Welcome back!

Tuesday saw the return of many familiar Middle Years faces and plenty of new ones too. I trust you all had a safe and relaxing Christmas and New Year break and the children are full recharged and ready to give the 2024 academic year a red hot crack!

Welcome back to the returning students and welcome to the family for our new students too. We had a number of new faces across Year 5, 6, 7, and 8 this year and we are excited to have you all as part of the Our lady of the Southern Cross College family. Some have moved across town, while others have joined us from Brisbane and further abroad. We look forward to working with you and your family as you settle into life in the Middle Years.

 

Queensland Police Service visit – Think you know? Program

Think you Know? is a Queensland Police initiative where officers interact with students and present information in the hope of raising more awareness around cyber-safety and to help students better protect themself and their friends online.

Topics covered included:

• Online Challenges
• What the law says
• Getting help
• Staying safe and being share A.W.A.R.E.

We love having the members of the local QPS Branch visit us. Thank you so much to Dan, Jenny, Vinnie, and Liz. We hope to get you back again soon.

Year 7 Induction Program

We had many new faces joining our Year 7 cohort this year and for all in the grade it was their first day of high school – how exciting! Whilst there were many nervous faces at the beginning of the day, the Induction Program provided the staff and students the space and time to settle into the academic year by learning about Canvas, Sentral, OneDrive, Outlook, Microsoft Forms, Headspace, lockers and locks, and much more.

By the end of each session, students were far more comfortable with what was ahead of them high school. Will there be teething in this first week or so? Most likely. However, every student now has a far greater understanding of what to do, how to do it, and how to access help if they need it. A special shout out to the teachers who worked with the students on the day too. Many of them gave up free time just to interact more with our new Year 7 cohort.

Below is a quick breakdown of what was covered on the day:

 Sessions:

• Lockers, locks and setting combinations.
• The Journey Bell
• The College Diary and key sections/policies.
• Eligibility Criteria for Extra-Curricular Activities.
• Middle Years expectations around homework.
• Laptops and logging on.
• Outlook and email etiquette.
• OneDrive and academic organisation.
• Using Canvas independently.
• Student Portal and Sentral.

Students also were afforded the opportunity to meet the following staff throughout various sessions:

• Miss Fry (Classroom teacher: English, Religion, HASS, Praxis, and Netball Coach)
• Mr Cross (Classroom teacher: Mathematics, Religion, Technology, Praxis)
• Mr Storey (Classroom teacher: Health and Physical Education, and Senior Years)
• Mr Gillespie (Classroom teacher: English, HASS, Religion, and Rugby League Coach)
• Mr Lincoln (Classroom teacher: Health and Physical Education, Middle Leader Sport)
• Mr Du Preez (Classroom teacher: Technology and Senior Years)
• Mrs Patterson (Classroom teacher: English, HASS, Religion)
• Mrs Biggar (Classroom teacher: Mathematics, Science, Technology, Praxis and Middle Leader Pedagogy and Engagement)
• Mrs Twidale (Classroom teacher: Mathematics, Religion, Science, Technology, Praxis and Middle Leader LYF)
• Mrs Ballantyne (College Guidance Counsellor)
• Mr Cullen (Assistant Principal Middle Years, Science and Praxis teacher)
  
  

I wish all the students the best this school year. If you or your child has any concerns or questions about the start of the new academic year or the upcoming events, please do not hesitate in reaching out to your child’s classroom teacher for support. In the coming days, all of your child’s teachers will reach out via email outlining the work they will be doing with your child this term.

Craig Cullen

Assistant Principal Middle Years