McAuley News

Yesterday I sent a letter to all families advising of a parent workshop evening in which we have the opportunity to explore the new curriculum in Religious Education being implemented in Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta schools from this year. The workshop is taking place on 17 March 2020 in the Morley Centre.

The curriculum represents contemporary theological perspectives, igniting the words of our bishop, Bishop Vincent Long OFM. Theologian Professor Anthony Maher will facilitate the evening.

We encourage your attendance at this event. It will be an opportunity to fully understand the intentions of the new curriculum and the learning in which your children will participate at school.

RSVPs should be given by 12 March 2020 using the following link.

The Catherine McAuley Westmead Open Evening is being held on Wednesday, beginning at 4pm and concluding at 7pm.

The Open Evening is a highlight for staff and students of Catherine McAuley Westmead. It is a chance for us to extend our Mercy hospitality and to share with the wider community the wonderful school we have. We are grateful to both staff and students who are on hand to welcome visitors.

Please let your friends and family know that they are welcome to attend at any stage of the evening. The format, as usual, is unstructured, with performances and visual displays available at all times.

Mary Refalo
Principal

Ms Silvana Rossetti 
Assistant Principal (Learning and Teaching)

TikTok is an app used by the majority of young people for creating and sharing short videos. It is important for young people and their parents to have a thorough understanding of the benefits and risks associated with how young people use TikTok. Click here for information from the eSafety Commissioner.

There are a number of other apps used extensively by young people that parents may want accurate information about. These apps include Instagram, Snapchat, Call of Duty, Houseparty and Episode. Information about the advantages and risks of the most commonly used apps can be accessed via the following link.

The eSafety Commissioner website is an invaluable source of information about maintaining online safety and security. The website can be accessed at: https://www.esafety.gov.au/

Year 7 students, and some Year 8 students, requiring 2nd dose catch-up, are taking part in the government HPV vaccine program. The first clinic is on Thursday, 19th March. All Year 7 students have been given a vaccination form and extra vaccination forms can be collected from the Front Office.

Ms Debbie Grigson
Assistant Principal (Pastoral Care/Administration)

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Project Compassion was launched. For over fifty years, Project Compassion has raised money that has transformed lives both in Australia and beyond. Jemma, Raia and Miss Hogan represented Catherine McAuley at the Diocesan Schools Launch for Project Compassion which was held at St Paul’s Catholic College, Greystanes. The theme for this year’s Project Compassion is ‘Let’s Go Further, Together’. 

Project Compassion will be one of the Catholic charities that we will support in Term one. We will also support the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) who have a presence on our Westmead site. JRS are currently supporting eighty families and they reply upon the generosity of their donors as they do not receive any government assistance. The JRS caseworkers are very appreciative of the food and toiletry items that have been donated by Catherine McAuley Westmead and look forward to our ongoing support.

In the evening Holli, Josette, Maria and Ava joined Ms Mary Refalo,  Miss Kate Hogan, Mr Daniel Nguyen and myself at St Patrick’s Cathedral for Mass and the Diocesan Launch of Project Compassion. The principal celebrant was Very Rev Peter G Williams VG EV. During his homily, Fr Peter made the observation that while Parramatta may be smaller in size than other places in Australia, that over a long period of time the support for Project Compassion has not been miniscule. He attributed his observation to the fact that many people who live in the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta have experienced and understand true hardship.

Fr Peter spoke about getting ready for Easter, getting right with God. Almsgiving is one way of preparing for Jesus’ Resurrection. During Lent, we fast and we also focus on our prayer life. During the Season of Lent, as Catholics we have many devotional practices which can assist us in getting right with God. Before Easter, there will be Stations of the Cross, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and Lenten Prayer Groups. You may consider attending a week day Mass. There is much that we can do. As we commence our Lenten journey, we can draw hope and encouragement from Pope Francis’ Message for Lent 2020:  

This year the Lord grants us, once again, a favourable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind and heart, for it will continue to grow within us in the measure that we are open to its spiritual power and respond with freedom and generosity.

Ms Genevieve Banks
Religious Education Coordinator

Ms Mary Refalo, the 11th Principal in the history of Catherine McAuley Westmead, was commissioned at the Opening School Mass held on Friday, 14th February 2020. 

Ms Refalo was commissioned in front of the whole school community and invited guests including representatives from the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta and past Principal Ms Teash Richmond. 

The Mass was celebrated by Fr Walter Fogarty, Coordinating Pastor for the Catholic Education Precinct Westmead. During the commissioning Ms Refalo was presented with a bible symbolising the importance of scripture within the Catherine McAuley community and our two school captains presented her with a Catherine McAuley candle which had been lit from the school candle, a symbol of taking the light of Christ into the world as Ms Refalo continues her journey at Catherine McAuley. 

Our immediate former Principal, Ms Richmond, presented Ms Refalo with the Irish Crystal from the House of Catherine McAuley, symbolising the passing on of the Catherine McAuley story and tradition and Sr Maria Lawton, Vicar of Sisters of Mercy Parramatta, presented a cross.

At the conclusion of the Opening School Mass the Student Representative Council, Mercy in Action Group Leaders, House Leaders and Liturgy Leaders were commissioned and received their badges of office. Catherine McAuley has a strong tradition of fostering leadership and the school strives to provide opportunities for students to develop their confidence, courage and skills in innovation and  leadership.

In addition, new students and staff joining the school for the 2020 school year were welcomed and the Year 7 students were presented with their bibles. All new members joined together into a ‘Circle of Mercy’ as the school community prayed for God’s blessing on their work and studies ahead. 

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS - Additional photos from the Opening School Mass can be viewed via the School Facebook Page.

We welcomed Year 7 parents to McAuley at the Year 7 Parent Welcome Evening on Friday, 7th February. It was wonderful to see so many families attend. Despite the rain many students took the opportunity to show their families around the school before they gathered in the Morley Centre to be welcomed by the School Leadership Team.

During January 16 Japanese language students, accompanied by teachers Ms Reynolds and Miss Brincat, spent 12 days on a cultural exchange in Japan. Student Hannah Hamilton has written the below report:

During our time in Japan we learnt much about the Japanese culture and lifestyle and tried many new things. Our trip was broken into three sections - time spent in Kyoto, time spent with a host family and time spent in Tokyo.

In Kyoto we visited many religious and cultural sites including shrines, castles and temples. We stayed in a traditional Japanese style hotel called a ‘ryokan’ where we were able to  experience what it was like to sleep on tatami mats and futons and eat a traditional Japanese breakfast. 

The second part of the trip was a five day homestay and school visit. Over these five days we were able to experience what it was really like to go to school and live in another country. We attended classes with our host sisters, did club activities and participated in flower arranging and a traditional tea ceremony. We were able to use this time to practise our language skills and learn how different life is in another country. 

The final part of our trip was a visit to Tokyo. We visited tourist sites like Harajuuku, Shibuya, the Tokyo Skytree and the Tokyo Imperial Palace. 

Overall the trip was an eye opening experience for all who attended and gave us an understanding as to what it would be like to live in another country, especially one that doesn’t speak English. We improved our Japanese language skills and learnt how to apply what was learnt in the classroom to practical situations. We also learnt valuable life skills such as how to keep and spend money, how to look after important belongings like passports and navigation in a foreign area. We would like to thank Miss Brincat and Ms Reynolds for taking time out of their holidays to take us on this memorable trip.

Hannah H.
Year 11

Every Thursday afternoon the Year 7 students and a selected group of Year 10 students are coming together to participate in Peer Support. 

Peer Support helps Year 7 students ease into school life at Catherine McAuley and allows them to develop new friendships and learn about working together as a team.  In their Peer Support groups the students are participating in many fun and interesting activities which have been organised by the Year 10 Peer Support Leaders.

Year 9 students this year have had the opportunity to study a new course called ‘International Studies’. This new elective course is the study of culture. Students look at many different elements of culture such as gender, sport, food, traditions and celebrations. 

Ms Stephanie Dito is the teacher for the new course and says that the students are really engaged and have found it exciting to learn about how different cultures express their traditions and beliefs. Students are also enjoying the opportunity to delve deeper into their own cultures as well. 

Over the past few weeks the Year 9 International Studies students have been looking at the different layers to a culture. Students worked in groups to create their own cultural icebergs - the visible parts of culture that we can see and the invisible parts that shape our behaviours and beliefs.

Ms Stephanie Dito
HSIE Teacher

As part of their study of Heredity Yr 12 Biology students have used gel electrophoresis to determine ‘Whose DNA Was Left Behind’ at a hypothetical crime scene by comparing it to DNA obtained from four suspects. Using their newly acquired DNA fingerprinting skills, students successfully identified the criminal.

Students also explored the inheritance patterns of sickle cell anemia by analysing the DNA bands on a gel to determine whether the offspring of a hypothetical couple would have the disease.

Students recorded a time lapse of the gel electrophoresis run and then viewed the sickle cell anemia results using a transilluminator (shown in the photo with purple DNA bands and gel).

Ms Sangeeta Raja
Science Teacher

AROUND THE CLASSROOMS - Additional photos from 'Around the Classrooms' are regularly posted on the School Facebook Page.

Catherine McAuley played in the PDSSSC Open Basketball Gala Day this week which saw players from Years 7 through to 12 play in a one day competition at Penrith. The gala day took place on Monday, 24th February and our students played with pride and integrity in all five of their games. 

McAuley won four games by a margin no less than 30 points and lost one game by 2 points on the buzzer. The team that we lost to ended up winning the competition. It was a great effort by all players and we are looking forward to taking on the other school in basketball in the future.

Ms Brooke Robson
Sports Coordinator

Our careers guest speaker program starts up again in Week 6 and these events are an excellent way for students to learn about various careers and what tertiary institutions are offering. Career decision making is challenging, and the more our students know about different career paths, the more confident they can be about their career choice.

Attending Career Mondays is voluntary for students, and it is held on most Mondays throughout Terms 1 and 2, usually in the Forum. We start at 1:30pm and usually finish by 2pm to allow time for questions.

Our lineup of speakers this Term includes:

Week 6 - Speech therapy and Occupational Therapy - hear from two practising speech therapists and an occupational therapist from Westmead Hospital

Week 7 - The University of Sydney - learn about different courses,  faculties and the  opportunities on offer

Week 8 - Business Careers - finance, accounting and the list goes on. What is it like to work in business and what are employers looking for in the corporate world?

Week 9 -  Careers in Logistics - we may all love online shopping, but what roles are involved  in this industry that has such an international focus?

Week 10 - Dentistry and Oral Health - Hear how oral health involves many other occupations  apart from just Dentistry

Week 11 - Insurance industry - we all rely on it in times of crisis, and it's the second biggest

 industry in Australia but we may not realise the opportunities for corporate career progression in insurance.

Students are encouraged to come along, even if they have no idea what the career topic is about. Collect your ticket at the door to win our lucky door prize!

Mrs Amanda Chahine 
Careers Adviser

The ‘pros’ of Google are straight forward, it is easily accessible, intuitive to use and the searches are based on the ‘Natural Language’. So why then, do librarians push students to use databases?

Students who restrict their research to Google limit the amount of content they are able to access which in turn limits the quality of their work. The databases are accessed through a paid subscription (included in the resource fee). This fee ensures all the content is curated so that only accurate and reliable articles are displayed, as opposed to the filterless and ad revenue centred content which is put forth in a Google search. 

The higher quality articles returned in a database search also model sophisticated writing techniques and the use of technical language which research shows is vital to support student improvement. 

McAuley students can access the database collection through the library website.

School fees have been issued and the due date for Term 1 is Wednesday, 18th March 2020. 

The Skoolbag App is the primary portal of communication with parents. A large number of parents have already downloaded the app and find it very easy to use.  The school uses Skoolbag to send reminders around events, key dates and other important news. This news is pushed straight to parents’ devices allowing for quick, easy and timely communication.

Skoolbag can be installed on any iOS (iPad or iPhone) or Android device so please download it as soon as possible. Remember to subscribe to your daughter’s Year Group so that you will receive messages relevant to her year.  Instructions on how to download the Skoolbag App are available via this link.