McAuley News

Lent started last week with Ash Wednesday. Like all things during the COVID period, changes were made to the routines with which we have become familiar. The changed ritual of sprinkling ashes on the head, rather than the cross on the forehead, marked this year’s Ash Wednesday as different.

It is perhaps a reminder to us that Lent invites us to think differently and to act differently. The tradition of ‘giving up something for Lent’ reminds us to do this too. By reminding ourselves to be thoughtful about how we act, talk, respond and show love, we become more merciful, acting with greater integrity, compassion and justice. These visible signs of our commitment to others brings us closer to God, and closer to a merciful world.

I hope you will join us in prayer this Lenten season for a world in which mercy and love prevail.

You may have noticed that we have begun corresponding with you by email. This is because SkoolBag has reduced its capacity, and we are moving to a new form of communication in Term 2. Further information will be sent to you on Monday. In the meantime, please check your inbox in case you have any unread emails from us.

Many of you would have met Mr Andrew Millen, Secretary of the Parents and Friends Committee for the past four years. Andrew has recently resigned his position as Secretary. I wish to thank him for his dedication to this group and to the school community. 

In Andrew’s place, we welcome Vinko Laus as the new Secretary of the Parents and Friends Committee, and thank him for accepting this position.

Mary Refalo
Principal

This week Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services (www.enhanced-learning.net) ran study skills sessions with Year 9 and Year 11.  The sessions focused on helping students identify changes and improvements they could make to their approach to their studies in order to maximise their results. The students looked at how to work effectively in the evenings and deal with distractions, managing time efficiently, planning for assessments, making brain-friendly study notes on a regular basis and using a wide variety of active study techniques to suit individual learning preferences. Parents are encouraged to review the handout from the session with students and discuss the main areas identified where changes need to be made. Parents can also find extra study skills tips on the following website: http://studyskillstoptipsparents.com/.  All secondary students and parents at our school also have access to a great study skills website to help students develop their skills.
Go to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and enter the username: mcauley and the password:  189results.
There are lots of useful handouts on the THINGS TO PRINT page on this site and students can work through the units where they need additional help.

Many of our school buses are at capacity. If another bus is to be placed on the school route, students must have an activated Opal Card and use the card when boarding and alighting the bus / train. Please ensure your daughter’s Opal Card is activated. If you have concerns regarding the bus / train services you need to contact the relevant company to lodge a complaint. 

Wearing a mask is mandatory on public transport. The school has been contacted by members of the public concerned McAuley students are not complying with the NSW government's directive.   

Ms Debbie Grigson
Assistant Principal (Pastoral Care/Administration)

Thinking clearly, effectively, and positively is essential for success in all areas of life, and it is important for parents and carers to help young people develop positive thinking patterns. Positive thinking is a way of finding the good in both specific situations and life in general. It does not mean you bury your head in the sand or ignore problems that arise. It means you choose to approach life’s challenges in a productive and problem-solving manner.

Positive thinking not only helps the person feel better and builds emotional resilience, but it also improves decision-making, problem solving, communication and relationships. For many young women struggling with positive thinking may compare themselves to others and believe that they are not as worthwhile as others. They may lack self-control, blame others for circumstances, can be impulsive or reckless in their behaviour, may exhibit low self-esteem and struggle to build supportive relationships with others.

Here are some tips for encouraging positive thinking :

• Set positive example through modelling a positive attitude, present your thoughts in a positive way and limit self-criticism whilst in the presence of your daughter.

• Encourage your daughter to celebrate her achievements and to acknowledge her success.

• Help them to avoid 'catastrophizing' and to look for the positives.

• Model solution-focused thinking by using statements that both acknowledge the problem but also frame a potential positive solution.

Remember, additional help is always available . Feel free to contact the School Counsellor or Year Coordinator for extra support.

Mrs Suzan Boulattouf 
College Counsellor

The school gathered together on Wednesday, 17th February for an Ash Wednesday Liturgy. 

Raia U. and Leanne A., Student Liturgy Leaders, joined other parish school students in the morning for the Sacred Heart Westmead Ash Wednesday Mass. They collected ashes from this Mass and brought them back to school for our own Ash Wednesday Liturgy in the Morley Centre. Students Leaders sprinkled the ashes on each student and the House Patrons received their House Project Compassion box.

Project Compassion boxes will be placed in each Homeroom for any donations.

'Aspire not to have more, but to BE MORE' is the driving theme inspired by Saint Oscar Romero's words for Caritas Australia's Project Compassion in 2021.

On Wednesday, 10th February, Year 10 Mercy in Action Leaders and the Year 11 Assistant Social Justice Leader, attended the CEDP Project Compassion launch as an online event. The leaders engaged with other CEDP schools in the celebration of a liturgy, listening to guest speakers and looking at resources and tools to begin planning how to raise awareness of Project Compassion within our school. 

This year during the Lenten season we are called to consider how we can 'be more' for our neighbours around the world, using our gifts to serve others. To 'be more' could be achieved by being more kind, more green, more involved, more giving. 

Your generous support of Project Compassion supports the many good works of Caritas Australia that promote the common good and solidarity of people around the globe; working to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. Thank you for your generosity during the Lenten season. 

Miss Kate Hogan
Religious Education Teacher

The school has farewelled Silvana Rossetti, Assistant Principal (Learning & Teaching). Ms Rossetti has been appointed as the incoming Principal of Marist College Eastwood. Sisters of Mercy and Father Walter joined staff for a farewell morning tea held on Friday, 19th February.

Ms Rossetti is a very practiced and knowledgeable educator with much experience and her appointment to Marist College Eastwood is testament to her skill and commitment to education. She will be missed by the McAuley community! We wish her all the best!

Former Catherine McAuley students from the Class of 2020 returned to school this month to celebrate their successes in the Higher School Certificate.

The High Achievers Assembly was held to honour the students and to name Alysha Sinclair as the Dux for 2020. Alysha achieved an overall ATAR of 98.85 and attained a band 6 result in Biology, Chemistry, English Advanced, PDHPE and Studies of Religion 1. Alysha plans to study a Bachelor of Science at the University of Technology Sydney.

Ms Silvana Rossetti, Assistant Principal (Learning & Teaching), reminded the school community that success is no accident. “It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do”, she said. “The class of 2020 led the way in caring for one another, sharing with one another and daring to be courageous enough to take responsible risks to ensure they were able to achieve their best. For this we congratulate you!”

Each of the students present had achieved an ATAR of 90 or above, placing them in the top 10% of the state, with our highest placed student ranked in the top 1%. Three students were named as All Rounders and were awarded the NSW Premier's Award for All Round Excellence achieving a Band 6 in at least 10 units. Four students in the cohort were named as ‘Top Achievers’ meaning that they placed in the top 10 of their course and three students had their practical work nominated by the HSC examiners for the TexStyle showcase. 

 A number of students in the year knew that they had secured a place at University before they had sat any exams at all. They were selected because of their ability to juggle their academic workload at the same time as holding significant leadership roles in the school or wider community.

Accomplishments of the Class of 2020

The school acknowledges the accomplishments of the whole Class of 2020. 47 students were named on the merit list meaning that they achieved a band 6 result in at least one of their courses. A significant number of the year group have been offered a place at university or TAFE, and 54.1% of the results were in Bands 5 & 6 compared to the State at 40.3%.

This demonstrates the breadth and commitment of these students.

Catherine McAuley congratulates the Class of 2020 on their success, which is measured in many ways and not just by the final mark they received.

Study Advice From School Dux Alysha Sinclair

At the High Achievers Assembly Alysha addressed the school assembly and gave current students some tips on how to succeed.

• Use the resources around you such as your peers, Peer Tutoring available at the school and Maths Lab

• Seek help from your teachers when needed

• Do lots of practice questions - the most effective study strategy is practice, practice, practice

• Listen to your own body when organising study - if you are too tired to focus then take a break

• Continue with extra curricular activities to give yourself a break

• Keep distractions such as extra tabs on your laptop, TV and your phone away from you when studying

Anticipation was building in Mercy Square on Friday last week when word got around that it appeared some of the student leaders were about to perform! In a bid to promote peer tutoring the Leaders of Learning and Peer Tutors performed a flash mob to the tune of Mamma Mia. The students had re-written the words to reflect their message which was played over the speakers as the students performed.

View highlights from this performance here.

A reminder that peer tutoring is available to all students and is a free service offered by senior students. It is available after school in the library on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and at lunchtime on Mondays and Fridays at the tables located next to the library.

Well done to the Student Leaders of Learning and Peer Tutors on putting together this performance. Thank you to Jasmine S., Year 11 Media Team for filming the footage and to Student Technology Leaders Charlene P. and Charlize T., assisted by Caitlin M., Chloe W. and Arabelle R. for putting together the video.

Encephalitis is an autoimmune disease which can affect many different parts of the body. It sadly affects mostly teenage girls and young adults.

Year 11 student, Ashley D., suffers from this disease and has prepared the following presentation to educate the McAuley community.

Over the last couple of weeks of February Year 11 students have been wearing ribbons to raise awareness of encephalitis as Jacintta G., Year 11 Media Team student reports:

The month of February is World Encephalitis Awareness Month. Students and teachers alike raised awareness for this condition by wearing small red, white and black ribbons on their school uniforms. This encouraged students to bring up a conversation about the meaning of the ribbon and to then become informed about this condition. 

Year 11 student Ashley D. was the main organiser of raising awareness for encephalitis and she created a presentation informing girls all around the school what this condition was and how it affected different people everyday. This presentation was posted on the Student’s News Dashboard for them to read during their mornings. In addition, the Year 11 SRC cohort dedicated their spare time to making around 200 ribbons for their form to wear on Monday, 22nd February till the end of the month.

It was lovely to see our Year 7 parents as they joined their daughters for the Year 7 Welcome Afternoon. Year 7 students were able to take their parents to their Homeroom to meet their Homeroom teacher and show them around the school. A light afternoon tea was available in Mercy Square. Welcome to all our new families!

More photos available on the School Instagram and Facebook pages.

Year 10 students gave a personalised welcome to Year 7 students this month with each Year 10 student writing a welcome letter to a Year 7 student in their corresponding House Homeroom. 

The Year 10 students gave their letters to the Year 7 students during their first weeks of high school.

On Friday, 12th February the Year 12 Music students started up their lunchtime concerts. These concerts give the students a chance to practise one of their HSC pieces in front of an audience. 

Each Friday four students will perform. View highlights from some of these concerts so far.

The school has a particular focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics initiatives, and this year has introduced STEM as a Year 9 elective subject. The subject aims to develop students’ skills in applying scientific, mathematical and technological thinking, problem solving, resilience and cognitive flexibility. 

Ms Tara Hartman, Technology Teacher, says these skills are useful for almost every career. “Each student brings a unique set of skills to the classrooms and when students play to their strengths and work as a team they can create a greater impact than if they are working alone.”

During Semester 1 students will undertake research projects and enter competitions to build their skills in teamwork. This week the students took part in a marshmallow class challenge, which was based on a worldwide challenge introduced by TED - ‘Build a Tower, Build a Team’. Students were challenged to build the tallest freestanding structure using sticks of spaghetti, masking tape, string and one marshmallow. The winning team’s tower was 64cm!

Year 10 Geography students of Mrs Nicolson spent lunchtime on Friday, 26th February planting lavender bushes in one of the school gardens and a flowering gum tree in the garden in Dobson Green.

The students were planting as part of their call to action for a climate change action project which the students completed last year. Elyce J., Year 10 reports:

In Year 10 Geography we are learning about climate change and what we can do to help our world and the environment. During Term 4, we started a climate change action project which allowed us to discuss and demonstrate ways that we can help the world and the future of nature. As a class we wanted to make a change and decided to grow trees and plants within the school which will attract bees. Bees are so important to the environment and we wanted to offer them the protein and nutrients they need for survival. We also determined that on these plants we will not be using fertilizers or pesticides, as this can kill and harm the bees. 

We conducted research as a class to identify plants that are most suitable for our school and would still benefit bees. We decided on lavender and flowering gum. This unit of study and project has been very interesting and engaging for us as a class, allowing us to understand how we are affecting the environment as well as identifying and demonstrating ways that we can help nature and our world. 

Year 7 Geography students with Mrs Grima are learning about latitude and longitude. After identifying lines of longitude and latitude on a map the students had to transfer them to their balloon 'globes'.

Loaded fries have never looked so good! Year 10 Food Tech have been cooking up a storm in their Food Trends Unit with Miss Emanuel. Students have also been using the light boxes specifically designed for food photography to take photos of their work.

Year 10 Geography students of Mrs Nicolson are currently studying the topic ‘Environmental Change and Management’ and are learning about coastal landforms. In class last week the students used play doh to recreate the various types of landforms and worked in pairs to correctly identify their peers creations and whether the landform they created was formed by erosion or deposition. Mrs Nicolson says the students had a lot of fun making these in class.

Inspired by the works of photographer Edward Weston, students of Mrs Lane demonstrated their knowledge of the chiaroscuro, a technique employed in the visual arts to represent light and shadow. Students worked collaboratively to stage compositions and made enhancements to increase the contrast of the images. View some of their photos here.

The Year 11 Biologists with Ms Raja have spent the past few lessons learning about and viewing a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells under the microscope as part of the module ‘Cells as the Basis of Life’.

The students are becoming more proficient in using a microscope, preparing a wet mount slide and drawing scale diagrams to record their findings.

More ‘Around the Classrooms’ available on the School Instagram and Facebook pages.

Well done to the McAuley Team who played in the PDSSSC Basketball Gala Day held this week on Wednesday, 24th February. This event was held at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre and our team came second in their pool. They won 3 out of their 4 games. Students were accompanied by Mrs Howlett.

As students progress through high school the opportunities that the future holds become more important for them to explore. Some key ways that parents can assist their children in choosing a career is by seeking out careers information together and being open minded about the range of pathways that are available. 

Our school subscribes to Job Jump - an online resource that students and parents can access - to receive news and updates about courses at university, TAFE, and private colleges, traineeships and apprenticeships, opportunities such as competitions and scholarships, and events such as open days and career taster days. New careers are emerging constantly, as are the various ways to get into a certain career. There is not usually a linear path, but a range of alternatives and opportunities to get there.

Students from Year 9 and up are encouraged to regularly read the Job Jump newsletter, which can be tailored to their interests so that they only receive news aligned to their career goals. Attending events on an evening or weekend is an effective way to learn about careers so that students can talk to people about their experiences and try something first hand. 

Job Jump also has a wealth of career information that is relevant for students to become familiar with and it is those students who take the initiative to learn about post school options who will feel better prepared. To subscribe, go to www.jobjump.com.au and click on ‘I’m new’ and enter our school name with our password: ‘westmead’ in order to sign up.

Mrs Amanda Chahine 
Careers Adviser

On Thursday, 18th February it was the National launch for the Bicentenary of Catholic Education. Catholic schools are celebrating 200 years!

The launch video can be viewed here.

School fees have now been issued and are due by Wednesday, 17th March 2021.

Thank you.

A reminder that the school has a Catherine McAuley Parent Business Directory. This directory is a collection of parent owned businesses and is something you might want to consulate when you are next looking for a particular item or service.

If you would like to be included in the directory please fill out this form.