Ms Fiona Sandeman, Strong Sisters Coordinator on left with ex-student Shanaya Donovan, a proud Dharug Woman, and Strong Sister students.
Catherine McAuley concluded the school’s Reconciliation Week celebrations with a smoking ceremony in Mercy Square.
Led by The Strong Sisters the ceremony took place via live stream to all Homerooms, who then proceeded to walk through the smoke as the students walked to their first class for the day.
A smoking ceremony is an ancient Aboriginal custom that involves smouldering native plants to produce smoke. This smoke is believed to have both spiritual and physical cleansing properties. Thank you to Dharug Women - Shanaya Donovan, Class of 2021 and her mother Ms Clarke-Jones, who performed the smoking ceremony.
Ms Clarke-Jones, mother of former student Shanaya and a Dharug Woman, addressing the school assembly.
Year 12 students walking through the smoke at the smoking ceremony.
On Friday, 27th May as part of the Reconciliation Week events Year 8 Strong Sisters student Jordan B. represented Catherine McAuley at the Indigenous Veterans Commemoration Service held at the ANZAC Memorial, Hyde Park. This moving ceremony celebrated the contribution of indigenous veterans.
Jacqui Hamilton | School Development Officer
Catherine McAuley Westmead
-
09 Jun 2026
Helping Your Child Learn at Home - Practical strategies every parent can use
How can you help your child learn at home without stress, conflict, or overwhelm? Join CSPD’s Learning Outcomes team for a practical parent session focused on simple, realistic ways families can support learning at home, from primary through to secondary school.
17 Jun 2026
Try a Career Day @ CathWest Loyola Campus
Year 10, are you curious about trying a career...? Register for CathWest's 'Try a Career Day' at the CathWest Loyola Campus!
More News
20 May 2026
LIFTED Events Unite Students in Faith and Hope
Students from across the Parramatta Diocese participated in LIFTED Rise and LIFTED Unleashed this month providing an opportunity to celebrate faith, hope and the joy of youth.
20 May 2026
Sport for Jove Shakespeare Carnival Success for McAuley Students
McAuley students showcased their talent and dedication at the Regional Sport for Jove Shakespeare Carnival, with two teams progressing to the State competition in June.
20 May 2026
Students Participate In NSW Police Youth Program
Congratulations to year 12 student Ava M. and year 11 student Stella R., who proudly participated in the NSW Police Force Youth Program.
19 May 2026
A Day of Reflection, Faith and Connection for Year 9
Year 9 students stepped away from the pace of school life for their annual Reflection Day at Parramatta Cathedral, spending time exploring faith, strengthening connections and reflecting on important questions about compassion, suffering and their relationship with God.
19 May 2026
Celebrating Environment Week at Catherine McAuley
Environment Week 2026 brought students together through hands-on activities that showed how small actions can create meaningful change.
15 May 2026
From Facebook
ENVIRONMENT WEEK 🌿♻ Giving Clothes a Second Chance! Today at lunchtime, the McAuley Eco-swap brought sustainability to life in the fight against fashion, giving students the opportunity to swap unwanted clothing items with items from another person that they like using a token system. For every item donated, a token was given which could then be exchanged for a range of clothing items such as jumpers, shirts and pants. From re-using and re-loving to making more mindful choices, it was wonderful to see so many students supporting a more sustainable future. 🌏💚 A huge thank you to the Environment Leaders and Earth Action committee for working behind the scenes to drive this initiative as well as to everyone who donated and helped make this initiative such a success for Environment Week 2026. Together, small actions can create meaningful change.
15 May 2026
From Facebook
CELEBRATING 60 YEARS 🎉 Computers at the school in 1987. Catherine McAuley was one of only five schools in NSW selected to participate in the IBM Computer Education Project, with IBM donating 16 computers to the school. As part of the initiative, four teachers also attended a four-week training course organised by IBM.
15 May 2026
From Facebook
👏🏻 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS👏🏻 Congratulations to Ava M. and Stella R. who proudly participated in the NSW Police Youth Program. 👮🏼♀️ This was a four day program held from 28th April to 1st May, providing students with an introduction to policing and valuable insight into careers within the NSW Police Force. Ava and Stella thoroughly enjoyed the experience and embraced every opportunity throughout the course. They were presented with their certificates today by Police Youth Liaison Officer, Senior Constable Brad Martin, recognising their involvement and commitment throughout the program. We are proud to see our students exploring pathways of service, leadership and community engagement.
15 May 2026
From Facebook
DANCE STUDENTS 💃 Congratulations to the school’s Senior Solo Dance Artists, Emily C. (Year 9, pictured) and Charlize D. (Year 10), who will proudly represent the school as solo performers this year. Emily will showcase a lyrical dance performance, while Charlize will perform a lyrical and contemporary routine. We look forward to seeing both students perform at upcoming events.
14 May 2026
From Facebook
AROUND THE CLASSROOMS 📸 Year 11 Visual Arts students who have participated in a Captivate photography workshop or studied 1 Unit Photography were invited to an early morning photo shoot this week, arriving at school at 6am to capture striking images of the new building in the morning light.
14 May 2026
From Facebook
ENVIRONMENT WEEK 🌿 There was plenty of creativity and fun in Mercy Square at lunch today as students continued celebrating Environment Week at Catherine McAuley! Organised by the Student Leaders of Environment, students spent yesterday and today expressing their appreciation for the natural world through colourful chalk art on the Mercy Wall. Using non-toxic chalk, students transformed the space into a vibrant display of creativity, with lunchtime buzzing with activity.
14 May 2026
From Facebook
The Catherine McAuley Weekly Review for Thursday, 14th May 2026 is now available:
14 May 2026
From Facebook
SCHOOL DEBATING 💬 The Catholic Schools Debating Association (CSDA) competition continued on Wednesday night with Round 4, where Catherine McAuley achieved an impressive result, winning 5 out of 6 debates. Teams across all year groups secured victories, with the only loss coming in the Year 12 debate. All debates were against La Salle Catholic College, Bankstown. Congratulations to all students on their efforts and achievements throughout the season so far! Thank you to Katrina N. from the Year 9 Media Team for capturing these photos.
14 May 2026
Music, art, movement: why creativity matters more than you think
Did you know creativity is one of the biggest predictors of how well children do in school and in life?
14 May 2026
Around the Classrooms
From creative design projects to hands-on fieldwork and powerful historical insights, students have been actively engaging in a range of enriching learning experiences across the classroom and beyond.