McAuley Catholic College Tumut eNewsletter

Dear McAuley Families

Whilst I was away enjoying a special family time on the soggy (but warmer) north coast, the exciting news was announced of McAuley’s progression to Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12) in 2023/2024.

I know this has been a long term dream of the local community and I am proud of the work that has been done by the Executive Staff and the enormous support of Community Council to realise the potential and maximize the benefits for our town and area.

There is much to be done in terms of financial, physical and staffing detail. An information night with input from CE staff will be held on Thursday night to outline the virtual, onsite and distance components that might be offered as well as information on Vocational (VET) pathways that may be possible.

In all we are excited to be able to offer a Catholic Education pathway for Kindergarten to Year 12 where your children can be at home with their families and friends contributing to our school and area. There is much more detail to come as we learn and prepare for next year.

We are open for enrolments now for 2023 in most classes. In particular we seek enrolment for Kindergarten, Year 7 and Year 11, 2023. Please see the school website or contact the office for enrolment details. Those families that are already enrolled at McAuley do not need to reapply – your enrolment now continues until Year 11 and into Year 12, 2024.

Our first Year 7 Orientation Day will be held next Friday 17 June at school. Details will be provided to all interested in trying a day at McAuley and being able to see what a day in Year 7 might look like. Mr Turnbull and I visited our local Catholic Primary Schools at Gundagai, Adelong and Batlow earlier this week. (We saw lovely snow in Batlow and left just in time!). The time spent with their Year 6 students was really enjoyable and they had lots of questions about being in a “big” High School!

We had a good number of families in attendance at our Year 7, 2023 Information Meeting held on Tuesday 7 June. Parents were outlined information about our pastoral care policies and procedures, curriculum offerings and technology tools. Again, there were good questions and discussion. I am always grateful for the interest and trust placed in us by existing and prospective families as we move forward into an exciting future.

Friday 10 June is our first of two Pupil Free Days this term (10 June and 1 July). These days have been set by Catholic Education as a recognition of the interruptions staff have endured due to absences and cancellations due to COVID. On Friday our staff will be continuing on their Professional Learning in High Impact Teaching methodology and catching up on planning and administration tasks.

I know the weather is cold but I ask all parents to ensure their children are in correct school uniform? There is provision for warm fleecy tops, bottoms and jumpers for all students as part of the new options. Please enforce that all are correctly dressed in warm school uniform (including white socks). Teachers will give uniform warnings. Three warnings result in an email home as per our Student Welfare Policy.

Thanks to those families and staff who were able to support the Primary Disco last Friday. All looked to be having a great time. It is lovely to be able to slowly return to the gatherings and events we have missed during the last couple of years.

I had some time to read whilst away and have been enjoying Martin Seligman’s “Flourish”. Many will know I am a fan of Seligman’s optimistic, growth focus on living our lives. His simplicity and positivity are a model for us all. “Here is the exercise: find one wholly unexpected kind thing to do tomorrow and just do it. Notice what happens to your mood.”

Give it a try and let’s encourage our sons and daughters to be kind.

Mary our Mother … look after us.

The 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The gifts refer to the seven graces bestowed upon Catholics who follow their faith correctly. The gifts -- wisdom, piety, fear of the Lord, understanding, counsel, knowledge and fortitude. Catholics are encouraged to use these gifts in daily life. Gifts come as a by-product of living a spiritually pure life, and also through the sacrament of Confirmation.

1. Wisdom

Wisdom speaks to the ability to use good judgment, and is grounded in life experience, reflection and integrating life's hard lessons. One way to practice this gift is to view the body as the sacred property of God.

2. Understanding

Understanding is the gift of discernment and insight. It helps followers to correctly perceive situations. Understanding can be practiced through learning our faith, and praying for, and carrying out God's purpose in life.

3. Counsel

Counsel refers to the ability to both give and receive good advice, to guide and be guided by others, to encourage and be encouraged. If we remain spiritually righteous, others will look up to us and seek our counsel. A way to benefit from this gift is to seek out church elders and priests who can provide spiritual guidance in time of need.

4. Knowledge

Knowledge refers to being able to educate oneself and build up a base of information from which to operate in the world. The Bible encourages followers to employ knowledge for the good of all humanity. We can exercise the gift of knowledge by knowing and staying true to long-term goals.

5. Fortitude

Fortitude is another word for strength and refers to spiritual rather than physical strength. Fortitude is the ability to commit to God despite temptations or external pressures to the contrary. Fortitude is also the ability to endure suffering and hardship in the name of following God's commandments. To exercise fortitude, we put our relationship with Christ first in our lives, no matter what arises.

6. Piety

Piety is another word for devotion and is the demonstration of commitment to faith. A pious person is one who lives a sin-free, moral life, and who surrenders his own will to that of God.

7. Fear

Christians believe that a certain degree of fear of God will help followers lead a moral life. Fear can also be interchanged with awe or reverence, which encourage followers to pay devotion to God. Fear of the Lord is apparent when followers try not to do anything that would cause them to separate from God.

(Parker Janney, 29/09/2017, https://classroom.synonym.com/what-are-the-seven-virtues-in-catholicism-12082876.html)

STUDENT OF THE WEEK AND MJR AWARDS

BRONZE AWARDS

It is wonderful to see so many students receiving Bronze Awards. These awards are presented to students for displaying "consistent expected behaviour" in line with our Student Welfare Policy. These students are now working towards receiving a Silver Award.

Year 1 are currently studying equal groups in Maths, a beginning concept of multiplication. Made all the more fun with biscuits and lollies!

Year 2 constructed some wonderful Lego creations and wrote instructions on how to build them. They are learning how to write procedural texts.

This week in Science the Year 1 and Year 2 students have been learning about phases of the moon and star constellations. They were given the opportunity to design and create their very own star constellation using coloured sticks and plasticine. Both Year 1 and Year 2 loved the hands-on experience, and all the students were very creative. Some students made peacock constellations, fish constellations and lots of students came up with numerous other very thought-provoking ideas.

As soon as the cloud lifts in our area I am certain lots of our stage 1 students will be out stargazing, looking for various star constellations, including the Southern Cross. They will also be checking out the different phases of the moon, and especially looking out for our next full moon. It is always great fun learning lots of things in our Science lessons.

Congratulations to our Primary Age Champions and Runners Up from the recent Athletics Carnival. Students were presented their medallions at an Assembly last Friday.

8 years: Champion – Abigail Forsyth and Jake Masters. Runner Up – Charli Laney and Elliott Adelan-Langford

9 years: Champion – Aylah Clout and Jimmy O'Connell. Runner Up – Primrose Corbett and Billy Roche

10 years: Champion – Isabella Crowe and Parker Cini. Runner Up – Caetrielle Tinoyan and Gavin Olivier

11 years: Champion – Chloe Pearce and Joey Parry. Runner Up – Paige Kelly and Carter Hood

12 years: Champion – Lacey Thomas and Angus Watts. Runner Up – Zoe Zovaro and Hunter Watts.

Secondary results will be reported once students have completed their high jump event. Weather permitting this will occur next week.

Students had a wonderful time dancing, playing (and eating!) at our DISCO last Friday evening. Thank you to parents and students for supporting this event. A total of $544.90 was raised and will go towards the purchase of refrigerated bubblers.

Our sessions with the Brumby Development Officers have been continuing. Students in years 3-6 are participating in rugby union clinics where they learn a variety of teamwork and game skills.

Brad Beavan, Ashton Ambrose, Joey Parry and Jack Corbett braved the weather last week to attend the Canberra Goulburn (Primary) Rugby Union trials. All 4 boys had a great day and trialled well. Brad, Ashton and Jack were successful in making it through to the next level. They will head to Forbes at the end of this month to attend a coaching session with the NSW Waratahs and then trial for positions on the Mackillop team. Well done boys!

There are a couple of spots available for helpers in our Primary canteen. It is a great way to get to know our students and get involved with your child's school. Plus, it takes less than 1 hour a month. Please contact the Primary office if you are interested in volunteering.