St Mary MacKillop College, formerly MacKillop Catholic College, was founded in 1998 following the amalgamation of two schools. St Mary MacKillop College provides excellence in education for students from Years 7 to 12 over two campuses, Years 7 to 9 at the Wanniassa Campus and Years 10 to 12 at the Isabella Campus.
St Mary MacKillop College has united the best of the two former colleges to create a “Dynamic Welcoming Community Based on Gospel Values”. The Wanniassa Campus is situated at MacKinnon Street, Wanniassa. The Isabella Plains Campus is situated at Ellerston Avenue, Isabella Plains.
Facilities: Chapel, library, computer laboratories, media facilities, science laboratories, music, drama, refurbished art rooms, refurbished food technology and textiles areas, an industrial kitchen, a large gymnasium, industrial arts area, a theatrette that seats 300, basketball, netball and tennis courts, and an oval. A new trade training facility for vocational education exists on the Isabella Campus. A new library at Wanniassa will be built in 2011.
Electives: A Middle School approach has been adopted for the Wanniassa Campus with electives in Languages, Art, Music, Food Technology, Textiles and Design, Industrial Arts, Electronics, Technical Drawing, Typing Skills, Word Processing, Computer Programming, Computer Applications, Recreational Studies, Physical Education Extension courses and Theatre Arts. These electives are run in conjunction with the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science, Religious Education, Physical Education, and SOSE Extension courses make up the rest of the College’s curriculum.
Sport: Students participate in interschool competition in a variety of sports including netball, volleyball, various codes of football (including Australian Rules), swimming, cross-country, athletics, soccer and cricket.
Extracurricular activities: These include school choir, band, public speaking, sport, Mock Trials, debating, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, drama, charity and community service projects, and the college magazine. Considerable opportunities exist to foster student leadership.
Welfare and personal development: The College’s pastoral care policy is integrated throughout the curriculum and involves cross-age tutoring, access to a school counsellor, and pastoral care programs. Work experience is offered in Years 10 to 12 and a careers adviser is on staff.
Special features: A resource unit has been established on each campus to cater for the individual needs of the school population. Within a flexible framework, it aims to identify, assess and rectify learning concerns as well as provide extension units for the more able students.