A statement from the principal
Student attendance on 24 March
On the advice of Mr Ross Fox, Director of Catholic Education, I have been directed to provide you with the following information.
Being mindful of the decision for ACT Public schools to commence pupil free days on 24 March, Catholic schools will also alter their operations.
St Mary MacKillop College will remain open to students who need a safe place to continue their learning from Tuesday 24 March until the end of Term 1, Thursday 9 April, as long as we are able to operate safely.
Parents can choose to keep their children at home. If you intend to keep your boys and girls at home between 24 March and 9 April you must provide this advice to their Campus Head in writing for the period of their absence.
Years 7-9: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Years 10-12: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For the remainder of Term 1, 2020, St Mary MacKillop College will offer a program of learning that can be accessed in school or via our online management platform. This is in preparation for a full transition to remote learning in Term 2 – were that to be required.
As you can appreciate the challenges around COVID-19 and schooling have developed rapidly during the course of the school day. I have visited many classes today to offer reassurance and have been impressed with the maturity and sense of collective responsibility exhibited by your children. Staff briefings have occurred along with telephone and video conference meetings with CE and other Catholic secondary school principals within the Archdiocesan system.
I write to you with the following guiding principles:
- There is now a national emergency around this virus where the safety of the community and the containment of the virus are a hand in hand priority
- The safety and wellbeing of your children at this school, your families and MacKillop staff and their families must be prioritised
- The College is committed to the provision of quality learning experiences for all students over the next few weeks and months
Families who are choosing to have their children remain at home can access online learning via Canvas. At this stage, Catholic Education is looking at moving to remote learning from the beginning of Term 2. We are well prepared to do this earlier were circumstances to change.
Students who come to school will be encouraged to practice personal hygiene and to engage in social distancing.
The Position of the Staff
Teachers understand and are ready to deliver online learning. Most of those teachers will do it from school. Strategies to track student participation and attendance are being put in place and the established expectations around the use of technology are to be complied with. You will appreciate that some staff may themselves become ill or carers for members of their own family. Please trust the College to manage this with sensitivity and dignity.
Students of Years 11 and 12
I am particularly mindful of the status of students and their pursuit of the Senior Secondary Certificate. The Board of Studies (BSSS) is working closely with schools to bring sensitivity and understanding to students engaged in the pursuit of this credential. MacKillop will work with the BSSS, other schools and our students to ensure every opportunity is used to favour the student around illness, misadventure and compromised learning.
School Fee Remissions
I am aware that a number of families have suffered sudden and severe changes in their financial position. The College is keen to support families immediately. Please apply for a fee concession application at the following email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The fee remission committee of the College advisory Board will meet out of session to assess applications confidentially and promptly.
In conclusion, no student is alone or unique in this current challenge. Students from early childhood to university to CIT around the country are in the same predicament – there is some comfort in this. I apologise for the lack of further detail in this communication and will rectify that by email as government and CE decisions continue to evolve.
I would like to take this opportunity to offer every best wish from the leadership of MacKillop to you and your families, some of whom are feeling very vulnerable and anxious. Let us put our trust in each other and keep our priorities very clear.
With that comfort I am yours sincerely in St Mary MacKillop,
Michael Lee
College Principal
