Term 2, Week 9 - 22 June - 2020 -
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From the Principal
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Assistant Principal
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Quotes from Pope Francis
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Curriculum
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KLA in Focus - English
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Careers
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Celebrating 30 Years
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Student Leadership Team
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Meet our Student Leaders
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European Tour
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Cross Country
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Parent Assembly Webinars
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Parish News
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Food for Thought / Stories as Told by Mr Ogg
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Recipes by Cheryl
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Birthdays
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Photo Gallery
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Advertisements
Dear Parents and Carers
I often spend my lunchtime in the playground. It continues to bring a smile to my face when I watch the students interact with their friends, which we missed so much during the COVID 19 time at the start of the term. The social aspect of schools and education is very evident post COVID 19. The MCC Olympics are still in progress which also adds to the buzz and excitement of the playground. The Student Leadership Team have done an exceptional job organising this ongoing event. The finale of the Olympics will be the Great Race in week 10. Also in week 10 will be our second student concert which will showcase some of our junior musicians as well as an encore for our senior bands.
Semester 1 Reports
In the last few weeks staff have been completing Semester 1 reports for students in years 7 to 11. These will be issued to parents in week 10. A paper copy will go home with students and an electronic copy will be available on the Parent Portal. We are still planning Parent - Teacher Interviews for early Term 3 but what these look like has not been finalised, due to COVID 19 restrictions. We have been advised at this stage to minimise visitors to the College. We will keep you informed of the arrangements in early Term 3.
Year 8 and 10 Subject Selections
At this time of year we begin our subject selections for 2021. Again, COVID 19 restrictions have resulted in a change of format for parent information sessions. Our Leader of Curriculum, Tiffany Lee, has sent letters home to parents of students in years 8 & 10 explaining the new process. Copies of these letters have been included in this newsletter. Further information is being sent home today which includes a subject handbook, video and presentation, FAQs, and a timetable of Zoom information sessions with links.
Staffing changes for Terms 3 & 4
We welcome onto staff for Terms 3 and 4 Mrs Anthea Kinny who will be replacing Mrs Tegen Filewood in the Science KLA. Mrs Kinny will also be the Leader of Science during this time. Congratulations to the Filewood family on the arrival of their baby girl, Harriet.
Mrs Nardia Hill will be replacing Ms Organ for Terms 3, 4 2020 and Term 1 2021 and Mr Mark Bellamy will be the Learning Technologies Coordinator for the remainder of the year.
Mrs Caroline Spence will continue in her 0.6 position, teaching RE/HSIE/English for the rest of the year, job sharing with Rosie Morgan.
COVID 19 Update
The Government is continuing to relax COVID 19 restrictions and we are slowly returning to normal. Within the school setting the following measures are to be observed:
- All visitors must adhere to hygiene, distancing and safety protocols
- Non-essential adults are not permitted on school grounds or at school events - this includes parents/ carers unless specifically approved by the Principal.
- Students are not expected to physically distance in schools; however, all adults must adhere to physical distancing requirements.
- Regular hand washing and use of sanitiser is encouraged for all students and staff.
- Classroom desks are wiped down regularly.
- Practical subjects are to follow protocols developed by the College, which include regular cleaning of items. and limiting their use.
From Term 3 we will be able to resume:
All school sport and activities, (aligned with current health advice), inter school student events and competitions, Masses and liturgies, P&F meetings (perhaps online), Work Experience, VET work placements, SBATs, Assemblies, Field trips for curriculum purposes.
A list of events and activities are still under consideration for Term 3 which include school camps, excursions, graduation ceremonies and large gatherings of parents / community members.
Enrolments for 2021
Enrolments for year 7 2021 close at the end of this term. We have had 3 interview afternoons and, depending on numbers, may have to program some additional interview times in early term 3. Acceptance letters will be sent out to families in early Term 3. It has been a pleasure to meet our new students and their families. The interview is a brief opportunity to get to know each other.
Term 3 Start Date
Term 3 will begin for staff and students on Monday 20th July.
Our next Newsletter will be week 1 Term 3. So I take this opportunity to thank you for the support and understanding you have given the College over this term. Enjoy the break that is coming.
Take care
Yours sincerely
Kate
Kate Thomson
Principal
“We should be shining lamps, giving light to all around us.” Catherine McAuley
Online Safety Information
Understanding how to use online technologies is essential to having positive experiences online. At McAuley Catholic College we understand that it important for our students to learn about cybersafety and how to deal with online issues such as bullying and other threats to safety.
Cybersafety is addressed at all levels of the curriculum and teachers are updated regularly on online issues and solutions.
As a parent, you also have an important role to play in helping to educate and guide your child in their online experiences. The following resources offer helpful tips for parents and carers:
- The Catholic Schools Office Lismore eBook.
- The eSafety Guide https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/esafety-guide. Learn about the latest games, apps and social media, including how to protect your information and report inappropriate content.
For Parents there is also a parent helpline that offers counselling, referral options and advice. The phone number is:1300 1300 52 or http://www.parentline.org.au/.
There is a 4-step process recommended by the e-safety commissioner regarding cyberbullying
- Report to the relevant social media site (to take down content)
- Collect evidence and screenshots
- If nothing happens w/in 48 hours (removing photos, abuse, defamation etc), report to e-safety https://www.esafety.gov.au/report
- 4) block the person.
The infographic attached highlights this process
- Our College Website also has cybersafety information for parents to access https://www.grafslism.catholic.edu.au/cybersafety-for-parents/. On this page you will find the latest resources from Safe on Social. Safe on Social Media offers a unique solution that combines cyber safety with information security and risk management skills. The resources have been updated this term and contain many useful tips that families can use in everyday life.
Kathy Warby
Assistant Principal
There are two Christian responses to escape the spiral of violence: prayer and the gift of self. Twitter 9 June 2020
If we draw God’s mercy, forgiveness , and tenderness from the #HeartOfJesus, then our heart too will gradually become more patient, more generous, and more merciful. Twitter 12 June 2020
Let us ask for the grace to approach everyone as a brother or sister, and never to regard anyone as an enemy. Twitter 13 June 2020
The Lord urges us to remember, repair, rebuild, and to do so together, never forgetting those who suffer. Twitter 16 June 2020
All students have been invited to submit an entry in the Long Way Home short story writing competition. This is a local competition, and all short-listed entries will be published in a collection of stories, along with primary school and adult entries. The theme in 2020 is Land/marks, and High School entries are allowed to be up to 500 words. Details can be found at https://thelongwayhomestories.com/. The closing date for entries is 11pm July 6th, 2020.
Each story must include a cover page with: the author’s name, the title of the story, word count, year at school, name of school, teacher’s name, and the category (High School). Write the title on each page of the story. Your name only goes on the cover page.
A writing workshop is available in B8 at lunchtime for the last two weeks of Term 2 to help students prepare for the competition. Students can also speak to their teacher if they wish to have some more advice.
All students in Year 7 - 10 have been enrolled in the online literacy program called WordFlyers. All English classes will have one lesson dedicated to WordFlyers per cycle, but students can access this site at any time. Students will have assignments set by their teacher, but are also free to complete the other units at their own pace.
It is important that students read the set texts, and the tutorials carefully, and then go back to the tutorials if they are unsure when answering the question. Students need to work straight down the column to complete each lesson, and achieve at least 80% in each lesson, to complete the unit. A WordFlyers will appear below the column when the unit is complete.
Many year groups have been working on discursive essays. A discursive essay explores an idea, and enables a student to showcase their breadth of idiosyncratic knowledge. Students can use evidence from their own experiences, from any other texts, or research to support their discussion of ideas. This is a very interesting style of writing that allows for creative word play by telling anecdotes, developing imagery, and directing the reader to contemplate the ideas. This style has a lot of potential in a year as interesting as 2020.
I hope you all enjoy the adventure of reading an interesting book during the holidays. Have fun.
From The English Faculty.
I have had some enquiries about resumes recently. We write a resume in Year 10 Career classes. However, if your child has missed this opportunity they are able to develop a resume or digital portfolio for free on the Careers website in their Student Secure Area.
Parental advice on how to help your child with Career Planning can be found in the 'For Parents' section. This provides valuable assistance for parents of Years 10, 11 and 12 students. We have also made some major enhancements to a couple of pages on the MCC Careers website. You may find this helpful when talking to your child about subject selections, particularly in Year 10 at the moment.
The "Uni/Institution Info" page found under Post-School Options has had a lot more institutions added (based around the TAC institutions) and made it easier to follow.
The "Open Days/Virtual Tours" page has been made easier to use. We understand that Open Days are a difficult issue in 2020, but the page is here for you as a resource anyway. You can find it at the "Post School Options" menu > "University" > "Open Days/Virtual Tours".
Year 12 Students
The Charles Sturt University Future Moves team will initially present an engaging activity designed to identify students' skills and attributes, passions and interests and how they lead to subjects>courses>careers. Following this, they will present information relevant to Year 10 students and allow time for questions.
If this is something you think you might be interested in, please register with this link: https://bit.ly/2XUIVvz
Careers Adviser
The past three weeks have been packed with exciting activities for the students as we returned back to school. In week 7 we had our welcome back to school concert and in week 8 we began the MCC Olympics.
Our welcome back to school concert was a big success. Our music students from Years 11 and 12 performed seven songs during lunch time. Many of the students came to watch our senior classes and loved it so much it has been decided that we will have another lunchtime concert in week 10. The week 10 concert is also going to include the junior Year 9 music class, as well as the senior classes. The student leadership team are very happy that the concert was a success and we are glad the school community came together to be welcomed back officially.
Following the welcome back to school concert in week 7, we began the MCC Olympics in week 8. With three teams from each house, our lunch times were soon full of sport where the whole school was able to watch if they weren’t participating. The first sport of the Olympics was Soccer, with some competitive games the whole school was getting involved and began supporting the teams from their house. After a long week filled with Soccer games, the long awaited grand final was played at lunch on Friday, Jamaica vs Germany. It was a close game ending in a shoot out where Jamaica took out the win. Congratulations Jamaica!
This week we began the touch rounds of our olympics, it’s believed to be a tough competition with Jamaica aiming to take out the touch rounds too!
With no clear timeline for international travel to restart and ongoing extraordinary health risks for staff and students, the decision has been made to cancel the McAuley College European Study Tour in 2021. It takes 12 months to organise the tour and even if the situation drastically changed there will not be the required lead in time to organise the excursion. We are sure you will understand this decision.
At the time of the COVID 19 lockdown we had only just begun taking Expressions of Interest. Therefore, no meetings or collection of deposits had started.
In early 2021, the College will take the advice of the Catholic Schools Office, the NSW Department of Education and the Australian Government and make a decision whether to plan a tour for 2022. We would like to thank all the students in Years 10 and 11 who put in an Expression of Interest.
Mark Bellamy and Matthew Lobsey
Tour Organisers
Please find attached the latest Parish Bulletin from Clarence Valley Parish
FOOD FOR THOUGHT 6
Matthews’ Gospel. Chapter 27
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” …………………………
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Its interesting that the meaning of the name Barabbas comes from “bar” which means “son of” and “abba(s)” meaning “father”.
The crowd was crying for the “son of the father” to be released.
Imagine if they had cried, “Release to us the Son of the Father”!
So close yet an eternity away. (David Ogg)
BEEF CHICK PEA & VEGE KORMA CURRY
Method
Eve Dougherty, Breanna Ellis, Hayden L'estrelle, Lachlan Johnson, Georgia Kroehnert, Ethan Brierley, Ryley Opalnuik, Gabriel Smidt, Samuel Shipman, Violet Campbell, Athrun Thompson, Max Carroll, Makayla Conroy, Corey Newbold, Wil Bancroft, Oslo Gorman, Layla Bender, Matthew McGhee, Ashton Pullen, Isaac Campbell, Izak Gordon, Noah Smith, Rachel Sloan, Ashleigh Whitton.