Term 3 Welcome

A big welcome back to all of our community for Term 3!  Like most previous years, Term 3 2022 will be action packed with camps, excursions, athletics carnivals, retreats, and lots of engagement in the curriculum.  We will also see our first “Enchanted Evening” lead by Miss Creeley and Miss Nicholson, Our Lady of the Southern Cross Day (1 September), as well as the official blessing and opening of the Middle Years Plaza, The Chapel, Agribusiness Pathways Precinct, and the Grounds and Maintenance Shed.  Needless to say, it’s important that everyone in our community take note of the dates in newsletters, and those sent out by your child’s teachers so activities and events are not missed. In this newsletter is a College Term 3 Calendar for you to print and hang on your fridge.  Alternatively, feel free to ask for a hard copy from the office.

Today’s Assembly

I must congratulate Jaiken Crothers and Claudia Child, our College Captains, on their progressive development of whole College Assemblies throughout the year.  Today’s assembly was a wonderful celebration of success and a true reflection of the amazing College we are all so proud to be part of.  This year’s NAIDOC theme is “Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up!”, as presented by Mrs Ballantyne, and we reflected on how we need to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! in all aspects of our lives – whether it be getting to school, helping others make better decisions, fighting for change or simply getting to class. My message to the students this morning was that our little school is an exceptional one.  We constantly perform significantly better than others expect of us, and that is largely because we simply Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! in everything we do.  Our celebration of success at this week’s assembly certainly shows the phenomenal humans that the community of OLSCC continues to grow.

New Jackets for Middle and Senior Years!

The conversations regarding an alternate jacket for Middle and Senior Years has been ongoing for a long time now.  I am proud to say that the new jacket is now available from the Uniform Shop! The feedback from students and parents so far is excellent and we are excited to see that students will look smarter, feel warmer and require less uniform items as this jacket can be worn with any uniform.  It is only marginally more expensive than the sports jacket at $82.50.  This is only for students in Years 5-12, and there are only 90 jackets in the first shipment which I expect to sell out fast.  The uniform shop is open Tuesday (8 - 9:30am) and Thursday (3 - 5:30pm) every week of the term. 

College Coach and Car

On the last day of school last term, some criminals broke into the grounds shed and stole various tools as well as the College Car.  This was obviously quite a surprise the night before the car was due to drive to Mackay for a sport trip, though we are grateful that the car has been found, along with the criminals, in Wagga Wagga, some 1100 kilometres from Dalby.  The car is being processed by NSW police and will take some repair and checking before returning to the College.

This morning our College Coach had a little disagreement with a camphor laurel tree in Toowoomba and is on its way to Ipswich to be repaired.  No one except the driver was in the coach at the time, and everyone is safe and sound.  Students are being collected by a private company to return to the College from TCS Athletics and the Hybrid Learning Day today, and all future trips have been arranged with alternate providers.  This means no-one will miss out on any camps, retreats, excursions or sport due to this minor incident, and we look forward to having the coach back as soon as the parts are sourced.

Peter Cuskelly

Principal

Semester 2 is off to a great start, everyone looked fabulous for the College photos on Tuesday!  Term 3 and 4 are busy terms with lots of learning and extra things going on in our College community. 

Sentral for Parents App (Parent Portal) 

Sentral have released an updated version of their Sentral for Parents App for both IOS(Apple) and Android devices.  There are no changes to the functionality that will be experienced by parents, however you will notice some changes in how you can use the app. 

Some of the key changes are: 

• New navigation bar at bottom of the screen 
• Easier to switch between schools (if at more than one TCS school) 
• Clearer student cards to access more detailed information 

Check out these updates which make the APP easier to use. 

COVID rule changes and what that means for our Community  

Vaccination: 

At the end of last term, the Queensland Government made changes to the restrictions around vaccinated and unvaccinated people on school campuses, effective from 1am, 30 June 2022.  These changes affect our College in a number of ways: 

• All parents regardless of vaccination status may now volunteer with our students – all volunteers must complete the TCS Volunteer Induction Process including completion of form before they are able to commence this work (available at https://www.twb.catholic.edu.au/work-and-learn-with-us/volunteers-and-visiting-service-providers/). If this enables you to now help out in our College, please complete and return this form from this webpage before you commence.  Forms will be updated shortly by TCS but in the meantime ignore the box requiring proof of vaccination.   
• All teachers regardless of vaccination status may be employed to work with our classes. 
• All other volunteers and service providers may enter the College to complete their work regardless of their vaccination status.  They must still complete the necessary induction and paperwork before this work can be completed.   

Mask wearing: 

The deputy premier has advised that mask wearing is not mandated in schools, except for those staff and students returning from a period of COVID isolation.  We also understand that mask wearing is an effective level of defense against the spread of COVID, staff and students are welcome to wear masks as an extra protective measure if the individual wishes to do so.   

RATs: 

RATs may be provided at a school level to students and staff where the student or staff member develops symptoms of COVID-19 while at school.  Staff or students who develop symptoms at home should access their own RATs to test or via their doctor and Queensland Health testing.  Attendance for COVID positive cases will still be recorded as such, so please ensure you notify the office if this is the reason for your child’s absence.   

IGNITE CONFERENCE 2022 

Staff, Students and families are invite to join with thousands of people who will gather for this year’s Ignite Conference 2022:  The Moment.  Ignite Conference is a bold vision for the future of the Church.  A Church passionate about discovering a real, present God and gathering a generation to be on fire for Jesus.  Within each day, the elements of the Conference are designed to be inviting and allow people to encounter a real and present God in their midst.  Ignite Conference has something for everyone.  Youth will be inspired in the Ignite High stream, it provides relevant faith experiences presented by young experts.  For adults, Ignite Central will feature keynotes and workshops from leading and engaging presenters, covering areas such as spirituality. leadership, justice and culture.  Streams are also available for young adults and primary school students.  If you would like to know more check out their webpage for schedules and registration www.igniteconference.com.au  

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. You can support and get to know your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities through activities and events held across the country.  

God of all creation, as we journey together in this Great Southern Land, we pray for healing, forgiveness, and unity, Creating a path of goodwill, with justice and compassion. Jesus, through the power of your love, You have given us the courage, wisdom, and strength to share our gifts and talents in humility. In peace and understanding, we reconcile with each other. Creator Spirit, we come together in prayer and thanksgiving for the many blessings we have received. Allow your Spirit to wash over us and give us strength to walk together as one.

As I welcome all students back to the College for the commencement of Term 3, I would also like to take this opportunity to send some reminders about our uniform policy. Please read through the list below carefully:

Haircuts
Please ensure all haircuts satisfy the policy listed in the College Diary (page26/27). Whilst this is especially important when we begin the term, it is important that families also monitor hair length and styles throughout the term to ensure hair and grooming remains of a standard that is acceptable at the College. 

Uniform
We are of course still in winter and as such the ties are still a compulsory part of the boy’s uniform. A reminder too that the red jumper is to be worn before students wear the sports jacket on formal uniform days. Our new black jackets have arrived and are also available at the uniform shop for purchase. Formal shoes are also black, leather, lace up dress shoes and the sport shoe must be black. A small amount of white trim is permitted but all other colours are prohibited. Sport socks also must be plain and free of coloured logos of any sort. 

Lunchboxes
Over the course of the year, some students have become increasingly lazy when it comes to returning their lunchboxes to their bags and lockers at the conclusion of lunch breaks. This creates not only a messy Middle Years Plaza at the end of the school day, but also encourages animals such as mice to feast on the leftovers that have been abandoned by the students. Please note that if items are left in the Plaza area at the end of the school day, they will be disposed of in rubbish bins.

Headspace – Save the Date

In Semester Two, we will be fortunate to have Headspace presenters attend the College to once again work with our Middle Years students on topical issues and to assist in their transition into the next year level. This term, we are also very fortunate to be able to offer a staff and parent session which will be held on August 2 (5pm – 6:30pm). This will be an excellent chance for parents and staff to gather and discuss important matters such as understanding the impacts of mental health on teenagers, noticing chances in young people (early warning signs) and identifying strategies that can be implements to increase connection and communication with our young students. All parents are welcome to attend the session. 

STEM Punks – Innovation Sports
On Saturday July 23 the College is looking to enter 2 teams in the World Science Fair STEM Punks Innovation Sports competition which will be held in Chinchilla. The Innovation Sports competition is a design thinking and problem-solving challenge that tests students in working together to create realistic solutions to set problems. The competition uses Minecraft as the mode of building the prototype designed solutions and is lots of fun. If you think your child would like to be included in one of the teams, please do not hesitate in contacting me at the College for more information.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years

The beginning of a new term always brings such excitement! Students and teachers have had a chance to rest, restore and refill their cup. The anticipation of a clean slate, new goals to set and friendships to consolidate give us much to look forward to.

Term 3 always has plenty on offer: MS Readthon, Delicious and Delightful festival, Culture Day, Optiminds, Book Week, Shake N Stir dramatic performances and swimming for Prep-Year 3 classes, just to name a few! As round 1 of enrolment draws to a close and paperwork is finalised, we look forward to welcoming many new friends to our Shooting Stars pre-Prep program later in the term. In addition to these extra-curricular activities, teachers have continued to plan engaging lessons utilising high impact teaching strategies to deliver the curriculum. We look forward to a wonderful term ahead.

Over the next week, all Early Years classes will receive an email outlining the course overviews for the learning that will happen in each year level. These are intentionally sent home at the BEGINNING of each term so that you can support your child by referring back to these to discuss the learning that is happening. It is particularly helpful to phrase these discussions using the questions that we use at the College as part of our Visible Learning journey –

• What are you learning? (students refer to the Learning Intention in class)
• How are you doing? How do you know? (students check the Success Criteria to respond to this)
• How can you improve? (what feedback do you have from the teacher or peers that can help to bump your learning up?)
• Where will you go for help?

You should also be hearing plenty of mention of the Learning Dispositions and the Learning Pit during these discussions. Feel free to share any stories back to either your teacher or myself as we love to hear how the learning conversations happen at home.

In wonderful news, we are finally able to begin our Little Stars Playgroup this term! We welcome a new co-ordinator, Mrs Nicole Horchner, who is looking forward to connecting with families! Details include:

Who?  Parents and children under school age – bring a friend as well!

When? Every Friday during school terms, 9:00am-11:00am

Where? OLSCC Prep Green room

What? Bring along a fruit snack, drink and hat for your child, meet other young families and have fun!

Playgroup will begin NEXT WEEK on Friday 22 July. As the school is closed in week 3 for Bishop’s Inservice Day for all staff, the next playgroup will occur in Week 4, Friday 5 August.

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

Just a reminder that the parking area in front of the Prep buildings includes 10 parks with 2 minute windows so that traffic congestion is avoided.

Disappointingly, these time restrictions are being tested, and at times, completely ignored by members of our community. Continuing, this leads to decreased traffic flow, more congestion and is likely to result in financial loss through traffic fines as this parking area will be actively patrolled by police and council to ensure it is used appropriately.

Simply adhering to the traffic rules will avoid unwanted intervention and fines.

If parents wish to stop the car and walk into the College, they should park:

• Further along Nicholson Street in front of the staff carpark
• On the opposite side of Nicholson Street to the College
• Further along Nicholson Street in front of the Senior School (where there will soon be the new parks painted in). This is also a viable option for drop and go, as students can enter the College by following the cement path and heading towards the Early Years without having to cross a driveway or the road.

During the month of August, members of the OLSCC community are invited and encouraged to join us as we participate in the MS Readathon.

The MS Readathon inspires kids to read as much as they can, all for one incredible cause. The rules are simple. Read whatever you like, as much as you can, throughout the month of August. Best of all, by joining our quest, not only will you awaken a love of reading, you will also be encouraging kids helping kids. Funds raised from the MS Readathon will help fund vital support services, like the special MS Family Camps and Family Fun Days. These camps provide an opportunity for kids who have a parent living with multiple sclerosis to spend quality time with their family, learn more about multiple sclerosis and bond with other kids who are sharing their journey. MS Family Camps and Family Fun Days are in huge demand, and our input can help to make sure everyone who needs them can go.

Any members of our community (students, siblings, parents, friends) can register with our school via the following link:

MS Readathon - Our Lady of the Southern Cross College

If your child is already registered to participate, you are able to still join our school team! Follow the prompts on the MS Readathon website to do so as we would love to have a huge team!

We start things off with a bang as we have 23 students performing in the Dalby Speech and Drama Eisteddfod across Thursday and Friday in Week 2. I know these students have been rehearsing all holidays in preparation and we wish them the best of luck!

We also received our lanterns this week for Delicious and Delightful festival. This means we get to spend the next few weeks preparing and painting these ready to show them off at the festival in August.

Enchanted Evening is going full steam ahead, getting ready for our performance in Week 9! This term we kick off our Saturday rehearsals in addition to Thursday afternoon to make sure we are really practising hard to give you the best performance! As always though, rehearsal attendance is based on what scenes we are working on so please make sure you check the most recent rehearsal schedule to see if you are required. I can’t wait to see everyone’s smiling faces this Saturday!

Tamara Creeley

Middle Leader Culture

Darling Downs Rugby League Competition Results

Under 13 Semi Final

OLSCC defeated Lockyer District SHS

Under 18 Grand Final

Lockyer District SHS defeated OLSCC 18-10

Under 13 Grand Final

OLSCC vs Dalby SHS – 4pm Wednesday 3 August

Under 18 Berwick / McCullough Shield Final

OLSCC vs Dalby SHS 5pm Wednesday 3 August 

Girls Rugby Sevens

The College will participate in a newly formed Darling Downs Independent Schools Rugby Sevens Competition being held on Friday afternoons. The first round will be held on Friday 22 July in Toowoomba. Age Groups will be Under 13, Under 15 and Under 18. Training for all teams will be on Monday afternoons. Draws and permission forms will be sent home, once finalised.

QISSRL / QISSN Netball and Rugby League Tour

Congratulations to all players involved with the Confraternity Shield Rugby League and QISSN Netball Carnival held on the first week of the school holidays. The Netball team began the competition well and finished the week moving up a division. The Rugby League team accepted an invitation with two weeks’ notice to move up from Division 3 to Division 2. The boys handled this challenge with ease and played fantastic Rugby League all week to finish the carnival undefeated and winning the Division 2 Championship. Thanks to all parents, staff, supporters and sponsors for their commitment to these teams in 2022. Preparations have already begun for the 2023 Carnivals in Brisbane.

Confraternity Shield Rugby League

Game 1

OLSCC defeated Clairvaux MacKillop College 28-6

Men of League Man of the Match – Lyhkan King Togia

OLSCC Man of the Match – Hunter James

Game 2

OLSCC defeated Holy Spirit Mackay 22-10

Men of League Man of the Match – Bailey Skinner  

OLSCC Man of the Match – Wil Brady

Game 3

OLSCC defeated Blackheath Charters Towers 34-0

Men of League Man of the Match – Lyhkan King Togia

OLSCC Man of the Match – Bailey Rathmell

This placed the Boys first in Pool D at the conclusion of the round games.

Quarter Final

OLSCC defeated St Laurence’s College 20-4

Men of League Man of the Match – Lyucian King Togia

OLSCC Man of the Match – Joe Gillett

Semi Final

OLSCC defeated St Michael’s Carrara 24-10

Men of League Man of the Match – Joe Gillett

OLSCC Man of the Match – Joe Sankey

Grand Final

OLSCC defeated St Edmund’s Ipswich 28-10

Men of League Man of the Match – Hunter James

OLSCC Man of the Match – Lyhkan King Togia

Brayden Falvey was awarded the Spirit of Confraternity Medal

Lyhkan King Togia was named the OLSCC Player of the Carnival

QISSN Netball

Pool H – Team finished 3^rd

Game 1

St Anthony’s Townsville defeated OLSCC 24-6

Game 2

All Souls Charters Towers defeated OLSCC 17-16

Game 3

OLSCC defeated Gilroy Santa Maria Ingham 15-10

Game 4

OLSCC defeated Southern Cross Annadale 19-12

Game 5

OLSCC defeated St Mary’s Kingaroy 29-5

Game 6

Fraser Coast Anglican College defeated OLSCC 14-8

Game 7

OLSCC defeated Blackheath Charters Towers 19-9

Finals in Pool G

St Mary’s Ipswich defeated OLSCC 20-14

St John’s Roma defeated OLSCC 15-9

Southern Cross Annadale defeated OLSCC 19-9.

Carla Nobbs was named OLSCC Player of the Carnival

Athletics

The All-Age Relay, Gillespie and Tresillian Gift Races, Staff / Junior / Senior Captains Relay and the Circular Relay will be held in the afternoon session on Our Lady of the Southern Cross Day on Thursday 1 September. Age Champions and Runners Up awards will be presented at College Assembly on Friday 12 August.   

Junior School Results

Bunya District Athletics Carnival

The Bunya District Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 22 July. Students who have been selected to attend have been notified.

Inner Downs Athletics Carnival

The Inner Downs Athletics Carnival will be held on Tuesday 26 July at Dalby Christian College. Students who have nominated to compete will be given all paperwork next week.

QLD Combined Independent Schools Athletics Carnival

The QCIS Athletics Carnival will be held on Monday 1 August at Downlands College in Toowoomba. This is for students aged Under 10 – Open. Students who have been selected to represent the College at this event will be notified next week.

QLD School Sports Reps

Congratulations to Tiffany Ham and Jasper Filewood who have been selected in QLD School Sports Teams following the conclusion of State Championships late last term. Tiffany will attend the National Under 15 Girls Volleyball Championships at the Sunshine Coast in August. Jasper will attend the National Under 12 Touch Football Championships in Wagga Wagga in October.

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

We have commenced this term by celebrating NAIDOC week. NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A big shout out to the Year 4 students who have displayed their research of inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the College's Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a collection of indigenous art and student created biographies that can be viewed at the entrance of the College, past the library and MPC. We have celebrated NAIDOC week with art, research, acknowledgment and indigenous games.

Headspace is coming to Our Lady of the Southern Cross College in Week 4 on Tuesday 2 August and Wednesday 3 August. Tuesday (2/8/22) evening the College is hosting Headspace for a parent presentation. Although this parent information session is designed for parents with teenagers, parents of younger children are welcome to come along. Experts are advising to “train” your child to be a teenager before they are a teenager. This involves starting some discussions such as technology boundaries before they are emotionally invested in the outcome. This evening will be a head’s up in some discussions that you may wish to start sooner rather then later. Please see the flyer below for details. This flyer will also be uploaded on Facebook and emailed to parents along with a quick registration form.

Our Come and Try Day for Term 3 is coming up soon! If you know anyone who has been wondering what a day is like here at Our Lady of the Southern Cross College, please encourage them to join us and try it out for themselves! Details are:

• Wednesday 27 July
• Open to any student who will be Yr 1-12 in 2023
• Please register at the College Office on 46724111
• Come for an hour, a half a day, a full day – choose your own adventure!

The OLSCC Library Staff invites P – 4 students

to our annual

Book Week Dress-up Parade

Wednesday 24 August

in the College MPC

from 10.00am

Please come dressed as your favourite book character

The theme this year is ‘Dreaming with eyes open’

Hope to see you there!