Dear Parents

Welcome back to Term 2 and as usual, the pace is building as the assessment times get closer. NAPLAN is on the horizon 14^th – 24^th May, followed by Semester 1 Examination period 29^th – 31^st May.

An area of concern that is raised in the Media and is evident in many schools is the lack of resilience of our youth and the impact of technology on lifestyle and family life. Dr Rangan Chatterjee, author of the Stress Solution offers advice to parents.

Our brains respond to the information around us, so resilience can be taught, modelled and nurtured at any age.

Resilience comes from relationships; children need nurturing. It’s not a magical inner strength that helps kids through tough times; instead, it’s the reliable presence of one, supportive relationship, be it parent, teacher, relative or family friend. It’s quality, not quantity that counts. If you’re on your phone at the dinner table, you’re teaching them it’s OK to always be distracted. And that they are not important enough for your sole attention

Lack of good-quality sleep is a huge driver for stress: it has a negative effect on memory, concentration, cognitive function, and decision-making.

One of the fastest ways to improve sleep is to limit screen time before bed. Issue a household ban on devices at least an hour before bedtime. Turn off the wifi.

Exercise will increase children’s resilience. It actually strengthens the brain. Regular physical activity teaches our stress-response system to recover more efficiently. Put on the radio before dinner and dance around in the kitchen. Join your kids doing squats, star jumps, bear crawls or frog hops. Walk the dog together or go for a family bicycle ride.

Resilience means understanding you can’t always have what you want as soon as you want it. It’s an important concept to pass on in the age of Amazon Prime, Spotify, Netflix and Uber. Psychology teaches us that people who can accept delayed gratification lead happier, healthier lives. Without the ability to defer pleasure and reward, our kids are losing an important skill for their wellbeing.

One of the best ways to teach it? Playing board games. These require impulse control, turn-taking, and mental flexibility. They exercise the prefrontal cortex, the rational part of the brain involved in decision-making, emotional regulation and, yes, resilience. Board games are also a good way for you to model resilience by being a good loser.

Nutrition has a significant impact on mental health. Good-quality food changes the composition of our gut bugs, which helps send calm signals to the brain. Poor-quality, highly processed food sends stress signals instead. A diverse diet, rich in fibre, will lead to greater diversity in our gut bugs, which in turn will help make us more resilient, and anxiety and depression less likely.

Instead of pestering your children with questions such as, “How was school?” and, “What did you do today?”, teach them to reframe their day.

Everyone must answer three questions:

1) What did someone do today to make you happy?

2) What did you do to make someone else happy?

3) What have you learned today?

This simple exercise helps us find the positive in every day. It teaches gratitude, nurtures optimism, and recognises kindness.

 God Bless

Breath before you speak. This simple strategy has remarkable results. Almost immediately, you can experience increased patience, added perspective, and more gratitude and respect from others.

ENGAGING FAITH, MINDS and COMMUNITY

‘Send Out Your Light and Your Truth, Let Them Lead Me’ Ps 43:3

Our Catholic Schools Week commences on 6th May and during this week we celebrate Catholic Schools. The theme this year, ‘Engaging Faith, Minds and Community’, best describes the Catholic school experience. It illustrates our holistic approach to educating children to become adults who personify Catholic values and serve their communities. The theme highlights the faith-based nature of our school as well as emphasising our inclusiveness – that all are welcome.

The theme allows teachers and students to explore all of its aspects focussing on what makes our schools unique, in particular the richness of our Catholic school communities.

Our Catholic schools prioritise the three pillars of our theme in 2019:

Faith – placing Christ at the centre.

Minds – inspiring achievement and the fulfilment of each child’s potential.

Community – to become valuable, caring members of the school and extended community.

McAuley strives to embody these values every day, so it is fitting that they form the theme for celebrating Catholic education in 2019.

Pope Francis at the World Youth Day 2019 final Mass, reflected on the importance of young people for society. He said their gifts are not reserved only for tomorrow. Young people, he said, “are the today for tomorrow. They are not ‘in the meantime’, but are the ‘today’, the ‘now’, of the Church and the world.” To inspire young people of today Catholic Schools are places that embrace their joyful presence and provide a community where young people can personally encounter God through the nurturing words and actions of others.

As part of a Catholic community our schools are called to celebrate the gifts and diversity of all its members, inspire the minds and spirit of all those in our midst and help shape the young people to care for and serve those most in need.

A Prayer for Catholic Schools Week

God, thank you, for the blessing of Catholic Schools. Help our school to grow in Faith, Hope and Love. Jesus, thank you, for the blessing of all those who work in Catholic Schools. Help our school staff to always be your face to those they encounter. Holy Spirit, thank you for the blessing of the families, children and parents who are part of Catholic Schools. Help our school families, children and parents to grow in understanding of the world and grant them the strength to make right choices when the world challenges​.

Thanks to the students who represented our School at local Anzac ceremonies across the district. Your respect and reverence is to be commended.

Thank you to our volunteers who continue to support our school by assisting on our Canteens. Please remember - if you cannot turn up on your rostered day - please organise your own replacement or ring the school and we will try and help you.

ROSTER NEXT WEEK - Primary canteen:

Monday 6th (First Monday of month) - Kristy McPherson

Wednesday 8th (Second Wednesday of month) Susie Peacock

Friday 10th (Second Friday of month) Sylvia Flynn.

The highly anticipated McAuley Grandparent's (or special friends) Day will be held in the school Hall next Thursday from 10am to 11:20am.

All McAuley families are asked to bring a 'plate' of goodies to share. eg: sandwiches, fruit, bicsuits etc.

Thank you - we are really looking forward to this special day!

Our McAuley Community Council will be holding a Street Stall (Wynyard Street) on Friday 17th May. Any saleable goods would be most appreciated.

A great load of wood will be raffled, along with a wonderful chocolate raffle also. Tickets will go home to parents in the next week or so. 

We are looking for parents and friends who might be available to help on the stall on the day. We will need 2 parents for every hour from 10:30am to 4:30pm. Please contact the School Office if you can help.

Another great street procession! Another year of wonderful participation by our McAuley team!

A very big thank you to Ms Groves for organsing our float and to Mrs Stubbs and Mrs Barton for walking with the students in the parade. Also thank you everyone who spent the last Saturday of the holidays representing our school in the Festival Parade. Special thanks to the Groves family for the use of their truck and to Mr Andrew Groves for driving the truck for us. We love that you supported McAuley and your community - thank you.

Our Library has a wonderful upcoming BOOK FAIR which will be held in the second week back of Term 2.  

Parents and students can 'Catch the Reading Wave' into the McAuley School Library from Tuesday May 7th to Wednesday 15th May.

Shopping is available mornings 8:30-9:00am and then after school from 3:30-4pm.

On Thursday May 9th from 9-10am, the Book Fair will be open for a secret sale for our parents to shop student free, which is the perfect opportunity to stock up on gifts without the children knowing. In library lessons leading up to the Fair students will be able to make wish lists of the books they love to assist in the choosing process. Books can be purchased using cash or by card via the eftpos machine.

The Book Fair is a fantastic way to help the library replenish book supplies, with the school earning a commission on each book sold. Last year the Library used the money to purchase information texts from the fair, which the students have loved.

Thanks to generous families who continue to support our fundraising efforts. 

The Easter Chocolate Fundraiser (McAuley Community Council) raised a wonderful $2246.02.

The Easter-egg Raffle Basket (Student Representative Council) raised $622.00. This raffle was won by Ron Buckley.

Thank you everyone who supported these fundraisers in any way. 

We will be holding our ever popular Mother's Day Stall on our Primary Campus on Friday 10th May. Thanks to Narissa and Alicia who have kindly offered to coordinate the stall. We will need parents to wrap the gifts prior to the stall and then parents to help on the day. Thanks everyone for your support. 

Starting this week, Woolworths Earn & Learn is on again! 

If you shop at Woollies, please collect and save your stickers for McAuley. Boxes are located in the Tumut Store or on the Primary Campus. Thank you for your support.