Partnerships are important for the success of your child, our students.  In coming weeks, we will begin our scheduled Learning Discussions with parents to discuss your child’s progress so far this term.  With combined input from both teachers and parents we can build a strong foundation where students feel supported and where trust can be developed further between home and school. We acknowledge the trust you have placed in us as teachers, leaders and a College when you enrol here, and active communication helps to strengthen this trust. There will be moments this year when we celebrate the success of your child, where we challenge each other’s choices and when our opinions differ – this is the reality of relationships.  It is through developed trust that we navigate these times.  So I encourage you to take up opportunities to meet with your teacher/s, send emails or messages when things are going well as well as when they have steered off course, attend events, volunteer in our classrooms and tuckshops, and be active in your child’s educational journey in a way that works for your family as you are a vital part of the OLSCC family. 

Learning Discussions 

Next week we commence our first round of Learning Discussions with our Middle and Senior Years, in Week 8 we will host these for the Early Years.  All Student-Led Conferences are booked via the Sentral for Parent (Parent Portal) under the Learning Discussions widget.  Information regarding conferences will be communicated by Sector Assistant Principals in the lead up to the discussions.  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.    

Sentral for Parents (Parent Portal) – absentee 

A great way to let the College know that your child is absent or will be absent in the future is via Sentral for Parents.  These can be put in on the day or before the day if it is a preplanned absence.  This will then be accepted by administration staff and added to the Sentral system. 

HOW TO  

• Sentral for Parents App 
• Choose the Absences Icon 
• In top right hand corner choose the plus sign 
• Select which child/ren 
• Select a reason from the list e.g. if sick choose medical 
• Choose appropriate start and end date for the absence 
• Add a comment if needed or desired 
• Then click SEND 

It will show on the absences list as PENDING until it is accepted by Administration staff 

If at any time you have queries or concerns about the attendance data showing in your child’s Sentral profile there are a number of avenues for parents: 

• Contact core teacher if Prep – Year 6 
• Contact lesson teacher if Year 7-12 
• If due to extra-curricular contact the teacher in charge of this activity 
• Contact Assistant Principal of your child’s Sector  
• Email dalby@twb.catholic.edu.au 

This issue will then be explored and rectified or explained. Check the video demo link HERE

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. 

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. QCAA also has information for Parents about NAPLAN NAPLAN information for parents and carers | Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. 

Students will be sitting NAPLAN between 12 and 24 March 2025 

This is the third 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.  

SAVE THE DATE AND REGISTER YOUR INTEREST: ACYF 2025 

The next Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) will be hosted by the Archdiocese of Melbourne and will be held in a central Melbourne location from 30 November – 2 December 2025. You can find out more about the festival on their website. 

The Toowoomba Diocese is currently looking at options for attending the festival. If you're interested in receiving updates and travelling as part of a diocesan group, please supply some info below. The Diocese will contact you once plans take shape. You can register your interest to find out more here. 

Cate Brennan

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (4:1-9) 

Jesus used stories to teach the people many things. 

“A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil was not very deep. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. Some other seeds fell where thorn bushes grew up and choked out the plants. So, they did not produce any grain. But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants grew and produced thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as much as was scattered.” Then Jesus said, “If you have ears, pay attention.” 

To reflect on this important parable of Jesus, watch this video God’s Story: Seeds and a Farmer which depicts the story of the seeds and the farmer, and explains the important messages it contains.  

We pray that God will give us the grace to follow Christ. God, our hope and strength, do not let us falter as we strive to follow your will. We ask the Lord to look upon us with kindness and give us peace. May he bless us in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Carey Twidale

Early Years at Play

We have a short video of our students enjoying our playground area - 

Early Years at Play

Save the Date 

Early Years Bush Dance 

Friday 28 March @ 5pm on the Main Oval. 

Bring a picnic and mingle with Early Years families and watch your students perform.

Kristen Bennie

Student Engagement

Engaging students in the Middle Years of schooling can be particularly challenging due to the significant physical, emotional, and social changes they experience. Here are some effective strategies that our teachers are implementing to boost engagement during this critical period in your child’s life:

• Relate lessons to student’s lives
  Connecting academic content to real-world scenarios and students’ personal experiences to make learning more relevant and interesting.
  
  
• Make learning authentic
  Incorporate hands-on activities, projects, and experiments that allow students to apply that they learn in practical ways.
  
  
• Provide Choices
  Giving students some control over their learning, such as choosing topics for projects or selecting from different assignment options, to increase their motivation and engagement.
  
  
• Use Technology
  Integrating technology in the classroom, such as interactive apps, online resources, and digital tools, to capture students’ interests and make learning more dynamic.
  
  
• Foster a task-orientated environment
  Emphasising effort and improvement rather than being solely focused on a single outcome to help students remain focused and motivated as they work through our Learning Pit.

Additionally, our pastoral sessions in House Connect and Year Level Connect aim to foster interpersonal skills which are essential for effective communication and building strong relationships among peers. During these sessions, students will focus on:

• healthy communication,
• empathy,
• teamwork,
• conflict resolution and restorative conversations,
• adaptability and resilience,
• patience and respect for others and different perspectives,
• problem solving and being solution focused,
• leadership
• a positive, growth mindset.

While these skills fall outside the curriculum, they are no less important in a wholistic education. It is important that we work hard to develop each of them so that the children under our care continue to grow into great people.

Leadership

Leadership skills are a particular focus at our College. Many schools operate with a traditional model of student leadership - they offer badged positions to a handful of elected students in either Year 12 in the secondary context or Year 6 for primary schools. While we too have similar roles for our Year 12 students, we also believe that developing leadership skills is important for students of all ages.

A focus on leadership plays an important role in education wholistically as it can boost confidence, increase responsibly and accountability, foster community engagement, and generally has a positive impact on the wider school culture.    

Leadership Passport

There is an old Chinese proverb that says "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is today."

Well, with that in mind, we should not wait for our students to be in Year 12 before we begin to develop them as leaders. We need to start today with the future leaders in mind. This is why we have a voluntary student leadership development option for students  from Years 3-12 called the Leadership Passport.

For those new to the College, the Leadership Passport is a model designed to guide aspiring leaders from Year 3 to Year 12 to become not only great people but wonderful leaders with more refined leadership skills prior to their graduation.

This model provides students a structure that promotes frequent leadership skill development, exposure to a range of leadership opportunities, and encourages the use of initiative to seek out further avenues for leadership and personal growth. There are a few key principles behind this model:

1. Leadership is not about having a badge – anyone can lead.
2. Leadership skills are just like any other skills in life, they can be learned and strengthened through coaching and practice.
3. Leadership is about transforming values and goals into action.  

There are many different ways to lead. Unfortunately, schools have traditionally provided a very narrow viewpoint on what leadership is by limiting leadership positions to either the oldest cohorts or a very limited band of events, such as sporting carnivals. Leadership within schools, however, can be so much more than this. Everyone can lead in different ways, and this makes leadership skill development an integral part of student personal growth.

Utilising the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership framework (Kouses & Posner), we aim to develop our student leaders through these key areas:

1. Model the way
   Words and actions must be consistent. Leaders set the example by aligning their actions to shared values.
2. Inspire a shared vision
   Leaders enlist others by helping them to feel that they are part of something that really matters. Something that will make a difference, and something that people believe is important.
3. Challenge the process
   Challenge is the crucible of growth. Overcoming adversity and embracing opportunities to grow, innovate, and improve.
4. Enable others to act
   When you strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence, they are more likely to give their all and exceed expectations.  
5. Encourage the heart
   Showing appreciation for the contribution of others so they can appreciate how their actions connect with their personal values and the values of the group.  

How it works for the students?
If a student in your class is showing an interest or is demonstrating attributes consistent with leadership (age-appropriate level), have a chat to them about beginning their Leadership Passport journey. All students need to do is touch base with their relevant Assistant Principal to register and collect their first passport.    

 The first page of each passport outlines the requirements of that particular level. For instance, student who are on Level 1 need to complete two Above and Beyond tasks, one Public Speaking Task, and show a commitment to special College events by participating in at least 80% of them.

How many levels are there and how does a student progress?

The passport model is designed to gradually increase the commitment required and challenge of each task as the students develop their skill set through successful completion of tasks. Please note that while speaking at a sector assembly may qualify for a Public Speaking Task for Level 1, it is unlikely that a student who is on Level 3 could use this. Instead, they would need to move to a more significant event like Whole College Assembly, reading at mass on the weekend, or speaking at the town’s ANZAC Day service. Once a student completes the requirements of their level, they can book a meeting with their Assistant Principal to discuss their progress. All up there are seven levels.

So far, we have experienced a wonderful response from students. Here is a breakdown of the of students in each level as of February 2025:

Considering this is a voluntary process, it is wonderful to see over 150 students putting their hand up. Even better, 23 have graduated at least one level, with 6 having completed both Level 1 and Level 2 already.

How can my child get a passport? 

If your child would like to volunteer and begin their leadership skill development journey, please have them speak to their Assistant Principal.

Below are some shots of students who currently have their passport:     

Youth Arts Auditions

Exciting news from The Empire – Applications for The 2025 Junior IMPACT Ensemble are now live! This is the perfect program for any of your drama students aged 10-14 years who love to take their performing seriously and are looking for a project that is as challenging as it is fun and rewarding! This program is an amazing opportunity to connect young people across schools and the region.

Please find all details in the pack from Empire Theatre at this link Empire Theatre Audition Pack

Grin and Tonic Collab

Today we had the theatre company Grin and Tonic come out to work with the Year 9/10 Drama class as well as do a performance for the Senior English classes.

Engaging with professional theatre companies is always a treat and the students gain so much out of the experience.

Musical

Thank you to everyone who filled out the expression of interest! It’s so great to see so many people are so excited about being part of our Musical this year! We are currently completing the eligibility to checks and information about auditions will come out soon.

A reminder that if you have signed up for chorus there is no need to audition.

CECP

We would like to formally welcome our guitar tutor for 2025 Mr Sam Hilder. Here is a short blurb from Mr Hilder to introduce himself.

Hello OLSCC,

My name is Sam Hilder, and I am excited to announce that I will be your new guitar tutor for 2025. 

I am originally from Toowoomba, and moved back home last year as it is a great place to raise a family. Prior to that I spent the past eight years living in the United States, playing guitar full-time on the Las Vegas Strip. During my time there I held the guitar chair for multiple production shows, most notably 'Vegas! The Show' which been running for fifteen years. I also worked on Royal Carribean Cruise Lines for six years, playing guitar in the ship's theatre orchestra, which gave me the opportunity to travel the world. I have been to 58 countries because of it!

Since moving home, I have joined the Australian Elvis Band, The Fibonacci Band and I am excited to be a part of the upcoming Empire Theatre's production this year, 'Come From Away'.

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all, and help you grow on your musical journey! 

With the introduction of Mr Hilder we have been able to commence our first lessons this week which has been great to see the students engaged!

Just a reminder if you have not completed the agreement that was emailed, please do so as soon as possible or your student may not be able to continue their lessons until it has been done.

Tamara Creeley