Dear McAuley Families

We continue to watch the COVID situation develop and it is a real struggle not to tune in to the 11 o’clock news briefing or constantly talk numbers. I remain grateful to our staff and community for their support in keeping one another safe and well through physical distancing and mask wearing. Thank you for remaining away from school grounds and only visiting the school if essential. The wearing of face masks is recommended for all essential visitors and students in Year 7 and above and I thank you and our students again for the support in this area. Please keep an eye on social media and know that any important announcements will be communicated via email to ensure all families receive the information as quickly as possible.

Social Media:  It is also becoming apparent that there is a high level of anxiety in many of our students and I urge families to be on the watch if your child/ren’s behaviour or mood changes. I am sad to report we have had a couple of cases of self-harm among students occur. There is also a deal of talk about social media issues and online harassment Snapchat seems common here. (The recommended age to use Snapchat is 13 years +). As a school we are working to link with organisations to provide workshops and support to our students and families but the travel restrictions are making that very difficult at the moment.

It is a common response when speaking with students that they say “…mum and dad are stressed/busy…” “I don’t want to bother them…” Please take the time to connect and have an honest chat about where your children are “at”. It is vital that we know what apps and websites our children are accessing online.  I refer you all to an excellent article in The Good Schools Guide with information and advice about Social Media Platforms: (https://www.goodschools.com.au/insights/parental-advice/parents-guide-to-social-media-in-2020). There are also many excellent resources listed on the eSafety Commissioner Page (https://www.esafety.gov.au/) along with the ability to report abuse and unsafe behaviour. I urge you all to do so if you or your children feel threatened, harassed or unsafe. There are also excellent articles and family resources such as a "Social Media Contract" on Linda Stade’s pages (lindastade.com). As this behaviour most often happens outside of school hours we are unable to do much, but are seeing the impacts more and more in our students. Please contact your child’s Classroom/PC teacher if you have any concerns or issues in this regard.

Cancellations/Postponements:  We continue as a school to be as prepared as we can for any situation that arises, and again, I urge families to have a knowledge of how students access class materials or homework tasks online through our Teams and Google portals. It is amazing how much we have all forgotten since Remote Learning in 2020!

We are working to plan events as they are listed on the calendar but also to be ready to postpone or cancel events as both the weather and COVID restrictions change quickly!

Our communication is aimed at being timely and as simple as possible. At all times we rely on guidance from Catholic Education and NSW Health. (Please refer to: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/rules/what-you-can-do-nsw)

Uniform:  Our Community Council sent home details this week about our ratified uniform directions. I fully support the work of the Uniform Sub-Committee and believe that the uniform choices will be popular and well accepted by our students.  This will mean we spend much less time and effort both as parents and as a staff reminding students about correct uniform. I take the chance to thank those members of the Sub-Committee and to those who were present to debate and refine the changes at our last two Community Council Meetings. It is a role of the Council to make decisions about uniform and to reflect both regulations and rules and community opinion and need. Thank you all.

Mary our Mother… Look after us.

Eamonn Moore

Principal