Dear McAuley Families

I very often hear positive comments about our students… we always have good comments after excursions and visits… I often remind our boys and girls about the words of our college Prayer “…please help all of us at McAuley to show care and concern for one another…”

Maggie Dent wrote in July about the importance of raising caring humans in an “uncaring” world. Her evidence and concerns are that globalisation is making our kids and teens a “me” society. The digital world can be a very individual one and can easily make us feel physically disconnected whilst we are connected in a digital world.

We are a “social species” and work together for the common good. As we continue to strengthen and enhance our college culture, we must embed our narrative of “care and concern for others” – this is our foundation.

Jonathonn Haidt writes in “The Anxious Generation” about the algorithms that draw our teen (and pre-teen) social media users into paths of body image, perceived beauty, misogyny and unethical behaviour. The algorithm provides this content over and over thus reinforcing those views and opinions until they become trapped, and this becomes their mind set. He also writes about how family arguments used to be about rules and now are almost solely about technology use.

Enrolling your children at the College infers a match in expectation and an alignment of ideologies. As families we can be assured that our staff are living and working to create people, we can be proud of (and vice-versa!).

Maggie Dent implores parents to build people who are ‘we’ people – kind, compassionate, resilient, and respectful.

She recommends we:

1. Work to protect our children from the harm of social media.
2. Educate yourself and your kids about being safe on-line.
3. Work on respectful, compassionate communication.
4. Model empathy in our homes.
5. Prioritise play and the creative arts.
6. Be kind and generous – and expect the same of your kids.

Aligning our school and family cultures plays directly into the notion of a “village”
raising our children and creating a school, a town, a society that are ‘we’ people who
have the best interests of others at heart and in their daily interactions.

Mary our mother look after us.

Eamonn Moore

Principal

At the beginning of this term our Year 12 students embarked on a meaningful and reflective retreat, marking the beginning of their final year at McAuley Catholic College. This now annual retreat is a reflective experience that invites each student to look back on their personal journey, celebrate their unique gifts, and grow in their understanding of being deeply loved by God and others for who they really are.

The retreat’s theme, inspired by Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s poem “Who Am I?”  invited students to consider who they are beyond the roles they play and to explore their true selves. The activities across the sessions were thoughtfully designed to encourage reflection and build connections with oneself and others. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the people studied in Year 12 Studies of Religion, it was a great introduction to his life.

The retreat began with students drawing a timeline of their lives, marking significant milestones and noting how they see themselves today. This reflective exercise allowed students to pause and observe the road they've travelled — the happy memories, challenges, and growth points that have shaped who they are.

Building on this, students engaged in a study of Bonhoeffer’s poem which allowed for them to examine the “masks” they wear — the faces they show in different contexts like school, family, and friendships.

In the evenings, students let loose with a fun-filled “Minute to Win It” game, trivia and karaoke sessions with Sebastian Breward also entertaining the staff and students with his amazing piano performances.  

The retreat concluded with a beautiful liturgy where students reflected on their life journeys through the “3 H’s”: a Hero, a Hardship, and a Highlight. These reflective elements allowed them to find purpose and connection in their past, present, and future, rooted in the understanding that “Whoever I am, You know me, I am Yours, O God.”

The Year 12 retreat was a memorable, grace-filled experience that honoured the individuality of each student while celebrating the collective spirit of our McAuley College community. The retreat created lasting memories and allowed time for reflection as well as plenty of laughter. It offered our students space to pause, reflect, and embrace the Year 12 path ahead, grounded in faith, love, and a deeper sense of belonging.

Special thanks to Mr. Moore, Mrs. Dougherty, Mr. Ellison and Miss Mason for their presence, support, and guidance throughout the three-day retreat.

We asked a few students about the experience, and this is what they had to say:

“I think the best part of the retreat was making the most of the people we were with. Our last excursion together and we only just found out how amazing Sebastian is at the piano!! Terry cooked up some mean meals – yummo” Phoebe Oag

“The year 12 retreat was good, it was nice to be with all of the others in Year 12 and the last night we were all singing and dancing!” Adrian Barnard

“The trip was great as we made some fun memories. Thanks for the well-planned activities” Ruben White

“The Jindabyne Retreat was a wonderful experience for me. My favourite part of the retreat was being able to make people happy by playing the piano. The food was great, and we all learnt more about each other and celebrated how far we have come” Sebastian Breward

And a word from the Principal…. “Retreat is always a special time to learn about yourself and to learn about others. It is important to know that you have a team of people around you to help you through the joys and challenges of Year 12. Thank you all for participating so thoughtfully in the activities…” Eamonn Moore

Mrs Erin Kingwill has resigned her position as Year 1 teacher at the College effective 8 November 2024. Erin has demonstrated commitment and professionalism to her class in her time with us and we wish her and her family well as they look forward to new adventures in the future.

We are pleased to announce that Ms Lillie Bellette will begin with the class on Monday 4 November. This change over time will allow for a good handover and smooth transition for the students of Year 1.

Wow! Kinder 2025 you are brilliant. When our future kinders joined McAuley for their first orientation day we read 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You Hear?' They went on a Bear hunt, made paper plate bears and counted bear numbers. Miss Groves and Ms Blundell can't wait to see them again soon. 

Kinder's second Orientation was a great day. We read 'Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli' and spent the day talking about healthy foods and what we like in our lunchboxes. We also read 'The Magic Lunchbox' and made playdough food (but we didn't eat it). In the afternoon, the new Kinders made some monsters to take home and hopefully they didn't scare anyone too much! Thanks for sharing your children with us at McAuley, we had a fun day. See you all again next week.

On Wednesday 23 October, Year 2 visited the residents at Blakeney Lodge. They read some recounts of the school holidays that they had written. They also showed some paintings they had made, and some of the students even gave the residents their amazing artworks. We sang and danced to 'Every Move I Make'. Some children were lucky enough to visit Pearl upstairs, who is 104 years old. We love our Blakeney Lodge friends! 

The McAuley Chess team travelled to Tumut High for an interschool tournament last week.

Most of the team had not participated in a tournament before. They gave their best to each of their 5 round robin games, learning a lot of new skills and tactics along the way, with many hard fought matches.

The final team tally saw McAuley victorious 29 games to 21.

Well done Will Driscoll 5-0, Bhavnik Ravada 4-1 (Year 2 student!!), Kaden Wallace 4-1, Josh Du Preez 4-1, Matilda Brown 3-2, Lucy Roche 3-2, Jess Barnard 2.5-2.5, Quade Caffery 2-3, Emillie Brown 1-4 and Thomas Baker .5-4.5.

If you are keen to get involved with the chess club at McAuley, please see Mr Edwards or Will Driscoll as next year we will look to have further interschool tournaments.

Friday 25 October was World Teachers' Day and students didn’t disappoint with their crazy hats in support.  We are incredibly fortunate at McAuley to have such fabulous, dedicated and hard working teachers across both campuses. World Teachers' Day is the day we celebrate and recognise our teachers for all they do every day for students, their families and school communities. Some students brought in gifts for their teachers to thank them for helping them grow. As one student said this morning “McAuley teachers are the best teachers!”

There has been a confirmed case of chickenpox reported on the secondary campus. Please see Fact Sheet from NSW Health below.

McAuley radio announcers last week were Henry and Darcy. Make sure you tune to 96.3FM Sounds of the Mountains each Wednesday at 9.30am to hear the latest news from McAuley.

Week 2 

Week 3 

There are some exciting events coming up for Tumut's Bicentenary. McAuley were grateful for the opportunity to add letters to the Time Capsule to be opened in 2074! We wonder how many of our students will be at the opening of it in 50 years time.......