Prep – Year 4 Retreats

Today our Year 11 Students facilitated Retreats on the themes of Faith, Hope or Love with our P-4 classes.  In groups of 1 or 2 students they led the P-4’s through a reflective exercise that involved games, sharing of story, reflection and prayer.  The Year 11 students have worked on planning these retreats in Term 2 in their Praxis time. It is wonderful to see the younger students interact with our older students in this prayerful, reflective way.  I applaud the Year 11’s for their efforts and love that we can build a stronger community of faith, hope and love through these retreats again this year.

NAIDOC Week

Throughout last week we celebrated NAIDOC week throughout our College, culminating on Friday with a presentation and dance at Assembly.  I would like to extend thanks to the young men who shared their cultural dance with us, celebrating and sharing culture and story through dance.  Thanks to Jacob (past student), Ace, Hugo and Lincoln (current students).  We also acknowledged Lincoln Frid being announced a finalist in the Yarning Competition with his artwork Family Foundations.  We wish him well when he travels to Canberra in late August to visit Parliament House as part of his prize.  The artwork is still hanging in our foyer if you would like to see the original piece.

NAPLAN Individual Student Reports

Last week Individual Student Reports of students in Year 3, 5, 7, and 9 were sent home to parents.  These reports show each individual child’s achievement in the NAPLAN assessments alongside national averages.  You can also view a summary of past NAPLAN results in Parent Portal under your student’s profile, the tab NAPLAN.  The Year # (Year) is linked to take you to these results. 

Shaping Our Future Survey

The biennial Shaping our future survey is a cornerstone of our commitment to listening, learning, and growing together as a community. By gathering perspectives from students, staff, parents, and carers, we strengthen our shared mission, enhance leadership, and cultivate a culture of belonging, engagement, and wellbeing.  Staff and Parents will receive a link via email to complete the survey.  Students in Year 5-12 will be given an opportunity to complete this survey during class time over coming weeks. We ask all to take the time to complete this survey so we can use the information gathered to inform our future decision making. You can also use this QR Code to access the survey.

Our Year 12 students have committed to World’s Greatest Shave and even convinced a couple of staff to join in the fun, some shaving, cutting and colouring.  They are holding a number of events in coming weeks and have set a target of $10000 for fundraising.  We are asking for each student to contribute $5 (a fiver) on the pyjama free dress day to help this wonderful cause and student initiative.  All money raised will go directly to the team’s Fundraising efforts. If you would prefer to donate directly via the official page please use this link  World's Greatest Shave - OLSCC2025

Catholic Education Week

Next week we join with Catholic schools throughout Queensland to celebrate Catholic Education Week with the theme Communities of Faith, Hope and Love. Catholic education offers a high-quality, holistic education to one in every five young people Queenslanders.

Did you know that in the five Catholic Diocese in Queensland there are 313 schools, with around 22 000 staff working in these schools and 163 000 students who attend these schools? Over 222000 people work in Catholic organisations across Australia. We will celebrate Catholic Education Week with a P-12 Prayer Celebration on Wednesday in the MPC at 12:10pm – all are welcome to join us for this occasion.

BIG Events And College Tradition – information from past newsletters

Schools are places of ritual and traditions.  Throughout the year there are special moments and events at our College that build the culture and life of our College.  Some of these date back many years whilst others have been introduced more recently.  As we approach our 150-year celebrations in 2027 I will include information that I know about College events and traditions.  If you have stories of your own that link you to our history, feel free to share these via email as I love to hearing from past pupils and staff about your time at the College. Today I will outline two big events of Term 3.

OLSC Day – With the change of name to unify and become one school P-12 our feast day changed to 1 September.  On this day we have always celebrated Mass as a community sharing our connection to our parish through our Eucharistic celebration.  We have marked this day in several different ways over the years with all day house events, talent contests and then the transformation since 2020 of the inclusion of our whole College Athletics relays and P-4 Ballgames. In the past four years we have also announced our new College Leaders on this day. This year the format of the day will again be transformed to include House based games in the morning session for House Cup Points, Mass in the middle session of the day and P-4 Ballgames and fun House based relays in the afternoon session. College Prefects will be announced at the OLSC Day Mass and then House Leader applications open the next day. OLSC Day is a great day of celebration to highlight the P-12ness of College with all students and staff getting involved. 

Grandparents Day – This is a special day in our College calendar each year as we invite in our grandparents to a special prayer celebration and classroom visit.  Grandparents are such a great support to our families, and we love being able to welcome them into our College and celebrate them on this day.  This is also a P-12 event.  The morning begins with a welcome cuppa and chat with fellow grandparents and a prayer celebration before grandparents are invited to join their grandchildren in their classrooms.  This truly is one of my favourite days in our College calendar as the joy on the faces of both our students and their grandparents at being able to share this time together is priceless.  This year Grandparent’s Day will be held on the last Friday of Term 3, 19 September.

Pupil Free Days This Term

There are three student free days this term.  One was held on Monday 14 July. The two remaining are on: Friday 1 August and Friday 5 September.  On these days only staff are required to attend for professional learning.  Next Friday all staff will travel to St Mary’s College Toowoomba for our professional learning day to spend time with other Catholic school staff from throughout the Darling Downs. 

Mrs Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Mission and Identity