Term 1 Week 9 - Thursday 28th March 2024
Notes from the Principal
Year 12 students are engaged in their mid year assessment block this week and next. Whilst this can be a stressful time for students, I encourage them to take confidence in the preparation they have done for their assessments since Year 7. They have applied themselves to their studies with diligence and have prepared for their assessments.
We wish students well and look forward to their return to regular study.
I would like to thank you and your daughters for attending to my request to ensure their attendance at school remains high. I am pleased to say that there have been some good improvements this term. With this in mind, I ask you to continue to be diligent in this area because there are still improvements to be made.
If your daughter is very sick, then by all means keep her at home to recover. However, if she can manage the day, she should attend school. I also ask you, where possible, not to schedule appointments or other events during the school day, and to avoid taking holiday leave during the school term.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a holy Easter week. Through the biblical story of Easter and the death and rising of Jesus, we are encouraged to reflect on our own lives and to consider how we might improve ourselves so that we can live in closer harmony with our sisters and brothers, and with our God. I pray that this week gives all of us this beautiful opportunity to come closer to God through our actions towards one another.
Mary Refalo
Principal
News from the Director of Catholic Identity and Mission
During Holy Week and Easter as people of faith we set aside time to remember, reenact and retell the events that formed the origins of our religious tradition. At Catherine McAuley Westmead, since the beginning of Lent, on Ash Wednesday our focus has been preparing to fully celebrate the Resurrection of Our Saviour Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday morning. At one of our Westmead Catholic Community Masses in the Mercy Chapel, Fr Janu Pinto OCarm, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Wentworthville, explained in his homily how Lent provides us with the opportunity to ensure that we are ‘in right relationship with Jesus’.
At Catherine McAuley this has very much been evident in the care and concern shown through the many awareness and fundraising initiatives held for Project Compassion. Students and staff have creatively responded to this year’s theme For Future Generations by sharing their talents and resources with those who do not have access to the basics of life. The generosity of the Catherine McAuley Community was also evident in the items that were collected for the Dignity Drive. These items were gratefully received by Jesuit Refugee Service. Such actions show that we are always striving to be disciples of Jesus, who spoke these words before he announced that Peter would deny knowing him, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).
At lunchtime on Monday of Holy Week and on Wednesday of the 5th week of Lent, Fr Janu Pinto OCarm kindly made himself available at lunchtime for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Many students availed themselves of this opportunity to ensure that they are ‘in right relationship with Jesus’. Our Liturgy Leaders and Liturgy Choir have devoted their lunchtimes to rehearse the Lenten Liturgy which took place on Wednesday of Holy Week. The Liturgy was centred on the events of Good Friday, the day Jesus was tortured, mocked, crucified, and died. As a faith community, we prayed the Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis through a dramatic presentation of the Stations of the Cross. In our hearts we pondered Jesus' words from John’s Gospel, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
The Lenten Liturgy held on Wednesday this week.
The Triduum, the time when we celebrate the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, begins with Holy Thursday Mass, and continues on Good Friday with the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion. As the sun is setting on Holy Saturday, the Church re-gathers to celebrate the final, and most grand moment of the Triduum: the Resurrection of our Lord. As Catholics, Easter is so much more than the Royal Easter Show and the football games. As people of faith, we believe that Jesus changed the whole world on Easter Sunday. It was an earth-shattering, life changing, historic event, and the ultimate proof that Jesus truly is God. In Mark’s Gospel, the angel tells the women on the first Easter Sunday morning,
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” (Mark 16: 6-7)
After our Lenten journey, let us celebrate that Christ is truly risen, Alleluia.
See this link for Holy Week and Easter Mass times in the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta.
Genevieve Banks
Director of Catholic Identity and Mission
Photos from the Garden of Gethsemane taken in January 2020.
Pray With Us
Need To Know
No items this week
Upcoming Fortnight
Term 1 Week 10
- Year 12 Half Yearly Exams
- Year 11 Geography Fieldtrip
- Year 8 Geography Excursion
- Year 8 Medieval Incursion
- Year 8 Japanese Incursion
Term 1 Week 11
- Mercy 5 Eco-Retreat
- NSWCCC Touch Football Selections
- End of Term 1
News Articles
Our School on Social Media
Follow Catherine McAuley Westmead on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for regular updates. A recent post is shown below:
McAULEY BASKETBALL TEAM WINS PDSSSC GALA DAY - The McAuley Open Basketball Team have, for the second year in a row, won the PDSSSC Girls Open Basketball Gala Day!! Coach Mrs Howlett said that the students did an amazing job representing the school and remained undefeated all day. This event was held on Friday, 22nd March at the Penrith Regional Sports Stadium.
The day began with a 36-2 win against Delany College and continued with great wins (some very close) against St John Paul II Catholic College 40-10; Penola Catholic College 33-13; Nagle College 29-28; Semi Final against Marian College 41-30 and Grand Final against Nagle 42-30.
Well done to the McAuley Open Basketball Team!!