Term 2 Week 7 - Thursday 13th June 2024

Note From The Principal

Curricular and extra-curricular activities at school

There has been quite a lot happening at school in the past two weeks, and I am very pleased to share it with you in today’s Weekly Review.

You will see that the Student Sport Leaders have contributed to this issue of the Weekly Review with a wrap up of the Athletics Carnival held last week. Whilst I was absent on my sabbatical at that time, I know it was a wonderful event for the whole community. There have been some fabulous photos posted on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and also added to this publication.

In addition, in the last week there have been a range of curricular and extra-curricular activities that have taken place, including a visit to the Art Gallery of NSW for Japanese students, a university workshop for Chemistry students, a History excursion to the Jewish museum, a Music excursion to the Opera House, Careers breakfasts, PDSSSC Gala Days. Of particular note is the Debating Competition, where the rounds have been completed, and the teams in Years 7, 8 and 10 are all through to the elimination rounds which begin tomorrow evening. The Years 11 and 12 teams have also been successful in their rounds and will go straight through to the quarter finals on 28 June. All of these activities are certainly rich learning experiences for students.

Participation in all activities develops and brings to life learning outcomes for students, and involvement in extra-curricular activities builds students’ resilience and social networks, as well as their organisational skills. Furthermore, it promotes their problem solving and creativity, and this enhances their general capabilities. I commend all students who take the opportunity to do something extra and encourage others to do so.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity survey

As you know, in the past fortnight I have been in Belgium with 30 diocesan colleagues from other schools and from the CSPD office teams, studying a subject in theology at KU Leuven, the second oldest university in the world.  The focus of this two week intensive was the Catholic Identity survey all students, staff, and many parents and carers recently completed. Our lectures focused on enhancing catholic school identity through an on-campus intensive program that included presentations, workshops, and school visits. 

ECSI’s (Enhancing Catholic Schools Identity) foundations are rooted in the pedagogical theology developed at the Catholic University of Leuven in response to the Second Vatican Council. ECSI is theologically legitimate and culturally plausible, allowing us an insight into the Catholic identity of our own school. 

At Catherine McAuley, we see Jesus and identify ourselves as Catholic through our Mercy charism and values. Yesterday I spoke about this at the school assembly and gave students an example of how the hermeneutical approach is being used in maintaining our Catholic identity. I have included a copy of my slides here for your perusal.

I look forward to sharing more about this with you over the coming months as we continue to unpack our school survey data.

Mary Refalo
Principal

News From Athletics Carnival

Sport Leaders Wrap Up

On Thursday, 6th June the Catherine McAuley Athletics Carnival took place at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre. A number of competitive and novelty events were run, with many girls getting involved within the events which was great to see! 

Competitive track and field events included 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, shot put, long jump, triple jump, high jump and discus. Although we didn’t have a sunny day the rain did not stop great performances and participation of the girls on the track. Our last specialty event, the fastest girl in the school race, was not short of a competitive finish. The eight fastest girls in the school were, Bailey S., Clara F., Evonne S., Salamatu K., Tanisha S., Adelaide B., Jasmine S. and Matilda D. Congratulations to Clara (1st place), Bailey (2nd place) and Salamatu (3rd place) on their outstanding performances in their 100m sprint.

The novelty events allowed students who might not have felt comfortable participating in competitive events to have fun with their friends and gain house points. These included shot put, long jump, triple jump, high jump, discus and a water-carrying homeroom activity which all contributed to house points. With the participation and competitive placing points being accumulated to determine a victorious house.

At the Athletics Carnival each year, House Leaders work hard to create a cheer to pump up their house at the beginning of the day in order to compete for the best cheer.  This then contributes to the House Cup which is awarded at the end of Term 3. The cheers from each house were encouraging, powerful and full of energy. Thank you to all the House Leaders and patrons for the time and effort put into the cheers. Each cheer had its own wow factors, from props to mascots and signs, which made them unique and entertaining to watch. 

Thank you to all the teachers involved in setting up and running the carnival, special mention to Ms Papazoglou for making this day possible and for all her work behind the scenes. Thank you to the Athletics Centre staff for ensuring safety and allowing us to have a great day. 

This day would not have gone ahead without the student participation. Thank you to every girl who gave an event a go and to the Year 11 volunteers helping around the track. Thank you also for the encouragement from the stands. The roars were heard around the track and pushed competitors to do their best. 

Overall the 2024 Catherine McAuley Athletics Carnival was a great success and it was amazing to witness the talent and community involvement across the day. 

Alyssa C. and Genevieve A.
Sport Leaders

School Athletics Carnival Results

Pray With Us

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Need To Know

Parramatta Women's Shelter Charity  Drive
Catherine McAuley Visual and Performing Arts Mid Year Showcase

Upcoming Fortnight

Term 2 Week 8

• Year 11 Biology Excursion
• Year 11 2025 Subject Selection Talks
• Senior Retreat
• CSDA Debating Elimination Rounds
• PDSSSC Open Girls Football (Soccer) Gala Day
• PDSSSC Years 7 - 9 Football (Soccer) Gala Day

Term 2 Week 9

• Year 12 Physics Excursion
• Year 12 Formal
• Year 7 Vaccination Program
• AMSSA Student Conference
• CAPA Mid-Year Showcase
• PDSSSC Dance Competition
  
• Staff Formation Day

News Articles

Cheers and Competition at the 2024 School Athletics Carnival 

Our School on Social Media

Follow Catherine McAuley Westmead on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for regular updates. A recent post is shown below:

AROUND THE CLASSROOMS: The Year 12 PDHPE classes of Miss Brincat and Mr Nguyen are learning to juggle as part of their work on examining the stages of skill acquisition, particularly the associative stage, which requires lots of practice to improve their juggling.