Dear McAuley Families

I hope everyone enjoyed 'Wellbeing Week' last week. For all of us it was a chance to “unplug” and change the routine. As nerve wracking as it was to postpone meetings and cancel events I trust it was a great opportunity for some family time.  Wellbeing Week is something the McAuley staff are keen to continue in Week 7 each term and we look forward to continuing and enriching this new tradition.  The Executive Team would welcome any suggestions you might have to make this week each term more significant.

Last week leads very well into RUOK Day which is celebrated today. At school we will wear yellow and give out wrist bands to remind everyone of the importance of recognising and supporting someone close to us who might be struggling. There are some excellent resources on the “RUOK” website www.ruok.org.au about not only how to open a conversation but what to do if someone says they are “not ok”.  In this year above all others we need to not only be attuned to our own mental health but the mental health of those we live, work and care for.

I am noticing more and more excellent online seminars and podcasts from expert relationship and parenting people.  I encourage you all to take advantage of this new type of offering which is so much more accessible than attending a seminar or meeting. 

Maggie Dent www.maggiedent.com has recently published a book on mothering boys and has some great content on her website and in her podcasts about boys and girls.  She writes really well about emotional intelligence (EQ) which is a most important quality to build in our students and children. She writes… “Failure, losing and making poor choices are a consequence of being human. Please play endless games with your children so they can recognise the emotional cues around responding to failing and give them strategies to manage with.” This practical advice ties in with our messaging around mental health and RUOK Day. We too make mistakes in our dealings with others and should never be too old (or too proud!) to acknowledge a failing or an error.  “…Remember to be realistic – growing emotional competence is strongly linked to the growth of the prefrontal cortex, and that does not finish until the mid-20s. There are lots of other factors that influence developing EQ – temperament, birth order, trauma, neuro diversity, special needs and sensory overload. Gosh it would be so much easier if we could gift it to our children in a neatly wrapped box wouldn’t it?”

There have been numerous times in 35 years in education when despairing parents have asked what I think they should do about their son or daughter and my only response can be to love… loving them through it is sometimes the only option. Love the good, love the bad, love the mistakes and love the successes. Easy said at times but well worth the effort.

Don’t forget to take a moment in the coming days and weeks to ask someone “Are you ok?”

Mary our Mother… Look After Us.

Eamonn Moore

Principal

A significant change to the guidelines is in regard to COVID-19 testing requirements.

We need to continue to exclude any students (or staff) if they display any flu-like symptoms, even if mild. Students (and staff) with even mild flu-like symptoms are now required to be tested and can only return to school upon a receipt of a negative test result that must be provided to the teacher or to the Office. 

As earlier reported in the Principal's message, last week we celebrated 'Well-being Week' concluding with a staff breakfast and coffee van. Classes during the week have enjoyed gardening, reading, free sport & many activities to promote wellbeing. No meetings and a break from busyness has been wonderful!

We continue to encourage and commend students for their great spirit, hard work and dedication towards their school work. Congratulations to all secondary students who continually receive Merit awards. Congratulations also to those students for receiving extra recognition, along with a great 'Canteen Voucher' for receiving 10 Merits. 

Our Year 9 and 10 Commerce students have been participating in the $20 Boss program which is a nationwide in-school entrepreneurship program. 
The program aims to elevate and foster enterprise skills of students through the experience of building and running an enterprise. The students focused their business ideas around a range of social issues that they believe are important and are aiming to raise enough money to donate to a charity of their choice. Trade week will run at school on Monday 14th September, Thursday 17th of September and Friday the 18th of September where students will have the opportunity to buy the products. Three groups have organised pre-order forms that will be sent home with students if you wish to order early however the products will still be available to purchase during trade week. If anyone requires further information please contact the school or email heidi.stubbs@cg.catholic.edu.au

All K-10 students have been given a hard-copy of the individual businesses and goods available for sale. 

Please click on the links for more great businesses created by our McAuley students. 

Lolly Guess for Secondary

Masks to purchase

Clean the Air

You will recall from a previous newsletter, McAuley students continue to support their Blakeney Lodge senior friends during the Covid lockdown. Year 8.2 recently wrote letters to the residents and Oscar was thrilled to receive one back from Mrs Bell, expressing her gratitude for his letter. Mrs Bell is looking forward to when the students can come and visit them again.

We hope you enjoy our album of photos - another great week of 'Living Life Well @ McAuley!'

TOMORROW Friday 11th September, we celebrate "Walk Safely to School Day" 

Students can participate by walking/riding to school or walking to and from their bus stop. This year students will have the opportunity to participate in the Walk Safely to School Fun Run (weather permitting).

There will be a K-2 Fun Run Race Course and a 3-6 course. This event will take place on the school oval from 8:30am and is free of charge. Students will need to collect their Fun Run passport at the start of the race and will collect a stamp for each lap of the course they complete.

This healthy challenge encourages students to be active. Unfortunately this year, we cannot have parent help or share breakfast together. We look forward to being active!

Mrs Stacey Crane and Mrs Liz Boxall

School breaks for Term 3 holidays on Friday 25th September. School resumes for all students for Term 4 on Monday October 12th.

Last day for students this school year will be Tuesday 15th December. All staff will undertake mandatory First Aid Training on Wednesday 16th (which will be the Pupil Free day for Term 4).

How do we spot mental ill-health in our teenagers? (From Linda Stade)

The following are potential ‘red flags’ that parents and teachers should keep an eye out for:

1.     Your child is really down on themselves

2.     They pull away from parents AND friends. Recognise that it is normal for teens to pull away from their parents to a degree and focus more on peers. The real concern is when they pull away from both.

3.     There are changes in sleep patterns and appetite.

4.     They pull away from activities they previously were enthusiastic about or really loved.

5.     Trouble concentrating on schoolwork and homework when that wasn’t previously the case.

6.     They engage in risky behaviour which is out of character.

7.     More emotional than usual and the waves of emotion seem to be bigger than usual.

It is important that we constantly maintain and build connection with our kids. If there is connection, they are more likely to share with us when they are struggling. We also need to genuinely put the invitation out there for them to speak to us about how they are. We should be doing that every few days if there are initial concerns.

Please note that all students are now required to wear a school hat before school, at recess and lunch and for all PE and Sport Activities. 

No Hat, No Play!

The following information has been received from Goode’s Coaches in regards to recent advice from Transport NSW about wearing Face Masks:

 Children over the age of 12 are encouraged to wear a mask where physical distancing is not possible, but is not compulsory

 Students should not sit next to, directly in front of or behind anyone, unless they are part of the same household.

 Students should avoid sitting in the seat behind the driver. In most cases this seat is taped off however where the bus is full it should be reserved for infants students only

 No student will be refused entry for not wearing a mask or if the bus is full.

 Do not send your child to school on the bus if they show symptoms or feel sick.

Tumut Tag Registration will take place on Tuesday 29th September @ the Tumut Bull Paddock from 4pm. 

Juniors $50 - Kinder to Year 6. Seniors $60 - Yr 7 and up.

All teams require 4 males and 3 females to be registered. Competition begins on 20th October. Registration forms are available at Tumut Sportspower.