As our last term for the year begins, we take the opportunity to reflect on our learnings so far throughout 2024, and promptly set aspirational yet achievable targets to ensure that we finish our year well. Around the world we hear the term ‘wellbeing’ used far too often with many misleading definitions regarding what “wellbeing”, “happiness” or “work-life balance” actually means. And this is very hard to define, because quite simply, many of these terms have vastly different meanings to different people depending on their own individual circumstances. Each of these aspects of life require focus, effort and achievement in order to be successful. 

And the end of year and wellbeing have a lot to do with each other. I spoke to the Year 12 students at their formal about “turning up” way back in late May, though not just “turning up”, though rather “turning up – early and prepared”. There is nothing worse for work-life balance, happiness or wellbeing than getting to January and realising that you have impacted your future trajectory through a lack of effort, persistence and resilience in the last quarter of the year prior. I have seen this happen far too often to people in all walks, and in all stages, of life. I have seen Year 12 graduates lost without a cause when they get an early offer to uni, only to fail external assessments due to lack of effort. I’ve seen professionals that finish poorly that then never get considered for the next promotion, students miss school for the last few weeks of school meaning they miss extra-curricular activities for half of the next year, and people not invest in important relationships which have ongoing impacts for many years to come. Turning up and finishing well are two common traits of people who are well, happy and balanced.

A lot of wellbeing, happiness and work-life balance comes from doing your best. From putting in the effort to achieve results better than other people expected. From getting up early to do one thing better by 1% every day. Staying up an extra hour one night to get 10 things off your to-do list that have been causing you anxiety for weeks. Closing your socials and making a phone call to a friend you haven’t had a good chat with for quite a while, or putting down the controller to share a lovingly prepared meal around the kitchen table with family and friends. 

For everyone in our community, please consider how you are going to finish the year well and keep turning up for whatever is important for you. If you need a hand, pick up a copy of Atomic Habits by James Clear, or listen to any associated podcasts, audiobooks or youtube clips. It’s a great resource for teens, university students, parents, whole families and even retirees!

2025 College Staff

As mentioned on Parent Portal earlier in the week, below is a draft of the 2025 Staff List for OLSCC. This includes many new staff, and doesn’t include some of our current staff who are heading in a different direction for 2025. This list will gradually be updated as positions are filled over the coming weeks. 

Despite some discussions in the community regarding our staffing for next year, I would like to ensure our community that OLSCC is by no means suffering from the staffing shortage. All of our positions for 2024 are currently filled and we don’t have any staff that are above the recommended teaching load in the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA). Any suggestion that we are understaffed is completely false. We work hard to provide the best teachers for your children, and I am very proud of the staff that enter our classrooms every day. 

There is some confusion also regarding Hybrid Learning opportunities at the College. Hybrid Learning for senior subjects such as Specialist Maths, Literature, Modern History, Physics, and Chemistry is a combination of face-to-face learning, live lessons online, and the completion of online coursework which is highly structured and continuously monitored by both their online teacher and teachers at OLSCC. The fact of the matter is that we strive to provide the best possible teachers for our students. In some cases, the standard we can provide through Hybrid Learning is considerably better than what we can recruit for face-to-face learning locally. While we could staff the classes in face-to-face lessons, experience tells us that better learning outcomes are achieved through Hybrid Learning – especially for the types of subjects we offer these options for. We continue to recruit for face-to-face teachers at our College, such as the current advertisements for Visual Arts, Languages, and Senior Science (Physics, Chemistry, Engineering). However, we will always prioritise our students by providing the highest standard of teaching and learning, which may be Hybrid Learning. 2023 graduate Joshua Nimmo, currently studying Medicine specialising in Surgery at JCU Townsville, will attest to how far ahead of his peers he is because of his approach to learning, including both his face-to-face and hybrid learning throughout his senior courses at OLSCC.

I would like to announce a few changes to our staff for the start of 2025, and in some cases earlier:

Mrs Kathy Morgan: Rumour has it that Mrs Morgan has been teaching Prep for so long that no-one can actually remember when she started. Some say her classroom is like Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and she is over 243 years old. But those who can remember, remember what an inspirational teacher she has been at OLSCC in all her years here in Prep Red and Year 6, as well as the Middle Leader Primary / Early Years for many years. We wish Mrs Morgan, and her husband Damien (who beat her to it by a few years) all the best in their well-earned retirement and future adventures!

Mrs Andrea Gormley: Mrs Gormley has made the decision to relocate to the coast and catch some salty air in the mornings, as well as some further travel to discover more rural and remote parts of the world. Mrs Gormley has done many roles at OLSCC from teaching Prep and Year 1 to Assistant Principal Religious Education to Middle Leader Special Projects and more recently Middle Leader Student Services. There will rarely be a student that graduates from OLSCC without being impacted by the work of Mrs Gormley – enjoy the coast and the walks on the beach!

Mrs Geraldine Priebbenow: Mrs Priebbenow has been teaching in upper primary at OLSCC for 9 years now and is currently on St Helena island for her final penance. She has been an amazing role model for many students here, though is now moving to the farm where she can spend more time with her husband, and milking cows. Due to the distance involved, Mrs P will be relocating to St Saviour’s Primary School in Toowoomba commencing in 2025.

Mrs Rebecca Martin: Mrs Martin has decided to hang up her chalk for a little while and focus on her family and the family business, while still visiting from time to time for relief. Mrs Martin teaches everything and anything at OLSCC – extremely well - and her kind disposition underpins what makes her such a special teacher with an emphasis on growing great people. We thank Mrs Martin for her willingness and ability to do what needs to be done to best advantage our students. If you’ve ever received a Head, Heart, Hands package, it is likely Mrs Martin had something to do with this as well!

Mr David de Costa Silva: Mr de Costa Silva has been a highly valued staff member at OLSCC for the past 2 years in the Arts department. He has designed and painted backdrops for musicals, taught many inspiring lessons, showcased some phenomenal artistic talents and skills, and just last week put much of this on show in the College Art Show. We have many students who connect strongly to the Arts, and the loss of such a genuine artist from our community will be felt. We wish David all the best as he relocates to the coast!

Mr Steve Gillespie: Mr Gillespie is taking a year’s leave to try to understand what he will do with himself if he ever retires. I am very confident that we will see Mr G around the traps quite a bit as he continues working in the rugby league program and filling in for relief.

Mr Nathan Pretorius: Nathan has been our wonderful Facilities Coordinator for the past few years and has overseen many developments at the College in his time here. On Friday he finished at OLSCC to take up a position in Ayr in the Agriculture sector. Our College would simply not be the same without Nathan’s input and impact, and it’s a great shame he wasn’t able to make the first batch of Montepulciano from the College Vineyard before he left. All the best Nathan!

While it will be with great sadness that we see these wonderful contributors to our College depart, we also experience the joy of welcoming new people into our community. We will produce some profiles for the community to get to know our new people better in coming weeks, however below is a brief introduction.

Miss Emma Quinlan: Miss Quinlan has been teaching at St Joseph’s School in Chinchilla with Mrs Hobson for the past 5 years and is excited to teach Year 6 at OLSCC next year! Miss Quinlan is a passionate educator with much experience in our Diocesan Approach to Reading, and will be a great addition to our team.

Miss Megan Fleming: Miss Fleming comes to us from Jandowae State School where she is currently teaching Prep, and prior to that taught at Denison State School in Emerald where she taught mostly Year 2. Miss Fleming demonstrated a great passion for curriculum in her interview and we look forward to her expertise in Year 4 next year.

Miss Becky Gillan: Some may recognise Miss Gillan from her time as a preservice teacher here in the past, or her current position as a full-time relief teacher across the early and middle years. Miss Gillan is an excellent educator that we are excited to welcome to Year 2 next year.

Mr Col Anderton: Mr Anderton has also been working at the College this semester as a full-time relief teacher and has proven a wonderful addition to our staff. Next year Mr Anderton will transition to a full-time role in HPE and Science in the Middle and Senior Years and brings a wealth of experience with him.

Mrs Terri Fazakerley: Mrs Fazakerley will be starting as our new receptionist in the next 2 weeks. She has over 20 years experience in administration and although she’s from NSW, I am sure she will fit right in as the new face of the College in reception.

Staff Vacancies

As outlined on the staff list, there are still a few opportunities being advertised that we are anticipating to fill in coming weeks. There are also some positions that will become available throughout the term as existing staff transition to new schools for 2025. If you have friends that are interested in working at OLSCC, please direct them to Seek where we advertise all our vacancies.

Saints Race Day

I would like to offer a very sincere and heartfelt thanks to Kaitlin Machin and Kate Cullen for their enormous effort and dedication in delivering the Saints Race Day in the middle weekend of the holidays. Even though I wasn’t able to attend the event, I have only heard wonderful feedback. Having Brooke Hanson OAM as the Master of Ceremonies for the day, an amazing showing for Fashions of the Field, lots of awesome prizes for raffles and auctions, as well as a beautiful marquee and lawn area - the day was a recipe for success. Thank you to everyone who supported this amazing day through their sponsorship, giving of prizes, contribution to the setup or cleanup, or by attending the day and having a great time! The committee has a new focus to raise funds for the installation of a digital sign for the front of the College and this event has given a great start to the effort. 

Outside of School Hours Care + Vacation Care

As communicated at the end of last term – there are some great programs and activities being provided for our students enrolled in OSHC and Vacation Care. Below are a few of the photos from recent vacation care where the kids had an absolute ball! Please consider giving this a go by enrolling your child and have them attend a session.

Tuckshop

Last night I sat and ordered my tuckshop treat for Friday (because I need it!) and I must say that there are some great options available for both myself and my kids, even though one of my kids is coeliac! The prices are very reasonable, there is plenty of variety, dietary requirements are listed and options are available, and its all managed by the flexischools app so no bags and coins! The tuckshop continues to operate from Wednesday to Friday each week, so if its been a while since you’ve forgot to go shopping for kids lunches, please hop on the flexischools app and check it out! Great job, Toni and Jo!

Thomas Jack Park Precinct

Throughout this year, various members of the OLSCC community including myself, staff, parents, senior students and representatives from each year level from Year 4 to Year 12, have been involved with FourFold Studios and Western Downs Regional Council (WDRC) regarding the development of the Dalby Cultural Centre. Throughout the year the decision was made to transition this simple project into a more complex one which evolved into the Thomas Jack Park Precinct. The journey has been a wonderful learning for all involved and I am especially proud of the contribution that our students and wider community are having on this once in a lifetime opportunity for our town. 

If you would like to know more about the project and/or would like to have your say about this development can offer our community, please do so at https://haveyoursay.wdrc.qld.gov.au/tjpp.

School Transport Infrastructure Program (STIP)

Earlier this year OLSCC collaborated with WDRC to apply for funding to enhance the safety and usability of Cooper Street, between OLSCC and PCYC. We were recently notified that this application was successful and we will continue working with WDRC as we roll out this project. Over the long term between STIP and WDRC funding, it is planned for the road to be curbed and channelled, marked for parking, and include pedestrian refuges on both sides of the road near to the Ag Shed / Northern end of Netball Courts. A new footpath will also be constructed on the OLSCC side of Cooper Street from Nicholson Street down past the Ag Shed. There will also be considerable other works such as stormwater as part of the project. 

The inception of this safety initiative started way back in 2018 with Snr Constable Mark Woitowitz advocating strongly for many years for these improvements. A huge thanks to Mark, as well as Susie and Breanna from WDRC for keeping the momentum rolling and creating an opportunity to improve these facilities.

Peter Cuskelly

Principal