Principal's Page

Welcome to Week Four. It was good to see so many families at the opening school mass last week. It was a beautiful service and the singing was wonderful. Well done students! At the end of the mass, the student leadership team were commissioned. Such a proud moment for the students and their families. Our Year 6 team already have some wonderful ideas for school improvement this year. 

P.A.C.E. Zoom Meeting tonight 7pm

Please join us for our parent and community engagement (P.A.C.E.) zoom meeting tonight. All welcome. Learn about the exciting projects we have this year and find out how you can be involved. Please click the link below or the link shared on COMPASS to be admitted to the meeting.

    https://bthcatholic.zoom.us/j/96214683788pwd=4aeNoN1qsAxDrxyJ5zBBl93jmB8NWh.1    

Password: 869379

Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews

A gentle reminder that we have moved our Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews from Term 2 to Term 1. Interviews will be held in Week 5 commencing Monday 23rd February and Tuesday 24th February between 3.30pm and 6.30pm and will be 10 minutes in duration. Students will also attend the interview.. A COMPASS notification was sent out last week. If you have not done so already,  please go to the parent portal in Compass to book your interview. 

At this interview, parents and students can discuss with the class teacher(s) anything that they feel is necessary for the teacher to know about the student. The teacher can then share the results of the early assessments conducted in the first weeks of the term and together the parents, students and teachers set two learning goals and one personal/social goal for the student.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any problems booking your interview.  All interviews will be held in Kenna Hall. Enter via the ramp on the presbytery side of the hall. 

Farewell Annalisa

It is with mixed emotions that I reshare the news that Annalisa Covelli will be retiring at the end of week 5, on 27th February.

Annalisa has served our community with dedication, professionalism, and a deep commitment to the students and families of Catherine McAuley. Throughout her years of service, she has made a lasting contribution to the life of our school in countless ways.

While we will greatly miss Annalisa’s presence, wisdom, and experience, we are also grateful for the legacy she leaves behind and we wish her every blessing and happiness in retirement.

Annalisa did not want a big fuss made over her retirement but if you wish to express your thanks and celebrate Annalisa’s outstanding service, please feel free to do so.

S.A.F.E

The AFP-led Australian Centre to Combat Child Exploitation (ACCCE) has offered advice for parents and carers on how to keep their children SAFE as they head into the classroom for 2026 (https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/parental-checklist-keep-kids-safe-school-starting-first-day-photos):

The ACCCE encourages parents to take care sharing back-to-school photos as students head through the school gates. Parent can use their phone’s built-in photo editing feature to blur or hide identifiable details before uploading them, rather than relying on social media apps, as when pics are edited in a social media app, the original image can still be stored. Filmed tutorials on how to edit back to school photos for safety, are available via Hightail.

S.A.F.E

• Start and regularly continue conversations with your children about how to stay safe online.

• Add parental controls to any online environment that potentially gives strangers access to your children. 

• Fix the privacy settings on social media and other online environments to restrict who sees your family’s content.

• Encourage your children to think critically and question behaviour that doesn’t feel right.

Tips for parents when sharing photos and posts

• Don’t reveal your children’s personal details, such as their names, ages and school years.

• Don’t reveal details about your children’s school through elements such as uniforms, logos or street names.

• Avoid ‘checking-in’ on social media as that can reveal your location.

• Only share photos with people you know and trust. And make sure you educate them about how, and if, you would be comfortable for them to on-share your material. 

• If another person is taking photos of your child, talk to them about how the photos will be used and where they will be shared. 

For more information on keeping kids SAFE online, visit the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation. It has a wealth of information on topics ranging from sharing your child’s information online to fact sheets about social networking and gaming, to conversation cards to jumpstart your online safety conversations.