Assistant Principal's Page

School Tours:  We are continuing our School Tours for parents of prospective students for Kindergarten 2024 and beyond, and it is lovely meeting these delightful children and their families!  We are conducting these tours on Tuesday morning at 10am and again on Thursday afternoon at 4pm.  It is always lovely to see the joy of prospective parents and their children as they watch Kinder children at work and play in the school setting.  These tours of the school are a great opportunity for anyone thinking of sending their child to McAuley, to see our facilities and gain a sense of who we are and how generous and accommodating our learning and play spaces are.  The Before and After School Care facilities are also a wonderful facility for our families as well.  If you know of someone who is considering sending their children to McAuley, especially in Kinder 2024, please let them know it’s not too late to join one of our tours. To book for a tour please ring the school on 6361334.

Kinder Conversations: This week the Kinder teachers are meeting with parents of our Kinders to chat to them about how their child is settling in.  It is also a great opportunity for teachers to hear any information parents are able to share with teachers about their child.  This is a lovely way for our teachers and parents to get to know how our students are coping in the classroom and start to understand their needs a little better.  Thank you to both teachers and parents for making the time to join together to discuss our children and help to make their learning the best we can.

Swimming Carnival: Today 15 of our students are involved in the Diocesan Swimming Carnival which is being held in Dubbo.   We are very proud of these students and their efforts and wish them well in their events.  Successful participants will then go on to swim at Polding level in Sydney.

World of Maths Incursion: Tomorrow we are looking forward to a Maths company bringing their Maths Incursion to our students in Years 3 to 6. Interactive Maths Activities will be set up in Kenna Hall to challenge and engage all students as they rotate through the various activities as a grade.  We look forward to lots of great problem solving and excitement tomorrow coming from the hall!

Chess at McAuley: Once again, thanks to Mrs Ann Brown, we are able to offer Chess at lunchtimes at McAuley!  The first meeting of those interested in joining the McAuley Chess Club took place today at lunchtime.  We also welcome Mr Joe Cummins as our tutor and guide in all things Chess! Students who enjoy a game of Chess are very welcome to join the 'club' in the Year 1 area, as they meet each week.  Information on 

upcoming inter-school Chess competitions will be available very soon - watch this space!!

James Sheahan Orientation:  Yesterday our Year 6 students and their teachers travelled to James Sheahan for their first Orientation session.  This process aims to assist  our Year 6 as they prepare for their transition into high school.  A lot of fun was had by all it seems, along with the beginning of an understanding of what Secondary school will look like.  

New Teachers:  This week we have been delighted to welcome two new Casual teachers to our school - or rather I should say "back to our school"!  Miss Lily Sutcliffe and Miss Prudence Williams are both ex-students of McAuley (St Joseph's in their day), and now both are beginning their own teaching careers! Recently we had another ex-student also return in a teaching capacity - Mr Will Bishenden!  We must be doing something right if our former students are choosing the Education profession and then gladly returnin to their Primary school in a new capacity!  Welcome Lily, Prue and William!

Harmony Day:  Each year we join with others across the country to celebrate Harmony Day.  This year harmony Day falls during Week 8 (20th - 25th March).  Throughout the week we will be involved in a number of different activities aimed at supporting an understanding that we are all unique and valuable, and promoting the theme: "Everyone Belongs!".  

Focus of the Week

Week 5: We Wear Our School Uniform With Pride: Last week our focus was on wearing our correct uniform proudly.  We have a uniform policy that states what is and is not acceptable for school uniform, and throughout last week our explicit focus was on making sure that all students presented to school in their correct uniform without any non-uniform items such as Canterbury Shorts etc. These are our school expectations.  Thank you to all who continue to make the effort to come to school each day in their correct uniform.

Week 6: Our School Rules: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe! In Week 4, we introduced our new Wellbeing policy, WAM, to all students.  This policy sets the expectations for our students' behaviour across all aspects of our school.  We followed this up last week with our Uniform  expectations, and this week we reinforce both of these with our focus on following the School rules.  All students will be expected to review our 'Behaviour Matrix', which identifies how we are to act in each of the areas around our school .  Please see a copy of this Matrix attached to next page.  This Matrix will also be available around the school for students to view and refer to.

Have a wonderful week!

Robyn Petty