We are now four days into a huge week of performances at the Dalby Eisteddfod and so far we have had some fantastic results from very high quality year level entries.

On Wednesday,  we had four classes competing in their age groups with their concert item piece and all the hard work and practice was rewarded with all entries gaining a place. In Class 70 for Year 1 and 2 students, our amazing Year 2J and 2M  classes stepped up with their performance of 'Tadpole Blues' to take out first place while Prep/1 O and 1D took out third with their rendition of 'I've Got a Car'.

In Class 72, Concert Item for Year 5 and 6, the Year 5 group placed third with 'I am the Earth' and Year 6 took out second with the very popular Mary Poppins song, 'Supercalafragilisticexpialidocious'. Did i spell it correctly?

During the morning session today, Year 3 and 4 students competed in a class of six entries and it was very exciting when the highly commended places were read out and neither of our groups were named meaning both had been awarded a place in a very strong class. The Year 3 group took out an exciting first place singing 'The Addam's Family' while Year 4 sang 'Bare Necessities' and placed third.

The adjudicator was very impressed with the unison of all the groups and for our students, they paid particular attention to their singing as well as their engagement with the audience. Well done to all of those students and their teachers particularly Mr Wager and Mrs Garside.

Tomorrow will be a highlight with our two Prep classes competing in their Concert Item class so if you have a chance to pop down to the Dalby Great Hall at 9am, you will certainly be entertained by those students. We wish them good luck.

Mr Dore and Miss Berwick have both been busy with their Piano and Vocal students competing in a number of classes over the last four days with many more still to take to the stage. We will publish more results from these students next week, however the Vocal quartet of Jacinda Smith, Sally Lum, Claire Davison and Gosego Mosako took out first place with their gorgeous performance of So Long, Farewell from the Sound of Music. Check out the YouTube link below to see that performance.

Last week we were overwhelmed with pride for our College and town as we welcomed the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Leadership Forum to Dalby.  This event, which is hosted by colleges from throughout the Diocese on a rotational basis, welcomes all the Diocesan Principals for five days of professional discussion and learning for the betterment of our schools.  To showcase our town and most importantly our wonderful College, we held several events throughout the week.  Highlights of these events supported directly by our College were: 

• Mass at St Joseph’s on Monday evening where we gathered as a Catholic faith community to begin the week led by our Parish Youth Mass leaders.   
• Dinner on Tuesday evening hosted by The Wiz Musical group.  Pre-dinner entertainment was a friendly game of laser skirmish with our senior students and principals. Over a delicious meal, the cultural skills of our College were highlighted by the Gleeson sisters performing and followed by a fantastic performance by our Choir and Musical cast.  Make sure you’ve purchased your tickets – its going to be another great show! 
• Thursday evening dinner was hosted at Mrs Walton’s farm, where principals watched the sunset in the paddock and dined under the stars.  
• On Friday morning, the principals joined our staff for morning prayer before touring our wonderful campus.  Students across all year levels led these tour groups and showcased all that they love about our College.   

• It wasn’t all just dining and working as well as skirmish, Principals also braved the early morning cold to join with staff and students to run our Park Run course by the creek and relax with yoga with one of relief teachers Nikki Morrison. 

A great week was had by all and we have received many expressions of gratitude from those who attended.  Special thanks must go to Nicole Bryers who prepared for the week and made everything happen behind the scenes to ensure its success.  Together with the teams of people who made each of these events happen, she showcased all that we love about our College community including teamwork, hard work and striving for excellence. 

As we move on from the middle of the term closer to the holidays, things never seem to slow down. All our teachers' and students' hard work preparing for Eisteddfod is culminating this week as they perform at the Great Hall for the 48th Dalby Eisteddfod.  These wonderful performances are a great opportunity for our students to perform in front an audience and grow in confidence with this skill.  Read more about our performances in the feature article.   

All students are working hard on assessments both in class and at home.  As the weather cools, it is important that everyone looks after themselves, eating well and getting plenty of sleep to stay healthy and to see our way to the end of the Term.   

Weeks like this remind me that we are all so fortunate to be members of such a wonderful College. Thank you to all who continue to contribute to creating an invigorating College community for our students.  

Peter Cuskelly

Principal

This week our College gathered with eight ministers from the Christian Churches of Dalby.  As Christians from communities separated from each other in name but united in the love of Christ, we gathered together to pray for unity.  We join with others around the world to mark this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity around the theme "Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue”.  The prayer below began our celebration on Monday 

Call to worship  

Fr Jim: Let us worship the Triune God. 

God, our Father, you crown your creation with justice and mercy. 

All:   we come to worship you. 

Fr Jim: Jesus Christ, your cross brings new life and justice,  

All:  we come to worship you. 

Fr Jim: Holy Spirit, you inspire our hearts to act justly, 

All:   we come to worship you. 

Fr Jim: May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,  

         and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 

All: And with your spirit 

Confirmation and Communion 

At the end of May, twenty-nine of our students joined with St Joseph’s Parish to celebrate their Confirmation and First Communion.  The Confirmation held on Tuesday, 23 May was led by Bishop Robert McGuckin.  Their First Communion was held the following Sunday.   We congratulate all of these students and pray that they may continue to make time for God in their lives.   

Grandparent’s Day 2019 

Join us to celebrate Grandparent’s Day on Thursday 27 June with a Prayer Celebration, visit to our classrooms, visit at Athletics and even bring a Picnic lunch!  RSVP will be called for in Week 9.  We look forward to showing our College to you. 

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

Assessment Calendars

The Term 2 examination timetable has now been released. The document has also been emailed to students. I encourage all students and their parents to read through the timetable and record examination dates in the student diary.

https://www.dalby.catholic.edu.au/assessment

Time Management

All parents would agree that time management is an important life skill that needs to be mastered. Strong time management assists whether you are at university, in the workforce, and balancing weekend sporting commitments.

When it comes to exams, time management is an essential skill! At times, it can be the difference in achieving your best results.

Here are some reasons to improve your time management skills:

• It helps prioritise – good timetabling helps you take care of the important and urgent tasks first.
• It helps with being realistic – we often don’t realise how long a task really takes. Timetabling shows you how long you spend on common tasks such as essay writing and problem solving.
• It helps you procrastinate less – with a written list of tasks you are more likely to sit down and just get it done.
• It helps you be more productive – you should know exactly what you will study before you sit down at your desk.
• It helps give you more freedom – when you plan ahead, you know that you’ll be finished at a certain time. Students who don’t plan well often find themselves working all evening without realising it.
• It helps reduce guilt – if you know that you’ve achieved your goals for the day then you can spend your free time without your studies on your mind.
• It helps you track your progress – stick to your timetable and you know that you are on course to get everything done.
• It helps you plan for the long-term – good organisation removes the uncertainty from your study and helps you focus on getting the best results possible.

Good planning is the key to getting the most from all of your studies. This discipline also helps create a good study-life balance and will benefit you in many areas of your life for years to come.

Further strategies and tips about improving time management skills can be found in the following article.

I wish our students all the best during their end of semester examinations and assessments.

Matt Hodge

Assistant Principal Senior Years

The term continues to fly by, our College is a busy place.  End of semester sees expectations and output being asked of our students increase. The academic demands can be challenging however we work in a supportive environment. Into the mix is thrown cultural and sporting pursuits which allow young people to display their talents in many ways. Tying this all together is the evidence of the faith development of the young people in our midst.

The Christian values that underpin our actions at Our Lady of the Southern Cross are open for all to see. This is the connection with faith that is promoted through our Religious Life of the College programme. I was involved in the tours undertaken by students for principals and Toowoomba Catholic Schools representatives last Friday. The element that impressed me the most was the welcoming nature in which the students went about conducting the tours. They saw the visitors as friends of the College and as such deserved the best experience possible. This supportive nature is also highlighted in the group activities taking place in and around the College. I see young people choosing to be positive and supportive of those around them, the Eisteddfod and Development Cup Rugby League are just two examples.

I was able to attend my first Eisteddfod this week and on the same day watch our Development Cup team play their grand final. The spirit at both events was amazing, our children working together to perform as harmonious, supportive and skilful groups showed the collegiality that is a strong part of our culture. Parental and staff participation as audiences showed the strong connections being cemented between home and college. The students involved in these activities were wonderful ambassadors for the College and we should all be very proud of their efforts.

These efforts cross over into the classroom. Students who are having success in one area of life often transfer this into other areas. It is these positive vibes that can allow young people to open their minds to academic learning. The effort of belting out a tune in front a large audience or making that crucial tackle on grand final day is about will power and attitude. Imagine the transferal of that effort into academic output. We must encourage adolescents to understand that the personal input given to a task directly impacts on the output achieved. Rigour is a word that is popular in education at the moment. It focuses on the level of challenge of any given task. The more individual effort put in, the more rigorous the output can become. We must encourage young people to have a real go at every challenge they face, learning from mistakes and rejoicing in their successes.

We have so many aspects of our lives to be grateful for and these can be exemplified by the actions of the students in our College. We are very proud of the efforts of so many. Thank you for continued feedback from parents through email and discussion. Week 7 almost done and holidays just around the corner. Stay safe and take care of one another.

Steve Gillespie

Assistant Principal Middle Years

Junior

Rugby League

ARL Development Cup Grand Final

Pittsworth State School defeated OLSCC 24-10

Tries – Taj Burke 2

Conversion – Bronson Barnett

Man of the Match Awards

Game 1 – Alex Patterson

Game 2 – Xavier Gibson

Game 3 – Bronson Barnett

Game 4 – Judd Alderton

Thanks to Miss Crow and Mrs Lincoln for coaching the team this year. It was a fantastic effort by the team to make the final but unfortunately were beaten by a better team on the day.

Athletics

Congratulations to all students who competed at the Bunya District Athletics Carnival in very cold and windy conditions on Tuesday. Results from the day are listed below.

1500m Results

10 Boys – Lachlan Fraser 2^nd, Archie Smart 4^th

10 Girls – Lauren Ramage 2, Emmysen Crothers 11^th

11 Boys – Chris Banks 2^nd, Jack Gibson 4^th

11 Girls – Carla Nobbs 2^nd, Isabel Johnston 7^th

12 Boys – Braithen Crothers 8^th

12 Girls – Gabby Banks 1^st, Tiffany Ham 5^th

Multi Event Results

10 Boys – Archie Smart 3^rd, Chase Price 6^th

10 Girls – Emmysen Crothers 3^rd, Heidi Reed 7^th

11 Boys – Xavier Gibson 3^rd, Taj Burke 5^th

11 Girls – Carla Nobbs 2^nd, Isabel Johnston 4^th

12 Boys – Bronson Barnett 7^th, Braithen Crothers 9^th

12 Girls – Maddy Gater 3^rd, Tiffany Ham 7^th

Students selected in the Bunya District Team to attend the Darling Downs Trials on 18 June

Gabby Banks, Chris Banks, Bronson Barnett, Emmysen Crothers, Lachlan Fraser, Maddy Gater, Xavier Gibson, Chloe Manteit, Archie Martin, Carla Nobbs, Riley Patterson, Chase Price, Archie Smart.

Girls Rugby League

Any Girls turning 11 or 12 this year who would like to attend Bunya District Girls Rugby League Trials please see Mr Lincoln for more information.

Senior

Rugby League

Darling Downs Rugby League Competition Round 6

Under 13

Lockyer District SHS defeated OLSCC 52-24

Tries – Luke Wallen 2, Lyucian King Togia, Luke Lockyer, Greg Gatton

Conversions – Lyucian King Togia

Under 15

Lockyer District SHS forfeit to OLSCC

Both teams have a bye in Round 7. The Under 13 Team is now finished for the season. The boys have struggled for numbers all season playing most games with 12 or less players. They have given 100% effort each week and never once considered forfeiting a game. The Under 15 Team have qualified for the Semi Finals on Wednesday 19 June. Game details won’t be known until after the final round but a home semi final is likely against either Harristown SHS or Highfields SSC.

Touch Football

Last week Ky Kirtley, Lachlan Wilkins, Charlotte Crothers, Bailey Skinner, Michael MacDonald, and Tim Mauch all competed at the combined State U15 and U18 Touch Football Championships in Brisbane. All teams had successful carnivals finishing in fifth place out of 12 teams, winning the Plate Finals.

27 May–3 June – National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week is an ideal time for everyone to join the reconciliation conversation and reflect on shared histories, contributions and achievements. It is held annually from 27 May to 3 June and is a time to celebrate and build on the respectful relationships shared by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians. Preceded by National Sorry Day on 26 May, National Reconciliation Week is framed by two key events in Australia’s history, which provide strong symbols for reconciliation: on 27 May 1967—the referendum that saw more than 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Australian Government power to make laws for Indigenous people and recognise them in the census, on 3 June 1992—the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision which recognised that Indigenous people have a special relationship with the land.  This paved the way for land rights known as native title.  Mabo Day is held 3 June to celebrate the life of Eddie Koiki Mabo.   

Year 2 students embarked on a journey to extend and expand their knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures last week. Students explored the meaning behind the colours and symbols of both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags and along with ideas from Dreamtime stories, were inspired to work together (all 46 students at once) to create a mural of ‘the sea, the earth and the sky’. Students were very curious as to the foods they often hear termed ‘bush tucker’ and were lucky enough to explore some native foods through their senses of smell, touch, taste and sight.  Mrs Shirley Frid kindly spent some time sharing her family's cultural artefacts and history with us. Students were honoured to be able to touch and hold some of these artefacts including ochre, axe heads, grinding stones and cutting implements that are thousands of years old.

Congratulations to Bronte Kruger who has just completed her sign up for her school based traineeship with Mitre 10. Bronte is in Year 11 and is commencing a Certificate III in Business. Bronte is pictured here with Lena Taylor and Michael Martin from Mitre 10.

A big thank you to our new grounds men who have been working so hard that there is currently not enough jobs for our working bee planned for this Sunday, 9 June. We have postponed the working bee till Sunday, 23 June. This  will give the grounds men 2 weeks to find some jobs to be done. So please mark Sunday 23 June from 10 am in your diary and we hope to see you then! 

The College has a number of very good computers for sale including specialist gaming machines as well as desktop PCs. All units come with the PC, keyboard, monitor and mouse. Gaming models include Asus ROG TYTANT G30 - AU003S, ASUS ROG G20 Compact Gaming PC and Custom Build Gaming Machines. The PCs are HP Compaq 8200 Elite and HP Compaq Pro 6300. Screens are either ASUS or HP. All machines operate with Windows and are in working order. They can be purchased at a low cost of $100 for a PC unit or $400 for a gaming unit. If you are interested in making a purchase or inspecting the machines, please email Business Manager Elizabeth Kuruilaca on Elizabeth.Kuruilaca@twb.catholic.edu.au or phone the College office to speak to Elizabeth.

Do you know someone who has always wondered what it would be like to be an OLSCC student? Well now they can find out! On Friday, 21 June, OLSCC will host a Come and Try Day for students in Years 1-12. Families are asked to register at the office so that prospective students can be placed in appropriate year levels for the day. Parents will also have an opportunity to meet with the Leadership and Administration teams to tour the College and have any questions answered. Students are welcome to stay for an hour, a session or a day – choose your own adventure! Please circulate this information to anyone you know that may be interested in seeing OLSCC for themselves.