It has been 14 years now since the College community last had a representative equestrian team, so it was fantastic to see two of our students successfully represent St Mary MacKillop College at the WA InterSchools Championships during the April holidays.

Congratulations to Kirrane House on winning the St Mary MacKillop College Inter-house Athletics Carnival for 2017. The weather conditions were perfect on the day, enabling the students to produce their best efforts, and we were privileged to watch several new records created on the day.

A group of Year 9 students travelled to the South West Sports Centre in Bunbury on Friday 5 May to take part in the ‘Science and Engineering Challenge’.

Managed by the Rotary Club of Bunbury-Leschenault, this day of activity allows students to experience aspects of science and engineering they may not encounter in a school environment, and compete against other schools in problem-solving tasks using scientific and mathematical understanding in practical applications.

When the curtain came down after the final performance of ANNIE Jr in the gymnasium at St Mary MacKillop College on Saturday night, it became clear to many of us that we had just witnessed something amazing.

It wasn’t just the performance itself, which was so professionally executed you would swear these kids were seasoned professionals, instead of students having a go in their first theatre production – which was also a first for the College and for the venue itself.

Term 1 has flown by and students in their final year of Certificate II in Hospitality have been busy getting on top of their twelve units of competency. For six weeks at the beginning of the term, three students each week created a delicious hot breakfast for the swim squad who diligently turned up for early morning training.

Late last term the Year 4 students in Room 12 gathered in the Multipurpose Room for popcorn and movies. These movies were a collection of animated films created by the students themselves, with help from Year 9 English students.

The topics illustrated in each film related to the Values Education unit being covered in Health.

The recent Arts Tour to Melbourne in the April school holidays was a fabulous experience for the fourteen students and three staff members involved.

We departed Perth airport on Easter Monday and embarked on a tour rich with culture for six days.

Last week, while our Senior students were away on various camps, the Middle School students enjoyed a wide range of activities designed to build friendships, resilience and teamwork skills, and to challenge them to choose life with courage.

It has been great to see our Kindy and Pre Primary students enjoying the new playground equipment that has gone in throughout first term. With the new boat also installed in the Early Learning Centre, the kids have been engaging in a range of imaginative play centred around this brightly painted structure.

Year 11 student Courtland Wood has been selected in the under 17s State Squad. He recently placed a very close third in the Pemberton Classic U/17 Road Race title. Courtland narrowly missed second place in a photo finish sprint across the line. Courtland is working towards representing WA at Nationals in Devonport Tasmania at the end of August.