STUDENTS at St Mary MacKillop College will be celebrating Catholic education during Education Week next week.
Deputy Principal of Teaching and Learning, Nathan Lane, said a focus on community is what makes Catholic schools so strong.
“One of the strengths of Catholic schools is our ability to build community,” he said. “Catholic Education Week is a real celebration of not just Catholic education, but also for us as a school community.
“What we do really well at Catholic schools is maintain that lovely balance between wellbeing and learning. I think it’s important for us that we are all involved in a child’s education, teachers, parents as well as the wider school community.
“We usually end Catholic Education week with a Mass, which we call the Catholic education Swan Hill, or CESH mass. It brings together our school, as well as the other Catholic primary school, and it’s a real celebration of our community. It’s really nice to be able to celebrate our faith as one big group.”
Mr Lane said that MacKillop’s pathways program and subject expo is another one of the strengths schools display during Education Week.
“The subject expo is an opportunity for students to come and see displays that have been set up by our learning area leaders across the school,” he said. “Students can ask questions of our teachers about the subject offerings moving forward into next year.
“It’s a really great evening because there are some presentations as well about the process of subject selection.
“I think it can be a really exciting time for our students, especially those moving into VCE or Year 11 and 12, because it’s really about designing a pathway that will lead them into whatever it is that they want to do when they leave secondary school.”
Mr Lane said the wider community at MacKillop College was a strong one.
“We have amazing staff, a group of very committed and dedicated staff here,” he said. “We have amazing students, as well as a really supportive community. Everyone is willing to help each other out, be that staff or students. It’s a really strong commitment we all have to the school.”
