In December, Cardinal Pell was found guilty of the sexual abuse of children dating back to 1996, and last week the media embargo (enforced by the judicial system) was lifted which means this finding was released to the Australian community.  We are shocked by this and during these times it is easy to be overcome by this shock and be paralysed. It is in these moments that we draw upon our universal truth and our community’s universal truth is “Journey in Faith and Knowledge”.

Firstly, please bear no confusion about whom I stand by in this instance. I stand by the vulnerable, the meek, the powerless and the susceptible.  I stand by the victims of this horrid abuse as I would expect all others to do.  I strongly sympathise with the victims and their families, and advocate for others to find their voice and speak out when injustices take place. 

As Bishop Robert was quoted in The Chronicle last week, “No-one is above the law”.  As suggested by author and St Mary’s graduate, Madonna King, this is lesson we must take from this travesty and teach to our students. That despite a seemingly unquestionable character, the advocacy of the common good is what we must make for a change to come in our world. Our youth must take a stand and speak out, whenever it’s required, to be agents of change as stewards of our Earth.

There will continue to be greater discussions regarding “Faith”, “Catholicism” and the hierarchical structure of the Vatican and “Church” as well as the blurred lines and hypocrisies between the teachings of our faith and the actions taken by many of those who lead it.  This conversation should be rampant and encouraged at all ages and all levels across our community.  The Australian Plenary Council in Australia in 2020 will mean that the voice of Australia is heard to guide the Catholic Church of Australia so now is our time to speak up.

Peter Cuskelly

Principal

As we begin the Season of Lent this week and as our Church works to restore trust and reconcile past wrongs we pray for hope;  hope that we have the courage to speak up for what we believe and protect those who are unable to protect themselves.  We work together with hope for a better future for our children: 

Heavenly father, I am your humble servant, 
I come before you today in need of hope. 
There are times when I feel helpless, 
There are times when I feel weak. 
I pray for hope. 
I need hope for a better future. 
I need hope for a better life. 
I need hope for love and kindness. 
Some say that the sky is at its 
darkest just before the light. 
I pray that this is true, for all seems dark. 
I need your light, Lord, in every way. 
I pray to be filled with your light from 
head to toe. To bask in your glory. 
To know that all is right in the world, 
as you have planned, and as you want 
it to be.  
Help me to walk in your light, and live 
my life in faith and glory. 
In your name I pray,

Amen. 

 LYF @ OLSCC – Re-Creation 

On Friday afternoons in lesson 4, 80 minutes has been allocated to Re-Creation.  Re-Creation allows students an opportunity to energise their spiritual potential through using their passions, gifts and talents for the betterment of our community.  There are lots of great options that give opportunities for students to take part in something they enjoy and that grows either their ability or their creativity.  This term the options are Netball skills, walking, girls Rugby skills, boys Rugby League skills, photography and animation skills, indoor games, musical theatre skills, gardening and drawing and art.

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education 

Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

The education space today is driven by data. We would be naïve to think this wasn’t in fact just a snapshot of the society we live in. Our lives are based on performance improvement plans whether it is our household budget or a major business’ productivity report. Our capabilities are being assessed all the time and we need to be comfortable with being able to measure our growth as we move forward.

The College is working hard to implement the strategies of Visible Learning, simply, making our students learning more visible to them. Do they understand and internalise what they are learning, why they are learning and how they are learning? We are asking our students to come on the learning journey, not just be passive passengers who enjoy the view along the way.

Now to the Big Bad Wolf, ASSESSMENT. This aspect of our children’s’ lives must become the friend and not the enemy. It can’t be a tool for belittlement and berating, “why didn’t you get an A!” It can no longer be a ready-made excuse for anxiety. The idea of assessment is to see what we know and more importantly what we need to know. Adults bandy round the statement, “we learn by our mistakes,” yet when it comes to assessment the focus is on a single letter. The importance of this single letter is reinforced by the adults who interact with our children.

Queensland children can no longer be afraid of testing. For a Math or Science student, one test will constitute 50% of their final Year 12 grade. Our children need to be comfortable with the existence of assessment in their lives and see it as a valuable friend that allows them to show their best, a best that is the result of hard work and effort.

Corwin, the education provider who is leading our movement into Visible Learning, describes it like this, “It is about seeing learning though the eyes of students so that they can answer the questions; Where am I going? How am I going? Where to next? These questions are the foundation for developing assessment-capable learners.” Students are taking a real interest in their learning and making assessment an integral part of their journey.

We have to put the days behind us when a student walks into an externally produced test and writes their name and answers (B) to all the questions. These episodes in a student’s life take a far greater significance when, at age 17, they will sit exams that will ask them to show what they have learnt in a high stakes environment. If we continue to portray assessment as the 'Big Bad Wolf' we may not like the consequences. Something can be challenging, make us nervous and put us under pressure but this is a good thing. A challenge brings out our best if we are taught this from a young age. Use assessment to find out your strengths and your weaknesses and what do you need to learn going forward?

Save the best for last, the biggest wolf of them all, NAPLAN. In May, students in Australia will walk into a familiar setting, with a caring adult, surrounded by their friends and be asked to show what they know and what they don’t. If we refuse to encourage our children to embrace this opportunity to inform their futures, we are doing them a great disservice. The experience of external testing, the data collected and the information for subsequent teaching and learning is too important to be overshadowed and demeaned by personal thoughts on the government’s right to test our children.

We need a mind shift. We can no longer be molly coddling students through their assessment, making excuses for a lack of effort. This new 21^st Century world we live in is one of transparency where we are asked on a regular basis to validate our performance. Childhood is a time for growth, learning and experiences; let’s make this visible to our students and support our children to achieve their best, yet also encourage them that mistakes are important for learning. Getting something incorrect on an assessment piece doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it just says you can’t do it YET.

This is a challenge that is supported by the fantastic team of three, the Family, the Student and the College. The strength of this team is vitally important for the growth of our children. If you are unsure or confronted by this article or would just like to clarify anything, please contact me at the College. In closing, we are at a crossroads and in the words of Robert Frost, “two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the difference.”

Steve Gillespie

(acting) Assistant Principal Middle Years.

Visible Learning are two words the school community has heard consistently over the last year. As we enter the second year of this journey, it is important to remind ourselves of the essence of Visible Learning - “When teachers see learning through the eyes of the student and students see themselves as their own teachers”. Visible Learners are students who can: 

• Articulate what they are learning 

• Explain the next steps in their learning 
• Set learning goals 
• See errors as opportunities for further learning 
• Know what to do when they are stuck 
• Seek feedback

It is for this reason that teachers clearly articulate learning goals and what successful learning looks like for students. In the classroom, this is called ‘Learning Intentions’ and ‘Success Criteria’ and these are on display visibly for students to refer back to during the lesson. 

Many parents attempt to engage their children with the “What happened at school today?” conversations. Perhaps you could refine this by asking “What was the learning intention for maths today? What did you learn? How well are you doing?” and hopefully you will get more in depth answers!  

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

Junior

Bunya District Under 12 Cricket Trials

Any Boys or Girls who wish to attend Bunya District Cricket Trials please sign on via the Sports Notice Board. Trials will be held on Thursday 14 March.

Bunya District Under 11/12 Rugby League Trials  

Any Boys wishing to attend Bunya District Rugby League Trials please sign on via the Sports Notice Board. Trials will be held on Tuesday 19 March. Separate Under 11 and Under 12 Teams will be selected.

Bunya District Under 11/12 Netball Trials 

Any Girls wishing to attend Bunya District Netball Trials please sign on via the Sports Notice Board. Trials will be held on Tuesday 19 March. Separate Under 11 and Under 12 Teams will be selected.

AFL

Congratulations to Gabby Banks, Chris Banks and Lachlan Jacobson who have been selected to represent Bunya District at the Darling Downs AFL Trials in Toowoomba on March 18.

Senior

Cricket

Round 2 of the DDSWQ Cricket Competition was held yesterday. Unfortunately Oakey SHS were very dominant and dismissed the college for just 42. Lachlan Sankey top scored with 15 and Jonty MacDougall made 10. Oakey SHS passed the score in the for the loss of two wickets. Next week the boys have a day night game starting at 3.45pm against Dalby SHS.

School Rugby League

The College has nominated a Year 9 Team in the Broncos Challenge Qualifying Day for 2019. If successful on this day the team will play in the highest level of competition in QLD in the Michael Hancock Cup. Training has started on Tuesday afternoons from 3.15pm – 4.30pm. Boys born in 2005 or between July – December 2004 are eligible to play.

Representative Rugby League

Congratulations to the following boys who have been selected to attend the Darling Downs Rugby League Trials next Tuesday. The boys represented Inner Downs at a Gala Day in Toowoomba and have been selected after their performances on Monday.

U18 – Lytana King Togia, Sam Gillespie

Tim Lincoln

Sports Coordinator

All the trophies and certificates from the College Swimming Carnivals were handed out during Whole College Assembly on Monday. Congratulations to all the age champions, to the record breakers Jennifer Nothdurft and Pat Boland and to all the team members of MacKillop who took out the House trophy for Swimming in 2019.  

This year, artists from our College exhibited around 120 entries across the Junior and Senior School in the Bell Art Exhibition.  Their entries showcased their diversity and ability to communicate in a visual form. Well done to all artists! Certificates and prizes to be given out at next available sector assemblies.

Within the Youth Section Category, the results were: 

Highly Commended certificates went to Jack Cuskelly, Harry Felsch, Jack Twidale, Luke Elder, Abby Wilkins, Perry Anne Pacio, Hayden Doherty, Shawnee King and Georgia Bumstead.

 Place winners (certificate and or ribbon with prize money):

Class 23 - Year 2 & Year 3:  1^st: Phoenix McArthur “Fish Wrapped” and 2^nd: Lexi Bruce “Colourful Flowers”.

Class 24 - Year 4 & Year 5: 1^st: Isabel Johnston “Waterfall” and 2^nd: Charlotte Caldwell “Confident Portrayal”.       

Class 25 - Year 6 & Year 7: 1^st: Imogen Mittelstadt “Peace Dove”.

Class 26 - Year 8 to Year 10: 1st : Hugh Clarke “Calm Landscape” and 2nd : Riley Woitowitz  “Plant”.

The Bell Show Photogaphy competition was held in conjunction with the Bell Show over the weekend. Several students entered and there were some great results. Joan van Kuijck who organised the photography section and kindly collected and dropped back the students' entries provided this photo collage of our students work and their results. Congratulations to those students who did so well.

The ATOM Photo Comp is an initiative of Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM). It provides Australian and New Zealand student and adult photographers with the opportunity to submit a set of three (3) photographs adhering to a theme, and win fantastic prizes in the process.

The theme for this year’s competition is ‘Texture’. Texture is everywhere: In your clothing, the ocean, the fur of your cat … You can touch it and see it – even sound has texture. Explore and capture ‘Texture’ on camera.

• Take 3 original photographs that address this year’s theme;
• Submit your 3 photos through our online entry system at atomphotocomp.org;
• Write a short statement (no more than 300 words) and submit it with your entry.

Be creative with your photography, and feel free to think outside the box when addressing the theme.

Your photographs can be colour or black-and-white, figurative or abstract. They may include people or animals (or both, or neither!) This is an opportunity to express yourself through your photography – each photograph is a reflection of you.

• Entry is free, and is open to all Australian and New Zealand residents.
• All photos must be taken specifically for the ATOM Photo Comp 2019. All entries must be entered online at atomphotocomp.org.
• There are five categories: Lower Primary (Years F–3), Upper Primary (Years 4–6), Lower Secondary (Years 7–9), Upper Secondary (Years 10–12) and Open.
• Prizes for winners of each of the five age-group categories include Ted’s Cameras gift vouchers valued at $500 for the primary categories, $1000 for the secondary categories and $2000 for Open.

For more detailed rules and guidelines, please visit atomphotocomp.org/rules/.

Enter your photographs now! Be sure to email or see Mrs McArthur to let her know of your entry.

Entries close at midday AEST, Friday 10 May.

Good luck!

Please find below all the dates, times and locations for Whole College and Sector Assemblies for the remainder of Term 1. Parents are invited to come along to these assemblies to celebrate students successes and to keep up to date with activities and news across all Year levels.