Term 3 Week 8 - Thursday 7th September 2023
Notes from the Principal
What a wonderful day we had last Friday on Mercy Day. You will have heard many stories about the day from your daughters, and will have seen the photos we have posted on our social media pages. The day was a beautiful celebration of our school’s foundation, charism and unity, and was also a successful day for raising important funds for the Mercy Works Chicken and Egg Nutrition Program, having raised a total of $11, 250 for this cause.
I’d like to thank everyone for their involvement in making the day so successful.
The school gathered for the Mercy Day Mass.
Mercy Day finished with a disco in Dobson Green.
On another note, we have heard some feedback about some of the ways we can improve your experience of the Compass app. In order to thoroughly analyse its use, we have sent a text message to all families to collect this information in the form of a survey, which will take five minutes to complete. Please take some time to respond to this as it will allow us to continue to make improvements in our communication with you.
Mary Refalo
Principal
News from the Assistant Principal
New Police Liaison Officer for Catherine McAuley
Catherine McAuley has been allocated a new Police Liaison Officer, Senior Constable Kellie Redwood from the Parramatta Youth Command. Senior Constable Kellie Redwood's role is to increase positive relationships and remove barriers between the school community and police. This is facilitated by developing programs and activities that involve students understanding the law, police role and their responsibilities to the community.
Senior Constable Kellie Redwood is here to work with our school community to address issues that may be of particular interest to the school. She will also present educational programs which model respect and responsibility by providing information, support and guidance on online and personal security, intervention strategies and other issues relating to safety and community responsibility.
In Term 4, Week 2 Senior Constable Kellie Redwood will address each year group on the topic of 'Creating a Positive Digital Footprint' and keeping yourself safe online.
The Importance of Regular Attendance at School
The following infographic highlights the importance of attendance at school.
School attendance plays a critical role in enhancing the lives of children and young people. Every day of attendance adds to a student’s opportunity to learn, develop and experience success in education.
There is no safe number of days for missing school. If a student misses as little as four days each term they will have missed over a year of learning by the end of their schooling. Non-attendance has a variety of effects on students, both academically and socially. Absenteeism can increase social isolation, including alienation and lack of engagement with the school community and peers
Arriving at school and class on time:
- ensures that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day
- helps students learn the importance of punctuality and routine
- gives students time to greet their friends before class
- reduces classroom disruption.
On occasion, your daughter may need to be absent from school. Justified reasons for student absences may include:
- being sick, or having an infectious disease
- having an unavoidable medical appointment
- being required to attend a recognised religious holiday
- exceptional or urgent family circumstance e.g. attending a funeral.
Following an absence from school you must ensure that within 7 days you provide a written explanation for the absence via mcauleyattendance@parra.catholic.edu.au. However, if the school has not received an explanation from you within 3 days, the school may contact you to discuss the absence.
Principals may decline to accept an explanation that you have provided if they do not believe the absence is in the best interest of your daughter. In these circumstances your daughter’s absence would be recorded as unjustified. Leaders of Learning may request medical certificates or other documentation when frequent or long term absences are explained as being due to illness.
Compulsory Schooling
Parents or carers of children of compulsory school age are responsible for ensuring their child attends school every day. Children must commence school by age 6 and then complete year 10.
After Year 10 and until they turn 17, students must be:
- in school or registered for home schooling or
- in approved education or training (e.g. TAFE, traineeship, apprenticeship) or
- in full-time, paid employment (average 25 hours/week) or
- in a combination of work, education and/or training.
Enrolled students 17 years and over are required to attend school regularly to meet Higher School Certificate course requirements.
As we enter the last two weeks of Term 3, I encourage students to participate fully in all opportunities for learning both in the classroom and activities or events that are part of our community. This includes caring for our environment both in the playground and the classroom and caring for each other in the way we communicate and treat each other. In the last week of school we will celebrate and farewell the Year 12 Class of 2023. As students assisted in the preparation of Mercy Day we will be calling upon students to assist in the preparation of the events associated with the Graduation of Year 12 2023.
Each day we come to school at Catherine McAuley we need to remember the words of Catherine McAuley: We must strive to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.
Debbie Grigson
Assistant Principal
Pray With Us
News Articles
- Catherine McAuley Celebrates Mercy Day 2023
- The Blessing and Commissioning of the 2023 - 2024 Student Leaders
- Over $9000 Raised On Mercy Day For Mercy Works
- Catherine McAuley Team Selected as Metro Minds STEAM Challenge Finalist
- McAuley Students Finalists In The ANSTO Hackathon
- Hip Hop Dance Troupe Competes At Bring It On Dance Competition
- Former Student Returns To School To Speak About Careers in Engineering and Construction
- Sporting Success With Five Grand Final Wins For Catherine McAuley
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:
All the joy of Mercy Day captured here in the final song of the Mercy Day Mass - Siahamba (We Are Marching), a traditional African melody.
Need To Know
Upcoming Fortnight
Term 3 Week 9
- Year 11 Exams
- Year 10 Pastoral Care Seminar
- Year 9 Pastoral Care Seminar
- CSPD Education Mass
- Mercy 5 Eco-Justice Day
- NSW Athletics Championships
Term 3 Week 10
- Year 12 Graduation Mass
- Year 12 Graduation Ceremony
- Student Leaders' Conference
- Term 3 Ends