Mary MacKillop College is a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 secondary school for girls located in Wakeley, New South Wales

Wakeley, New South Wales

Wakeley is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wakeley is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Wakeley is part of the Greater Western Sydney region....

, providing Catholic education to the Smithfield

Smithfield, New South Wales

* Highest Recorded Temperature: 44.2 °C* Lowest Recorded Temperature: -2.3 °C* Warmest Month: January* Coolest Month: July* Highest Precipitation: February* Lowest Precipitation: August-Demographics:...

, Fairfield

Fairfield, New South Wales

Fairfield is a western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Fairfield is located 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Fairfield and is also partly in the local government...

, Cabramatta

Cabramatta, New South Wales

Cabramatta is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located 30 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield...

 and Villawood

Villawood, New South Wales

Villawood, a suburb of local government areas City of Bankstown and City of Fairfield, is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the Greater Western Sydney region....

 parishes in the Fairfield

City of Fairfield

The City of Fairfield is a Local Government Area in the south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- Suburbs in the local government area :Suburbs in the City of Fairfield are:* Abbotsbury* Bonnyrigg* Bonnyrigg Heights* Bossley Park...

 area of Sydney. The school was originally founded as Rosary High School in 1946 in Fairfield, while the Sisters of St Joseph

Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart

The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the Josephites , were founded in Penola, South Australia in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods....

, a teaching order founded by Mary MacKillop

Mary MacKillop

Mary Helen MacKillop , also known as Saint Mary of the Cross, was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australasia with an emphasis on...

, have been engaged in the area since 1931. In its current form the college was established in 1991, and is one of the newest schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.Erected in 1842 and directly responsible to the Holy See, the Archdiocese is responsible for the suffragan dioceses of Armidale, Bathurst, Broken Bay, Lismore,...

. Mary MacKillop Colleges emphasises community, and each of the school's houses - Arena

Franca Arena

Franca Arena is an Australian politician and activist. She was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1981, first for the Australian Labor Party then as an Independent from 1997 until she left the Council in 1999...

, Crosio

Janice Crosio

Janice Ann Crosio, AM, MBE , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives.-Early life:...

, Goolagong

Evonne Goolagong

Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley, AO, MBE is a former World No. 1 Australian female tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, when she won 14 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles , six in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.-Early life:Goolagong is the...

, Henderson

Sarah Henderson

Sarah Henderson is a former broadcast journalist best known for her work on the ABC’s The 7.30 Report and for her consumer advocacy on The Investigators....

, McCormack

Irene McCormack

Sister Irene McCormack was a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Born in Western Australia, on 21 August 1938, she grew up on a farm near Trayning. After becoming a nun, McCormack was sent to Peru to work as a missionary to the poor...

 and O'Shane

Pat O'Shane

Patricia June O'Shane is a magistrate of the Local Court of New South Wales living in Sydney, Australia. A former head of the New South Wales Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, and Aboriginal herself, O'Shane was appointed a magistrate in 1986...

 - are named after women the school sees as worthy role models for the students. To promote a sense of community across year groups, pastoral care groups incorporate students from Year 7 to Year 12. Mary MacKillop College offers core and elective courses for junior students and a range of HSC courses for senior students.