Welcome to our first edition of McAuley News for 2022.

We are absolutely thrilled to present it to you in our new online format.  We sincerely thank Maree Mayer, our Communications Officer for her hard work behind the scenes and commitment. We hope you find it easy to read and easy to access.

McAuley News is produced monthly, demonstrating and celebrating our high-quality teaching and learning programs in each of our learning neighbourhoods and specialist areas across the school. We share with you whole school projects and showcase the range of experiences and opportunities that are provided for learners at McAuley.

It certainly hasn’t been the start to the 2022 school year as we had planned, but as our Director, Dr Neil McGoran, said to Principals earlier in the year, ‘it will be the best start yet’. For us, we feel it has been exactly that – our best start yet, albeit amongst COVID-19 in our school and community.

Our theme for this year is ‘A Place to Discover.’ To guide us in our discovery, one of the quotes we have chosen is from Catherine McAuley: ‘We must strive to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.’ To support us doing this, our Leadership Team has been strengthened with the appointment of Nicole Tropeano, Leader of Learning and Yalinda Allen, Leader of Diversity & Inclusion. Nicole and Yalinda elaborate further on their role and their goals for the year in this edition of McAuley News.

We were very excited to launch, at the School Board AGM this week, our 2022-2024 McAuley Community School Strategic Plan. Our four strategic priorities: Catholic Identity and Faith Formation, Learning and Teaching, Community and Wellbeing and Stewardship and Accountability are further elaborated on in the Strategic Plan. Each year we develop an Annual Improvement Plan further explaining what we will be focusing on and doing to meet our Strategic Priorities.

Our 2022 Annual Improvement Plan was also presented at the School Board AGM. Before the end of term, we will distribute our Strategic Plan to each family.

We thank you for your ongoing support and understanding throughout Term One as we have together navigated school and COVID-19. We appreciate your honesty, understanding and partnership.

Enjoy reading our first online edition of McAuley News packed with learning, opportunities and fun.

Week 5 marked an important week for our school and within Catholic Education as it was the beginning of Lent. Lent is a time to grow closer to God through our actions, through our prayers and through using the time to learn more about Jesus. Throughout Lent, we have been reflecting on the life of Jesus and have had a whole school focus on prayer.

During Lent we talk about almsgiving, fasting and prayer. I always think of Lent being all about love. Almsgiving is to love others, Fasting is to love yourself and prayer is to love God.

On Ash Wednesday, we were called into Lent by being sprinkled with ashes, reminding us of God’s mercy in the challenge to simplify our lives and turn to the Gospel on the journey to Easter.

During Lent we have also been supporting the Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. The theme of Project Compassion 2022 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come.

On Monday 28 March, our 5/6 learners took part in the 2022 Caritas Fun Run/Walk. This was a great opportunity for learners to challenge themselves while at the same time raising funds for Project Compassion.

Wishing our community a very Happy Easter with your family and friends.

May 2022 be an amazing year of living, learning and leading for the following 27 learners as the School Leaders of McAuley Community School. Congratulations!

Once restrictions are lifted, we will invite families to a whole school assembly in the Gym.

Our School Leaders
Grace Dermody
Jess Lange
Patrick Lambourne
Ollie Rossi
 

Our Mercy Leaders
Jackson Conaghty
Murphy Quigley
Macey Schell
Sebastian Tebyanian
Desh Traino
 

Our Art Leaders
Will Ash
Arabella Camilleri
Emilia Kunc
Mikayla Parker
 

Our Eco Leaders
Ivy Brewster-Till
Cea Salathe-Quek
Eve Simpson
Maxi Vaughan
 

Our Sport Leaders
Francesco Agostino
Mackenzie Benham
Luca Barnett
Ben Crafter
Noah Fitzgerald
Zane Hole
Abby Miller
Alexis Thiele

Our Reception learners have been inquiring into our school crest and how it represents our McAuley Way. 

They have learnt about the Mercy Tradition and vision of Catherine McAuley and her unwavering commitment to faith, courage and generosity.  The educators explored with learners what each component of the crest represented and they engaged in discussions about what this meant to them. 

Learners then got to choose which material they would like to use to create their version of our school crest. 

Here are some learner comments on what the components meant to them: 

The Mercy cross of Faith:

‘Jesus knows this community’ Axel
‘Thankful for Jesus’ Hudson
‘Love’ Kyra

Educational Excellence:

‘It means having courage to learn’ Cooper
‘You are learning something and trying your best’ Theodore
‘Our educators are proud when we do something amazing’ Emerson

The wave of Ecology:

‘It’s our job to look after the environment, all of us and God’ Ashlyn
‘Look after the trees and animals that God gave us’ Chester
‘We turn off the tap to save water’ Zoe

The wave of Community:

‘Being together in our class is a community’ Eva
‘God is part of our community’ Austin
‘We are a team’ Skylar

Year One is busy exploring and developing their understanding of number and 2D shapes with the use of games to learn and practise important Maths skills.

These games support the development of place value (base ten), addition strategies including friends of ten, the names and properties of 2D shapes and ordering numbers from any starting point.

Each group has an activity that can be differentiated for all levels of understanding and abilities. Maths games are fun and help the learners consolidate and extend their maths knowledge. 

Every morning the Year 2 Neighbourhood develop their knowledge of a wide variety of letter sound relationships to read, speak and spell words of one or more syllables with fluency.

Learners are developing an understanding of rhythmic sound patterns. Educators use a variety of holistic approaches to support and engage their Year 2 learners to become literate citizens

Learners in the 3/4 Neighbourhood have been investigating emotions and how they influence relationships and wellbeing.

Professional Development for McAuley educators at the start of the year was two days of learning the principles of the Berry Street Education Model to better support learners in every Neighbourhood.

Drawing upon the principles of the Berry Street Education Model for emotional wellbeing for children, educators have explored with learners what it means to be ‘ready to learn’ and to understand how various situations and scenarios can trigger different responses inside our bodies, which can also be expressed through facial expressions.

They are learning that all emotions are okay and they are becoming aware of how to effectively regulate their bodies through calming and energising exercises, including regular Brain Breaks, mindfulness, meditation and breathing.

Using the Zones of Regulation principles, role play and teachable moments, the learners in the Neighbourhoods are developing their emotional literacy and empathy for others, providing a supportive environment for all to thrive.

The 5/6 Neighbourhood are learning about the genre of narrative in their literacy classes.

They learn to create imaginative texts by grabbing the reader's attention with a 'sizzling start', convincing the reader the protagonist will fail with a 'tightening tension', and using 'show, don't tell' strategies to engage the reader. 

Educational Excellence in narrative is about building the characters, setting the scene and building the plot.  The educators give feedback to support their careful planning and deliver the best possible narrative.

At the completion of this work, these imaginative texts will be published into a class collection for learners to read.

Welcome to Ms Nicole Tropeano who has joined McAuley Community School this year as our Leader of Learning.

The responsibilities of this new role include partnering with educators, our school quality improvement team and the community to ensure growth and progress for every learner with the child at the centre.  This means a personalised approach to the curriculum, valuing each child and their wellbeing.

She will work to strengthen learner agency, literacy and numeracy through research based pedagogy that promotes quality teaching and high learning engagement.

Ms Tropeano’s three core projects for 2022 include:

• Image of Child/Educator/Family – developing shared beliefs and values in collaboration with our learners, staff and families which guides our interactions and relationships, our environments and our teaching and learning programs
• Assessment and data – developing assessment and data practices to improve learning outcomes, specifically in literacy
• Literacy – developing a whole school approach to Literacy pedagogy, practice, instruction and assessment to ensure growth and progress for every learner, specifically in reading

With 19 years in education and 14 of those in a leadership role, Ms Tropeano is passionate about learner agency and advocacy. This includes learners contributing to decision making, having ownership of their learning and working with educators to negotiate the curriculum.

Another passion is pedagogical transformation, which is using current educational research to drive continued improvement in teaching practice so each child is successful. She is looking forward to working in partnership with families to ensure their child thrives at McAuley.

For your interest, each issue of McAuley News will include an article by Ms Tropeano on learning.

Click here to email: nicole.tropeano@mcs.catholic.edu.au

Congratulations to Mrs Yalinda Allen on her role as Leader of Diversity & Inclusion.

In her 27 years of experience in education, anyone who knows Mrs Allen would agree her passion is the wellbeing of learners and the partnership formed between home and school. 

“Relationships are key to meeting the social, emotional and academic needs of our young people. Seeing these connections flourish is what makes my heart sing.”

Perfectly suited to this role, Mrs Allen works in partnership with learners, families and staff to develop learning opportunities that best suit the individual needs of our learners. This role includes working as part of the McAuley Leadership Team, with our Educators and Co-Educators to reimagine what learning looks like, facilitating the best outcome for the wellbeing of all learners with diverse abilities. 

Mrs Allen’s goals for 2022 include:

• Enhancing our Personalised Plans for Learning to ensure we are effectively planning for and monitoring our learners’ unique learning needs
• Support staff to use data to inform our teaching and learning opportunities
• Providing a safe place for all learners to discover their passions and strengths, no matter the challenges they may face.

Like Ms Tropeano, our new Leader of Learning, Mrs Allen is looking forward to working with families throughout the year.

For your interest, each issue of McAuley News will include an article by Mrs Allen on learning.

Click here to email: yalinda.allen@mcs.catholic.edu.au

Our popular swimming lessons program was back this term for Reception and Years One and Two.

The team from the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre organised the learners into groups and each group had a different focus depending on ability.  The skills involved were swimming strokes, water awareness, floating and kicking skills.

Learners were supported to enter a pool, float, duck dive, kick, glide and somersault.  Their educators were so impressed by their progress during the week, especially the learners who were focussing on freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke.

Hopefully everyone is now safer and more sensible around water since participating in the program. May they continue to develop an understanding and appreciation of water safety.

Thank you to the parent helpers who were there too.  We really appreciate your time.

It was all hands on deck for Schools Clean Up Day as part of the Clean Up Australia initiative.

The Year 2 Neighbourhood walked to nearby Wattle Park to check for rubbish, then crossed the road to the beach to continue picking up rubbish.  Local residents going for a walk along the Esplanade commented how wonderful to see all the children taking care of the environment.

A total of six buckets of rubbish were collected including a number of disposable face masks by Year 2. Did you know McAuley has a collection box for disposable face masks in the Front Office for our school community?

The McAuley grounds including Mawson Oval were cleaned up by the rest of the year levels at the end of recess.

After being postponed due to Covid restrictions, it was all systems go for the Year 5 Team Building Camp late March.

Making up for lost time, they immersed themselves in the 3-day experience.  The first day was held on Mawson Oval at McAuley, focusing on team challenges which built communication and collaboration.  After a BBQ sausage sizzle lunch proudly cooked by Mrs Lambourne’s husband Andrew, their son Patrick and Ollie R, archery tag and the highly competitive game of Excalibur were the afternoon activities.

On Wednesday it was all aboard the luxury coach to Wirraway Homestead at Strathalbyn.  Sheep herding, bush walking, horse riding, archery and the rope courses were the planned activities.  Courage and resilience were a big factor, with learners stepping outside their comfort zone to successfully complete the challenges.

On the last day, our Year 5 learners enthusiastically headed to Mylor Outdoor Camp for their final adventure.  Time to conquer those fears and feed their adrenaline on the giant swing, the mighty flying fox, challenge course and bridge building.

The (weary!) educators were thrilled with how everyone interacted and supported each other.  Well done Year 5!

Orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.  We choose to support cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia.

Each Neighbourhood participated in activities to honour diversity during the week including saying ‘good morning’ in different languages in their daily Morning Circle.

Learners tied an orange ribbon on our cultural garden fence as a sign of solidarity for all cultures represented at our school and in our wider community. Learners were also invited to wear a touch of orange to school.

Principal Mrs Parslow encouraged older learners to make a silent prayer for the people of Ukraine as they tied their ribbons.

Thank you to Niomi, our Canteen Manager, for preparing smiley face emoji pancakes and serving orange juice as part of our celebrations.

In partnership with Surf Lifesaving SA, the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter landed at Mawson Oval.  This wonderful community initiative gave learners the chance to experience the excitement of seeing a helicopter land and take off up close.

The crew, Danny, Michael and Chris, kindly answered questions about their state-of-the-art lifesaving equipment and talked to learners about being safe in the water. It was very generous of them to give everyone the option to walk through the back seat of the helicopter, sit on one of the seats and have a closer look.

This will be a day our learners will never forget.  Who knows, just like Chris’s childhood experience, a learner from our school may be inspired enough to do this courageous work one day too.

A big thank you to Katrina Meehan, mum to Livi in Year 5, for suggesting the visit to McAuley.  The Meehans are active participants in local surf lifesaving.  Thank you Westpac and thank you Brighton Surf Life Saving Club too.

Press play on the very last slide to relive the excitement by watching a video on this event.

A group of learners in the 5/6 Neighbourhood have been chosen to participate in the Maths Olympiad competitions this year due to the data collected around their numeracy capabilities.

There are 5 competitions approximately 6 weeks apart designed for high achieving learners to further improve their problem-solving skills. 

Miss O'Connell is working with learners each week to collaboratively solve problems to broaden their strategies and skills. Learners have also been working through challenging problems at home! 

Each competition comprises five questions, worth one mark each and must be completed in 30 minutes.  Questions are completed individually by each student with no collaboration during competition. Each competition is held under exam conditions in the classroom and marked by the teacher in charge who then submits the results to the Australasian Problem Solving Maths Olympiad.

We wish all learners the best in the remaining competitions throughout the year and commend them on their efforts and commitment. 

Thank you to our 27 swimmers from Years 3-6 for representing McAuley and competing in the South Australian Catholic Primary School Sports Association Swimming Carnival.

The swimmers attended trials in February to qualify for the Carnival in the events of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.

McAuley collected many ribbons with 17 first places, 20 second places, 15 third places and 13 fourth places.

Congratulations to our Year 5 boys and Year 5 girls for being awarded the overall winners in their year level.  They were presented with the Section 2 banner.

The congratulations keep going with Sam West (Year 5) winning the Championship Medal for the Year 5 boys and Maxi Vaughan (Year 6) winning the Championship Medal for the Year 6 boys.

Zachary Raymond, Seb Young and Sam West all came first in the Year 5 x 50m backstroke event in the A, B and C divisions.

Our six relay teams finished in the top five.

Fantastic effort from Jade Thiele (Year 3) who swam a leg in the Year 4 freestyle relay and Leo Mason (Year 4) who swam a leg in the Year 6 freestyle relay.

But wait, there’s more. Lyra Rea (Year 3) swam in her first SACPSSA Swimming Carnival and won a first-place ribbon in the 50m breaststroke event.

We are proud to say McAuley finished 4th overall in the Girls and Boys divisions. A champion effort considering this year we were elevated to Section 2!  We can’t wait for next year already!

Thank you to parent volunteers Kate R, Shelly F and Niomi A, who attended on the day and were a great assistance to Mrs Haddrick, our Sport Administrator.

We offer our sincere congratulations to Fr Michael Kyumu, Parish Priest of Brighton Catholic Parish, as he celebrates the 25th Anniversary of his Ordination.

It was a pleasure for Mrs Parslow and Mrs Dunlop to attend his celebratory mass at St Joseph’s recently with our School Leaders, Grace, Jess, Patrick and Ollie.

We are so grateful for the time he invests with our school community in the Learning Neighbourhoods and for bringing us together for our whole school masses.  We always appreciate the messages in his homilies, especially the sentiment of his stories about growing up at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro in Kenya.

We look forward to Fr Michael’s continued spreading of Good News through his ministry.