Term 4 Return: Adjusted Arrangements

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are enjoying the holidays and let’s pray things continue to settle down and we will be COVID free through this term, so that we can all get back to some sort of routine. For Year 7 students, many have little notion of what a normal year at Catherine McAuley College is like.

The state of play has not changed since the last update on 11 September. Next week, starting on Monday 5 October all Catherine McAuley College students will continue with remote learning and remain at home. They will all return to College on the following Monday 12 October. There will still be conditions in place, in accordance with the Victorian Government Guidelines, so each student will need to be familiar with these. This information will be thoroughly presented by the students’ learning mentors throughout next week and the detail will be published on SIMON/PAM for all families to read.

The only variations to the remote learning situation are as follows, Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students will attend the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Wednesday 7 October, the other exception is for students who have been notified that they must complete an essential assessment or School-assessed Coursework (SAC) at St Mary’s next Thursday 8 October and Friday 9 October. These students have been given detailed information about the planning and guidelines. Students can only attend the College to complete the SAC. There will be no normal classes held onsite at St Mary’s on Thursday 8 October and Friday 9 October, they will be remote.

Finally, I want to thank the many families across the College who have made enquiries and extended their concerns for the progress of our Year 12 student and the other young people who were involved in a tragic accident last Sunday evening. Sadly, there has been some confusion around the facts and details of the accident, and I implore families to contact the College if there is any clarification required. The focus is on supporting these young people and dealing with accurate information. Misunderstandings can cause enormous hurt.

Presently, the young man is still in a stable condition in hospital in Melbourne and is being monitored constantly. He is in our thoughts and prayers, which are also extended to the family and friends directly impacted and to all their friends across the community. We will continue to provide any support needed and have contacted various students who may be impacted. Please contact the College if you have any concerns about your son or daughter.

Please understand that the pastoral support provided by the College will need to be in accord with the COVID guidelines and take place remotely until students return on Monday 12 October. Direct support cannot be provided on site until we return on that date.

My apologies for the confusion caused in the last correspondence, particularly for the VCE students, and we wish them every success with the GAT and various SAC’s being held next week. We look forward to getting back together in Week 2. Please keep checking SIMON/PAM for any updates.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Brian Turner, Principal