Assistant Principal's Page

I hope everyone has had a lovely restful time over our school holidays.  The students seem happy to be back, sharing their holiday experiences with their friends and settling in for   our final term. And it will be a very busy term, with lots of activities planned!

NAIDOC Week:  Next week we are excited to be participating in a number of different NAIDOC Week experiences. The acronym "NAIDOC" stands for the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.  Although this special observance is celebrated in the middle of the year throughout the rest of Australia, due to the cold weather in Orange, it is celebrated towards the end of October each year.  This year’s theme is ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’ which celebrates the unyielding spirit of communities to forge a future where the stories, traditions, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are cherished and celebrated. 

We will begin next week with our Aboriginal and Year 6 students joining the March down Summer Street to Robertson Park for the Official Opening. On Wednesday our school will participate in the NAIROC School Eisteddfod at the Orange Function Centre. Ms Maddy Griffiths-Leonard, our Aboriginal Education Officer (AEO)  and Jo Anne Wright from Dyiramdilinya have been working very hard with our Aboriginal and other interested students to prepare a special performance for the NAIROC Eisteddfod. I encourage all parents and friends of our participants to join us for this  special performance.

On Thursday next week, Ms Leonard has organised a NAIDOC Sports Day. This will feature the Orange City Council hosting various traditional Aboriginal games, including Emu Egg, Kolap, and Gorri with plenty of more games throughout the day. Students will also learn how to make delicious Johnny cakes. A sausage sizzle will be available for lunch, ensuring everyone is energized for a day filled with fun, learning, and community spirit. Join us in celebrating our culture and embracing this incredible opportunity to connect and grow together.

Winter Sport:  We will be continuing Winter Sport for the next two weeks for all students in Year 3 to 6.  Throughout the Winter Sport Program, we visit each venue twice to develop and consolidate the different skills addressed.  As we did not have enough weeks last term to complete these rotations,  we will finish the program off this and next week.

Centacare Counsellor /Well Being Program:  We would like to wish Ms Elise Goodwin, our school counsellor, all the best as she begins maternity leave. We will be gaining a new counsellor during November and look forward to welcoming them to the McAuley family.  Our counsellor, along with our Well Being Coordinators, offer a large number of targeted programs to support our students who have diverse needs.  As part of these numerous programs offered at McAuley, Mrs Connor and Mrs Cain will be training in another program called "Rhythm to Recovery".   Each of the programs we run is focused on helping different students to build their self belief. We look forward to being able to support even more students through the use of this program.  

Wishing you a great week!

God Bless,

Robyn Petty