Leadership Forum – “Leading Full and Flourishing Lives”

All principals in the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools gather together each term to work with executive and senior leaders of Toowoomba Catholic Schools.  The focus is primarily alignment, consistency and developing the collective capacity for us to deliver a liberating education to over 10000 students that we educate. 

On Monday night we were welcomed into the Mary Mackillop Catholic College (MMCC) community through prayer and gathering together around a table to share a meal.  It was inspiring to be engaged in another college community to celebrate mass and see the wonderful contribution of the students and staff.  Beyond this it also gives insight into the leadership of the college and some shared wisdom regarding plans for the future.  It has been a few years since I have immersed myself at MMCC and it was wonderful to see an exciting leadership structure and culture, as well as the facility development over the past few years.  It was also a highlight to witness one of our middle years students and his father engaging in the High Country Community Orchestra – well done Xavier and Matthew Skerman – it’s wonderful to see you engaging in wider networks to embrace your passion for music!

Today we engaged in various learning regarding changes to the way we operate across many fields, though a highlight was the keynote presentation by our executive director Dr Patrick Coughlan.  He spoke of “Playing to our strengths – Being the difference makers” and his message and delivery were very aligned to the work we are doing at OLSCC.  Our focus as principals is always on making better leaders in our school to enhance our collective capability and create greater opportunity for our students.  Dr Pat also exemplified our work in the development and delivery of our Strategic Plan, something which he noted as an aspirational goal for all of our Colleges.

Though beyond this, this time of gathering allows Principals to delve further into our networks, engage in challenging professional dialogue, and challenge our own ideas as well as giving feedback to others.  I look forward to a wonderful week of working alongside our wonderful leadership at Toowoomba Catholic Schools, as well as my colleagues, to enhance the work being done at the College as we consolidate our work for 2024, and begin the planning for 2025.

Thank You!

Over the past few weeks we have had a full calendar of events.  We have engaged in our beginning of the year ceremonies, masses and assemblies, as well as the successful launch of our strategic plan.  In addition, we have been focussing on Wellbeing with Sue Chandler from Transformative Schools, as well as beginning the development of our new Master Plan with Stewart Bagley from Bold Architecture.  I know that families are receiving ample communication from the College at present, with information regarding classes, instrumental music, fees and account balances, curriculum overviews, and much more.  Amongst this noise was multiple surveys from the College.   I sincerely value each and every piece of feedback that has come back to the College regarding both wellbeing and facilities, and appreciate that the time taken by our community to have their say in these matters will mean that the collective voice of the community will be heard, and the results delivered over coming years. 

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to attend the College, support our gatherings, strategic plan launch, commencement mass or simply complete the surveys that are sent out from time to time.  We cannot act on the voice of the community without giving it the opportunity to be heard.  Thanks again!

Mr Peter Cuskelly

Principal

A reminder that Term 1 fees are due this Friday, 23/02/2024.

Please contact the College Business Manager, Sarah Hall, if you have any questions.

Concessions are available for families who are experiencing genuine financial hardship.

Please contact the College Business Manager, Sarah Hall, for further information.

On Wednesday last week we celebrated the commencement of Lent with Ash Wednesday prayer celebrations in all classes.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Church’s season of Lent. The marking of the ashes on our foreheads on this day is a public expression of our faith and humility. It is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Through prayer, we come closer to God so that we are better able to realise the promises made for us at our baptism, to live justly as Jesus teaches us. Fasting joins us in solidarity with people experiencing poverty who often have no choice but to go without the basic human needs. Sharing what we have, or ‘almsgiving’, is a sign of our commitment to justice and our thanks for all that God has given us. 

Lent prepares us for the season of Easter, the most important time in the Church’s calendar. By praying, fasting and giving alms, we are reminded of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus brought the promise of hope to all people so that we may, “have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). As we live into that fullness, may we also be challenged to act with love and hope, now and for all future generations. 

This year the ashes we blessed were special to our community.  Last year as part of our Easter Prayer Celebration students brought in small branches of leaves to create bunches of leaves that were used in our enactment of Palm Sunday.  These leaves have been carefully dried, stored throughout the year and then recently burnt to create the ashes Fr Jim blessed for us to use this Ash Wednesday. It is special to consider that something gathered from within our extended OLSCC family community created these ashes which symbolize our faith and humility this Lent.   

STAFF at OLSCC 

We are blessed to commence this year fully staffed, there are many schools throughout Queensland still recruiting staff.  Alongside our wonderful continuing staff we welcome seven new teachers to our College this year and they have spent many hours and days over the past six weeks (we start a week before the students) learning all about our College ways of working.  It is great to have them as part of our College Staff team. 

Staffing at our College is a complex task as teaching is one of those jobs where classes continue and must be covered when teachers are absent.  We are reliant on a pool of relief teaching staff who can step in and assist us when our teachers are absent. Teachers can be absent for many reasons throughout the year for example professional learning days, mandatory training, meetings, and illness.  We would love to expand our relief teaching list, if you know of a teacher looking to do a few days here and there, maybe they are semi-retired and looking to return to work in a part time, flexible capacity please encourage them to make contact with myself (Cate Brennan) via the College office to discuss the opportunities for relief at the College.  

NAPLAN Year 3, 5, 7, 9 

NAPLAN is a nationwide measure through which parents, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine how well young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community. 

• NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process. NAPLAN does not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. A child’s teacher will have the best insight into the child’s educational progress. NAPLAN results do not measure overall school quality. 
• NAPLAN questions are directly linked to the Australian Curriculum: English and Mathematics. As such, the best preparation students can do for NAPLAN is to learn what they do in the classroom every day. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so. 
• The assessments allow parents to see how their child is progressing against national standards in literacy and numeracy, and over time. Along with other school assessment reports, NAPLAN supports parents in discussing their child’s strengths and areas for improvement with teachers. 
• NAPLAN results can assist teachers by providing additional information to support their professional judgement about students’ levels of literacy and numeracy attainment and progress. 

• NAPLAN can support school improvement by enabling teachers to monitor their students’ progress over time against the national measure, to identify strengths and areas to improve in teaching programs, and to set goals in literacy and numeracy. 
• Students and parents wishing to familiarise themselves with NAPLAN can visit the public demonstration site on the NAP website. Some past NAPLAN papers are also available.  

Students will be sitting NAPLAN between 13 and 25 March 2024. 

This is the second year NAPLAN will be held in March, having previously taken place in May. This change was made so school systems would have access to results earlier in the school year, so they can be used to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year. 

Why NAPLAN is conducted online? 

• All schools transitioned to NAPLAN online in 2022, as the online format improves NAPLAN. 
• NAPLAN online provides a better assessment and more precise results. 
• One of the main benefits of NAPLAN online is that it uses tailored (or adaptive) testing. This means that students receive questions better suited to their abilities, so they can show what they know and can do. 
• Online testing also allows us to provide a wide range of accessibility options to support students with disability to access NAPLAN. 
• Feedback from students is that they find the online test more engaging. 
• For more information about online assessment, visit the ‘Understanding online assessment’ page of the NAP website. 

If you would like to discuss your child’s participation in NAPLAN please contact your child’s core teacher, Learning Support Team or myself.  

Student-Led Conferences 

This week we commence our first round of Student-Led Conferences with our Senior Years, in coming week we will host these for Middle Years and then later this term for Early Years.  All Student-Led Conferences are booked via the Parent Portal under the Interviews widget.  Information regarding conferences will be communicated by Sector Assistant Principals in the lead up to the conferences.  Parents are encouraged to take up this opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher/s and them as the learner to discuss their progress and their next steps in their learning.   

Parents can arrange appointments to meet with their child’s teacher at any stage throughout the year and we encourage you to do so if they have any pressing concerns or updates for the teacher.  These are best coordinated directly with the teacher or through the College office.    

Parent Portal  

All new families should have received their access details for our Parent Portal.  It is important to use the Parent Portal to keep up with notices around the College including information about upcoming activities that may involve your child. It is a useful tool for communicating and the College utilises it for many purposes including the dissemination of letters and information, permission granting, booking conferences.  It also has a widget that enables you to notify the College about student absences.  Student timetables, absences and previous report cards can be viewed on this portal.  I encourage families to set the notifications settings so that you do not miss communication from the College.  Over the coming weeks we will be including short videos and information sheets in our newsletter with tips to help you navigate the Portal – this week’s is to assist with keeping the App installed on your iphone and to activate your account. 

Mrs Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

First Week of Lent            (Week beginning Monday 19 February)         

This year, Project Compassion brings you the stories of three resilient women from three different corners of the world. They are facing vastly different challenges but are all united by one dream: to create a better tomorrow for all future generations. ​  

Meet Ronita from the Philippines. Ronita lives with her husband and two children in a barangay (local district) in Quezon City, which is situated in Metro Manila in the Philippines. She went back to school to finish her education so that she could earn income to support her children. 

Meet Leaia from Samoa. Not having access to a reliable source of clean water was very difficult for Leaia and her family. But, with the support of Caritas Australia, a water tank was installed at their home, improving their health and living conditions.  

Meet Memory from Malawi. Memory, the eldest daughter from a rural Malawian family, trained to become a carpenter and is now a trailblazer for future generations of women in her village.                                                                                                         

Throughout Project Compassion, you will get to know the stories of Ronita, Leaia and Memory. Journey with them as they forge a path to a brighter future for all generations.   

Watch a short film: Introduction to Project Compassion (Primary school version) or Introduction to Project Compassion (General) 

Please donate to Project Compassion through the Project Compassion donation boxes in your child’s classroom

Term 1 is in full swing and in a perfect world, all our students should be settling into a routine that helps them achieve overall growth and success in all aspects of their schooling.  Sometimes, adolescents can find it difficult to establish a balanced routine that works for them. To support students on achieving success leading directly into exams, on Tuesday 5 March Year 11 and 12 students will undertake sessions run by Elevate Education, Home | Elevate Education. The Year 12 students will work through Memory Mnemonics, Elevate - Memory Mnemonics and the Year 11 students Ace Your Exam, Elevate - Ace Your Exams sessions. These will be followed up by staff throughout the semester with follow up sessions presented by Elevate locked in for semester 2.

Some hints parents can use to support students heading into assessment across all grades are:

1. Create a study timetable. Understand what commitments you may have over the course of a week - work, family time, training, rehearsals, performances, games, socialising. Your study time is just as important as all the other activities that you commit to. Commit to blocks of time where you will study.
2. Set a goal/s for each session.Know what you would like to achieve in the dedicated study session and start working toward that. Some students might like to make this time bound and work in blocks of time.
3. Avoid distractions. There are many obvious distractions in any household but the most difficult one to remove is a mobile phone. The mere presence of a mobile phone, even if turned off, reduces available cognitive capacity. Mobile phones should be completely removed from the room for the most effective study to occur.
4. Start with the most difficult topics first.It can be tempting to start with the subjects you are confident in but in doing this you run the risk of tackling the challenging subject when you are more fatigued or worse, run out of time altogether.

Assessment Calendars

All Semester 1 assessment calendars have been published on our college website and the Parent Portal, Year 11 and 12 Exam timetables are now also available. Year 9 and 10 exam timetables will be published in the coming weeks.

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

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 to their assessment, 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 and Curriculum Leaders 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.

YES! – Youth Entrepreneur Summit

Last week students from across Years 9 to 12 attended the Youth Entrepreneur Summit in Chinchilla with the support of the Western Downs Regional Council.

Students were empowered to focus on creative thinking and applying this to business and personal goals.

Two of our students. Evelyn Schrag(Year 10) and Amy Cartwright(Year 11) were award Best Pitch of the day as part of the challenge experience.

Mr Rodney Spain

Assistant Principal – Senior Years

Student-Led Conferences (Thursday 29 February)

Next week the Middle Years will be hosting their Student-Led Conferences. These conferences will take place in Yellow Block and Blue Block classrooms with teachers distributed across both Blocks. This evening presents a wonderful opportunity for students, their parents, and their teachers to chat about goals, progress, and up coming assessment. It is also presents an opportunity to discuss strategies that may support children through assessment, classwork, and homework. Bookings are still available, but will close on Tuesday 27 February. Please Review the room breakdown below in preparation for the evening. 

Containers for Change – Praxis 

Our Year 7 students will again this year take on the Containers for Change project at the College. This is part of their Praxis class project that links to the Catholic Social Teaching of Stewardship of the Earth with a recycling theme. Students have been speaking to their peers, presenting at assembly, and will continue to sort and deposit the containers at the depot here in town. If you haven’t been to the new depot in Napier Street it is quite interesting with more mechanised sorting occurring in front of your eyes.

Through the project the students aim to raise money that will be invested back into students at the College. Since taking on the project two years ago, various Year 7 groups have raised money to purchase play equipment and games for students to use during lunchtime, breaks, and on camps. The aim is to follow this line of thinking once more and on behalf of the current Year 7 group, I ask for your support in their project. If you have any containers at home that you wouldn’t mind donating to the Year 7s please consider the following:

Leadership Passport
For those students who have already begun their journey of leadership skill development using the Leadership Passport, just a reminder that there are College events coming up that could be used for Above and Beyond tasks. The aim of the passport model is to encourage students to grow in confidence and demonstrate their initiative in seeking out opportunities rather than waiting for them to be presented to them. I encourage students from Level 1 especially, to reach out to teachers and discuss potential opportunities to complete the tasks associated with the Above and Beyond and Public Speaking categories. Some potential events include:

• Early Years Bush Dance (Friday 15 March)
• Nolan Day Celebrations (Thursday 28 March)
• Easter Prayer Celebration (Thursday 28 March)
• Cross Country (Wednesday 17 April)
• ANZAC Day Service at school (Wednesday 24 April)
• ANZAC Day Dawn Service (Thursday 25 April)
• Come and Try Day Term 2 (Wednesday 1 May)

If your child would like to begin developing their leadership skills. Encourage them to speak with me at school. It is never too late to start. As the saying goes the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second best time to plant a tree is today.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years

Save the Date: 

Early Years Bush Dance 

When: Friday 15 March 2024 

Where: Main Oval  

Time: 5:30 – 7:00pm 

Who: Your whole family is welcome to attend.  

What to Bring: BYO a rug and a picnic of your choice to celebrate a wonderful start to 2024.  

Kristen Bennie 

Assistant Principal Early Years 

Bell Art Show

Don’t forget about Bell Art Show this weekend. We have entered some amazing art from our students and it would be great to see our community supporting them.

For anyone looking to attend the show, here is all the information you need.

The Gala opening and presentation of awards will be Saturday 24 February 6pm at the Bell Bunya Community Centre (Cnr Maxwell and Wallace Streets, Bell). At 7pm it will then move to the Bell Memorial Public Hall (59 Wallace Street, Bell) for the viewing and opportunity to purchase art works.

Admission is $15 per person.

If you can’t make Saturday they also have viewing times Monday 26 February – Friday 1 March 10.00 am – 3.00 pm and Saturday 2 March – Sunday 3 March 9.00 am – 4.00 pm.

Choir

Choir has officially started, and we’ve been having an amazing time. I can’t think of a better way to start my Thursday mornings. If you missed it but would love to join it’s not too late, come along to Blue 6 at 8.15 on Thursday mornings. Right now we’re practicing a super special song for the EY Bush Dance in Week 8.

Miss Tamara Creeley

Middle Leader Culture

Bunya District Swimming

Congratulations to the following students who were selected in the Bunya District Team to attend the Darling Downs Swimming Trials next week.

Darci Geiger, Lainey Geiger, Harriet Manley, Mia Milton, Emily Smith, Pippa Smith, Isla Sproxton, Claire Sullivan, Benjamin Barwick, Henry Cassidy, Hugo Fraser, Hunter Hayllor, Jack Neal, Archie Stephens, George Stephens, Charles Sullivan, Ace Utz.

QCIS Swimming Carnival

The QLD Combined Independent Schools Swimming Carnival will be held at the Dalby Aquatic Centre next Friday (1 March). This will involve Downlands College, Concordia College, Toowoomba Anglican Schools, Mary MacKillop Highfields and Scots College Warwick. Information will be emailed home to all students selected to represent the College at this event.

Bunya District Under 12 Sports Trials

Sign on sheets will be placed on the Notice Board before each trial date for any students wishing to attend. Depending on numbers, a school trial may need to be held in some sports.

27 February – Basketball

19 March – Rugby League

21 March – Touch Football

Bunya District Sports Selections

Congratulations to the following students selected in Bunya District Sports Teams:

Cricket

William Bryant

Netball U11

Pippa Smith, Harriet Manley, Paityn Darr, Charlie Sullivan

Netball U12

Lucy Bennie, Lexie Forbes, Harriet Martin, Lainey Geiger, Bella Cusack, Ella Ramage, Marli Bruce, Mia Johnson, Sophie Dippelsmann

Inner Downs Rugby League

Congratulations to the following boys who were selected to represent Inner Downs at the Darling Downs Rugby League Gala Day next week.

U15

Chase Price, Travis Collins

U18

Lyucian King Togia, Fletcher James, Cooper Wedrat

Darling Downs Trials

Students will directly nominate to Darling Downs Trials held in March for the following sports;

Under 12/15 Boys and Girls AFL, Hockey, Squash, Boys Under 18 Rugby Union and Girls Under 15 and Under 18 Rugby League. Students interested in attending any of the above trials need see Mr Lincoln. Students will need to be of a high playing standard to attend the trials.

Mr Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

We have a new display in the library celebrating SeaWeek 2024, which is celebrated from 2-10 March.  Australia’s national public awareness initiative aims to spotlight community awareness, inform, and foster an appreciation for the sea. This week-long annual event provides an excellent platform to advocate for educational matters regarding the marine environment.

The students are enjoying popping in to the library at lunchtimes to dress up as mermaids and sharks, as well as finding precious jewellery in the treasure chest!

Workplace Skills Training 

During the week, several year 11 students attended a CPR refresher course at the college, held by Royal Life Saving Australia. As current student in year 10 will be offered to attend a First Aid and CPR course annually at the college, it is imperative that student be presented with a refresher course to keep their skills and knowledge current. The Careers Office and Senior Leadership at the college will attempt to offer these refresher courses for students in the future. Holding a current First Aid and CPR Certificate provides students with current workplace skills and knowledge that they can take with them as assets to current and future workplaces and social events that they attend.  

Queensland Training Awards 

Nominations are now open for the 2024 Queensland Training Awards, celebrating excellence in training and the transformative power of skills. Across a range of categories, the annual awards recognise the outstanding achievements of apprentices, trainees, students, teachers, trainers, training providers, community-based organisations, and employers. If you are interested in nominating yourself, please click on the link below for further information. Nominations close at midnight, Tuesday 12 March 2024.  

QLD Training Wards 2024 

Work Experience 

Work experience is offered to year 10 students at the College as a part of the curriculum and learning experience in careers. We encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity to spend a week with an employer engaging in the workplace. Students can take advantage of work experience from grades 10 to 12 and this can also take place during school holidays or at the end of term 4 when these students finish school earlier than the students in prep to year 9. Work Experience Agreements are organised through the College and these agreements include Insurance. It is recommended that students who wish to attend work experience form year 10 to 12 give two to three weeks’ notice so that the documentation required is obtained and approved by College Leadership.  

Experience UniSQ Days 

The University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba Campus will be holding Experience UniSQ Days for Year 11 and 12 students who are interested in attending tertiary studies after school. These days offer students to explore their campuses, take part in specialised sessions in different study fields, and get a feel for student life at UniSQ. If you are interested in attending one of these campuses, you are required to register on the link below.   

UniSQ Toowoomba 14 March 8.30am – 2.30pm 

UniSQ Ipswich 15 March 8.30am – 2.30pm 

UniSQ Springfield 15 March 8.30am – 2.30pm 

Experience UniSQ Days | University of Southern Queensland   

Future Careers – Minerals and Exploration Industry 

For students interested or want to know more about careers in the minerals and exploration industries, Central Queensland University have information for students wanting more information on these possible pathways. Please click on the link below. 

Shape Your Future Innovate Our World – Start your career in minerals and energy.  

Apprenticeship Opportunities 

Jimbour Beef and Bacon Pty Ltd are offering a traineeship in Certificate (11) Meat Processing at their business located in Jimbour. Any students interested or seeking a career in the agriculture sector please contact the business owner Mr. Steve Donovan on 07 46636137 or contact Mr Garside when school returns in 2024.  

Key Dates  

19 April                  Yr 10 White Card Training 

15 May                   Yr 9 Industry Dinner 

29 May                   Aspire2Health 

10-14 June             Yr 10 Work Experience 

19 July                   Dalby Careers Expo  

August                    Yr 12 ATAR Registration & QTAC Applications 

2-4 September        Yr 12 Barista & RSA 

9-10 September      Yr 10 Manual Handling & First Aid Course 

11-13 September    Yr 10 Barista Course 

(tbc) October          Yr 12 SBA/Traineeship Employer thank you lunch. 

University Open Days 2024 

UniSQ 

Ipswich                  11 August            10am-2pm 

Springfield           11 August            10am-2pm 

Toowoomba       18 August            10am-2pm 

UniSQ 2024 open days 

Griffith University 

Nathan Campus   11 August 

Gold Coast          11 August 

Griffith University Open Day 

Mr Dean Garside 

Career Development Practitioner 

Dear Parents, 

We have been able to arrange an additional afternoon for Individual portraits and sibling photos to be taken for Students unable to attend our College Photo Day. 

The date is Monday 11 March, in the afternoon. 

Please ensure that your student is wearing their formal uniform on Monday, if you have received the email correspondence.