20 May 2020 Tena koutou katoa, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Kia orana, Ni sa bula, Marhaba, Namaste, Mabuhay.

It is so nice to be back on the school site with the happy sounds of students once again. I would like to thank parents and caregivers for the way you interacted with us, and supported staff to be able to not only deliver their teaching programme online, but also to connect with the girls via phones and email. We had an average of 83% of our students online in lessons over the 8 weeks, and we fully appreciate that this was not easy for some families, but you made it work. Thank you!

Personally, I have appreciated the numerous emails I have received from parents, who checked in on me when I checked in on you! As the saying goes - it takes a village to raise a child.

Today we have 91% of our girls back on site, in the classroom. Hopefully this increases again over the next few days. Our teachers have switched their focus back to face-to-face teaching, and are only posting their written material online, as was the practice before lockdown.

The world, and the world of teaching, has changed. Every student now having their own device is so important, so they can access all their learning, and be preparing for how it is in the adult workforce. At university, students do everything on a device, including watching lectures, tests and presentations. It's strange that liturgically we are in Eastertime, even though we feel like we have not celebrated Easter yet! Next weekend is Pentecost, and the end of the Easter season. Maybe after that our churches will reopen and we can be present at parish Masses. Thought for today. As Christians we either engage with the world in all the chaos, or become irrelevant. We don’t have to know all the answers - no-one does. The world is moving on. The old certainties are gone. We need to stay connected to the fundamental truth that the whole of evolution is driven by love - which is God. It’s a dazzling and hopefilled vision. Robert Consedine, Tui Motu May 2020 Domine in te speravi.

Jan Waelen Principal

McAULEY HIGH SCHOOL P O Box 22480, Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand

Telephone 09-276 8715 office@mcauleyhigh.school.nz

www.mcauleyhigh.school.nz

Champions over the Coronavirus The School Leaders and Prefects have been asked to be visible reminders of the Coronavirus Rules. They have been given specially printed tee shirts that encourage students to become Champions over the Coronavirus by Respecting the Rules. Personal practices Students have been encouraged to maintain social distance by developing different ways of greeting each other, keeping left, frequently washing hands, and sitting in designated seats which are spaced a metre apart. Hand sanitiser is available in classrooms. Keyboards and equipment are wiped down after use. Lunchtimes Lunchtimes have been split to allow for space in the grounds. Years 9 and 10 break for lunch at 12.15pm, and have two periods after lunch. Years 11 to 13 break for lunch at 1.15pm, and have one period after lunch.

Month of Our Lady

May is the “Month of Our Lady”. We are encouraging students to reflect on the place of Mary in their lives and in the life of the Church.

The prayer that we call the Hail Mary has two statements:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb: Jesus.

This statement comes Luke 1:42 where Elizabeth greets Mary.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

This statement has its beginnings in one of the early councils of the Church (Nicea 325). It affirms the belief that Jesus is both human (born from Mary) and divine (God).

The Hail Mary prayer encourages us to have wonder and awe at the gift of life as seen in a mother expecting a child. The Hail Mary also encourages us to have wonder and awe in our incarnate saviour Jesus Christ.

CURIOUS FACT... It takes about 20 seconds to recite the Hail Mary. If you want to sanitise your hands you say one Hail Mary. If you want to wash and dry your hands say two Hail Marys Spiritual reflection and good hygiene at the same time!!!

School Masses During Lockdown Level 4 Father Martin celebrated Mass for our school community. Thank you to Father Martin and the students of 12TUCA and 12TUZI for contributing to these celebrations.

Now that we are back in school, we will be continuing Mass in the school chapel. Due to Covid 19 restrictions, only the class hosting the Mass will be allowed to be present. On Wednesday 20th May 12STSM will be celebrating Mass on our behalf.

Staff Mrs Lather has retired after over 30 years of service to McAuley High School. We wish her a wonderful retirement, and hope that it’s filled with enjoyment, good health and relaxation.

Ms Prescott has also left and has begun her new position as Deputy Principal at Marcellin College. The McAuley Mercy Crocheting Fellowship gifted Ms Prescott with a beautiful crochet art work. Lockdown duties - Miss Hogan still on bus duty during lockdown and Mrs Dionisio doing repairs for a book charity.

Enrolments Enrolment applications are now being taken. Application packs can be collected from the school office, downloaded from our website, or can be posted to you. Once all the required forms are received, an interview with the principal will be arranged. Please make sure you get applications in as soon as you can as places fill quickly.

Attendance Dues Payment of the Term 2 account of $232.50 is due by Friday, 26 June 2020, unless you have an automatic payment in place. Financial assistance is available to assist families who may need financial support as a result of the Covid-19 virus, with the payment of the 2020 Attendance dues which are payable for students attending a Catholic secondary school in the Auckland Diocese.

An application form for this assistance is available from Mrs Mabey at the school office.

Queen’s Birthday Holiday Weekend

Next weekend is Queen’s Birthday Weekend. Reminder that the school will be closed on Friday 29th May and Monday 1st June.

Soap Ministry Thank you to all the families who offered to grate soap for us. The process with Father Martin is now up and running, and bottling has begun. This is an ongoing project, supported by our young Vinnies students, so if you are still waiting for your soap, it will happen eventually, we have 12, 000 bottles to make!!! One cake of soap is made into 2.5 litres of liquid soap.

Homework Centre We are keeping a room in Moera block open until 5pm each day so students have access to computers if they need to catch up on lost learning, or want to complete their homework. If you are not picking your daughter up until this time, please encourage her to use this space to do homework. The library also remains open until 4pm. We do not want girls just roaming around after school, especially as there are no sports practices after school. They need to be using their time wisely!

Food We are offering breakfast at school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8.00 - 8.30am from the Gym kitchen. This is open to all students, so please encourage your daughter to use it if it helps.

Reports An attitude report will be emailed to parents/caregivers this week and will also be available on the parent portal. It will reflect learning over the last 8 weeks.

New Library Service If your daughter is still not at school for whatever reason, we are offering a 'Click and Collect' service for students who need library books. Students can email our librarian, Mrs Kerry Bax, kbax@mcauleyhigh.school.nz with the names of some books they would like, or just give a broad idea of authors, genres etc. We will issue the books and leave them for a family member to pick up from the school office.

Links for the school Facebook page and Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mcauleyhighofficial/ https://www.facebook.com/mcauleyhighofficial

Year 9 Lockdown Art