jason Booth
B Grade Coach

A Grade Touch Football

This year’s A grade squad is a young and inexperienced team with a number of boys eligible for the next two years after this one. We have also had key players out with injuries. Although we haven’t had much success with only 1 win thus far, the boys are committed to representing the College and have a never give up attitude. Our one win of the season came against Ashfield two weeks ago with a hard fought 3-1 victory. The boys have enjoyed the season so far and can hopefully finish the season off on a high over the last couple of weeks.

Mr Mark Hildebrandt
A Grade Coach

Some action shots from our Football Teams

Under 14’s Basketball

The Under 14’s basketball team started off the season with some solid results. After a long break, the players were excited to be back and had a good win over Ashfield. The game against North Shore showed some areas for improvement in their games and the players are practicing diligently for the upcoming games to continue to improve their skills. With some good results to the end the season, the team could see themselves sneak into the Semi Finals.

Mr Kendrick Nguyen
Under 14’s Coach

Under 15’s Basketball

The Under 15’s Basketball team has had a solid start to the season with convincing victories against Pagewood and Ryde as well as a narrow come-from-behind win against Ashfield. Marcellin Randwick and Marist North Shore proved too strong for Kogarah despite promising first-halves in each game. A North Shore rematch in the semi-finals appears most likely to be on the cards for Kogarah and the squad is seeking the opportunity to exact revenge on their rivals.

The team has improved since last season with the introduction of four new players adding a new dynamic to our game. Vice-Captain Lucas Dal Bianco has come into form playing a more aggressive game and has proven to be a force to be reckoned with under the basket and Captain Joel Tesoriero has been inspirational with non-stop effort from tip-off to the final buzzer of every game.

The team is a contender for the championship but the road will not be easy.

Mr Christian Zilich
Under 15’s Coach

A/B Grade Basketball

The 2020/2021 summer season is going well for our Basketball squads. The B-grade team has been training consistently throughout the season and still have a chance to make the finals if they can manage to win the next two games. The A-Grade has been extremely competitive and has a great deal of skill. They are looking to cement a finals spot in the next two rounds. All in all the coaches would like to congratulate all MCC basketballers at this college. They are wonderfully gifted athletes, never give up and wear the college uniform with pride, with a dedication to training.

Mr George Kazanis and Mr Adrian McKevett
A/B Grade Coaches

Some action shots from our Basketball Teams

MCC Tennis

As we enter the Year 2021 brimming with optimism in hopes of leaving 2020 and all that came with it behind, the MCC Tennis squad has started the resumption of the 20/21 summer competition in fine form.

This season marks the first time the students play as three separate teams. In both rounds this year, our players won a clean sweep winning all the age divisions.

Almost half the squad is playing Tennis for the very first time and despite the pressure of our previous squads winning back to back titles, they all play to the best of their abilities and demonstrated Marist values on and off the court.

Our Opens team is currently in first position with the Under 15s team in second place.

The Under 14s, our least experienced squad, is knocking on the door to the top four.

With two rounds remaining of the regular season our goal is to feature in all three semi- finals and secure a grand final position. Assuming our players are fit and available for competition this team goal is well within our grasp.

Mr Frank Azar and Mr Stuart Lemos
Tennis Coaches

A Grade Cricket

Week 3 saw our A Grade cricket team play their first game of 2021. The team was on the back foot suffering injuries before the match began. However, the boys have shown this season that they are a close knit group and the hard work they have put in over the last two years is starting to show.

Our game against Marist North Shore did not get off to the best of starts losing multiple wickets cheaply. The partnership from Dominic Pandeli and Anthony Parrotta helped the team reach a total of 63, a partnership that meant MCK would earn a bonus point.

A sign of the modern game, Nicholas Blanda opened the bowling with his off-spin bowling is the search for wickets. And it was a successful bowling option removing the North Shore opener. A couple missed opportunities allowed for North Shore to score the runs in the 11th over.

MCK could have downed tools and allowed the opposition to collect all the bonus points, but this season the boys have taken pride in playing as hard as possible to the very end. Dominic Pandeli finished with 4 wickets, which included two spectacular catches by Mike Magoulias. MCK were also able to run out 4 North Shore batsmen.

In a game that our batting performance let us down, the boys did themselves proud by bowling out North Shore, not allowing them to collect maximum points and walked away with 5 bonus points.

Mr James Drahalivas
A Grade Coach

Under 15’s Cricket

MCK came into the game confident after a good week of training and preparation. MCK won the toss and elected to bat.

MCK batting performance was unfortunately typified by losing quick wickets to some excellent bowling. A special mention must go to Michael Rached who scored a quick fire 17 to amass nearly half of the total runs of the team. With some unfortunate further quick wickets and being short on players the team ended up scoring 40 runs in total.

MCK went into the field confident they could put pressure on the opposition. All bowlers were fantastic in bowling tight lines to restrict the opposition to a limited runs, considering the conditions. Overall, Ryde scored the total in 10.4 overs.

Although we ended up falling short of the desired total, numerous positives could be taken out of the game. We hope to improve in the coming week upon our shot selection although it must be said that our commitment in the field is fantastic and they are looking forward to our first finals match this week.

Mr Mitchell Ward
Under 15’s Coach

Upcoming MCC Fixtures

Over the next two weeks, the large majority of our MCC Representatives will finish their regular season with the final 2 matches of the season against rivals Christian Brothers Lewisham and also La Salle Bankstown. Our Under 15 2’s Cricket team begin their playoffs this week with a match against Marcellin Randwick with the winner progressing through to the next week of the finals, however, the loser of this match-up will find themselves eliminated from the competition.

A full wrap-up of the upcoming fixture can be found below:

Week 5 Vs La Salle Bankstown

Tennis at Roger Bowman Tennis Courts, Sefton
A Grade Cricket at Monash Park, Gladesville (Vs Holy Cross College, Ryde)
15’s Cricket at TBC
Touch Football at Morrison Bay Fields, Ryde
Basketball at Bankstown Basketball Stadium

Mr Chris MacDougal
Sports Co-ordinator

Marist Spirit on Display

With the MCC cricket competition restarting in Week 2, the MCK A Grade cricket team have been working hard at improving their cricket skills, especially in the field. The boys were put through various drills to help improve their short and high catching, their ground fielding and their ability to hit the stumps.

Towards the end of the session, our senior squad members took the opportunity, on their own accord, to cheer on our new Year 7 students as they ran their first cross country trial. Led by captain Nicholas Blanda, students Eric Portelli, Adam Montedoro, Paul Refalo, Luke Kalatzis and Harry Handley displayed true Marist spirit by forming a guard and encouraging their new Marist schoolmates to continue running as best as they could.

It is a credit to these young Marist men and I am sure that their actions would have the most positive effect on all the Year 7 students.

Mr James Drahalivas

Community Announcements

Second Hand Uniform

The College has an abundance of sport jackets, track pants, sports shirts and House shirts in all sizes at very reasonable prices. Available to purchase from Student Services.

Parents coming to the College to purchase uniforms need their child present, as there are no returns.

Cash only.

All donations, in good condition, are gratefully received. Please ensure items are laundered before donating.