Term 1 Week 4 - Thursday 17th February 2022
News From The Assistant Principal
I'd like to begin by echoing Ms Refalo's sentiments from last week by welcoming each and every one of you back to the 2022 school year. I truly hope you were able to have a restful Christmas break and are now ready for another exciting year of learning.
This week I was privileged to attend our 2021 HSC High Achievers' Assembly, which we live-streamed into all our classrooms from the Morley Centre. Although we should first acknowledge that success and achievement look different for each person, the occasion celebrated the efforts and achievements of the 28 students from the class of 2021 who achieved an ATAR of 90 and above - which in itself is quite remarkable.
I said to the audience that I believed that "Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." Now obviously I think that's an important message to convey, but what I was also delighted to hear was our School Dux for 2021, Elanah Sebastian (ATAR 98.95) also made a very similar point in her address - and no, we didn't compare notes beforehand!
Elanah was very humble when she spoke about the teamwork and collaborative approach to her studies she leveraged to succeed, paying tribute to the entire 2021 cohort.
She spoke quite directly about the importance of setting "achievable and realistic goals" and that "setting these realistic goals are the key to your individual drive and determination". Again, reiterating to the girls at McAuley that achievement is more about perseverance than intelligence. In fact, and perhaps Elanah was aware of this when setting off on her senior years in 2020, conscientious, goal-directed behaviours when the goal is challenging (relative to the individual's current level of attainment) can yield up to a 250% improvement in achievement compared with individuals who do not set academic goals. More to this, and related to Elanah's point about drive, is that moderately challenging goals promote positive emotion and motivation. Meaning that we actually feel better when we are pursuing a goal compared with how we feel when there is no established goal (Locke, E., & Latham, G. 2017. New Developments in Goal Setting and Task Performance. Routledge Press).
Parents and carers, for the 2022 school year, set goals with your daughter.
- Make them challenging.
- Make them behavioural rather than achievement specific.
- Check-in with them and their progress regularly.
- Stick to it.
- Celebrate when progress is made.
You just never know, you might have another Elanah on your hands!
We are launching the Compass Parent Portal this week. For further information and instructions on how to use the Parent Portal, please see the link in the Need to Know section below.
Jaie Skinner
Assistant Principal
News Articles
From The School Counsellor
As we enter the new school year, we are faced with some form of change. Whether transitioning from primary to secondary school, moving up a grade, teacher or class grouping. For teachers, it may be change in classes, subject areas and students. We are all facing changes either in our personal or professional lives that can be predictable. Such changes might cause some form of anxiety as we adjust to the new way of life.
Some advice for parents to help their daughters navigate through these changes:
- Give them forewarning - Like adults, children do not cope well with change being sprung on them. It is important to discuss upcoming changes as early as possible so that they can begin to process this information ahead of time.
- Expect questions - It is important to create an open environment of communication to answer their questions and when you don’t know the answer aim to model problem solving around finding a solution.
- Stick to routine as much as possible - Change is challenging, so try not to change everything at once. Try to keep other routines as stable as possible as your daughter adapts to the change.
- Weather the change - Adapting to change takes time and it may be an emotional experience that is full of ups and downs. Try to find simple strategies to cope with the change.
Just remember that change is a part of life and while it may feel tough at first, we need to remember that change brings new opportunities and growth.
If you have any concerns about your daughter, please feel free to contact me via email sboulattouf@parra.catholic.edu.au or Ph: 98499100 (during school hours).
Suzan Boulattouf
School Counsellor
This Week On Social Media
Follow Catherine McAuley Westmead on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for regular updates. One of the posts from this week is shown below:
Have you driven along Darcy Road recently and noticed a new pop of colour? Selected artworks from some very talented Year 8 Visual Arts students are currently on display along the front and side school fence which runs along Darcy Road.
The self portraits were completed by the students last year and have now been printed on large boards and hung for display. They are sure to offer pedestrians something interesting to look at.
Need To Know
Upcoming Fortnight
Week 5
- Year 11 Study Skills Session
- Year 9 Study Skills Session
Week 6
- School Swimming Carnival
- Ash Wednesday