Dear McAuley Families

Enrolments for 2026 close this week. We are offering enrolments in Kindergarten and Year 7 2026 for the month of May. Please be advised that there are very limited places available in other year levels. Most year levels are at capacity (some with wait lists). Please encourage family and friends to get their applications sorted in good time prior to the close of enrolments at the end of May.

Places are not necessarily guaranteed as we encounter high levels of interest.   

See below the priority of offer which complies with Catholic Education Policy:

Primary: Children who are turning five (5) before 30 April (ACT) or before 31 July (NSW) and:

1. Are baptised Catholic who are members of the designated local parish communities and designated priority enrolment area or, where there is more than one primary school within a parish, the designated priority enrolment area within the parish as agreed from time to time.
2. Are siblings of children already attending the selected primary school.
3. Are children of staff in the selected primary school.
4. Are baptised Catholic from other parishes or outside of the priority enrolment area who cannot obtain places in their local parish/in-area primary school.
5. Are non-Catholic whose parents/guardians desire and are committed to a Catholic Education.

Secondary:

1. Baptised Catholic children who currently attend a Catholic school; or are members of the local parish community in rural areas where a Catholic school is not available.
2. Siblings of children already attending the selected secondary school.
3. Are children of staff in the selected secondary school.
4. Other children who have been enrolled in a Catholic school for a period of at least 3 consecutive years prior to commencing at the secondary school.
5. Baptised Catholic children from schools other than Catholic schools. The family of these children MUST provide an up-to-date reference from their parish priest indicating that they are practicing Catholics in the parish.
6. Baptised Catholic children from schools other than Catholic schools who cannot provide a reference from a parish priest.
7. Other children whose parents/guardians desire and are committed to Catholic education.

We will next arrange interviews for those who have made applications and later make offers of places for next year.  We are blessed to have high levels of interest in an education in our College. We offer science-based education models and high impact teaching across all year levels.  Our teachers are subject specialists and teach to build the whole person in knowledge, skill and faith.

One innovation I am proud of is our adoption of the “Resilience Project” across the College.  I am always grateful to the Community Foundation who sponsor the program materials and workbooks to help us provide these weekly lessons in “gratitude, empathy and mindfulness.” The statistics below provide sound explanation as to why we believe teaching resilience is so important:

• 1 in 4 primary students experience high levels of depression and anxiety
• 1 in 3 secondary students experience high levels of depression and anxiety
• 3 in 4 teachers are experiencing burnout
• 2 in 5 adults experience a mental disorder in their lives

These statistics come from various reports and make interesting reading. Please see below for links. 

[1] https://adelaide.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Resilient_Youth_State_of_the_Nation_Report_2024/28260041/1?file=53486243

[2] https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/National-Teacher-Survey_Summary_FEB_2023_final.pdf

[3] https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/two-five-australians-have-experienced-mental-disorder

I encourage our families to make use of the excellent resources provided and to build some GEM into your daily lives and routines.  Questions like these can guide grateful thinking, empathy and mindfulness:

• What went well today? What made you smile?
• What’s something kind I can do for someone today?
• What are you going to do to help you feel calm and relaxed?

Mary our mother, look after us.

Eamonn Moore

Principal

What is the MCCT School Community Council?

The Community Council is a network of parents and staff who work with the Principal to lead school fundraising and build a strong, inclusive community. Whether through ongoing help or supporting a single event, every contribution makes a difference.

Want to Get Involved?

Email: mcauleycatholiccollegetumut.scc@gmail.com

Or reach out to our executive team:  Chairperson Vy Proos; Deputy Chairperson Kim Markey; Treasurer Melanie Pearce; Secretary Alyson Forsyth.

Further School Community Council documents will soon be available via the McAuley website.

Fundraising

A huge thankyou to our students, families, and wider community for your generous support of our Mother's Day Stall and Raffle, raising a total of $3,580.68.

 Recently raised funds have gone toward some amazing resources:

• Representative Basketball singlets (20) & Shorts (10) $980.00
• Representative Netball Singlets (40) & + Skirts (20) $1,985.00 (AKD Sponsorship $955.00)
• Secondary Campus Trees $3047.00 (JJ Recycling Donation $987.17)

Return & Earn Recycling Drive 

Recent Return & Earn funds have gone toward the purchase of a $349.00 pizza oven for the Secondary Campus

Next Community Council Meeting 

Parents, students, teachers and principals are invited to make submissions to inform the Australian Government’s Anti-Bullying Rapid Review. The review will develop a national approach to addressing bullying in Australian schools. Submissions are open until 20 June and can be made anonymously. The National Catholic Education Commission and Catholic Schools Parents Australia are part of the Australian Government’s Rapid Review Reference Group and will make a submission on behalf of Catholic Education.

Link: The Anti-Bullying Rapid Review submissions - Department of Education, Australian Government

Wow – what a McAuley team!

Our families were incredibly generous with food and money donations, and our SRC ran a fantastic stall. What a success!

Together, we raised just under $1,000 for this worthy cause.

A huge thank you to everyone involved – it feels great to be part of such a supportive and generous community.

The Open Boys Division 3 Basketball Team has done McAuley proud at the BNSW All Schools State Championships, finishing their campaign on a high with a well-earned win!

While the overall result wasn’t quite what we had hoped for, we couldn’t be prouder of the team. The boys demonstrated incredible grit, determination, and teamwork, matching up against some of the top school teams in the state — a remarkable achievement in itself.

Their commitment and spirit were evident in every game, and they never backed down from a challenge.

A heartfelt thank you to all the parents for your ongoing support throughout the tournament. A special thank you to Coach Todd for his time, dedication, and strong leadership.

Our students recently participated in a highly competitive CCC Netball Trial Day, facing off against over 120 players from across the region. Despite the challenging competition, our girls demonstrated exceptional skill, teamwork, and sportsmanship throughout the day.

While only 24 players were selected to progress to the Possibles and Probables stage, and our students were not among them, they should be very proud of their performance. Their dedication and the way they represented McAuley and our diocese were commendable.

Congratulations to all involved on a fantastic effort!

Our Kindergarten students have been learning about the meaning and significance of Reconciliation Week. As part of their learning journey, they proudly showcased our ‘Bridging Now to Next’ community artwork — a beautiful reflection of connection, understanding, and hope for the future.

It was a special opportunity to celebrate culture, promote respect, and deepen our sense of community.

Year 3 students have been exploring magnetic forces in Science, learning how the north and south poles of magnets attract and repel each other.

In a fun and hands-on investigation, students used magnets to move Hot Wheels cars—testing how magnetic forces can be used to push and pull objects without direct contact.

It’s been a fantastic way to bring physical science concepts to life through play and experimentation!

This week, 5/6 Blue participated in an engaging transition Science lesson with Mrs Kinny in the secondary Science laboratory.

Students explored the fascinating process of star formation through a hands-on experiment that modelled how stars are formed — all within a bottle! They also had the opportunity to create their own miniature galaxies, sparking curiosity and excitement about space and the universe.

A big thank you to Mrs Kinny for delivering such a memorable and inspiring learning experience.

As part of their Science unit on the solar system, Year 5/6 students have been diving into the wonders of space.

Yesterday, 5/6 White took part in a creative hands-on activity called "Nebula in a Bottle", where they created swirling, colourful representations of a nebula—vast clouds of gas and dust in space where stars are born.

It was a fun and engaging way to visualise one of the most beautiful and mysterious phenomena in our universe!

Our Year 7 class has been busy writing about their heroes and they would like to share their work. Well done everyone, fabulous writing!

My Hero 

My Hero is Lily Kate Webb.I admire my sister Lily because she is compassionate and caring. She is always determined to chase her dreams like playing netball at a high level. She is also determined to reach high levels in her education as she was Dux last year. Lily is very loving to  anyone in her life that she cares about. She is always happy and makes others happy. Lily is the light in the room and can always bring the party. Lily is a very kind person because she can see the best in people. She is eighteen years old and just moved to Wollongong and plays for the Sutherland Stingrays in  Premier League Netball.

Lily is very loving. She is always optimistic about people and can see the best in people. She is also very loyal to everyone she cares about and that is something I inspire to do .Lily is loyal because she is such a good friend ,sibling,and cousin  she is always there to help when help is needed .Lily shows me the importance of loyalty and love.

Lily is very determined academically and with netball to reach her dreams she was always pushed herself to her limits and it has paid off I want to be just like that when i am older and i push myself to be like that now .Lily started playing in Tumut under 11s and then got picked in school  team for netball. She also then got picked for Collingullie netball football league while she was still playing in Tumut. Last year she went to a carnival where she got picked in the Riverina  team and was selected to travel to Sydney to play. She was invited to trial for another team, they looked at her and decided that they wanted her in the Sutherland Stingrays so she went to trial and made it, and that's where she is. That just shows her determination to never give and I want to play for the same teams and follow in her footsteps. 

Lily is always happy she can light the room up with her bubbly personality and it shows when she is on the court. She will bring the party and positivity anyone who knows her will confirm that she is always very bubbly and happy and that is why she inspires me .Lily shows me the importance of kindness and happiness, and making sure everyone around you is happy too.  

Lily is very caring and compassionate to everyone around her Lily shows compassion and empathy in every thing she does. Lily is very caring. If she loves you she will give you gifts and hugs.

That's why I look up to Lily because she is determined to reach her dream and is always happy, kind, loyal ,compassionate ,caring and loving, and full of energy. These values are shown by Lily when doing her everyday things like playing netball, talking to her family and doing school work.  Lily is not only an inspiration to me but can teach me the importance of being positive in life. Lily inspires me to be a better person and push myself and that is why I look up to her.

My Hero - Carson Brown 

Carson Brown is renowned for his talent when it comes to motorbikes and 2 wheeled machines. Carson is my hero because he is a humble hero toward his opponents that he races. He is also my hero because his family owns a company called BBR. It is a big bore kit company that is for all different motorbikes from KTM to Honda, 50cc to 500cc.

He is my hero because he can fly in the air, just like Superman, when he is doing a jump!  We have two things in common, our love of riding and also our age when we started riding.  We were both just three years old when we discovered our passion for riding.

Carson is a world renowned motorbike rider. Though he has ridden most bikes, he can get on a bike that he has never practised on, race someone who has had a lot of experience on that same model and still beat them. He can jump on any model bike and ride it way above its expected potential.  You can copy and paste on Youtube to see what I mean “Throwing Around a 1996 XR600!”

Carson is only twenty five years old.  Just imagine how much better he will be when he is thirty five!  Carson was born on April 13th 1999. He does wheelies anywhere and any time, he wheelies over logs and on tracks. 

Carson was lucky to achieve world fame because the internet rolled in to boost his publicity, otherwise he would have had to rely on his family's business to make a living.  His family owns a multi-million dollar company. Carson makes one to five million dollars on his own through his riding and touring. 

I want to be like him because he makes a lot of money by doing what he loves, riding  motorbikes! He doesn’t manufacture motorbikes but he owns a lot of motorbikes. When I grow up, I want to make a lot of money and buy a very nice house and not have to worry about the mortgage going through the roof.

Most of the bikes that Carson rides are friends’ or subscribers’, followers’ etcetera. I know this because a lot of the clips on Youtube have a text saying that this person or company “let me shred their ….. “ (whatever model bike he was riding in the clip). 

Carson wants to share his love for riding “I want to spread my passion of motocross to everyone, let all my fans and supporters be a part of this thing, and encourage even more people to get into dirt bikes”.  He has been my inspiration for the last 4 years when a friend told me about him and I started to watch his videos on Youtube. 

In conclusion, Carson Brown is my hero because he is an amazing rider, he is dedicated and fearless, and I would love to be able to ride like him one day. He travels around America doing what he loves most and gets paid to do it, something I would love to do.

My Hero 

“Don’t be afraid to dream big and have big goals and big dreams” My Hero is Emma Mckeon! She is a swimmer and has won 6 gold medals and won 14 medals in total. I chose her because she is an inspiration to young swimmers and young Athletes. She has dedication and shows hard work. She encourages people to be more athletic and more healthy. Emma also indicates success not from winning but from commitment and resilience. I also chose her because I want to get a lot better at swimming and she is a good influence on me and others.

She influenced my life by doing hard and swimming not just to win but to be a caring and nice person to others. Emma is also an inspiration to young athletes because she proves that women in sports can achieve greatness and break barriers. Emma Mckeon has influenced me because she demonstrates that success comes from discipline, perseverance, and a positive attitude. She also has influenced my life by remaining modest and always honouring her coaches, partners, and supporters. She has also impacted my life by never giving up and following your dreams. Emma has inspired me to keep on pushing and have dedication in everything. She has also influenced me in my life that hard work pays off.

Emma Mckeon has impacted other people's lives by showing them to keep going and never give up. She also has impacted other people’s lives by showing that success isn’t just about winning but also about hard work and character. This swimmer has said just push past your struggles and never give up on dreams. She has also said to take up swimming and stay active. Emma has also told people that hard work and dedication leads to success. She has also inspired young girls to pursue their dreams, no matter the obstacles. Emma Mckeon has said to other people to “Don’t be afraid to dream big and have big goals.” Emma also said failures and setbacks are a part of the learning process. Emma has also gone through a lot of set backs like almost contemplating to quit, also in her younger years she struggled with a lot of self doubt and emotional turbulence during her compostions. She has also said that dealing with self-doubt,pressure and setbacks but overcoming them with mental toughness and focus.

In conclusion Emma is a hero because she has shown kindness in and out of the pool. Emma is also a hero because she has impacted a lot of young athletes and people. We can learn from her by following what she does in a kind way. Everyone can also learn from her by always following your dreams and that dedication and hard work can lead to success. Emma has continued to inspire others to chase their dreams and never give up. “Believe in yourself, work hard, stay focused and never give up. Success will come.” EMMA MEKON

My dad is my Superhero 

My hero is my dad. He does lots of things for me like supply a roof over my head and put food on the table. He goes to work every day and works 8 hours a day. 

he taught me how to drive anything machines cars tractors trucks even a dozer he also taught me how to kill a sheep cow or pig to put food on the table if i didn't have my dad i don't know where i'd be he also taught me how to shoot a gun and all the safety rules and taught me how to farm he is an awesome dad. 

My dad is a hero for lots of reasons he loves me and takes care of me and he would do anything for me. When I grow up I wanna be just like him. He is very kind and very strong and a very popular man. His nickname is Horris or Samo. 

He has two businesses an orchard business where he plant grow and pick figs cherries and apricots his other business is metal carting with a excavator and a truck collecting scrap metal and he also works as a council worker like mowing lawns and looking after Tumut Adelong and the other rural towns. 

My dad is very tall he has a mullet and is usually in work clothes or in a singlet he has always got a smile on his face and he is rarely angry and he is usually in work boots or slides he is very nice and if you see him say g'day to him he will always say g'day back to you he drives around in a orange isuzu d'max ute or a white LDV which is my moms car. He owns a lot of machines and vehicles he has got 2 excavators, 2 dozers, 1 tractor, an isuzu d'max a gts Monaro and a chevrolet ute. 

These are some of the reasons he is my hero but he has got a big heart he takes me where i want to go and surprises me with lots of things he has changed my personality a lot i can remember when he taught me how to fish and then we went to blowering dam to test my fishing skills and that's when i caught my first fish it was a red fin.

My Hero 

Have you ever looked up to someone so much that you’d love to write about them? Well that's me. The hero that I chose to write about is Josh Papalii, also known as Big Papa or Papa. Papa is well known for people that follow the NRL. Papa plays in the NRL for the Canberra Raiders and he plays as prop, wearing number 8. I chose Josh as my hero because he is such a gallant person and someone that anyone could look up to. Josh isn’t a selfish person either, he works as a team with his mates and shows sportsmanship.

Josh has influenced my life from his legendary footy career. I play footy, but at first I wasn’t very good and I didn’t really want to play. Until I started watching the NRL. The first time I watched Josh Papalii play, I thought wow, he is such a persevering player. When he doesn’t make a tackle, he doesn’t get angry. He proved to me that if you want to be good at something, you have to start finding the positives in it and train hard for it. I thought it wouldn’t work if I tried to think of positives in footy at first because I thought that there were no positives at first, but then I started researching about footy and how it can have a good impact in your life. The positive things I was able to find out from footy was the time you get to spend with your friends and the fitness you can get from it.

Josh Papalii has also had an impact on others. One of the reasons is Josh’s great energy. Whenever Josh is happy and joyful, everyone else follows that, which is a good thing. Josh Papalii stands as a mighty physique on the footy field, which makes people look up to him thinking how much they could be like him if they put their blood, sweat and tears into it like Papa. To people that look up to Papa don’t think he’s just another player, they think of him as a cornerstone. Big Papa shows great sportsmanship and teamwork. There’s no I in team, but there is an I in Josh Papalii, but Josh and others know that he doesn’t work as a ball hog or by himself, they know that he shares the ball and credit after games, which makes people look up to him as a kind and caring person with no selfishness showing whatsoever. 

With Josh Papalii being my hero, I not only look up to him and admire him, I praise him. Josh is an amazing person that anyone could talk to for help, whether it’s about footy or just in general. I can’t talk enough about how much Josh has impacted my life, there are so many reasons that the page would keep on going. But it’s not just footy that Josh has helped me find my love for, it’s all the sports I play. Without Josh Papalii being the person he is, I don’t know what I would have done to have the love for footy I have now, thanks to Josh Papalii.

Last week, selected Stage 6 students successfully completed their First Aid Course—a requirement for those studying Sport, Lifestyle and Recreation or Active Volunteering.

First Aid is an essential life skill, and we’re proud to see our students gaining the knowledge and confidence to respond in an emergency. We’re also grateful that all our staff are First Aid certified, ensuring a safe and well-prepared school environment.

Well done to our students on gaining this important skill.

Jasper & Angus were our fantastic radio announcers in week 4 - well done boys, you did great!