Term 3 Week 2 - Thursday 28 July 2022
News from the Assistant Principal
Staff Professional Learning Day
On Monday, 25th July the CMW staff engaged in a Professional Learning Day. Many faculties progressed their work on writing instructional practices within their subject areas. This is important work and I have no doubt your daughters will be the beneficiaries of this teacher learning.
Trial HSC Exams
Our HSC students begin their Trial examination block next week. These exams run from Week 3 until the beginning of Week 5 of this term. We know they have been very focused on their studies and will reap the benefits of this hard work. On behalf of the entire CMW community, I wish them all the very best and pray they do themselves justice in the coming weeks. In light of the approaching exams, below is a short, actionable study tip from Dr Prue Salter (from Enhanced Learning Educational Services): "Open the window. Fresh air brings oxygen into your brain and helps keep you alert".
Tell Them From Me (TTFM)
Thank you to the parents who were able to provide Catherine McAuley with valuable feedback via their responses to the recent Tell Them From Me survey. The school leadership team will now begin the process of reviewing this data and formulating a positive response with the intention of ensuring the most positive possible experience of schooling for all students.
STEM Make A Difference National Competition
Three Catherine McAuley students, Ashyra C. (Year 11), Shivali S. (Year 10) and Luise V. (Year 10) have made it through to the national STEM design competition 'STEM MAD'.
Teams were asked to create a solution to a problem using STEM skills, innovative thinking, teamwork and, as the name suggests, make a difference to the wider community. STEM MAD Nationals will be held in Melbourne on 6th September at the NCEC conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The Catherine McAuley teams are the only CEDP secondary school to have progressed to the national stage of this competition - a fact the girls were quick to remind me of.
This is an enormous achievement by these talented, hardworking young ladies. They are a credit to themselves, their families, their expert teachers and the Catherine McAuley community.
Mr Jaie Skinner
Assistant Principal
Pray With Us
From The School Counsellor
Helping Your Daughter Through Issues of Body Image
Issues with negative body image are on the rise in Australia. According to The Butterfly Foundation, young Australians have identified body image as one of their top three concerns for the past six years. It is a tough time of life to be a teenager as they navigate through puberty, experience physical and emotional challenges and shifts in hormonal levels. Their personal beliefs and attitudes as well as society, media and peers has had a huge influence on their body image.
As parents it is important to find ways to talk to your daughter about positive body image which is the key to helping them accept themselves. Some tips as a starting point for parents include:
- Try to avoid talking about diets, size, and weight - dieting can be a risk factor for eating disorders.
- Help them to recognise that social media images and pictures of models are altered for a constructed sense of reality. And that these images are targeted to sell products or lifestyles, therefore are not realistic or sustainable in a day-to-day life.
- It’s important to be a role model for your daughter - this means accepting your own body.
- Talk to your daughter about their looks and how they feel.
- Encourage them to say positive things to themselves every day, focusing on their positive qualities.
- Help them set positive health-focused goals rather than weight loss ones.
You can find more information about body image here: https://butterfly.org.au/body-image/modelling-healthy-body-image
If you have any concerns about your daughter, feel free to contact the School Counsellors, Mrs Suzan Boulattouf (Mon-Fri) or Mrs Kathryn Rogers (Wed-Fri) on 98499100 during school hours.
Suzan Boulattouf
School Counsellor
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:
Around the Classrooms - Year 9 Stem & Industrial Technology Engineering students of Ms Mani were given a task to build a water tower. Ms Mani explains, ”The students were given the scenario to build a water tower that would service a small community. The students worked in small groups to research, design, plan and build the tower made from plywood. All students worked collaboratively and learnt many different aspects about the topic of ‘Structures’”.
This week the students tested their model water towers to determine how much weight their tower could take. Due to WHS for the students, only 50kg was used for testing. As seen, some towers could have held a much higher weight which is a fantastic result!
Need To Know
Upcoming Fortnight
Please see school calendar in sidebar for dates and details.
Term 3 Week 3
- HSC Trial Examinations Commence
- Year 11 2023 Subject Selection Interviews
- Year 11 VET Hospitality Workplacement
- Australian Mathematics Competition
- Australian Science Olympiad - Physics and Biology
Term 3 Week 4
- HSC Trial Examinations continue
- PDSSSC Athletics Carnival
- Year 9 Careers Day
- Year 10 Reflection Day