McAuley Catholic College Tumut eNewsletter

Trial HSC Exams

Year 12 students are currently halfway through their Trial HSC exams. It has been an exciting time to see all of the work that they have done, as well as their teachers in preparation for these exams. A huge thank you must go to Mr Tony Butler who has been our examination coordinator. We appreciate the support, guidance and experience that he has given to us.

Important Year 12 Dates

Year 12 Trial Examinations: will be held from 5 August to 15 August.
Year 12 Graduation Mass: Wednesday 25 September at 6.00pm.
Year 12 Graduation Assembly & Morning Tea: Thursday 26 September from 10.00am. Year 12 Families are welcome to attend.
Year 12 Final Report: Issued Thursday September 26.
HSC Written examinations: Held at Valmar Building, Russell Street Tumut – 15 October to 08 November 2024.
Link for HSC timetable: https://www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/key-dates/hsc-written-exam-timetable
Year 12 Formal: Tumut Golf Club from 6.00–8.30pm Thursday 14 November.

Late Arrival/Early Departure from school

If students are late to school or are leaving early from school, they are required to sign in/out via the front office. It is vitally important that we have up to date attendance records that reflect accurate student attendance.

David Turnbull, Assistant Principal (Secondary)

Kindergarten Orientation Visits

Over the past fortnight, we have welcomed Tumut Kindy, Adelong Pre School and Tumut Pre School students into our Kindergarten classroom for the morning. Although these visits fall outside our official orientation program (November/December) the visits are so valuable in beginning the school journey, by offering the first glimpse into the routines, ways and wonders of school for these little ones! In the coming weeks we will welcome students from Bright Horizons and Little Possums.

Primary Campus Capital Works Program

The last fortnight has seen our Primary Building Project really ramp up!

Primary staff, with the help of students, organised Kindergarten and the Year 5/6 classes into new portable classrooms, as well as the administration block on the blacktop.

Students and staff have demonstrated such flexibility and resilience, working together, adapting to new routines, spaces and changes as a result of our building project. It will all be worth it!

The site is now fenced off and an official handover of responsibility for the site took place last week. Over the coming weeks, we will see a flurry of activity, which we will update the community regularly on. We aim to minimise distractions for our students and maintain learning routines through the course of the build.

Mark Harmer - Assistant Principal (Primary)

At the Annual Faith In Learning Excellence Awards Ceremony yesterday, our Principal, Eamonn Moore received a Director's award for the great achievements that he has accomplished in his time here at McAuley. The Director's award recognises special service to education in the Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn. Eamonn was recognised for his passion for rural education and giving students in Tumut the opportunity to complete Stage 6 schooling in a Catholic school without having to leave home. His efforts in being a pioneer in establishing Virtual Learning were also acknowledged as well as the work that Eamonn is undertaking as part of his Churchill Fellowship. Our school community would like to congratulate Eamonn for receiving this prestigious award.

Last Wednesday, we gathered on Wiradjuri land to celebrate the regional NAIDOC Mass with students from our local TBAG schools. We welcomed students and staff from St Mary's School Batlow, St. Patrick's Primary Gundagai and St Joseph's Adelong. Together, we acknowledged the commitment of past and present elders and teachers in the storytelling and education of young people.

For thousands of years the Wiradjuri people would have used these areas along the fertile river to pass on knowledge, information and community values. This work has been continued by the Sisters of Mercy and those who followed at McAuley for more than 140 years. We are proud of this long and rich history celebrating our Mercy values of hospitality, justice, respect, excellence, stewardship and service.

At the NAIDOC Mass last week, Kindergarten teacher Miss Brie Groves was presented with a Leadership Award. Brie leads cultural awareness and initiates and supports activities for NAIDOC Week and various other events around the College. She encourages students and motivates staff to recognise and celebrate the College's Wiradjuri history. She proudly proclaims the Acknowledgement of Country which was written by our students.

Congratulations Brie, you are an inspirational leader and we are all very lucky to have you!

Last Friday saw Year 12 have their last formal classes before Trial HSC Exams began.

Thanks to Mrs Lu and Ms Roche for their thoughtful gift to assist with what is to come. A jar containing:

The College Prayer - for care and support.
A teabag - we all need a cuppa now and then.
A lollypop - for when things suck!
A band aid - for when the day is rough.
A highlighter - to brighten your day.
A Kit Kat - Have a break...
Lollies - for a little treat!

This week then saw our first Year 12 cohort start their trial exams. We wish all our students the very best, and are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers during this important time.

A special shout-out to Mr Butler for his beautiful prayer that he shares with our students before each exam:

'Dear Lord, in this exam period, give me a calm heart and quiet confidence in the knowledge that you hold me in the palm of your hand. Bless me with keen understanding and a retentive memory. Give me the ability to grasp things correctly and express myself clearly. Help me to look beyond this time of exams and see clearly whatever you are calling me to be in life. Show me my gifts and talents and help me to have the courage to use them to love others, to give you glory and to leave this world a better place. We ask this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.'

In addition to exams, some of our Year 12's are also finalising their major works for Design & Technology and Industrial Technology - Timber. Your creativity and craftsmanship is amazing, and we can't wait to see your finished projects!

Let's continue to support and encourage our Year 12's as they navigate through this important time. Your future is bright, and we believe in you!

Our Year 11 Virtual Learning (VL) students are working hard towards preliminary exams later this term.

Congratulations Billy Bathgate for coming runner up at the Western Region Public Speaking competition in Young today. He will go on to compete in the Catholic Education- Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn event in Batemans Bay later this term.

Last Monday some students from Tumut Community Preschool visited to watch our classroom in action. We read 'Magic Beach' by Alison Lester and painted fish using forks, cut and pasted love heart fish and joined in many activities for some morning fun. Thanks to educators at Preschool and families for your support.

On Wednesday, some children from Adelong Preschool and Tumut Kindy attended McAuley to share in the fun we have in Kinder. We read 'Gorilla' by Anthony Browne and painted, coloured, stuck and made playdough gorillas. Thanks to the educators who shared these special children and we can't wait to meet you properly next term for orientation.

Kindergarten, Miss Groves and Ms Blundell had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating 100 days of being together at McAuley Catholic College. They played 'would you rather', roll to 100 dice games, made some fun new glasses and drew all the things about the 100 days that have been awesome. Kinder you are such stars and all at McAuley are lucky to have you join our team.

It has been a HUGE few weeks for the Primary Campus with a move of the Administration Building as well as the Learning Hub and 4 classrooms! Everyone has been so helpful and energetic to make the move go as smoothly as possible. We're grateful for the students being so cooperative and welcoming of the continuing changes.

If you are looking for Miss Marsh and Miss Simpson in the office, they have now moved to a demountable on the black top - you can't miss it!

With the Paris 2024 Olympics commencing recently, Stage 4 have also commenced their McAuley Olympics in PE lessons. All students are in a team and together have chosen their country to represent including Mexico, Australia, Slovakia, Greece, Jamaica, Zimbabwe and China.

The games were played with excellent enthusiasm and showed first hand some of the qualities the Olympics represents including honesty, integrity, great sportsmanship and engagement.

McAuley had 3 teams compete in the Southern NSW Small Schools Rugby League competition in Wagga on Tuesday. This comprised of 2 teams in the under 14s division and one team in the under 16s division.

The day was a great success, with the students from McAuley showcasing great skill and sportsmanship. There was some great tackling, some excellent passing as well as determined running of the football.

In the 14s division, our McAuley Red team were undefeated. They played some excellent football to beat all of the opposing teams they came up against. Our McAuley Blue team unfortunately didn’t record a victory, however they were very competitive in all of their games. They will benefit from the experience in readiness for the 2025 competition.

In the 16s division, our McAuley boys went through undefeated as well. They played numerous close games, with their impressive defence winning them a lot of games. In the final, they displayed great determination and character to score 2 late tries to secure a draw at fulltime. As we were the first team to score a try, this meant that the boys were declared the winners.

Both of our 14s and 16s boys now progress to the state final in Bathurst. This will be held on August 28. Details of the finals are yet to be released. All of the boys are eagerly looking forward to the final. It will give McAuley a chance to defend the state championship that we won in the 14s division last year.

Many thanks to all of the parents who attended and supported. A special thanks to parents Ian Robson, Todd Beavan and Justin Keenan who helped out coaching teams.

Students from Kindergarten to Year 8 recently had their work on display as part of the Tumut Art Society’s Snowy Valleys All School Art Exhibition. We hope you had the chance to go along and see the amazing young talent in our area.

McAuley secondary student work is on display at the Tumut Town Library. It is a mix of some of our fabulous artists from Years 7-10. Pop in and enjoy viewing.

The Unique Student Identifier – or USI. It’s made up of ten letters and numbers and is a person’s education number for life.

We encourage students, particularly those considering further studies beyond school - whether university or vocational education and training (VET) - to create their USI now. A USI is required for most applications so get students prepared before they apply. The process is simple and can be completed in less than 5 minutes using one form of identification, such as a birth certificate or driver’s licence.

Anyone doing nationally recognised training, be it VET in schools, a First Aid course or higher education, must have a USI. They will not be able to graduate without one.

Without a USI, higher education students will not be able to access a Commonwealth Supported Place, receive Commonwealth financial assistance such as a HELP loan, or receive their statement of attainment, qualification, or award.

For those students who may already have a USI but forgotten the details, they can find their USI by following a few simple steps.

To find out more about the USI, please visit the website.

https://www.usi.gov.au/students/get-a-usi

WEEK 2 AWARDS

WEEK 3 AWARDS

Fun and friendship! Scouts inspire and create resilient young people and adults. 1st Tumut Scout Group currently have vacancies for all youth aged 8-18. We also welcome “big kids” (adults) who want to get involved. Contact us through Facebook or email gl.1sttumut@nswscouts.com.au.

Snowy Valleys Council is currently holding a reading Olympics challenge between Thursday 11 July and Friday 11 October. School aged children can sign up to the reading Olympics and gain a point every time they borrow. Borrow 4 times for a bronze medal, 8 times for silver and 12 times for gold. There will be prizes for participants at a closing ceremony in the October school holidays. Children are welcome to join up anytime between Thursday 11 July and Friday 11 October. For more information, teachers, parents and children are welcome to visit the Tumut Library or call 6941 2541. We will also be having free after school activities on Thursday afternoons at 3:30pm during Term 3.

Reading_Olympics_Programs_Tumut.pdf

Reading_Olympics_Programs_Tumut _pdf 599.53 KB

1_August_2024_Master.pdf

1_August_2024_Master _pdf 1.45 MB

1_August_2024_Master.pdf

1_August_2024_Master _pdf 1.45 MB

National Skills Week 2024 is being held 19 - 25 August 2024 and is dedicated to raising the profile and status of skills and vocational learning, showcasing attractive career opportunities for all Australians.

As part of National Skills Week 2024, TAFE NSW – Tumut will be holding campus tours on 21 August 2024 (2.00–3.30pm). Students are invited to attend to see onsite skills teams and students in action. This will also allow an opportunity for attendees to have questions answered relating to the Engineering/Metal Fab/Welding, Automotive & Forestry trades.

Tumut_Campus_Tour_National_Skills_Week_2024.pdf

Tumut_Campus_Tour_National_Skills_Week_2024 _pdf 10.52 MB