What a week!

This week, we have seen Under 8’s Day, Year 11 Leadership Camp, Year 8 Camp @ Cooby Dam, Year 10 Work Experience, a Magical World of Crazy Science show, Year 12 verification submissions, Internal Assessment Endorsement submissions  as well as lots of other initiatives in planning for next year. Of particular note this week, we farewelled Miss Berwick as she departs on maternity leave after several years of coaching and training our Vocal lessons at OLSCC.  Last week’s performance from the vocal students consolidated her excellence, as well as that of the students.  Jessica will be dearly missed by the staff and students alike, though I am sure she will not be a stranger.

In addition we wish Mr Holmes all the best as he and his fiancee Phoebe are married next weekend.  We wish the Holmes’ all the best for their future in marriage together!

Especially in this spring holiday season, I wish all families the safest of travels and the greatest of family times together. My wife and I are watching our little boys growing up at a rate that we no longer seem to be able to control, and will be taking some time to hang out and have some fun exploring together before they are all grown up.  I encourage all families to try to find the time to do the same.  Take care, look after one another and please return to us safely for the last term of another great year at OLSCC!

Leadership Camp Success

Last night Mr Hodge has the pleasure of visiting the Leadership Camp for our current Year 11 students at Emu Gully.  It was excellent to see the students working on their ability to work and lead together as a cohort.  Of particular note from the group I worked with was their realisation that less talk and more action was the best mode of leadership to contrast to the “noisy leader” which the public media often portrays.  I look forward to seeing these skills and learnings impact the leadership capacity of our Year 11 students as they develop into our College Leaders of 2020.

Thanks Ag Knowledge

This week the advertising from Ag Knowledge Australia Pty Ltd was applied to our new College Coach!  Not only does this look fantastic and promote local businesses in times of drought, it also greatly benefits all our families as the sponsorship offsets the cost of the capital repayment on the Coach, covering approximately 9% of the overall capital on an annual basis. Feel free to check out the ad on the Coach or give Scott or Sharryn a call to discuss all your GPS and precision farming solutions! 

Preparation for 2020:

Student Enrolment Numbers

We have seen a considerable increase of enrolments in preparation for the 2020 Academic Year.  We are currently predicting a greater than 10 % increase in student numbers from the start of 2019 to the start of 2020.  Of course this is going to have significant impact on the staffing structures at the College, and as such, as always, I would like to encourage all families, friends and community members to contact the College should they wish to apply for enrolment at their soonest opportunity.  We have multiple classes where we are considering structures very seriously, though we need very accurate numbers to make the best choice.  In this instance, it may mean that there will be little or no enrolments able to be taken for particular year levels throughout the year without being on a waiting list. Hence, if you have any change of places and would like to have your children attend OLSCC, please contact Tracey at the Office and arrange a tour and/or interview today!

On the bright side, it looks as though we will be required to add a class to our 2020 Year 7 cohort due to the enrolments currently taking place.  This is great news for our students for next year!

Timetable Preparation

Mrs Brennan and Mr Hodge have been locked away in the boardroom for most of this week working on the 2020 Year 7-12 timetable.  It is a considerable undertaking and although we’re not quite there yet, we envisage having a draft out very early next term. With the shift in student numbers and the change of senior subject on offer due to our cohorts, there is much to be considered.  Drafts will be released early in Term 4 so that families have an idea what the 2020 timetable may look like.

Camp and Retreat Considerations

The College Leadership Team is considering how we can best engage students in real life learning through curriculum camps as well as retreats in 2020 and beyond.  There have been many fantastic ideas in the past that have disappeared due to ever increasing transport costs, however, now that we have an alternative we can access camps and retreats at a far more affordable price for our families.   Over the next 2 years, we will be working on developing a camp, excursion and retreat schedule for all classes to ensure children are given the opportunity to experience real world problems and learning.  Our terminology has shifted slightly in that “Camp” refers to an overnight curriculum excursion, “Excursion” a single day curriculum excursion, and “Retreat” referring to a spiritual excursion, whether it be for a day, or overnight. The areas of social and personal learning, personal development and leadership skills will be expected to be an embedded aspect of all camps, excursions and retreats from 2020 onwards.

2021 Online Subject Provision

Mr Hodge and I are working with 3 other Diocesan Colleges and the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools staff in order to create the opportunity to offer 4 online subjects for Year 11 and 12 students from 2021, with an ideal future to be the provision of 12 additional subjects across the Diocese.   By sharing the load across the 4 Colleges, with support from TCS staff, we will be utilising 2020 to ensure that the best model is rolled out to create greater flexibility in staffing and subject selection for our students.  There will be plenty of detail to come over the coming 6 months as we prepare to trial and then roll out online subjects in 2020.

Peter Cuskelly

Principal