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Dear friends and families,
Winter has well and truly arrived and with that comes the winter uniform. Please ensure your child/ren's jumpers and jackets have their name on them so we can easily identify items and return them to their owners.
Our uniform policy is available through SZapp at any time. The following links may be helpful as well:
The teachers have been working diligently on Semester One student reports which will be sent home electronically during the last week of the term.
Please enjoy a good read in this fortnight's newsletter as we have been enjoying many learning, sporting and community events.
Yours in Faith, Growth and Unity
CMS Leadership Team -
Belinda, Angela, Linda and Courtney
At Catherine McAuley School, our staff have continued to work hard to improve Literacy outcomes for every student. We have achieved this by employing a multi-tiered response to intervention model informed by evidence-based instruction.
This means that best practice is taking place in every classroom, and every intervention program. A map was recently published by the Dyslexia Community of South Australia highlighting schools with excellent instruction in Literacy, which they term ‘Dyslexia Friendly Schools’. Currently, Catherine McAuley is one of only 11 schools to be recognised on the map and this is reflected by a green pin.
In 2019, Catherine McAuley School was one of the first Catholic Schools in Australia to be accredited by the Australian Dyslexia Association. We are proud to be leading the way in best practice in Literacy instruction and look forward to seeing what we can achieve next.
The map is accessible by the link below:
Criteria for inclusion:
Green pin = a school that can provide evidence of a whole of school Science of Reading approach around their assessments, pedagogy, intervention.
Orange pin = a school that is on their Science of Reading journey.
Courtney Starr
Inclusive Education Coordinator and Key Literacy Teacher
Sacramental Program
In keeping with the Archdiocese of Adelaide’s guidelines for the Sacraments of Initiation for Children, the Sacramental Program that St Ann’s Catholic Church and St Thomas More Parish offers is family-centred, parish-based and school supported.
Our Catholic parishes coordinate a family-centred, parish-based and school supported Sacramental Program for the Sacraments of Reconciliation (Penance), Confirmation and Holy Communion (Eucharist). Essentially, this program is a partnership in which families and the parish / school community work together in the preparation and celebration of these Sacraments. Children in this context learn what it is to be a Catholic.
The program offers a combined individual and group preparation program. This culminates with a session with the parish priest, Fr Pat, to ensure all candidates are satisfactorily prepared and then a rehearsal before receiving their sacrament.
Reconciliation (Penance)
Reconciliation is one of the Sacraments of Healing. It recognises our sinfulness and celebrates our need to be at peace with God, others, and ourselves. It contains three elements: conversion, confession, and celebration. In it we find God's unconditional forgiveness; as a result, we are called to forgive.
Confirmation
Confirmation is the second Sacrament of Christian Initiation. It is the sacrament which ‘seals’ or ‘reaffirms’ our baptism before we take the final step in becoming a full member of the Catholic Church and sharing in Holy Communion for the first time. During this sacrament, the child asks a sponsor to help them on their journey of Catholicity and they also seek to take on a saint ‘s name that they resonate with them. In receiving the sacrament, the child commits to the promises made by their parents during baptism and receives the gifts of The Holy Spirit - which enables them to make a mature statement of their faith.
Holy Communion (Eucharist)
Catholics believe the Eucharist, or Communion, is both a sacrifice and a meal. We believe in the real presence of Jesus, who died for our sins. As we receive Christ's Body and Blood, we also are nourished spiritually and brought closer to God. Communion is offered during Mass and only those who have completed the above sacraments are invited to receive.
The requirement and the role of a Sponsor.
The sponsor brings the candidate to receive the Sacrament, presents them to the minister for the anointing, and will later help them to fulfil their baptismal promises faithfully under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
The Church says a sponsor should be spiritually qualified and mature, should belong to the Catholic Church and should have been initiated in the three Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. When choosing a sponsor, there are some requirements/considerations to keep in mind:
- Is the person a Confirmed Catholic?
- Are they over the age of 18 years?
- Are they a witness to the Christian faith?
- Will they be able to participate in at least some of the program as well as the celebration?
- Will they continue to be a part of your child's life as they grow up?
- If the child's godparent/s is available this would be a preferable choice for a Confirmation sponsor as Confirmation completes our Baptism.
Parents cannot be sponsors! They have the unique and primary role of raising their child in the faith of the Church and discerning their readiness to prepare to celebrate the sacraments of initiation.
This year, 2021, we have 10 Catherine McAuley students enrolled into the Sacramental Program. They will have completed the Reconciliation sacrament by mid-June and will then prepare for their Confirmation and Eucharist sacraments. Please keep these students in your prayers as they journey to become fully initiated members of the broader Catholic family.
I’d like to take this opportunity in thanking all our families for their support and guidance as they journey, with their child, through this program. It is wonderful working alongside you and a joy to witness the Catholicism of each student and their adoptive sacramental outlook on all of life in the world. The challenge for them now is to recognise the blessing they bring to the Church and to honour and celebrate it.
In the words of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889), “The world is charged with the grandeur of God!”
God Bless.
Linda Caldinez
APRIM
We have had a blast so far this term in 3 Crompton! We started off the term preparing ourselves for NAPLAN and making sure we knew what to do on our laptops as it was our first NAPLAN experience. We were nervous at first, but we were more excited to see what goodies Miss Crompton had made for us to give us the encouragement and confidence to get through.
Over the past few weeks, 3C have been learning alongside 3P about trees and their importance in our environment. We have read two books about what trees give to us and why we need them on Earth. From here, we completed a dot painting of a tree to represent that we need to ‘lend a hand’ to help look after our environment.
Continuing with our Aboriginal Art and in line with Reconciliation Week, 3C created our own dot leaf painting to accompany our classroom Acknowledgement of Country, to thank and pay our respects to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
In Literacy this term, we are working on building our knowledge on persuasive texts and the language features needed in one. So far, we have learnt about the structure of a persuasive text, modality words to use, reasons to explain our argument and how to structure a sentence. We have explored all three elements that can make up a simple sentence – the participant/noun/noun group, the verb/process, and the circumstance. The most important being the verb/process and the main participant. We learnt that the circumstance adds extra detail to our sentences. We cannot wait to start putting all this knowledge that we have learnt into creating our own persuasive texts.
Finally in numeracy, we have been busy little bee’s learning about multiplication and time. One lesson that we really enjoyed was being able to use ‘Pop Its’ to understand the array strategy in multiplication. After using the Pop Its to form our arrays, we were able to use the iPads to take photos and then stick them into our books. We look forward to many more learning opportunities this term in 3 Crompton.
Over weeks 5 and 6 Catherine McAuley School has been busy celebrating, commemorating and learning about Reconciliation Week.
We began by acknowledging Sorry Day. Our classes talked about the Stolen Generation, read books, watched videos, listened to stories and songs and had meaningful conversations. At Kanga Club we made Sorry Day Bracelets. We learnt that the purple native hibiscus is the National Sorry Day flower and we now have our very own native hibiscus plant that we will grow here at school.
Our students who are lucky enough to work with our Cultural Artist in Residence, Audrey Brumby and Indigenu gallery director, Tony Straccia, got together as one group and painted their own stories inspired by the work of Audrey herself.
We hosted a Reconciliation Week morning tea and ate wattleseed brownies and lilly pilly custard tarts - thanks for all your cooking Miss Nardy! We held a Year 3-7 Reconciliation Mass where we reflected on the important events of Reconciliation Week and together, lead by our Year 6 and 7 students, we pledged to take actions towards reconciliation.
Around the school our classes took part in different activities, classes unpacked the Reconciliation Week poster and created their own, they also learnt about acknowledging country and displayed their gratitude to the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the land we learn and play on.
We are proud to announce that Catherine McAuley School is beginning our journey of creating a Reconciliation Action Plan and we are so very grateful to the parents who are joining us on this journey. We look forward to listening, learning and working together towards reconciliation.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS NETBALL/SOCCER CARNIVAL
On Thursday 27 May, 96 Year 4, 5, 6 and 7 students participated in the Regional Catholic Schools netball and soccer carnival at Argana Park. The round robin competition allowed students to develop their skills and knowledge of soccer and netball.
It was a beautiful autumn day for the event and all our students showed enthusiasm, discipline, teamwork, and high skill level to produce some great results.
The netball teams started confidently, passing the ball around with accuracy and scoring some fantastic goals. Students showed excellent teamwork in defence to intercept many passes and displayed great teamwork to transfer the ball from defence to attack. As the day went on all teams grew in confidence and worked well to achieve many successful results. Well done everyone!!
The soccer teams were extremely competitive in all games with all six teams experiencing success. The boys and girls teams managed to move the ball quickly to create many scoring opportunities with some great goals being scored and saved. It was fantastic to see students working together to create opportunities for team members to showcase their skills in a friendly environment.
All the boys and girls enjoyed the day and are to be congratulated on their fine sportspersonship during all matches. Thank you to Katrina Timmins, Rebecca Desmond, Makayla McKee, Nick Guidolin, Serena Fisher, Molly Taylor, Darren Cheng, Chelsea Foyle, Maxine Warren, Lee Slattery, Emilea Mysko, Natasha Copplestone and the many other parents for their help and support during the day.
Fabian Chevalier
PE Teacher/Co-ordinator
Ahead of closing down at the end of the term, our uniform supplier Ruth Deer is offering excess stock at heavily discounted rates.
Items are limited and availble until stocks sell out.
Item | Price |
White short-sleeve shirts | $5 |
Navy long pants with fly and button | $15 |
Navy shorts with fly and button | $10 |
School backpacks | at reduced prices |
Call or text Ruth on 0438045826 to place your order. Orders must be paid for prior to delivery and are delivered to the school.
Transfer the total amount to:
BSB: 105121 A/C NO: 084991340
Account Name: Ruth Deer
Reference: your child’s LAST NAME
The Girl Power program aims to foster a positive mindset, inner confidence and resilience in girls at a young age, before they embark on their teenage years and are exposed to the powerful world of social media. The workshops are based on positive psychology principles and delivered by way of fun, creative and engaging activities.
July School Holidays 2021
Girl Power Workshop aimed at girls aged 7 - 12 years of age
3-hour workshop held on Tuesday 6 July 2021
Salvation Army Riverside Gawler 17 Edith Street, Gawler East SA 5118
$60.00 per participant
To enrol go to: https://www.togetherwemakeadifference.com.au/girlpowerenrolment
Places are limited so enrol now!