Our P&F are having a sausage sizzle here at the College tomorrow for Federal Election polling day. Please come on down and support our P&F when you cast your vote.

Leadership Forum Learnings

At the recent Leadership Forum in Warwick, Dr Pat Coughlan (Executive Director) shared with principals the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Strategic Plan 2022-2024.  This document focuses on:

• Our Values of Dignity, Potential and Life
• Our Vision – Enabling full and flourishing lives
• Our Mission – Inspired by the life and message of Jesus Christ, students learn and engage critically and creatively with their world and discover how to participate in its transformation.
• Our Priorities
• Engaged students learning
• Being distinctively Catholic
• Using resources wisely
• Valuing our people

With great alignment we continue to live our vocation of teaching in the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools.  Dr Pat's strategic direction in this new plan is excellent, and is closely connected to the research behind what works best in Catholic Education. 

One topic which also came to light in the Leadership Forum was the opportunities that the Diocese provides for those that wish to become Catholic.  For everyone’s awareness, it is never too late to become a Catholic and there is structured support in the Diocese to support parents, community members, staff and students in making the transition.  If you are interested in this leap of faith, please feel free to contact the office or the Parish of St Joseph’s.

Year 12 Internal Assessments

Year 12 students are in the midst of their second round of internal assessments at the moment, though I am most excited by the confirmed results we have started receiving from QCAA for the first internal assessments.  It is very evident that the students are taking their approach to their learning very seriously this year and we have many instances where students have perfect scores in difficult subjects such as Maths Methods and English.  While we were expecting to have Internal Assessment 1 confirmed results in today, some issues at QCAA means that these results will take a little longer for them to upload results into the QCAA Portal for all students in Queensland.

Position Vacant: P&F President

We are eager to source a parent to come onboard as our P&F president for the remainder of the year.  This year we are approaching things a little differently and will only have a few more meetings, while most of the engagement in the P&F will come from working parties such as those that organise Saints Race Day. If you would like to put your hand up and engage in this role, please give me a call.  It is important to note that without a President, the P&F cannot function as an association.

Voting Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning from 8:00am we will be hosting the AEC for voting purposes in the PAC.  What’s more – the P&F are cooking a sausage sizzle all day!  When you make your vote, please do so at OLSCC and take the chance to say g’day to the wonderful volunteers raising funds for the P&F.  The same P&F that has replaced all the fridges in P-6 classrooms, is buying coffee machines for the senior Years students to complete barista qualifications, supplied the speaker system throughout the College, supports Under 8’s Day every year, contributes significate funds to the procurement of the Middle Years Plaza, Classroom Technology Upgrade, College Coach and much much more.

College Expectations

At assembly this morning I clearly explained the importance of following the College Expectations for all students.  Our expectations are short, simple, realistic and very easy to achieve.  They are:

• Learn and allow others to learn
• Be Safe
• Be Responsible
• Be Respectful

I also explained that these are non-negotiable at OLSCC and are expected to be followed at all times.  A critical skill that all students must have in their repertoire to achieve these expectations is very simple: “follow instructions first time, every time.” This allows staff to put their best foot forward in delivering the learning for all students in every class.  Please be mindful of these expectations and use similar language in the home to provide clarity in the message between home and school.

Pete Cuskelly

Principal

Laudato Si’ Week 16-24 May 2022

“The signs of the times are clear – we know that we human beings need a change of heart, mind, and behaviour.” Australian Bishops Social Justice Statement 2021-22.

Laudato Si’ Week (16-24 May) is a celebration of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ and a call to action for Catholics around the world to care for our common home. You can participate through prayer, action, and reflection.

Loving God,

your mercy towers to the heavens and your faithfulness to the skies.

May your love temper our desire for more.

May your love shape lifestyles that lead to life for all.

May your love guide our steps towards sustainability.

May your love be enough.

We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, our risen Lord,

through the power of the Holy Spirit,

now and forever.

Amen

NAPLAN Online – 10 May – 20 May 2022 

Well done to all of our students who completed their NAPLAN over the last two weeks.  A huge thanks to the staff who have worked with our students to ensure they were confident with the test platforms and ready for the online tests.  Another huge thanks to all of the staff who ran the tests and supported our students.  It can be a stressful time relying on computer systems and IT to all work for 224 students to all be online and synchronized in testing but they did it superbly, and for their dedication I am grateful.  

 
We now await the results, not so we can rank our students or our College against others but so we can use the data.  The valuable data we gain from these tests helps us to progress our students, to identify areas of both strength and weaknesses that we can focus on.  It enables us to refine our classroom practice so that we target our work to the areas where it’s needed.  The writing data helps us align our work we’ve been doing with Write That Essay.  So much information is gained from all four of the areas tested to support our teachers and our students to grow and develop their own practice.  Results are due back in late August.    

COVID UPDATE - Close Contact Guidelines 

I included the information below last fortnight in our newsletter but as we see a slight rise in the number of local COVID cases I will include it again for your information.  A few weeks ago the Queensland Government announced and commenced the new close contact rules to ease pressure on our society.  These rules allow close contacts some freedoms to continue to leave their homes.  This change has no impact on isolation requirements for people diagnosed with COVID-19 (ie positive cases).  

You are classified as a close contact if   

• you have been with a person that has COVID-19 for more than four hours in a house or other accommodation, a care facility or similar, or  
• you live with a person that has COVID-19 and have had more than four hours contact with them in the household setting.  

You are a close contact from the date the person diagnosed with COVID-19 took the test that returned a positive result.  

Close contacts who have COVID-19 symptoms must stay at home until the symptoms resolve. They must not attend work or school. Close contacts (staff or students) who are symptomatic, must undertake testing immediately and quarantine until the earlier of Day 7 or until they are no longer experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19.  

For the most accurate information in regards to quarantine for close contacts we recommend families visit the Queensland Government Guidelines for close contact in Queensland page.  The new guidelines were introduced from 6pm Thursday 28 April 2022.  To assist families we have summarised the requirements that impact on the College, these apply to close contacts who do not have symptoms:   

• Close contacts (staff or students) must inform their employer or school that they are a close contact before returning to work or school. The school does not need to record or store this information to meet Queensland Health requirements, nor do they need to provide this information to Queensland Health. The purpose of requiring close contacts to provide this notification is to support schools and workplaces in risk managing their sites.  
• Close contacts (staff or students) are recommended to take a RAT test every two days until Day 7, ensuring they have a negative result before leaving home (eg to attend school). RAT tests will need to start from the day the person becomes a close contact (and then additional tests performed on days 2, 4 and 6).   

• Close contacts must wear a mask while outside their home if they are 12 years or older (or where they are a secondary student) until Day 7. Masks are recommended where safe for students under 12 years. This will apply across the community, including schools. The normal exemptions about mask wearing will remain (e.g. not required for a teacher where visibility of mouth is required or where there is a valid medical exemption).  

RAT TESTS for close contacts  

The provision of RAT tests to meet the close contact requirements is the responsibility of individual close contacts.  We encourage families to ensure they have tests for the purpose of testing close contacts.  We will continue to provide tests to any students or staff where they develop symptoms whilst at school.  

CAMPS and EXCURSIONS  

As we recommence more camps and excursions this term, we are working to ensure that all who attend maintain good health.  If you child is unwell or displaying symptoms of COVID-19 they must not attend an excursion or camp.  Each individual event will have a plan in place to manage any staff or students who develop COVID-19 symptoms whilst away from the College.   

We thank families for their vigilance in following these guidelines set by the government.  As we head into the cooler season it is important that we continue to maintain high levels of hygiene to reduce the amount of illness in our community, both COVID and the flu.  With the reduction of illness we have been able to open our College back up with more events and parental involvement which is fabulous.  We look forward to being about to continue this. 

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

During the term we have encouraged our students to operate from an “infinite mindset”, glass half full rather than glass half empty. Below is an article written by Gary Klaben which looks to highlight the practical application which can assist in students achieving their goals through wanting to be part of the journey.

“In school, you likely took a number of exams, many of which were true or false quizzes or tests. The answers were clear-cut, binary choices – they were either right or wrong, with no middle ground. If you didn’t know the answer, you still had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. There’s a simplicity to true or false tests, making them more popular with students (especially the poorly prepared students) than, say, essay question exams.

Now, if life were an exam, the only true/false question would be: “Do you play your life as infinite?” The remainder of the questions are of the more complicated essay question variety.

Simon Sinek writes about the finite versus infinite mindset in his article, “Infinite Life.” If you live your life with a finite mindset, your primary goals are to be richer than others, get promoted more quickly than others, have a bigger house than others…in other words, you’re always looking to win. And if winning is always your goal, then the only alternative to winning is losing. It’s one or the other, a binary result.

However, if you choose to live your life with an infinite mindset, you see a bigger picture in life. You look to build relationships with others, and you work toward a common good. Your goals center around making progress in these areas, as opposed to an end-game win/lose result.

Many areas of our lives can benefit from an infinite mindset. Whereas a finite mindset sees and focuses on scarcity, an infinite mindset will view abundance. Whereas a finite mindset says “I have to do this,” an infinite mindset frames it as “I GET to do this.” A finite mindset will hold on to sorrow. An infinite mindset acknowledges there is sorrow in life, but embraces joy and seeks it out.

For business owners with a finite mindset, employees are viewed as an expense. Infinite mindset business owners view their employees as an investment in the company and the future.

A finite mindset holds on to fear, which, in turn, leads to making poor decisions and to feelings of despair, ultimately closing you off from others. On the other hand, an infinite mindset chooses love, leading to an understanding of the world, opening you up to those around you, connecting you to each other.

Finite Mindset vs. Infinite Mindset | CoyleFinancialBlog.com”

Assessment Calendars

Assessment Calendars and exam timetables can be located on the College Website:

Our Lady of the Southern Cross College (dalby.catholic.edu.au)

If you have any questions about assessment, please contact your child's classroom teacher or myself.

Our Lady of the Southern Cross College is responsible for gathering evidence of student achievement on or before the due date for internal assessment instruments.

All students have electronic access via canvas to their assessment schedules and it is their responsibility to adhere to these due dates.

Students are responsible for planning and managing their time to meet the due dates.

Students and parents can contact teachers via phoning or emailing to help with communication. Teachers are not able to grant extensions directly with students and parents/carers.

Our Lady of the Southern Cross College is required to adhere to QCAA policies about due dates accepting assignments only on or before the due date unless an extension through AARA processes has been approved.  For example, a student who is absent due to family holidays will not be granted an extension for an assignment as this doesn’t meet the AARA guidelines set by QCAA.

Rodney Spain

Assistant Principal Senior Years

Minecraft Masters – Design Thinking

A small group of Middle Years students have been coming together to create designed solutions to real-world issues using Minecraft as the vehicle to build their prototypes. In a recent task, the students were challenged to create a new design for the old Myall 107 building that has been demolished by the Western Downs Regional Council. Their designs needed to include features including but not limited to:

• A cinema
• An art gallery
• A library
• An eating area and reception
• An indoor and outdoor recreation space
• A car park that could accommodate both cars and coaches

The designs that were submitted were all wonderful in a range of different ways, however, being a competition there needed to be a single winner. Luke Griffiths was judged by Miss Jacinta Willocks and myself to have edged out his competition and was awarded the best design. Well done to all of the competitors. Below are some images of the designs submitted by all entrants.

Attendance Matters

Term 1 certainly presented some challenges regarding attendance. The students listed below managed to have perfect attendance in Term 1, despite all of the challenges associated with illness, COVID-19 spikes and so on. For these students to get 100% attendance through this period shows a high level of dedication and commitment to their schooling. These students were invited to share a pizza lunch with me to acknowledge this fantastic achievement. Well done to the following students:

• Ryan Elder
• Madeleine Hemmings
• Kash Hunt
• Matthew Brennan
• Katie Parsons
• Luke Elder
• Kalina Riley
• Ava Bruce
• Miranda Child
• Marli Bruce
• Jack Gibson
• Lilly Nothdurft
• Henry Stephens
• Laney Werth
• Joaquin Mendez
• Brax Hunt

Why students should take drafting more seriously

Drafting is an important part of the writing process, however, I often hear students say “Well, it’s only the draft … that’ll do”. This is a dangerous mindset for students to possess.

Rarely does the first plan for anything end up being the best plan moving forward. Consequently, this may be the reason why some students feel like the draft of an assignment is of little value to the end product – how wrong hey are! Taking the drafting process seriously allows students to put their ideas on paper so they can rethink and rewrite them. By doing this they will be able to ask themselves whether the ideas they are presenting seem logical, whether their argument is clear, and where additional information and evidence is required.

Drafting is critical in terms of thinking the topic through; in fact, there are all sorts of questions students can ask themselves once they have written an initial draft. A draft also gives them something to show their teachers and to get vital feedback on.

Writing is a process that is made up of many steps. This process has been summarised in the diagram below. For some tasks, students will need to re-visit each step several times as they refine their ideas and enhance the quality of their written work.

Before students start their work
The first step in writing is to get some ideas down without attempting to structure or order them. This process is often called free-writing. At this point students should not attempt to edit but rather keep the ideas flowing. Brainstorming and creating concept maps are examples of simply getting some ideas out of the brain and down onto paper.

Organising Ideas
Once the ideas are down, now it is time to evaluate those ideas and to decide which ones would be best to use moving forward. Students should always double check the assessment at this point to remain aligned with the task at hand. Box plans are one structured way of organising ideas that are commonly used in the Middle Years. I encourage students to continue this process until it becomes second nature.

The First Draft
At this point, students need to follow their plan and write the first edition of their work. It is important to focus on the main idea and ensure that these are highlighted to the reader in a clear and succinct way. This step should focus on ensuring that the writing flows and that the necessary evidence is supplied to support the student’s argument. The editing does not happen at this stage.

Reviewing
Feedback is vital. It is great to have another person’s perspective on your work … especially if that person is the one who will eventually mark the assessment item. Student’s should not fear feedback form their teachers. It’s gold!

Editing
All too often, students re-submit their draft without taking on-board any of the feedback from the teacher. There is no logic in that decision. Instead, it is one of sheer laziness. Just imagine if inventors never considered feedback or modified/edited their inventions. Remember the first version of the motor car, aeroplane and mobile phone?

How can parents help?
Parents have an important role to play in the development of their child’s work. Encourage them to see the draft as a vital step on the journey to success. Do not accept that an incomplete draft is satisfactory. Do not let them think that “near enough is good enough” and ask them to read their work out load. If you cannot understand it, or they cannot even read it smoothly, then there is a great chance that it needs to be adjusted. Due dates are also deadlines.

As controversial as this next point may seem, if you want more evidence that an edited version of a written piece of work is better than the original, then consider Jimi Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower and Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah. With all due respect to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, I feel that the newer versions are better than the originals.  

Uniform Reminder

As the cool weather approaches it serves as a timely reminder of the expectations around uniform in Term 2 and Term 3. Please see below some key points about general uniform:

• On formal days, the red jumper is the approved first layer of protection against the cold. The black sports jacket can only be worn on these days as an additional layer to the red jumper.
• Female students are permitted to wear black stockings under their formal uniform.
• Students are to wear a College hat when outside.
• Formal shoes need to be in accordance with the College diary (page27) - Black, leather, lace-up, dress shoe. Black joggers will not suffice as formal shoes
• Hair needs to be neat, tidy, out of the face, and off the collar. Long hair tied back with a red, white, or black ribbon or similar.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years

How wonderful it has been to have visitors return to the College and volunteers once again working in our classrooms! The change in assembly format this year has meant that parents are welcome every week on Fridays at 8:50 should you wish to join us. On “odd” weeks (eg this is Week 5 of term, an odd week) we celebrate Whole College Assembly in the MPC, and on even weeks we celebrate Early Years Assembly with Prep-Year 4 students in the PAC. Each Early Years Assembly is led by a different class, allowing the students to practice important skills of oral presentation. I am extremely proud of how our students rise to the occasion and very grateful to our teachers for taking the time to prepare them so well. So far this year, we have seen a great choral display by Year 4’s, a terrific interactive explanation of how to use The Writing Train to improve our sentence construction by the Year 3’s, and a wonderful ripple of kindness from the Year 2’s.

Thankyou to those parents who are supporting classroom work by becoming volunteers. Please remember that the volunteer pack must be completed PRIOR to commencing in classrooms. Even if you think you will only make it once or twice throughout the year, I highly recommend you still complete the volunteer process ASAP so there are no hold ups for you when your time to volunteer comes around.

Prep to Year 3 students were also present this week for an informative session presented by Bravehearts. This important organisation aims to make Australia the safest place in the world to raise a child and their message was well received by our student audience. Thanks must go to the Heritage Bank who sponsored the visit so that our students were able to attend free of charge.

Attendance Data

Term 1 certainly presented us with many challenges, including attendance. In Term 2, we have refocused our mission to have “every day count” with high expectation for student attendance. Research has shown that once attendance drops below 93%, learning is impacted. The College has automatic checkpoints for attendance in place, and families can expect to be contacted by letter once attendance falls below 85% as this poses a significant risk to learning. With attendance already impacted by COVID and flooding, it is more imperative than ever to ensure your child attends school every day. It is essential that absences are saved for things such as illness rather than term time holidays or unnecessary days off. The best way to ensure quality learning is to support your child to be at school every day.

Coming Up

Next week we celebrate Under 8’s week with a variety of College events that promote interaction across the sectors. Praxis classes in the Senior Years have been busy preparing fun activities to share with our youngest students, as well as lunchtime activities across the week. We will also host another Come and Try day on Tuesday for others to experience the OLSCC family in action. Please promote this event with your networks as it is a wonderful day for others to join us!

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

A lot has been going on with Culture in the past few weeks. Our Early Years classes and Choirs have been working steadily to prepare for their Eisteddfod performances on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 1 to 3 June. There will be letters coming out with information specific to your child’s performance, including bus times and costumes so please keep an eye out for that!

Below are screenshots from the Vocal and Choral Eisteddfod schedule to help you see when you child is performing.

Additionally, we’ve been working very hard on the beginning stages of Enchanted Evening. We have officially finished auditions, so thank you to everyone who came along. It was great to see the amazing talent our students have! Information about final casting decisions and rehearsals will be coming out very soon.

It’s not too late to sign up for the chorus! Just talk to Miss Creeley or Miss Nicholson.

Tamara Creeley

Middle Leader Culture

Darling Downs Rugby League Competition Results

No games have been played over the past fortnight due to the wet weather.

The draw for the next two weeks is listed below.

Week 6 Wednesday 25 May

Under 13 and Under 15 Teams have a Bye

Under 18 OLSCC vs St Joseph’s College 6pm Brothers Toowoomba

Round 7 Wednesday 1 June

Under 13 – Bye  

Under 15 OLSCC vs Highfields SSC at 3.30pm in Highfields  

Under 18 OLSCC vs Highfields SSC at 4.30pm in Highfields  

Bunya District Cross Country

Congratulations to all students who competed at the Bunya District Cross Country on Friday 6 May. The College had a fantastic day winning both the trophies for overall points and percentage points (based on school size). Age group results are listed below. Students who finished in the top 6 places were selected to attend the Darling Downs Cross Country Trials next week.

Under 10 Boys

Ben Barwick 4^th, Felix Twidale 11^th, Hugo Fraser 21^st, Vernon Borck 24^th

Under 11 Boys

Khoen Darr 3^rd, Will Hemmings 5^th, Cody Bryant 13^th, Angus Paffey 14^th

Under 12 Boys

Josh Barwick 2^nd, Will Barwick 3^rd, Ryker Filewood 4^th, Talon Burton 5^th, Innes Dellit 9^th

Under 10 Girls

Isabelle Manley 2^nd, Lexie Forbes 5^th, Ella Ramage 9^th, Lily Ryan 13^th, Lainey Geiger 16^th

Under 11 Girls

Gemma Sullivan 1^st, McKenzie Meacle Lyell 4^th, Chloe Cassidy 9^th, Charlotte Colquhoun 10^th

Under 12 Girls

Molly Gibson 1^st, Lucy Cusack 7^th, Lucinda Conn 11^th, Jacinda Smith 15^th

 

QCIS Cross Country

The QCIS Cross Country will be held on Wednesday 1 June at Downlands College in Toowoomba. This is for students in the Under 10- Under 18 age group. Letters have been sent home to all students who are invited to attend.

Athletics Carnival

Junior Carnival

Under 5- Under 11 Age Groups

Wednesday 22 June

Senior Carnival

Under 12- Under 18 Age Groups

Monday 6 June 6 and Tuesday 7 June

1500m Races

Friday 3 June at 12.10pm

Volleyball

Best of luck to the Year 8 and Year 9 Girls Volleyball teams who will attend the QLD Intermediate Schools Cup Volleyball Competition in Toowoomba next weekend. The girls have been training early mornings and weekends in preparation for this competition. Both teams played trial games against Harristown SHS last week. The Year 9 team played against the Harristown SHS Year 12 team, and our Year 8 girls team played against Harristown SHS Year 9 girls.

QISSN Netball

Congratulations to the QISSN Girls Netball Team who defeated St Josph’s College 32-22 in a trial game in Toowoomba this week.

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

Careers Development

Click on the picture links below to learn about why Careers Development is important and what the role of a Careers Development Practitioner involves. Mrs Baxter, the College Careers Development Practitioner can support students as they develop pathways and work towards VET or University degrees.

Careers Expo

It is on again for 2022. The Careers Expo at the PCYC is being held on Friday 22 July and is open to students from Year 8 to 12. See the flyer for more details.

University Open Days 

Griffith University 

Creative Arts Open Day 

Sunday 12 June, 12pm – 3pm, South Bank campus 

Open Day 

Sunday 14 August, 9 am – 2 pm, Gold Coast and Nathan campuses 

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) 

Open Day 

Gardens Point campus - Sunday 31 July, 9am – 3pm 

QUT Online Evening 

Wednesday 31 August, 4pm – 8pm (TBC) 

University of Southern Queensland 

2022 Open Day dates 

University of Southern Queensland Ipswich and Springfield (USQ) – Sunday 14 August 

University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba (USQ) – Sunday 21 August 

University of the Sunshine Coast 

Open Day – Moreton Bay 

Sunday 24th July 2022 

Open Day – Sunshine Coast 

Sunday 7th August 2022 

Libby Baxter

Careers Development Practitioner

Technology and Our Kids.

As a society there are many concerns being raised about the impacts that technology is having on our kids. The research within psychology is presenting us with conflicting findings. It’s very hard to measure the negative impacts of technology when there are so many variables to measure or to account for. For example, are we measuring the time on a screen, like reading, gaming, watching tv or just social media time? If we are just measuring social media time, are we including all platforms or just one?

The main message from digital researchers is to question are all your child’s needs being met? For example, are they getting enough sleep, movement, connection with their family and community? Like any form of addiction, it becomes a problem if it’s preventing other needs being met.

Safety.gov.au is a government site that you can access for resources and information about your child’s digital health. This is their checklist of signs to look out for regarding screen time use.

Signs to watch for Time online | eSafety Commissioner

Signs that your child’s online activity may be having a negative impact on them or on your family include: 

• less interest in social activities like meeting friends or playing sport
• not doing so well at school
• tiredness, sleep disturbance, headaches, eye strain 
• changes in eating patterns
• reduced personal hygiene
• obsession with particular websites or games
• extreme anger when being asked to take a break from online activity
• appearing anxious or irritable when away from the computer
• becoming withdrawn from friends and family

For more information you can peruse Jocelyn Brewers website. She is a teacher and a psychologist who specialises in digital nutrition. I’ve added a link below that explains how to implement family technology agreements. Be warned, it involves the adults also following the agreement ?

Explainer: Family Technology-use Agreements - Jocelyn Brewer

Katrina Ballantyne

College Counsellor

There is trend among young people in the wider community of engaging in a dangerous habit of using vaping products. Many are completely unaware of the health implications of these products and the chemicals that they are inhaling. Unfortunately, the mindset is that this is an innocent and harmless fun activity, however, the damaging impacts can be not only life-long but life threatening. Please review the information in the document Unveil what you Inhale: Let’s not sugar coat it below to get a more complete picture of the dangers associated with vaping.

In response to a small group of students bringing prohibited items to school, such as vaping products, we are now conducting locker checks at random. Locker numbers will be chosen via a random number generator and then checked to ensure there are no prohibited items, their internal state is neat and tidy, and that students are using them appropriately.

During the random checks this week, we have uncovered a number of aerosol deodorants and some bottles of perfume. It is important that parents and students are reminded that these items are listed in the College diary as prohibited. Their use around the College poses a safety risk, especially for the asthmatics in our community. Please note that roll-on deodorant is permitted.    

High levels of attendance coupled with high levels of engagement lead to great academic outcomes. Please review the Attendance Matters document below for some figures around the importance of attending school all day, every day.

Out College expectations is for student to be fully engaged and to experience success at school is to hit 93% attendance. Research indicates that attendance rates below this figure lead to negative impacts on academic outcomes. Students and their families can check their attendance rates via Student Portal.

Each year, The Dalby Herald runs a feature gallery of photos of all the Prep and Year 1 students from around the district. Everyone loves to see their kids in the paper and we are no exception. Click on the link for access to this feature and you will see our students really enjoyed having their photos taken by the newspaper reporter from Dalby Herald.

 https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/dalby/ultimate-guide-to-dalbys-my-first-year-2022-prep-photos/news-story/e98e19532c74f8c1a76f4059c4a1403c 

We welcome you to come and try a day at OLSCC with our amazing teachers next Tuesday, 24 May.

Hi, my name is Kim Francis and I am the new tuckshop convenor at OLSCC. I look forward to serving your children and College staff a range of healthy, fun, quality food items throughout the year.

During Term 2, you may notice some changes to our menu as I add different options and new menu items for all to enjoy. I would also like to add some new specials to the menu with the support of our community so we can share different flavours and cultures.

If you would like to share your cooking skills and/or culture with our staff and students here at OLSCC, we would love to have you come and volunteer in our Tuckshop and share your idea. If you are just happy to come along and help out one day a week or month, we'd also love to hear from you. 

Our Tuckshop needs the support of school community, not just by ordering our delicious food but also by volunteering to help thoughout the year. Our Tuckshop runs Monday - Friday from 8:30am - 2:30pm with the busiest days being Thursday and Friday. If you are interested in giving an hour or more of your time weekly, monthly or even once a term it will be greatly appreciated. Please contact the College Office and ask for Kim at the Tuckshop so we can work out a time that will suit you.  

Term 2 fees are due for payment on 26 May 2022.

Please contact the College Business Manager, Sarah Hall, if you have any concerns in meeting this deadline.