Term 4 Week 3 - Thursday 27th October 2022
News from the Principal
This week we were overjoyed to welcome the new Year 7 cohort for 2023 during the Year 7 Transition Interviews.
After a period of having these interviews in a virtual context, it was wonderful to meet families for face-to-face meetings. The new students were, of course, excited to be invited to their new school, and it was lovely for us to meet them and their families. We are looking most forward to them being the next cohort of Catherine McAuley girls, and watching them as they develop into women of mercy, with the values of integrity, justice, hospitality, courage and excellence as their guides.
Tomorrow the current Year 7 students will attend their Science excursion to Taronga Zoo. We wish them fine weather and lots of opportunities for making scientific observations and conclusions about the biology they will study there.
I would also like to remind all families that this Friday is a pupil free day for all students. It will be a day for teachers to complete their own work. Students can use this day to catch up on outstanding school work and to prepare for upcoming assessments.
Please enjoy today’s edition of The Weekly Review. As usual, there is a lot about which to read.
Mary Refalo
Principal
News from the Assistant Principal
Week 3 has been a busy week at Catherine McAuley with students involved in a range of activities in addition to timetabled lessons, lunchtime groups, sport and the heats for McAuley’s Got Talent House Program to raise money for the Jesuit Refugee Service.
On Monday Year 7 students Ava, Evonne, Alessia and Gabriella were selected to present their pitch in the Future Anything Activate national semi finals. This were held over Zoom and the girls worked collaboratively in the lead up to the presentation to fine tune their thoughts and ideas.
On Tuesday in the Mercy Chapel Year 11 students took part in the course to become an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist. These students will be able to assist the clergy in the distribution of Holy Communion at School Masses. We thank Sr Mary-Louise who facilitated the training for the students.
Year 11 students training to be Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist.
On Wednesday morning Year 7 participated in a Pastoral Seminar with Chris Doyle who delivered his message of the importance of respect in relationships via music and scripture.
On Thursday Year 9 students attended the Academy U News 2 U Challenge Day with Mrs Amanda Chahine. The students participate in a journalistic-type challenge to meet a brief and deadline. To assist them meet the deadline students rotated through workshops and were mentored by Western Sydney University student ambassadors.
On Friday Year 11 will participate in the RYDA - Road Safety Education Program at Olympic Park. This program supports the Driver Education unit that is studied in Year 10 PDHPE Course. This excursion had been postponed due to covid restrictions last year. Also on Friday Year 7 will attend Taronga Zoo as part of their study in Science. The focus of the excursion is to develop further study of animal habitats, adaptation, structural features and classification.
As students are currently working on assessments I refer you to the article on 'Wellbeing - Progressive Music Relaxation' in the News section of this Weekly Review. This article highlights Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) as an easy body relaxation exercise to reduce stress and will assist students to relax at the end of the school day.
All these experiences enhance student learning and are a sample of the many different ways we engage students to reach their potential and excel in a range of learning environments.
The Challenges of Young People Safe Online
As teachers and parents we are continually looking for ways to educate our young people on ways to stay safe online. Many parents in their conversations with Year Coordinators ask about resources and information that informs them on the tips and tricks to many social media platforms and apps available to young people. An excellent source of information is the eSafety Commission website. As teachers we refer to this site to answer many of our questions regarding social media and apps. For parents the eSafety Commission website has advice for parents and carers to help kids and young people stay safe online and explore translated videos and easy advice sheets about online safety. The range of topics in this section dedicated to parents includes:
- Issues and advice - gaming, grooming and unwanted contact, screen time
- Parental controls - how to use parental controls and other tools to maximise online safety in your home
- Children under 5 - ways to support young children to have safe and enjoyable experiences online
- Downloadable resources - videos, books, information sheets, audio files, activities, family tech agreements, gift guide.
- Sexting and inappropriate photos - the risks involved with sharing photos and images
- Cyberbullying - strategies to address cyberbullying and how to report cyberbullying
- Webinars for parents and carers
- Online safety for every family
- Tips on the hard to have conversations
I encourage parents to become familiar with the eSafety Commission website as it is a great source of information on all areas of technology for all age groups.
As the month of October comes to a close, a time in the Catholic Church dedicated to the Holy Rosary, a prayer that reflects on the grace of God and encourages us to develop and strengthen our relationship with God. With this in mind, and the focus on the qualities of Our Lady, I share the following quotes from the Mercy foundation.
“We have the privilege of knowing it, we have the responsibility to understand it, we have the duty to protect it and we have the honour of living it!” (Maria McGuiness)
“The only kind of dignity which is genuine is that which is not diminished by the indifference of others.” (Dag Hammarskjold)
Debbie Grigson
Assistant Principal
Pray With Us
2nd November is the Commemoration of All of the Faithful Departed, or All Souls. On this day, we pray that all those who have died - our loved ones, and also those people around the world who we will never meet - through the mercy of God, will rest in peace.
News Articles
- Year 11 Students Called To Love and Be Loved At Their Senior Retreat
- McAuley Students Collaborate With NSW Australian of the Year Professor Sahajwalla
- Year 7 Entrepreneurs Chosen To Pitch Their Business Idea As Part Of The Future Anything Activate Program
- Students Attend Multifaith Prayer Service For Climate Change
- Year 11 Design & Technology Mini Major Works
- Student Achievements
- Study Skills Resource - Wellbeing: Progressive Muscle Relaxation
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 8 English students of Ms Shipley had a great lesson on Monday as they looked at some music by a local band. The students are looking at the topic of Growth and found some great connections with the lyrics that challenged their perceptions of growth. The band ‘Grenade Jumper’ and their song ‘Did You Imagine’ explores how our attitudes toward growing up changes as we get older. The things we look forward to are often not as glamorous in reality.
Need To Know
Upcoming Fortnight
Term 4 Week 4
- Year 7 Activity Day
- Staff Professional Learning Day
- School Morning Tour
- Pupil Free Day - Friday, 4th November
Term 4 Week 5
- Year 8 English In-School Activity
- Year 8 Pastoral Care Seminar
- Year 7 Reflection Day
- Year 7 2023 Orientation Day
- McAuley's Got Talent
- School Morning Tour