Dear McAuley Families

We’ve dragged ourselves to the end of Term 3.  I hope that all can enjoy the chance to have a break from the routines of school and work in the coming weeks.  Thanks to our parents and carers for their massive and positive support and grateful thanks to our staff for their dedication and hard work for our students.

We begin next term with a couple of innovations.  The first is the trial of our new Student Welfare Policy (SWP).  The staff have elected a Working Group who, over the last terms have researched and constructed a policy and procedure which is aimed at positive feedback, is merit based and works to be clear and consistent in terms of consequences and actions.  Staff will trial the SWP in Term 4 with an awareness there will need to be “tweaks” in some of our processes.  All classes from K-10 will be stepped through the protocols and processes and information in the form of graphics will be sent home to families early next term.

It is our hope that descriptive praise and a merit based system will not only reinforce our school’s Mercy Values but assist our students to treat others with fairness, justice and compassion.  We also clearly aim for high expectations of ourselves and others in our social and academic care.  Education writer, Linda Stade (www.lindastade.com) highlights “Ten Characteristics of a Good Student” being…

1. Growth mindset: change language from “I can’t do this…” to “I can’t do this yet…”
2. Brave: Brave students take risks and grab opportunities and experiences to learn.
3. Organised: Use diaries, planners and tools to keep on top of things.
4. Consistent and Persistent: There are many skills we all need to practice and master through sheer hard work.
5. Deal with Failure: Not every player wins a prize! Students need to learn from errors.
6. Set Goals: Students who work step by step to achieve things do well.
7. Connect learning to life: Parents and teachers need to highlight links between learning and skills to real life situations and experiences.
8. Have emotional skills: Students need to learn emotional regulation and look after their mental health.
9. Partner with teachers: Relationships between students and teachers are key to success.  It is as important that students work at this as much as teachers.
10. Value education: The best students come from homes where education is seen as important and vital to success and happiness in life.

Surveys from the last few years have highlighted the desire for a McAuley policy that is clear and consistent and I believe we have achieved that with our new SWP.

The other initiative that we are trialing in Term 4 is an alignment of bell times between Primary and Secondary campuses.  It is important that we work as a united K-10 school and be open to as many opportunities we can to share staffing and resources across the campuses.  The most significant change in this trial is that Pastoral Care (DEAR) time in Secondary School (Years 7-10) moves to 9.00am.  At the first bell all students will go to their home room for prayer, roll marking, administration and so on.  Students who are late to PC will be marked late (after 9.05) and consistent lateness will incur a consequence.  School still begins at 9.00am for all McAuley students.  We ask that parents respect and enforce this change and ensure that your sons and daughters are at school on time and appropriately equipped for the day’s study.  Timings are listed below for your information.  I look forward to welcoming your feedback on this trial also.

Secondary Bell Times from Term 4:

Primary Bell Times from Term 4:

Student timetables and teacher duty rosters are currently being adjusted to reflect these alterations.  Please always note that attendance at school is a legal responsibility and we ask that as much as possible parents avoid medical and social appointments being made during school hours. Those students who are consistently absent or signed in late are disadvantaged in terms of their learning, organisation and progress.

Please enjoy the holiday break. Classes resume for Term 4 on Monday 12 October at 9.00am.

Mary our Mother… Look After Us.

Eamonn Moore

Principal

A new Student Welfare Policy is being trialled in Term 4 for all students K-10 before it’s implementation in 2021.  The aim of the policy is to clearly outline expectations of all McAuley students in the areas of participation, responsibility, respect and safety.  ALL positive behaviour, that displays our McAuley Mercy values through their actions on the playground and in the classroom, will be rewarded with a MERCY AWARD. 

Once a student has 10 Mercy Awards, they are acknowledged for their excellent positive behaviour with a presentation of a certificate and they move to a new level to reward these behaviours. The students can progress through Bronze, Silver and Gold.  

When a student displays behaviour that is against the Mercy values and school rules they receive consequences depending on the level of behaviour.  The staff have informed the students of the steps involved in the new Student Welfare Policy and are looking forward to the recognizing the wonderful behaviour exhibited by our McAuley students.  

Our Parish and school were delighted to have Archbishop Christopher Prowse visit us last Friday.  The Archbishop took time to tour both the Primary and Secondary campuses and meet with some of our classes, before conducting a Parish mass.  He then enjoyed morning tea with parishioners in our McAuley Hall.

On Wednesday 16th September the Sacrament Confirmation ceremony took place, with 10 of McAuley's Year 6 students confirmed.

Archbishop Prowse visited Year 6 on Friday 18th September with the Archbishop meeting and talking with those students who had celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation.

During Week 9, Coleby Duck was fortunate to gain work experience at Tumut Auto Electrics and Air Conditioning.  Darrel and Carol Hursey kindly provided Coleby with the opportunity to gain great hands on career experience.  Thank you to all local businesses who support our work experience placement program, providing our Year 10 students with invaluable workforce experiences.

Last week Year 2 had fun exploring the Children's Book Council's shortlisted book "We're Stuck!" by Sue deGenarro.  The book focuses on the themes of friendships, community and kindness.  Each student made their paper hat to represent a character from the book, all of whom make a special effort to celebrate a friend's birthday during challenging times.

This week Year 2 have been looking at the Children's Book Council's shortlisted book "Nop" by Caroline Magerl in library classes. The story is about a lovely teddy who has nothing on him to tell where he belongs. Taking matters into his own furry hands, Nop pops on a bow tie, fashions a sewn together balloon and sets sail to find his destiny. A lovely tale about belonging and finding your own happiness. Students brought in their own teddies to the library to play numerous fun games. The students were also lucky enough to have an ice cream in a cone just like in the book, "Koalas Eat Gum Leaves" by Laura and Philip Bunting.

Father George and Father Namora joined Yr 8 PE for basketball last Friday afternoon. Lots of laughs were shared.

Year 10 PASS students have created their own fitness workouts.  This week they were putting them into action.

Year 3/4MG had great delight this week using the ozobots to learn about direction in Maths. The students had to investigate how to make the ozobot move using a set of directions and then had to devise a set of directions themselves. You can see the delight on their faces as the ozobot moved. 

The McAuley Community Council were approached by the Tumut Blues Rugby League Committee to provide volunteers to work in their canteen, on 13 September. A big thank you to the hard working and dedicated parents who gave up their time to assist on the Sunday.  In appreciation of their effort the Tumut Blues Committee have donated $500 to the Community Council.  Both the Tumut Blues Committee and the McAuley Community Council would like to thank the volunteers.

Thursday, 10 September was national R U OK Day. To show our support and help raise awareness, students came to school dressed in yellow.

A huge thank you to Aunty Sue Bulger, who has given up her time to teach Wiradjuri Language to students K - 6. Student have learnt counting, animal names, greetings and simple phrases. They have really enjoyed hearing stories and learning from Aunty Sue.

11 September was National Walk Safely to School Day.  Students could be involved by walking/riding to school or walking to and from their bus stop.  At school, K-6 students were encouraged to continue being active, with a fun run organised on the Primary oval from 8:30am. The courses involved not just running, but various obstacles and exercises.  Students were rewarded for each lap completed with a stamp, for their fun run "passport".    

If you are interested in attending any of these programs, please call Mission Australia on 6942 8002.

Good afternoon schools across the SVC region.

With the Youth Councils not formally meeting through the COVID 19 pandemic, it gives us a chance to review the current Youth Council structure and to provide young people across the region the opportunity to share their views & shape how the Youth Council(s) will look moving forward.

We encourage all students from year 6 to year 12 to share their views. The more young people between 12 & 24 that we can reach the better.

Click on the link below to complete the survey.