Sunday 11 - Friday 16 Sept - Year 6 Outback Tour

Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 - Year 9 Camp Noosa

Thursday 15 September - Year 2 Invention Convention

Friday 16 September - Term 3 concludes

Catholic Education Week

It was a pleasure to attend the Queensland Catholic Education Week launch at St Patrick's Cathedral on Tuesday morning.  Although the crowd was small due to COVID concerns, it was a fitting beginning to the celebration of the exceptional highlights of Catholic education in Queensland.  This year we celebrate being Communities of Faith, Hope and Love across all of our Diocese, and reflect that the greatest of these is love. When we reflect on the behaviours of love, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 best explains… “⁴ Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

I ask all our community to consider how their lives reflect this simple message about Communities of Faith, Hope and Love.  We are reminded that our material possessions are merely worldly possessions, and we should focus on our own Faith, Hope for a sustainable and enhanced future for out next generations, and love for all, especially those who walk in the margins as Jesus did.

Tomorrow our staff will gather as a Community of Faith, Hope and Love as we listen to the message of the Bishop Robert McGuckin, Dr Pat Coughlan (Executive Director Toowoomba Catholic Schools) and Christian Brother Damian Price, a remarkable leader of a lived Catholic faith.  We will hear many messages which will then be translated to the students over coming weeks and we are sure that the time dedicated to this learning will be of considerable benefit for the future of our Diocese.  It is also rather timely to listen again to Brother Price, as he is a regular visitor to our College, and will be working with us again in term 4 as we plan for a renewed service learning philosophy across all P-12 Colleges in the Diocese. 

A reminder that all aspects of the College will be closed for Bishop’s Inservice Day tomorrow, including the office.

OLSCC P&F Association

We currently only have one executive member of the College P&F Association which means we essentially cannot function, fundraise, or utilise raised funds until this is rectified.  Next week I will announce a P&F extraordinary meeting in order to appoint an executive team, make some important decisions regarding the intent, vision and purpose of the P&F, and get a renewed membership to begin the next chapter at OLSCC.  In doing so, I would like to acknowledge and thank the outgoing executive for the huge amounts of work that they have undertaken in recent years to keep the P&F running, as well as make significant contributions to the education of each and every child at OLSCC.  Items such as the College Coach, Middle Years Plaza, Coffee Machines for Barista Courses, the whole college bell and alarm system, new fridges throughout the College, the interactive whiteboards and laptops in every room and much, much more are all heavily supported by the P&F.  Thank you for your service and dedication to all involved!

Jacobsons Representing for Pancreatic Cancer

Lachlan and Blake Jacobson spoke at the last whole College Assembly regarding their Aunty, Marianne Finch, who is currently halfway through the Mongolian Rally.  Essentially, she is riding 1000 kilometres over 10 days on horseback in a gruelling competition in order to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer, an illness very close to the heart of the family.  Please find the time and a few dollars to click on the link below and help raise some funds for this great cause.

https://pankind-fundraising.raisely.com/marianne-finch

Mrs Walton

We all know she deserves it, though we’re all still a little sad that Mrs Walton is heading off for 5 weeks of long service leave in the snow with her last day at school being tomorrow.  Mrs Bennie will be Acting Assistant Principal Early Years during Mrs Walton’s absence and Mrs Cruickshank will be teaching 3B.  We kindly welcome back Mrs Cruickshank, wish Mrs Walton the best of luck on her holiday, and look forward to supporting Mrs Bennie as she tries her hand at a new role.

Cunnamulla Leadership Forum

In Week 5, I will be attending the Cunnamulla Leadership Forum focussing on “Staying on Mission”.  This will provide a wonderful opportunity to gain better insights into new initiatives from Toowoomba Catholic Schools, the strategic initiatives for 2023 and beyond, and an opportunity to work collaboratively with other principals to align the great work happening across the Diocese. 

Peter Cuskelly

Principal

This week we celebrate Catholic Education Week as communities of faith, hope and love.  There are 313 Catholic Schools in Queensland that educate around 154 000 students and employ more than 22 000 teachers and staff.  We joined in prayer on Monday as a whole College to celebrate our catholic story as a community of faith, hope and love.  What a privilege it is to be a part of our thriving Catholic community here at OLSCC.

Year 11 Retreats

Last Friday during Praxis, the Year 11 students hosted Retreats for all classes from Prep – Year 4.  This was the culmination of a project as part of their Praxis where they learnt about the importance of Retreats, their structure and then they planned their own retreats for their nominated P-4 class. Retreats are core learning experiences specifically aimed at allowing students to ‘access the sacred’ within their everyday lives.  They involve participation, sharing and engagement.  All of the retreats planned by Year 11 students were based around the theme communities of faith, hope and love.  It was a joy to watch the engagement of our younger and older students and the thought and reflection that was provoked by these retreats. 

AWARD NOMINEES

As part of Catholic Education Week, we celebrate members of our community who have served our catholic school. 

Spirit of Catholic Education Week Nominees

The Spirit of Catholic Education Awards are presented annually in conjunction with Catholic Education Week to recognise individuals or teams making an outstanding contribution to Catholic education in Queensland.

Kathy Crump

Andrea Gormley

Long Service Awards

Each year we acknowledge those members of our TCS community who have provided long service to Catholic education. Thank you to the following people for their long service to our communities!

Michelle Imhoff – 20 years

Kathy Morgan – 40 years

Finalists for Toowoomba Catholic Schools Awards

Kristen Bennie – Excellence in Teaching and Learning – Primary Expert Teacher

Andrea Gormley – Excellence in Education Support – Teaching and Learning Support

eLearning Collective – includes Rod Spain & Tyron Fraser – Excellence in Teaching and Learning – eLearning

The winners of these awards will be announced at a Toowoomba Catholic Schools Dinner in the future. 

Bishop’s Inservice Day

On Friday 29 July, the students have a pupil free day so staff from our College can gather for a formation day as part of Catholic Education Week.  This day would normally be hosted in Toowoomba as a gathering of all the metropolitan schools of the Diocese.  Due to the increase in COVID cases in our state, this year we will gather in Dalby as a College and remotely access this event.  On this day, we listen to keynote speeches by our Bishop, Robert McGuckin, our Executive Director Dr Patrick Coughlan and Br Damien Price. Staff will workshop with Br Damien around the theme ‘Be the Change’. Our College has worked closely with Br Damien over the past three years and we look forward to this opportunity to work with him again this year.  It is also a wonderful opportunity for all College staff to work together, not just teaching staff.  Due to the involvement of all staff in this formation the College office will be closed on Friday for the entire day.

COVID – the next wave

As the next wave of COVID passes through our community, it is timely to be reminded of what we can do to slow the wave and protect ourselves and others.

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.  Masks are available in all classrooms if students would like one during the school day. 

Ventilation:

Although the weather is cooler we aim to ensure good ventilation in our classrooms to allow the flow of fresh air into the rooms.  If your child is sensitive to the cold please ensure they have appropriate jumper for school.

If you are sick stay home:

If your child is experiencing any of the COVID symptoms they should stay home from school until they are well.  These symptoms include

• Fever
• Cough
• Loss of taste and smell
• Sore throat
• Headaches
• Aches and pains

It is important to regularly test for COVID if experiencing these symptoms to ensure you are not positive.  If you do test positive, you should follow the QLD Govt guidelines for isolation.  Children and staff who develop these symptoms whilst at school will be sent home and given a RAT to administer.

Good hygiene:

Good hygiene is a great defence against all germs and ‘bugs’ in our community.  All classrooms are supplied with hand sanitizer and all bathrooms adequately stocked with hand washing facilities.  Students are reminded to practice good hygiene when washing their hands, coughing or sneezing.  Together we should teach our children these good practices for life. 

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

Catholic Education Week 24 – 30 July 2022

Celebrated annually in Week 3 of Term 3, Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all 313 Catholic schools in Queensland to celebrate and promote their distinctive mission and ethos.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

This prayer for Catholic Education Week comes to us from Franciscan Schools Australia:

Creator God, bless all educators and people who work in Catholic schools today.

May your love embrace them all as we give thanks for their faith, dedication, patience and resilience.

May they be inspired by Christ the teacher, to continue to accompany young people in their schools with gentleness and compassion.

Grant that all schools, through the example of Christ the servant leader, be places that foster community, faith, hope and love.

In the words of Pope Francis, may we all be inspired during this week and throughout the year to become ‘people of thought, people of action, people of faith, people of hope, people of love, people of the construction of a better world’ as we embrace ALL OF CREATION.

Amen

Mary MacKillop Feast Day

A great example for us in Catholic education is Mary MacKillop.  Mary MacKillop was declared by Pope Benedict XVI to be Australia’s first canonised Saint. Pope Francis once called for all people of goodwill to “live fully, to choose to leave a mark.” This is something that Mary MacKillop indelibly did, transforming the lives of the poor and those most in need, when she, and the Sisters of Saint Joseph, opened the schools that went on to create the foundation of education in this country today.

“We must teach more by example than by word.” Mary MacKillop 1867

God of all blessings, you revealed in Mary MacKillop a sensitivity to the rights and dignity of every person, regardless of race or creed. May we learn from her to overcome the obstacles of prejudice and fear. Help us to value the goodness of each person and all the blessings of unity in diversity.
We ask this through the depth and unity of you, our bountiful God, who hold all things in being. 

Amen

 In the coming week, the College is fortunate to have Riki from Headspace once again working with our students on a range of age-appropriate topical issues. The focus for our Year 6 students is their transition into high school (albeit within the same school and sector) while the Year 7 and Year 8 groups will focus more on connecting with their peer groups

The student sessions will take place across Tuesday 2 August and Wednesday 3 August. This year, we are also inviting our parents to join the staff on 2 August at 5pm for a workshop covering teenage specific topics such as:

• Understanding mental health and well being in young people
• Noticing changes that a young person might be going through a tough time
• Identifying strategies to connect and communicate with young people
• Increased knowledge about how to best support a young person and where to access professional support.

Please use the QR code or the link below to RSVP for this event.

Link 

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=_f1LV0RCBUK3EBaPWwxYDfcTIL6pKHJIomnizicFr5lURTEzM1ozR1lPR0VBWTdRMFJJTTYxTjIxTi4u

Mental fitness matters. Check out the graphic below for some figures that the research suggests about our young students:

The information above is a reminder of the age old saying that prevention is better than cure.

If one in seven primary age students are likely to experience mental health problems in 2022 and one in three young people between aged 12 and 25 reporting they have high or very high levels of psychological distress, it is increasingly important for the College and families to work together to support and protect our young students.

Year 7 Enrolments

The enrolment application window for Year 7 in 2023 in closing soon. If you know of any families who are considering enrolling their child in Year 7 next year, please encourage them to submit all paperwork prior to the deadline – Friday August 5. Places are limited and it is unlikely that any additional enrolment rounds will be utilised.

Obviously, the best time to enrol your child at OLSCC is in Prep or Year 5 at the latest. This way students can take full advantage of our graduated transition into high school and they can capitalise on the programs we offer.    

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years

Congratulations to Year 2P who presented a wonderful explanation of The Learning Pit during assembly last week. Each Early Years assembly is led by one of the classes, and we have been given an excellent insight into what happens in our classrooms, with classes showcasing our off campus learning opportunities, our engagement with learning tools such as Write that Essay, and this week’s presentation on The Learning Pit. Year 2P generously allowed me to video them so that I can share it with you.

They have beautifully captured what it means to be a learner at OLSCC. In fact, as part of a class exploration around the cognitive verb ‘identify’ last week, one of the Early Years classes were learning that to ‘identify’ meant that they needed to ‘locate or recognise distinguishing features’. When I asked the group how they would ‘identify’ that a child was an OLSCC student, I expected them to tell me things such as the uniform they were wearing, or the bag they were carrying. Interestingly, most of the discussion actually centred around the qualities they displayed, with comments such as:

• “They would be the kind of kids that would get in the learning pit”
• “They would be curious”
• “They would be independent”
• “They use their learning dispositions to help them face a challenge”

This fortnight, we are specifically focusing on the disposition of motivation. This involves us working towards seeing and cultivating strong reasons to act or accomplish something, and in turn, we see our students embody the following:

• I strive to succeed 
• I want to learn 
• I value effort 
• I can make this even better

Yet again – this leads not only to success in learning, but success in life. There were several students sporting ‘Motivated’ stickers in classrooms today – well done!

This will be my final newsletter piece for a while as I embark on 5 weeks of Long Service Leave. I am excited for Mrs Kristen Bennie to fill my position in my absence as Acting Assistant Principal Early Years. I am sure there will be seamless transition and I know our College community will give her full support. In other great news, we are pleased to have Mrs Jane Cruickshank in to fulfill Mrs Bennie’s teaching commitments in the Year 3B classroom for the next 5 weeks. See you all in Week 9!

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

Rugby League

A Year 5/6 Team has been nominated to attend the Darling Downs Regional Shield to be played in Toowoomba on Wednesday 17 August. The team will have pool games against Mater Dei, Pittsworth SS, Glenvale SS and St Mary’s College. Training will continue on Monday afternoons in the lead up to the competition.

Darling Downs Under 13 Grand Final

OLSCC vs Dalby SHS – 4pm Wednesday 3 August at the Dalby Leagues Club

Under 18 Berwick / McCullough Shield Final

OLSCC vs Dalby SHS 5pm Wednesday 3 August at the Dalby Leagues Club

The series is locked at 1 game each. Any past players / old boys are invited to attend.

Girls Rugby Sevens

Darling Downs Independent Schools Competition Round 1 Results

Under 13 Girls

OLSCC defeated Downlands College

Glennie defeated OLSCC

TAS defeated OLSCC

Under 15 Girls

OLSCC defeated Downlands College 35-10

Glennie defeated OLSCC 30-10

TAS defeated OLSCC 25-10

Under 18 Girls

Downlands defeated OLSCC 30-15

Glennie defeated OLSCC 15-10

TAS defeated OLSCC 20-15

Round 2 will be played on Friday 5 August at Fairholme College and Toowoomba Anglican School.

Confraternity Shield

This year, for the first time, the College had five students who had the opportunity to attend the Confraternity Shield to play with schools short on numbers. Will Elder, Kurt Clarke and Lachlan Hart played for St Patrick’s College Gympie coached by Brisbane Broncos Development Officer Darren Burns. Gaby Anderton and Breanna Hoskin played for St Joseph’s College Toowoomba. We are hoping to keep this connection going with the St Joseph’s Girls team in future years.

Bunya District Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to all students who competed at the Bunya District Athletics Carnival on Tuesday. The College had a fantastic day winning both the overall points and average points trophies. Full results and selections will be in the next fortnight's newsletter.

1500m Race Results

Under 10 Boys – Ben Barwick 3^rd, Archie Stephens 6^th

Under 10 Girls – Lexie Forbes 5^th

Under 11 Boys – Khoen Darr 2^nd, Will Hemmings 7^th

Under 11 Girls – Gemma Sullivan 1^st, Charlotte Colquhoun 3^rd

Under 12 Boys – Jasper Filewood 2^nd, Ryker Filewood 3^rd

Under 12 Girls – Molly Gibson 1^st

Age Champions

Under 9 Boys – Charles Sullivan

Under 10 Girls – Isabelle Manley

Under 12 Boys – Jasper Filewood

QLD Combined Independent Schools Athletics Carnival

The QCIS Athletics Carnival will be held on Monday 1 August at Downlands College in Toowoomba. The Bus will depart the College at 6.30am. Best of luck to all competitors.  

Inner Downs Athletics Carnival

The Inner Downs Athletics Carnival will be held on Tuesday 2 August at Dalby Christian College. Students who finish in the first four places and meet qualifying standards will be eligible to attend the Darling Downs Trials on August 25-26.  

Cross Country

Congratulations to Gemma Sullivan who competed at the State Cross Country Carnival earlier this month on a wet, muddy course at the Gold Coast. Darling Downs finished fourth in the relay section of the event.

Touch Football

Best of luck to the Under 15 Boys, Under 15 Girls and Under 18 Mixed Touch Football Teams who will compete at the SWQ All Schools Championships in Toowoomba on Sunday 7 August.

Volleyball

Congratulations to all Years 7-9 students who attended the Darling Downs Schools Cup Volleyball Competition in Toowoomba last week. Thanks to Mrs Lincoln, Mrs Sullivan, Mrs Wilkins and Miss McDuff for coaching our teams along with Year 10 Boys Lyucian King Togia and Travis Tia. Some of the Year 9 Girls attended on both days – playing one day and coaching the other (Tiffany Ham, Summer and Bella Buckley, Taylor Marshall, Karlie Falvey, Monique Smith).

Results

Year 7 Boys 1 -4^th

Year 7 Boys 2 – 6^th

Year 8 Boys – Bronze Medal

Year 7 Girls – 8^th

Year 7/8/9 Girls Combined Team – Bronze Medal

Year 8 Girls – Silver Medal

Year 9 Girls – Gold Medal (in the Year 11/12 Competition)

Students selected in the All-Star Teams

Year 7 Boys 1 – Travis Collins

Year 7 Boys 2 – Archie Martin

Year 8 Boys – Mac Stirling

Year 7/8/9 Girls – Chloe Manteit

Year 7 Girls – Claire Davison

Year 8 Girls – Ava Boland

Year 9 Girls – Tiffany Ham

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

Hello parents and caregivers

A reminder that Headspace is coming out and presenting a workshop for parents at the college on Tuesday2 August. 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 heads up in some discussions that you may wish to start sooner rather than later. Please see the flyer below for details.

As indicated in 2021, there will be some changes to the College Student Leadership positions at Our Lady of the Southern Cross College in 2023 to reflect the changing nature of our sectors and Prep to Year 12 structure.   This is the first part of the changes as it effects the Whole College Leadership Positions.

Positions Available to 2023 Year 12 students only

College Prefects (6 students)

From these 6 prefects, 1 male and 1 female College Captain will be chosen

Positions Available to 2023 Year 12 students only

MacKillop House Leaders (2 students)

McAuley House Leaders (2 students)

Nolan House Leaders (2 students)

Rice House Leaders (2 students)

Who Can Apply for College Leadership Positions?

Any student currently in Year 11, so in Year 12 in 2023, who considers that they have the necessary leadership qualities and are confident that they can satisfy the selection criteria and fulfil the job description of the position.

Application Process

• Letter of Application
• Interview with College Leadership Team members
• Speech to students and staff (Year 5-12)
• Voting by student and staff body (Year 5-12)

Application packages have been distributed to 2023 Year 12 students.

Selection Process

At OLSCC we determine the successful applicants through the merit process, NOT the democratic process. Becoming a College Leader, therefore it is more like applying for a job, than winning an Emmy Award.  All aspects of the Selection Process will be taken into consideration to appoint these positions.  Where possible a balance of male and female leaders will be selected.  Students may apply for more both positions but will only be appointed in one position.  The final appointment will be made by the College Principal.

Opportunities for Leadership across P-11

The College values the contribution and voice of our younger students and our past Student Representative Councils.  Whilst these will not be formally appointed College Leadership Positions announced on Our Lady of the Southern Cross Day each year, students will have the opportunity to be involved in committees and leadership roles in other year levels.  These roles will be announced and granted in the new academic year.  Throughout Term 4 there will be further development and communication of leadership opportunities for our students in both Early, Middle and Senior Sectors, these include development of leadership skills rather than just positions of leadership to align with our work to grow great people through their journey at our College.  We are excited about this area of growth at the College.

On Saturday 23 July, we had a team participate in 'Innovation Sports' hosted as part of the World Science Fair in Chinchilla. Bella Bonnin, Dylan Peach, Lochie McNaughton and Luke Griffiths began strongly by building a playground in Minecraft that was accessible for all. Winning that round meant our team moved on to the final round; design and build a new area that enhances the parkland and includes a community garden area. Tensions were high as the final four teams began designing. After planning time, our team was released into their area to begin creating. Fingers flew across screens as the minutes ticked down. Our team is to be congratulated for an impressive display of creativity and teamwork and, taking out second place.

Congratulations to all!

On Wednesday the Year 6 students took part in the Origin Energy Solar Buddies program. The students learnt about sustainability, energy, poverty and global citizenship while building a portable solar light for children in Papua New Guinea. This program incorporated the Year 6 curriculum areas of Science, Technology and Praxis. The students had a lot of fun building the lights and writing letters to the children who will receive the solar lights. A big thank you to Mr Anthony Ham for facilitating this program for our Year 6 classes.

Lachlan (Lachie) Dignan

1. Where has your journey in faith and knowledge taken you in the 10 years since you graduated from OLSCC?

I have completed my University Degree to become a Secondary Teacher and now work at Kelvin Grove State College as the College Sports Coordinator and coordinate the Volleyball Excellence Program.

2. What highlights stand out to you?

Through coordinating the Volleyball Excellence Program, our school was awarded the Overall Champion School at the National Schools Cup in 2021. Through coaching, I have coached the Met North 19yrs Boys Volleyball team over the past 2 years winning a Gold and Silver Medal, and personally in sport, I have continued to play AFL for the Morningside Football Club, now playing 100 QAFL State League Games.

3. If you knew then, what you know now, what advice would you have offered your Year 12 self?

Regardless of your current level of achievement, it will never be too late, or too hard, to put in the work in, and get into the career of your choice. Follow your passions, not what is easy!

4. What advice would you offer the current Year 12 class?

Absorb every moment you have for the rest of this year. You will look back in years to come and think of every funny, sad, & frustrating moment that happened. And if you don’t, it won’t take long before a quick conversation with old friends will bring these memories back! Put the work into your studies, but don’t forget to life your life, do things you enjoy doing – balance is key.

Liam Farquharson

1. Where has your journey in faith and knowledge taken you in the 10 years since you graduated from OLSCC?

I studied to get a Bachelor of Creative Technology at JMC Academy for 3 years. From there I started to freelance and mostly work as a sound technician for short films. Following that, I became an Audio Visual Technician for courtroom recording & conference technology supporting the Queensland Courts, The Family Court of Australia, Federal Circuit & Federal Court of Australia. After 6 years of that, I now hold an international role at a recording technology company called For The Record that creates and supports products for over 70 Countries. My role is to design, implement and support systems for the purpose of recording and transcription.

2. What highlights stand out to you?

For work, my team of 6 had to design and implement a way that courtrooms could continue to sit through the lockdowns of Covid. We had to come up with a way that Judges could hear matters at home, or courtrooms could host remote participants and still be routed through to other conferencing computers and recording technology so it could be sent to transcribers all around the country in near-real time. Being in a team responsible for the legal system to continue without delays during lockdowns was a proud moment of my career. Before all that, I got to travel the country quite frequently. I've been to most courthouses in Queensland and all but one of the Federal courts in the country. Travelling was rewarding though the work away could be extremely demanding. Outside of that, I'm very proud to have gotten married a few years ago, just before Covid broke out thankfully. I very recently became a father myself which is a phenomenal experience itself. I annually travel the country with good friends, still work behind the scenes producing music and working on live events. I also adopted two dogs, one from being a puppy and another that was a rehome.

3. What have been the challenges?

Uni was difficult as I was working nights at a cinema, so balancing a work, study and personal life was just full of stress. I ended up deferring some subjects to take on again later just so I could keep up with everything. Eventually I got through it and finished Uni but it definitely was a struggle. With work, if a recording is damaged, or there was a mistake that affected the quality of the recording, it was thousands of dollars and potentially a mistrial. Accuracy of transcripts rely on the quality of recordings. A system going silent, or a mic distorting severely meant no recording, no transcript and thus no record of the hearing. I would manually listen to all 500 courtrooms every single morning to sound check in case of errors and it had to be done before courts started at 8:30am. It was high pressure, but an important job for our legal system.

4. If you knew then, what you know now, what advice would you have offered your Year 12 self?

Focus more on what you can do right now, rather than what you can do later.

5. What advice would you offer the current Year 12 class?

What your life will be next year and what it will be in five years are going to be very different from each other, so don't focus so much on the future and enjoy the moment you're living in.

The amount of ‘lost property’ around the College is starting to pile up.  Any items that are found with names are able to be returned to their owners.  Unnamed items get placed in lost property baskets in each eating area and in the cupboard on Blue Block.  There are many unnamed jumpers and even shoes at present.  Please ensure all your child’s uniform items and lunch boxes are named so they can be returned if left behind.  Unnamed lost property will be placed on display in Week 4 outside the MPC for students and parents to go through.  Any unclaimed items at the end of next week will be donated to St Vincent de Paul to sell. 

I would just like to say a BIG thank you to all the new volunteers who have registered their availability and those who have already commenced volunteering in the tuckshop.  Your help in the tuckshop is greatly appreciated and has already made such a difference. I look forward to working with you all.

Gluten free options have been added to Flexishools under the gluten free menu. You can also order wraps or sandwiches under the sandwich tabs and select the gluten free option.  Winter warmers next week will include pumpkin soup and mild curried sausages served with rice so be on the lookout when for when they hit Flexischools.

Thank you to all the families that support our tuckshop week in week out.

Kim Francis

Tuckshop Convenor

Thankyou to those families who have signed up to participate in MS Readathon. Whilst this “officially” takes place during the month of August, many students have already been busy raising funds and reading a LOT of books! There are fantastic resources available on the MS Readathon site that will help keep your child engaged in these activities. Remember, 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!

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!

It was fabulous to have our Little Stars Playgroup recommence last week! 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. Feel free to arrive and leave whenever it suits you within that time frame!  Pop in for a half an hour or stay the whole time!

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 resume again next week on Friday 5 August.

Arrivals

Boys Ties 137cm

Primary Boys EW Formal Shorts size 10.

Update on the new Weather Jacket; we hope to get a top up order in 8-10 weeks time.

Thanks,

Maureen

Uniform shop.? 

The College is experiencing issues with our billing system which has meant we are unable to issue any invoices.

We are working with Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Invoices will be issued as soon as we are able.

Sarah Hall

Business Manager