Catherine McAuley Westmead eNewsletter

News from the School Captains

Catholic Schools Week

The impact of education in a Catholic school is one that is often difficult to recognise as students because it is what we have known for so long. However, as we look back on our high school education and simultaneously look forward to life after school, we see how our Mercy school shapes us as young women of the future.

Justice, Integrity, Courage, Hospitality and Excellence are integrated into the behaviours of our teachers and leaders. These Mercy values shape our interactions with each other, our attitude towards our studies and our lives outside of school.

Grow In Unity

The student leadership team crafted the theme ‘Grow In Unity’ to focus on building community engagement and school spirit after two years where our connections to each other have been tested by lockdowns and other restrictions. By promoting these in student-led initiatives we hope to enhance our culture of hospitality and encourage girls to develop their relationships with their peers and teachers.

One example of this recently, is the beginning of the McAuley Shield Competition where Year 12 students come together to battle it out against their teachers (displaying very good sportswomanship of course). Last Friday, we ran a game of Family Feud hosted by Mr Johnson where the students banded together to win!

International Women's Day

For International Women's Day, the Year 12 leadership team were given the opportunity to attend the International Women's Day Breakfast held at the Parramatta Novotel, run by the Zonta Club of Sydney Hills. Here, we were able to hear the incredible story of Renee Wootton and her journey into aerospace engineering as an Indigenous woman. Her vision to improve female representation in the engineering field resonated with us all and she encouraged us to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable” when facing life’s challenges.

The theme for 2022 is ‘Break the Bias’ and we implore you to recognise our collective responsibility to do this. It starts with education and conversations, so don’t be afraid to talk with your daughter about the issues women face today and how we, especially as young women at Catherine McAuley, are united in facing them with courage and mercy.

Zara Zama and Victoria Carr
School Captains 2022

Victoria and Zara, School Captains, with Councillor Donna Davis, Lord Mayor of Parramatta, at the International Women's Day Breakfast.

News Articles

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:

Assessment tasks can creep up on students who are not managing their time effectively! That is the concern of the Student Leaders of Learning, Ann C. and Elyce J. who have started a new initiative for each Homeroom.

Every Homeroom will now have on display an assessment chart where all students in the Homeroom can write their upcoming assessment tasks. Ann and Elyce hope that this will serve as a visual reminder for students as to what tasks are coming up and will empower them to be more accountable, organised and in control of their own learning. It has the added benefit of encouraging conversations in Homerooms that centre on learning.

This week in Homeroom the Year 11 SRC Leaders explained the initiative to their Year 11 Homeroom. They also encouraged their fellow students to create a personalised assessment preparation planner to allow for time management and maximising their success.