Dear McAuley Families

Welcome back to the 2021 academic year. A special welcome to our new families and staff members as they begin their McAuley journey with us. Our Kindergarten and Year 7 classes have settled immediately into the routine of school which is great news. Thank you for your support at home in getting back to ‘normal’. I’ve met a couple of parents who are very pleased to have kids back at school and out from under their feet!

COVID 19 Regulations:  Whilst we are doing well we continue to experience a health crisis.  You will see a table elsewhere in this Newsletter which outlines the current restrictions for Catholic Schools in our Archdiocese.  It is good news that we can return to relatively normal operations, albeit with continued hygiene and physical distancing regulations in place.

In summary:

• No more than 100 visitors on site at one time.
• Observe the 1.5m2 rule when on site.
• Please check in at Primary or Secondary Offices if you are visiting for a period of time.
• Do not visit or send children to school if unwell or displaying flu like symptoms.
• Observe hand washing and sanitizing reminders.

For the time being school Masses and gatherings that involve large numbers will be held in the School Hall and require an RSVP to attend.  Thank you all for your cooperation. Our opening school 'Mass and Induction of Leaders' will take place next Wednesday in the Hall, commencing at 10am. 

Staffing:  We still are short a small amount of staffing and hope to fill those gaps in the coming days. The local Catholic Schools will soon be advertising for Relief Teaching and Classroom Support staff.  Please encourage any new families to town to contact Catholic Education Recruitment for more information.

Social Media: Please be sure to “like us” on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/McAuley-Catholic-Central-School-Tumut-543337629119952/?ref=bookmarks

We aim to use this medium as a place for quick messages and updates. More important information will always be communicated through Newsletters or Email to families.

Swimming Carnival: Provided the weather is suitable we will hold the McAuley Swimming Carnival on Friday. Please watch elsewhere for further information about the day. The alternative date for our carnival will be Monday 8th Feb. 

Uniform: Swans have informed us that some items of uniform are not being supplied any more. We aim to reform the Uniform Committee and make some clear plans about the McAuley Uniform making sure that it is comfortable and affordable for students and families. In the meantime please make every effort to ensure that your sons and daughters are in correct uniform as much as possible.  A note to their classroom or PC teacher will help to explain any difficulties you might have.

I look forward to a productive and successful year together.  As always please feel free to communicate your questions or concerns so that we can work together to enrich the education offered to our sons and daughters.

Mary Our Mother… Look After Us

Eamonn Moore

Opening Staff Mass

'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.' Rom 15:13

The McAuley staff began the new school year with a Mass celebrated by Fr George. At the mass they welcomed new staff, Jo Dougherty, Veronica Thake, Belinda Schirmer and Lucy West to McAuley. 

They reflected on that their mission was to teach not just the academic learning, but also to assist the students in developing their gifts, talents and their belief in God. During the Mass the staff were also commissioned by Fr George for a new school year, pledging their commitment to Catholic Education in the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese.

The theme for their Mass was ‘Together with Hope…’ They were reminded that their faith will support them as they walk beside each other and they prayed that our God of Hope will support their 2021 journey together.  

They also reflected that our Catholic school draws from the rich heritage of Mercy and that they are called to share in the spirit and vision of our Mercy school.  All who are part of our McAuley community should feel the Spirt of Jesus and the charism of Catherine McAuley present here amongst them.  

Each staff member was given a cross which is a Symbol of Hope for all Christians. Fr George blessed the crosses and prayed that the cross would remind them that God will be their strength and hope for 2021. 

Anita Mason

Religious Education Coordinator

McAuley's Opening school Mass will be held in our McAuley Hall Wednesday 10th February commencing at 10am. At this Mass we celebrate the beginning of a new school year. We will also celebrate our new student leadership team for 2021 and present these students with their badges and commission them as leaders. 

All parents are very welcome to attend McAuley's Opening School Mass. As we have a limited number of parents allowed at school functions due to COVID-19 restrictions, if you would like to attend the Mass you are required to contact the school via phone or email to reserve your place.

When you arrive at the hall for the Mass you will need to sign against your registered name.

School Representative Council 2021

School Representative Council 2021 61.55 KB

As restrictions ease it will be great to get our Community Council up and running again.

The first meeting for 2021 will be the Annual General Meeting (AGM) followed by the ordinary meeting and planning for this year.  Executive officers will be elected at the AGM.

Please give thought to donating some time and effort to our Community Council and feel welcome to attend our meetings.

The AGM will be held in the Secondary Staffroom on Thursday Week 8 (18 March) at 5.00pm. 

Other meetings are planned for Week 2 and Week 8 each term.

Kind Regards

Natalie Bartlett

Community Council Chair

We make every effort to keep our Electronic Calendar up to date but please be aware, dates do change due to unavoidable circumstances.  

Parents are encouraged to regularly check the attached link from our school website.

A school newsletter is usually published every second Thursday. Parents, friends and grandparents are encouraged to subscribe to the newsletter.

Alternatively, to unsubscribe, please us this same link. 

Term One school fees will be emailed to all families by the end of Week 3. These are due to be paid by Friday 12th March. 

It is really important to try and stay on top of the fees as they are vital for the financial management and operation of our school. If you are experiencing difficulty in making fee payments please make an appointment to meet with our Principal at your convenience to discuss your options.

Thank you for your support. 

As part of the pastoral care program for students, ​McAuley has access to a Student and Family Counselling service provided by CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn (CCG). CCG are contracted to McAuley to provide a counselling service to students and their families. There is no fee to access this service.

 The role of the counsellor is to focus on the emotional, social and educational well-being of the students. Counsellors welcome contact with students having difficulty with some part of their life, whether or not it affects their school work. The problem does not have to be a big one. It is better to seek help sooner than later. Some typical concerns that counsellors work with include: anger, anxiety, behavioural problems, depression, eating problems, family breakdown and family conflict, grief and loss, learning and educational challenges, parenting challenges, peer and other social relationships, school avoidance, stress and study skills. As well as individual sessions with students, counsellors can run groups, do family work, consult with parents and teachers and make referrals to other services and supports. 

If the Counsellor believes the support for the student is beyond their scope of expertise, they will suggest referrals for specialist services. Counsellors also do not provide cognitive or learning assessments or court reports. Families requiring these will be referred to another service. 

Student and Family Counsellors subscribe to a set of professional ethics that include duty of care and respect for the individual rights to privacy and confidentiality. The counsellors’ obligation is to ensure the safety, wellbeing and confidentiality of the student they are working with. All counsellors are mandated to report any disclosure or sign of abuse (including self-harm) or neglect to Child Protection Services. Outside of our mandated requirements, all counselling sessions are confidential and the details will not be discussed with other parties unless written consent is given by the client.

2021 has seen some changes to the school counselling service. The biggest change relates to consent and permission. Parent consent is now required for all students under 14 years of age.

Melissa Bailey - School Counsellor, McAuley School

The McAuley Swimming Carnival is being held THIS Friday 5th February 2021 (weather permitting). Alternatively the carnival will be held on Monday 8th February with all details the same.

Detailed information was emailed to all parents on Tuesday, however if you have any questions please contact your child's teacher. 

The carnival will be a Kinder to Year 10 event, however, the infants’ students ie. Kinder, Year 1 and some Year 2 will only be attending from 9.30am to 1pm.

A reminder for students that they must have sunscreen and hats, bring plenty of water and wear their house colours if possible (MacKillop  -  Blue; Chisholm  -  Red; Therry  -  Green), or their full sports uniform.

The pool canteen will be open all day. Students will not be permitted to leave the pool at any stage during the day.

ALL STUDENTS FROM YEAR 3 TO YEAR 10 (and nominated Yr 2 students, turning 8 this year) are asked to be at the Pool no later than 9:00am for roll-call. Yr 3-10 students are to make their own way to the pool and bus students will be dropped off at the front of the swimming pool. They will be picked up at the same location at the conclusion of the carnival.  

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Lyn Bathgate or your classroom teacher as we will be only too happy to help.

Wow! Year 10's Jacob Ambrose has commenced 2021 with a winning streak! Not only was Jacob awarded with the "Snowy Valleys Shire's Young Sportsman of the Year", he was also awarded the annual "Songs for Sam Scholarship". 

Jacob defied all the challenges of 2020 by taking out both these prestigious awards. Jacob continually works hard to make himself the best person he can possibly be. Jake is one of the nicest young men you could meet and is just so happy, proud and humbled that he has been recognised with these two honours. 

His efforts in the water are second to none and as the swimming season for 2021 kicks off, the McAuley and wider community watch with excitement to see what 2021 will bring to this young champion!

Well done Jacob. 

A large part of our Strategic Planning for this year involves the provision of a modern and rigorous curriculum for all students K-10. Along with that we aim to assist and support all students having sound study and organisational skills. Part of this structure will now involve the provision of a School Diary for all students in Secondary School. It is anticipated that this simple tool will assist your sons and daughters be better organised, as well as providing an easy avenue for communication between school and home. 

One of our discoveries in the Remote Learning time was that a large number of our students needed to improve their organisational skills and use tools to assist them – thereby lowering their stress levels. Many became overwhelmed and confused leading to lots of questions.

A simple ‘Agreed Practice’ will be glued into the front cover of each student diary.  This will ensure consistency and appropriate use.

Agreed Practice Secondary Diaries 2021

Aim:  To build and maintain sound organisational tools and habits through the use of a planner/diary.

All students, staff and parents will:

• Use the Student Diary to allow for the physical recording of all assessment and homework tasks and upcoming school events.
• Use the Student Diary to establish and maintain communication between school and home i.e. noting positive achievements as well as uniform, organisational or behavioural reminders.
• Ensure that the Student Diary is carried in their school bag and available each period at school and each night at home.
• Physically check and sign the Student Diary weekly to ensure appropriate use.

It is our hope that this simple tool will lessen questions about due dates etc. and build an atmosphere of good organisation and sensible planning of assessments and events.

A BIG THANK YOU to Karen Clarke for donating a yoga mat Jess Sturt from The Gym, Tumut for donating three gym mats and Charlene Brooks who has purchased a mini trampoline for use by the students. These will be used for our Royal Far West Occupational Therapy sessions. 

Our Primary and Secondary Canteens are operational on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

You can use the Qkr! app to order lunches - please ensure these are ordered BEFORE 8:30am. Alternatively, please write your name at the bottom of a brown paper bag, include student name, class, meal cost and money included.

The Term 1 menu is attached for your information, however this can be found of Qkr! also.

CANTEEN MENU TERM 1

CANTEEN MENU TERM 1 612.02 KB

The Primary Canteen is looking for volunteers to assist with over the counter sales from 12:55pm to 1:30pm. Please refer to the roster below and if you can spare any time, please let the Primary Office ladies know. Alternatively, if you can no longer assist on your rostered day, please let us know. 

We have students who have anaphylactic reactions to nut pruducts. These reactions can be triggered by contact, ingestion or inhalation. 

This reaction is called Anaphylaxis. It is a severe, rapidly progressive allergic reaction that is potentially life threatening and requires urgent treatment. Our school does its best to be an "Allergy Aware" school. The school cannot guarantee a totally allergen free environment, however as a preventative measure could we please ask you to consider the students in our school who are at risk of anaphylaxis by:

• Avoid sending food to school which has nuts or nut products. 
• Along with our teachers, speak to your child to respect children who have food allergies.
• Speak to  your child encouraging them not to share food, drink, food utensils or containers with anyone.
• Encourage your child to wash their hands before and after eating.
• Ask your child to get help immediately if their allergic schoolmate gets sick.
• The resulting potential life threatening medical emergency could be avoided by minimising exposure to nuts.

TUMUT BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION:

Team nomination forms for the 2021 Autumn Comp are available from Pie in the Sky Bakery and Sportspower or www.tumut.basketball.net.au 

Active kids vouchers can also be redeemed for miniball and basketball. Kindergarten teams through to mens and womens will close on Thursday 18th February. Please submit by email: tumutbasketball@gmail.com

More details from Debbie Webb on 0427 647027. 

CIRCLE OF SECURITY - EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR PARENTS AND CHILDREN:

Kylie runs the 'Scrappingclearly' which is an Art & Craft Store in Gundagai. She will be teaching a class on Sunday 14th February 2020 at the Tumut Bowling Club.  Creative Kids Provider. More info from kylietout@hotmail.com or by phoning 0421 865 322