For Those Affected by Bushfires

Our thoughts this week are with those who have suffered the impacts of bushfires recently.  Many have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their treasures and memories, not to mention the flora and fauna that has been decimated by the fires raging through areas abundant with fuel.  We also pray for those who chose to cause these fires as a way of appeasing their own ego.  We pray that through consequence or through reflection they will learn to develop ways of thinking that gain them humility, strength and empathy as they progress in life. 

We pray mostly for the Australian community – that it can stand up and support those in greatest need to rebuild these areas of devastation to places of renewed energy and enthusiasm.  In addition we pray that our government begins to learn the great diversity of our country, especially outside of capital cities, and begin to implement practices that enable greater care of our landscapes so that land can be best managed by those that are responsible for it without fear of persecution.  In this way our country can be both resourceful, sustainable and free from environmental disasters like those we have been witnessing this last week.     

Vocal Performance and One Act Shows PLUS the Art Show

Last night I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the 2019 Vocal Performance and One Act Plays in the PAC, and what an evening it was!!  The standard of performance across all aspects was excellent! A huge thanks to Mrs Hetherington and Mr Blauw for the preparation for the One Act Plays and the wonderful Miss Jessica Berwick for her amazing coaching of our vocalists. The work of these staff and students exemplified everything that we are

On Wednesday night the Art Show was brilliant!  So many students, parents, uncles, aunties and grandparents exploring the variety of Art on display in the MPC.  We saw some outstanding pieces and many of these were recognised with prizes from our Judge, Maree Cameron. A huge thanks to Mrs Bronwyn McArthur and her band of helpers who presented the show as a hallmark of events for our College!

I am very excited for the future of Culture at OLSCC and everything that is going into bringing it back into prominence.  I see events such as these as just the beginning.  We are looking forward to next year when we are composing a week of performance and engagement in the Arts and Culture space.  We will also be creating greater opportunities to experience Culture for staff and students alike through excursions to The Empire Theatre, USQ ArtWorks, and the wide variety of options for engagement in Brisbane.  A huge thank you to Mrs Baxter who is getting the ball rolling with some magnificent work as Middle Leader Culture this year, as well as all of those who have contributed to making these amazing opportunities for our students and community a reality.

Rugby 7s at Scots Warwick Tomorrow – All the Best

We have 4 teams travelling to Warwick for the annual Scot’s Rugby 7s Carnival.  Under 14 Girls, Under 16 Girls, Under 16 Boys and under 18 Boys will all be in an intense timetable to play their way into the finals for tomorrow afternoon.  Keep an eye on Facebook as we will be posting updates throughout the day.  Thanks to Mr Petersen for taking the time to get us there in the coach, as well as Mr Garside, Mr Lincoln and Mr Routley who will coach the girls and boys.

Online Subject Offerings

Monday sees Mr Hodge and I travel to Assumption College Warwick where we are taking the initial steps in the journey of creating Diocesan online senior subjects.  This would mean that students could access a wider array of subjects across the Diocese without every College having to offer every senior subject – currently a remarkable expense for small Colleges.  We are working in collaboration with Assumption College Warwick, St Joseph’s Stanthorpe, Mary Mackillop Catholic College Highfields and are very excited by the future opportunities we are creating for our students despite the “disadvantage” of rural education.

Peter Cuskelly

Principal