OUR LADY OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS DAY 

Next Wednesday, 1 September, we will celebrate Our Lady of the Southern Cross’ feast day.  Our Lady of the Southern Cross is the title given to Mary the Mother of Jesus.  On this day we will begin our celebrations at 12:15pm with Mass in the MPC.  After Mass we will have a P-12 afternoon tea picnic on the oval where we cheer on the events postponed from the Athletics Carnival.  These events will begin at 2:00pm and include the All Age Relay, the Tresillian and Gillespie Gifts and the Teacher/Student Relay.  

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES 

Student Led Conferences are planned for Week 9 of this term. We will use Sentral for Parent Portal to book these times for all year levels.  A letter was emailed home on Monday in regards to the interview schedules and ‘how to book’ instructions.  It is important that students attend their conferences with their parents, as the name indicates the student will lead these conversations about their progress and learning with their teacher’s support.  

NAPLAN 

This week the College received access online to our School and Student Summary Report.  We are pleased with student progress after our initial look at this data.  Over the next few weeks we will spend time as a staff drilling down into the data to establish trends and areas of success and growth in the data.  We will then use the data to assist with future planning for continued improvement for our students.  Individual Student Reports will be posted as hard copies to our school in late August to early September.  As soon as we received these reports, we will notify parents and send them home with students.   

VOLUNTEERING AT THE COLLEGE 

Volunteer packages may be collected from the College Office.   It is important that all volunteers at our College have completed the necessary induction module and accompanying form, and return it to the College Office before volunteering.  This is an annual induction and must be completed each year.  The Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools have developed an online induction module for volunteers and services providers that sets out our expectations and commitment to student safety.  The induction video titled 'Volunteers and Visiting Service Providers Induction Module’ must be viewed by all volunteers and is available on the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools website https://www.twb.catholic.edu.au/work-and-learn-with-us/volunteers-and-visiting-service-providers/.   

COVID and SIGNING IN  

As a College, we have always had a sign in system for all visitors to our campus, as we are required to collect this information.  With the introduction of the Qld Government QR Code, signing in at businesses and venues has now become the ‘new normal’.  We will continue to use our College system ‘Passtab’ for visitors to our campus throughout the general working day.  This system requires visitors to manually enter their details (some phone models will store this information) or use their College Quickpin when entering and exiting the College grounds; eg classroom volunteers, service providers and staff use this system.  In the case of special events, eg Sports, Art Showcases, Performance, and other Community events outside of office hours, we will use the Qld Govt issued QR Code as our sign in register.  Thank you for your support in following our signing in processes.  As we ask parents to limit their time on campus at drop off there is no need to sign in at this time.   

DANIEL MORCOMBE CHILD SAFETY CURRICULUM 

Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum - Report  

Over the next few weeks we will deliver the final key message of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum: report. This means that when children or young people have been in a situation that is unsafe that they are taught to report what has happened to an adult. Even if a child has been able to make themselves safe, it is vital that they still report what has happened. Adults need to know about unsafe situations so that some action can be taken to help the child be safe again or ensure it doesn’t happen again.   

Students involved in the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum will be encouraged to make a list of adult safety helpers. These are adults the children and young people nominate whom they can talk to when they are feeling unsafe or have experienced an unsafe situation or feel they are at risk of something that may cause them harm. This list will include a selection of adults who live in and outside the home.  

Report also includes telling an adult about unsafe or inappropriate incidents which may occur when children or young people are online. This might occur when surfing the net or using social media sites like Facebook and twitter, and can include cyberbullying, viewing or receiving inappropriate images or messages or communicating with unknown contacts.  

It is important that the key safety messages of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum: Recognise, React and Report are reinforced, both at school and home. I encourage you, wherever possible, to talk with your child about safety to help them stay safe now and in the future.  

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