Term 4 Week 8 - Thursday 30th November 2023
Notes from the Principal
Some information about new staff roles in Religious Education in 2023
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese, has recently reshaped and developed some existing and new roles in the leadership of Religious Education in Catholic schools in the diocese. These roles are being trialled in 2024 and 2025, and Catherine McAuley is pleased to be involved in this pilot program.
The roles include:
- Director of Catholic Identity and Mission, a significant two year trial position that replaces the Director of Formation and Mission at Catherine McAuley. This person in this role also takes a main role in the school’s leadership team. Ms Genevieve Banks has been appointed to this position. In this role, she will continue to lead Religious Education, formation and advocacy at Catherine McAuley, and in addition she will contribute to further developing these areas within the diocese.
- Assistant Leader of Learning Formation and Mission is an existing promotional position that supports the Director of Catholic Identity and Mission. Ms Adele McGlone will continue in this position in 2024, and will support curriculum and other areas of Catholic identity and formation.
- Faith in Action Coordinator is also a new promotional position, and is being trialled during 2024 and 2025. Miss Rebecca Reynolds is taking this position for this time; her main focus will be advocacy, as well as support for the Director of Catholic Identity and Mission.
Semester reports are being sent next week
You will recently have seen your daughter busily preparing for her Semester 2 assessments in all of her subjects. These formal assessments are complete now, and teachers have been getting ready the Semester 2 reports for students in Years 7 - 10. These Semester Reports summarise your daughter’s achievements during Terms 3 and 4, and they provide feedback on her progress.
In the next week you will receive the report, as well as information about the end of year Parent / Student / Teacher meetings. These meetings provide a valuable opportunity to discuss your daughter’s progress in 2023, and to prepare her for 2024. We strongly recommend you attend these meetings so that you can hear in detail about your daughter’s progress in all of her subjects. We look forward to seeing you for these meetings on 12th or 13th December in either a face to face or online format.
Advent begins this weekend
As the year comes to an end and Christmas approaches more quickly than we realise, it is timely for Advent to begin this Sunday.
The coming of Advent brings a reminder that we prepare for Christmas by reflecting on our actions in the year to date, as well as consider what our actions will represent in the year ahead. Students at Catherine McAuley are lucky to have such a strong set of values to guide both their actions, and their reflections on them. We remind them often to be women of mercy, justice, integrity, hospitality, courage and excellence in all that they do, and today I remind them again to nurture their spirits by participating in this reflection. We can always be better than we were before, and this week’s Advent candle representing hope is the perfect time for us to consider how we might be the best people of God we are able to be.
Mary Refalo
Principal
News from the Assistant Principal
On Sunday, 26th November on the Feast of Christ the King young people from Diocesan Parishes and Schools were commissioned by Fr Fernando Montano Vicar General for the Diocese at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Greystanes. The Mass celebrates young people in leadership in Parishes, specifically those who participated in the recent World Youth Day pilgrimage and student leaders from Diocesan secondary schools. It was an opportunity for our student leaders from Catherine McAuley to meet students from other schools and make connections with young people in leadership with Diocesan parishes. We thank the families of the student leaders who joined Ms Genevieve Banks (Director of Catholic Identity and Mission), Mrs Tracy Cowling (Leader of Wellbeing - Year 11), Miss Rebecca Reynolds (Faith in Action Coordinator) and myself for mass and afternoon tea.
To support the message of the Gospel, Fr Fernando told the following parable:
Long ago there lived an old woman who had a wish. She wished more than anything to see for herself the difference between heaven and hell. The priests in the Church agreed to grant her request. They put a blindfold around her eyes, and said, "First you shall see hell."
When the blindfold was removed, the old woman was standing at the entrance to a great dining hall. The hall was full of round tables, each piled high with the most delicious foods — meats, vegetables, fruits, breads, and desserts of all kinds! The smells that reached her nose were wonderful.
The old woman noticed that, in hell, there were people seated around those round tables. She saw that their bodies were thin, and their faces were gaunt, and creased with frustration. Each person held a spoon. The spoons must have been three metres long! They were so long that the people in hell could reach the food on those platters, but they could not get the food back to their mouths. As the old woman watched, she heard their hungry desperate cries. "I've seen enough," she cried. "Please let me see heaven."
And so again the blindfold was put around her eyes, and the old woman heard, "Now you shall see heaven." When the blindfold was removed, the old woman was confused. For there she stood again, at the entrance to a great dining hall, filled with round tables piled high with the same lavish feast. And again, she saw that there were people sitting just out of arm's reach of the food with those three-metre long spoons.
But as the old woman looked closer, she noticed that the people in heaven were plump and had rosy, happy faces. As she watched, a joyous sound of laughter filled the air.
And soon the old woman was laughing too, for now she understood the difference between heaven and hell for herself. The people in heaven were using those long spoons to feed each other.
In Fr Fernando’s homily he spoke of the importance of Leadership as Service Leadership and reflected on the Gospel of Matthew (25:31-46) and the parable of the old woman. He highlighted five guiding principles of Servant Leadership present in the Gospel of Matthew:
- Commitment
- Acts of Mercy
- Discipleship, in serving others we are serving Christ himself.
- Actions and Inactions. Actions have consequences, just as inactions have consequences. There is judgement and hope.
- Jesus Christ is the model of service and leadership.
As Advent approaches, we reflect on the words of Fr Fernandes and I acknowledge the many opportunities students have taken up to live out the call of servant leadership within our Catherine McAuley Community and challenge all students to live out the call to servant leadership. Servant Leadership is evident in our everyday communication with those we meet. Communication characterised by respect and tolerance of all those we come in contact each day.
Staff and students with Fr Fernando
Servant Leadership is giving without receiving. In the season of Christmas we are called in a practical way to give to the Vinnies Christmas Hamper Appeal and the Jesuit Refugee Service Christmas Appeal. A list of requirements for these hampers is provided and the appeal closes on Wednesday, 6th December. Throughout the term we have continued to fundraise for our Term 4 charity - the Jesuit Refugee Service by hosting McAuley’s Got Talent, snow cone stall, selling CMW tote bags and santa photos with our own resident CMW Santa. I thank the House Patron’s, Student House Leaders and Mercy in Action Leaders who have organised these events.
As a way of celebrating the end of the school year and the Advent Season, as has happened in the past couple of years, Thursday, 7th December will be Christmas Themed Thursday. Students may wear Christmas themed accessories with their sports uniform or school uniform. As students in Years 7 - 10 are involved in sport on Thursday afternoon they will need to wear joggers or sandshoes to meet Work Health and Safety requirements. Also on Thursday in Mercy Square we will appreciate the talents of our musicians who will entertain students with Christmas themed music and songs.
Friday, 8th December will be the last day of formal activities for students with the Academic Awards Assembly commencing at 1:15pm. For parents who are not available to join us the assembly will be live streamed via this link
Advent is a time of joyful anticipation as we prepare our hearts for the Christmas season. In the weeks leading up to Christ's birth, I join Catholics and Christians around the world to pray, repent, and reflect on God's goodness and promises. Even in the most challenging times, we are reminded of God's steadfast love for all creation.
“May God's peace, joy, and goodwill be with you and your family this Christmas season.”
Debbie Grigson
Assistant Principal
Example of a Christmas Appeal Hamper
Pray With Us
Need To Know
Upcoming Fortnight
Term 4 Week 9
- Years 7 - 11 Academic Awards Ceremony
- Year 11 Legal Studies Excursion
- Year 9 English Incursion
Term 4 Week 10
- Years 7 - 10 Activity Days
- Years 7 - 11 Parents / Student / Teacher Meetings
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:
EARLY UNIVERSITY OFFERS - Our Year 12 students from the Class of 2023 have had an amazing number of early university offers this year. A total of 253 offers have been made already! And this is even before the HSC results come out!
Macquarie University was the university most of our students received offers from (44 offers) and was very closely followed by Western Sydney University with 43 offers. Australian Catholic University has offered 39 places, University of Technology has made 28 offers, University of Wollongong 26, University of Newcastle 18, University of Tasmania (Rozelle campus) 11 and Australian National University 9. Offers were also received from many other institutions including the National Art School, Whitehouse Institute of Design, University of NSW and more.
Congratulations to the Class of 2023 on your work throughout your senior years which has resulted in you receiving these early offers. The HSC results are released on Thursday, 14th December.