Students in Middle and Senior Years have welcomed Mr Harry Milford as a teacher of Science, Biology, Religion and HPE commencing this term and when we caught up with him, he was keen to report that so far, all students have been behaving beautifully.

Mr Milford is no stranger to OLSCC having completed all 12 years of his schooling here and considers himself a Dalby local even though he's been away in Brisbane for four years completing his university studies. King's College has been home to Mr Milford as he studied a Bachelor of Health, Sport and Physical Education (Honours) at the University of Queensland. Mr Milford is excited about his new appointment at the College and hopes he can provide an inclusive and differentiated learning environment to meet the needs of all students. He is looking forward to being able to help everyone achieve their learning goals.

Away from teaching, Mr Milford plays Australian Rules Football and plays in the Queensland competition for the Mt Gravatt Vultures. During school, he played for the Dalby Swans in AFL and also represented the College in the first Rugby League Confro competition which was held in Ipswich. Mr Milford also played Volleyball and has already put his hand up to take the Tennis group for Recreation on Friday afternoons.

Welcome Mr Milford!

Welcome to Term 3 2020 at OLSCC. We are by no means back to normal just yet, but we’re getting closer every week.  We are continuing our planning for camps and excursions across the College and will be communicating with parents regarding these experience over coming weeks as we confirm arrangements considering COVID-19 requirements.  We are also seeing the start of some events at the College and in the sport domain, and look forward to trialing in these endeavors in a safe and well managed way that looks after the wellbeing of our community.  It is very important to note that our current focus is on providing opportunities for students to reengage, and later in the term, we will shift that focus, if appropriate, to reengaging the wider community back into the College.  The following list is an example of some of the areas we are working on:

• All camps that have been planned for Terms 3 and 4 as per previous newsletters, including Year 6 Canberra Tour
• Shooting Stars
• Playgroup
• Community gatherings / assemblies / liturgies
• School Athletics Carnivals (Primary and Secondary)
• Senior Netball Carnival participation
• Year 5/6 Netball Carnival participation
• Girls Rugby 7s (15s and Opens in term 3)
• Darling Downs League (13/15/Open) Wed afternoons from week 3
• School Touch Carnivals (to be confirmed)
• Club Touch (where some school teams are involved) begins next week
• Year 5/6 Volleyball Carnival participation

Once we become fluent in managing COVID safe strategies across our events greater opportunities will become available again. 

Senior Years Timetable and Subjects

In addition to getting back to “normal”, we are planning for next year with our draft Senior timetable complete.  I can confirm that we will offer 32 Year 11 and 12 subjects in 2021, in addition to school supported School-Based Apprenticeships (SBAs), School-Based Traineeships (SBTs) and Vocational training such as Certificate III and IV courses.  The timetable development has focused on ensuring we have expert teachers on the subjects we offer, and our methodology of how we offer the subjects means there is far greater flexibility for students so they can get the right combination for their pathway.  Parents of Year 10 students are asked to pay close attention to newsletters and emails over the coming weeks as there will be much information regarding subject selection, SET planning and preparing to enter Year 11.

Middle Years Timetable

In the Middle Years, we are currently determining exactly the mode of timetabling that we will employ to ensure we are providing the best education to our Year 5-8 students.  We have some exciting options on the table and Mr Cullen will be working with his staff over coming weeks to work collaboratively in developing this model so that we are best prepared for 2021.

External Examination Preparation Program (EEPP)

The secondary Principals in the Diocese have worked together to provide the opportunity for our Year 12 Students in specific subjects to attend the EEPP in the September holidays to support the students in achieving the best result possible in their external assessment at the end of this year.  This external assessment has a significant impact on their final result (ATAR) and as such we want every student to have every opportunity to do their best.  Greater information will be shared with Year 12 students on Monday.

Report Cards

Next week, report cards for Prep-Year 11 will be going home.  There are a few changes as to how we report which have been explained in previous newsletters by Mrs Brennan, as well as some significant changes to Year 11 reporting.  Year 11 reports will be accompanied by a letter which will support parents in understanding the revised reporting in Year 11.

Our reports for Years 7-10 look quite different as we have transitioned to a new system which we use to report.  In addition, all students receive marks for Overall Achievement, Application to Learning and Attitude to Learning.  Overall Achievement keeps the old A/B/C/D/E scale, while Application and Attitude are simply Above Standard, At Standard and Below Standard. Definitions of these are given on the inside cover for clarity.

In Prep-6, all students receive marks for Overall Achievement (A-E) and Effort (Above Standard, At Standard and Below Standard) as well as general comments, as they have in the past.

You will also notice that the reports are much shorter than in previous years.  This is because we have removed the course descriptors (what has been done in the course) from the report.  The feedback I have received is that parents would like the report to be about what their child has achieved, so we are now focusing on this with reference to the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standard.

Enrolment Season

All applications for enrolment in 2021 are due by Monday, 3 August 2020.  This is our first round of enrolment where we consider all applications and begin filling classes in preparation for 2021.  We have a few classes where we have few vacancies, and some that are full, though this date is particularly important if families don’t want to miss out on a spot for 2021.  Based on our current numbers, it is likely that Prep will be full as of the 3 August, so I strongly encourage all potential Prep enrolments to meet this deadline as there are no guarantees that people on the waiting list will get a spot.  This includes families that already have students at the College. It is also critical that students that are currently in Year 10 that are interested in enrolling for 2021 do so now.  This is so we can SET plan and ensure that we have the student on the best pathway for their successful future.

Have a wonderful weekend start to Term 3,

Peter Cuskelly

Principal 

Welcome back to Term 3, the second semester of our year.  It was great to return to school with more normality than in Week 1 last term.  We are still very aware of the need to maintain high hygiene standards and physical distancing as methods to prevent the spread of Covid.  We pause to be thankful for our safe return to school and pray for our fellow teachers and students in Victoria as they begin remote learning again.   

Lord, as we begin a new term, make us ready, attentive and available to hear you.  

Thank You for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance that You walk through it with us.  

Thank You for the gifts of creativity and uniqueness, and the energy to put them to good use. 

 Amen 

Parent Portal – change of use 

Our use of current Parent Portal will end at the end of 2020 as we move to our new system Sentral. In preparation for this change, you may like to download your digital copies of student report cards before your access is removed.  Report cards from before 2020 will not be uploaded to the ‘new’ parent portal.  2020 Report Cards will be uploaded and be available in 2021 but will not be uploaded this year.   

Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum 

Throughout this term, our school will be implementing the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum with students in Prep to Year 9.  The curriculum is based on principles of best practice in child safety education and centres around three key messages: Recognise, React and Report. Through a series of lessons, students will learn how to recognise, react and report when they are unsafe or find themselves in situations that can have a significant detrimental effect on their physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing. 

Information about the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum can be found at www.education.qld.gov.au/child-safety-curriculum

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

I welcome the Senior Years community back for what is shaping up to be another busy term. From the continuation of learning to looking forward to year level camps, despite the continued Covid-19 restrictions, there are plenty of opportunities for students to participate in.

We welcome Mr Harry Milford (Class of 2015) to our Senior Years teaching team. Mr Milford is excited about starting his career here at OLSCC. He has already commented on the positive behaviour and learning of the students in his classes. Welcome Mr Milford!

More information regarding our Year 9-11 camps will be released in the coming weeks. We are pleased to offer new camp experiences in Years 9 and 10, which will provide challenge and allow for the development of team skills within each cohort. Keep an eye out for more details about these camps in future newsletters.

The Term 3 examination timetable has been emailed to all Senior Years students. You can find a copy at the following link: https://www.dalby.catholic.edu.au/assessment. I encourage all students to ensure that they are adequately prepared for their exams. Exam preparation (revision) is a long-term process, not one achieved on the night before. The best place for students to ask for advice with their exam preparation is via their teachers.

Matt Hodge

Assistant Principal Senior Years

How fantastic to have all our students back for another term! Learning was in full swing from the minute the bell rang on Monday. One of the areas we will be focusing on across the College this term is the Learning Dispositions that we believe quality learners at OLSCC exhibit. Our goal is to foster lifelong learners by having students who are creative, curious, independent, motivated, optimistic, persistent and resilient. Each of these dispositions are “unpacked” further in classrooms and should provide fodder for interesting discussion around the family dinner table – be sure to ask your child about them!

Over the next week, several important communications will come home via hard copy to parents. Please keep your eyes out for these, including:

• Course overviews for your child’s class – what will they be learning this term? These are now being sent home at the BEGINNING of each term so that you can support your child by referring back to these to discuss the learning that is happening. It is particularly helpful to phrase these discussions using three of the questions that we use at the College as part of our Visible Learning journey –
• What are you learning? (students refer to the Learning Intention in class)
• How are you doing? (students check the Success Criteria to respond to this)
• Where to next?
• Individual Student Report Cards – Semester 1
• Information regarding the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum and Sexual Health Education

Here is Milla, in Year 3, explaining what she was learning in class today. "What are you learning Milla?" "I am learning to write a prayer." "How are you doing?" "I can write a list of my favourite things, I can identify what on the list was made by God and I can use this to create a thanksgiving prayer."

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

Inter House Athletics Carnival

The Physical Education staff members and administration team are currently working through plans to reschedule the College Athletics Carnival in Week 5. The Prep – Under 11 Carnival is planned for Wednesday 12 August and the Under 12 – Open on Thursday / Friday August 13/14. A final decision will be made in the next week depending on further COVID updates and whether spectators will be able to attend.

Darling Downs Hockey Trials

Any students born 2009 or 2008 who would like to attend Darling Downs Hockey trials please see Mr Lincoln. Students must have played some form of competition hockey in the past. This is not a come a try event.

Secondary Rugby League

The Darling Downs Rugby League competitions will be resuming on Wednesday 29 July. This will involve Under 13, Under 15 and Under 18 teams with games being played in a round robin format. Training for all teams will be on Monday afternoons from 3:15 – 4:15pm.

Secondary Touch Football

The Dalby Touch Association fixtures may be resuming next week. The Under 15 Girls and Open Mixed Team will be competing in the respective mixed and ladies divisions. The Under 15 Boys team will not be playing in the Dalby Competition this season. No verdict has been given at this stage about the QLD All Schools Carnival proceeding in October, however a decision is expected in the next week. The SWQ All Schools Carnival scheduled for Sunday 9 August in Toowoomba has been postponed.

QLD Touch Football Q Performance Academy

The College has tentatively booked in the Q Academy to be held on Monday afternoons for six 6 weeks starting on 3 August. This will be run by QLD Touch and will be a great opportunity to learn and refine some of the higher level skills in Touch Football. This will be for 12 -16-year-old students with the cost being $100 for the six sessions. Any students interested in being part of the program need to see Mr Lincoln.  If the QLD All Schools Touch Carnival is cancelled this year, we may postpone the Q Touch Academy until 2021.

Tennis

The College has entered a team in the 2020 Tennis Queensland Secondary School Team Tennis competition.  This is scheduled to be held on Friday 7 August in Toowoomba. A trial to select a boys team to attend the competition will be held on Monday 20 July at 3.30pm at the Dalby Tennis Courts.  

Tim Lincoln 

Middle Leader Sport

Members of the Student Representative Council (SRC) brought up the idea of more handball courts for Early Years students when they met at the beginning of the year. It was agreed that they would do some surveys of students and staff to work out what exactly was wanted/needed. The students felt that including new handball courts in the Junior Pavilion would enable the Early Years students access to these games as the Middle and Senior students already had courts in their area. There were so many Early Years kids playing handball at lunch but just using chalk to draw courts and hopscotch grids so the SRC saw the need and made it happen!

After the initial idea and surveys, the SRC put their proposal to Mr Cuskelly and Mrs Brennan which included many benefits such as more opportunities for students (any and all who utilise the Pavilion area), developing connections across sectors, scale diagrams and costings. You name it, it was in there. Mr Cuskelly and Mrs Brennan agreed to the project and it was decided to utilise College grounds staff, Mr Kavney and Mr Petersen, to do the work and they could use left over paint from previous projects to keep the costs to a minimum. The proposal also included the idea of an intersector handball comp however Covid threw a spanner into the whole project and nothing happened for quite a while. Mr Kavney and Mr Petersen kept the job on their list and in the last holidays, the new courts and hopscoth grids were painted. 

Students were so excited to see the new courts in the Pavilion on the first day back from holidays especially being wet weather play! All the courts have been well used each day since.

Year 10 Science students had a sweet start to Term 3 with a practical experiment using marshmallows. The unit for Year 10 Science centres around genetics. Using counters, the students flipped to determine the genetic characteristics or alelles of their sweet marshmallow monster. There were six characteristics of the creature and each alelle decided whether it had a straight or curly tail, two or four eyes, one hump or two and so on. This unit is important  for Year 10 students particularly as it leads further into genetics in Biology in Year 12. 

As of this Term, the Southern Cross Connection is moving to a once fortnightly publication commencing from Week 1. We will continue to bring you all the happenings from around the College and we aim to provide accurate and timely advice on up-coming events and important updates so parents are always informed. 

At the end of last term, students received information on the Independant Education Union Art competition. Please see the details on the flyer below as entries are due back to the College for posting by next Monday, 20 July. An entry form is also linked  below so you can still enter.

Medication Collection

Any medications that are kept at the College Office for your child's use at school must be collected and signed for by a parent after 3.00pm on Friday, 4 December.

2021 Medications

Any students who require medication to be administered whilst at school will need to bring their child's medication, administration for medication forms and 2021 Medical Action Plans (e.g. Asthma, Anaphylaxis, and Diabetes) in to the College Office by Monday, 18 January 2021.

If you have any queries regarding this, please contact Tracey Boland at the Office on 4672 4111.