Term 2, Week 6, Issue #32 2025

Dear Families and friends of CMS, 

This week we find ourselves over halfway through the school term. It is hard to believe how quickly time is going but also very exciting to see such great progress and success happening across all areas of our school. 

This week we welcomed the team from the Australian Dental Foundation to our school as part of their mobile dental clinic program. Across the week, many of our students had the opportunity to attend appointments on-site, making it easier for families to access dental care without having to travel. We’re grateful to the foundation for providing this valuable service to our school community. 

Our assembly was a great celebration of learning and student achievement. Thank you also to those parents who were able to stay for our Real Schools parent session following assembly. It was a fantastic opportunity to hear from Jemma Rust about the positive direction of our school culture and how the strategies we use in classrooms can also be helpful at home. Jemma shared practical ways to reinforce desired behaviours and redirect those that are less helpful. A key takeaway was the use of the Emotions Wheel, which encourages children to better identify and express their feelings—something you may like to explore further as a family when talking about behaviour and how it impacts emotions. 

Our partnership with Real Schools continues to grow, with Jemma spending time in classrooms working alongside our teachers to support students and staff in building a strong, respectful learning environment. 

As part of our ongoing commitment to creating a positive and predictable learning environment, we continue to embed the principles of Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports (PBIS) across our school. Students are being explicitly taught and supported to follow clear routines and expectations in a variety of settings. This includes Front Office procedures, transitioning calmly between learning spaces, and consistently applying classroom routines that help maximise learning time. In coming weeks we will be building in routines around expected behaviour following bell times in order to be promptly ready for learning time. These routines are reinforced through modelling, practice, and positive feedback. By building a shared understanding of expected behaviours, we aim to create a safe, respectful and supportive school environment where all students can thrive. The links between our work with Real School and PBIS will continue to develop our students to be successful both at school and in the wider community.

Last week, our school came together to acknowledge National Reconciliation Week, a time to reflect on our shared histories and strengthen relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the wider community. Students participated in a range of engaging and meaningful activities throughout the week, including a Welcome to Country, cultural dance workshops, and the creation of artworks inspired by First Nations culture and storytelling. These experiences not only deepened students’ understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and perspectives but also celebrated the richness and diversity of this culture. It was wonderful to see our school community walking together on this important journey toward reconciliation. 

As we reach the midpoint of Term 2, it's a great time to pause and acknowledge the wonderful efforts of our students, staff, and families. The term so far has been filled with meaningful learning, community events, and plenty of opportunities to grow together. With a few busy weeks still ahead, we encourage everyone to keep up the great work and look after one another. This time of year can also bring a wave of colds and sniffles, so we thank you for your continued efforts in keeping unwell children at home to support a healthy school environment for all. Stay warm, take care, and enjoy upcoming long weekend. 

Yours in Faith, Growth & Unity

The Leadership Team
Marc, Krystina, Maria, Rebecca and Lisa-Marie

Blessings All, 

I hope you are all managing well and are staying warm as we enter the Winter season. While during Winter we persist and may struggle with the cold days and night, we welcome the very much needed rain. It is also a time when open our generous hearts for the many in our community who may be greatly struggling with the winter. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our Catherine McAuley families who generously give to Centacare. Each week, a class is assigned to donate what they can for Centacare. When I deliver the donations on Friday, it is amazing and rewarding to feel the gratitude from the donations. Thank you to the Year 5 and 6 classes who have already donated and please families, keep donating as much as you can to help our neighbours in our community.

Laudato Si Week
Last week we acknowledged Laudato Si week, Care for our Common Home. This initiative was established by the late Pope Francis who saw the need to care for our beautiful world. Catherine McAuley invited a guest speaker from NAWMA to speak to our Year4, 5 and 6 children to celebrate Laudato Si Week. They learnt through a series of engaging quizzes the importance of recycling and the correct way to remove our wastes. The children had so much fun while learning how to care for our home.

MECA Squad
To assist with caring with our own home, Catherine McAuley School, the children had the opportunity to join our Meca squad, (Morally, Ecological Compassionate, Awareness Squad). There was an overwhelming number of children who are compassionate and care for our environment, which is so wonderful. It gives me great pleasure to introduce the 2025 MECA squad, in order of year level. 

2M Fryer
Aaliyah Collins 
Cristiana Barilla 
Dean Marshall
Myla Smith
Mikyla Phillipson 

2E Fahey/Rasmussen
Ayanna Azarel
Gabriella Mutebutsi 
Willow Jamieson
Oliver Chamings
Jaxson Deblaauw
Charli McNair

2R Hill
Alison Fitton
James Kondraciuk
Ella Smith
Milena Smith
Archie Reid Verhoeven
Harrison Mitselburg
Peyton Coupar
Jack Bennett
Chloe Gregory 
Anna Huggins
Harlan Hutchison

3M Timmins 
Yoona Roberts
Bailey Berger
Charlee-Rose (Charlee) Jones
Ayla Paterson

3E Turner/Heinjus  
Gioele Di Sarno
Chelsea Streatfield
Chloe Draper
Maddison Zeunert

3R Edis
Ethan Davies
Nicole Badgery
Zac Johnson
Claire Cook 
Sophia Warren
Emily Dimitropoulos

3C Heath
Charli Pritchard
Rylee Ruskin
Aurora Gibbard

4M Baxter
Elise Ann Muller
Jaikob Whenan
Olivia Hutson
Oliver Kaiser
Audrey Lawton
Flynn Wilson
Charlotte Thorning

4E Bach
Evie Wensley
Indiana Kennett Koehne
Charlotte Ey
Sebastian McDonagh-New
Ayla Milburn
Charlott Lawton
George Dimitropoulos
Mackenzie Parker

4R Crompton 
Mackenzie Hooper
James Allen 
Isabella Herzich 

Class Mass Continuation
Please come and join us at St Ann Parish Church, on Fridays when our children host and partake in a Parish Mass Service. We would love you to attend if you are able too. For reference to the remaining visits, please see below the day your child/children will be attending.

Mass schedule Term 2 
13th of June 2E
20th of June 5E and RE

Mass schedule Term 3
1st of August 5R and 1C 
8th   of August 4M and RR
29th of August 2M
12th of September 3R

Mass schedule Term 4
17th of October 4E and RC
24th of October 3C
7th of November 2R

The Sacramental Program
As we continue with our Sacramental Program at the Parish, please remember if you are thinking about enrolling your child in the 2026 Sacramental Program, please contact me for further information. Children who wish to partake in the sacraments need to be Baptised in the Catholic/Christian church and are in year 4 or higher. If your child is not Baptised, and you wish for them to be Baptised, please contact me and able to refer you to Fr Santosh. 
I would like to conclude with a prayer celebrating Laudato Si Week, Care for our Common Home.

God of Mercy and Compassion, 
Open our hearts to Your grace.
Give us the courage, to radically transform our own lives,
and appreciate more deeply the covenant You made with all creatures on earth. 
Help us to respond to the cry of the earth.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, our saviour.

Blessings

Maria Girolamo-Corbo
Assistant Principal in Religious Identity and Mission

As part of the Elizabeth Catholic Parish, we invite you to join us for Mass and upcoming events in our community. Please find the Mass times and notable Lenten activities below:

Mass Times:

St Thomas More’s Church
(19 Laverstock Road, Elizabeth North)

• Monday: 9:15am – Liturgy of the Word with Holy Communion
• Tuesday & Wednesday: 9:15am – Mass
• Saturday: 6:00pm – Vigil Mass
• Sunday: 10:00am – Mass

St Ann’s Church
(30 Midway Road, Elizabeth East)

• Thursday & Friday: 9:15am – Mass
• Sunday: 8:30am – Mass

The latest edition of The Southern Cross can be found here.

Dear Families,

As we reached the end of our first School Ready program, we would like to take a moment to celebrate the incredible growth and progress we’ve witnessed in our young learners. This program has been designed to ensure a smooth transition into Reception, building confidence, social skills, and foundational learning habits that will serve our students well in their schooling journey.

Over the past months, we have seen our children flourish - developing routines, forming friendships, and becoming familiar with the learning environment. They have engaged in structured play, literacy and numeracy activities, and social interactions that have helped them feel comfortable and excited about their next big step. Watching them gain independence and enthusiasm for learning has been truly rewarding. In our last session the children participated in some phonemic awareness activities, wrote their numbers and letters again, went through a rapid recall of their sounds, counted, and read a story.

We also extend our gratitude to our families for your support, encouragement, and partnership throughout this journey. As we engage in Reception transition (Small Mercies) over the next four Fridays, we encourage families to continue reinforcing routines at home, maintaining open communication with us, and fostering a love for learning in daily life. Starting school is a milestone filled with excitement, and we are confident that our School Ready students are well-prepared to take this next step with enthusiasm.

It was bittersweet saying goodbye to the children last Friday. This program started as an idea and blossomed into a highly successful experience for all involved. Lisa and I will continue to follow these children throughout their Small Mercies transition experience and look forward to seeing their new skills put to use in a full classroom environment.

Rebecca and Lisa 

As part of their learning this term, our Year 4, 5 and 6 students recently took part in an engaging incursion run by NAWMA (Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority). The session focused on Waste and Recycling Education, giving students the opportunity to explore how their everyday choices can make a positive impact on the environment.

The timing of the incursion aligned beautifully with Laudato Si’ Week, inviting students to reflect on how we can better care for our common home—an important call from Pope Francis.

This experience deepened student understanding of sustainability and tied in meaningfully with our school values of Faith, Growth and Unity. We’re proud of how thoughtfully our students engaged with the topic and look forward to seeing their new learnings put into action!

A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed over time through dedication and effort. Individuals with a growth mindset view challenges and setbacks as opportunities for learning and improvement, believing that their skills can enhance with practice. This concept, popularised by psychologist Carol Dweck (Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve | TED Talk), emphasises that our capabilities are not fixed, allowing us to fulfill our potential throughout our lives.

At CMS, we value GROWTH not only in learning, but behaviour and faith.

Try and Try and Try Again in making friends and in all learning.

Try and Try and Try Again in the playground and in sports teams.

Try and Try and Try Again in helping others, using kind words, and having safe hands.

We encourage GROWTH by looking at our mistakes, making corrections and trying harder the next time.

We support this GROWTH by positively priming students, praising and rewarding students in class, in the playground, and using them as role models.

We celebrate this GROWTH by using our A-Choice Champion cards, Key Capabilities certificates, and in-class rewards.

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