Term 1, Week 3 - 18 February - 2022
- From the Principal
- Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing
- Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
- 2022 School Fees
- Careers
- Year 7 Chromebook Rollout
- Swimming Carnival Information
- School Photos 2022
- Current COVID restrictions & regulations
- Student Leadership Team
- Lenten Program for Parents & Carers
- Parent Education and Support
- Parish News
- Birthdays
- Community Events and Advertisements
Dear Parents and Carers, Staff and Students,
Dear Parents and Carers,
At the time of writing this Newsletter, we are waiting for the next set of COVID 19 regulations. Until the end of week 4 (25th February) we are still under the current regulations and restrictions which are outlined further in the Newsletter. Thank you to all families for the support and understanding you have given the College in the opening 3 weeks of the term.
Parent Forum - Parent Gathering
I would like to tentatively invite parents and carers to our Term 1 gathering in week 7 - 15th March 2022 from 6.00 to 7.30pm. We will also offer parents & carers the opportunity to join the gathering via Zoom. The Parent Forum is one way you can be involved in your child’s education and find out what is happening in the College.
Year 12 2021 & Student Leadership Team Activity
It was wonderful to recognise the achievements of our Yr 12 students from 2021 at our Opening School Mass. They had some great advice for our current Year 11 & 12 students, which they shared on a forum style presentation. Also this week the student leadership team arranged Valentine celebrations with funds going to Caritas.
Participation
I take this opportunity to remind all our families that when you enrol your child at the College you agree to your child attending and participating in all aspects and events of the College. This includes the following events that are scheduled in the next fortnight:
- Our annual Swimming Carnival on Friday 25th February. A letter outlining the details of the carnival was sent home last week and a copy is also in this newsletter.
- Ash Wednesday on 2nd March where all students and staff will receive Ashes. A reminder that the Canteen will NOT be selling meat products on Ash Wednesday, which remains a day of fast and abstinence in the liturgical calendar. As many of us know, Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, a time of reflection, fasting and penance that prepares us for Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday.
- School Photos on Wednesday 2nd March - School photo envelopes are to be returned on photo day.
Update of Information and General Permission Note
In the coming week, we will send out to all families forms requesting up to date information and a general permission note. It is vitally important that our information for each student is current, particularly contact details of parents/carers, and medical information. All forms need to be returned even if there is no change.
Save the Date: Open Night
Open Night 2022 is April 5th between 4.00 & 6.30pm. This is a great opportunity for prospective (and current) families to visit the College, ask questions and pick up enrolment information.
Enjoy the fortnight ahead
Yours sincerely
Kate
Kate Thomson
Principal
“We should be shining lamps, giving light to all around us.” Catherine McAuley
WELLBEING - PASTORAL NEWS
Positive Awards Scheme
Iin our Pastoral Care lesson this week, students were reminded of the importance of using the College Planner. Home Room teachers are checking students planners during this lesson to support students in the use of the planner for organisation and being ready to learn. Another area of the planner is for students to gain Merit stamps which earn them Merit Certificates and gain points for their House. The following outlines our Positive Awards Scheme. Please encourage your children to let their Home Room teacher know when they receive 5 merit stamps.
Aim: The Positive Awards Scheme at MCC is designed to reward consistent positive student behaviour in and out of the classroom and participation in and contributions to College programs and involvement in community service programs.
How the Positive Awards Scheme Operates
Student Rights and Responsibilities
As a member of the McAuley Catholic College community students have certain rights and responsibilities. Living these rights and responsibilities generate an atmosphere helpful to learning and to the well being of all in our community. These rights and responsibilities are also included in the student’s planners. I encourage parents to read these with their children and encourage them to follow their responsibilities so that together we can ensure the rights of all students are being met.
RIGHTS OF STUDENTS
- To feel safe at all times in the College environment.
- To learn unimpeded by the actions of others.
- To express oneself respectfully to others.
- To know one’s belongings are safe.
- To work in a pleasant learning environment.
RESPONSIBILITY OF STUDENTS
- To attend school regularly, on time, ready to learn and take part in College activities.
- To aim at the highest personal standards in all aspects of College life.
- To co-operate with the staff and to accept the policies and procedures of the College.
- To consider and respect all people within the College and the wider community.
- To consider and respect the property of other people.
- To care for the grounds, buildings, furniture, equipment and resources provided by the College.
Uniform
All students are reminded that the full College uniform is to be worn each Wednesday. Sports uniforms can only be worn on days students have practical PDHPE and on Thursdays.
If a student cannot wear the correct and full uniform, students are to bring a note signed by their parent/carer to school explaining the uniform issue. The note is countersigned by the Home Room teacher. This note is then presented to the office during HR in exchange for a uniform pass. The uniform pass is carried by the student and presented when requested. If the student is wearing a non-uniform item that is deemed unacceptable an alternative item of clothing will be offered to the student or parents will be contacted to rectify the situation. Students may be asked to stay home until uniform issues are rectified. Students in incorrect uniforms without an explanation from parents/carers will be placed on uniform detention.
MISSION NEWS
Commencement Mass
Last Thursday we celebrated our Commencement Mass with Fr Joe and Fr Emmanuel from the Clarence Vally Parish. We welcomed the new year and listened to the Gospel which reminded us to have faith in God and “not to worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add troubles each day brings”. From this, we encourage all students to be open to the fruits of faith-based education and focus on doing their best each day. At the Mass, our College Captains for 2022 Taylor Powell and Matilda Sheehan led the students in their pledge of commitment.
We the students of McAuley Catholic College commit ourselves to build a Catholic community of faith and action. We will work together to promote Gospel values and the dignity of all.
We will accept responsibility for our learning and behaviour. We will co-operate with our families and school staff to strive for excellence in all aspects of college life.
Throughout the year we hope all students will do their best to uphold this pledge and follow the commitments that are expected of them.
Ash Wednesday and Project Compassion
On Wednesday, March 2nd, we will mark Ash Wednesday in Year group liturgies. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent which is the season in the Church that leads us to Easter. During this time we focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Each Homeroom will be provided with a Project Compassion box for students to donate. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.
The theme of Project Compassion 2022 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues. We encourage students to put their compassion into action this Lent through prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion.
LEAD
LEAD is a Student Leaders Conference that enhances Senior Ministry Teams of Year 11 and 12 students to be equipped for ministry in their schools by nurturing their own faith and developing them into supportive communities. Returning from LEAD, these students will be encouraged to meet regularly to support each other and to facilitate Youth Ministry initiatives within their own school communities and at regional events such as SHINE.
This year, LEAD will again be hosted by our College and we encourage students in Yr 11 and 12 to attend this event. It will run from 3.30 pm Thursday 10th to 1.30 pm Friday 11th March.
The gathering will include:
- Dynamic keynote speakers
- The Lismore Diocese Youth Ministry Officers
- SHINE-style rally on Thursday night
- Mass
- Small-Group Discussions
- Seminars and Interactive workshops to provide formation in Youth Ministry Skills
Student participation in this year’s LEAD is offered to any Year 11 and 12 students who are interested in being active in Senior Ministry Teams in Schools. There will be a cost to participants attending of $20.00.
LEAD will run in accordance with CSO and NSW Health COVID-19 guidelines.
Notes are available from Mr Montford and our YMO, Georgia Salvestro and must be returned to the front office by Friday 25th February.
Kathy Warby
Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing
Year 7 Chromebooks
The year 7 students should have returned permission notes regarding Chromebook distribution. The Chromebooks will be given to the students during week four. The College will support students with school expectations for use and establishing good academic habits in the use of a device whilst at school. These expectations include ensuring that the device is fully charged, familiarisation with the school intranet and setting up subject-specific folders. For many students, this is the first time that they have had access to such technology and parents must play an active role in limiting screen time, supervising student usage and keeping the device as used mainly for academic purposes.
Year 7 Best start and PAT testing
Now that our Year 7 students have access to their Chromebook the school will be completing some diagnostic testing to determine how to best meet the needs of individual students. The following dates are for your information:
- Best Start Monday 28th February and
- PAT 4th March.
McAuley College 2021 HSC High Achievers Assembly
Last week the school had the opportunity to congratulate in person the 2021 Dux of McAuley Catholic College, Melisa Meier. Melisa and a number of students who gained exceptional results attended the College to receive awards and speak to our senior students. In 2021 many of our students overcame adversity, including the closing of the school due to floodwaters and challenges of COVID-19 during their final 2 years of schooling. The school is very proud of each and every one of our students, whose journey to the HSC is very much an individual one. It was wonderful to be able to acknowledge some of our students during the assembly.
Assessment
Mrs Lee will be speaking with year 7-11 students in week four outlining important information in the Assessment Handbook. The focus of these sessions will be Assessment Policy and Protocols. Please take some time to sit with your child and help them to navigate due dates and focus areas for subject assessments.
Supporting student academic success
On Monday 7th February, Year 9-12 students participated in workshops run by Elevate representative Jack Breden. These workshops provided opportunities for our students to further develop their understanding of what constitutes effective study and which strategies have been proven to work. Our subscription to Elevate Education allows for student and parent access throughout the year. This online platform contains resources and useful study tips that all McAuley students will find effective. We encourage you to access either the Parent Resources or the Student Portal and try some of the strategies. The student portal supports the strategies that the students were introduced to in the ELEVATE sessions last week. The password to this site is: rondo.
Although the parent session held on Monday 7th February was not recorded, we are excited to announce that parents of our school have exclusive access to Elevate Education’s Parent Webinar Series in 2022. Parents are welcome to tune into the Elevate webinar series to learn how to better support their children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school.
The first session on a topic that was of interest to attendees in our parent session will be held next week on Wednesday 23rd February @ 6:00 pm: The focus of the webinar is How to Get (and Keep) Your Child Motivated
In session 1 How to Get (and Keep) Your Child Motivated, Elevate will provide you with the tips and tools for how to get (and keep!) your child motivated. Including
- The causes of student demotivation;
- Specific goals that actually cause demotivation;
- How you can help your child set goals that will help them get (and stay) motivated;
- The role parents play in motivation.
Should you have questions or would like to contact Elevate directly, their details are listed below.
- 1300 667 945
- auaucoaching@elevateeducation.com
The College also subscribes to Edrolo, which is an online video lesson and exam practice resource for Year 11 and HSC students that covers all key content and knowledge areas in specific subjects. We have extensively assessed the resource and chosen it as the leading online tool for our Stage 6 students. All Stage 6 students will have access to this platform across most subjects.
Teachers use Edrolo as teaching, consolidation, revision, and assessment tool to further enhance what we are doing day-to-day.
McAuley Study Hub is another valuable resource that our students can access. Parents and students can examine the information that Mrs Lee and Mr Imeson have curated by accessing this site from the school website. It is the last heading under the Learning and Teaching tab.
HEAL Program
During last weeks HEAL lesson our Indigenous students took part in some rock painting. The Students along with the guidance of Mr Wil Bancroft and Ellee Munro looked at the history of rock painting in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and the significance of the different colours and patterns.
Di McGowan
Assistant Principal, Learning & Teaching
School fees are expected to be emailed to families at the end of the week. Sibling discounts on tuition fees are applied to families with two or more children enrolled at the College. Unfortunately, the College is unable to offer a discount for early payment this year.
Instalment dates are as follows:
- Term 1 fees due 17th March
- Term 2 fees due 13th May
- Term 3 fees due 12th August
- Term 4 fees due 28th October
Overnight camps have not been charged in the fees as in previous years. The full amount will be billed separately nearer to the event and needs to be paid in full before the camp. To assist with household budgets, the approximate cost and timing for each camp are as follows:
- Year 8 term 3 camp $270
- Year 9 term 4 camp $400
- Year 10 term 4 camp $380
The College accepts direct transfers, BPay, and payment over the phone. When transferring please be sure to include your reference number listed on the statement so that the proceeds can be correctly identified and applied.
Families wishing to pay by weekly or fortnightly instalments please contact the College for further information.
If you are experiencing financial stress please arrange a meeting time with me through the office by phoning 66 431434.
Stephen Hartmann
College Business Manager
McAuley Careers Website
Structured Workplace Learning
The Program provides benefits to employers by:
- Contributing to the development of workplace skills and entry-level skills in their industry
- Promoting to young people the career potential of their industry
- Providing access to a pool of future paid apprentices, casual or part-time workers
- Enabling potential recruitment of new employees who can be immediately productive
- Developing the training and supervisory skills of employees who will induct, train, supervise and/or assess MCC students
- Enabling employees to mentor young people in their career decision-making process
- Encouraging students to become involved with businesses in their local community
Benefits to McAuley College include:
- Catering for a diverse range of students and learning needs
- Information from employers regarding expectations and work tasks to facilitate a better match between employer and student
- Engaged students who are able to put classroom learning into practice and contribute their experiences to classroom discussions
Benefits to students include:
- Improving understanding of the work environment and employers' expectations
- Increasing self-understanding, maturity, independence and self-confidence, especially in the workplace
- Increasing motivation to continue to study and/or undertake further training
- Ability to put the knowledge gained in the classroom into practice in a real-world situation
- Opportunity for personal improvement through the development of employability and generic skills
- Development of networks and obtaining industry feedback and a professional referee
- Enhancing opportunities for an apprenticeship, casual or part-time employment
- Providing an opportunity to try out career choices before leaving school
Uni Roadshow
Year 7 is very excited to finally be receiving their new Chromebooks which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, February 22. Students are expected to bring the device fully charged, to school every day.
Each device has a 3-year warranty and comes with accidental damage protection (ADP) insurance. One claim per year is allowed under ADP and a $60.50 excess applies to each claim before the device can be repaired. If students have either a warranty issue or ADP claim they should take the device to the library desk for further instructions.
To ensure your child receives their device on the day, it must be fully paid for, and each student must have returned a Network Acceptable Use Agreement signed by the child and a parent/carer.
Stephen Hartmann
College Business Manager
Swimming Carnival
Our annual Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday 25th February at the Grafton Aquatics Centre, with a COVID safe plan. A letter outlining important information regarding this event was sent to all families last Friday and a copy is attached to this newsletter.
Parents are able to attend this event and the following rules apply:
- Only 1 parent/ guardian can attend as a spectator
- Parents are restricted to one area
- Parents are not allowed to mix with students during the day
- COVID safe practices apply - social distancing of 1.5m, sanitise, hand wash, appropriate cough etiquette
- Everyone MUST wear a face mask when entering and leaving the pool and when attending the canteen
School Photos
Our College Photos will take place on Wednesday 2nd March with a catch-up day on Tuesday, 8th March. All students are to be in full school uniform.
All students will have their photographs taken for our records. Purchasing school photos is optional and school photo envelopes are to be returned on photo day.
Attached below is a PDF copy of the Photo order form in case you have misplaced or not received one yet.
At the time of writing this newsletter, the COVID-19 restrictions and regulations for weeks 1 - 4 are still in place (until 25th February). We are expecting to receive official information this week outlining plans for schools from week 5, which we will communicate to parents and carers.
The current information has been repeated here which is relevant for Week 4 (21 - 25 February)
CURRENT (& UPDATED) INFORMATION AS OF 4 FEBRUARY 2022
Rapid Antigen Tests
Testing continues this week and it is recommended they are administered at home by parents each Monday and Wednesday morning, or if your child is displaying symptoms. If there is a problem with the tests that were sent home, please contact the College for replacements.
Positive COVID RAT Result
If your child receives a positive test result, you are required to:
- Register the positive test on the Service NSW website so you can be linked to important health care support and advice based on your COVID-19 risk. If you or someone in your family can’t register online, please call Service NSW on 13 77 88.
- Notify the school on 66431434 or email grafs@lism.catholic.edu.au
- Your child may return to school if, after a 7 day isolation period they no longer experience symptoms. (See below)
There is no requirement to report negative test results. - PLEASE NOTE:
As at 2 February 2022, the requirement for positive cases to test on Day 6 has been removed.
- If you have been a positive case and do not have symptoms at Day 7, you no longer need to test before leaving self-isolation. For example, if you were tested at 10am on Tuesday, you can leave isolation at 10am on the following Tuesday if you do not have a sore throat, runny nose, cough or shortness of breath.
- If you have been a positive case and still do have symptoms, you are to remain in isolation until 24 hours after your symptoms have resolved. If you are not getting better or you are concerned, please consult your GP.
Close (Household) Contacts
- If a member of your household has COVID-19, your child is then a close (household) contact and will be required to self-isolate for seven (7) days. Following the seven day isolation period and after they then receive a negative test result and if they are not experiencing symptoms, they may return to school. If your child is a close (household) contact, please notify the school on 66431434 or email grafs@lism.catholic.edu.au and they will be provided with learning from home materials.
- Students who have recovered from COVID-19 and have been released from isolation before other positive cases in their household will not need to self-isolate or test unless they develop new COVID-19 symptoms.
Masks
- All school staff and secondary students are required to wear surgical masks indoors. Cloth masks are not permitted. The College has supplies to be able to issue each student with 1 mask per day. It is also recommended that masks be worn on buses to and from school.
- Anyone with an exemption are to carry the exemption on them. We also suggest parents let the College know and we will inform your child's teachers.
Learning from Home (if a close contact / well enough as a COVID positive case)
See the letter attached here regarding the procedures for this learning situation.
School COVID-19 Frequently asked Questions - for Families and Students
Caring for your child with COVID-19 at home
The student leadership team has been busy during Weeks 2 and 3 of Term 1. We have been hard at work planning MCC’s Valentines Day celebration which was held on Thursday, 17th of Feb. Students were given an option to purchase either a chocolate heart or package or a love song sung by the Year 12 boyband. This year we earned $250+ for Caritas’ Project Compassion which aims to provide impoverished areas with their much-needed healthcare and daily necessities.
The student leadership team has also been helping to plan the swimming carnival and provide an engaging experience for all students. The swimming carnival will be held next Friday on the 25th of February. We hope to see you all there!
Please find attached the latest Parish Bulletins from Clarence Valley Parish.
