STUDENT FREE DAYS 2021 (Teacher Professional Development Days)

UNIFORM DAYS 2021 (Throughout the year these days may change for one off occasions)

Basics for Learning

With the coming of the new year, we look forward to 2021 being another year of great success at OLSCC.  I am in admiration of all students who have begun the year with positivity, growth mindset and an openness to their time at OLSCC as one of great opportunity.  Our new staff have started remarkably, and the teaching in our classrooms is refined and focussed, with teachers engaging in effective pedagogy that makes a real difference for student learning. We have invested significantly in providing greater laptop devices across the College which enables all students to access the resources and tools which increases their learning, and prepares them as digitally literate, 21^st century learners.  Supporting this is the continued progress in the Digital Enhancement of the Curriculum across all year levels.  The format of our Canvas pages for students learning have been adjusted to better align to best teaching practice, and students are responding very well to this, particularly in the middle and senior years.  We should all be very grateful for the significant planning and effort that every teacher is placing into their practice, and we know that the students of OLSCC are in excellent hands!

To make the most of the opportunities provided, it is crucial that students get at least a few of the basics right.  Most important are attendance, homework and preparedness for school.

Best learning occurs when students attend the College, ready to learn, every day possible.  In 2021, student with attendance under 85% will receive formal notification and be required to commit to improving this attendance. 

Likewise, homework is required for all students.  In Prep, it begins with reading with or to your child every day, in the Middle Years it’s about exploring subject content and mastering prerequisite skills like spelling, computation and comprehension, and in the Senior Years students focus on revision, assessment completion and applying learning independently to new and more complex situations.  Those students who engage in effective study skills, reading and homework completion are placing themselves in the best position to succeed.

Of course, this is all a great challenge without routines and structures in place at home.  I ask all parents to take the time to discuss places, spaces, times and ways in which homework can be completed, as well as how students can best prepare for school so that they can not only attend the College everyday, though do so in their best mental state to learn and grow. 

Open Classrooms and P&F Welcome BBQ

A big thanks to all of our wonderful staff as well as the P&F for a wonderful evening last Tuesday at the Open Classrooms, Parent Information Sessions and P&F BBQ.  Teachers and families alike have commented on what a wonderful evening it was, getting to know one another better and preparing for the year ahead. 

OLSCC Agribusiness Pathways Program

An exciting event happened this week when the newly installed irrigation system in our agricultural space (corner of Russell and Cooper Streets) was started for the first time.  The area is ready for soil preparation and then the beginning of our vegetable planting as part of the new Certificate II of Production Horticulture which is completed in Year 10 Agriculture. Over the coming years we will see this area develop to include the vegetable beds, grape vines and an Indigenous produce/bush tucker garden. It will also include various facilities to support these endeavours.  As this space develops it will be a great space of learning for many subjects across all years levels in the College, as well as creating the opportunities for us to further develop pathways for students that support the global needs of agribusiness and all associated professions. 

Middle Years Plaza Update

The plans for the plaza are still raring and ready to go, however we have been working considerably over the past 6 months with architects, consultants, certifiers and contractors regarding the current compliance of the fire hydrant system.  Unfortunately, the College cannot be supplied with adequate pressure from the town infrastructure to support the required fire safety regulations at the College.  This means we must make some significant upgrades to this system, install additional hydrants, water storage facilities and a booster system in order to progress with any further construction.  This has proved to be a considerable task and comes at great expense, as well as dealing with the various input from key stakeholders.  Next Thursday we will be presented with a variety of solutions so we may continue to progress.  I apologise for the delays in creating this amazing space for our middle years students, though its important that we get these things right for the safety of our people and facilities.

Student Protection Contacts

Sometimes we have concerns about the wellbeing of our students and are not quite sure who to talk to.  While there is always your child’s teacher or the College Leadership Team, we have dedicated, trained staff who are specialists in dealing with those difficult conversations regarding student safety.  Whilst we have plenty of posters around the College highlighting this, every newsletter contains these contacts should you wish to talk to someone, or need your child to talk to someone.  This year, our SPCCs at OLSCC are: Peter Cuskelly, Simone Forbes, Carey Twidale, Andrea Gormley, Luke Holmes.

Have a fantastic fortnight ahead, and I look forward to all the results of the swimming carnival.

Peter Cuskelly

Principal 

Next week we begin the season of Lent.  We will mark two significant days in our Church calendar Shrove Tuesday and the start of Lent, Ash Wednesday.

Shrove Tuesday - The  day before Ash Wednesday is marked as Shrove Tuesday – the feast of the fast in the church.  Shrove is the past tense of the English verb “Shrive” which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of confession and by doing penance.

With Shrove Tuesday taking place before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, it was the day when Christians were encouraged to go to confession in preparation for the penitential season that would end 40 days and 40 nights later with Easter Sunday.

Dating back to 1000 AD, over the years Shrove Tuesday not only became a day for Confession but a time for Catholics to feast on eggs, sugar and dairy which are traditionally restricted during the Lenten fast.  Shrove Tuesday remains an important day of observance for Catholics and Christians to prepare for Lent and the Lenten fast.  Pancakes will be on sale before school next Tuesday to mark this occasion.

Ash Wednesday – Marking the commencement of Lent, a season of fasting and prayer, Ash Wednesday is one of the most important holy days in the liturgical calendar.  Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday.  The tradition includes wearing ashes on the head.  the ashes symbolise the dust from which God made us.  Each class will join in prayer throughout the day and be sprinkled with ashes of burnt palm leaves from last year’s Good Friday service.  As we are blessed with ashes the priest reminds us:

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.  Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.”

LYF @ OLSCC – Religious Education

LYF @ OLSCC is about Living Your Faith in everything we do.  We aim to embed our faith development across all elements of College life, as well as in structured time each week.  All students at the College study the curriculum area of Religion.  Religion, like all learning areas, has designated curriculum that builds students religious understanding through the Catholic lens.  In 2021 all teaching staff at the College are taking part in the Religious Education Strategy, with TCS, called “Illuminate RE”.  Illuminate RE aims to deepen our understanding of the Religion curriculum and ensure that we have the strategies to allow our learners to develop their own understanding.  This year as a staff we will revisit, refresh, refine and renew our implementation of RE across our College to ensure our students have the skills to encounter Christ in their lives beyond school.   During our professional development week staff focused on the use of Scripture in RE lessons and began to explore ways to deepen both our and our students understanding of scripture in the modern world.

Open Classrooms

It was great to see so many families join us for Open Classrooms and Parent sessions this week.  Although we may not be able to open our College up fully for parent access like pre-COVID it is great that opportunities like this evening were supported by families. 

Back to School – implications of COVID in 2021

Whilst the occurrences of COVID-19 in Queensland have been limited in the past few months very few of the guidelines and restrictions placed on us as an education service have changed from 2020.  We must still maintain high levels of cleaning and hygiene (a positive), physical distancing between adults, reduced number of adults based on square metre rules in indoor locations, and not encourage congregation.  As such last week we released three detailed documents via SZApp and on our website about our guidelines in relation to this.  Please ensure you have familiarised yourself with these and support our College by adhering to these so we can focus on the teaching and learning in our classrooms. These three documents can be found under the ‘Back to School’ section of our website.   I understand the frustration this causes many parents who feel they are missing out on milestones and opportunities to be involved in College Life.  We miss the freedoms of pre-COVID-19 too but we aim to do the best we can for our families and in particular our students as we travel this road together. 

Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education

It is amazing how quickly our students dive into their learning. Each time that you walk through the Senior Years, all classrooms are deeply engaged in their work. You can hear students reciting text from their English books and our Drama students being active in their new space. You can watch our Mathematics students being challenged as they work on deepening their mastery of new concepts and formulas. In Science, students are extending their curiosity through watching and completing a multiple of practical experiments. You can see the excitement on their faces. These are just some of the sights and sounds of learning in the Senior Years. What a great place to learn!

Parent Information Session
Thank you to the parents who attended the Parent Information Session last week. It was fantastic to have parents visiting the Senior Years once again. The presentation from the information session will be emailed out to all Year 9-12 parents in the coming days. Additional information sessions will be held throughout the year, and I encourage all parents to attend whenever possible. Our next information session will be for Year 10 parents that will explore the road ahead as these students get closer to starting their QCE.

Drama Excursion
Our Senior Drama students had the opportunity to travel to the Billie Brown Theatre to watch a performance of Thorton Wilder’s Our Town. The performance will be used by the students in their current assessment task as part of their studies. Thank you to Miss Creeley and Mrs Lilburne for organising and accompanying the students. We very much look forward to watching these students develop into budding thespians and directors.

2021 Camps
Preliminary work is being conducted on the preparation the Year 9-11 camps this year. A refinement of our Senior Years camps is continuing as we look to have greater alignment to the curriculum and the leadership development of our students. This means that our camps have moved away from a focus on ‘reward’ to being complimentary to the core business of learning. I anticipate having additional information available to all parents in the coming weeks.

Uniform/Presentation & Grooming
I thank the students and parents who have quickly addressed the uniform and presentation/grooming concerns that the start of the school year brings. The adherence to the College Uniform Policy is a key focus in the Senior Year this year as we aim for our Year 9-12 students to set the highest example to our younger students.

Communication and Pastoral Concerns
Throughout the year, parents are encouraged to communicate with their child’s subject teachers as an initial point of contact for any pastoral or academic matters. For further matters, please contact me through the College Office or by email matthew.hodge@twb.catholic.edu.au

Matt Hodge

Assistant Principal Senior Years

On Monday, we will have the first of our Early Years Assembly, led by Year 4C. Unfortunately, we will not have parents present for this assembly. In 2021, we continue to acknowledge students with Early Years Excellence awards. These will be presented whenever we have a specific Early Years Assembly and are in recognition of excellence related to academic learnings, learning dispositions or other parts of the school curriculum. The focus is on excellence, and as such, each award will provide targeted, specific feedback to that student and set an example for the rest of the student body. There is not an expectation that every child in every class will receive an award at some time, nor that there is a regular number of awards given on any day. Rather, by definition, these awards are limited and highly valued for acknowledging exceptional achievement in targeted areas. In the past, I have been very proud of the way fellow students embrace those who do receive awards by openly celebrating the success of others

On Friday, 12 March, we are pleased to be able to offer all students from Prep to Yr 4 the opportunity to participate in the Words Out West Readers and Writers Festival being hosted by WDRC Dalby Library. We are extremely fortunate that our community is hosting an event involving presenters of a very high calibre right here in our town! Further information about this day will be coming in the next few weeks. As we are only attending the School Day program, you may wish to take a look for yourself at the Festival website https://wordsoutwest.westerndownslibraries.com/ to see the rest of the excellent program and purchase tickets to other sessions. We are excited to see that former student Madonna King is one of the presenters this year.

As we return to parents on-site, we are noticing parking and traffic flow issues. To facilitate smoother flow of traffic, we request that parents use the first parking area on Nicholson St (in front of the Prep playground) as a drop and go zone only. If parents wish to stop the car and walk into the College, they should park:

• Further along Nicholson Street in front of the staff carpark
• On the opposite side of the street to the College
• Further along Nicholson Street in front of the Senior School. This is also a viable option for drop and go, as students can enter the College by following the cement path and heading towards the Early Years without having to cross a driveway or the road.

Thankyou for your consideration of others.

Katrina Walton

Assistant Principal Early Years

Under 9-12 Swimming Carnival

Overall Points

Rice                  602

MacKillop          357

Nolan                352

McAuley            335

Primary Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to all students who participated in the Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival at Glennie this week. Thanks to Mrs Jodie Biggar and Mrs Melita Dellit for attending with our students.

Bunya District Swimming Trials

The Bunya District Under 9-12 Years Swimming Trials will be held on Tuesday 23 February at the Dalby Aquatic Centre. Students who have qualified to attend this carnival have been notified.

Darling Downs 13-19 Swimming Trials

Any students interested in attending the Darling Downs Trials need to see Mr Lincoln next week with a list of events and times swum at previous carnivals. The Darling Downs Trials will be held in Gatton on Tuesday 2 March.

QCIS Swimming Carnival

The College will be attending the Queensland Combined Independent Schools Swimming Carnival on Monday 15 March at the Milne Bay Pool in Toowoomba. This will be the College’s first QCIS event and will compete against Downlands College, Concordia College, Toowoomba Christian College, Toowoomba Anglican School and Scots Warwick. Students will be notified next two weeks if they have been selected to swim at this event.

Laura Gietz Netball

Any Year 7-9 Girls who would like to be considered for the Laura Gita Netball Carnival need to nominate via the Sports Notice Board. Trials to select a team to a team to attend the carnival will be held next week. The carnival will be held at Glennie in Toowoomba on Sunday 14 March. 

Cricket

An Open Boys Cricket Team under the coaching of Mr Cullen and Mr Milford will have games against Dalby Christian College (Friday 19 February) and Dalby SHS (Date TBC). Best of luck boys.

Darling Downs Under 12 AFL Trials

Any Boys or Girls who would like to attend Darling Downs Under 12 AFL Trials in Toowoomba on March 18 need to see Mr Lincoln for more information. There will be no Bunya District trial this year in AFL so students will need to be of a high standard to be directly nominated to the Darling Downs Trials.

Inner Downs Cluster 1 Trials

Congratulations to the following students selected in Inner Downs Sports Teams to attend Darling Downs Trials in Toowoomba next week.

Open Boys Tennis

Hayden Taylor

Open Boys Touch Football

Michael MacDonald, Dylan Nobbs, Tim Mauch, Bailey Skinner, Brock Sankey, Kelii Leahy

Open Girls Touch Football

Claudia Child, Shawnee King, Maggie Laffy, Hannah Pattison

Under 15 Boys Touch Football

Daniel O’Callaghan, Jack Gibson, Liam Hartman

Under 15 Girls Touch Football

Breana Hoskin, Carla Nobbs

Inner Downs Cluster 2 Trials

Inner Downs Trials in Netball, Rugby League, Basketball and Soccer will be held on Wednesday 24 February in Highfields. All these sports will select separate Under 15 and Under 18 Teams. The College Coach will transport students to the trials. Students interested in Attending need to sign on via the Sports Notice Board.  

Darling Downs Trials

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

Under 15 Boys and Girls AFL, Hockey, Squash, Girls Under 16 Rugby Sevens, Boys Under 18 Rugby Union and Girls Under 15 and Under 18 Rugby League. Students interested in attending any of the above trials need to sign on via the Sports Notice Board. Students will need to be of a high playing standard to attend the trials.

Tim Lincoln

Middle Leader Sport

Much has been happening in the careers corner at OLSCC. Our Year 10 Ag Certificate Students have hit the ground running with their work. They had a day with the trainer last week learning about Work Place Health and Safety and will soon be kitted out with all the relevant safety gear including gloves and sunglasses as well as being in the know about SDS folders and Safe Operating Procedures. It is exciting to see this pathway developing at our College. The Ag paddock is well underway towards planting stage and we are planning and preparing for planting very soon.

We have also had a further two students complete a sign up for their school based traineeship.

Clare Boland from Year 10 has recently signed up for Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care School-Based Traineeship with  Kids Club Dalby. Clare is pictured here with Sandra Hoopert of Kids Club Dalby from when she signed up in January. Kids Club Dalby has been a great supporter of our school based trainees and we wish Clare all the success as she works towards her career pathway.

Congratulations to Liam Walker, Year 11, who completed his School Based Apprenticeship sign up last week with Tate Auto Electrical. The College is thankful for this wonderful opportunity afforded to Liam by Tate’s. During his time, Liam will complete his Certificate III in Automotive Electrical Technology. We are always very excited to see our students take these moves on their pathway to employment and I look forward to seeing Liam flourish in his job.

Libby Baxter

Careers Development Practitioner

In our first Newsletter we introduced our Culture team and Mr Dunbrack so for this Newsletter, we would like to introduce Mr Daniel Cross and Miss Lucy Price from the Middle Years.

Miss Lucy Price is quite familiar to our College as she was here as a Pre Service Teacher in 2020 and we are more than excited to have her teaching in the Middle Years in Blue Block.

Where were you before coming to Dalby?

Prior to moving to Dalby, I was living in Armidale where I complete my studies at the University of New England.

What are your goals in your role and what do you like about your particular sector/subject?

My main goal is to ensure all students are accounted for academically. The intention of this is to see students continually jumping into the OLSCC ‘Learning Pit’ and coming out the other end having improved academically and personally.  To be successful, I hope to provide students with a personalised learning experience through engaging learning tasks. I enjoy teaching English and HASS as there is freedom to adapt the topics to make them relevant to us. As a result, we have many interesting (and at times heated!) discussions, enabling students to learn through their personal experiences.

How do you like Dalby so far and what do you do in your spare time. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed living in Dalby thus far. The township is fabulous, and I have already noticed its excellent community spirit which I am excited to engaging in. In my spare time I enjoy swimming, hanging out with my friends and cooking delicious food! I look forward to meeting everybody!

Mr Daniel Cross comes to us as an experienced teacher from northern Queensland and he has certainly built up a rapport with his students very quickly particularly in Science where he has a keen interest for practical activities. Year 8 has recently been looking at Euglena and Elodea under the microscope on slides they prepared themselves. Well done!

Where were you before coming to Dalby?

I was teaching at St Mary’s Catholic College in Cairns

What are your goals in you role and what do you like about your particular sector/subject?

I don’t have any particular goals but I am looking forward to working with new colleagues and learning new ways to teach my subjects. Being a maths and science teacher I am always looking for new ways to make the subject engaging.

How do you like Dalby so far and what do you do in your spare time?

Although I do drive from Toowoomba everyday I am loving the weather so far and how friendly everyone is.

The College P & F is excited to announce that Madonna King, an accomplished author and past student of the College will be returning to the school to present to families on subjects such as raising children, dealing with social media, body positivity, anxiety and resilience and many more topics.  Madonna is excited to be returning to the school to meet parents and is especially keen to discuss her new book 'Ten-ager'. Madonna's visit will be happening on Friday evening, 12 March from 6 to 7.30pm in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). More details will be published in the next Newsletter but please make sure you save this date as Madonna is an inspiring author. 

Please contact Megan Cartwright for details or to reserve a seat. This will be a Covid safe event.

0457 496 460/ mcart178@gmail.com

Vaccinations for all Year 7 and 10 students will be held at the College on Thursday 4 March 2021. A team of authorised registered nurses will conduct these vaccinations. Students will receive the following vaccinations:

Year 7:            Human Papillomavirus (HPV) (1/2 doses)

                        Diptheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (dTpa) (1 booster dose)

Year 10:          Meningococcal ACWY (1 dose)

Year 7 students will receive their second HPV six months later. Please advise Tracey at the College Office if your child is unwell on this day.